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Over 400 Missing As Yangtze River Cruise Ship Capsizes; Behind China's Great Cannon; After Two MERS Deaths, South Korea Urges Citizens To Wear Face Masks; The Decline of Russia's Space Program. Aired 8:00a-9:00a ET

Aired June 02, 2015 - 8:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[08:00:19] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to News Stream.

Now we are following two breaking stories this hour. Coalition partners in the fight against ISIS are expected to speak soon in Paris.

We'll bring you the very latest.

But first, a desperate search for survivors in eastern China. The minister of transport says more than 4,000 people and 110 ships are helping

in the rescue effort on the Yangtze River after a cruise ship capsized.

At least 14 people have been rescued, but more than 400 are missing, and five bodies have been recovered.

And families are anxiously waiting for news of their loved ones.

Now, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang went to see the emergency crews at the site. The ship's captain and chief engineer are both now in police

custody.

Now according to Chinese media, the ship was hit by a long juan feng.

Now let's bring in CNN meteorologist Chad Myers. And Chad, this long juan feng is a Chinese word that can be translated as cyclone or tornado,

but from your data what caused this disaster?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We think of the word cyclone as hurricane or typhoon, and certainly that didn't happen, because it isn't

near the water. But it -- no question about it, that there was a very strong thunderstorm right over the area at the time.

Right here, here is the red spot right there. There is the dot where he ship has turned over right here.

Watch the thunderstorms from where we are now to two hours before, to one hour before, to right at the same time. This was a very large

thunderstorm complex.

And there's no question that, a, what we would call a tornado here in most of the countries here, we would call a tornado, is possible with that

type of cell. We don't know for sure, but it's certainly possible when you have this type of cloud cover, very, very high cirrus clouds. These storms

are 40,000 or 50,000 feet tall, which is, you know, I mean we're at 12,000 to 15,000 meters tall here as the storm popped up later on yesterday

afternoon by a bout 18 hours ago at this point in time.

There was quite a bit of rain, about 62 millimeters, 58, 56 millimeters there just to the south. So this was a definite storm system

here.

This front sets up all the time right through here.

And there are tornadoes in China. There are tornadoes in every country, just about I suppose Antarctica. But other than that, this storm

system will be with us in the same area for many, many more days causing probably some delays in the recovery too.

But you can see not much of that ship is above water anymore.

LU STOUT: And just to confirm, it's the forecast, you're saying that the bad weather will continue to complicate the rescue operation currently

underway?

MYERS: Certainly for the next 24 hours. That weather system is going to be right over it. It does look, at least for awhile on Wednesday --

Wednesday afternoon, that the front will slide slightly farther to the south.

This is the air coming in from the Gulf of China here, and also from Hong Kong. You think about it, really, how humid Hong Kong can be. You

get cool air coming one way and that moist air coming the other way, a front sets up and that's exactly where the front sets up all the time. And

that's where the showers and storms set up right where that front sits -- Kristie Lu.

LU STOUT: OK, got it. Chad Myers there. Many thanks indeed for that.

Now let's give you an idea of where all this is taking place. The Chinese cruise ship, it's called the Eastern Star. It was on this 11 day

journey along the Yangtze River, the third longest river in the world. The trip started off in the city of Nanjing. And then the cruise ship was

slowly making its way inland to the city of Chongqing until rough weather caused it to capsize mid-journey in Jiantli County of Hubei Province.

Now David McKenzie is near the site right now. And he spoke to my colleague Alison Kosik a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a very popular tourist route for particularly elderly here in China. And it's

particularly tragic, of course, that the ages mostly range from around 60 to 80. These were retirees who were enjoying a pleasure cruise on this

mighty river here in China.

Now it appears early suggestions that there was some kind of weather event, a gust of wind or they have been calling it a cyclone, but there is

some dispute on that.

Either way, it appears the boat might have been pushed from its port side under -- and only in a series of minutes, that's at least the initial

thought. So really no time, it seems, for people to get to safety.

It was also around the time that the passengers would have been preparing for bed, or going to bed. So it is believed -- there is some

hope still that some could be trapped in air pockets. And they were going around tapping on the hull, these extraordinary scenes, listening for

anyone who could talk back and then possibly get them out of there.

There were welders and cutters on the scene as well.

I have to say, also, there's a very heavy military presence here. We had to walk the last few miles here to the scene, because they wouldn't let

us in with our vehicle.

So right now it's both a sensitive scene and also a scene of much distress as they try to pull anyone out, but frankly the situation is

looking less and less hopeful as the hours tick by.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: That was David McKenzie reporting earlier in the day. David is there in Jiantli County Hubei Province. He joins us now live.

And David, it is now nightfall. This has been an incredibly large rescue operation. Is it still underway?

MCKENZIE: It is still underway. And that glow behind me over that shoulder, that is the staging ground, Kristie, of this frantic search and

rescue for people who may still be trapped underneath the ship.

You know, it does seem like the weather conditions today, it's been raining pretty much solidly until a few moments ago here on the banks of

the Yangtze River have played a part in hampering the rescue efforts, but also just this swift current and the famously murky waters of the Yangtze

River has made it very difficult, it seems, for rescue divers and others to access anyone who may be alive underneath the bow of this vessel.

At this stage, though, it's approaching nearly 24 hours, or not quite, but almost 24 hours since that boat went down. So hope if fading fast,

certainly it appears China has pulled out all the stops to get rescuers here quickly. But whether they can do the job they were sent here for is

another matter -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: And, David, we just heard from our Chad Myers who is reporting that weather conditions there are not likely to improve any time

soon. Definitely it'll be a challenge for the rescue workers there on site. And, David, the fate of hundreds of people still unclear at this

hour what do we know about the passengers and why they were on board this cruise liner?

MCKENZIE: Well, they were on board because a very popular tourist route here in China, particularly this time of year. And if you look at

the passenger manifest released by state media, you see that it's mostly between 60 and 80 year olds, retirees, frankly, here in China enjoying an

11 day cruise along the famous Yangtze River. This would have been a highlight for them.

And certainly it seems that everything happened at this stage based on preliminary reports, very quickly. And that the wind, or whatever event

happened may have capsized this boat in such a rapid rate that nothing potentially could have been done

Now, we don't know that for sure. There could have been more efforts done by the crew and the captain. As we've been reporting, the captain and

the chief engineer managed to escape. And they have been put in custody -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, desperate rescue efforts still underway, hundreds of people still missing. David McKenzie live at the scene there in Jantli

County in Hubei Province, China. Thank you, David.

Now, Reuters is reporting that Myanmar's navy is escorting a boat carrying more than 700 migrants to safety. It was found drifting in the

Andaman Sea four days ago. According to Reuters, Myanmar's information minister says crews are trying to verify the identify of the migrants

before determining where they will be settled.

Now, in Paris, crunch talks are underway at this hour on how to battle back against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Now representatives from the

international coalition are taking a hard look at recent land grabs by the terror group and they're trying to come up with some concrete solutions.

This after the militants staged a ruthless attack on Monday on a base near Samarra.

Now Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says the allies are not doing enough.

Now CNN's senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is monitoring developments from Baghdad. He joins us now.

And Nick as officials meet in Paris to talk and to discuss strategy to fight ISIS, what is the reality on the ground there in Iraq?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the reality is that ISIS, as we saw weeks ago, were able to take a large population

center like Ramadi, despite the fact that there is supposed to be coalition and Iraqi air power in the skies above potentially intercepting those

columns of ISIS troops as they move towards a city like that, or hitting them when they engage Iraqi security forces there.

Now there's been a lot of discussion about why that has not happened. And Haider al-Abadi's opening remarks on arriving, really, at that Paris

conference was to be quite clear that he believed the aerial surveillance should be improved by the coalition.

Now, obviously the coalition were reticent even to begin contributing towards the Iraqi effort until they felt there were more assurances and in

fact there was a more Sunni-Shia united government and the removal earlier of former Prime Minister Maliki.

So it's been a complex effort from the start. But we're at a crunch (inaudible) here, because U.S. opinion polls, frankly, show that the Obama

administration's approach is as unpopular as the George W. Bush administration approach to Iraq wars just before the surge was announced by

that White House.

So, we seem to be at a moment where American public opinion is changing somewhat to some degree, and yet again we have another conference

in Europe addressing the Syria and Iraq crisis. And I think many will be looking for this to be different and somehow produce results to some degree

as in a change in strategy on the ground rather than a renewal of commitment to continue doing what's been done at the moment that hasn't

been changed very much, Kristie.

[08:10:20] LU STOUT: And at this summit in Paris, Iraq's prime minister is pushing for more international support to help hold back ISIS.

What precisely does Iraq need from the coalition?

WALSH: Some elements of the Iraqi administration all saying that boots on the ground would help, but I think what they'd need in a more

cohesive and universally agreed way is a raise in air power commitment. They say -- this morning, Haider al-Abadi he wants better surveillance. He

wants more aerial intelligence to be used to try and combat ISIS.

Now, there's been a lot of debate as to why does it seem to take so long, or why is it so infrequent that airstrikes happen in Iraq? Now that

is obviously because each airstrike that happens has to do so with specific Iraqi government permission owing to the nature of the coalition mission

here in Iraq. That takes awhile to get. And then of course you have the debate whether or not around Ramadi there was a reluctance to give that

permission, although there was a lack of clear intelligence away from civilians.

It's all extraordinarily complex as to why the airstrikes don't happen. What is not complex is the agreement there needs to be more of

them. The question is how do you get those targets available to coalition planes fast enough to make it effective and to change the tide on the

ground where, let's face it, in the last month, after months of being thought to be out for the count, obviously on their back foot. ISIS

definitely have the momentum, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reporting live from Baghdad. Thank you, Nick.

And just in to us here at CNN, senior officials in the Obama administration have confirmed that the White House and Yemen's Houthi

rebels have indeed been talking. They met last week in Oman for negotiations that led to the release of an American journalist, but at

least three other Americans are still being held.

Now in Afghanistan, nine aid workers have been killed. It happened in bulk province in the north. A provincial official says militants attacked

the house where the aid workers were living. They are part of what's called the National Solidarity Program created by the government in 2003 to

help with development projects. The militants have not been identified.

Now you're watching News Stream. And still to come, hundreds of people quarantined, dozens of confirmed cases, and now the first reported

deaths. We'll bring you the latest on South Korea's MERS outbreak.

And more controversy in FIFA's corruption scandal. The association responds to allegations of a multi-million dollar payment to a former top

official.

And we are monitoring the latest on the U.S. government's surveillance program as Senators get down to business again. We've got the

details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back. You're watching News Stream. And you're looking at a visual version of all the news we have for you today.

Now we've already told you about the tragedy on China's Yangtze River. Crews are searching for hundreds of people missing after a cruise ship

capsized. And later, we'll bring you the latest from South Korea where a MERS outbreak has killed at least two people.

But now, new allegations against FIFA.

Now football's world governing body has responded to a New York Times report that there was a $10 million payment in 2008 to accounts controlled

by the former Vice President Jack Warner. Now he is among 14 FIFA officials changed in a corruption investigation and was the president of

the football federation in Central and North American and the Caribbean.

Now FIFA says the South African government approved a $10 million project to support the African diaspora in Caribbean countries as part of

the World Cup legacy. FIFA did not incur and costs as a result of South Africa's request, because the funds belonged to the local organizing

committee. Neither the Secretary General, nor any other member of FIFA's senior management were involved in the initiation, approval and

implementation of the above project, unquote.

Now much more on the FIFA story is coming up next on World Sport. Alex Thomas will look at how the scandal has unfolded and what's happening

next. That's above 30 minutes from now.

South Koreans are urged to wear face masks as officials report the first two deaths from MERS, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.

Now dozens have been diagnosed with the virus and nearly 700 are in quarantine. Kathy Novak reports from Seoul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[08:16:08] KATHY NOVAK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is no vaccine and no cure for MERS, and the outbreak has the public here

increasingly concerned.

It started with one man who had traveled to the Middle East. Most of the confirmed cases can be directly linked to the first patient. Officials

admit more should have been done in the early stages to identify the virus and to stop the spread.

The health minister has apologized for the early handling of the situation. And the president said the response, then, was insufficient.

One man who should have been quarantined even got on a plane and traveled to Hong Kong and to China. It has since been confirmed he has

also been infected, and he is being treated and quarantined in China.

Another South Korean man is in quarantine in Hong Kong.

Medical experts are most concerned about people over the age of 50 who have preexisting conditions. Authorities are ramping up the efforts to

isolate anyone who may have been exposed, and the public is being told to avoid large crowds and to wash their hands often.

Kathy Novak, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now more people in India have succumbed to the sweltering heat. At least 2,300 people have died. The upcoming monsoon rain should

bring some relief, though forecasters say it's like will not arrive until Friday.

Now, billions of rubles lost, important spacecraft destroyed: Russia's space industry is being dragged down by what officials call moral decay.

We'll tell you more when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:20:28] LU STOUT: Coming to you live from a wet and rainy Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.

Now there has been a shakeup in leadership at the U.S. Transportation Security Administration following failed airport screening tests. An

investigation found that agents working under cover were able to sneak weapons and mock explosives past TSA screeners almost every single time.

Our U.S. correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This morning an interim TSA administrator is stepping in, replacing the now former

director, Melvin Carraway. Acting deputy director Mark Hatfield now at the post. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson reassigned Carraway amid

alarming security questions about the TSA's effectiveness.

The Department of Homeland Security discovered TSA officers failed 95 percent of the time during undercover operations, the officers failing 67

out of 70 tests to detect mock explosives and weapons at airport security checkpoints.

CHAD WOLF, FORMER TSA OFFICIAL: These are anomalies that TSA screeners and/or their equipment should locate and at least flagged for an additional

screening.

MALVEAUX: The department's red teams posed as passengers, attempting to pass through checkpoints with the mock weapons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am putting a detonator into the plastic explosive.

MALVEAUX: Back in 2008, CNN was there for a similar covert operation. That time it was TSA testing its own officers. At the checkpoint, the

tester is wanded and padded down right where the fake explosive device was concealed. But the screener missed it. It's not until the tester lifts up

his shirt. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I see it now.

MALVEAUX: In response to the troubling failures, Secretary Johnson said in a statement that he is immediately directing the TSA to revise its

screening procedures, conduct training and re-evaluate their screening equipment.

REP. JOHN MICA (R), FLORIDA: This has grown completely out of control. It isn't doing the job we need to. What we need to do is be able to connect

the dots, get intelligence information, go after people who pose a risk; and they can't do it with the current system.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that report was from CNN's Suzanne Malveaux.

Now if you see pictures of this flying saucer pop up on your news feed, this is not a hoax. Now NASA is launching a low density super-sonic

decelerator over Hawaii. Scientists are testing a new supersonic parachute, which is designed for Mars landings. And they're looking into

bringing heavier payloads to the Red Planet. Now a successful test landing means a step closer to future manned missions on Mars.

Now in Russia, the space industry is in the middle of a crisis. What was meant to be a brand new launch site in eastern Russia is tangled in

corruption scandals. Now Russian authorities say billions have been lost in shady transactions.

Matthew Chance has more on Russia's declining space industry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Their satellites were the first to orbit the Earth, their cosmonauts the first in space, but

Russia's present-day space program is plagued by embarrassing setbacks.

YURY KARASH, SPACE ANALYST: I will say that if I try to catalog all the failures of the Russian space industry, and during the last six or

seven years, it will be a really long list.

CHANCE: Even the list from the past few months isn't short. In April, Russian ground staff lost control of this unmanned cargo spacecraft

on a supply mission to the International Space Station. Contact was never reestablished, and the $30 million Progress 59 freighter burned up over the

Pacific Ocean.

In May, another Russian rocket carrying a Mexican satellite went wrong minutes after this launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It

crashed in Siberia, raising questions over Russia's reliability. Some commercial satellite operators are already looking elsewhere for their

business.

Russia used to be a byword for reliability in space technology. For decades, this kind of solid Soviet era equipment has been the mainstay of

space travel and exploration. But recently, that reputation has taken a severe battering, not just in space, but here on the ground.

Take the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian far east, a new multi- billion dollar high tech launch site. It's the country's biggest construction project, designed to blast Russia's space program into the

21st Century. But it's mired in scandals, government corruption probes, even a hunger strike by unpaid workers. One of them was permitted to ask

the Russian president to intervene during a nationally televised open mic event earlier this year. Vladimir Putin assured him and the country the

problems would be ironed out.

"We'll take it under our double control," President Putin says. "You on the site and I here from Moscow. All the slipups in the construction

and pay delays are absolutely inadmissible and will certainly not be tolerated," he said."

But the real problem with Russia's space program lies much deeper than a few construction holdups. Analysts say the prestige of the old Soviet

program has simply evaporated.

[08:26:02] KARASH: Many Russian and foreign experts characterizing the state of affairs in the Russian space industry use the phrase

systematic crisis. And this is true, because I will liken the Soviet time, best of the best scientists, engineers, workers do not want to work for the

Russian space program.

CHANCE: Unlike in the Soviet Union, critics say Russia's program lacks ambition. And unless that changes, Russia's dream of reviving the

glories of its space exploration past may never even leave the ground.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, let's get straight to Paris right now where coalition partners in the fight against ISIS are meeting. A news conference is

getting started. In the center, we see the French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. He is joined by the Iraqi prime minister and the U.S. deputy

secretary of state. Let's listen in.

(ANTI-ISIS COALITION NEWS CONFERENCE)

[08:40:07] LU STOUT: A commitment to defeat ISIS. And, quote, "we have made real gains since the coalition came together."

Live from Paris, you've been watching anti-ISIS coalition partners jointly addressing the media and the world. You heard from the Iraqi prime

minister Haider al-Abadi. And he said, quote, "we are preparing to retake Ramadi," while adding that Iraqi forces need much more international

support in the fight against ISIS.

You also heard from the French foreign minister Laurent Fabius. And he says the battle against ISIS is a long-term one.

Now those two leaders were also joined by the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Tonly Blinken who spoke at the end. Secretary of State John Kerry is

currently seeking treatment for a broken leg.

Now, let's take a look at some of the other top stories we're following for you this hour. China's minister of transport says that more

than 4,000 people and 110 ships are helping search for survivors of a capsized cruise ship on the Yangtze River. And this is new video of a

dramatic rescue of a 65-year-old woman. At least 14 people have been rescued so far, but more than 400 are missing. Five bodies have been

recovered.

Now two people have died in an outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, in South Korea. Now the victims were a 58 year old

woman and a 71 year old man, both had contact with the country's first MERS patient. And so far there are 25 confirmed cases in the country.

Now, in Cairo a court has postponed a final ruling on the sentencing for Egypt's former President Mohamed Morsy until June 16. Now there are

two pending decisions. The punishment he and his co-conspirators should receive for a spying conviction, and Morsy is waiting to find out if the

death sentence handed to him last month over a jailbreak has been upheld.

Now in the coming hours, the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on a bill to restore most of the provisions of the PATRIOT Act. Now key parts of the

act expired on Sunday night. And now the Senate is taking up another bill to reform and restore some of those measures, including the controversial

phone surveillance program.

Now a vote to end debate is to take place in about two hours from now.

This week, News Stream is taking a special look at cyber security. The NSA's surveillance program has attracted plenty of criticism, but the

U.S. isn't the only government active online.

LU STOUT: You might have heard of China's Great Firewall. That's a system that stops Chinese web users from accessing sites like Facebook and

YouTube.

Our researchers say there's a new system that's (inaudible) tool, but an attack tool. They call it the Great Cannon.

Now in March, the American coding website GitHub came under attack. And researchers say it was taken down by the Great Cannon.

Now to understand how it works, I need to let you in on a little secret about the web. You know the Facebook like button? It's not just a

picture of a thumbs up, it's actually a tiny little program. Most websites have many of these little programs running all the time. The Great Cannon

takes advantage of this. And researchers say when visitors went to Baidu in March, the Great Cannon added a tiny little program to their page.

It's not clear whether Baidu, China's most popular website knew about it, they've denied any involvement.

This program told a user's computer that it should send a message to GitHub, and it should continue to send it thousands of messages every

minute for hours. Now virtually any user visiting Baidu could unknowingly be participating in the attack. And as more computers joined in, GitHub

servers struggled to cope.

It was one of the biggest attacks of this type ever. And researchers say GitHub was targeted, because it hosted information about how to defeat

the Great Firewall. But they worry that this weapon isn't just for big targets like GitHub, because they say China could use the power of the

Great Cannon against individual users as well.

Now I spoke to one of the authors of the report on the Great Cannon and he told me why he is sure the Chinese government is behind the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLAS WEAVER, SENIOR RESEARCHER, UC BERKELEY: We discovered that both the Great Firewall and the Great Cannon were at the same place in the

network. So this was not some hackers compromising a Baidu server, but a device installed in the middle of the Chinese internet where it connects to

the outside world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now, China has always maintained that it is a victim of cyber attacks, and that it hopes to work with other countries to stop them.

Now China's top internet official says creating a safer internet starts at home, and it starts with the young.

Lu Wei says, "we need to start with children, to promote knowledge of network security in the campus, classroom and teaching materials."

Now China has actually designed this week as national cyber security awareness week.

And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere, because World Sport is next.

END