Return to Transcripts main page

NEWS STREAM

North, South Korea Exchange Fire; European Ministers Discuss Migrant Crisis; Thai Authorities Suspect Large Network Behind Shrine Attack; ISIS Claims Responsibility for Cairo Bomb; Justice Minister Orders Review of Oscar Pistorius Early Release. Aired 8:00a-9:00a ET

Aired August 20, 2015 - 8:00   ET

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

[08:00:12] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream.

Now tensions rise on the Korean peninsula with an exchange of fire between North and South.

Plus, Thai authorities believe a big network was behind the shrine bombing. We are live in Bangkok with the latest.

And as European ministers discuss the migrant crisis, we'll show you what some people are going through to reach the continent.

We are following a tense situation along the border between the two Korea's. South Korea's defense ministry says the North just sent a

warning, threatening military action if the south does not stop blaring propaganda messages across the border. South Korea says it received that

warning just hours after the north fired a suspected rocket into the area of its loud speakers.

In response, the south fired shells toward the north.

Now CNN's Kathy Novak joins me now live from Seoul. And Kathy, walk us through this latest flareup between North and South Korea.

KATHY NOVAK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it comes against a backdrop of a very tense couple of weeks here on the peninsula, Kristie.

One thing that is happening right now is the United States is holding joint military drills with the South Korean military. And whenever that happens

North Korea gets very angry. And in fact over the weekend on Saturday, KCNA, the official state news agency of North Korea sent a warning

threatening the United states and South Korea over those joint drills.

The other thing that is happening is last week, South Korea blamed North Korea for a landmine attack. Seoul says that North Korea planted

land mines on the South Korean side of the DMZ that separates North and South Korea. And those landmines injured, badly, two South Korean

soldiers.

In response, South Korea started propaganda warfare again -- psychological warfare, that is using these propaganda speakers to blast

anti-North Korean messages into North Korea. That made North Korea very angry. It threatened in Saturday to blow up these speakers if South Korea

refused to stop blasting these messages across the border.

And then today, what we have is South Korea's military saying that it believes that actually it just announced two rounds of shells were fired in

the direction of South Korea. We believe in order to try to destroy those speakers as North Korea has threatened. And in response, South Korea

responded with the shelling of its own.

Now Park Guen-hye, the president here, chaired a national security council meeting saying to take stern action against any provocation of the

North Korean side, and that the South Korea military is on high alert, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, tension has been building up for weeks now. Just how far is it going to get? Because now we have North Korea warning of more

military action if these propaganda broadcasts, this act of psychological warfare from South Korea, doesn't stop. Is that warning from North Korea

just a warning, is it just talk, or is there great fear that North Korea will act on its threats?

NOVAK: Well, that's a big question, Kristie. North Korea has set a deadline. It has said if South Korea does not stop these broadcasts by

5:00 p.m. on Saturday, it will take military action. Now, we'll have to wait and see what that means. But any threat that comes out of North Korea

is taken very seriously. We see (inaudible) when these joint military drills between the U.S. and South Korea are held, those drills that I

mentioned.

But the other thing is this psychological warfare, this propaganda that's coming out of the speakers, this is something that hasn't been done

by South Korea in more than a decade. And it's the kind of thing that makes North Korea extremely angry.

Now activists often use balloons to float leaflets with propaganda across the border into North Korea. And North Korea in the past has

actually tried to shoot those balloons down, that's how angry the regime of Kim Jong-un gets when it is not able to control the message within North

Korea.

So, it takes great issue with these propaganda speakers and it says that reusing them again on the part of South Korea is an act of war,

Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Kathy Novak there on the heightened tensions between north and south. Many thanks indeed for that.

Thai authorities say at least 10 people may have been involved in Monday's deadly bombing at a shrine in Bangkok. They have released these

images of the main suspect moving through the city. And he is described as an unidentified foreigner.

Now police say that they are sharing information with Interpol, although authorities say it is unlikely the attack was linked to

international terrorism.

Now Saima Mohsin is in Bangkok. And she joins me now on the line. Saima, we've got a lot of new lines in the investigation. So, let's focus

on that. What is the latest from Thai authorities?

[11:05:23] SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, so far police are telling us that they are looking into at least

10 men being part of this network. They're not sharing any information that tells us how they've come to that conclusion, but they did say that

they imagine that there could be up to 10 people involved, given the fact that there would have been perhaps people helping to make this

sophisticated bomb, people to locate the target and of course then people to help them make their getaway.

Now, they did also identify two more individuals on the CCTV footage. One man wearing red, one man wearing white, that appear, Kristie, to stand

up in front of that man in the yellow shirt as he plants what they believe to be the bomb under the bench.

Now, what police are saying, and of course this is right now conjecture, until they get to speak to these men or find them and arrest

them we don't know, but what they are saying is they believe that these two men are deliberately standing in front of the bench to block this man while

he plants his bomb.

So, these are the men they are now looking for. they're searching through CCTV now just in this area, but throughout Bangkok. And beyond

that, at the airports as well -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: And, a question about security. I mean, since the bombing, how much security is in place in that busy commercial area around the

Erawan shrine?

MOHSIN: This is something that's really struck me, Kristie. So when we first arrived at Erawan shrine, there was high visibility level of

policing. Mostly tourist police, a couple of police officers as well stationed around the shrine itself.

But some of the rest of the city there really isn't a visible sense of police, military, any kind of extra reinforcement. We were told that every

police officer available from the Bangkok city police would be deployed. I'm not seeing that. So now they did say there will be plain clothes

officers.

So, I think this just reflects the kind of balance Thailand is trying to keep between remaining a tourist hot spot, trying to assure people that

it is a safe place to come to, but of course not try and maintain that level of fear that they are --- people won't be faced if they come here.

So, it is a delicate balance. And I guess they don't want that high visibility policing. Of course, tourism industry already damaged by last

year's protest and subsequent coup, and so they are -- they are keen to maintain the bounce back they had, but of course this will have set them

back considerably. They say they've had 20 percent loss in terms of cancellations and (inaudible).

And we are seeing extra security at the hotel we're staying in now, Kristie. The kind of security we haven't seen in Bangkok before.

LU STOUT: And another question about your thoughts on the overall investigation, because it's been three days since the attack there in

Bangkok. More information about the suspect and 10 accomplices, it's believed. They are still at large. Are questions being raised about the

effectiveness of the probe?

MOHSIN: You know, they -- the police keep saying we need more help. We need allies to help us. We need neighboring countries to help us. We

need Interpol to help us. And I'm wondering, perhaps, if they just don't have that level of sophisticated intelligence and police tactics to deal

with some thing of this level.

Of course, this is the biggest bombing that Thailand has ever experienced: 20 dead, more than 100 injured. They're not used to being

with this kind of attack. They have of course had bombings in the past, relatively small in comparison. And to be honest, we've rarely seen people

arrested and convicted for those kind of attacks, too. And that those are mostly related to their political unrest here. So political violence,

particularly in the city and of course there is the insurgency in the south that's never come to the capital.

So, yes, a lot of people saying the police seem to be floundering. They are not clear with the information they are releasing. And that is

perhaps because they themselves don't know. Remember, they still have a name even this main suspect in the yellow t-shirt. They haven't got an

identification for nationality, religion, cultural background. They simply do not know -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Saima Mohsin reporting live. And the latest on the investigation, a lot still unknown. Thank you, Saima.

Now in Bangkok, there's been an outpouring of grief over the 20 lives lost in the attack. And many families, like this one from China, have had

to endure the heartbreaking task of identifying the bodies of their loved ones.

Many of the victims were tourists visiting from other Asian countries.

The Erawan shrine has become a memorial to those who were killed with many people stopping by to pray or to grieve.

Now many have laid flowers at the site in tribute to the victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I came here to pray hoping the victims can rest in peace and the murders are arrested soon. I hope

Thailand can be safe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I hope the deity can bless the Thai police to help them arrest the murders as soon as possible. I

hope the victims can rest in peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: The Thai government is offering nearly 14,000 dollars in compensation to families of the victims. The wounded also received some

money.

Now, despite heavy fire from critics, Donald Trump is still leading the polls. And after the break, his back and forth with CNN's Chris Cuomo

on the subject of immigration. Why Trump thinks certain words on the issue are just too politically correct.

And holding Beijing to account in the Tianjin disaster. We hear from a Chinese journalist who has been keeping the pressure on the government.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:02:38] LU STOUT: Welcome back. You're watching News Stream. And let's bring up a visual version of all the stories that we've got in the

show today.

Now we've already told you about South Korea's response to new provocations by North Korea. And later, we'll tell you about the

disturbing development in Tianjin, China more than one week after a huge explosion. But now, let's turn to Greece.

Now the country is finally getting the first 14.5 billion dollar installment of bailout cash under its new agreement with creditors. Now

$3.8 billion of that has just been used to make a large debt payment to the European Central Bank.

Now 11 billion is being set aside to help repair the country's ailing banking sector.

Athens may have clinched a deal, but it has lost a lot of control to its creditors. So who is pulling all the strings? Isa Soares reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Greece and the Eurozone, two sides vying for the political and economic spotlight. Taking center

stage was a bitter row over tax hikes, pensions and black holes in bank balance sheets.

But now Greece and its creditors are putting on a show of unity. Money is being exchanged, reforms are being accepted.

But as the curtain falls on the negotiations, behind the scenes is where the real drama is playing out. Greece is facing unprecedented

control from its creditors. And it seems Mr. Tsipras here, well, he's no longer dancing to his own tune.

The country must now adhere to very strict rules. But some Greeks may find some of these controls, aimed at opening up markets, half-baked, like

the one on bakeries. Before bread could only be sold in bakeries and had to be made to one of two standard weights. Now, Greek bakers are being

told to rise to a new challenge -- dropping the standardizations and allowing bread to be sold in more outlets such as supermarkets.

If that was hard to swallow, so is this: in Greece, milk could only sit on the shelf for five days. That's going against EU legislation of 10

days. All this makes importing milk difficult so dairy products are about 34 percent more expensive.

Now, Greece will have to adhere to EU rules, which will give Greek citizens access to a wider variety of cheaper dairy products. Pharmacies,

too, will have to adapt. Until now, they could only be owned by a licensed pharmacist, curtailing the number of places to get prescription

medications.

The theory is by rid of the ownership restrictions it will open up the sector to a wider range of providers.

Then, there's the matter of shopping. With a few exceptions, all shops in Greece are closed on a Sunday, which Europe wants to change.

Critics say these regulations are tougher than the ones in places like in Germany or Italy where most shops are allowed to be closed on a Sunday.

Greece may find some of these individuals reforms small, and some may even say petty. But if they want the troika to lend them money, they'll

have to accept the creditors are now in control.

Isa Soares, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:15:48] LU STOUT: Interesting metaphor there.

Now turning now to the U.S., there is a beefed up police presence in St. Louis, Missouri after a fatal police shooting triggered renewed unrest.

Police fired tear gas at protesters to disperse them after they say that some protesters threw bricks and bottles. Nine people were arrested,

and demonstrators had gathered where police shot and killed an African- American suspect earlier.

And police say the 18-year-old pointed a gun at officers when they arrived with the search warrant. An investigation into the shooting is

underway.

Now, let's go to Egypt where a powerful car bombing has rocked the capital wounding at least 29 people. Now the blast tour through the

national security building in the Cairo suburb, it happened earlier this morning. It was so intense, people across the city were jolted awake.

Now ISIS has claimed responsibility and it says it was an act of revenge.

Now for more, let's go straight to our correspondent on the story. We have journalist Sara Sugani (ph) who joins us on the line from Cairo -- or

rather it's Nick Paton Walsh joining us live on the story.

And Nick, ISIS has claimed responsibility for the blast and also explained why they did it. Give us the context.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the statement doesn't actually specify which branch of ISIS may be behind this,

but it is quite clear that they consider it revenge for the execution of six militants in a case known as the Arab Sharkas case back in May -- these

are militants shot in a raid recently.

Now many will point the finger towards one group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis who are predominately Sinai-based. That's the lengthy peninsula running

between Egypt and much of the rest of the Middle East. Where there's been a lot of violence in the past decades, frankly, but escalating in the past

months. The Egyptian army saying it's trying to control a lot of militancy there and recently saying they killed over 60 militants in clashes there.

In fact, using Apache helicopters.

But the specific fact that the Arab Sharkas case is evoked in that statement will make many think we are talking about Ansar Beit al-Maqdis

despite the fact they haven't actually had their names cited in the ISIS statement. And that is, in itself, interesting, because they are not, for

example, original ISIS movement, they took the ISIS branding and more recent stage. This isn't an attack, for example, masterminded in Syria or

Iraq necessarily, but it is deeply central in where it hits the Egyptian security services. Their key national security building a blast so

enormous that at 2:00 in the morning, it blew out windows and blocked all around it, in fact shaking many in the capital awake, frankly, leaving a

huge crater behind. Massive devastation, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, tell us more about the ISIS threat in Egypt. What is known about their overall presence there and their willingness to strike at

any time in Egypt?

WALSH: Well, it is yet another case, along with Iraq, Syria and Libya, where we see the ISIS branding, perhaps more in Egypt's case being

seized upon by individuals who have longer-term had a militant presence there.

I mentioned Ansar Beig al-Maqdis. Now, they have taken that allegiance to ISIS and used their branding going forwards.

There are other groups potentially involved in this as well. It is hard to denote exactly how the kind of flow chart of hierarchy works in

Egypt at this stage. There was a recent beheading of a Croatian hostage, which ISIS claim responsibility for, too.

They are growing in presence there. And in fact, the critics of President el-Sisi who rose to power and is now implementing such an

extraordinarily repressive, critics say, bid to suppress militants in that country. Is it in fact through pushing it through such stark measures.

He's perhaps pushing those who would not necessarily be minded towards extreme violence in that direction. And we've seen the crackdown against

the Muslim Brotherhood back in 2013 and Rabel Adawiyah (ph) shootings there, how some say that's pushed elements of the Brotherhood perhaps

towards more violent means, although some of them have espoused a peaceful continued demonstration presence on the streets.

But it goes to the heart, really, of Egypt's crisis here. President al-Sisi wanting to be the strongman, wanting to show absolutely no

(inaudible) at all with violent militancy at all, but potentially now seeing the response to his military's moves to be more radical and violent

in itself. And in this case, hitting the heart of their security apparatus -- Kristie.

[11:20:19] LU STOUT: Nick Paton Walsh reporting on that ISIS (inaudible) in Egypt and how el-Sisi is likely to response. Thank you for

your reporting, Nick.

Now, let's move to the race for the White House. The Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump sat down for a wide ranging interview

with CNN's Chris Cuomo. And the billionaire businessman, he defended his controversial immigration plan, calling it the right thing to do even

though it's been criticized on both sides of the aisle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER: Look, at some point we have to be honest with ourselves. Now they like to use the word "undocumented"

because it's more political. I don't use that word. They're illegal immigrants. They came over illegally. Some are wonderful people and they've

been here for a while. They've got to go out.

CUOMO: But how do you do it in a practical way?

TRUMP: At some point we're going to try to get them back, the good ones. We have a lot of good ones here. At the same time...

CUOMO: You say you're going to get rid of whole families but then you want them back.

TRUMP: They're illegal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: A lot of good exchanges in that interview.

And you're sure to recognize some of these top candidates vying for the Oval Office, but according to a new poll there is an unlikely contender

who is new to the mix. His name is Deez Nuts. Yes, I just said that on air. Deez Nuts is running for the White House as an independent. And

Public Policy Polling says that in the U.S. State of North Carolina, he won 9 percent of the vote in its informal survey. So, not bad when he sacked

up against the likes of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Now The Guardian managed to track him down, 15-year-old Brady Olson from Iowa told the British newspaper that he's, quote, "putting up the best

third party numbers since Ross Perot."

You're watching News Stream. And still ahead on the program, journalists in China dig deep into the massive chemical blast that shook

Tianjin last week. And we look at the reports that have come out despite heavy censorship.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:25:54] LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.

There is disturbing new information about sodium cyanide levels following last week's deadly chemical explosions in Tianjin, China. The

Chinese ministry of environmental protection now says levels of the highly toxic chemical are 356 times the limit at one spot in the blast zone.

This as the top UN expert is criticizing China over its handling of these chemical blasts saying that a better flow of information from Beijing

might have lessened or even prevented the disaster altogether.

Now many images of the deadly blast have rocked Tianjin last week were captured by smartphone and quickly posted on social media. And soon after,

Chinese authorities scrambled to tighten internet control.

Now according to the censorship tracker Weibo Spoke (ph), there was a ten-fold increase in censorship on the popular social network Sina Weibo

after the blast.

But, Chinese media still managed to cover and probe deep into the disaster. For 17 hours after the blast, the news arm of Neteez (ph)

reported that the toxic facility was less than one kilometer away from residential high rises, a clear government violation. Jiamin.com (ph), an

online business site, managed to track down the owners of the facility.

Now Journalist and professor Ying Chan spoke to me earlier about the impact of this kind of reporting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YING CHAN, PROFESSOR, THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: I think the Chinese journalists have been emboldened in terms of what they can do.

They push the limits and they were going -- they were able to push back government control. It shows professionalism and the importance of digging

into information.

I think this is definitely a landmark event.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now, Ten Cent (ph) may be famous for being the parent company of WeChat, but it also played a key role in covering the blast.

This interactive map has satellite images and before and after photos of the blast site. Ying Chan also weighed in on these investigative reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAN: Coverage is very, very important. You can see that they lead the reporting in terms of who is behind the blast, you know, what's the

nature of this company that owned the warehouse. It's connections and they were paving the way, you know.

And in a kind of very friendly competition with each other. It's like crowdsourcing of reporting. And kind of helping each other in the -- this

(inaudible) way to push the story forward.

And they were on the mark right from the beginning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now, whatever the future is for China's investigative journalist, the Tianjin blast has introduced a new level of criticism

directed at Chinese officials, like this op-ed from the state run Global Times titled "Tianjin officials fumble to communicate." Or the party's own

mouthpiece newspaper, the People's Daily spelling out that, quote, "China needs to learn from the west to work with media in crisis."

You're watching News Stream. Still ahead, Britain and France are taking new steps to address the migrant crisis that is overwhelming the

port city of Calais. Plus, we take a look at one Turkish city and how it's attracting both migrants and tourists.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:31:35] LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

South Korea's president has ordered the military to prepare a, quote, stern response to the north after the two sides reportedly exchanged fire

earlier today.

Seoul says the north started it and that the country is threatening more military action.

Pyongyang says it will continue to strike if South Korea doesn't stop blaring propaganda messages across the border. Well, a Thai government

spokesman says Monday's bombing in Bangkok is unlikely to be linked to international terrorism. Police released these images of the suspect

moving through the city. They say at least 10 people may have been involved in the attack, twenty people were killed and at least 120 were

wounded in that bombing.

A carbomb explosion has rocked the Egyptian capital wounding at least 29 people. Now the blast went off near the national security building in a

Cairo suburb. ISIS is claiming responsibility and says the attack was to avenge Egypt's execution of six men in May convicted of attacks on security

forces.

A new Franco-British agreement has just been signed to address the migrant crisis in Calais. The deal will add extra security and

humanitarian assistance to the French port town.

Now Calais has been overwhelmed by thousands of migrants trying to cross the Eurotunnel to enter Britain. And CNN's Ian Lee joins me now live

from London with more on this.

And Ian, exactly how do European leaders plan to resolve the situation in Calais this front and the European migrant crisis?

IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, there's really two big parts to this agreement. On one hand, you have them talking

about stepped up security around that entry point into the UK on the French side in Calais, talking about increased fencing, flood lights, infrared

cameras as well as CCTV that will be monitoring that.

There will also be increased security presence of police officers. Right now they have 1,300 people there around that entry point. They're

bumping that up to 1,800, an additional 500 people will be at that entry point monitoring it.

But the other side of it also is they're going to go after smuggling networks. They say the objective is to stop people from being brought to

there in the first place. So they have this two-pronged approach. And we have seen it work a bit already. Talking to the Eurotunnel people, they

have mentioned how just last month 2,000 people a night tried to make it across into the UK and this month with the stepped up security that number

is about 100 to 200 people.

But the question is, if they are able to shut that off, where will these migrants go? Will they give up hope, or most likely try other

routes.

LU STOUT: Ian Lee reporting for us. Many thanks indeed for that update.

Now thousands of migrants, they begin their sea crossing into Europe often from Turkey. And in the city of Bodrum, they set off from the same

beaches that tourists frequent by day. Now CNN senior international correspondent Arwa Damon spoke to some young migrants ready to begin their

dangerous journey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Their strength sapped, the weak electric motor useless in this night's strong currents. This

group of Pakistani migrants is forced back to shore.

They failed and quickly disappear into the hills along with their dinghy.

Another group paddles in circles and appears to be stuck, but eventually finds the power to break away and is lost in the night.

By day, holidaymakers enjoy this same beach. For them, the Greek Island destination of Kos is just part of the view. the remnants of the

migrants' treacherous journeys litter the shore line -- shoes, clothing, a discarded dinghy.

This is just one of the many launch points that surround the Turkish summer party capital Bodrum.

Just a two minute walk from one of the main party streets with its shops and bars, the screaming music of the marina disco, the migrants wait

for the smugglers to call.

"We haven't decided if we're going to cross yet," one Syrian woman says. "The smugglers keep telling us to wait."

It was the flow of Syrians that turned this Turkish coast line into a major transit for migrants, some from as far away as Myanmar. The migrants

anxiously huddle in small groups, sleep next to their life vests in dimly lit allies, side streets and parks.

Mohammad (ph), who doesn't want his identity revealed out of safety concerns for his family, arrived a week ago from Syria.

"ISIS detained us for two days," he says. "They wanted us to confess that we were coming to Turkey to be trained to fight against them."

After enduring beatings, he says, he was finally released. His friend Noor (ph) has tried to make the trip to Greece five times.

"The smugglers are just mocking us," he says.

Three times the Turkish coast guard caught them. Twice the boat started sinking and they had to swim for shore.

But Europe and all the promises a new life there holds continues to lure them to these waters.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Bodrum, Turkey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[11:37:08] LU STOUT: Wow, such desperation to get to Greece.

You're watching News Stream. And coming up next, it appears that Oscar Pistorius won't be released on parole this week as expected. Now

we'll tell you why the justice minister has put that on hold. And we'll have an exclusive report about his time behind bars.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now Oscar Pistorius was due to be transported to house arrest on Friday, but now South Africa's justice minister has ordered a review of his

pending parole, saying the decision to release him might have been made prematurely.

Now Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day two years ago. He has served

10 months of a five year prison sentence.

David McKenzie got exclusive access to corrections officials who met with Pistorius behind bars.

Now, let's go straight to him now. And David, what was -- what has prison been like for Oscar Pistorius?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's been a relatively short stay at this point, Kristie, but that stay is due to get

longer because he was, as you say, supposed to be released on correctional supervision on Friday, but the minister of justice and correctional

services here in South Africa effectively put the brakes on that.

He said he was petitioned by a woman's group saying it wasn't a good sign to release him during South African women's month. He then went into

the law and said, well, in fact the parole board was incorrect in granting him this kind of release this week.

So, who knows exactly when or if he will be released. It could take several weeks or several months.

We were able to speak to some people who went in several times to meet with Oscar Pistorius. It's our first look into what life has been like for

him in prison.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[08:40:06] MCKENZIE (voice-over): A pre soccer matchup of Oscar Pistorius and a Czech mob boss. They shared a prison wing for a time. This

cell phone footage, a rare look inside of Pistorius' 10 months locked away until now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said it feels unbelievable.

MCKENZIE: Their job is to listen to prisoner concerns. They talk to more than 40 a day. One of their assigned inmates, Oscar Pistorius.

VIOLET NGOBENI, INDEPENDENT PRISON INSPECTOR: First time I went to see him, he said, I won't want to talk to anyone.

MCKENZIE (on camera): Just a few days ago, they went behind the prison walls to meet with Pistorius for the final time. They say his demeanor has

changed.

NGOBENI: Now we can sit down and discuss and laugh at the same time.

MCKENZIE: Their manager, at the Independent Judicial Inspectorate, sees hundreds of prisoner complaints each day. He saw more than a few from

Pistorius.

MURASIET MENTOOR, JUDICIAL INSPECTORATE FOR CORRECTIONAL SERVICES: He complained about bath.

MCKENZIE (on camera): He wanted a bath.

MENTOOR: Yeah. So the services provided him with a bath. And he couldn't shower. He also had a complaint about his bed.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): A world class athlete, Pistorius complained about gym equipment, too. It was installed.

And while most prisoners complain about the food, it is rarely because of fear.

MENTOOR: Oscar was worried the food in the prison might be poisoned.

MCKENZIE: So Pistorius would only buy food from the prison store, he says.

In this overcrowded prison, 50 inmates often squeeze in to a single cell, sharing one toilet and a basin.

NGOBENI: Always fighting. Always fighting for food, for bath.

MCKENZIE: But Pistorius had his own cell for his safety because high- profile prisoners have been attacked here before.

MENTOOR: If you are a high-profile inmate, people will take advantage of the situation.

MCKENZIE (on camera): They will target you?

MENTOOR: They will target you, that's correct.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Taking every precaution to keep South Africa's disgraced icon safe.

David McKenzie, CNN, South Africa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE: Well, certainly Kristie the question is has Oscar Pistorius gotten preferential treatment because of his fame? Well, it's partly the

fact that because he's disabled and because he is famous, they say it was unsafe and he needed some special attention.

But they did say that his complaints were adhered to a lot quicker than those in the general population -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Very, very interesting to learn, then. Thank you for that fascinating report into what life is like for Oscar Pistorius inside a

maximum security prison. David McKenzie reporting.

And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. World Sport is next.

END