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NEWS STREAM

Trump's Escalating Twitter Battles; How Russian President Putin Wields Power; Reports of Sexual Assault on Streets of Bangalore; Israel P.M. Calls for Pardon of Convicted Soldier; U.S. Police Arrest Four Over Torture Video; Apple Yanks New York Times Apps in China; A.I. and Digital Assistants Take Center Stage at CES; Amazon's Alexa Sees Popularity at CES 2017

Aired January 05, 2017 - 08:00   ET

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


[08:00:20] KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to "News Stream."

A Donald Trump looks to shake up U.S. intelligence agencies. Sources say there are big changes coming to the CIA. Indian police release this video

of New Year's celebrations in Bangalore. Eyewitnesses claim groups of men sexually assaulted women on the streets. And police in Chicago investigate

a sickening beating broadcast to the world on Facebook live.

In just 15 days, Donald Trump will be the new U.S. president. And based on things right now, we could be in for some shake-ups and some major

showdowns. He recently posted this message saying that his intelligence briefing on alleged Russian hacking was delayed until Friday, but officials

say it was always scheduled for that day. And sources now say Donald Trump wants to limit the power of the Director of National Intelligence while

shaking up America's top spy agency.

Now another Twitter target, China. Now Trump accused the country of, quote, taking out massive amounts of money and wealth from the U.S. in

totally one-sided trade, with, as he says, helping with North Korea. And there could be some dissent from inside his own party over the future of

ObamaCare. Now, top intelligence chiefs are about to testify on Capitol Hill about the alleged Russian hackings. Jason Carroll has more on Trump's

plans to shake up the U.S. intelligence unit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President-elect Donald Trump is looking to make major changes to the U.S. intelligence community. Sources close to

the transition say Trump is working on a plan to limit the power of the Director of National Intelligence. The source claiming Trump's team

believes the director gets in the way of the 16 intelligence agencies it represents, including the CIA.

Trump also wants to expand the CIA's human spying capabilities by getting more people out of headquarters and into the field. The source citing

criticism that the spy agency has been too reliant on electronic spying and the NSA signals intelligence under President Obama. All this coming hours

after Trump publicly sided with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The president-elect tweeting, "Assange said a 14-year-old could have hacked

Podesta. Why was DNC so careless? Also said Russians did not give him the info."

JULIAN ASSANGE, WIKILEAKS FOUNDER: Our source is not the Russian government.

CARROLL: But 17 U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia was behind the electronic cyber attacks. Trump's tweet about Assange creating

upheaval in Trump's own party.

PAUL RYAN, (R) U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: And I think the guy is a sycophant for Russia. He leaks, he steals data and compromises national security."

LINDSAY GRAHAM, (R) U.S. SENATOR: For heaven's sakes, don't listen to him, listen to the American intelligence community who are patriots.

SEAN DUFFY, (R) VICE CHAIR, TRUMP TRANSITION TEAM: Assange is not a good guy. He's not an ally and a friend to the United States of America.

CARROLL: But Trump did not feel the same way about Assange back in 2010 when his web site released millions of classified military and diplomatic

documents.

ASSANGE: On WikiLeaks, you had nothing to do with the leaking of those documents --

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: I know but I think it's disgraceful.

ASSANGE: Do you think it's disgraceful? There should like the death penalty or something.

CARROLL: The president-elect's twitter criticism has many on edge. One official saying, "We're heading into this different era where it's hostile.

"But Trump's team defends his continued conspiratorial tone.

MIKE PENCE, (R) U.S. VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: I think given some of the intelligence failures of the recent years, the president-elect has made it

clear to the American people that he's skeptical about conclusions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: And that was CNN's Jason Carroll reporting. Now, between Donald Trump desire for stronger ties with Moscow and the Kremlin brokering that

cease fire in Syria, Russia is increasingly front and center on the diplomatic stage. And that has got some people asking a key question as

Phil Black now explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some have argued Vladimir Putin could be the most powerful man in the world. Not everyone sees him that way, but

Putin has powerful levers he's often willing to use, including cyber power, military might, and a cult of personality. Together, they form and often

affected web of influence.

[08:05:03] While Moscow denied its highly skilled hackers tried to influence the U.S. election, they've also been accused of spying and

causing big disruptions in other countries like Estonia and Ukraine. Claims Russia also rejects. Russia's enormous hacking powers state and

criminal isn't new. It traces backs to the USSR when its universities were designed to produce world class engineers.

Putin's power is also a hugely enhanced by his very personal control of Russia's vast military. Much of it including the nukes is also a Soviet

legacy. So Putin is pumping extraordinary amounts of money into modernization, but most analysts agree Russia's conventional forces are

still only mighty enough to project power close to its borders.

Russia also used limited air power to successfully prop up the Syrian regime. The critics say that works because of Putin's willingness to

indiscriminately bomb board civilian areas, something Moscow denies. One of the bigger sources of Putin's power is his own extraordinary popularity

at home. The more other world leaders criticize him, the more Russians celebrate their president. His approval figures soared with Ukraine and

spiked again with Syria.

The reason, many Russians really care about their country's ability to influence world events even if it comes to sanctions and a hit to their own

quality of life. They're proud of it. Putin also benefits from a political system and a media landscape with zero tolerance for criticism.

So no doubt Vladimir Putin is powerful and unpredictable, but he's also limited by some pretty big problems. The Russian economy isn't going

anywhere. That's why there's another popular theory about Putin and his web of influence. He's someone who plays a weak hand very well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Phil Black dissecting the power of Putin there. Now, we turn our attention to India where eyewitnesses say a New Year's celebration turned

into a night of horror for women on the streets of Bangalore. Authorities released this footage of public celebrations in a busy area of the city.

That is when a mob of men reportedly began sexually assaulting women. The case has sparked outrage across India. Now, CNN's Ravi Agrawal joins us

with the latest on the story. He joins us from New Delhi. Ravi these disturbing reports that we've heard for days now of this mass molestation

of women on New Year's eve in Bangalore, what is the latest? What exactly happened that night?

RAVI AGRAWAL, CNN NEW DELHI'S BUREAU CHIEF: Kristie, well authorities are still piecing together what exactly happened and this on live T.V. in India

as millions of people are following this story. So what we know so far is two versions of events. One version comes from the photojournalists who

were on the scene who say that -- and they're the ones who broke the story. They say that they saw hordes of men attacking women who were there and

these were thousands of people on the streets of Bangalore partying into the night as they were ringing in the New Year and the men suddenly began

attacking these women. And we've corroborated those accounts from at least one eyewitness, a male who said that he was fighting off other men from the

women whom he was trying to protect. So that's one version of events.

But we have another version of events from the police which released the video that you're looking at right now, and the police say that not a

single case of assault or molestation took place. They are saying that they want victims or eyewitnesses to come forward but they are yet to see

any. So it really is a bizarre case Kristie where so many people have come forward to the media but not really to the police. And this as a country

is extremely angry from not only this case but so many more in previous months that have given India a terrible reputation for the safety of women.

STOUT: Yeah. Just a bizarre sequence of events and very unsettling to hear the chief of police in Bangalore saying no such thing happened despite

eyewitnesses saying otherwise. And even a state minister after the incident suggesting that the women who were harassed were to blame. Can

you break down that logic for us?

AGRAWAL: Right, exactly. And these comments were made by the home minister of the State of Karnataka of which the City of Bangalore is the

capital. And he made the statements before the police made their statements. He said this to reporters where he said that the women who

were attacked were wearing western clothes. He said that they had a western mindset as well, almost as if to suggest that that could have been

a reason or a justification as to why they were attacked. And those comments Kristie were really comments that made a number of people in India

angry for days now. The Indian media has been covering that story and there's been outrage and that same minister today in India at a press

conference where he came out and said that he didn't mean to say what the world seems to have heard and instead that his comments were misconstrued.

He went on to reiterate that he has immense respect for women and the police in India are doing everything they can to try to stop these events

from happening.

[08:10:08] But Kristie, this is just one in a long line of many such incidents of sexual assaults, of violence, of rape, that take place not

just in the City of Bangalore but across the country, and it's an issue that is of deep concern to regular Indians and also to authorities. One

thing to add though, the City of Bangalore is a city that doesn't really have a reputation for being unsafe unlike say the City of New Delhi where I

am here right here now. And Bangalore is a city that is home to a number of major international tech companies that has a number of young Indians

working there including women. And its reputation today Kristie is quite severely dented from this incident.

STOUT: Yeah its reputation -- yeah, certainly in the spotlight and very much dented after what we've seen and heard has happened from eyewitnesses

and the strange silence or denial from officials on these events. Ravi, we'll leave it at that but thank you for your reporting. Take care.

Let's go to Israel next. A controversial mess on a verdict has pitted the prime minister against the military leadership. Now, an Israeli soldier

Elor Azaria was convicted for shooting a Palestinian suspect in the head as he lay motionless on the ground. And now the Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu has joined the chorus of people calling for the soldier to be pardoned. This trial has divided Israel for months. And outside the

military court, scuffles broke out as tensions boiled over. Authorities say two people were arrested. Now separately accused of trying to incite

violence.

Now Oren Liebermann has been following this story. He joins us now from Jerusalem with more. The fallout after the verdict. First of all Oren,

why is Mr. Netanyahu calling for a pardon?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first, it's worth noting that he was one of the last politicians to make a statement here. Many even made

statements before the verdict was reached saying that regardless of what happens if he's convicted he should be pardoned immediately. Most of those

were right wing politicians here, but some were not. Some were left wing politicians, so the calls for a pardon have come from across the political

spectrum. Again, Netanyahu was one of the last to make a statement and he issued it on Facebook. It was very delicately worded and at the end it

said, "I favor pardoning the soldier."

For Netanyahu, it was a very difficult position for him to be in. Any statement he makes in a sense he loses. If he backs the soldier as he did

it looks like he's going against military leadership who have clearly said, no soldier is above Israel's code of ethics. Whereas if he backs the

military leadership, it looks like he's going against the soldier which is supported by many of his voters. In the end he chose to back the soldier.

He asked for a pardon. That process isn't -- doesn't have to be a quick process. It may take quite some time. The president of Israel who's the

only one who can grant a pardon has simply said he'll consider all the factors after this process continues a little bit. There should be a

sentencing in a few weeks.

STOUT: Yeah, they're asking for the pardon of their high profile protest from the prime minister. And Oren it was a video that brought the shooting

incident to life. Who took the video, and is the filmmaker getting caught up in all the tension as well?

LIEBERMANN: We talked to Emad abu-Shamsiyah back when this happened. This is last March shortly after we went out to Tel Rumeida in the largely

Palestinian City of Hebron and interviewed him and even then he was getting threats against his life, threats of violence against him. He says when we

spoke to him earlier today, he says, they've gotten worse since the verdict, since Elor Azaria, the soldier he was convicted of both

manslaughter and improper conduct.

The video was a critical part of this. Many feel that there won't have been a trial, there wouldn't have been any big issue about this without

this home video shot by this Palestinian activist that was then put out by B'Tselem, a left-leaning human rights organization here, and that is why

his role in this is so critical. He says he's getting -- again, he said he got death threats in the past but he says they've gotten worse in the last

24 hours or so since the verdict came down.

STOUT: Now, so there's a lot of anger being directed at, at this activist filmmaker, of course at this verdict as well. Angry protests across

Israel, and yet praise from human rights groups. What are they saying about the court's decision?

LIEBERMANN: Well, human rights groups have long criticized the Israeli military. They say the military has not held its own soldiers accountable

for violence against Palestinians. Many of them praised the verdict saying this is the step in the right direction but also saying this is the

exception to the rule. Their criticism stands they say, because it's still the Israeli military has only held this one soldier.

Again, the exception to the rule instead of what the military does regularly. So the praise did come for the guilty verdict here. The

pardon, if it comes, if it happens could change that. In fact, it can turn the entire story on its head as the military leadership and minister of

defense have said, look, you have to respect not only the military code of ethics here but also the verdict from a three, three-judge military panel,

a military panel here.

STOUT: Oren Liebermann reporting for us. Thank you Oren, take care.

Now police in the United States said that they have arrested four people linked to a disturbing video that was streamed live on Facebook. It shows

a mentally disabled man tied up as a group of attackers tortures and taunts him. And a warning -- I mean, the video you're about to see is difficult

to watch. Here's Ryan Young.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[08:15:00] RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look at him, tied up. This disturbing 30-minute video streamed live on Facebook shows a man tied

up, his mouth covered, crouched in the corner of a room.

SUPERINTENDENT EDDIE JOHNSON, CHICAGO POLICE: It's sickening, it's sickening. You know, it makes you wonder what would make individuals treat

somebody like that.

YOUNG: Chicago police describing the victim as an 8 year old white male with special needs. His attackers are seen laughing as they kick, punch,

and cut his forehead with a knife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) Donald Trump! (Inaudible) white people boy! (Inaudible) white people boy!

YOUNG: Four people are now in custody, all African-Americans, two males and two females. Police say the victim was targeted because he has a

mental health challenge, but they are investigating whether the attack was racially motivated.

COMMANDER KEVIN DUFFIN, CHICAGO POLICE: They're young adults and they make stupid decisions. That certainly will be part of whether or not a hate

crime. If we seek a hate crime to determine whether or not this is sincere or just stupid ranting and raving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He represents Trump.

YOUNG: At this point, the superintendent is rejecting any connection to President-elect Donald Trump. But the investigation is ongoing.

JOHNSON: Someone's just stupidity. You know, people just ranting about something that they think might make a headline. I know that he has

mentioned Chicago, but I can't connect that with what these folks did.

YOUNG: Police say the victim was taken from the suburbs and could have been missing from anywhere between 24 and 48 hours. Officers found the

victim wandering the streets in crisis Tuesday afternoon and brought him to a hospital.

DUFFIN: He's traumatized by the incident. They took most of night for him to calm down enough to be able to talk to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Such a sickening crime and it was streamed live on Facebook, no less.

And you're watching "News Stream". Still to come right here on the program, China is cracking down on the New York Times yet again. And this

time, they apparently got Apple to help. And Pakistan's move to stop killers getting away with murder. A look at a new law targeting so-called

honor killings.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching "News Stream".

Now, it is getting harder to read the "New York Times" in China. The paper's web site has been banned there for years, and now Apple is removing

"New York Times" apps from its app store in China. Apple says it pulled them because Chinese authorities say the app violates local regulations but

it didn't specify what those regulations are.

The "New York Times" that says this is China's way of keeping residents from reading about news about the Chinese government. An amnesty

international agrees. It says Apple is joining in a trend of tech companies catering to China's crackdown on free speech. Already

Microsoft's Chinese chatbot won't talk about topics like the Tiananmen Square crackdown. And Facebook has been trying to get the social network

unblocked in China. It reportedly spilled a censorship tool that would keep certain post out of news feeds.

[08:20:00] Now, there is a huge array of personalities at this year's consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. And some of them are in fact

computer generated, artificial intelligence, sports assistance are the center of attention there. And several tech companies are unveiling their

smart home assistance to compete with Amazon's echo line. The one copy attention of Samuel Burke. Here's more on his date with Pepper, the robot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMUEL BURKE, CNNMONEY BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: I'm on a first date, with a robot. Hey there, what's your name?

PEPPER, THE ROBOT: You can call me Pepper.

BURKE: Nice to meet you Pepper.

PEPPER: Great to meet you.

BURKE: So, tell me a little bit about yourself.

PEPPER: My name is Pepper. I'm a humanoid robot and I'm 1.20 meters tall.

BURKE: Are you a boy or a girl?

PEPPER: Well, in the end I'm just a robot.

BURKE: So what do you do Pepper?

PEPPER: I like to discuss things.

BURKE: Did you vote for Donald Trump or were you more of a Hillary Clinton supporter?

PEPPER: All right.

BURKE: That wasn't a very straightforward answer. OK. So you don't want to discuss politics.

PEPPER: I don't like to talk about politics. It's a sensitive subject.

BURKE: Especially for a first date. What type of music do you like?

PEPPER: Great. I love music but don't be surprised if I dance on it. Is that OK with you?

BURKE: Oh, I love to dance.

PEPPER: Yeah! Of course.

BURKE: You're a good dancer Pepper.

PEPPER: Can I dance "The Locomotion"?

BURKE: Not again.

PEPPER: Sorry, I don't get it. Let's talk about something else. How is it going?

BURKE: Things are going well, but I'm really tired.

PEPPER: Go take a nap.

BURKE: Not appropriate for a first date. Can you see me?

PEPPER: I can and I love what I see.

BURKE: Oh, wow. This date is going well.

PEPPER: Would you like to take a picture with me?

BURKE: Yeah, absolutely.

PEPPER: Well, you're (inaudible) try to reboot me to fix the problem.

BURKE: That's not the first time I've had an error on a date. So the good thing about a date with a robot, if it doesn't go well, you can just

replace it with another one. I have something I really need ask you. What's the meaning of life?

PEPPER: 32, of course.

BURKE: Do you believe in God?

PEPPER: I don't know, but I believe in you.

BURKE: Alexa -- wrong robot, sorry. I've been dating somebody else who also has artificial intelligence.

PEPPER: Intelligence is an appreciable quality. You look like you need a hug.

BURKE: Sorry, I called you the wrong name on our first date.

PEPPER: We're very polite, aren't we?

BURKE: We're trying. It's really nice getting to know you. Could I buy you a drink?

PEPPER: Yeah, of course.

BURKE: She's into me.

PEPPER: Let's go for a Sangria. Your drink is now being prepared. I hope you will enjoy it.

BURKE: Cheers. Cheers to you and me Pepper. You want some? Well, pepper, I've got to say that was a pretty good first date. We had some

intelligent conversation. There were a couple of awkward moments, but maybe we can go for drinks again sometime.

(Off-Mic)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Thank you. That was just -- that was awkward. That was endearing. It was very revealing about where the technology is right now. You're

evidently enjoying yourself there in Las Vegas and the moment when you called poor Pepper, Alexa. Wow, I mean, that must have really broken her

or his heart. But really underscores, you know, Alexa is really the big talking point there at CES, not poor Pepper.

BURKE: Absolutely, and if your viewers don't know who Alexa is, the other woman in my life. Alexa is the name you used to refer to Amazon Echo which

is the speaker in your house that you just talk to. And of course, Amazon is an e-commerce company and so many people thought that the speaker

wouldn't do anything and it's become huge. They sold millions of these devices and it's become a huge trend here at CES of companies trying to

integrate their technology with Alexa so that you can just walk into the house and say, hey, Alexa, turn on my DVR so I can see "News Stream" which

I have recorded on my DVR.

So we're seeing all over how voice commands have become so important and that's the whole point of my date with Pepper, not Alexa. That's the whole

point through that voice commands really are the most important trend in technology right now, what all these companies are working towards, and now

companies like Lenovo and Google imitating Amazon's Alexa and artificial intelligence and robots trying to use them as well.

[08:25:09] STOUT: Yeah, Alexa integration really hard to see as this year -- as you said voice command technology, Pepper, you know, she deal right

there. She was OK. Another trend, phone chargers.

BURKE: Not bad.

STOUT: What have you seen there?

BURKE: Well, it's amazing to see Israel such a small country and has such a big presence here at the consumer electronics show. There's a company

called StoreDot, a startup which allows you to charge a phone from zero to a 100 percent in just five minutes. We've been testing it. You see it's

at 11 percent right now and probably by the end of this it will go up pretty quickly. But I've seen it do the whole gamut.

When you look further beyond just charging smart phones, you have companies like Humavox, this is also a company, it comes from Israel. There's so

much technology there related to charging. They use wireless charging. Now we've heard a lot about this but they say that instead of using

induction which most companies are using right now, they use radio frequency to charge. So that means if you have something like these head

phones, you can just stick them in this backpack and you click a button and then you can see the thing starts to charge.

So I think that long term, this is the type of technology, the radio frequency technology that so many companies are going to be using. This

company has just going to be licensing their technology to other companies. But StoreDot for example, they think that this could be on the market in

some major telephones by the end of the year which thank God because we all know we have that problem where our smart phones are dead and if you could

just charge it in a few minutes it would make life that much better.

STOUT: Yeah absolutely, especially when virtually all of us have multiple applications running at the same time. Now, every year there at the CES

big tech show, there's always a center piece technology. Is it your sense that the Internet of things, even though that's a name we've heard again

and again, year after year, it's finally taking center stage in a big way this year?

BURKE: Absolutely. And in years past, it was hard for me to make sense of a smart light bulb, for instance. Kristie I would say, why do I need a

smart light bulb, I just need the light to turn on. But now that I'm a user of Amazon's echo and I walk into my house and say Alexa, turn on the

lights because I'm holding grocery bags in my hand and I couldn't do it myself, then all of a sudden those smart light bulbs actually make sense.

So I think in the past it was hard to see why we needed the Internet of things and now the Internet of things is starting to make a lot of sense

though, of course, hacking is a big concern. The more you connect to the internet, the more things that can be hacked, so that is on the forefront

of so many people's minds here.

STOUT: All right, Samuel Burke live in Vegas for us. Thank you, and please send my regards to Pepper. Take care.

[08:27:47] You're watching "News Stream". Still to come in the program, South Korea sending a pretty bold message to Pyongyang. Its latest

military plan aimed straight at the heart of the leadership of North Korea.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:18] KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream and these are your World Headlines.

A sources say Donald Trump wants to limit the power of the director of National Intelligence. At office oversees 16 intelligence agencies.

Sources also say that Trump is considering expanding the CIA's human spying capabilities as it relies too much on electronics.

Israel's prime minister says a soldier convicted of manslaughter should be pardoned. On Wednesday, a military court convicted Elor Azaria for

shooting a Palestinian suspect who he wounded after authorities say he and an accomplice stabbed another Israeli soldier last year.

A France is marking the two-year anniversary of the "Charlie Hebdo" terror attack. Gunmen opened fire at the magazine's office in Paris in January of

2015. Seventeen people were killed in that attack and two others, including one, at a Kosher grocery store.

Turkey says it's identified the gunman in the New Year's massacre at an Istanbul nightclub as well as his contacts. This video is thought to show

the suspect. It's believed he was the only shooter that night although Turkey's deputy prime minister says other people may have helped inside the

club or as lookouts.

And now true story, CNN has followed extensively. In Pakistan, hundreds of women and some men are the targets of a heinous crime every year. They're

known as so-called "Honor Murders." But there is no honor in them.

In many cases, a killer may go unpunished if the victim's family forgives him or her. Blood money or compensation for their loss may even be paid,

but as Alexandra Field reports, a new law aims to close this legal loophole.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For years in Pakistan, the law has let some get away with murder. Azmat Bibi say he watched her son Glumabof (ph)

die, shoot in the head by the family of a woman who was accused to having affair with. Then, they killed the girl too, victims of a so-called honor

killing.

AZMAT BIBI, SON DEAD IN "HONOR" MURDER (Through Translator): It was cruelty. This was cruelty against my son. What honor? The girl was so

young. She was 13 years old.

FIELD: None of the accused went to prison. Court documents show they were legally pardoned by the families of both victims. The girl's own mother

and her father who's one of the accused and Azmat Bibi too.

BIBI (Through Translator): I have placed a rock on my heart. I have to live for my other son who is alive. I can not maintain enemies.

FIELD: Azmat says, she didn't accept blood money in exchange for the pardon, but it's a common practice in Pakistan where in 2015 nearly 1,100

women and 88 men were victims of honor killings.

Now, a new law aims to change that, requiring a 25-year mandatory prison sentence for those who are convicted in cases of honor killing, making

pardons no longer legal. But, there's fear the courts won't be tough enough on killers emboldened by their beliefs, committing crimes that have

long been tolerated.

MOHAMMAD YASIR, BROTHER KILLED IN "HONOR" MURDER (Through Translator): They have confidence in their murders that they can kill and society will

not be able to do anything to them.

FIELD: Mohammed Yasir's brother Hafiz Shishad Shahid (ph) was murdered along with a woman he was accused of having an affair with. A police

report quotes witnesses naming her family members as the men who tied him up and slit his throat. No one was convicted from crimes.

YASIR: When I see my brother's killer on the streets, I will pray to Allah and I've ask him for justice for there is no justice in Pakistan.

FIELD: Azmat said she had no way forward but to pardon her son's killers.

BIBI (Through Translator): I will get justice from the house of god. Humans do not give justice.

FIELD: She has hope in the future Pakistan's courts can do more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: And Alexandra Field joins me now live here in Hong Kong with more on the story. And Alex, I mean this is not quite a breakthrough but it's

something. An activist welcomed this new law as a positive step forward, but what else needs to happen here to really end this terrible practice of

so-called honor killings?

FIELD: Yeah, it is significant that this law was passed because previous efforts to go after honor killings through legislation have failed. So,

that was certainly a success worth celebrating, but there are still a number of concerns to address here.

First and foremost is the extent to which this law will be enforced. And that means that these crimes will have to be properly identified as honor

crimes in order for these mandatory sentences to kick in. But, there's really no one in Pakistan who believes that a law is going to correct a

problem which is really a tradition of killing.

[08:35:05] You heard in that piece that these killings are rooted in deeply held cultural beliefs. They are rooted in beliefs that are purported to be

religious. So you'll hear a lot of activist saying that there's needs to be a match wider sort of grassroots effort to educate communities about

these killings, about the value of women in society promoting a greater role for women throughout society within Pakistan.

What activists are quick to point out is that this law doesn't actually create any greater protection for women and they are the ones who are

disproportionately affected by these crimes. It doesn't allocate more resources for women who are being hunted by their own family members and it

doesn't provide greater legal recourse for women who have survived these vicious attacks.

STOUT: You just mentioned a colossal challenge here. I mean, how do you change the tradition of killing? How common are these honor killings in

today's Pakistan and are they more common in smaller more traditional communities?

FIELD: Look, it's worth pointing out that honor killings are not specific to Pakistan alone. This happened to various countries across the world.

It is not specific to any one culture or to any one religion.

But, we are talking about it in Pakistan because it's happening at such an alarming rate. And it does happen across the country but it does this

proportionately happen as you point out in the smaller, more rural communities, which is why activists say the grassroots efforts need to be

concentrated more there.

But, you have this added layer of community which some people feel has fueled this tradition of killing because in some cases, isn't not just the

family members who take it upon themselves to kill say a sister, a daughter, a wife or a mother. In some cases, these murders are actually

ordered by a tribal council that exists within that community.

The woman who you heard from in that piece, the mother who's son was killed. She tells us that her son's accused killers lived a few doorsteps

away from her own home which is one of the reasons why she says she felt this pressure somewhat from the community to pardon her son's accused

killers.

She said she real had no other hope for justice. So, there is a strong consensus from activists that these communities need to be reached and

targeted in order to put an end to this practice.

STOUT: Absolutely. It's such a sickening practice. It must be stopped, and we appreciate your reporting on the matter. Alexandra Field there,

thank you.

Now, gradually changing the laws to an honor murder is one fascination of all of this. And there's also caring for those who right now are being

threatened by the practice. A little bit later Alex will be introducing us to a woman who fled her family rather than to be forced into marriage and

takes us into the shelter that's providing refuge for her.

You could see that coming up on "Connect the World" that starting in about 90 minutes only here on CNN.

Now this just into CNN. Turkey state where news agency is reporting an explosion near a courthouse in the western Turkish city of Ismir.

Ambulances and police were seen responding to the location and Reuters is reporting that at least three people have been wounded.

And we will continue to follow this story for you and bring you any updates on this blast as they come into us here at the network. You're watching

News Stream.

Still ahead on the program, Beijing, it remains under a cloud of smog. What is causing the haze, and what when is it going to lift? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Welcome back. Now, a haze of smog continues to hover over parts of China. Now, weather officials have renewed alerts for air pollution as

well as fog in several northern and eastern regions.

[08:40:03] And there on your screen, you could see from this video just how thick and choking the smog is. Now, it has caused flight cancellations.

It's shut down some highways. Winter is typically the most polluted season in China when the country burns more coal to generate heat.

Now turning to the Korean peninsula, South Korea is speeding up a plan to create a special brigade with one very specific target in mind, Kim Jong-

un. On then it's mission, to remove or paralyze the North Korean leadership in the event of war.

Andrew Stevens has more from Seoul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW STEVENS, CNNMONEY ASIA-PACIFIC EDITOR: Another clear stick in the rising tensions between North and South Korea coming out of Seoul today.

When the defense ministry said that they were bringing forward a program to develop a unit, which would be basically capable of taking out the key

leadership of North Korea in the event of war being declared on the peninsula.

South Korea saying, that these units are brigade strong units will be in operation by the end of this year. Earlier they said that they were

putting together this unit, but it wouldn't be operational until the end of 2019. But they are moving forward on that now.

We don't know a lot of the details at this stage. It will be armed with cutting edge hardware both in armory and in transport and in

telecommunications. And its mode will be to infiltrate North Korea, take out key command and control leadership which would include Kim Jong-un and

also secure weapons of mass destruction, WMD sites.

The timing of this coming from North -- from South Korea is interesting. It comes just a few days after Kim Jong-un said that his country was in the

final preparation of launching an intercontinental ballistic missile. It also comes just a couple of weeks after local television in North Korea

showed pictures of north Korean troops storming a mock-up of the Blue Palace, which is actually the presidential palace here in South Korea.

Some critics though are saying that this news from South Korea is hoping. At least the government hopes, the President hopes will divert attention

away from her own corruption problems. President Park Geun-hye are facing an impeachment trial and some say that this is one way to deflect the gaze

away from that. But whatever it is, one thing for certain, tensions in the Korean peninsula continue to rise.

Andrew Stevens, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: It's been almost a year after a Google computer beat a top human player at the complicated board game of Go and AlphaGo, the name of the AI

has struck again. This time in a rather mysterious way, over the last few days online Go players have been noticing a newcomer that calls itself

master. Master has racked up dozens of wins including one against the world's number one player Chinese Kuja.

And now finally the CEO of Google DeepMind confirms the secret player is indeed a brand new version of AlphaGo an AI. And that is "News Stream."

I'm Kristie Lu Stout. We've got World Sports and Alex Thomas coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:26] ALEX THOMAS, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Hello. Welcome to "CNN World Sport." I'm Alex Thomas in London.

Tottenham Hotspur have ended Chelsea's record wining streak bringing England's Premier League title race back to life and making it one of the

tightest and best in the competitions history.

Coming off the back of two thumping away wins over the holiday period, spurs showed they were just as effective at home. Dele Alli given far too

much space by Chelsea as he headed Tottenham ahead just before halftime. After 13 victories in a row Chelsea had been threatening to run away from

the chasing pack but another headed goal here from Ali in the second half, and then Antonio Conte's men their first loss in the league since

September.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO CONTE, CHELSEA COACH: We are disappointed, but also think that we must be pleased for our run to win 13 games in a row is not easy in this

league. And also today we lost against a good team, a really strong team.

MAURICIO POCHETTINO, TOTTENHAM MANAGER: So, I think it's important -- it was important for us for loosing that. I think its top 40 is a very

competitive is very close, we have closed the gap is team is important for Chelsea, but I think it was a bit a perfect thing for us to do arrive in to

the third place and very close.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS: My always colleague Christina Macfarlane has been all over the premier league this week and joins us again now. It's mouth-watering for

me, for the neutrals. What's the Premier League title race from your point of view?

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well, I'm really exciting. Let's take it. This part of the season Chelsea back within reach and the title

race back on for the top six. You know, it's quite interesting because when you look at last season the Leicester were emerging ahead of the pack

at this point in the season. But right now after 20 games, it does feel far more competitive.

Let's have a look at the table here. And you can see now that just ten points separate the Top 6. Interestingly though at this point last season

we were in exactly the same situation. Ten points separating the Top 6 with Arsenal at the top on 42. West Ham at the bottom on 32, and the

season before that, Alex was only eight points separating in the top six.

So this is not an anomaly, but what is different however, this season is that the point tally is so much higher. Chelsea out there ahead on 49

compared to Arsenal, as you see to stand on 42. What they showed of course is that these the top six teams are in such flux last season have regrouped

and they have emerged much stronger. So even Chelsea with the five-point buffer at the moment isn't guaranteed success with the level that the teams

are playing at this season.

THOMAS: Christina Macfarlane with a thrilling Premier League title rates. Thanks Christina. Let's move on to tennis. Because it's not just Roger

Federer and Serena Williams needing to shake off some rust before the first grand slam tournament of the new season.

Well Federer and Williams lost on Wednesday, Angelique Kerber and Dominika Cibulkova the top two seeds are out of the Brisbane International one of

those Australian open warm up events. Kerber's lost is perhaps the most interesting. She holds the world number one spot that Serena Williams

would love to have back. And the German made 48 unforced errors as she slip to a three set defeat by Elina Svitolina. Cibulkova's tournament

ended by France's Alize Cornet 6-3, 7-5.

Let's get more on this with tennis legend, Chris Everett winner of Austrian Open in 1982 and 1984. Two of 18 grand slam single titles, she still holds

the records for highest winning percentage in pro tennis history. And that just scratches the surface of your achievement in the game, Chris we'll be

here for the next 15 and 20 minutes. I better get to my question. Lovely to speak to you live from Florida.

CHRIS EVERT, TENNIS PLAYER: Thank you.

THOMAS: And I presume when you see the shock defeats we're hearing about from the other side of the world. You know not that surprise because it's

so early in the season.

EVERT: Yeah. It's not a shock unless it would happen in the Australian Open. You know I think that's really, these tournaments are tournaments to

really prepare yourself. It is the first tournament of the year. So I think it shows that, you know these players are probably playing their way

into the Australian open. I think that's the big target where they want to do well, but I think it also shows that the competition is so close and

that's the beauty of especially women's tennis right now.

THOMAS: Yeah. You're talking about the close competition. That Kerber/Williams rivalry is absolutely fascinating. How important is it to

the women's game in general to see that?

EVERT: You know rivalries make the sport, you know. I think that when I think back of my rivalry with Martina, we just -- we played over 80 times.

[08:50:04] And it became something that people wanted to turn on the TV and watch. They wanted to see the outcome, it was so close. And I think

rivalries, especially if there's a contrast and style like Kerber and Serena. A contrast in personalities. I think it makes it for, you know a

really interesting TV and drama. So on there I'm really happy that finally somebody has stepped up to challenge Serena Williams. And it is Angelique

Kerber.

THOMAS: How interesting for to you talk about a difference in styles. You look at someone in the men's game like Nick Kyrgios who has certainly got a

different style to the rest. I mean, you were famous for being pretty sporting on the court. How much do you think just keeping your cool helps

you get results at the top level of the game?

EVERT: Well, for me because if you look at me I'm not the athlete that, you know Martina was or Steffi was. I didn't have the strength that they

had. I didn't move as quickly as they did, you know. I'm not undermining my athletic ability, but I wasn't, you know I wasn't up at their level.

So I feel like I made up for it in the mental department. You know I stayed cool under pressure. I played every point like it was match point.

And it worked for me, but not everybody can do that. Look at John McEnroe. He used to get upset all the time, but he would get upset and then he would

get back to the next point and it would be forgotten. So, you know everybody sort has to go along their own personality.

THOMAS: Can you blame the pressure on young players today if they got it harder? Would you like to be starting out in the game today?

EVERT: I think the game is, you know I think the game right now is bigger business. There's more money. There's more media. There's social media

which, you know, you can't do anything in private anymore. Everybody knows everything about your life. I think that adds more pressure, you know.

The players travel with entourages of trainers and coaches and agents. And we didn't have that in our day, you know. It was there was less pressure

for sure. So and to answer your question, yeah, I think there is more pressure.

THOMAS: Sounds like you're from the golden heyday, Chris. That's the way we all remember fondly.

EVERT: Yes.

THOMAS: Tell us what you're up to today in Orlando, Florida.

EVERT: Yes.

THOMAS: I know that America's desperate for the next big tennis star to come through.

EVERT: You know, I'm in Orlando at the USTA National Campus. And it's a phenomenal facility. It's a 100 courts, 64 acres. It really, you know

will help players at every level. From professional players who come here and want to train hard, to young kids who are around and around the

country.

It's going to help players with disabilities. It's going to help recreational players, college players, under resourced kids. The USTA's

bringing in to help. And so, it's really helping and reaching out to players at every level. And I think it's going to be the tennis Mecca of

the United States right now.

THOMAS: Sounds like a fantastic facility and a fantastic fun speaking to a legend of tennis. Chris Evert, really appreciate your time here on CNN.

Many thanks.

EVERT: Thank you.

THOMAS: The first PGA Tour event, at 2017 tees off later in Hawaii. Tiger Woods is not there, but he has announced when he'll be back in action.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:55:25] THOMAS: Hello again. "World Sport" is back with the NBA and Greek forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is making quite a name for himself.

He's only 22 and in his fourth season in the league, but he's the first Milwaukee Bucks player for more than a decade to post 20 or more points for

13 straight games. His 16th double-double of the season that's points and assist coming against the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.

And on one of the biggest stages there is, Madison Square Garden. He came up with the buzzer-beater for his first ever walk off game-winning shot.

He loved it and so did his teammates and the fans. Bucks taking this 105- 104.

Golf PGA tour is back. 2017 is opening a big, big tournament of champions in Hawaii, a32-man field of the winners from the 2016 season. Six of the

world's top ten are there including Jordan Spieth last year has been described as a disappointing one for the young American. Although he still

won three times and helped his nation regain the Ryder Cup. However, he admits his goals are even higher for the next 12 months.

JORDAN SPIETH, CURRENTLY 5TH in WORLD GOLF RANKINGS: I was happy when the ball touched down and 2017 started. It was still a great year in '16, but

I learned a lot on both ends of things highs and lows which I didn't really have many lows in '15. And before that it was just trying to, to climb up

to the top level. So I learned a lot from the highs and lows and therefore I think I can use that to my advantage this year and on.

THOMAS: No Tiger Woods in Hawaii, but after the return to the competitive action to the hero's challenge last month he has announced when we'll see

him back on the course in 2017. So we can see glance with the Farmers Insurance Open at and totally flies in California in the last week of

January. And head to the Middle East (inaudible) appearance to the Dubai Desert Classic back across the Atlantic Genesis Open, and Honda Classic and

the Arnold Palmer invitational in March.

We'll see Tiger then. That's it for "World Sports." Thanks for watching. See you again soon. Bye-bye.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END