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China's Slowdown Affecting Millions; Clinton, Sanders Squared off in Miami; North Korea Tests Two Ballistic Missiles; ISIS Personnel Files Leaked. New Aired 8:00a-9:00a ET

Aired March 10, 2016 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:13] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream.

Now, Democrats Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton clash on immigration reform and more in a debate ahead of the key Florida primary.

Now, scientists scour the seas around Fukushima for signs of radiation. Five years on, the impact of the nuclear disaster is still felt

across Japan.

And ground zero, China's economic slowdown inside the Rust Belt where factories are closing and workers fear for their future.

We begin with the first Democratic debate since Tuesday's major upset in the

U.S. race for president. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders faced off in Florida in a debate hosted by the Spanish language network, Univision, and

The Washington Post.

It was the first time the two have squared off since Sander's surprise victory over Clinton in Michigan's high stakes primary.

John Berman has a look at some of the key moments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, 2016 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will match my record against yours any day of the week.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A new confidence from Bernie Sanders in this new campaign reality. After the huge Sanders upset in Michigan,

this could go or to a while.

HILLARY CLINTON, 2016 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've won some, I've lost some.

BERMAN: The debate in Florida, sponsored by Univision with sections in Spanish was full of questions on immigration and full of attempted

contrasts.

CLINTON: In 2007, one of the first things you did was vote against Ted Kennedy's reform?

SANDERS: I worked very hard in improving the guest worker provisions so that in 2013, people who were in the guest worker program in America

would not be treated like slaves.

CLINTON: In 2006, Senator Sanders supported indefinite detection for people facing deportation and stood with the minutemen vigilantes.

SANDERS: What the secretary is doing tonight, and has done very often, is take large pieces of legislation and take pieces out of it.

BERMAN: Sanders continued to hit Clinton for what he called her ties to Wall Street.

SANDERS: There is a reason why Wall Street has provided $15 million just in the last reporting period to the secretary's super PAC.

CLINTON: I do have the toughest, most comprehensive plan to go after Wall Street.

SANDERS: Clearly the secretary's words to Wall Street has really intimidate them and that is why they have given her $15 million in campaign

contributions.

BERMAN: And Clinton continued to hit Sanders for being what she considers unrealistic.

CLINTON: Senator Sanders has talked about free college for everybody, he has talked about universal single payer health care for everybody, and

yet when you ask questions, as many of us have, and more importantly independent experts, it's very hard to get answers. And a lot of the

answers say that you know, this is going to be much more expensive than anything Senator Sanders is admitting to.

My dad used to say, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

SANDERS: I think that the rest of the world could do it, we can.

BERMAN: Though most of the focus was on each other, there was some looking beyond to Donald Trump.

CLINTON: He's talking about a very tall wall. The most beautiful tall wall,

better than the Great Wall of China. It's just fantasy.

BERMAN: And some looking within.

CLINTON: I am not a natural politician, in case you have not noticed, like my husband or President Obama, so I have a view that I just have to do

the best I can.

BERMAN: There were few softballs. Clinton was flat out asked if she would drop out of the race if indicted because of her emails.

CLINTON: Oh, for goodness -- that's not going to happen. I am not even answering that question.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: That was John Berman reporting.

Now, it will be the Republicans' turn to take the debate stage in Miami

in the coming hours. Front runner Donald Trump sat down with our Anderson Cooper

ahead of that debate.

In December, Trump made headlines when he called for for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States. And despite widespread

condemnation of that remark, he has stood at it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think Islam is at war with the west?

DONALD TRUMP, 2016 REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think Islam hates us. There is something -- there is something there that is a

tremendous hatred there. There's a tremendous hatred. We have to get to the bottom of it. There is an unbelievable hatred of us.

[08:05:11] COOPER: In Islam itself?

TRUMP: You're going to have to figure that out. OK. You'll get another Pulitzer, right? But you'll have to figure that out. But there's a

tremendous hatred. And we have to be very vigilant. We have to be very careful. And we can't allow people coming into this country who have this

hatred of the United States.

COOPER: I guess the question is ...

TRUMP: And of people that are not Muslim.

COOPER: I guess the question is, is there a war between the west and radical Islam or between the west and Islam itself?

TRUMP: Well, it's radical but it's very hard to define. It's very hard to separate because you don't know who is who.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now, Donald Trump and his rivals, they are preparing for their next debate, again, it's taking place in Miami. Trump extended his

lead in the Republican race on Tuesday, winning three of four states up for grabs. His closest rival, Ted Cruz, won the fourth state in Idaho.

Now, Cruz is looking to close in on the frontrunner after winning an endorsement Wednesday from former candidate, Carly Fiorina. Meanwhile,

Marco Rubio is facing what could be a make or break moment for his campaign. He has his eye on Tuesday's primary in his home state of

Florida, but the next Republican debate will take place hours from now.

And you can watch Donald Trump and the rest of the Republican candidates at the next debate Friday morning, 9:30 Hong Kong time hosted

right here on CNN.

Now, let's turn now to the Korean peninsula where there is yet and then another reason why

tensions are on the rise. South Korea's military is accusing its northern neighbor of firing two ballistic

missiles.

Paula Hancocks has more from Seoul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Two short-range ballistic missiles fired by North Korea Thursday are worrying countries in

the region. And also the United States. A senior administration official tell CNN that it, quote, raised huge concern in the administration.

Now, possibly it's part of North Korea's winter training drills, but more likely it's in response

to those U.S./South Korea military drills that are ongoing at the moment until the end of April. They are the largest ever held.

Now, Pyongyang on Thursday also said that it was going to invalidate all economic agreements between the North and the South, they say in

response to South Korea closing the Kaesong Industrial Complex last month. They also say they are going liquidate all South Korean businesses and

assets.

The South has responded to that saying it will never be acceptable and will hold North Korea responsible for any damage incurred.

Now, it seems at the moment on the Korean peninsula every day there is a rise in tensions from the Pyongyang's nuclear tests, the satellite

launch, UN sanctions against North Korea, and just this week Pyongyang threatening nuclear war. But even with Wednesday's photos showing the

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un standing next to what he says is a militarized nuclear warhead.

Experts don't actually think Kim Jong-un would fire a nuclear weapon. They say that would be

suicidal.

But what they are concerned about, and increasingly concerned about, is a miscalculation by the young leader or underestimating a South Korean

response to a so-called provocation.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Meanwhile, Israel is condemning Iran where a senior military official says his country will never stop its ballistic missile

program, that's according to Reuters.

Now, this comes on the heels of a report from state media that Iran test fired missiles Wednesday, marked with hate messages directed at

Israel. The U.S. vice president is trying to reassure Israel on his trip to the Middle East.

Tehran says one of the missiles is capable of traveling 2,000 kilometers. That puts most

of the Middle East, central Asia and some of Eastern Europe in the firing zone.

Now, we are hearing there is a major leak of ISIS documents. They reportedly show the secret details of thousands of fighters from dozens of

countries, the kind of ISIS address book.

Now, let's get to CNN's Fred Pleitgen for more. He joins me now live from London. And Fred, what does this batch of leaked documents reveal

about ISIS and how it works?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, that they have a big knack for bureaucracy, apparently. But also, you're

right, it is sort of an ISIS address book, but could also be seen as somewhat of an ISIS entry form, if you will. Because experts believe that

apparently these were -- this was information that ISIS took from new recruits as they were about to enter the borders of what ISIS calls its

caliphate.

Now, there were 23 questions in all on these forms. It reveals the names of thousands of fighters, we're hearing. And the German intelligence

service has told us that it does have these documents.

Now, among these 23 questions, there's bland things like, for instance, the first and last name of the people who want to enter the area,

but there are also some questions that are very out of the ordinary, like for instance, previous jihadi experience, or, for instance, what these

people want to be. Do they want to be a front line fighter or do they want to be a suicide bomber? Apparently there's one form that CNN has reviewed

that showed an Australian fighter saying that he wants to be a suicide bomber, but he was quite short-sighted and therefore that could make it

quite difficult for him.

So a wealth of things that these documents apparently reveal. There are some media outlets in

Europe saying there are as many as 20,000 that were found, of course, revealing the identities of many, many people who allegedly joined ISIS,

Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, some bizarrely mundane questions in that list that you mentioned just now.

Fred Pleitgen reporting live on this leak. Thank you very much for that, Fred.

You're watching News Stream. And coming up next, Japan is marking five years since the

Fukushima nuclear meltdown. Now CNN's Will Ripley visits a school that has every meal the children eat tested for radiation.

Plus, the widow of (inaudible) blogger speaks to CNN why she thinks extremists killed her husband at a book fair in Bangladesh.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, a court in Japan has ordered a nuclear reactor to shut down after locals complained the

safety precautions in place were inadequate. Now, it's one of two reactors at the Takahama plant that were restarted in January under new safety

standards. The other reactor had to be shut down again in February due to technical problems.

The court order, it comes at a time of high anxiety over Japan's power industry. Friday marks exactly five years since an earthquake and tsunami

killed some 20,000 people and triggered a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. As the country tried to clean up the massive amount of

radioactive waste, a group of scientists realizes that protecting people on land begins at sea.

Will Ripley has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Searching for radiation: Greenpeace researcher Jan Vandeput's (ph) team just beginning to assess the fallout

five years after Fukushima.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's still an enormous amount of radioactivity there, which is in liquid form. It's leaking into the underground and

slowly moving into the ocean. And that's very dangerous for the future.

RIPLEY: Scientists believe around 80 percent of radioactive material from Fukushima went

into the Pacific Ocean, which is why researchers are out here trying to find radioactive hot spots where fishing may be unsafe.

A staple of the Japanese diet, seafood is tested for radiation. This Fukushima nursery school takes it one step further, before eat a single

bite, cooks scan every ingredient.

So no radiation.

Safety measures don't stop in the kitchen. The playground has a glook for the signs of

radiation. Teachers tests daily walking routes. Students get regular medical checks.

Are all of these precautions really necessary? Or is it more for peace of mind?

"It's absolutely necessary," says the principal. "We need to keep measuring for radiation."

So far, 167 Fukushima children are suspected of having thyroid cancer. Experts disagree with cases are connected to the meltdown.

"The government doesn't understand our five years of suffering and raising children here," says this father.

Before the meltdown, the Japanese public overwhelmingly supported nuclear energy. Today, polls show most are against it.

Japan shut down all of its nuclear reactors after Fukushima, just a few have been restarted with new strict safety codes.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's pro-nuclear government wants many more back on.

[08:15:21] KEN KOYAMA, MANAGING DIR., INSTITUTE OF ENERGY ECONOMICS: We need to have an independent safety regulator.

RIPLEY: Can all the regulations, though, really prevent another Fukushima?

KOYAMA: I hope so.

RIPLEY: Ken Koyama was on a government panel recommending the restarts. Even he admits nuclear reactors will never fully safe in a

nation prone to natural disasters.

KOYAMA: I think that concern can always exist.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They haven't learned the lesson from Fukushima.

RIPLEY: Nuclear opponents urge Japan to invest more in renewable energy, saying keeping reactors idle is the only way to protect future

generations and prevent another catastrophe.

Will Ripley, CNN, Fukushima, Japan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And there are fears of a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions if Iraq's largest dam breaks its banks. The U.S. ambassador to

the UN says a disaster could happen at any moment, because Mosul dam desperately needs repairs. if the dam collapses, the town will be

inundated within hours. By day four, most of Baghdad will face flood waters as deep as 10 meters.

Some 2 million Iraqis are at risk if the dam walls give way. And the UN is calling on the international community to support an effort to repair

and to maintain the structure.

Now, in Bangladesh, the government continues to deny U.S. claims that ISIS is trying to spread its tentacles through that country. Violent

extremists have hunted down at least half a dozen writers and publishers in Bangladesh, because they were critical of Islam.

Now Rafita Ahmed, a Bangladeshi-American tells Ivan Watson about the terrifying attack by jihadi assassins who killed her husband and left her

badly injured outside a book fair in Daka.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It has been a year since Rafita Ahmed and her husband left their home in the U.S. to visit the

country of their birth. What was supposed to be a happy homecoming to Bangladesh instead ended with a savage

murder.

Did anybody suggests that you should watch your back while you were in Bangladesh?

RAFITA AHMED, HUSBAND ASSASSINATED: Everybody did, and our mistake, we did not take it seriously.

WATSON: By day, Ahmed's husband, Avigit Roy (ph) worked at a telecommunications company in Georgia, but at night he wrote constantly,

publishing at least eight books in Bengali, and running a web site that frequently challenged organized religion, much to the anger of some

Islamist extremists.

This is his last blog post here? Where he quotes Salman Rushdie calling religion a Medieval form of unreason.

On the night of February 26, as the couple left the annual book fair in the Bangladeshi capital,

several men, armed with machetes, pounced.

What do you remember of the attack?

AHMED: Nothing.

WATSON: Nothing?

AHMED: Absolutely nothing.

WATSON: It was a vicious assault. Roy was killed and Ahmed barely survived.

AHMED: Ii had four stabs, machete stabs on my head.

WATSON: Why do you think these people attacked you?

AHMED: We had got to a point where criticizing Islam is becoming a very big crime or a sin in

Bangladesh.

WATSON: Bangladesh is a majority Muslim country with a constitution that embraces secular principles, but in the months after Avijit Roy's (ph)

murder, unknown attackers carried out four similar machete murders of secular writers and publishers. Police in Bangladesh insist they now have

the situation under control.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The situation has become safer now.

WATSON: Police have paraded several suspects in public. Officials link the murders of atheist writers and a recent series of attacks on

Hindu, Christian and Shiite communities to homegrown Islamist radical groups. 28-year-old writer Maruf Rasul says he's been subject to regular

threats.

MANUF RASUL, SECULAR WRITER: I have the right to ask questions about anything,

whether it is religion, it is an establishment, anything, I have the right to ask the question. I have the right to express my thoughts. If you

don't like it, don't read it.

WATSON: As for the case of Avijit Roy (ph), a year after his death there have been arrests but no convictions. Police say his murder is still

under investigation.

His widow says she is working to help other Bangladeshi writers escape to foreign countries. She accuses the Bangladeshi government of not doing

enough to crack down on Islamist extremists.

AHMED: The impunity has gotten to a point that they know they can get away with anything.

WATSON: Echoes of the violence in Bangladesh...

So, this is your study.

[08:20:13] AHMED: Yes.

WATSON: ....are still being felt a world away in this quiet Atlanta suburb.

AHMED: I try not to come here.

WATSON: It's just too painful?

AHMED: Yeah.

WATSON: Ivan WAtson, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: A chilling report there.

You are watching News Stream. And later this hour, in its hey day, this Chinese town it was bustling with busy factories and we look at how

China's economic slowdown has changed that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Live from Hong Kong, you are back watching News Stream. And right now in Nepal, innocent children are growing up behind bars. For

the tenth anniversary of CNN Heroes, we revisit a 2012 CNN Hero who decided when she was just 21 years old to give them a better life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PUSHPA BASNET, CNN HERO: In Nepal, when parents have been arrested by the police and the children don`t have a local guardian, some children go

to prison with the parents. Before (inaudible) I visited the jail, I was starting my bachelor in social work. I saw a small girl, who just grabbed

my shawl and she just gave me a smile. It was really hard for me to forget that.

My name is Pushpa Basnet, and my mission is to make sure no child grows up behind prison walls. In 2005, I started a daycare where the

children can come out from the jail at morning and they can go back to the jail at the afternoon.

We have children who are from 2 to 4, and they have coloring, reading, starting five days a week. We started the residential home in 2007.

Currently, we have 40 children living out here, mostly above 6 years old.

I don`t get a day off, but I never get tired. The children all call me Mamu. It`s a big family, with lots and lots of love.

When I started this organization, I was 21 years old. People thought I was crazy, but this is what I wanted in my life. I`m giving them what a

normal child should have. I want to fulfill all their dreams.

(END VIDEOTAPEs)

LU STOUT: Great news and encouraging update there.

And we are looking for people you think should be recognized as the 2016 CNN Hero. To nominate them just go to cnnheroes.com.

Now, China's dramatic growth in the last three decades has made it the subject of envy, but the reality of a slow down is gradually kicking in.

We'll take you to what's known as China's Rust Belt.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:35] LU STOUT: Now, most of the world sees China's economic miracle with the glittering skyscrapers of Shanghai, or the massive

electronic factories in Guangdong, but tucked into the northeast corner are three provinces that propelled the nation's economic growth for decades.

Its state-run factories churned out the steel and coal that fed China's boom, but the region's fall is no less dramatic. It has now become the epicenter

of China's economic slowdown.

And joining me now is CNN Money Asia-Pacific editor Andrew Stevens. He joins us now live from Shenyang, China. And Andrew, how is China's

economic transition being felt there?

STEVENS: Well, you are absolutely right, Kristie, it was the cradle of the growth era for a

long time here, but the boom has turned into a bust.

I've been go Boonxi (ph), which is a steel town about an hour away from Shenyang in Liaoming Province, to have a look at what is going on

there. And what is interesting is the central authorities have been talking about reform and restructure. They've been talking about a lot of

job losses, but it's already beginning. We are seeing it already in many of these small industrial towns across China, particularly here in the Rust

Belt.

Take a look at what is going on in Boonxi (ph).

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVENS: This is Ground Zero of China's new economic reforms. The country's steel mills, hulking relics of an earlier time, massive complexes

like the Boonxi (ph) iron and steel company, the very lifeblood of the town Boonxi (ph) in Liaoming Province, but now facing the unknown as Beijing

looks to slash the bloated and inefficient state-owned enterprises starting with steel and coal.

This propaganda mural outside the front of the plant speaks to a different era, when heavy industry ruled China, and the workers were called

the state would look after them from cradle to grave, the so-called iron rice bowl. Well, that bowl has long since cracked. Workers today face a

very different future.

Most people here work in the mills, but it's a tight community and they are suspicious. They tell us they don't want the company to find out

they have been talking to the media. But it's clear that pay and jobs here are now being cut.

In a back street away from the crowd, we meet this man who spoke to us, but wouldn't give us

his name. He and his wife both lost their jobs at the steel works a couple months ago. He was

re-employed as a day worker, which means he loses his health benefits.

"The company is firing many workers and hiring day workers because it saves them a lot of

money," he says. "There's no insurance, no benefits. I have to accept this job because I have a wife and daughter to take care of."

The company and the provincial government, which hat owns the steel maker declined requests for interviews, but their website says 110,000

people work here. They won't disclose their profits, but China's steel industry is deep in the red as demand shrinks and prices slump worldwide.

Most of the workers who did speak to us say that wages have been cut dramatically in the past year.

23-year-old Liu Wei (ph), an electronics technician, had his pay cut just three weeks ago by more than 60 percent. He now earns about $200 a

month. He lives with his parents so he quit and is now looking for a job in another city.

"The company is losing money. I am quite young and single. I am pretty sure I can get another job in a big company," he says. "I can still

live here on this pay, but it makes things a lot harder."

At a local convenience store, Lu Bing Chi (Ph) waits for customers. She has been here for nine years, but over the last two years, business has

nosedived.

"We used to sell about 10,000 yuan worth of stuff here every day. Now it's less than a third of that," she says.

There were 20 or 30 shops for workers around here. Now, there's hardly any.

The mood right now in Boonxi (ph) is one of grim acceptance. And the workers say they are expecting things to go from bad to worse.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:35:00] STEVENS: So, Kristie, what we are seeing here really is the beginning of -- it's already bad here, but we are seeing the beginning

-- if the government carries through with its sweeping economic reforms, places like Boonxi (ph) are going to feel more pain. And certainly it's

not alone, there are hundreds of cities and towns like it all around the Rust Belt provinces.

LU STOUT: Yeah, and how bad is it going to get, Andrew? I mean, China has announced plans to cut 2 million jobs in steel and in coal.

That's a lot. But it's only a fraction of China's massive workforce. So, is China planning to, and is China willing, to make more drastic cuts in

these older industrial sectors?

STEVENS: I think that's the key question, is it willing to make these cuts? The NPC has said officially that 1.8 million jobs will go in just

two sectors, the steel sector and the coal sector. There are many, many other heavy industry sectors. And there is over capacity in all of them.

Analysts say that the cuts have announced so far, that would only be -- sort of cover 10 percent of the problem, if you like, Kristie, so yes if

they go ahead with this, it will mean millions and millions more jobs will go.

What -- it is worth remembering that this has happened before back in the 1990s, some 30 million people lost their jobs in a lot of these state-

owned industries. It wasn't enough, as we now know.

The question is, is there the political will to carry it through this time. President Xi, as we know, is making more and more control, or taking

more and more control of the political machine through his crackdown on corruption. But he needs the people with him. He doesn't need any sort of

unrest at all. So, that is his calculation.

Yes, they say they are serious. Will they carry through? Really, we just have to wait and watch what happens. It's difficult to get news out -

- as I found out in Boonxi (ph), but certainly we will have a much better idea as this reform process continues.

LU STOUT: Andrew Stevens, we appreciate your reporting. Andrew reporting live just on

the grim economic reality in the industrial northeast of China. Thank you, Andrew.

Now, an influential newspaper is wiped off the internet in Mainland China. Beijing's online sensors are targeting the South China Morning

Post, hitting the publication where it hurts, Social Media.

Mainland Users received this error message while trying to access SCMP's popular microblog on Weibo, that's China's version of Twitter. It

says that there is something wrong with the account.

So, of a few hours ago, the paper vanished from Weibo's search results. And those trying to check its account on WeChat are bluntly told

it is blocked.

Now, the paper has recently been critical of Mainland authorities in the case of the five missing Hong Kong book sellers.

The South China Morning Post is an institution in Hong Kong publishing from more than a century. Its reporters are able to cover issues usually

off limits in Mainland China. But recently there have been major concerns about Beijing pulling its editorial strings. Now the paper's former

editor-in-chief was accused by his own staff of censorship and bias, a claim he denies. And late last year, the SCMP was bought by the Chinese e-

commerce giant Ali Baba. And many readers feared its independence would be compromised.

Now, Ali Baba has been open about trying to buy influence in the paper, with executive vice chairman Joe Thai saying this, quote, "a lot of

journalists working with these western media organizations may not agree with the system of governance in China, and that taints their view of

coverage. We see things differently. We believe things should be presented as they are."

And yet the paper has now met the same fate as many western media organizations in China, now blocked and censored for doing its job.

Now, imagine flying a drone through obstacles at breakneck speeds. More on the exhilarating new sport of drone racing. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:40:10] LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, a world tournament is about to kick off in Dubai on Friday. 32 of the best drone racers

in the world will push their flying skills at the world drone prix for a $1 million prize. Rene Marsh meets with the competitors in Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENE MARSH, CNN CORREPSONDNET: In parks, garages, and almost any open place around the world, a new sport is emerging at breakneck speeds: this

is professional drone racing.

CHARLES ZABLAN, INTERNATIONAL DRONE RACING ASSOCIATION: It can be so nerve-racking that my entire body starts shaking.

When I look through here, I can see the image coming straight from the quad copter with a small camera on the bottom.

This is essentially the next F1 meets X Games.

MARSH: Races can top speeds of up to 80 miles per hour. For these pilots, there's big money at stake, $1 million, and a chance to compete at

a world championship in Dubai. The qualifying starts right on this track, a 150 meter track built to look like the set of Tron.

By day, Ken Loo is a design engineer at Google. In his free time, he's known as Flying Bear. Racing drones has become his obsession.

KEN LOO, DRONE RACER: I am 31. And my wife is close to the same age. We actually decided to put the decision to have children on hold so I could

have time to focus on this.

MARSH: How does she feel about that?

LOO: She's okay with it for now. I think a year from now might be a different story.

MARSH: Also in the competition, Carlos Puertolas. The Dreamworks animator is considered a freestyle god.

His online drone videos have attracted thousands of social media followers.

Then there is Chad Nowack. He moved to the United States from Australia.

CHAD NOWACK, DRONE RACER: Quit my job and I'm over here sort of chasing a dream.

MARSH: That dream is a career as a professional drone racer.

NOWACK: I have go a family back at home. I've got two kids, which I regularly talk to via Skype, that I'm missing, and they're missing me. But

it's one of those things where you've got to take a little bit of a leap of faith and do something that you're passionate about.

LOO: Most importantly, it's about having steady thumbs and being calm under pressure.

MARSH: So, it's all about the thumbs?

LOO: It's really all about the thumbs.

NOWACK: I don't know when it's the weekend, and that's an important thing to have in your life where it doesn't matter when it's the weekend

because you are having fun every single day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Wow, incredible video just makes you dizzy.

Now, that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. But don't go anywhere. World Sport with Amanda Davies is next.

END