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NEWS STREAM

12 Years A Slave Takes Home Best Picture BAFTA; A Look Into ISIS Brutality In Northern Syria; Record Snowfall In Tokyo; Fog Delays Cross Country Ski Events In Sochi; Evgeny Plushenko's Sudden Retirement From Skating; Biz Stone Explains Jelly

Aired February 17, 2014 - 8:00   ET

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


KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.

Now we have two exclusive reports for you from Syria. We reveal the atrocities being carried out by one rebel group said to be inspired by al Qaeda.

Over 200 passengers are safe after an Ethiopian Airlines jet is hijacked by the co-pilot.

And we speak to a Russian sporting icon, retired figure skater Evgeny Plushenko.

CNN is bringing you an exclusive look at the brutal reality of life inside Syria. Now for months, reports have been emerging from northern Syria about atrocities being carried out by a rebel group of al Qaeda inspired extremists. It's known as ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. And it wants to impose a fundamentalist version of Islam on people under its control.

It has been battling the Syrian government, but it's also been fighting other rebel groups. And the brutality carried out by ISIS forces is so extreme that it's been highly dangerous for journalists to report from areas under its control.

But now, as ISIS is being forced out of some towns. CNN's Arwa Damon, her producer Raja Razek (ph) and cameraman Clayton Nagel (ph) traveled to northern Syria to witness the devastation that is left behind.

And a warning, some of the images in this exclusive report are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This grave has been dug up before, the bodies unidentified, reburied in the same spot. In video filmed at the time, gruesome images of the corpses of four men.

It's among many mass graves rebel fighters unearthed after they recaptured the town of Addana from radical fighters who once were their allies.

Now, weeks later, a family hopes for closure.

"We a foot and a shoe and a jacket," Ayoush Ali says.

She's with her neighbor Mohammed Ismaili. It's his two younger brothers that are missing, one might be here.

"He just went out to get tomatoes and sugar," Mohammed recalls still disbelieving.

And his wife wanted socks for their kids.

"It's the same jacket," Mohammed says.

The site is next to a former prison run by ISIS, the Islamist State in Iraq and Syria. Its walls lined with bullet holes, some from clashes, others, we are told, from executions.

Masked ISIS fighters, as seen in this rare video posted to YouTube, used fear to rule; anyone caught filming them killed.

This was the main ISIS checkpoint leading into Addana. And as part of their terror tactics, eyewitnesses were telling us that they would leave some of the bodies of people they'd executed lining the checkpoint so that every single car coming through would be forced to slow down and could not ignore that brutal message.

ISIS is a group so merciless that even al Qaeda has reportedly distanced itself from it.

Abu Jamal is telling us that ISIS had beheaded one of the main key rebel commanders here and they came in the early morning when the market was really busy and placed his head on top of the garbage heap that was in that very same spot. And they turned around and told everybody that would be the fate of anyone who dared speak out against them.

Their harsh, intolerable rule caused other Islamist and moderate rebel groups to launch an offensive against them earlier this year.

"So we had to leave the fronts with the regime," Abu Jamal says, "and fall back to fight ISIS to liberate the already liberated areas another time.

But ISIS still looms large in Syria, consolidating its forces and imposing its reign of terror. In this Video filmed later shows Mohammed, he realizes it's not two but three of his brothers that were murdered by ISIS. He thought one of them was in jail.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Addana, Syria.

(END VIDEOATPE)

LU STOUT: Now CNN has obtained evidence of the brutal tactics employed by ISIS to control much of northern Syria. Video recorded by the group itself shows ISIS interrogating prisoners and conducting executions. We should warn you that some of the images are, indeed, graphic. Ben Wedeman brings us an exclusive report on what can be learned from the recordings.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The voice off camera asks, "How old are you?"

"I was born in 1980."

"Are you married?"

"Yes," he responds, "I have two children."

"Do you want to see them again?"

"God knows I do. I have nothing to hide."

A man who calls himself Bassem (ph) and a doctor pauses, collecting his thoughts.

"So talk, answer quickly. Are you cooking up lies," shouts the other?

This video is one of eight interrogations obtained by CNN from Syrian opposition activists. The interrogators speak with distinct Iraqi accents and ask questions about goings-on in the town of Al-Bab northeast of Aleppo. From the questions, it is clear the interrogators are not with the regime of President Bashar al Assad but rather with ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq in Syria.

It's not clear what happened to these men. But another chilling video we will show you later may be a clue.

Early last year ISIS emerged as a major power in opposition controlled areas of northern Syria. Since then, the ultra extremist group has exposed strict extremist law, held public floggings and executions and most recently has battled other execution groups in fighting that has left well over 2,000 dead. Even al Qaeda's leader has demanded ISIS leave Syria.

Missing in the interrogation is any mention whatsoever of the Assad regime. The only concern is the challenge posed by other opposition factions and the local populace to ISIS.

"Who is erasing the slogans and symbols of ISIS on the walls," demands the interrogator?

"I swear, I don't know, as God is my witness," responds this man, who identifies himself as Hammed (ph).

Another interrogation: "What were they saying about the Islamic State", he's asked. "Say the truth, save yourself."

"I will speak the truth even if I lose my head", responds this man who says he is called Mustafa. All of these clips were found in the residence of this man known by his nom de guerre Abu Ahmed el-Iraqi or "The Iraqi". Activists describe him as an ISIS amir -- a commander and an intelligence officer. They found the abandoned video in January after he fled fighting between ISIS and other factions.

Some of the clips and still shots show a young woman in the company of Abu Ahmed trying her hand at shooting an AK-47 assault rifle.

"Steady," he tells her, "Steady".

ISIS is imposing the strictest possible dress code on women in the areas it controls. Given that her face is uncovered, clearly this was for Abu Ahmed and this unidentified woman, a private moment.

So what happened to the interrogated man? It is not clear from the videos. But one of the last recordings documents in detail ruthless ISIS style justice, execution by flashlight. "Ready," asks the voice off camera. 14 men, some apparently quite young are shot -- one after the other.

The scenes are too graphic for us to show. Some fall into the mass grave already dug. The new boss in this part of Syria -- not unlike the old boss.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Gaziantep, Turkey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was CNN's Ben Wedeman reporting on the horrific brutality of ISIS in Syria.

You're watching News Stream. And still ahead, a terrifying ordeal for passengers on board an Ethiopian Airlines flight after the co-pilot hijacks the plane.

Tales of horrific human rights abuse in North Korea, all detailed in a new UN report just out.

And Russia's figure skating super star tells CNN about his sudden decision to pull out of the Olympics. We have an exclusive interview.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now London rolled out the red carpet as stars of the silver screen flooded the city for the annual British Academy Film Awards.

Now the space thriller Gravity may have taken home the most BAFTA trophies, but it was a different film that took home the night's biggest honor.

Becky Anderson was there at the Royal Opera House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brad and Angelina, om Hanks, Christian Bale -- Hollywood royalty and even a touch of the real thing.

Well, it has been a dazzling night here at the 66 BAFTAs at the royal opera house in London. The red carpet awash with stars.

Leonardo DiCaprio stole the preshow wooing an ecstatic crowd. But when the awards were announced...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chiwetel Ejiofor.

ANDERSON: With British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor who nudge DiCaprio for a best actor award as Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave.

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR, ACTOR: Steve McQueen, thank you. Thank you, sir. Thank you for your work, for your artistry, for your passion in this project. You really just brought us all through it.

ANDERSON: And it wasn't just his performance that impressed.

DAVID O. RUSSELL, DIRECTOR: I saw the guy from 12 Years a Slave and I got to get his tailor. He said it was British tailor. Oh, my god. I mean, that guy -- I look like his gardener.

ANDERSON: The movie about slavery in America also won the coveted best film BAFTA.

STEVE MCQUEEN, DIRECTOR: There are 21 million people in slavery as we sit here, 21 million people. I just hope that 150 years from now, our ambivalence will not allow another filmmaker to make this film. Thank you so much.

ANDERSON: But it was Alfonso Cuaron who was named best director for his 3D thriller Gravity.

It was a great night for Somali born newcomer Barkhad Abdi taking the best supporting actor for what was the sinister and moving performance alongside Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips.

BARKHAD ABDI, ACTOR: It was really an honor working with him. He's really good, very good man.

ANDERSON: What happens next for you?

ABDI: I look for other parts and continue acting.

ANDERSON: I don't think you need to look for parts, I think the parts are going to come to you.

If there was one surprise in London, it was the Lupita Nyong'o failed to get the nod for either rising star or best supporting actress. But the young star surely stole the show for style.

LUPITA NYONG'O, ACTRESS: It's definitely the most dressed up I've ever gotten.

ANDERSON: And this could still be her year. With a nomination for an Oscar up her sleeve, she'll do the walk of fame once again next month at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

Becky Anderson, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now let's take you live to Geneva. The United Nations has just released its new report detailing human rights abuses in North Korea. The chair of the commission Michael Kirby is speaking. Let's listen in.

MICHAEL KIRBY, UN COMMISSION OF INQUIRY: ...but now, under the mandate of the human rights council of the United Nations of the world it is the findings and conclusions of this body, the Commission of Inquiry of the United Nations.

And so, out of a sense of fairness and due process, the Commission of the Inquiry calls a letter to be sent under my hand to the supreme leader of North Korea Kim Jong un in which we reported to him as he would not have dialogue with us, we reported to him the fact that the report of the Commission of Inquiry was about to be delivered. We attached and we provided him with copy of the Commission of Inquiry report. We reported to him that we would find, as we have in our report, the crimes against humanity on the part of officials in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

We told him of the doctrines of international law by which those who are responsible for those crimes, those in the military and in civilian government who are responsible for them, must consider their accountability to the international community and to their victims.

And we indicated that he should be aware of this, he should be aware of the international crime of aiding and abetting crimes against humanity, even if not himself involved in the actual perpetration of those crimes, and we informed him that he, himself may be responsible in any subsequent prosecution that occurs.

And all of this is contained in the letter that has been sent with the authority of the Commission of Inquiry to Kim Jong un informing him that that is a possibility that he must consider and that the international community must consider.

We also offered, once again, that the Commission of Inquiry would stand ready to travel to North Korea to explain its report to engage with the government of North Korea, to engage with them on the many suggestions that are made for serious reform, radical reform, that will meet the conclusions and answer the concerns that are explained in the report.

So far, we haven't received a reply to this, nor have we received a reply to earlier indications of a wish to engage.

But today, my understanding is that North Korea has said the so-called offenses against human rights and the so-called crimes again humanity are completely false and are not accepted.

Well, there is a very good way to answer the many charges and complaints that have been brought to our commission and that are set out in the report and that is to allow the door to be opened, to allow the international community to engage, to welcome the United Nations, to welcome the investigators who will go in, to welcome the international media.

LU STOUT: OK, you've been listening to Michael Kirby of the United Nations there at a live press conference in Geneva talking about the just released report into Human Rights Abuses inside North Korea. Michael Kirby just then saying that the report, which details crimes against humanity perpetrated inside North Korea, a copy of that report has been sent to the country's supreme leader Kim Jong un as well as information about the doctrine on international law.

Now we have my colleague Paula Hancocks standing by live from Seoul with us. And Paula, this is was the result of an 11 month inquiry, much of this inquiry relying on witness testimony from North Korean defectors. Can you give us your thoughts on what's inside the report? And also what we heard from Michael Kirby just then?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, really the headline from this report is the fact that this commission of inquiry says that crimes against humanity have occurred and they're also ongoing saying that there is, quote, "abundant evidence of this."

Now the evidence they have, as you say, is from hundreds of North Koreans from victims, from defectors, from witnesses as well, about 80 of them given public testimony around the world last year, many more giving private testimony too concerned about possible reprisals in family members still in North Korea to identify themselves.

And there were many accusations of an abundance of crimes, which this report has validated saying that there is substantive evidence to this and it does show that this is the case, because they do have objective satellite imagery to support the evidence of many of those people.

Crimes against humanity, they say, according to this report entail extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment. And there is a litany, an abundance of crimes that they are accusing the regime of, the DPRK, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, of carrying out.

And as you just heard there during that part of the press conference we were listening to from the chair of the commission, Michael Kirby, he did say that they are also contacting Kim Jong un, the leader. They say that they will be wanting those responsible to be held to account. And of course as the leader of North Korea, it would suggest that they would want him to be held to account.

We've already had the response from North Korea, though, that actually came before the report itself was posted online and was officially released, rejecting that this was the case.

They've consistently rejected that there are any labor camps, any work, political camps within the country itself, although human rights groups and activists suggest that up to 200,000 people are held within these camps.

But the official reaction from North Korea was that they categorically and totally reject the report -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: North Korea has rejected this report. Will this report do anything to change the situation inside the country. What have North Korean defectors told you?

HANCOCKS: Well, one North Korea defector I spoke to just a couple of days ago about this said that she didn't expect anything to change. She said that she has in the past before she defected back in 2001 see the number of public executions, she expected those to continue. She said she expected family members of those who escaped the country and defected to be punished. So she had little faith, in fact no faith whatsoever that anything would change.

But we did hear from Michael Kirby saying that he believes that this report will galvanize the international community. He's hopeful that something will be done.

Now the commission has also given recommendations with this -- within this report -- saying that they call on the UN security council to adopt targeted sanctions against those responsible. But of course it has to be said that with -- when you go to the UN security council you also have to have that approved by China.

China has a veto. It is a close ally of North Korea. And China itself before this report came out said that they believe that an international court is not the forum for this kind of discussion -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Paula Hancocks reporting live from Seoul for us, thank you very much indeed.

You're watching News Stream. And still to come on the program, yet another weekend of record snowfall in the Japanese capital. We've got the details on a deadly storm that is causing chaos in Tokyo.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: An Ethiopian Airlines flight was hijacked by its co-pilot.

Now Swiss police say the 202 passengers onboard were never put in danger. And there you see authorities clearing the plane at Geneva International Airport.

Now Flight 702 had taken off from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa and was headed for Rome. But the co-pilot took control and steered it Geneva. He says he wants asylum.

Now police have not named the co-pilot.

And CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is following developments from CNN Berlin. And he joins me now.

And Fred, tell us more about the co-pilot, his background and why did he hijack a plane to gain asylum?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Krisite.

Well, there really isn't very much information that the authorities there in Geneva have been giving. The only thing that they said is that the co-pilot was apparently gone in the year 1983, which would make him either 30 or 31 years old. There's very little information aside from that.

The only thing that they've said is that apparently he planned this before actually taking off in Addis Ababa and he did plan all of this on his own. And the reason, of course, is because he feels threatened in Ethiopia. There wasn't any information put out aside from that, except for very detailed, really, report about what actually happened.

Now what apparently happened was that the co-pilot waited for the plane to reach its cruising altitude, then waited for the actual pilot to go to the restroom, locked the door the cockpit behind him. That door, of course, is reinforced. The pilot could not get back in. And apparently as early as that plane being over Egyptian airspace he notified the air traffic controllers there that the plane had been hijacked, but did not request to land in Egypt. And then flew over Libya, flew into Europe, finally of course reaching Swiss airspace where then the plane was forced to land at some point by two Euro fighter jets that accompanied it. Apparently the plane was also very low on fuel.

So while the authorities there in Geneva are saying that the passengers were at no time in danger, I'm pretty sure that most of the passengers that managed to get off that plane have never been happier to actually reach the ground, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, that for certain.

Now what happened? Does incident represent a new kind of security threat for airlines and air travelers? Your thoughts on that.

PLEITGEN: Yeah, that's a very good question. I don't think it represents a new kind of security threat.

The interesting thing is that we did have a similar incident just a couple of days ago when a Turkish Airlines airliner was not really hijacked, but also taken under control by apparently a drunk passenger who wanted to fly to Sochi. And now you have this incident here.

It's really unclear whether or not those are related. They probably aren't.

However, there have been similar incidents in the past involving air travelers from Ethiopia. If you recall back to 1996, there was a plane also from Ethiopian Airlines that was hijacked by three Ethiopians. They wanted to go to Australia, but the plane ran out of fuel and was forced to perform a crash landing in the Indian Ocean right off the Kumoras Island (ph). 125 people died, 50 people survived.

In 2001, there was another incident where several Ethiopians tried to bring a plane from Lufthansa that was bound for New York under their control.

So time and again, people who were trying to get out of Ethiopia, who are trying to get asylum somewhere else, are reverting to this.

Clearly in most cases, they don't mean any harm. But of course every time you bring a plane under the control of passengers or hijackers, even if they don't want to cause any sort of mayhem, there is of course the threat that something will happen.

Ethiopia is, of course, a country that does have some internal issues. People there attempt to flee quite frequently. so certainly this is something where I wouldn't say it's a new threat to security in the airline industry, but it is something that does occasionally happen, especially when flying to and from Ethiopia -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Fred Pleitgen reporting for us. Thank you.

This is News Stream. And still to come, Russian star figure skater Evgeny Plushenko speaks exclusively to CNN. In his revealing interview, he tells us the real story behind his sudden retirement.

And this man is trying to start up another startup, but this time he's got a certainly blue bird at his back. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone talks to us about Jelly, his new social media search app after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

The co-pilot of an Ethiopian Airlines jet hijacked his own plane and flew to Geneva with more than 200 people on board. He was arrested on landing. No passengers were harmed. Also, as police said the hijacker wants political asylum.

19 men trapped in an illegal gold mine in South Africa are refusing to be rescued. They have been down the abandoned mine since the weekend, but fear being arrested when they come back to the surface. 11 of their colleagues pulled from the site were handed over to police.

North Korea has rejected a new United Nations report that was just released on the country's human rights violations. In a statement, Pyongyang calls it, quote, "fabricated and invented" as well as an instrument of political plot.

Now the UN's findings come from a year-long investigation.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling will be releasing a new book in June, but don't look for her name on the cover. Publisher Little Brown says it will be under the pseudonym Robert Gallbraith. Now the pen name was revealed last year after critics praised the Cuckoo's Calling. Rowling promised to continue the crime series despite losing her secret identity.

And now to Sochi, where the final week of the winter Olympics kicks off today, but not before one minor setback: heavy fog forced the men's biathlon and the snowboard cross events to be postponed until Tuesday. But, indoor women's ice hockey semifinalist and pair ice dancing are still on.

Let's take a look at the latest ranking. Now Germany leads in gold with a total of seven medals, while The Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland are in second with five gold medals each.

Now the Russian figure skating legend Evgeny Plushenko is speaking exclusively to CNN about his controversial and abrupt decision. The Olympic athlete withdrew last minute from the individual short program due to a back injury. And now he wants the world to know what was behind his dramatic exit from the rink.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVGENY PLUSHENKO, OLYMPIC SKATER: I'm not able to say right now what's happened, what happened. But if you ask the president of Russian Federation he will explain everything.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: What has happened?

PLUSHENKO: He's going to explain to you. He's going to explain why I tried to skate, why I didn't skate the other skater.

But anyway...

DAVIES: Did you want to compete?

PLUSHENKO: Yes, I would like to compete, of course. And of course we have only one man who can skate in Olympic games, because last year the guys, they skated in the worlds and they came 15 and 17.

DAVIES: So the pressure was on you to compete, however fit you were, because you had a better chance of a medal.

PLUSHENKO: That's right. Right.

DAVIES: Is that fair?

PLUSHENKO: You know, like I said, I tried, yeah? I tried. When we came to the team event, everybody understand, OK, we can win silver or bronze. We came first. We won Olympic games.

So after that, Federation said, OK, do you want to skate? How do you feel. I said well I feel not so good. I feel problem after long program team event. I missed two jumps triple saiko I miss and the triple loop, because I feel already the -- what, the muscles it's sore.

And I explain to my federation better maybe if somebody else going to skate. I ask them.

DAVIES: And they said?

PLUSHENKO: And they said what happened, happened.

DAVIES: Yulia Lipnitskaya, 15 year old, how fantastic a skater do you think she is?

PLUSHENKO: She is genius. And I know how much pressure here. And she skated a short program, a long program.

I remember Lipinski, Tara Lipinski, she was also 15-years-old and she skated amazing.

I remember Michelle Kwan, she skated awesome, gorgeous.

So now we have new generation.

DAVIES: How aware was she of the pressure? Because she skated as if she didn't have a care in the world?

PLUSHENKO: I think she don't believe right now, don't -- doesn't understand what she's doing for figure skating right now or for herself. She's still 15. It's nothing. I remember 15-years-old I was -- I came in Minneapolis in the -- my was first worlds. I came short. But I didn't understand what with who I am skating with (inaudible) Elvis Stojko, with Alexei (inaudible), they already was hero. They were legend and such great skaters.

But I didn't care. I skated what I know, how I know to skate.

So is she doing the same right now? She's a very strong skater and maybe she doesn't understand what she did already.

DAVIES: How much contact have you had with President Putin in the last 12 months. Is he always on the phone?

PLUSHENKO: Well, he supports us a lot, a lot, especially also the minister of sport Vitaly Mutko. They support us, they help us with everything. And this Olympic games they did everything for us.

DAVIES: As somebody who has such a high profile both here in Russia and internationally, shouldn't you be using your profile, for example, to educate people here in Russia with regards to the attitudes towards gay rights, particularly from somebody in a sport like figure skating where there are gay athletes around?

PLUSHENKO: Like I said, it's not my job, you know. I didn't want to talk about this way, this direction, yeah. Propaganda, or criticism or -- we have government, we have people who work in this way in this direction.

DAVIES: But you are in a position that you could change attitudes.

PLUSHENKO: At that moment?

DAVIES: Any moment. You have the profile.

PLUSHENKO: Well, maybe I can change something if -- if -- if I can, of course I can change.

If I can do something, I am open. I mean, I am open, and I think it's OK in our life -- gay people and I know many people who is not traditional orientation and what I can say? Maybe I can help, maybe not. We'll see, we'll see.

We're going to work with -- in this way, in this direction.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: A very revealing conversation there.

Now if you're stuck at work, you can't watch the action live, you can follow along with us on our web site. And you can see our live blog of day 10 of the Winter Games at CNN.com/Sochi.

And now to a tech entrepreneur who is at it again. Biz Stone has launched a new venture and this time he's taking an unorthodox approach to sprucing up the search engine business.

Now Laurie Segall sat down with him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIZ STONE, FOUNDER, JELLY: Actually sort of felt nauseous because I was getting used to the idea of like maybe just like relaxing for a little while.

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY: That's the sound of a new idea hatching from Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. You'd think he'd want a breather after riding the rollercoaster from scrappy startup to public company. But when a good idea strikes, it's back to the startup trenches.

Stone's latest venture? An app called Jelly, which launched last month.

STONE: Jelly is a new way to search using pictures and friends from your social networks.

SEGALL: Here is how it works. You take a picture and then you can ask any question you'd like. Now friends from your social networks can answer that, their friends can answer too.

STONE: So people are saying, like, what is this bug. Is it like, is this spider going to kill me?

SEGALL: Ironically, in an increasingly connected world, this tech founder wants to add a human touch to search.

STONE: The oracles of our day, the web search engines, we always ask -- we ask them everything. But there's got to be some percentage of our queries that are just better answered by a person. And our thinking is that maybe this -- the true promise of a connected society is just for people to help each other.

SEGALL: How does that community and that network relate to the name Jelly?

STONE: The jellyfish has a very unique nervous system. It doesn't have a brain, or so it's -- a jellyfish is just floating around, no brain, all of a sudden a predator comes by. A few neurons fire and then its neighbors fire, and then what happens is within a fraction of a second a brain is formed on the fly. The visualization of that is very much like the way we want Jelly to work.

SEGALL: Years ago, I sat down with Biz and asked him about the name of a different company.

STONE: We put a bunch of names in a hat and they were works like jitter, you know, because we know that we were...

SEGALL: So would we be jeeting?

STONE: So it was like, we knew we wanted to have this very like instant mobile SMS text based thing. And then one of them was twitter and...

SEGALL: Fast forward four years, that site now has more than 215 million users.

Going forward with Jelly, what are your challenges? I mean, you're now in the trenches again. How do you go forth?

STONE: You have to be -- basically you have to be constantly uncomfortable and afraid.

SEGALL: For Stone, his family has helped with that.

STONE: The unasked part of that question is like how do you have a family and be a good startup person.

SEGALL: Isn't a startup like a child or something?

STONE: Yeah, I mean -- it sounds ridiculous, but you like put in your calendar play with son, you know, play space man from 2:00 to 4:00.

SEGALL: Laurie Segall, CNN Money, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. Still ahead on the program, a record snowfall causes chaos in Japan. We'll have the details from Tokyo and meteorologist Samantha Moore will have your global forecast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

This month in our Art of Movement feature, we are taking a look at a new production that celebrates the masculine side of ballet. Our Nick Glass headed to the London Coliseum to find out if contemporary choreography is changing the way we appreciate the male form on stage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK GLASS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Think of ballet and you think of point shoes, tutus and pirouettes. But here at the London Coliseum, that stereotype is being challenged. Tonight, it's all about the boys.

IVAN PUTROV, PRODUCER, MEN IN MOTION: My attempt is to show a century of male dance in 100 minutes. Great, important developments have happened since beginning of the 20th Century just as much as you hear about the feminine movements and how a woman gained the right to vote, and, well, the main gained the right of center stage.

GLASS: The Ukrainian dancer Ivan Putrov is the man behind Men in Motion, a production featuring 15 short dances performed by some of the biggest male stars in ballet.

Ivan Putrov spent 12 years dancing the classical repertoire as a principle at London's Royal Ballet where the women were the crown jewels and the men were there to show them off.

Then he discovered a century old Russian ballet with choreography by Michel Fokine, Le Spectre de la Rose which transformed the potential of male dancing and made a legend out of Vaslav Nijinsky.

PUTROV: Nijinsky jumped through the window in Spectre de la Rose and took front stage for Men in Motion. It was custom that a ballerina takes the bow first and then it's men. Well, this bow was truly man's ballet. And the man was the first to take the bow and one of the greatest ballerinas of its time (inaudible) was in a shadow of Vlasav Nijinsky.

GLASS: Nijinsky combined masculine power in his legs with feminine delicacy in his arms. He wore a tight costume of silk rose pedals. It was the beginning of an evolution in male dance where androgyny became acceptable.

PUTROV: Before it was clear separation that it was either a girl very feminine and a boy very masculine. I feel that the vocabulary of male dancer has extended in so many ways. He could be a man, could be androgynous, feminine and it's so important to have new creations and give a chance for this to happen.

GLASS: The challenging of traditional sexual stereotypes is reflected in contemporary dance. It's no longer a world of strong protective men and tender subservient women. Here, man are allowed greater expression, more emotion.

DANIEL PROIETTO, DANCER, MEN IN MOTION: I'm interested in the delicacy of the men, because I think that's what you don't normally see in men. My best memories, I don't know, from my father is when he cries, you know, like so of course that's why I love when I can see a man communicating that on stage. I think that's very, very powerful, even more than perhaps when I see him jump and being strong physically.

GLASS: Dance like dancers never stand still. Ivan is keen to continue to explore boundaries, what may be possible, acceptable in male dance in the future.

Tonight, the statement has been made that men are taking center stage. There's only one movement left to make, and that is one that is understood in every theater in the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And still ahead, winter weather wallops eastern Japan again. And the heavy snow has not stopped.

We'll tell you where the storm is heading next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Chinese officials in Beijing last week. Here he is with China's premier Li Keqiang. And before he left, Kerry held a meeting that Chinese officials may not have been too happy to hear about. This is Kerry with four Chinese bloggers at the U.S. embassy discussing U.S.-China relations and internet freedom. And afterward he tweeted this, quote, "last day in Beijing. Sat down with Chinese bloggers for a good talk. They ask great questions."

But the government affiliated Global Times published an editorial criticizing some of the bloggers who reportedly asked the U.S. to push pressure on China over its internet censorship and crackdown on dissidents.

It said, "Washington has neither the capacity to influence China's political process nor power to impede any department's concerned from sanctioning dissidents who engage in illegal activities."

Now, one of the bloggers who met Kerry is journalist Want Keqin and he is one of the people we spoke to for this month's edition of On China. It focuses on media freedom in the country. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WANG KEQIN, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST (through translator): China today ought to be a paradise for investigative journalists. The unprecedented amounts of shady deals that are happening here, it is beyond your imagination. But the last three years were our toughest years. A large number of investigative reporters were forced out of their jobs, myself included.

Our biggest enemy is not physical threats, it's censorship.

There are lots of talented journalists in China who are passionate about uncovering society's dark side, but what they really need is a good editor-in-chief who is ready to sacrifice for the story.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Wang Keqin there. Well said.

And be sure to tune in for a discussion on media freedom in China on this month's show On China. It airs this Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. Hong Kong time right here on CNN.

Now, forecasters in Japan, they are warning of heavy snow in the north. This deadly winter storm is moving from the east toward damaged buildings and disrupted travel over the weekend. Vladimir Duthiers has more from Tokyo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VLADIMIR DUTHIERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Another record snow storm slammed Japan this weekend, resulting in several deaths, injuries as well as severe transportation delays and disruptions.

Now, so far police have confirmed that at least 11 deaths caused by the storm and thousands are reported to be injured from incidents caused by the heavy snow. Across many parts of the country, there were reports of chaos and destruction caused by the storm, the second storm in less than a week.

In Oyama (ph) in Shizuoka (ph) prefecture, there were reports of the elderly becoming stranded in their homes. In some regions, police said building collapses accounted for several fatalities, while in Yamanashi (ph) prefecture two men froze to death in separate incidents while trying to walk home from stranded cars.

Here in Tokyo, the snow fall was less severe. We saw about 27 centimeters. It's less than a foot of snow. But still over 600 flights across the country were cancelled.

Now the storm is heading northward and the Japan meteorological agency has raised advisories for the northern part of the island of Hokkaido. They have been placed under warning of heavy snowfall and avalanches going forward.

Vladimir Duthiers, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Tokyo is experienced its biggest snowfall in decades. Let's get more now with Samantha Moore. She joins me from the World Weather Center -- Samantha.

SAMANTHA MOORE, CNN METEROLOGIST: Hi there, Kristie.

Yes, it's been pretty amazing with those two major storms in just seven days, both falling over the course of the weekend. And you can see the active pattern with the storm moving into Hokkaido right now. So we're going to have to continue to watch that as the day progresses --- the night and then day progresses the next 24 hours.

But this is now the fourth snowiest year on record here with both of those top 10 snowfalls happening within just one week. So we have had 54 centimeters over the course of this year so far, since the beginning of 2014 in Tokyo. Just incredible.

And the pictures are amazing as the snow piles up. This is from one of our iReporters that lives in Kofu. And you can see how much snow here ended up depositing itself, over a meter of snow. And he said he's never seen anything like it here in Kofu.

The store shelves here emptied of the fresh food in Nagano. In fact, they are reporting fresh food shortages here. They just can't get the shipments of food onto the store shelves. So that's creating concern.

In Tokyo, the snow is starting to melt fairly quickly here as those temperatures are on the rise. We're seeing those -- the temperatures in the low teens today around Tokyo. So slushing mess with all that record snowfall melting in Tokyo itself. But we're still going to see that snow coming down.

Hokkaido as well as here across much of central China, east central China as that low pressure system moves off to the east.

So that is indeed going to be bringing in more snow here.

Could be adding up to around 14, 15 centimeters where you see the pink here in Guyang as we head into the next 48 hours with most of it coming within the next 24.

OK, in Sochi, they have been needing this snow this year. But what they are dealing with so far is fog. It's 10 degrees right now. The dew point sits at about 6, so the relative humidity is about 75 percent. And we're seeing the fog here including the rings for the folks who are at the cross country ski center practicing. And they actually had to postpone the cross country ski event as well as the cross country snowboard, the snowboard cross event.

Just look at this. I mean, think of the speeds they travel down these hills and the tricks that they're doing. And it's really impossible to do it when you can't see where you're going especially at those rapid speeds.

So unfortunately it is going to remain on the mild and foggy side the next 24 hours. So we'll just have to wait and see when they can get those events underway, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, wait and see. And fingers crossed. Samantha Moore there. Thank you.

And that is News Stream. But the news continues at CNN. World Business Today is next.

END