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Opposition Activists In Homs Say Reconciliation Is Long Way Off; U.S. Charges Five Chinese Officers With Cyber Crimes; YouTube Set To Buy Twitch For Over $1 billion; A Look At Boko Haram; Godzilla Number One At Box Office; Chinese Government Detaining Activists Ahead OF Tienanmen Square Anniversary; MERS On Move In U.S.

Aired May 19, 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.

A rare and exclusive look inside the Nigerian terror group Boko Haram, the group that is still holding hundreds of kidnapped schoolgirls.

It could be the biggest dinosaur ever found. We'll speak to the museum that unveiled this massive find.

And we'll look at why YouTube could be spending $1 billion to buy this, the video game streaming site Twitch.

Pressure is mounting on Nigeria's president, and so is frustration at the slow progress to bring back nearly 300 kidnapped schoolgirls.

Now Hollywood celebrities are joining the chorus of international voices urging the government to speed up the search. It has been five weeks since the students were seized by the terrorist group Boko Haram at a boarding school in northeast Nigeria and there was still no sign of the girls.

But at a security summit in Paris on Sunday, western nations and Nigeria's neighbors agreed to band together to fight Boko Haram.

Now CNN has gained a rare and exclusive glimpse inside the terror group responsible for the kidnapping of those Nigerian schoolgirls. Arwa Damon spoke with two men who worked as informants inside the group.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We meet in a safe house. Just speaking to us could cost them their lives already at risk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the only way our children will have a future.

DAMON: Mohammed (ph) and Usama (ph), not these two men's real names, are government informants on the feared terrorist group Boko Haram.

They have seen the group's influence spread and lure in their friends.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After convincing you, they take you -- once you move to their training camp that is the end, you won't come back again.

DAMON: Recruiting from among the poor, who tend to make up their rank and file fighters, and drawing in the educated, trained in explosives.

(on camera): The two informants we met describe their links to Boko Haram as being to mid-level fighters. They're not from the same state where more than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped, that is here, Borno State. This is capital Maidooguri (ph), where Boko Haram's radical ideology was born.

(voice-over): Unchecked by the government, the group grew more violent and ruthless. Kidnappings becoming common.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They take them to the bush and then they force you to join -- or it's either you join or they kill you.

DAMON: The informants have heard of shadowy links to al Qaeda. Their friends who joined trained in Sudan and Somalia. They claim to know exactly where Boko Haram's camps are in their area, but for the most part, they say, the government has failed to act.

Similar to the accusations that Nigerian forces were warned in advance about the Chibok attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They will use them to negotiate with the government about those of their members that have been detained by the government, or to use them as human shields.

DAMON: They've seen their friends slaughtered. And they know the group will show no mercy.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Maidooguri (ph), Nigeria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And we'll be returning to this, our top story a little bit later in the program. Vladimir Duthiers will talk to the sister of one of the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram.

But now, let's turn to the serious floods in Europe. Now the Balkans' worst flooding in recorded history has left at least 25 people dead and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes.

Now 12 bodies have been found in the Serbian town of Obrenovac. Now officials say it has been almost completely submerged in water. 10,000 troops have been deployed to help with the rescue operations in Serbia.

A state of emergency has been declared in neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina where 13 people are known to have died. Authorities say the town of Maglag (ph) received three months worth of rain in just three days.

Let's get more on the serious flooding there with Mari Ramos. She joins us from the world weather center -- Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, there are so many aspects to the flooding that we have in this area. Let's go ahead and start, first of all, with the people, because of course that is the main concern for the thousands of people, as many as 25,000 evacuated in Serbia alone, that have, you know, in some cases lost everything. You can see these relatively densely populated areas that are completely covered by water.

In some cases, when the flooding first began rising very, very quickly and now the water level rising relatively slowly as those major rivers begin to overflow.

This is another aspect of that significant flooding. Water as far as the eye can see. Authorities are saying that the number of people evacuated, the number of people affected, is actually much higher. So many people refusing to leave their homes or unable to leave their homes, even though evacuations have been ongoing since early in the week.

And then the other problem, of course, is the damage to infrastructure. This is the flooding power station, also in Serbia, one of the many aspects of this. Remember that there have been farmlands that have been flooded, factories that are unable to function because of the high water, and also river traffic has been affected.

Many of these rivers also provide the fresh water that people drink out of the drinking -- the water stations are located along the river banks. And some of those have also been affected. So this is a huge, huge concern across the region.

But what happens? Let's go ahead and go back a little bit and talk about how this historic flooding developed. If you were watching last week, you saw me talk about this. This area of low pressure that wasn't going anywhere. It became cut off -- it became cut off from all the other weather systems. So they can basically sat here for several days, from Wednesday all the way up into even Friday and Saturday it was still raining across these areas for many, many days. And that is what brought those torrential downpours that you've been talking about, Kristie.

The worst affected areas are here as we head across the northern part of Bosnia Herzegovina and as we head into Serbia. The areas in red are the most affected, the areas in yellow have even declared a state of emergency.

What we have happening now is these rivers are rising in some cases very, very quickly. Already along the Sava River, for example, as it moved across this northern areas, they had their peak across this region on Sunday. And you can see that right over here on this hydrograph, this graph that shows us how high the water has been going.

But the water is continuing to move down, flowing now into another large river, the Danube. And here we're going to see the water level continuing to rise even as we head through the next several days. It's going to take awhile. So this is going to be a slow moving swelling of these rivers that's going to happen that will take days, actually, for it to go down. So we're going to see flooding in areas that haven't seen flooding before will probably see some of that now.

And this is just one aspect of it. This flooding has actually has spread across the entire region of the Balkans and as far north as southern parts of Poland.

Back to you.

LU STOUT: Wow, historic and very, very dangerous flooding there. Mari Ramos, thank you.

Now officials are concerned that the floods and landslides are dislodging unexploded landmines planted during the Bosnian war in the early 1990s. Now Bosnia has an estimated 220,000 devices in fields all across the country.

Now the aim was to clear them all by the year 2019, but now some of the warning signs, and the mines themselves, have all been washed away. And that raises the possibility that flood water could carry the explosives downstream and into southeastern Europe.

Now Russian troops in Ukraine, they are on the move following an order from President Vladimir Putin. We'll tell you where the tanks may be heading.

And emotional apology from South Korea's president. She tears up as she promises to prevent the country's ferry tragedy from ever happening again.

And an uneasy truce reigns in the shattered Syrian city of Homs, but it is far from certain how long it will last.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now Russia's President Vladimir Putin has ordered troops near the border with Ukraine to return to their bases. That is according to a presidential spokesman who says the withdrawal has started and that the troops there were simply undergoing routine drills.

It'll be welcome news for Kiev and the west. But NATO says it has not seen any sign of Russian troops of returning to their bases.

Now a month ago, the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was a scene of violent clashes between pro-Ukraine supporters and pro-Russia separatists. And this is what remains of the destroyed city hall. Erin McLaughlin looks at an unlikely group of locals now taking matters into their own hands to restore law and order.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A small crowd of pro-Russia separatists gather in the Mariupol city center. They have their local military commander surrounded. They're asking him who is in control. He has no good answer.

A week ago, they voted in referendum that separatist leaders say overwhelmingly shows people here want to break away from Ukraine. They declare the People's Republic of Donetsk and asked to join Russia.

People here want to know why the separatists have yet to replace local authorities.

"Who will govern?" He says. "You will be the first one to come up to me when you don't have your pension paid."

The transition of power is a complicated process.

The group marches flowers in hand to the city's police station. Many here say the events of May 9 changed everything. There were conflicting accounts of what happened that day. People died, but it's unclear how many.

(on camera): There was fighting throughout the city, including this police station. As you can see, it was completely engulfed in flames, the walls riddled with what looks like bullet holes. Ever since, people have been coming here to lay flowers in remembrance.

(voice-over): Five days later, one of the east's largest employers, billionaire Rinat Akhmetov posted this video on his company's website, taking a stand against separatism. He says the east is better off being a part of a decentralized Ukraine.

Akhmetov steel workers soon joined police patrols in Mariupol and four other cities to restore law and order. Local officials say security here has improved ever since.

City Hall was once covered with barricades and barbed-wire. Now it's a hangout for pro-Russian youth. Some of Akhmetov's steel workers stop by to check in on things.

"We're here to maintain order, because we don't want marauding in robberies," he says. "Revolution is one thing, but we cannot allow robbery."

Across town, outside headquarters, separatist leader Denis Kuzmenko admits he needs help from the steel workers to secure the city. He insists he's still in control.

He says voting will not be allowed in Mariupol for Ukraine's upcoming presidential elections.

(on camera): What if they decide to try to open up a polling station? What if they try? What's going to happen to them?

"We consider trying to open up a polling station and trying to establish opportunity to vote as a provocation," he says. "We will treat it as such."

Those elections are on May 25. It's not clear if polling stations will be opened, or if Kuzmenko can follow through with his threats.

Erin McLaughlin, CNN, Mariupol, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now China is getting thousands of its citizens out of Vietnam. Two Chinese ships are in Vietnamese ports to pick up Chinese nationals. Now two others ships are on their way. This all follows deadly anti-Chinese demonstrations in Vietnam last week.

Two Chinese citizens were killed and more than 100 injured in those anti-China protests that came after China moved an oil rig into disputed waters off the South China Sea. Both nations claim the area.

Now to Syria now, rebel fighters have largely withdrawn from the country's third largest city. Now Homs was a center of resistance against President Bashar al-Assad's government for three years. And now a fragile cease-fire is in effect there.

But as Fred Pleitgen now reports, it may be years before there is any real reconciliation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: From above, a tragic and devastating view of the old town of Homs. More than two years of intense battles, a brutal siege and the use of heavy weapons have laid waste to a city with a history of more than 4,000 years.

As the people here begin to pick up the pieces, the Syrian government says now is the time for reconciliation between those who supported the rebels and the supporters of the government.

But we managed to speak to an opposition supporter, who refused to be identified, but says the rebel evacuation of Homs was a bitter defeat.

"Of course we're happy that there's a cease-fire," the person says. "But at the same time, we are devastated that we didn't achieve the victory to get rid of the regime."

The Khalid Ibn Wallid (ph) mosque used to be right on the front line. It was badly damaged during the fighting here.

Now, for the first time in about a year, prayers are held here.

As a show of reconciliation, the government invited leaders of the Christian community to attend as well.

But speaking to the opposition supporter, it's clear the rift between many Sunni Muslims, who mostly side with the rebels, and the Alawites and Christians who are mostly on the government side will take years to bridge.

"There's a major distrust now between us," the person says. "Maybe in 300 years or so we'll be able to live in peace together again. But for now, it's not possible."

While Homs lay in ruins, the government says the fighting here is now over. But that's only partially true.

This is what the city sounds like in the evening hours and at night, heavy explosions and gunfire coming from here.

This is Al Weir (ph) on the outskirts of Homs, the last place still held by the rebels. Syria's army says most of those fighting for the opposition are not Syrian, but the rebel supporter tells me that's not the case.

"Most of those fighting are our sons and brothers," the person says. "They're not foreigners. They are from our families. And we support them."

It seems most people in Homs are in favor of the truce between the rebels and the government, but it's also clear that the underlying issues that led to the conflict in this town have yet to be resolved.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Homs, Syria.

(END VIDEOATPE)

LU STOUT: Coming up next, South Korea's president gives a tearful apology for failing to prevent the deadly ferry disaster and outlines her plan that she dismantles the coast guard. We'll have the details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now South Korea's president has issued a tearful apology. In a nationally televised address, Park Geun-hye said that she takes personal responsibility for the handling of last month's ferry disaster.

Now more than 300 people died, or are still missing, mostly school children.

Now the president has dismantled the country's coast guard to be replaced with a new agency.

And there was another public apology across the border, a rare one, from North Korea. Now top government officials have apologized after an apartment building under construction collapsed in Pyongyang last week. Dozens of families may have been living in the building. There are reports of casualties, although they're not saying how many.

Now it is an exciting week ahead for India's prime minister elect Narendra Modi. He will be formally picked as a leader of the BJP parliamentary party on Tuesday. Now a day from Mr. Modi's swearing in will be decided at the same meeting.

On Friday, his party emerged victorious, winning a strong majority in the country's national elections. And many are watching to see who he will name into his new cabinet.

Now outgoing prime minister Manmohan Singh resigned on Saturday after a decade in the top job. And support for his once hugely powerful party, the Indian National Congress, slipped to historic lows.

Mallika Kapur reports on its dramatic fall from grace.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: 1947, India became independent, Jawaharlal Nehru its first prime minister. Over the next several decades, his daughter and grandson carried on his legacy, both became prime ministers too.

His great-grandson was also in the race for the top job, but his party, the Congress, in power for a decade, suffered a crushing defeat in this year's parliamentary elections.

SANJAYA BAUR, AUTHOR: The Congress has not been a source of new ideas.

KAPUR: Sanjaya Baru, author of an explosive new book on the Congress leadership, and a former senior government adviser, says its painfully out of touch with what India wants.

BARU: Because Rahul (ph) got stuck with the story of we are for the poor, we are out here to give you money, come and vote for us because we are taking care of you. I mean, the Congress Party's feudalism no longer appeals to young India.

KAPUR: A young, aspirational India that has little patience for corruption, inflation, and slow growth. A series of economic scandals, plus corruption around India's Commonwealth Games shook the public's faith in the government and dented India's image around the world, prompting TIME magazine to print this cover in 2012.

SAM PITRODA, ADVISER TO INDIA'S OUTGOING PRIME MINISTER: Everybody says corruption, inefficiency. Inefficiency at what? You grow at 5 percent for two years and you call that inefficiency? Come on, give me a break.

KAPUR: Pitroda points to multiple years of 8 percent growth under the Congress Party, the doubling in number of children going to college, to job and food guarantee schemes that have lifted thousands out of poverty.

He says they are successful programs that didn't get the credit they deserve.

PITRODA: Party because prime minister is not that type. He's doing his work. He's not out there tooting his horn.

KAPUR: The disconnect translated into a massive lack of support in general elections, prompting the Congress to say it's time for introspection.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wish the government all the best. From my part, the Congress Party has done pretty badly. There's a lot of us to think about. And as vice president of the party, I hold myself responsible.

KAPUR: For now, the Congress out of favor with India's public.

Mallika Kapur, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Nearly 300 schoolgirls are still being held captive by Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria. West African leaders meeting in Paris have declared war on the militant group and vowed to eradicate them.

Well, what is happening on the ground? We take you live to Nigeria next.

And in China, accusations that the government is cracking down on even moderate voices of dissent in the lead up to a very important anniversary. More on that just ahead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

Now days of torrential rain have subsided in the Balkans region, but the disaster is far from over. Now flooding in the region is set to last at least another week. And in some places it could get worse. At least 25 people are confirmed dead in Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina.

Now Vladimir Putin's spokesman tells CNN that the Russian president has ordered military forces back to base after drills along the country's border with Ukraine. NATO estimates that there are as many as 40,000 Russian soldiers along that border. Now Mr. Putin had previously announced the withdrawal of his troops, but NATO and the U.S. say that there has been no sign of a pullback so far.

Now South Korean President Park Geun-hye says the country's coast guard will be dismantled and its work given to other agencies. Now she made that announcement while offering a nationally televised apology for the ferry disaster. Now more than 300 people were killed or are missing, most of them schoolchildren, when the vessel capsized last month.

Beijing is getting thousands of Chinese citizens out of Vietnam. Now dozens were injured in violent anti-China protests last week. Now the demonstrations began after China placed an oil rig in the South China Sea and territory both nations claimed.

Let's get more now on the hunt for the schoolgirls abducted more than a month ago in Nigeria. Now CNN reporters have been following events on the ground. And Vladimir Duthiers joins me with the very latest.

And Vlad, a lot of activity over the weekend. What is the latest on the international effort to find the girls?

VLADIMIR DUTHIERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kristie.

Well, over the weekend as you mentioned French President Francois Hollande hosted the leaders of the west African States that surround Nigeria -- Cameroon, Niger, Chad, Benin, they talked about putting into place a regional plan to combat Boko Haram.

And the French president saying that it was important that they have this region plan, because what affected one state would affect them all and ultimately spill over into the west. And so it was important to try to contain this terror threat as best as possible.

And from that meeting we know that French -- sorry, the Cameroon president has allowed Nigerian troops Boko Haram members across their border, because it's a very porous border and the same goes for Benin.

But for me, I think what was most important out of this meeting was that the Nigerian president finally gave us an insight into the operational details to find these girls. He said that there were 20,000 troops on the ground in northeastern Nigeria dedicated to this search, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Key operational details there.

Now you recently spoke with the sister of a girl who appeared in that Boko Haram video that was released last week. What did she tell you?

DUTHIERS: One of the toughest interviews I've done in awhile, Kristie. We spoke to this young girl who was able to identify her sister in this despicable video that the supposed leader of Boko Haram Abubakar Shekau had where he paraded these girls, had them reciting Koranic verses.

One of the things she told me is that her sister was not afraid of going to school and that she wanted to be a computer scientist. But take a look at this interview, you'll see what I mean about the strength and the bravery of these girls.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DUTHIERS: Is this your sister here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

DUTHIERS: That's her.

She looks scared?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

DUTHIERS: When you heard about what happened on April 14 that your sister was kidnapped, what did you think?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not happy. We have been crying every day. We have not seen anybody, we are just crying. When it happened, I thought to myself that god should just take my life.

DUTHIERS: You wished that god would take your life when you heard the news. You still feel like that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

DUTHIERS: What did you think?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was thinking about them and about how they are doing.

DUTHIERS: You miss her, right? You miss your sister?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I miss my sister.

DUTHIERS: Were you at least happy to see that she was alive when you saw the video?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I hope that she will come back alive.

DUTHIERS: Describe her for us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is a kind person. She is gentle. She plays with anybody that comes her way.

DUTHIERS: When you are together, what kind of activities do you do together?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We play and read together.

DUTHIERS: Describe your childhood with her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We never fight. We are always together. She loves me and I love her.

Since we were separated, I don't know how to express myself anymore.

DUTHIERS: You and your sister did everything together?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. We can do anything together (ph).

DUTHIERS: Describe what life is like living with the threat of Boko Haram.

UNIDENTIFEID FEMALE: All of us in the village are afraid, especially at night. We don't sleep at home at night, but in the bush, because when they come they kill people by the thousands.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DUTHIERS: You see, Kristie, we had to conceal the identity of this young girl, because not only is she afraid for her sister who is still in captivity, she's afraid just living in Chibok. They are so fearful that Boko Haram could come back at any moment. And she also tells me that Boko Haram has infiltrated the town. Boko Haram knows them, they just don't know Boko Haram, Kristie.

LU STOUT: You know, we noticed that all of us around the world watching that video just then, she had to be profiled in silhouette, because she is so fearful of what could happen next to her sister, to herself, to that entire community.

What we have -- could I ask you about the situation in Chibok? Because there were a number of girls who managed to get away -- there are girls who still go to school -- is it still the situation that girls are too terrorized to go back to schools, girls who managed to escape Boko Haram because of the threat overhanging them?

DUTHIERS: You know, it's a great question, Kristie.

In almost all cases of parents and children that we talked to from Chibok, they tell us to a tee that they will go back to school, they want to go back to school. That is grace under pressure. That is courage under fire right there. These young children who need to go to school, because they know that through education they will be able to lift themselves and their families out of poverty.

We spoke to a mother yesterday who -- she said to me if my daughter, god willing, ever comes back she will go back to school. I want her to go back to school. And she will not want to not go back to school, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Powerful words there. Vladimir Duthiers, thank you so much for your reporting. Thank you. Take care.

Now, to some news just into us here. In the last hour, we've learned that the U.S. Justice Department is filing charges against five Chinese military officers for allegedly hacking into U.S. company system.

Now these are the first ever charges against Chinese government staff for what the U.S. says is a rampant problem.

Now CNN's Justice reporter Evan Perez is live in New York. He joins us now. And Evan, this is the first crackdown of its kind, isn't it?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kristie.

This is a big deal for the U.S., because obviously they're now accusing China, the Chinese government and the Chinese military directly of essentially hacking into U.S. companies and stealing U.S. government -- I'm sorry U.S. company secrets. You know, at play here is obviously international affairs between U.S. and China and this accusation that, you know, U.S. jobs and perhaps the U.S. economy is at risk because of these hacking attacks.

LU STOUT: And Evan, could you tell us more about the investigation that led to the indictment of these five Chinese military officers?

PEREZ: Well, yes, this is something that has been going on for a couple of years now. Last year they had to put it on hold for a little while after the Edward Snowden disclosures, because obviously politically it would be a little embarrassing for the U.S. to be accusing other countries of spying when the NSA was accused -- is being accused of essentially mass surveillance around the world.

This case just has to do with what the U.S. says is an effort to steal industrial secrets that, you know, are worth billions of dollars. And the U.S. has been complaining about this for several years. The Chinese say that, you know, this is an overblown issue and that they don't actually do any of this hacking and any of this cyber spying, Kristie.

LU STOUT: And from the U.S. perspective, just how rampant is this type of cyber hacking? Cyber hacking conducted by Chinese military officers. And the target here is not diplomatic, the target here is corporate.

PEREZ: No. Right, exactly.

I mean, this is -- you know post-Cold War, a lot of people thought, OK, you know, countries are going to withdraw their spies. What the U.S. is saying is that the Chinese have turned this into more of an industrial thing. This is not anymore looking for U.S. government secrets as much as looking for corporate secrets to try to advance the Chinese the economy. The U.S. says that the Chinese are the number one actor on this issue, but there's also Russia, there's even some friendly countries like European countries that the U.S. says are also doing the same thing, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Evan Perez on the story for us. Thank you very much indeed for that update.

Now officials in China, they are ramping up their efforts to clamp down on public dissent as we approach the 25th anniversary of the Tienanmen Square massacre.

Now more than a dozen people have been detained, including moderate activists. And as David McKenzie now reports, those being held include academics and writers and a human rights lawyer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The trouble began with a small private get together in early May remembering the victims of the 1989 Tienanmen Square crackdown.

This, a group portrait of the graying intellectuals and professionals. And today, five sit in prison cells, detained by the Chinese government without trial.

Causing the greatest outcry, perhaps, famous human rights lawyer Puji Chung (ph), who has helped reform China's notorious system of labor camps.

When I met him last year, he felt immune from the reaches of the Communist Party.

"I think I'm fine," he told me. "I'm a moderate. The government has treated me well. And I'm a veteran lawyer."

But in China there is an invisible red line. By commemorating the violent Tienanmen Square massacre nearly 25 years ago they crushed it.

(on camera): And they ended up here at the notorious Beijing number one detention center, housed with common criminals. It seems that the Communist Party of China is unwilling to come to terms with its history and would rather silence even moderate voices of dissent.

(voice-over): Charged with picking quarrels and trouble making, one of their lawyers say they face constant interrogation at this sprawling facility. Activists called the detentions preposterous.

WILLIAM NEE, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: If having a small gathering in a private setting is picking a quarrel, then, you know, what isn't?

MCKENZIE: Every year before the Tienanmen anniversary, the party is on high alert. But this year is different, says Amnesty, saying scores have been arrested in a nationwide crackdown.

(on camera): This is a public space. I'm allowed to report.

(voice-over): It's part of a trend, they say, of shutting out all critical voices, like when another prominent lawyer pushing for government transparency was jailed for four years in January. And we felt the sharp end of party power.

NEE: And I think in times where they're nervous, they come down to the default strategy which is stability above all else.

MCKENZIE (on camera): We put the facts of the story to the Chinese government. They told us that China shouldn't be judged on, quote, the criteria of the United States and that freedoms here are at historic highs. Some say that the freedoms, though, are in fact at a low point.

David McKenzie, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And as David McKenzie's report on the crackdown was broadcast in China, CNN was blocked across the country. Here is what it looked like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we're going to take a very short break, but just ahead it's been almost 20 years, believe it...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: That footage, it was filmed in the CNN office in Beijing. The Chinese government keeps a close eye on foreign reporting and often blocks TV channels and website, which have sensitive reports about China.

Now a victim of sexism, or of her own shortcomings? Now that is the question after the New York Times fired its first female executive editor. Now she may finally answer those questions later today. We'll bring you more on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now The New York Times is facing controversy after firing its first female executive editor.

Now Jill Abramson is expected to break her silence when she gives a commencement address at a university in North Carolina in the next hour. Now questions of sexism have been dogging the Times, but the paper's publisher insists Abramson mistreated colleagues and made decisions arbitrarily.

Now Abramson's daughter posted this photo on Instagram showing her mother boxing. And she had the hashtag #pushy.

Now shortly before she was fired, Abramson reportedly went to management regarding concerns over her pay. And there were reports that she thought that she was paid less than her male predecessor, it's something that the paper denies.

Now CNN's senior media correspondent and Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter joins me now live from New York. And Brian, good to see you again -- and tell us why. I mean, why was Abramson fired from The New York Times, what have you learned?

BRIAN STELTER, HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES: Ultimately she was fired because she had lost the support of her colleagues, the people below her on what is called The New York Times masthead that reported to her, you know, had grave concerns about her management style. And most importantly, so did the publisher, Arthur Sulzberger.

The New York Times is special for a lot of reasons, one reason is because it's family owned. And if you lose the support of the family, of the publisher of the paper then you are out.

But because there have been these reports about sexism, these reports about unequal pay, it has become a giant mess for The Times.

LU STOUT: So, at issue here is her management style.

Now Brian, you worked with her at The New York Times, so how would you describe her management style and how she commands a newsroom.

STELTER: Well, some of the language we heard the publisher use sounded right to me. He talked about her having poor communication skills at times, for example. Jill Abramson was beloved by so many people on the staff, and still is. On the other hand, she was also feared by a lot of people on the staff. There are those kind of dueling points of view about her. And I think that's come through in the last few days.

Ultimately, this might be about how newsrooms are changing. You know, we heard the word pushy used as a joke. A lot of people have described Abramson as being pushy, as being aggressive, as being even rude sometimes. What editor isn't rude sometimes? What editor isn't pushy sometimes? There's a long history at The New York Times of editors acting the way she did sometimes.

But newsrooms are changing. Newsroom cultures are changing. And younger staffers maybe less accepting of those old ways of doing business. I think that might be part of the undercurrent here.

LU STOUT: And still there is the issue of gender inequality. You know, whether or not that was a reason for her firing, that issue, it's really heated up. Has it really gained traction there in media circles?

STELTER: It has, partly because Abramson's friends have encouraged this narrative. Three hours after she was fired -- at least after it was announced that she was departing right away, there was a story in the -- on The New Yorker website with these allegations about unequal pay, which sound like they're right, although there's lots of reasons for why she was paid a bit less than her male predecessor.

Because she was the first female editor of The New York Times, there's a gender context to this story that's really important. And The New York Times botched this, mishandled this, by not thinking more about that gender construct.

You know, people do not want to view the first female editor of The New York Times as being a failure. That would seem like a problem more broadly than just involving The Times.

LU STOUT: Now Abramson, we know that she is going to deliver a commencement address at Wake Forest University. That's going to happen just a couple of hours. Brian, I know you are a very fine journalist, but even you do not have an advanced copy of that speech.

But what will you be looking out for?

STELTER: Yeah, people are very curious what she's going to say, because she hasn't said anything since she exited the newsroom. I mean, she literally didn't even get to say goodbye. And the only comments we've seen have been from her daughter on Instagram. This is the world we live in now where a family member is the one providing comment by posting pictures on Instagram.

I think she will go above the fray today. I think she will make a couple of, you know, clever remarks about what happened and try to stay above the fray.

But people are wondering whether there could be a lawsuit to come. People are wondering what job could be next for her, because after all The New York Times is one of the world's most important newsrooms. It sets the agenda for others around the world. And Jill Abramson was the one setting the agenda for The Times. Now she isn't anymore.

And I think there will be lingering questions about what it means for other women in other newsrooms. Is there not so much a glass ceiling, but a glass cliff once you've reached the top? And that's a question that's important beyond Jill Abramson.

LU STOUT: All right, Brian Stelter joining us live from New York. Really appreciate your analysis and reporting as always. Take care.

Now, reports say Google is about to make another big acquisition. Now Variety is reporting that YouTube has reached a deal to buy the video game streaming site Twitch for more than $1 billion.

So, what is Twitch? Why has it become so valuable? Now Twitch allows people to stream their games. That basically means you can watch live video of people playing video games. You can watch anything from professional gamers competing against each other to someone just playing games at home. And that's because Twitch broadcasting is built into both the XBox One and the Playstation 4.

Now two months ago, Twitch said it had over 1 million different users broadcasting their games on the site. It might not sound like the most compelling viewing in the world, but for a lot of people it is. In fact, according to a study by the network firm Deep Field, Twitch is responsible for more network traffic in the U.S. than Facebook and Amazon.

Now still to come right here on News Stream, the deadly MERS virus is apparently transmitted within the U.S. for the first time, but officials aren't panicking just yet. We'll explain why next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now U.S. health authorities say that they have confirmed the first case of a transmission within the country of the deadly MERS virus. An Illinois man was infected with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome after contact with a man from Indiana.

Now CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has more for us. She joins me live from CNN Center. And Elizabeth, it seems there in the U.S. MERS is on the move.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORREPSONDENT: It is on the move. And what's disturbing here is not just that it spread, Kristie, but how it spread.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN: The first two cases in the United States were people who got infected in Saudi Arabia and then got on a plane and came here. Those cases were reported in Indiana and Florida.

Now health officials say an Illinois man who had a business meeting with the Indiana patient has also tested positive for MERS.

LAMAR HASBROUCK, ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: This potential person that is making the third case that was transmitted had just basically business transaction with this individual, so no unique travel history of their own and then no travel history since.

COHEN: The CDC says, during a meeting on April 25th, the two men were sitting within six feet of each other talking. The only physical contact they had was shake hands. The next day, they had another meeting, this one, shorter. This was a week before the Indiana patient was confirmed to have MERS.

A CDC doctor says the Illinois man was never really sick, but now the CDC wants to test people he came in contact with, because even without symptoms, it's possible he could have spread the deadly MERS virus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN: Health authorities have been saying that MERS spreads through close and prolonged contact, such as the kind of contact you have with someone you live with. Well, this is definitely something different, it is just two people who happen to have a meeting together, one of 40 minutes, one that was shorter. And the only physical contact was a handshake.

So it is important to note, though, that this Illinois man, he didn't get sick. So maybe the bottom line of what we're learning here is that MERS maybe easier to contract than what we thought, but perhaps less deadly -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, only a handshake was involved there.

So who is at risk here? Because this doesn't seem like the kind of contact that health officials were talking about last week.

COHEN: You know, it's really difficult to say who is at risk here. One of the big questions is what about all those people who flew in airplanes with both the Indiana patient and the Florida patients? There were flights from London to Chicago, London to Boston, Boston to Atlanta, et cetera, et cetera. And right now they're testing those passengers to see if any of them were infected with MERS.

Now if those passengers were infected with MERS, that this certainly brings this to a different level.

LU STOUT: Yeah, indeed, indeed. Elizabeth Cohen tracking the virus for us. Thank you, take care.

Now incomplete, over budget, and more than a year behind schedule, but a test match still went ahead at the stadium in Sao Paulo that will host the World Cup opener in less than a month.

Now more than 36,000 fans were there on Sunday, about half the number expected for the main event.

Now Shasta Darlington reports from the stadium.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A crucial test of what has become one of the World Cup's most problematic stadiums, Arena Sao Paulo, where the inaugural match will be held in less than a month, Brazil against Croatia. What we're watching right now is the first professional game, home team Corinthians against Figarence (ph), some 40,000 fans turned out. And they're ecstatic.

They say it started off pretty smoothly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I got to the Underground in Tatua Pais (ph) and got out here. And it was very easy. Everything was organized. Everyone directed. And so lets go to the game and let's win.

DARLINGTON: The problem is, if you look around, you can see there's still so much work left to be done. The temporary stands where 20,000 people will be seated are still being installed. You can see they're empty. There are hanging wires everywhere you go. The area around the stadium is literally a construction site.

Of course people here say everything will come together in the end.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's fine. The main things are there, the rest Brazilians are like this, every last minute. But it's come together. We'll have a World Cup.

DARLINGTON: Now the stadium was supposed to be handed over to FIFA back in December, but with cost overruns and deadly accidents, it looks like it's not going to happen until this week less than four weeks to go.

Now what we've seen is you can play a game here, you can watch a game, but this is still very much a work in progress.

Shasta Darlington, CNN, Sao Paulo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, there is new king at the box office this week. Godzilla took in over $90 million at the U.S. box office and reportedly over $100 million overseas. It is one of the biggest box office debuts of the year so far.

Now Godzilla is a Warner Brothers movie. And Warner Brothers is part of the same parent company as CNN.

But before we go, I want to tell you about another giant, a colossal new discovery.

Now Paleontologists in Argentina have unearthed the fossils of what may be the biggest dinosaur to have ever walked the planet, a Titanosaur.

Now scientists estimate that this creature measured 40 meters. Now that is the length of two trailer trucks lined up in front of each other. It weighed some 80,000 kilograms, that's equivalent of 14 elephants.

Now we're going to answer a question I'm sure that you are all wondering about, what's bigger the new dinosaur found in Argentina, or Godzilla?

Well, scientists say that the new dinosaur could stand up to 20 meters, that about the height of a seven story building. But it's not even close to Godzilla. Now the director of the new film says Godzilla stands over 100 meters tall. And of course, Godzilla isn't real.

But the magazine Popular Mechanics decided to crunch the numbers. And if Godzilla were real, they say he'd weigh as much as cruise ship.

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

END