Return to Transcripts main page

NEWS STREAM

UN Panel Rules Julian Assange Unlawfully Detained; Three More Hong Kong Booksellers Show Up in Chinese Custody; Carnival Popular As Ever Despite Zika Scare. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired February 5, 2016 - 8:00   ET

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


[08:00:13] KRISIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristi Lu Stout in Hong Kong, and welcome to News Stream.

Now, Julian Assange calls it vindication. A UN panel determines the WikiLeaks founder has spent years in arbitrary detention.

Now, a murky twist in Hong Kong's missing bookseller mystery, three more have now turned up in Mainland China.

And racing the clock, a human rush of epic proportions to make it home for Lunar New Year.

There is a worrying development in the spread of the Zika virus. We'll look at how one person in the United States got infected.

We just heard from Julian Assange in the last hour. The WikiLeaks founder gave a statement via video link after a UN panel found that he is

being arbitrarily detained.

Now, the Australian has been holed up at Ecuador's London embassy since 2012 trying to avoid extradition to Sweden where he is wanted for

questioning over a rape allegation. Assange says he feels vindicated by the ruling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIAN ASSANGE, WIKILEAKS FOUNDER: Well, I've been detained now without charge in this country, the United Kingdom, for five-and-a-half

years. That's five-and-a-half years where I've had great difficulty seeing my family, and seeing my children.

Today, that detention, without charge, has been found by the highest organization in the United Nations that is -- has the jurisdiction for

considering the rights of detained persons to be unlawful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Let's take you now to Ecuador's embassy in London. CNN's Nima Elbagir joins me from outside the building.

And Nima, Julian Assange in the last hour, he's spoken out. He feels vindicated. What more did he say?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, vindicated, he said, a smile was brought to his face for the first time in a long time. And now the

ball is very much in the courts of UK and Swedish authorities.

It definitely brings a certain moral weight to Julian Assange's argument that he is in effect a political dissident.

But as far as the British authorities are concerned, nothing much has changed here on the ground. You can see here, it's very busy outside the

embassy, that the press, Julian Assange's supporters and of course also the British police have stationed officers outside the Ecuadorian embassy.

But Mr. Assange has said that really it is down to the British authorities to determine what comes next.

And they say this isn't legally binding. If he does come down those steps where in their view he is voluntarily detained himself within that

embassy, that they are still duty bound, they are still bound by the terms of that European arrest warrant to arrest him.

LU STOUT: So, Sweden and the UK, they are not backing down. Walk us through the thinking why the UN legal panel made this decision. Why did

they rule that Julian Assange should be allowed to walk free. And also, this is a controversial point there in the UK, and also compensated for his

deprivation of liberty?

ELBAGIR: Well, the UN has said that it is both action and inaction, that it believes is to blame in the situation. At the heart of it,

legally, it is whether you can be arrested to be questioned for allegations that you have not yet been charged on.

Now, under Swedish law -- and this is what the arrest warrant was issued in the service of, they wanted him to be arrested to be extradited

to Sweden to here -- to be questioned there.

They also say that they have sought to question him here in the Ecuadorian embassy, but that Ecuadorian officials have not granted them

access.

They also, this is the UN panel of experts, the UN panel of experts believe that his detention in isolation in (inaudible) that that was also a

deprivation of liberty.

But of course the British authorities maintained that they have not detained him, that they are merely acting under European law, which

supersedes international humanitarian law, which is what the UN panel of experts are basing their argument on. And that is he is a free man. And

within those terms, he is free to walk down those steps. But if and when he does, they are still duty bound to arrest him here to be questioned

relating to those allegations of rape and sexual assault.

[08:05:02] LU STOUT: And more on that point of isolation and deprivation of liberty, we know that Julian Assange has been stuck there

inside the Ecuadorian embassy behind you since 2012. I mean, what is known about what has been his day-to-day life there and his overall condition?

ELBAGIR: Well, he and his lawyer have described it as a deprivation of light, of space. It's a very small space, we know that. We know it's

possibly two rooms.

And of course he hasn't set foot outside of that space for five-and-a- half years. Julian Assange says that he's been robbed of time with his children.

And he and his lawyer frame the charges against him. They say they are politically framed and have maintained throughout that if he goes to

Sweden, he believes that he will then be deported to the U.S.

But the British authorities say as far as they're concerned, as far as their legal obligation is concerned, that they have to exercise this

European arrest warrant. And then it is then down to the Swedish authorities if there is a case against Julian Assange.

And meanwhile, while all of this has been happening, two of those allegations, two of those charges have actually expired under the statute

of limitations: the bigger charge of rape, the statute of limitations on that is 10 years. But that also, the clock is ticking down on that. And

that will expire in 2020, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right.

CNN's Nima Elbagir reporting live for us outsid the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Thank you, Nima.

Now Julian Assange is, of course, the founder of WikiLeaks. And since the site launched back in 2006, it has exposed hundreds of thousands of

classified government documents.

In 2007, it posted a procedures manual for the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay. And three years on, it published nearly 400,000 secret

military documents from the Iraq war.

Now, three missing Hong Kong booksellers have now turned up in the hands of Mainland Chinese authorities. They all worked in a Hong Kong

publishing house that printed books critical of China's leaders.

And their disappearance sparked concern and now worry a crackdown by Beijing is underway.

And joining me now for more on this story is CNN's Ivan Watson. And Ivan, we have three more missing Hong Kong booksellers turning up in China.

And this is part of a greater crackdown on critics of China outside the borders of Mainland China.

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It appears that way. And they have been missing nearly four months. Their disappearance sparked

street protests here in Hong Kong, accusations that Chinese security services were snatching people from Hong Kong and taking them to the

Mainland.

And now the Chinese government saying, in fact, they're in the hands of the Chinese police in the province of Guangdong, and they are being

investigated for some undetermined criminal activity.

And that seems to fit a broader pattern where more and more critics of the Chinese government keep mysteriously disappearing from neighboring

countries and from cities like Hong Kong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: A desperate appeal from a wife to her husband imprisoned halfway around the world.

GU SHUHUA, WIFE OF DISSIDENT (through translator): I want to tell my husband I hope we will see each other soon. I hope our family will reunite

soon.

WATSON: Gu Shuhua's husband Deng Guangping (ph) is a former police officer in China, who became a pro-democracy activist. Authorities threw

him in prison several times for participating in protests. Last year, Deng fled with his wife and child to Thailand, where they thought they would be

safe. He was suddenly arrested last October. And weeks later, despite objections from the United Nations, he and another Chinese exile were

extradited back to China, where they appeared in this confession broadcast on Chinese state TV.

Gu Shuhua was left in shock.

SHUHUA (through translator): The Chinese government pressured him for so long that he ran away. Why do they still need to chase us?

WATSON: For decades, critics of China's ruling Communist party fled across the border, seeking refuge here in Thailand. But now Chinese

dissidents in Bangkok tell me they live in constant fear of being snatched and dragged back home by Chinese security services.

Yu Yanhua is another Chinese pro-Democracy activist who ran away to Thailand. She hasn't been back to her Bangkok apartment in days, too

frightened, she say, after at least four Chinese dissidents disappeared from Thailand in less than four months.

These are your UNHCR documents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

WATSON: She and fellow Chinese dissident have applied for asylum as political refugees with the UN in an effort to escape the long arm of the

Chinese law.

The decision to run away from your country, that's a very difficult and very big decision to make.

YU YANHUA, CHINESE DISSIDENT (through translator): I thought I would get protection in Bangkok, that I wouldn't have to live in fear of arrest

all the time.

[08:10:12] WATSON: Most frightening for Chinese exiles, the case of this man.

A well-known Swedish publisher of books critical of the Chinese leadership. He mysteriously disappeared from his condominium in October

and was next shown on state TV in January in police custody.

Police in Thailand say they have no record that he ever officially left the country. And they're investigating his possible kidnapping.

MIKE CHINOY, UNIV. OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA U.S.-CHINA INSTITUTE: The Chinese government is trying to extend its reach to intimidate and silence

critics outside of China.

WATSON: And China expert Mike Chinoy argues the cross border crackdown is part of a broader campaign by Chinese leader Xi Jining to

remove any threat to the Chinese Communist Party.

CHINOY: The message is if you cross us, our reach is so great that we'll get you wherever, and it has therefore a deterrent effect on people

who might think of doing the same thing.

CHINOY: The Chinese government insists is is simply upholding the rule of law, adding that anyone who breaks the law will be punished.

A punishment Gu Shuhua says her husband does not deserve.

SHUHUA (through translator): My husband told me he needs to see democracy in China. He will fight until the end.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And these Chinese dissidents you talked to in Thailand, they are extremely afraid. They are afraid that Chinese security agents

will snatch them off the streets. Is there any escape for them?

WATSON: Well, they are supposed to be getting protection as political refugees. They're applying for refugee status with the United Nations High

Commissioner for refugee. In fact, this photo is of Deng Guangping's (ph) family in Thailand right after they filled out their application.

But then look what happened in the case of him and Jang Yefei (ph). They are in Thai custody. And they were basically fast tracked, official

asylum status, refugee status with UNHCR. And then basically invited to Canada to give them refuge. And then within a matter of days they were

suddenly extradited back to China.

That one a statement of real concern of UNHCR, which was evidently powerless to stop the Thai and Chinese authorities from doing this to a man

who was supposed to be a protected refugee.

LU STOUT: At the end of the day, asylum status just not enough.

And then we had this separate very scary, almost sinister way that these missing dissidents reappear and make contact with their loved ones.

And are you seeing a pattern emerging out of this?

WATSON: Absolutely. And this is very opaque. Because somebody will go missing and days, weeks will start to go by. And a loved one will be

searching frantically for them. And you can't get a straight answer from anybody about where they are.

And then in several cases we have seen out of the blue the missing person then reaches out, perhaps in a written message or in a phone call to

their partner, to their spouse and says, you know what I'm okay. I'm in -- I've turned myself in. And please stop searching for me.

And that raises even more suspicion on the part of the very concerned loved one. And it raises more questions about the transparently

particularly of the Chinese security services especially when some of these missing people then end up giving these creepy televised confessions on

Chinese state TV.

LU STOUT: Now freedom of speech is allowed in Hong Kong thanks to the joint Sino-British agreement. Publishing houses take advantage of that

freedom to print books like these that are banned on the mainland and they cover what China considers sensitive topics on its leaders ranging from

political coups to sex scandals.

Now this one it's entitled "Conflicts Inside the 19th Politburo of the CPC." It details the backstabbing among top political players.

And this one, it looks into last year's market crash in China. The book claims that civic securities is controlled by families of top

politicians who engineered the market crash to make money.

And this one, it claims that the First Premier of the People's Republic of China Zhou Enlai had a secret bisexual love life.

Now, many customers who buy these kind of books are in fact from Mainland China.

Now, you're watching News Stream. Still to come on the program, it is Carnival time in Brazil. And we will tell you what's being done to handle

the Zika outbreak during the festivities.

And youth activist Malala Yousafzai weighs in on the untimely death of an 11-year-old Afghan boy killed by the Taliban this week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:16:10] LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now the British department of health has ordered that all planes returning to the UK from Zika affected areas be sprayed with insecticide as

a precaution. At least 29 countries now have an active Zika outbreak and most of those countries are in Latin America and the Caribbean.

But in Brazil, tourists attending the country's annual weeklong Carnival don't seem too concerned about the outbreak there.

Now, Shasta Darlington is in Rio where festivities are kicking off today. Let's go to her now. And Shasta, Carnival is a time of joy, a time

of celebration there. And is the Zika outbreak not dampening the mood at all?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It really isn't, Kristie. I know you would expect it to. But we have been out to street

parties. We've been out to the Sambadrome where the main samba school hold their luxurious parades. They've been doing some trial runs.

And people, frankly, just, they aren't talking about the Zika virus. are looking forward to the

carnival. They say that it isn't something that is distracting them. That doesn't mean, though, that officials aren't taking necessary precautions.

Remember, this is the country where doctors linked the Zika virus to a huge spike in birth defects. And they are very aware of that.

So, they have campaigns on the radio. The president spoke on TV warning women who are pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant to use

repellent. They are even handing it out for free, they are handing out pamphlets, they are also really encouraging people to take care of and get

rid of the standing water in their homes where the mosquito that spreads the virus where its breeds. And that's really the main action that needs

to be done here.

We have also seen official campaigns to go around to fumigate, for example, the Sambadrome and other areas where you might find adult

mosquitoes.

So, they are taking this serious. They are taking measures. But again, on the streets, in the parties, not a whole lot of talk about Zika,

Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, Brazilians determined to enjoy the Carnival celebration there despite the outbreak. And you do add that authorities

are still treating the Zika virus very seriously and addressing that.

One has to wonder about the potential economic impact about what tourists are thinking and the overall impact that's going to have on the

tourism industry of Brazil.

DARLINGTON: It's a good question, Kristie. But surprisingly, what we're finding is that it hasn't had any impact at all so far. On the one

hand, for example, with the Olympic six months away, Olympic officials saying they haven't had any cancellations. And right here during Carnival

they are seeing more tourists this season than they did last year.

Now, there is a very good reason for that and it's because of the exchange rate. With the exchange rate the way it is, it has gotten very

expensive for Brazilians to travel abroad during this week-long holiday. So, many are traveling to destinations here in the country.

It's also gotten a lot cheaper for foreigners to come in and enjoy the Brazilian carnival.

So, while Zika is, according to all these travel warnings, it is something that pregnant woman should really take into organization. It is

being more than offset by the exchange rate, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, CNN's Shasta Darlington reporting live from Rio. Thank you, Shasta.

Now, militants attacked a UN police base in Timbuktu in Mali, but authorities say Malian and UN peacekeeping forces have now retaken control.

Now according to a UN spokesman, attackers drove up to the base in the city of Timbuktu, detonated their vehicle and entered the base. One

policeman was injured in the explosion, though the base was mostly empty at the time.

Now the Nobel Peace Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai, once herself the victim of violence at the hands of the Taliban, is speaking out on the

killing of an 11-year-old boy from Afghanistan. Wasil Ahmed helped protect his family against Taliban fighters who attacked his home last year. But

this week, gunman on motor bikes shot the boy in the head at a market.

Now, here is what the Pakistani youth activist who survived being shot by the Taliban back in 2012, here's what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[08:20:08] MALALA YOUSAFZAI, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER: It is very tragic. And it is not just this one boy, but it's happening to many

children and many people in that region. And it is tragic that they do not have sympathy for children, for innocent children. And wen asked to take

those, only 15 and like the only crime is that you want to go to school, you want freedom, you want to have the right to live in peace, that's the

only crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Malala Yousafzai there.

You're watching News Stream. And after the break, attentions flare on the Democrat debate stage. We look at the crossfire between Hillary

Clinton and Bernie Sanders as they face off in their one on one sparring match.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream. It is down to two in the race for the Democratic bid for the

presidency. And the contenders did not hold back at their latest sparring match. Now, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, they met on stage for a

debate in New Hampshire. Just five days ahead of the vote.

John Berman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Three days after barely winning Iowa, five days before facing daunting odds in New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton

clearly decided she could not wait another day to fight back.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I really don't think these kinds of attacks by insinuation are worthy of you.

BERMAN: The battle, who was the real progressive and who was beholden to the establishment?

CLINTON: I have a progressive who gets things done, and the root of that word progressive is progress.

BERNIE SANDERS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Secretary Clinton does represent the establishment. I represent, I hope, ordinary Americans, and,

by the way, who are not all that enamored with the establishment.

BERMAN: Clinton, who has been careful not to offend the young, passionate support behind Bernie Sanders, now seems to think it is worth

the risk.

CLINTON: Senator Sanders is the only person I think would characterize me, a woman running to be the first woman president, as exemplifying the

establishment. And I've got to tell you, it's really quite amusing to me.

SANDERS: Being part of the establishment is, is in the last quarter, having the super PAC that raised $15 million from Wall Street.

CLINTON: Enough is enough. If you've got something to say, say it directly. You will not find that I ever changed a view or a vote because of

any donation that I ever received.

I think it's time to end the very artful smear that you and your campaign have been carrying out in recent weeks. And let's talk about the

issues that divide us.

BERMAN: Sanders was only too happy to talk about the divisions, not just on Wall Street donations, but also then Senator Clinton's vote to

authorize the Iraq war.

SANDERS: Experience is not the only point. Judgment is. And once again, back in 2002 when we both looked at the same evidence about the

wisdom of the war in Iraq, one of us voted the right way, and one of us didn't.

CLINTON: A vote in 2002 is not a plan to defeat ISIS. We have to look at the threats that we face right now, and we have to be prepared to take

them on and defeat them.

(APPLAUSE)

BERMAN: Clinton also tried to use new information to diffuse the controversy over her use of a private e-mail server as secretary of state.

The fact that now e-mails sent to both Colin Powell and top aides to Condoleezza Rice when they held the job have been deemed classified.

CLINTON: You have these people in the government who are doing the same thing to Secretary Powell and Secretary Rice aides they've been doing

to me, which is that I never sent or received any classified material. They are retroactively classifying it. I agree completely with Secretary Powell

who said today this is an absurdity.

BERMAN: Once again, Sanders refused to pounce on the e-mail questions, though he noted the opportunity is out there.

SANDERS: I will not politicize it. There's not a day that goes by why I am, when I am not asked to attack her on that issue, and I have refrained

from doing that, and I will continue to refrain from doing that.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was John Berman reporting.

Now voting in the Granite State gets underway on Tuesday. Meanwhile, both Republicans and Democrats will be pounding the pavement ahead of the

polls.

Now the former drug executive who raised the price of the life saving drug Daraprim from $14 to $750 was ordered to attend a U.S. congressional

hearing.

Now Daraprim is a crucial treatment drug for AIDS patients.

Now Martin Shkreli didn't seem phased when lawmakers grilled him on the price hike. He refused to answer questions during the hearing. Here's

what happened when one lawmaker tried to give him to talk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it pronounced Shkreli.

MARTIN SHKRELI: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See, there you can answer some questions. That one didn't incriminate you. I just want to make sure you understand you

are welcomed to answer questions and not all of your answers are going to subject you to incrimination. Do you understand that, don't you?

SHKRELI: I intend to follow the advice of my counsel, not yours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: This is News Stream. Up next, a division a thousand years old. And after the break, a look at why an upcoming papal audience in Cuba

is making headlines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:31:42] LU STOUT: Now, thousands of desperate Syrian people are streaming out

of Aleppo in northern Syria. And the exodus comes as government forces and their allies gain key

ground in the battle for the once bustling commercial hub.

Now, CNN's Arwa Damon is at a crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border. She joins us now. And Arwa, fighting in Aleppo has escalated. Civilians

have no place to hide. What are you seeing there at the border?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's not just the fighting in Aleppo, Kristie, it's also the fighting that is taking place in

the countryside around Aleppo with the initial recapture of two small villages by the Assad regime. That largely being credited to the fact that

there have been pretty intense bombardment mostly by Russian fighter jets described by some as being some of the fiercest escalation of violence, of

boardment on these particular areas that were under opposition control since the war in Syria broke out over five years ago.

We have in fact, since we have been here the last few hours been hearing sporadically the low rumblings of explosions in the distance.

Now, behind me you can clearly see that this border crossing is closed as it has been further down. And we can't really see it from where we are

right now or from any other vantage point. There are around 10,000, 20,000 civilians. The estimates are fluctuating.

But all waiting having fled the violence mostly in the countryside, waiting to be allowed access to come into Turkey.

We spoke to one media activist who was among them. He said that some smaller NGOs have

been allowed to go through. They have been trying to set up tents, temporary shelter, waiting for Turkish authorities to finally open this

gate and allow people to come through, but individual families who are sheltering there have also been struggling to try to get things like food

and water, many of them as they have been historically in the past fleeing with just the belongings on their backs.

And Kristie, those people who are fleeing right now at this point in time, these are families that

have been trying to hold out until the very last moment. These are families that up until now had been hoping that perhaps would be some sort

of resolution, that they wouldn't have to make that impossible decision to leave their homeland and everything that they love and know behind.

But once again, we are seeing this repeated cycle where violence is pushing families, children, to make this difficult decision and finally

come and try to live they will have to do once the Turkish authorities do finally allow them through. The United Nations has been expressing its

concern for upwards of 300,000 people they believe will eventually be impacted by this fighting that happened in Aleppo and that might be a

conservative estimate, Kristie.

LU STOUT: CNN's Arwa Damon there reporting live from the Turkish- Syrian border, reporting tens of thousands of Syrian refugees waiting for that opportunity, waiting for Turkey to allow them safe access into the

country.

Now, the pope is heading to Cuba for a historic meeting with the head of the Russian Orthodox

Church. This is the first time in history the head of the two churches will meet.

Now, Christianity split between east and west about 1,000 years ago. A Vatican spokesman made the announcement describing it as beautiful news.

Now CNN contributor Barbie Nadeau joins us now live from Rome. And, Barbie, we have this surprise meeting between Pope Francis and the Russian

orthodox patriarch, a very historic moment.

[08:35:15] BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: That's absolutely right. This really is a feather in the cap for Pope Francis. This is something

that both Benedict XVI and John Paul II tried desperately to make happen, but they weren't able to do so.

The fact that Pope Francis is able to win the confidence of the patriarch of the orthodox church really does speak to his ability to be

seen as a person, as a brother bishop, as someone who really shares the same ideology basically, and so therefore isn't seen as a threat. And

that's why John Paul II and Benedict XVI didn't have luck getting this together, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Barbie Nadeau reporting live from Rome, thank you.

And China's biggest holiday is about to begin. Hundreds of millions are rushing home to celebrate. We will take you on a train ride with some

of them after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, the key U.S. jobs report has been released. The U.S. economy adds 151,000 jobs in January, that is far worse than economists had

expected, but the jobless rate it fell to 4.9 percent, the lowest level in eight years. We're going to have much more on the jobs report on world

business today with Maggie Lake that starts in about 15 minutes from now.

Now turning now to China where Lunar New Year festivities are set to kick off this Sunday.

Hundreds of millions of people are on the move right now trying to get home in time for the

country's most important holiday.

And Alexandra Field went on a journey by train with some of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just take a look around, these people are waiting patiently, but they have been waiting all year for this

moment. For so many of them, this is the one and only time of the year where they will get to go home, they will see their friends, they will see

their family members, which is what makes all of this the largest annual migration of people on the planet.

Here in China, it's called the spring festival and it includes the Lunar New Year so everyone is scrambling to get home by New Year's Eve.

There will be 332 million train trips taken across China. These people have all had to buy their tickets weeks in advance. For a lot of

them, the journey won't just take hours, it will actually take days.

The trains leaving the stations here in Southern China are some of the busiest in the entire country, that is because this is a region that's

full of factories, it's a manufacturing area. The workers come from all over the country, which means that the journey home can start with one

train ride, being followed by a few more train rides. And some people tell us after that, they could have to hope on a couple of buses.

These trains will run all through the day and all through the night. Every single seat on this train is sold out, and actually it is quite

common that you will see people sitting on the floor. A lot of these trains have standing room only, every inch is packed with stuff that people

are bringing home.

If there are delays, if weather throws the schedule off, that's when we can have pretty big problems with all these people traveling, it can

create a lot of chaos.

The spring festival lasts for 40 days. During that time there will be 2.9 billion trips. But the biggest rush happens in the days and the hours

before the dawn of the year of the red fire monkey.

(END VIDETOAPE)

[08:40:05] LU STOUT: Alexandra Field reporting there.

Now, he was perhaps one of the most joyous singers ever. And this song was incredible, September, performed by Morris white from the band

Earth, Wind, and Fire.

(MUSIC)

Love that song.

White has unfortunately passed away at the age of 74. The Memphis native founded the group in the late 1960s. It soon turned into one of

America's leading acts. And White, once said the whole objective of his band is to create, quote, positive energy.

Morris White, a music legend, dead at the age of 74.

Now, in an unassuming community in the heart of Mumbai and two of the biggest names in western music are at the center of a big debate in India.

Now, critics call the latest music video by Coldplay and Beyonce a series of cliches about the country. And the controversial video is about

to get a lot more exposure when Coldplay performs it during this Sunday's Super Bowl.

Mallika Kapur reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is the video that is taking the internet by storm. 21 million hits on YouTube within the

first four days and number one on iTunes India.

Thank you to the people of India for making us feel so welcome, tweeted British band Coldplay. But in India, where the video is was

filmed, some people are showing it less love.

MIHIR JOSHI, MUSICIAN: Gardening, check. Kids dressed as gods, check. Colors, bright, bright, colors. Check. Slums, check.

KAPUR: Like Mumbai-based musician Mihir Joshi, many people in India say the video reinforces age-old stereotypes and doesn't show India as it

is today.

"Tryied to count the India cliches, gave up after first 30 seconds," says this tweet.

JOSHI: When you become a band as big as Coldplay, you have a little responsibility towards showing something which is relatively accurate.

KAPUR: I asked popular Bollywood star Sonam Kapoor who appears in the video what she thinks of the controversy.

SONAM KAPOOR, ACTOR: Some people are loving it and some people aren't. And when it comes to art, any discussion is good discussion.

There's a lot of westernization in our films and our music videos and everything. And, you know, we don't -- I mean, nobody speaks about us

offending other people's sensibilities.

But they are showing a part of India which exists.

KAPUR: This is a village where Coldplay shot most of its music video. And while there's a raging debate and discussion in other parts of India,

over here nobody seems to care. Nobody even seems to know what Coldplay is.

"No, never heard of it," says this street vendor.

Coldplay?

But for Coldplay, a little bit of controversy is translating into a lot of clicks in one of the world's fastest growing online markets.

MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN, Mumbai.

(END VIDEOATAPE)

LU STOUT: And that is News Stream.

END