Return to Transcripts main page

NEWS STREAM

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Continues; Typhoon Rammasun Slams Philippines; NASA Claims Finding Life On Other Planets Not Far Away; Apple and IBM Partner; Immigrants Face Harrowing Ride On Train Called The Beast; In Iraq, Unlikely Alliances Form

Aired July 16, 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: Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.

Tuesday's collapsed ceasefire is a distant memory as fighting continues between Israel and militants in Gaza.

A powerful typhoon sweeps through the Philippines. We speak to a storm chaser who was there.

And Apple and IBM join forces to take on Microsoft and Blackberry in the battle to win over business users.

Now Hamas and Israel are trading fire this day. And the Israeli military warns of more to come after a failed attempt at forging an Egypt

brokered ceasefire. Now Israel is now urging residents in east and north Gaza to leave ahead of more air strikes to follow.

Now Karl Penhaul has been on the front line with first responders. He's also been visiting some of the eastern neighborhoods of Gaza where

residents got those evacuation warnings.

Let's bring him in now. He joins us live from Gaza.

And Karl, how many residents there have been heeding Israel's warning to evacuate? And also where can they go?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well essentially, Kristie, of the inhabitants of these neighborhoods in eastern Gaza say that

one way or another they have been notified of Israel's intention to strike the area with bombs. Some of them say that they've received leaflets that

were dropped by the Israeli military. They say these simply fell in the street and they would pick them up. World of mouth is obviously passed

through these large neighborhoods. And also as well some of them have been receiving these so-called robocalls, those are the automated voice calls

tell them to clear out, they are in imminent danger.

Now that was overnight. And then the Israeli military followed up those words with decisive actions. In the course of this morning and

through part of the afternoon, we've seen multiple Israeli air strikes going in on those areas from F-16 fighter jets. We counted probably at

least 15 by this stage.

Are they having any effect on Hamas's capability to fire rockets? Well, again, a mixed answer there because at one point precisely from an

area we saw the Israelis bombing then just a few moments later Hamas or one of the other militant groups opened up with rockets firing about eight

rockets from a single launch point. And since then we've seen two or three more launches of rockets in eastern neighborhoods of Gaza.

Of course, yes, the civilians are bearing the brunt. We've seen the number of families simply pulling their belongings from their homes,

putting them in trunks of cars and moving out. And at one point, we came across a man moving his entire family out -- his wife, his sister, about 10

kids all on the back of a donkey cart. And I said to him, are you afraid?

And he looks at me and he says, "afraid, no." He says, "I feel as if I'm already dead -- Kristie."

LU STOUT: The air strikes go on with the growing fear there of more to come, that's why people are evacuating. The death toll in this conflict

continues to rise, Karl. And what is the latest on the humanitarian fallout and also the need on the ground there in Gaza?

PENHAUL: Well, absolutely. I mean, you look at the death toll and the toll of wounded as well. And we have to bear in mind that according to

the United Nations that many would seem as a pretty neutral arbiter, according to the United Nations have been between 70 and 80 percent of

those casualties are civilians, something very much to bear in mind. And that is already generating calls from human rights groups that what we're

seeing here could once again perhaps be the disproportionate use of force - - although there is criticism, of course, of Hamas and the other militant groups of using civilian areas to fire their weaponry from.

But what are we looking at in terms of the humanitarian situation? Well, right now the hospitals seem to be coping with the level of

casualties, although we see here news of a hospital on the northern Gaza border this morning that took a couple of rounds from an Israeli tank, they

say. And also the situation with the water. We're hearing reports that in parts of the city people can no longer get water piped to their homes

because of air strikes and the electricity, the power teams, well they're working almost around the clock to make sure that they can keep power up to

Gaza for as long as possible. But of course the longer that this goes on, the quicker some of the basic supplies will run out, although again we've

just driven past an open street market who still seems to be in plentiful supply.

And so right now people are holding up, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Karl Penhaul with the picture of the situation on the ground there in Gaza. Thank you, Karl, for your reporting.

And we have got correspondents covering the story on both sides of the border. Later this hour, we'll give you the inside look from Israel where

CNN's Diana Magnay is tracking the latest developments from Ashkalon.

Now after a failed ceasefire attempt and resumed crossfire across the border, the end goal for Hamas seems to have become elusive, especially

after a loss of support in Egypt.

Now John Vause takes a look at the politics at play here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The ceasefire proposed by Egypt was due to come into effect on Tuesday, but Hamas had already

rejected it. This from its military wing in a statement, "what is in the content of this proposal is submissive and meek. We in the al-Qassam

Brigade reject altogether the proposal, which for us is not worth the ink that it was written with."

So the rockets continued to fly from Gaza, and within six hours Israeli airstrikes resumed and the Israeli prime minister set out the goals

of what he called an expanded campaign.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Quiet for the citizens of Israel, the total destruction of the terrorist

organization. These decisions are taken after much thought without haste.

VAUSE: Some Israeli ministers voted against the ceasefire. They see Hamas as vulnerable and this as a chance to deal the group a mortal blow

and to demilitarize Gaza.

AVIGDOR LIEBERMAN, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): There is a need to lead. There is a need to end this operation when the

Israeli army is in control over the whole Gaza Strip.

VAUSE: Hamas's biggest problem: a changing of the guard in Egypt. Its close ally, Mohamed al-Morsy being ousted as president by a man Hamas

distrusts and dislikes. Abdel Fatah el-Sisi. And within the Palestinian movement there are deep differences with the Palestinian Authority backing

the Egyptian plan.

SAEB ERAKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: If there is any sign of hope to stop this cycle of violence, to stop these killing fields out

there, to stop the killing of women -- the destruction of Gaza, what we need to do now is to exert every possible effort in order to ensure that

Egypt protects it.

VAUSE: The United States says it's ready to get engaged, but wants Egypt to make the running.

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I am prepared to fly back to the region tomorrow if I have to, or the next day or the next in order to

pursue the prospects if this doesn't work.

But they deserve, the Egyptians deserve the time and the space to be able to try to make this initiative work.

VAUSE: For now, there are no signs that Hamas leadesr are on board and Middle East envoy Tony Blair sees a crossroads.

TONY BLAIR, FRM. BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It's increasingly clear Hamas are going to have to make a choice. Maybe they don't want to make

it. And the choice is are they genuine Palestinian nationalists that are prepared to accept a two-state solution with a viable and proper state of

Palestine alongside a secure state of Israel or are they not? Are they part of simply a terrorist movement that wants to kill as many Israelis as

possible?

VAUSE: Hamas says what it really wants is an end to the eight year long blockade against Gaza, which has suffocated the daily lives of the

nearly 2 million Palestinians living there. Two perceptions, as far apart as ever.

John Vause, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been sworn in for a new seven year term. He was reelected in June some three years into the

country's civil war.

In his inauguration speech, Mr. al-Assad accused western and Arab states of supporting terrorism. He also said his reelection shows that the

country is united.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASHAR AL-ASSAD, PRESIDENT OF SYRIA (through translator): This election, it was a fight full of will and on the express all the other

conflict in order to win it, to win this one, in order to (inaudible) of the nation, they wanted to show that the Syrian man is weak in order to

give an excuse for the interference by outside forces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now a necessary reminder. 10,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began. Millions of people have been displaced

from their homes, many of them into neighboring countries.

Now the Philippines is on edge after its first major typhoon of the season. Up to 350,000 people have fled their homes. Cities were lashed by

high winds and heavy rain. We'll take you there live for the very latest next.

Plus, we show you why this train is known as the Beast. And why so many migrants are willing to make the very risky journey on top of its

carriages all in search for a better life.

And also ahead, China is heating up its campaign of anti-Japanese propaganda, opening a memorial to Japanese war crimes. We head to the

front line in China's war of words.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: As many as 350,000 people have had to flee their homes in the Philippines as Typhoon Rammasun swept through the country.

Now the official death toll from the storm stands at five, but higher numbers are being reported by local media.

Now the strong winds and heavy rain battered towns toppling power lines and sending debris flying. Now Rammasun, known locally as Glenda, is

the strongest storm to hit the country this year. It made landfall late on Tuesday. It is the first typhoon to hit since Supertyphoon Haiyan

devastated parts of the Philippines last year.

Now the storm is now on its way to China. It's set to gain strength over the South China Sea. Now storm chaser James Reynolds joins me now live

from the Philippines where he's been monitoring the storm. And James, you witnessed the immediate aftermath of the storm, what did you see?

JAMES REYNOLDS, STORM CHASER: Hi, Kristie.

Well, at first light this morning, I traveled through the center of Legazpi City, which was really one of the first cities which was hit by the

typhoon late last night and really received some of the strongest winds.

But thankfully I can say given how severe the winds were at the time, the damage doesn't look as bad as I was initially expecting. People were

out on the streets. It was really what I would call a community effort to try and clear away the fallen trees and the downed power lines. And it

looks like some of the power has been restored to the city now, so hopefully you know the worst fears haven't been realized in this part of

the country where I am, Kristie.

LU STOUT: You know, we're looking at some of the video that you filmed of the full force of this storm. Again, the strongest storm hit the

country so far this year. And James, it comes eight months after Supertyphoon Haiyan. Do you think that the Philippines is more aware, more

prepared this time around for this latest storm?

REYNOLDS: Absolutely.

You know the devastating event that's of Haiyan are fresh in the memory of everyone in this area. Thankfully, this storm just missed the

areas which, you know, are still reeling to this day from the effects of Haiyan, but it still took people here by surprise.

Yes, it is a typhoon hardened area, but people were not expecting a typhoon of this severity, because it really rapidly intensified before

landfall. That caught many people by surprise, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Incredible to hear people were still taken by surprise by this storm. Rammasun's peak was equivalent to a category two hurricane.

Again, we're looking at video of the storm as it swept through. You were there witness it, to take video and footage of it. And I have to ask you,

what did it feel like when it swept through? What was it like?

REYNOLDS: Well, this -- I have to say, you know, I was in a very solid building. I was by the waterfront, but it was made of solid

concrete, and at times it was very frightening. And these storms can be and are incredibly frightening. It's dark. Debris crashing all around.

Windows exploding. Rain just filling the air, really just a sensory overload so to speak. And really, you know, if you're not used to these

kind of conditions, or your not in a suitable shelter, really, really very frightening, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, James Reynolds, we appreciate your reporting and your footage as always. Thank you very much indeed and take care.

Now let's get more now on Rammasun, its aftermath and damage caused there in the Philippines and always where it's heading next. Mari Ramos is

tracking it. She joins us from the World Weather Center -- Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Pretty serious stuff when it comes to that storm. I want to, first of all, start you off with a

satellite image. And this is the latest one right here. Winds moving to the -- excuse me, it's moving to the north and west at about 28 kilometers

per hour. Continuing on this track, winds about 150 kilometers per hour, but it is expected to intensify once it moves into the South China Sea.

I want to take you here. This is Manila. Just on the other side of Manila Bay, there is an area called Bacan and that is a very vulnerable

area. This is on the other side of where James was talking to us from.

Let's go ahead and roll the pictures, because this is a little bit different. They did get some very heavy rain, and of course the typhoon

strength winds, but these pictures that you're seeing here are actually, Kristie, from before the time the typhoon actually struck. And you can see

how vulnerable the population in this area is. It had already rained quite heavily, about 80 millimeters of rain as of yesterday. And they were

already flooded in many cases. And the evacuations were already ongoing.

These are the populations, these are the areas that are going to be the most vulnerable to the impacts of a tropical cyclone, as you can see

here. Pretty dramatic images coming around this entire region.

Now if you come back over to the weather map. And now my satellite is moving finally. Here you see the storm continuing to move into the South

China Sea. Conditions improving across the Philippines. We still have some moisture here in areas to the south that a flow coming in from the

south, some very heavy rain at times. The threat for flooding, mudslides remains. At times the rain will be quite heavy.

As the storm moves into the South China Sea what we're going to see here is the rain easing up across the Philippines. And you can see in some

cases -- Manila will get about 35 additional millimeters of rainfall and Legazpi will still see a little bit.

More, but the conditions should begin to improve as it moves away.

The storm is intensifying. And that's what we're expected to happen when it moves into these very warm waters of the South China Sea. And

notice this tract, the margin of error taking it from just south of Hong Kong to just south of Hainan here, but it looks like this is going to be

Ground Zero as the storm makes landfall yet again. Winds close to 185 kilometers per hour, which is where it was when it made landfall here near

Legazpi.

Weakened a little bit and now moving into this area and even in places like Hong Kong, we could see winds maybe gusting as high as 90 kilometers

per hour, which is very significant.

I also want you to notice as it continues to track to the north, we could see the storm getting closer and closer to the Hong Kong area and

that would be very significant as well.

Kristie, back to you.

LU STOUT: All right, thanks for the warning. Mari Ramos tracking Rammasun for us. Take care, Mari.

Now the U.S. government has extended a deadline for people to submit their opinions on net neutrality, because a number of comments so far has

been overwhelming.

Now the FCC invited the public's input on proposals that could change the way the Internet works.

Now the current proposal could allow companies to pay Internet providers for a fast lane that would give them priority access to

customers.

Now right now providers are supposed to provide equal access to all websites.

But activists worry that the fast lane could mean slower access to sites that haven't paid or that providers may charge customers to access

fast lanes.

So, how can you have your say on the matter?

Well, you could either email the FCC directly. The address is, write it down, openinternet@fcc.gov, or you could access their official comment

system online. Just go to fcc.gov/comments and you've got to click on the one called protecting and promoting the open Internet.

Now the original deadline, it was July 15. But again it's now been extended to Friday.

You're watching News Stream. Still to come on the program, people putting their lives at risk to make it across the U.S. border on a train

that's called the Beast. That story straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream. Now demonstrations in the city of Oracle, Arizona over where

to shelter migrant children.

Now some wanted to show their support, but many are against Washington's plan to house dozens of children from Central America in their

town. Now this has turned into a national debate on immigration. And more than 250 protests are planned in the U.S. this weekend.

Now some chase a dream of a better life in the U.S. by any means possible. And one of the more dangerous ways is to hop a freight train.

Now CNN's Gary Tuchman went to Mexico to track the place where the reality of their difficult journey truly starts to set in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORREPSONDENT: This is the most notorious freight train in the world. Its nickname is the Beast. It's also known as the

train of death. And it's just rolled in to this small southern Mexican town.

It is called the beast, or the train of death and it's heading north, arriving in the southern Mexican pueblo of Ixtepec. When it is in the

midst of its journey across Mexico, hundreds of migrants sit on top and in between its cars, many people get hurt of killed boarding or getting off

while it's moving, and that's why it's known as the train of death.

The train in Ixtepec is making a pit stop and many of the people on top of the train for as many as eight hours are getting off for food and

water.

This Honduran man was one of the passengers.

He says the ride wasn't so bad, that he left Honduras to find better work.

Like many of the passengers, he is extremely hungry.

Most people get off the beast right now to get a nearby shelter and will catch the next train, but some people like these guys up there will

stay on this train because they don't want to miss this when it leaves.

The shelter in Ixtepec provides food, water, medical care and is well known among migrants who can spend as much time as they want here. Two-

year-old Richard of Honduras is here. His foot was cut off when he and his mother were run over by one of the train wheels when they were trying to

get off. The arm of his mother Emily was partially detached. She pulled her son off the tracks with her good arm just before her son would have

been killed.

She says, "I couldn't believe what was happening while it was taking place. One of the things I thought was that this is God's will, then it's

God's will."

Unaccompanied children share this facility with adult migrants before they go back to the beast for the rest of the journey north. Volunteers,

many from the United States, help take care of them.

Emily is an artist, a painter, who dreamed of practicing her craft in the U.S. I ask if she and her two-year-old will continue their journey to

the United States.

She says, yes. So none of this will be in vain.

The beast will be leaving soon.

This guy is waiting to get on the train right now. He's waiting for it to slow down and up. And he says he wants to go to the United States.

And he's going to stay on it until he gets to the U.S. border.

The journey with other train connections will take no less than 12 or so days. For many much longer, if they make it at all.

Once people start boarding, they have no idea when it actually will start its trip to the north. It starts and stops for awhile while they get

it back on track. And I'm not going to go for a ride, I'm going to get off before it's going very fast.

But it's anybody's guess when it will get to the United States. I'm getting off now, because it's starting to go fast.

This is a life for the very motivated and very desperate.

The train at this point sometimes goes all the way to the United States and sometimes does not. There's a transit point about 300 miles

north of here where the train is then divided on four different lines. One line goes to California area, three other lines to different parts of

Texas. So there's lots of transferring generally for these immigrants to make it, if they make it.

This is Gary Tuchman, CNN, in Ixtepec, Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: An incredible story and a harrowing journey.

You're watching News Stream. And still to come, we go live to Israel where hope for a Middle East ceasefire has dissolved into resume crossfire

and air raid sirens.

Plus, an unlikely pairing in the tech world. Ahead this hour, we explain why Apple and IMB are joining forces.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now Israel is warning residents in areas of northern and eastern Gaza to leave ahead of more airstrikes in the hours ahead. And Hamas rockets

have been fired at Israel.

Now this comes after a failed attempt at forging an Egypt brokered ceasefire.

Ukraine is urging the EU to step up sanctions against Russia. Now Kiev claims that Moscow may have played a part in the downing of a military

plane on Monday as well as an airstrike on a town on Tuesday that killed 11 people. EU leaders are meeting today to discuss the crisis and tougher

sanctions against Russia will likely be on the table.

Now Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been sworn in for another seven year term. He addressed the nation after his inauguration saying

Syrians are united and will not bow down to terrorists. Mr. al-Assad was reelected in June some three years into Syria's civil war.

Now Typhoon Rammasun is heading for Vietnam and southern China after battering the Philippines with wind and rain. Five deaths have been

confirmed by the authorities. And local journalists tell CNN that the power was knocked out on more than half of the main island of Luzon.

Now more now on the escalating crisis between Israel and Hamas. Let's get right to Israel and CNN's Diana Magnay joins us now live from Ashkalon

near the Gaza border.

And Diana, Israel has been warning scores of people in Gaza to flee. I mean, why? What does it plan to do next?

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They have. And it really is so that it can say that they are trying to minimize civilians

casualties in their continued aerial bombardment of Gaza.

So they dropped leaflets a couple of days ago. It was in the north of the Gaza Strip on Beit Lahia (ph), now it is in Mizl (ph) and Saut (ph),

Zatun Shadahiya (ph), asking residents to leave. Hamas has been telling residents to stay put, presumably because they know that Israel will

probably not strike if they know that there are civilians there.

The question is, really, where are all these people supposed to go in this incredibly densely populated part of the world where you have Egypt

and the Mediterranean on one side and Israel very close on the other. And as far as Israel is concerned, they're waging quite a slick propaganda

campaign to prove to anyone who wants to see, or to try and prove, that they really are doing their best to minimize civilians casualties.

The latest thing I just saw on their twitter feed is these are all the things we are doing to try and warn citizens, civilians, that we are about

to strike. So leaflets, recorded phone calls, knocks on the roof and mortar if you consider that a real warning. And it says and Hamas is doing

nothing.

The question is what is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's strategy going forward? Is he going to continue with these air strikes? Is he

able, through these air strikes, to really start to deplete Hamas's missile arsenal or will he decide to put the troops forward and risk far greater

loss of life on both sides.

And at the moment, Kristie, it looks as though the aerial campaign suits him fine is the way he's going to go going forward as far as we can

tell from now, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Air strikes likely to go forward, may even escalate. Human rights groups have criticized Israel air strikes. Just how precise are

these military air attacks by Israel?

MAGNAY: Well, you know, they are as technology -- as precise as technology and the sort of highest military technology can allow them to

be, but that still means that if you take out a house people will be hit by rubble. This is why we've seen the death toll go up and up. You know,

there is only so precise that you can be in war despite very sophisticated technology.

So, if it does continue with this bombardment the casualty count inside of Gaza, inside of these incredibly densely populated area, is

simply going to go up and that is the dilemma that Israel faces.

That said, if you sent in ground troops it would probably go up further, but there is only so much that you can strike from the air and

remain accurate and do what Israel presumably wants done and that is to rid Hamas of its weapons stockpile, much of which is buried underground and

much of which the Israeli defense forces, Kristie, say is hidden inside civilian structures -- so schools and kindergartens and in the courtyards

of Mosques.

So it is very difficult -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Diana Mangay reporting live from Ashkalon, thank you very much indeed for that.

Now the conflict in Gaza, it's taking place against a backdrop of volatility happening across the region in the Middle East. And as Jim

Sciutto now reports the violence might be on the verge of getting even worse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Gaza, hopes for an immediate ceasefire today up in smoke even before it started.

KERRY: There are great risks in what is happening there in the potential of an even greater escalation of violence.

SCIUTTO: It's a statement that could describe an entire region mired in conflict from Gaza to Libya to Iraq and Syria.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: I would argue that given conditions in the Middle East this might be more dangerous than at any time in the past.

SCIUTTO; In Libya, warring militias bombarded Tripoli's airport as the government considers asking for international troops. In Iraq,

politicians took a first step towards a new government even as ISIS militants bulldozed barriers along the Iraq-Syria border and celebrated the

takeover of Iraqi government buildings. In the neighboring Syria, ISIS is flourishing as the civil war rages on with the UN now urgently sending in

humanitarian aid.

This week, the White House raised eyebrows seeming to claim broad foreign policy victories in the region.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: There have been a number of situations in which you've seen this administration intervene in a

meaningful way that has substantially furthered American interests and substantially improved the tranquillity of the global community.

SCIUTTO: Today, the administration insisted it is engaged diplomatically.

JEN PSAKI, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: This is not an administration or a secretary that rests. The fact is there are a range of

factors happening in the world that are not caused by the United States, but the United States remains engaged in because we care about the

stability in the region as well.

SCIUTTO: The other major U.S. foreign policy priority in the region are the nuclear negotiations with Iran. They face a deadline for a long-

term agreement this Saturday, but it is unlikely to be met. Today's Secretary Kerry said the two sides have made, quote, tangible progress, but

significant gaps remain. He is returning to Washington to discuss next steps, including the possible extinction of talks and the interim deal for

months.

Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now as Jim Sciutto reported there, Iraqi security forces have been losing large parts of the country to Islamic militants. The

latest setback was in Tikrit.

Now Iraqi forces have withdrawn from Central Tikrit after fierce fighting with militants believed to be ISIS. An Iraqi military official

tells CNN that the battle broke out late on Tuesday killing 52 Iraqi forces and 40 militants.

Now Iraq is receiving help in its fight against militants from its Iran, but it's also getting assistance from Washington. That's making for

an uncomfortable dynamic.

Arwa Damon has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: With its own forces struggling, the Iraqi government is increasingly relying on Iranian backed

Shia militias to hold the front against ISIS, especially around the capital. That reliance has the U.S. concerned.

And with U.S. advisers on the ground and surveillance overhead it's created an indirect alliance of foes.

Among them, AAH, Asaib al-Haq who in 2007 carried out one of the most sophisticated attacks against U.S. forces. Disguised as American soldiers

driving American vehicles and speaking English, the assailants caught U.S. troops at the provincial counsel building in Karbala unaware. One U.S.

soldier was killed at the site, four others kidnapped and slain.

The mastermind of the attack, this man, Qais Khazali along with his brother Laif (ph) and Hezbollah operative Ali Moussa Dakduk (ph).

In his first interview with an American network, he says AAH is not the enemy of the American people, but they were fighting an occupation.

He boasts of the tactical battle between AAH and the American military.

QAIS KHAZALI, ASAIB AL-HAQ MILITIA (through translator): In the beginning, a small IED was able to destroy an American Humvee, but then the

Americans up-armored the humvees so we developed an IED that could blast through the armor.

DAMON: And while for now they may be fighting against a mutual enemy, the U.S. is worried about the control Shia militias have and the

possibility that ISIS has infiltrated Iraqi forces, dangers U.S. advisers could face.

What is your position, vis-a-vis the presence of American advisers in Iraq? American drones are flying overhead right now and the Iraqi

government has asked for U.S. air strikes?

KHAZALI (through translator): We don't look at the U.S. as an occupying force anymore, this is over.

DAMON: Iraq doesn't need more fighters, he says, it has plenty. But they do need experience. There are both U.S. and Iranian advisers on the

ground and both nations among others flying their drones overhead.

The war with America trained AAH in unconventional warfare, but now Khazali says they are up against an enemy that fights just like they do.

KHAZALI (through translator): The American military is a classic military, so it is fight against them using guerrilla warfare. It is

easier than fighting al Qaeda. Guerrilla warfare is more difficult and complicated and requires a lot of endurance and specific tactics.

DAMON: AAH fighters have been to the Syrian battlefield and faced ISIS there. But here, they are better equipped and with their Iraqi allies

an even stronger enemy.

Iraq needs all the help it can get, as uncomfortable and bizarre as these alliances are for the Americans.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And after the break, we take a look at the Chinese government's latest efforts to highlight Japanese war

crimes as relations between the two remain strained.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now new upset among China's political elite as the country's corruption probe closes in on more members of the Communist Party. Xinhua

reports that three senior officials have been ousted from the party.

Now (inaudible), the former secretary of Kunming, Jao Juyong (ph), a former senior official in the eastern province of Jiangxi, and Mao Sa Bing

(ph), former party chief of the city of Xining in the northwest of the country, each of them face accusations of corruption.

Now it is the latest in a countrywide campaign spearheaded by Chinese president Xi Jinping.

And much of the investigation seems to trace back to the former domestic security czar Jo Yong Kang (ph). At least 30 officials have been

detained in recent months. And many of those in custody have ties to the former security chief.

Now he was reportedly under investigation some six months ago.

Now in China, anti-Japanese sentiment runs deep. And recently the government has turned up the propaganda against its longtime foe by posting

confessions of Japanese war criminals online.

Now David McKenzie shows us just how intertwined history and politics are in China.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNAITONAL CORRESPONDENT: A government organized bus tour of Manjing (ph), the Communist Party wants to give us a

history lesson.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those skeletons were discovered...

MCKENZIE: Of Japanese aggression.

In late 1937, the imperial Japanese army entered the city ruthlessly targeting thousands of civilians during six weeks of murder and rape.

And while the Communist Party blacks out inconvenient periods of its own history in China, they have dedicated an expansive memorial in Nanjing

to Japanese war crimes, crimes that are still vivid in the memory of survivors.

The pain of the victims, of course, is very real and their stories are horrific, but there's also some thing of political theater in this. You

cannot separate history from politics in China.

And right now, China is campaigning with government websites, state media newscasts and magazines all ramming home Japan's past aggressions.

It's orchestrated propaganda, saying history Jeff Kingston.

JEFF KINGSTON, TEMPLE UNIVERSITY: China is playing the history card. It's trying to remind the world and Japan that there are unresolved

historic grievances.

MCKENZIE: Sparked, he says, by a Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe's controversial visit to the Yasakuni shrine last year where 14 convicted war

criminals are interned.

Abe has called courted far-right politicians who deny the Nanjim massacre and he's trying to strengthen Japan's military in the fact of an

expanding Chinese influence in the region.

And bitter disputes over islands in the East China Sea that both countries claim.

KINGSTON: These battles of words, battles over history undermine trust.

MCKENZIE: He says by casting itself as a victim of the past, China is trying to win rhetorical war of the present. It could become very

dangerous game.

David McKenzie, CNN, Nanjing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now a new report by the Pew Research Center really highlights the extent of the anti-Japanese sentiment in China. It's part

of their spring 2014 global attitude survey.

Now, according to the survey, only 8 percent of people surveyed in China had favorable views of Japan.

Now the country getting the most love from China, well, fellow world super power the U.S. And in Japan, the cool feelings from China are

certainly reciprocated, just 7 percent said that they were fans. And once again the U.S. was the most highly regarded of the countries polled.

Now Pew's survey, it looked at how citizens of 11 Asian countries and the U.S. viewed each other. And it highlighted that although China is seen

as a big power, it's also seen as a threat by several countries in the region.

Now, let's move over here, Apple is teaming up with IBM. The one-time rivals will now work together to provide apps for business customers. Now

IBM will use its expertise with corporate clients to create software that will run on Apple's devices.

Now this is a move that reflects the changing face of business and an area that used to be ruled by Blackberries.

Now U.S. President Barack Obama famously became the first president to use a Blackberry, a sign of how popular the devices were. And the

Blackberry was seen as the only device reliable and secure enough for business.

But as more consumers choose iPhones and Android handsets for personal use, it is affected the Blackberry's standing at work.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT WARMAN, THE INDEPENDENT: The Blackberry domination is already coming to an end sort of organically if you like, but what this deal will

offer is a much greater focus on the services that people want that have previously been delivered by Blackberry are primarily focused on business.

And those are things that, to be honest, don't sound very exciting. It's about reliability, it's about sort of permanent access to everything you

need.

IBM has been very good at focusing on that sort of stuff. Apple has been very good on focusing on providing devices that people as consumers

genuinely want to buy and have been calling for in the enterprise as well.

So what we're going to see, I think, is a happy coincidence, if you like, of two companies where as Tim Cook also said, they don't compete, but

they do really compliment each other very neatly.

So, especially if you're in a regulated market, for instance, this is the sort of thing where an awful lot of employees have been crying out for

it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU SOTUT: Now it might seem surprising to see two companies that were once fierce enemies team up here. Now in the early 1980s, Apple often

taunted their bigger rival IBM. This famous ad for the original Macintosh is a prime example. It portrays IBM as the oppressive big brother from

George Orwell's 1984, and Apple is the bright and colorful symbol of resistance.

But the two companies have also had a long period of collaboration. In fact, in the 1990s Apple and IBM teamed up with Motorola to create the

Power PC chip. Now the Power PC would be used in Macintosh computers for more than a decade.

You're watching News Stream. And still to come, we'll speak to an expert about the search for life outside Earth. That up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now this week, a panel met at NASA headquarters in Washington to go beyond the philosophical question of whether we're alone in the universe,

they looked at the signs, the technical advances. And their conclusion, a scientist looking for life on another planet like our own are a lot closer

to their goal than people realize.

Now Hakeem Oluseyi is the host of the program Outrageous Acts of Science. He joins me now live from Orlando, Florida.

And professor Oluseyi, welcome to the program.

This claim from NASA. I mean, what do you make of it? Will NASA be able to find new life beyond Earth in just 20 years?

HAKEEM OLUSEYI, HOST, OUTRAGEOUS ACTS OF SCIENCE: Well, it's a bold claim. And you know we really can't say ahead of time that it's actually

going to happen, but there are compelling reasons to believe that it actually may happen. We now know where to look for these signs of life.

There are good places to look within our solar system and on extrasolar planets. The technology is coming along, the science is coming along, so

just as 40 years ago we could not necessarily say that we're definitely going to see extra-solar planets and today we find them in a very, very

efficiently -- is now commonplace. We're at a similar place when it comes to life.

We knew that the planets were there, we just had to find them. We strongly believe that life is there and we just have to find it.

LU STOUT: This is exciting stuff. You're saying that we now know where to look. So where is NASA looking to find new life out there?

OLUSEYI: Well, what happened recently is a team of scientists published a paper where for the first time they were able to develop an

index that could describe the likelihood for life on other planets. And in fact there's a planet that's been found that is better suited for life than

even the Earth in the Gliese 581 system. And there are several planets that have been found, maybe four, that are better suited for life than

Mars, which we think has been a good candidate for finding life here in our own solar system, at least ancient life.

So, not only that, as technology comes along, we can -- we're at the verge of making a very difficult measurement very commonplace. And that is

as measuring the chemical composition of an extra-solar planet's atmosphere. So we have two space craft that are planned. There's tests to

be launched in 2017. There's the James Webb space telescope to be launched in 2018 and we're going to see breakthroughs.

LU STOUT: Breakthroughs thanks to technology like space probes, telescopes, like the Keppler telescope, et cetera.

Now when these discoveries do happen, what kind of life will be discovered? Are we talking about potentially advanced lifeforms or

something more basic, more primitive?

OLUSEYI: Well, when we talk about extra-solar planets, more than likely what we're going to find are what we call biomarkers. We're going

to find elements in the chemical compositions of these atmospheres that would indicate that there's life in the atmosphere, but it's going to be

difficult exactly what type of life it is.

But when we search within our own solar system, when we develop the capability to look in the oceans of Europe or on Soladus (ph), or visit the

surface of Titan, something even more exciting may happen. We may directly detect life. And we don't know, right. Chances are it'll be single celled

life, but it could be life unlike anything we've seen.

There's even been scientists who proposed there is life here that we don't even recognize as life because it's so different.

So, you know, it's best to keep an open mind.

LU STOUT: Best to keep an open mind. It's also a very thrilling development to hear that NASA scientists believe that they will be able to

find forms of extraterrestrial life in the next 20 years, but at the same time it does seem that in the last few years space exploration has been

going backwards. For example, the U.S. spaceshuttle being phased out.

What are your thoughts at this moment of time about the appetite to explore space and to find these new life forms?

OLUSEYI: You know, finding these life forms and expanding is just a matter of will. Do we have the public will to invest in doing this? And I

think that there's very good reasons to do so.

Number one, what we see on this news show we've been talking about these catastrophes around our planet. Well, you know, we're going to have

a planet wide catastrophe, it's coming. And when these things happen, they generate refugees. And humans are going to have to hedge our bets and

we're going to have to diversify our whole planet. And we only have one right now, so if something were to happen then that would be it for us,

right?

But what we know is that it's going to take a long time to develop the ability to go to another world, to move large numbers of humans, and we

need to find a place to go. So we'd better get started now. We need to invest. There's no doubt about it.

LU STOUT: And we need to continue this conversation another time and not only talking about finding new forms of life, but new places to move to

as well.

Dr. O, we'll leave it at that.

Hakeem Oluseyi, astrophysicist joining me live from Orlando, Florida. Thank you so much. Take care.

OLUSEYI: Thank you.

LU STOUT: Now finally a Japanese icon could soon disappear. The Hotel Okura (ph), it is a classic design classic in Tokyo. It's remnant of

the city from the 1960s. And CNN producer Pamela Boykoff (ph) she wrote of her love for the hotel in this piece for CNN.com. She said the hotel, and

I agree with her, is a masterpiece of Japanese aesthetics and modernist design. It's been untouched for some 50 years.

But it won't last. Now the hotel's main building, it is scheduled to be demolished to make way for a more modern structure. And there is now a

potential online to try and convince management to save the hotel. You can find it at Save the Okura.com.

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

END