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NEWS STREAM

Hong Kong Revisited; Europe's Troubles; Syria Update

Aired June 28, 2012 - 08:00:00   ET

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


KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to NEWS STREAM, where news and technology meet.

We begin in Europe, where E.U. leaders are holding their 19th summit in three years to try and resolve the euro crisis. But will this one be any different?

Plus we're keeping a close eye on Syria. Major explosions have been reported in the capital.

And last week, it was Microsoft; this week it's Google. Check out the latest tablet computer.

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STOUT: Now the Eurozone's third and fourth biggest economies can barely afford to keep borrowing money. And its first and second biggest cannot agree on how to stop them from sinking. And against this backdrop, the political leaders of the cash-strapped continent are meeting once again in Brussels.

Now French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met on Wednesday to discuss their differences. He wants to pool European debt to kickstart growth; she does not -- at least not yet.

Now five countries have already gone cap in hand to the European Union, where its coffers are emptying fast. Matthew Chance tells us what's at stake and what's standing in the way of a solution.

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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At every turn, it seems the euro crisis is getting worse, spiraling borrowing costs in Italy and Spain, calls from Greece to renegotiate its bailout, Cyprus becoming the fifth country to ask for emergency help.

But the two nations at the heart of Europe, France and Germany, appeared divided on what to do. Not good, as a crucial E.U. summit meant to solve Europe's problems gets underway.

CHANCE: The core of the dispute is this, President Hollande of France wants to see European solidarity, making common the debt of countries like Greece or Italy or Spain to reduce their interest rates. Only after, he says, would France consider ceding powers to Europe.

But the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, knows her taxpayers would have to foot any debt bill. So she wants much closer economic integration first, control over how countries tax and spend before putting any German finances on the line.

CHANCE (voice-over): Speaking ahead of the summit, Chancellor Merkel again cautioned Europe about depending too heavily on Germany.

ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY (through translator): Germany is the economic motor and the stability anchor in Europe. But the strength of Germany is not without limits. We should not overestimate our resources. If we take that to heart, then Germany's strengths can work well for Germany and for Europe.

CHANCE (voice-over): But the instinct in Brussels is for more European integration, and European officials are trying to bridge the Franco-German divide. A report from the European Council released ahead of the summit calls for closer economic and political union. There should be more joint liabilities, it says, and more European level control of national policies.

JOSE MANUEL BARROSO, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: Standing still is not an option. (Inaudible) is now needed. It may not be simple. It will require ambition, vision and determination to enact far-reaching reforms.

CHANCE (voice-over): But expectations are low and (inaudible) getting Chancellor Merkel to discuss things like sharing debt or the French to talk about surrendering sovereignty would be a big achievement. Getting them to agree on it in Brussels may be too much to ask.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Ms. Merkel and Mr. Hollande are among the leaders set to arrive at the summit in the next few minutes. The German chancellor held progress that they're meeting on Wednesday, but she wasn't referring to the issue of joint euro bonds.

Matthew Chance joins us now live from London.

And, Matthew, Mario Monti, he has warned of disaster if leaders don't tackle rising debt costs. Just how high, how big are the stakes here?

CHANCE: I think they're incredibly high, and Mario Monti, the Italian prime minister has said that he's willing to stay through the weekend at this E.U. summit in order to get some kind of concrete proposals on the table to address the very real crisis that's being suffered across the Eurozone.

Italy and Spain both have very high interest rates they have to pay to borrow money, unsustainable levels in some cases. And it's obviously not good for them. It's raising their debt.

Greece is also asking for measures to ease the austerity measures that it's been asked to impose on its economy. And so there's all sorts of problems that have to be tackled urgently. But (inaudible) discussing that report, there is a division at the heart of Europe, that some countries led by France and backed by Italy and Spain want these measures to be taken first and foremost immediately.

Other countries, particularly Germany, want some guarantees first. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel wanting some assurances that she can control how countries tax and spend money before she's prepared to put German finances on the line, Kristie.

STOUT: And those divisions lowering expectations of meaningful outcome of this summit. Matthew Chance, joining us live from London.

Thank you very much indeed for that.

And what happens in Europe certainly doesn't stay in Europe. Markets with exposure to the region's debt have suffered right around the world. And one such market is Hong Kong. Now this weekend marks the 15th anniversary of its handover from the U.K. to China, and those years have seen huge economic growth on the Chinese mainland.

Now Andrew Stevens and Eunice Yoon examine whether Beijing now needs its one-time gateway to the world.

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ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Throughout its history, Hong Kong has been a center for generating money. In the 150 years of British colonial rule and the last 15 years of autonomy under China, Hong Kong's survival has depended on its ability to reinvent itself, to adapt.

And now, it's a low-tax center, a free trade center, but perhaps equally important, it's an international financial base with a window to the world on the economic juggernaut that is China.

EUNICE YOON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nice history lesson, Andrew. But let's talk about the here and now. This is where the real power is: China. This is the world's second largest economy. Its middle class is growing fast and more people than ever have money to spend importing goods, not only through Hong Kong, but also other Chinese cities, like Shanghai and Chongjin.

STEVENS: But, Eunice, it's not just the physical trade, obviously. It's the financing of that trade as well. And that's where Hong Kong has really excelled. It's built a financial architecture. But what Hong Kong really has but China doesn't yet have is a robust rule of law.

Now you don't have to take my word for it, of course. But one economic forum just last year ranked Hong Kong number one in the world in their economic development index. They actually beat out the U.S. and the U.K.

YOON: But China now has cities that can rival Hong Kong. Look at Shanghai. The government is on a mission to turn Shanghai into an international financial center by 2020, already the stock exchange is bigger than Hong Kong. With plans to boost annual trade in the financial markets there, to 1 quadrillion yuan over the next three years.

STEVENS: But here's the question, Eunice. Does this have to be a zero-sum game? Does one have to survive at the expense of the other?

YOON: Well, that might depend on how much China reforms. Officials say that Hong Kong and Shanghai will play important roles in the future for both investors outside and in the country. But with so many businesses hoping to expand here and raise capital, Shanghai might have an edge as long as authorities continue to open the system.

STEVENS: You know, Eunice, 18 years ago, when I first came to Hong Kong, I was taken out to lunch by a very senior member of the financial community here. And he told me that Shanghai would eat Hong Kong's lunch within 15 years. Well, we're still waiting. And my guess is we're going to be waiting for quite a few more years yet. I'm Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong.

YOON: And I'm Eunice Yoon in Beijing.

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STOUT: Now the board of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has decided to break up the media conglomerate into two areas. It will now be one company with television and film assets and another holding its publishing. That includes 20th Century Fox film studio, "The Times" of London and "The Wall Street Journal".

Now Rupert Murdoch will remain as chairman of both companies and the CEO of the television and film company. Now CNN will have much more on this story in the next hour on "WORLD BUSINESS TODAY."

Now still to come here on NEWS STREAM, Google's latest toy. We'll check out the Nexus 7 tablet and how it stacks up to its competition.

Now explosions rocked central Damascus near the Palace of Justice. An update of the situation inside Syria.

And attacked in Egypt, a British journalism student shares her story of being brutally assaulted in Tahrir Square.

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STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching NEWS STREAM and there is a new fighter in the tablet wars. As expected, Google unveiled the Nexus 7 on Wednesday. Now the 7-inch tablet will be made by Asus and priced at $199. And it takes direct aim at Amazon's Kindle Fire. Now that tablet is also 7 inches and $199. And here is a bit of Google's announcement.

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HUGO BARRA, DIRECTOR, ANDROID PRODUCT MANAGEMENT: It's only 340 grams, just about the weight of an average paper book. It fits perfectly in one hand. You can put it in a purse or a bag. It doesn't tip over when you're reading or watching a movie in bed. It just feels right.

That's Nexus 7.

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STOUT: Now let's look at how a 7-inch tablet compares in the most popular model in the market. And here we have Apple's 9.7-inch iPad, and here is a Samsung Galaxy Tab. Now remember Samsung uses Google's Android operating system. And it was actually unveiled at the last iO event last year.

But the Nexus has been designed by Google. And that is something all the major players are doing now. Remember, Microsoft unveiled its Surface tablet just last week. But Surface is priced comparably to Apple's iPad and it's a big bigger at 10.6 inches. Now Surface notably has a cover that doubles as a keyboard.

Apple's iPad accounts for an estimated 62 percent of the world's tablets. This is a big reason why. Apps -- Apple has 650,000 of them. And Google is taking on that challenge by promoting Nexus 7 as a way to stream media. Again, it's kind of like the Kindle Fire.

Now another Google announcement that caught our attention was the unveiling of the Nexus Q. It's Google's new wireless home media player. And the Nexus Q, it links a television or a home sound system to the Internet to play video and audio content. And it stands out for a few reasons. First, the magic 8-ball shaped case and the price tag.

The Nexus Q, it will retail for $300 while the rival Apple TV is just $100. And this is the important point: it's made in the U.S.A. Now that's a phrase not heard for in a long time in the industry. But Google's Andy Rubens (ph) said this, quote, "We've been absent for so long we decided, why don't we try it and see what happens?"

Now another new Google offering that caught our attention is called Google Now, and that is Google's virtual personal assistant. Now it'll be included in the next version of Android, out next month, and here is that announcement.

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BARRA: Today's smartphones are powerful. They can do pretty much anything you ask, search the Web, give you directions, traffic info, anything. But smartphones are only as smart as you tell them to be. They rely on you to do everything. You have to enter a search query. You have to type in a street address. And you have to ask for traffic in a particular area.

But with Google now, that starts to change. If you choose to, Google now uses things like your search history, your location history and your calendar to figure out what information you might need and when.

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STOUT: OK, we get it. And here is an example of how that works.

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BARRA: Google Now keeps you updated on your favorite sports teams in real time. You'll see scores and upcoming games. And the best part is you don't need to set up your favorite teams. You've already done that by searching for them on Google.

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STOUT: As you heard, some stunned (ph) reception there. Some reviews have called it extremely useful. But the most frequently used word out there is "creepy."

Now there are just too matches left before a champion is crowned at Euro 2012 and only three teams are still in the running for the title. Let's join Alex Thomas in London for all the details.

Alex?

ALEX THOMAS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thanks, Kristie. I'll try not to be too creepy. Spain's become only the second nation in football history to reach a third successive major final. After their victories at Euro 2008 and the World Cup two years ago, the Vicente del Bosque side have matched Germany's feats and can now set a new record by lifting the trophy on Sunday.

Spain reached the 2012 final by beating Portugal in a penalty shootout on Wednesday night. And as CNN's Al Goodman reports from Madrid, the whole nation celebrated.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been so good, so well, the Spanish team (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I prefer Italy because I will have going there a lot of times and it's now going to be (inaudible). And Germany is the second best selection of the world.

AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Spain has been successful so long that some critics call this team boring. But for the players on the National side and for these fans, that doesn't really matter as long as they keep winning -- Al Goodman, CNN, Madrid.

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THOMAS: The second semifinal kicks off in Warsaw in 61/2 hours' time. Germany against Italy, a crash of European footballing titans, really. So as he has done all tournament, our own Colossus, Pedro Pinto is going along to watch every kick.

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PEDRO PINTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the 30th match of Euro 2012, and the final one stays here in Warsaw. The profile of the semifinalists could hardly be any higher.

Germany, winners of three World Cups and three European championships versus Italy, winners of one European chairmanship and four World Cups. Sixty thousand people will pack into the National Stadium behind me in this clash of titans.

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PINTO (voice-over): Germany are the favorites. They have won every match in the tournament so far. As a matter of fact, they have won 15 straight competitive games, a world record for National teams. However, their manager, Joachim Low can still find room for improvement, especially when it comes to the performances of midfield maestro Bastian Schweinsteiger.

JOACHIM LOW, GERMAN NATIONAL COACH (through translator): Obviously, he can do things better than against Greece. But we need Bastian tonight. He's an emotional leader for us. Over the last couple of days, I exchanged a number of views with him. He's a player who thinks a lot about many things. He's curious. He asks questions. He keeps thinking about the best solutions.

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PINTO (voice-over): Italy's playmaker has been in top form. Andrea Pirlo was superb in the Azzurri's quarterfinal match with England, just like fine Italian wine, the 33-year old keeps getting better with age. The midfield general is ready for his next battle against the team he knows very well.

ANDREA PIRLO, ITALY MIDFIELDER (through translator): We have watched all their matches, because they always play before us. And so we've all sat in front of the television. We know it's a great squad. In the last 10 years, they have taken part in six semifinals, always making it to the end.

We know it's a great team to win against. We know we can do it.

PINTO (voice-over): Italy's confidence for this clash will be boosted by the fact they have never lost to Germany in competitive games. That undefeated run includes some memorable matches, like the dramatic 2-0 win in the 2006 World Cup semifinals and, of course, the 3-1 victory in the title match of the 1982 World Cup.

The Azzurri are now hoping of adding another famous victory over Germany to their r,sum, as the curtain closes on Warsaw's hosting duties at Euro 2012 -- Pedro Pinto, CNN, Warsaw.

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THOMAS: We'll be live in Poland for more from Pedro and "WORLD SPORT" and you can also see the latest from the Wimbledon tennis championships. That's in just under four hours' time, Kristie. Back to you.

STOUT: All right. Good stuff ahead. Alex Thomas there, thank you.

You're watching NEWS STREAM. And still ahead on the program, this student journalist says her sexual attack in Cairo's Tahrir Square speaks volumes about the state of women's rights in Egypt. We have her story in her own words next.

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STOUT: Now I want to tell you about what must have been a terrifying incident in Egypt. A young British journalism student says that she was on her first foreign assignment, filming in Cairo's Tahrir Square, when a group of men began to close in on her. Dan Rivers reports.

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DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just hours after the Muslim Brotherhood's victory in Egypt's presidential election, we shoot jubilant crowds on a bridge near Tahrir Square, unaware that just a short distance away, a young British journalist was about to be savagely attacked.

The young woman wanted to tell her story.

NATASHA SMITH, JOURNALISM STUDENT: I was in this weird, detached state of mind. And I just kept saying, please, God, please make it stop. Please, God, please make it stop.

Good afternoon. It's 4 o'clock. I'm Natasha Smith.

RIVERS (voice-over): Natasha Smith is a student at a journalism school in Britain. A documentary on women's rights in Egypt was to be her final college project and her first international assignment. It quickly descended into hell.

She was filming in the square with journalist friends, Callum Paton and Casper Boot (ph). But they became separated by a mob.

SMITH: Men started ripping off my clothes. And first of all, it was -- it was my skirt, and that just went straightaway. And I didn't even feel my underwear being removed. And then my shoes went and then my upper -- my clothes on my upper half were just being just ripped off me. And that was quite painful.

RIVERS (voice-over): CNN's rooftop camera caught the moment an ambulance tried to push its way through the crowds to help her. By this point, she was being sexually assaulted by dozens of men.

RIVERS: Finally, after what must have seemed like an eternity, she was rescued and taken to the relative safety of this medical tent. Frank Hallenby (ph) had the staff there not helped, she might not have survived her horrific ordeal.

CALLUM PATON, NATASHA'S FRIEND: There were several moments which I thought that she was going to die and I think, really, the fact that we're all still alive, and especially Natasha's alive, is because there were so many people who were willing to help us and who risked their own lives and put them in direct danger to get her out of that situation.

RIVERS (voice-over): Inside the tent, a man helped disguise her with a full-length burqa and escorted her away from the mob.

SMITH: And I had just (inaudible) to get away (inaudible) through the streets. And he just kept saying to me, "Don't cry. Do not cry. If you cry, people will know."

RIVERS (voice-over): Eventually, she made it to this hospital, where she and Callum were met by British embassy staff, who, together with doctors, have corroborated their accounts to CNN.

SMITH: There's been all this fuss because I'm British and I'm young and I'm a girl. But this is happening to women elsewhere constantly. And we don't hear about that. We don't hear about the stories of Egyptian women or African women or women across the world, who often suffer these attacks and worse, worse attacks. And there will be no justice done.

RIVERS (voice-over): Natasha Smith is now back in the U.K., her documentary on hold, but she defiantly insists she will return to Cairo to finish her work in spite of her terrifying experience at the hands of a mob.

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STOUT: A brave young woman and a horrifying experience. That was Dan Rivers reporting.

Dan joins us now live from Cairo.

And, Dan, a very high proportion of women there in Egypt are sexually assaulted. Why does this happen and will it end?

RIVERS: That's right. I mean, sadly, you know, the cases -- the headlines end up being Westerners, Laura Logan hit the headlines last February. She was a CBS reporter here in Tahrir Square, suffered a similar attack. But as you say, the reality is, this is going on all the time against Egyptian women.

I'm joined by Namees Arnous, who's a woman's rights campaigner. You founded an NGO here to campaign on these issues. How common is this for Egyptian women to endure this kind of sexual assault?

NAMEES ARNOUS, WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Actually, Egyptian women have a lot of this kind of sexual harassment. When you have a big demonstration, we have a lot of Egyptian girls and Egyptian women who are beaten by men and raped by men.

But Egyptian women refuse to talk about it because it's quite a lot for them. There's a psyche in Egypt just to blame the women, blame the girls, blame the victims. So they prefer to stop talking about it. But, sure, we have this (inaudible) every day for Egyptian women.

RIVERS: And you said that this has gotten worse since the revolution, the attitude of the men on the streets has got more aggressive.

ARNOUS: It is. But it's not because of the revolution. It's because of the absence of the police and the (inaudible) of the religions (ph) because now we have Islamists in parliament and we have now president from Muslim Brotherhood.

And when you have these extremists in religions, you have this attitude of (inaudible). Some of them believe that when you harass a girl in the streets, you do something normal, because he believe in this girl's like a prostitute because she is uncovered or wears something like I am wearing, because he just want the girl covered and black from the head to the foot.

RIVERS: So you're sort of saying that if you're not covered up in a full veil, they consider that it's acceptable for them to abuse you, harass you, touch you.

ARNOUS: Yes, all of them believe that. But also the covered girl gets harassed in the streets.

RIVERS: OK. All right. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.

It is clearly an issue which the new President-Elect Morsi is going to have to get to grips with here, an issue that affects thousands of Egyptian women that we don't hear about. But still they can't report this to the police because they're told the police won't take it seriously, or they're told simply it will bring shame on them and their family, Kristie.

STOUT: Yes, Dan, very disturbing to hear from that activist just then, that assaults, attacks against women in Egypt have risen since the revolution last year. Dan Rivers reporting, live from Cairo, thank you.

Now you're watching NEWS STREAM. And still ahead, the crisis hitting the capital. What increasing violence in Damascus means in the Syrian conflict.

And more than six hectares destroyed. Find out where there could be help for firefighters in Colorado.

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KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching NEWS STREAM and these are your world headlines.

Now a crucial E.U. summit is due to start in just over an hour in Brussels and there's already tension between the leaders of Europe's two biggest economies, Germany and France. Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande failed to reach common ground on finding a solution to the Eurozone debt crisis during pre-summit talks in Paris.

Now the board of News Corp has decided to break up the media conglomerate into two areas. It will now be one company with television and film assets and another holding its publishing. Rupert Murdoch will remain as chairman of both companies and the CEO of the television and film company.

Now two major explosions have hit the center of the Syrian capital of Damascus, injuring at least three people. Now Syrian television reports that the blast took place in a parking garage outside the Palace of Justice. Meanwhile, activists report at least 50 people have been killed in the fighting on Thursday. It comes as an international action group prepares for Saturday's meeting in Switzerland.

Now the meeting on Syria has been proposed by the U.N. and Arab League joint envoy, Kofi Annan, and it will look at the contentious issue of how to reach a political transition. Now CNN's Rima Maktabi is monitoring developments from Abu Dhabi. She joins us now.

And, Rima, what do Syrian activists and opposition groups make of Kofi Annan's proposal for a national unity government in Syria? What's the reaction?

RIMA MAKTABI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For the Syrian opposition members, Kristie, anything that doesn't include the Assad family, the Baath (ph) regime and the old regime in Syria could be acceptable. The problem is the international community is on a planet and the opposition and the fighting on the ground is happening on another planet. Fifty people were killed today across Syria.

The violence is mounting inside Damascus, the capital which used to be a stronghold for the Assads. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is based in London, said yesterday that probably the month of June was the bloodiest and the past week only, they said, around 900 people were killed.

So probably talking about a political solution for the opposition members, for the fighters and even for the normal Syrians on the ground inside Syria is irrelevant for them, unless violence is stopped.

STOUT: That's right. You mentioned these two major explosions in Damascus today. Is the Syrian capital turning into a major flashpoint in the uprising?

MAKTABI: It is. And for the rebels, they knew since day one that if Damascus and Aleppo are not shaken with this revolution, probably they cannot change the matters on the ground. Until probably a month ago, Damascus was one of the strongholds for the Assad regime. It's -- there's tight security there. There are many government buildings, strong presence for the army and security members.

It is quite significant that today, two explosions happened in the package lot outside the Palace of Justice. It led to the injuries of three people and 20 cars were damaged. We're seeing now images from Syria just after these explosions took place. Yesterday there was an attack on a Syrian state TV, Al Ikhbariya, and just outside Damascus.

Over the past week, Kristie, probably on a daily basis we hear about something happening in the capital, Damascus. And this is alarming. It means that the Assad regime is gradually losing the grip and losing the power on the capital.

STOUT: That's right. As the rebels close in on the Syrian capital, Rima Maktabi, on the story for us. Thank you.

Now Syria's information minister has promised this week's attack on a pro-government TV channel, it won't go unpunished. Now seven people were killed with the government blaming terrorists. As ITV's Bill Neely reports from inside Syria, this is a sign of a new front in the conflict.

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BILL NEELY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To the rebels, this was a symbol of the state, so they stormed through the front gate of the television station, intent on destroying it and its influence. And this is all that's left of the Al Ikhbariya. It supported Syria's president. Its staff paid with their lives for that loyalty.

Three journalists and four others, drivers and guards, were murdered, a graphic designer tied up with cord before he was shot dead. They picked through the news scripts about Syria's conflict, a conflict that came to their door at dawn.

NEELY: Just hours after President Assad declared that Syria is at war, his enemies have tried to silence him indirectly by attacking this pro-Assad television station. And this represents a new front in the rebel war, because this isn't a military target. It's a civilian one, a media one, the deliberate killing of journalists.

NEELY (voice-over): Most staff were too scared to speak to the cameras they are so familiar with, too upset as well. Eleven other staff were kidnapped. Their friends are sure they will be killed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The news station --

NEELY (voice-over): One reporter did speak. Syria's media and government, he says, are being warned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The main reason for the attack, they want to send a message to the media, our government media.

NEELY: The rebels wanted to send a message to the government?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.

NEELY: By attacking (inaudible)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

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STOUT: Now we are back with more on the European championship and Italy plays Germany later on Thursday with the spot in the final at stake. On Wednesday, defending champion Spain ousted Portugal on penalties and earlier our Pedro Pinto caught up with the man that knows a thing or two about saving a spot kick, former Denmark goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel.

PEDRO PINTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the day after Portugal-Spain. I'm still trying to recover from that night of emotions. Peter, how did you see it? How close was it? Spain were on the ropes, weren't they?

PETER SCHMEICHEL, FORMER DENMARK GOALKEEPER: I thought it was really, really close. I thought that in the 90 minutes, I thought Portugal was a better team and probably should have taken the opportunity of being on top.

I don't think that Spain really sort of sussed what was happening in that game, because they were beaten -- not beaten, but they were being hit by the same way they play, I thought, with pressure that Portugal was able to put on Spain, the way that they play was -- it was brave and it was very effective and actually beautiful to watch.

And you were just waiting for that moment where everything came together and Portugal scored. But it didn't happen. They went into extra time and for some reason Spain just found another gear, which, you know, I thought Spain had looked fatigued in certain games.

And I thought this is going to be tough for them. But somehow they found that extra gear and, you know, I didn't think that anyone was going to score then. And I kind of had the feeling it was going to go to penalties. And it did.

PINTO: Peter, two straight games now that have gone to penalties. How much of it is down to luck, skill or nerves?

SCHMEICHEL: I think luck plays a very, very big part of it. Unfortunately, for you, that was proven yesterday. Hugo (ph) hit the bar, it went out, Fabregas hit the post, it went in. You know, that kind of luck, you need that.

But I think more than anything it's nerves. I mean, the debate today and after the Italy-England game, there might have been goalkeepers, what do they do? Do they stand and wait or, you know, do they have to read or watch video and prepare themselves for what the penalty takers --

PINTO: What did you used to do?

SCHMEICHEL: I always used to make a system (ph). I always said to myself, OK, five penalties, I'm going to go one left, one right, one left, two right --

PINTO: Regardless of who's taking them?

SCHMEICHEL: Completely regardless of who was taking them. Because at the end of the day, it's a lottery.

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STOUT: Rock, paper, scissors -- I ask you this, what can you do to win every time? What, not possible, you say? Here's Jeanne Moos.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When robots start playing Rock, Paper, Scissors, humanity may find itself caught between a rock and -- paper, because humans lose to this machine 100 percent of the time.

It was designed at Ishikawa Oku Laboratory at the University of Tokyo. Let's slow it down so you can see paper losing to the robot's scissors with the robot's paper beating rock. The only way to beat this thing is to invent new rules as they did on "Friends."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "FRIENDS")

"JOEY": I win.

"ROSS": What is that?

"JOEY": That's fire. Beats everything.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP, "FRIENDS")

MOOS (voice-over): So how does the robot do it? Well, a high-speed camera recognizes which shape the human hand is making, and within 1 millisecond, chooses the gesture that trumps it.

MOOS: Rock, paper, scissors cheat. You cheat, robot. You cheat.

MOOS (voice-over): Cheating really fast. It's like a card shark can see your hand. But what about the folks who organized championship tourists? What does the World Rock, Paper, Scissors Society think of the robot?

DOUGLAS WALKER, MANAGING DIRECTOR, WORLD RPS SOCIETY: It's extremely impressive.

MOOS (voice-over): Douglas Walker doesn't consider it cheating. He says humans try to determine what sign an opponent will throw.

WALKER: The highest level Rock, Paper, Scissors players actually do look at people's hands.

MOOS (voice-over): For humans, Rock, Paper, Scissors resonates from childhood.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

MOOS (voice-over): We're not sure what a Rock Scissors robot is good for, practically speaking. The same Japanese lab has designed cloth folding and pin spinning and egg catching and rope knotting robots. The Rock, Paper, Scissors Society did have one criticism of this robot's vertical paper sign.

WALKER: Which is technically bad form.

MOOS (voice-over): Instead of the vertical handshake motion.

WALKER: This is a correct hand position for paper.

MOOS (voice-over): Take that, cheating robot. You have lousy form. You're no better than the Simpsons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SIMPSONS")

"LISA": Poor, predictable Bart, always takes rock.

MOOS (voice-over): Lisa Simpson's vertical paper --

"BART": Rock.

"LISA": Paper.

"BART": Doh!

MOOS (voice-over): -- sticks out like a sore thumb -- Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: And let's go over and out there, quite literally out there. Now there are many tough questions you have to ask yourself when you're voting for a president. I mean, who do you trust to take leadership of your country? Who has the best policies on health or homeland security and, of course, who is best placed to protect you in the event of an alien invasion?

Well, you might not have asked yourself that, but the National Geographic Channel did ask more than 1,000 Americans. And when it comes to this year's presidential race, two-thirds would put their faith in Barack Obama over Mitt Romney.

And, of course, an alien attack isn't going to happen -- or is it? The same survey claims that more than 80 million Americans are certain that UFOs do indeed exist. So keep your eyes on the skies in the run up to the big date in November.

And that is NEWS STREAM. But the news continues at CNN. We've got "WORLD BUSINESS TODAY" coming up next, and we'll be telling you more about News Corp being split up into two companies, but Rupert Murdoch will remain chairman of both.

Also we have the E.U. summit meeting that is currently underway, what's at stake, what's ahead.

And also a few hours away, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to rule on whether the sweeping health care law that was put forward by President Barack Obama is constitutional. So we've got a number of big business stories ahead. Keep it here. You're watching CNN.

END