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Four Arrested After Brazilian Nightclub Fire Claims Over 200 Lives; Thousands Take To Streets In Egypt In Defiance Of Curfew; French, Malian Forces Retake Timbuktu, Gao

Aired January 29, 2013 - 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, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.

Now French troops and government forces drive back Islamists in Mali, retaking several cities.

Parts of Australia under water as the country struggles with heavy floods.

And as RIM prepares to unveil the biggest ever change to the BlackBerry, we're asking an expert whether it's enough to save the struggling device.

Now it's a name that conjures up exotic images of Saharan Africa, but the reality of Timbuktu has been a good deal more forbidding lately.

Now after days of struggle, French led troops have taken control of the ancient city in Mali from Islamic extremists. The French defense ministry says its forces are also in charge of neighboring Gao and the territory in between. But French President Francois Hollande says militants still hold areas in the north of the former colony. Mr. Hollande has not said how long he will maintain troops in Mali.

Now the people of Timbuktu and Gao were out to celebrate the French presence that led them to their freedom from rebel rule. And with the militants gone, now comes the job of finding out who these people were and what they were up to.

Now Lindsey Hilsum reports from Gao, a town battered but not beaten. And a warning, this report contains images of dead bodies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDSEY HILSUM, JOURNALIST: Malian intelligence officers investigating. The barrels in the courtyard, they say, were intended to blow up the bridge over the River Niger leading into Gao. This was a jihadi bomb factory. Interrupted by French airstrikes, they left traces of their trade, potassium nitrate to mix with charcoal for explosives, bullets, but also baguettes and empty sachets of mayonnaise.

The neighbors were never quite sure what was going on in here.

SIDU ABOU, MECHANIC: I think they were Arabs. We couldn't identify them because they wore turbans and wore scarves coiled round their faces. They didn't speak to anyone, and we were afraid, so we didn't ask them anything.

HILSUM: OK. So, these are like payments which they're giving to people working for them?

LT. COL. NEMA SAGARA, MALIAN ARMY: Yes.

HILSUM: The Malian officers found records of payments, possibly to jihadi fighters, and a money transfer from someone in Saudi Arabia.

SAGARA: You can see. We hear about it. But this is the proof. They talk about Qatar. They talk about Saudi Arabia and everything. This is the proof, yes. And now we keep that evidence for my people.

HILSUM: We approached Gao at dusk on Saturday. Villages on the outskirts showed their delight as a column of Malian military vehicles drove through.

Yesterday morning, on wasteland a few miles south of town, we saw four dead teenagers, jihadi recruits hit by a French missile fired from a helicopter as they fled Gao. In the early afternoon, we crossed the bridge the jihadis had failed to blow up. A body lay twisted on the railing, a random nameless victim.

And, suddenly, riding on the back of a Malian military pickup, we were amongst the people of Gao, euphorically praising France and freedom. They were part of their country, Mali, again, no longer forced to live in a separate strict Islamist pseudo-state.

What an extraordinary moment in Gao. Look at these people, just thrilled, because they can dance, they can sing, the women can ride motorbikes, they can smoke. These are all the things they haven't been able to do for the last nine months while the jihadis have been in power.

The mayor of Gao, who returned yesterday from exile in the capital, Bamako, addressed the crowd. No one could hear a word he said. But it didn't matter. He was back, a symbol of the Malian state. People are looking forward to the first consignment of beer, hopefully soon.

Today, the streets were calm, time to learn from some of the women we met what really happened in Gao.

"They took me into their home." The jihadis refused to let this half- blind woman or any others wear glasses because, the women said, "They didn't want us to see the world."

They showed me how they were forced to wear hijab and how they have thrown it off.

Lindsey Hilsum, Channel 4 News, Gao.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: An incredible moment there.

Now let's give you a sense of just how much progress has been made by those French led troops since the offensive began on January 11. Now when they entered Mali, Islamic extremists had control of the entire north of the country, that's marked here in red on the map. And for context, that's an area roughly the size of Spain.

Now the militants had started pushing into some of the town further south toward the capital Bamako, Diabaly, Konna, and Douentza. But last week, French and Malian troops pushed them out. And on the weekend those gains extended to the largest rebel held town in the north, that's Gao, the community featured in Lindsey Hilsum's report.

And by Monday, French led forces had control of Timbuktu. And that leaves Kidal, further north still, as the only remaining major city held by the rebels.

Now the U.S. and UK are offering their support in Mali. And the European Union says it will contribute $67 million to support the African led international support mission. But while the militants have lost ground, they are not admitting defeat.

Now Nima Elgabir joins us now from Nairobi in Kenya. And Nima, French and Malian troops, are they still holding on to Timbuktu? And where are they moving on to next?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Our understanding, Kristie, is that they are, indeed, holding on to Timbuktu. But it's important to bear in mind how Timbuktu was taken. From speaking to eyewitnesses we were told that after a sustained bombing campaign that actually the Islamists fled the city. They willingly departed the city before the ground attack had even started, which obviously raises some concerns as to whether this -- all of this is part of some form of tactical withdrawal on the part of the Islamists, especially when you consider where they went. They've gone back up, as you've said, to Kidal up there in the north. This is very difficult, very distant terrain, terrain that they know very well.

And it's one thing to take the territory, it's another entirely, of course, to hold it. And that's going to be what's so important here is to ascertain whether the Islamists genuinely have been rounded fully from these areas or whether they are just moving on to home ground to regroup, Kristie.

LU STOUT: And that's a challenge, isn't it? French and Malian troops, they have to hold on to any ground gained. We know that more international military support is on its way. British troops potentially, an EU training mission as well.

But exactly how will they help on the ground?

ELBAGIR: Well, both -- well the British troops are part of the contingency planning for the next phase, the holding phase. And they are - - they will be part of that EU training mission that's meant to be building up the capacity of the Malian army to hold effectively and allow the French to get out as quickly as possible.

But the issue is given how strategic Mali is and how important it is - - it's on the doorstep of Europe. It's provided such a sanctuary and safe haven for al Qaeda fighters for the last 10 months, since March. And yet really the Americans and the Brits and even the Europeans aren't really offering as much support as they could be.

The U.S. has actually been billing the French for much of the support, whether it's the use of their aircraft carriers or the use of their facilities to transfer supplies. The British we're hearing -- we haven't confirmed fully, but we are hearing reports that they could be up to 750, but in support and logistical roles. And that is the concern. What happens if and when the Islamists reinforce and decide to stage that fight back if Europe, the U.S., even the French aren't prepared to stay here for the long haul, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right. Nima Elbagir reporting on the latest for the battle for Mali. Thank you.

Now a Somalian government spokesman says a suicide bomber has blown himself up outside the prime minister's office in Mogadishu. And witnesses say a security guard was killed trying to prevent this attack. They say that two other people were hurt and windows in nearby buildings were shattered. No one has claimed responsibility. And it's not known if the prime minister Abdi Farah Shirdon was in his office at the time.

Now you are watching News Stream. And coming up next, political turmoil in Egypt rages on as protesters defy a curfew handed down by President Mohamed Morsy. We'll be live in Cairo.

And thousands of evacuated, deadly flood water continues to sweep through Australia's east coast.

Also ahead, BlackBerry's big makeover, but can its new phones and operating system save RIM?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

And turning now to Brazil. Mourners took to the streets of Santa Maria in remembrance of the 231 people killed in Sunday's fire at the Kiss nighclub. Now white balloons were released, each one representing a life that was lost.

But the mourning, it turned into outrage as marchers demanded justice for the victims. And police say they have arrested four people: the club's two owners, the show producer and the vocalist of the band.

And state officials say that night, the ceiling caught fire when the band ended a song with pyrotechnic effects. At the time the club with packed with some 2,000 people, twice its legal capacity. The only exit was the front door, down a dark, narrow hallway.

All 231 victims of the deadly fire in Santa Maria have been buried. And more than 80 people remain in hospital, most of them still fighting for their lives. Now it was supposed to be a night of fun, but it ended in tragedy.

And a survivor tells us what he saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RODRIGO PIVETA DE LOS SANTOS, SURVIVOR (through translator): I remember seeing the stage starting to catch on fire. People didn't know what to do, because it started with a very small fire. Suddenly the band stopped playing and they rushed off the stage. They left running and I saw all the people running behind them. I saw all the people bumping against each other, but it was total desperation.

It was a huge tragedy.

As I was running, I saw a lot of people who were injured, people lacking air, people who were burned.

A lot of things happened in that short period of time.

One singer was holding the microphone with one hand and holding the fireworks in his other hand. He had his hand up in the air shaking the fireworks. Flames went up and the place caught on fire.

I had no realized the amount of smoke that had spread because of the foam burned quickly through the air conditioning ducts and spread smoke throughout the club.

In two minutes I got out of the place. I looked back and there was smoke all over the entrance. It was a lot of smoke, black smoke.

Then I heard everybody screaming for help. People were leaving the club disoriented, almost fainting, without strength to walk from the hall. We went a little bit inside the hall, two or three steps, and dragged people out into the middle of the street. We came back to help others. I helped at least five girls, hoping one of them was going to be my girlfriend.

I didn't save her, but I saved some lives.

Then I tried to help a man, but he was too big, too strong, and he ended up dragging me into the hall. Luckily, there was another man who was also helping behind me. And he pulled me back out of the club.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: An incredible account, a story of survival from one of the few lucky ones to escape the blaze.

Now turning now the Egypt where the defense minister says political division, public protests and a struggling economy threaten Egypt's security and future as a nation.

Now anti-government protesters ignored Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy's curfew in Ismailia and two other cities along the Suez Canal, some fought with security forces.

Now state run media say that the defense minister denies the army used live ammunition against protesters over the weekend when at least 38 people were killed.

And demonstrations have spread to Alexandria and Tahrir Square in Cairo. Our senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is in the Egyptian capital. He joins us now live. And Ben, Egypt's army chief is now saying that this crisis could lead to a collapse of the state. What do you make of that statement?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what is -- basically it's fairly clear that the army is very concerned about the situation in Cairo, and especially lie in those cities along the Suez Canal. In fact, I spoke to just a few minutes ago to a former general who is in contact with many people in the senior ranks of the military. And apparently they're very unhappy with the situation where the army has to try to reimpose order as a result of unhappiness with the policies of the government of President Mohamed Morsy.

That unhappiness is also shared by many within the police themselves. In fact, day before yesterday, the interior minister, who is a friend of the Muslim Brotherhood, was thrown out of a funeral for a police officer who was killed in those clashes. The police officers very angry with the growing influence by the -- of the Muslim Brotherhood within the ranks of the security forces. And that unhappiness is to a certain extent shared by the military as well.

So, yes, the economy is in shambles. Tourism, for instance, has all but disappeared since the revolution in January of 2011, the economy has really gone downhill.

And one of the real concerns of Egyptians is that if the economy really goes belly up they'll have what they call here the revolution of the hungry. It's important to keep in mind that almost 50 percent of the population here lives on less than $2 a day. When the economy really hits the skids, the hungry people can come out and have a revolution the likes of which we've never seen -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: This is incredible. I mean, the economy is souring. The military and police in Egypt not happy with the situation. Emergency rule not quelling the violence. The main opposition not accepting an offer for talks with Mohamed Morsy.

What's next? What options are left for the Egyptian president?

WEDEMAN: Well, many people are hoping that the president will make some concessions. And there's the possibility he's even put this out himself, that they may be willing to reconsider the constitution that was passed in the referendum by more than 60 percent of the voters in December.

The opposition, secularists, Christians, many people feel this is a constitution by and large written by a constituent assembly that was dominated by Islamists and it simply is a constitution that many people are unwilling to live with. If President Morsy is willing to redraft that constitution with more participation from the opposition forces lead by the National Salvation Front, then possibly the situation can be defused -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, earlier, Ben, we showed these dramatic pictures of clashes on the streets, you know, across Egypt overnight in Port Said, Suez and elsewhere, all that despite the state of emergency, despite the night time curfew.

What is the latest you're hearing now about the situation in those cities today?

WEDEMAN: Well, and those cities are basically under the control of the population. The army has gone in, but with orders to avoid clashes at all costs, to simply protect vital government installations. And so the situation is stable in the sense that there haven't been major clashes.

The curfew is in those cities from 9:00 pm to 6:00 am. And the populations of those cities, which traditionally are fairly hostile to the central government in Cairo, have been making a point of breaking the curfew. And one of those cities, Ismailia, thousands of people came out and attended a public football match. The match, in fact, has gone -- it's turned into a curfew football league. So many people are simply ignoring that curfew.

Here in Cairo and Alexandria where there have been clashes and large protests. There is no curfew in place. In Cairo it appears that there are limited clashes, but certainly not like what we've seen over the last few days -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Ben Wedeman joining us live from Cairo. Thank you very much indeed for that.

Now the tough times, they continue Down Under as residents of Queensland, they fight to save their livelihoods from flood waters. When we come back, we'll tell you why the extreme conditions have given rise to this incredible video, this bizarre byproduct.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

And this is a visual rundown of all the stories in the show. We've told you about the liberation of the town of Gao in Mali. And later, we'll grade Apple CEO Tim Cook's time at the helm.

But let's go to Australia next and the impact of deadly flooding there.

Now Mari Ramos has been watching the situation in Australia very closely. Let's go to her live at the world weather center. Mari, again these floods have taken just so many lives.

MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it's a very sad situation that continues to develop there. In Australia, at least four people so far have been killed including a young children when a tree -- he was standing outside and a tree fell on top of him, just tragic.

There is still a concern, because so many rivers are still rising, Kristie, across areas.

Let me show you first this from the Australia Bureau of Meteorology. This map that you're seeing over here, you know, you're seeing the whole country, and each one of these little triangles is actually a rain gauge. And when you look closely you have these areas -- most of them are blue -- but then you see some gold ones right there, those are areas that have the flood advised, but the areas that are in red, those flood gauges are indicating flood warnings. And you can see how they are concentrated right here along the east coast of Brisbane, the middle to southern coast of Queensland, I should say, all the way down into the northern portions here of New South Wales, because these are the areas where we've had all of that heavy rainfall.

Let's go ahead and roll the pictures that we have from the region. Water as far as the eye can see. Hundreds of homes have been inundated already. And even a hospital had to be evacuated as the water was rising very, very quickly.

It is quick serious because many of those river gauges that I just showed you are still rising. Some of the areas across -- and look at that water just flowing through there -- some of the areas here across Queensland in particular have had over a meter, a meter of rainfall already. And that is very significant. Brisbane had extremely heavy rainfall. There are still some rivers there that are rising. And it could be days before we begin to see any kind of significant improvement. Even though it stopped raining, you can see the sun is shining, the helicopters are flying taking all these images -- it stopped raining, but the river levels are still so high and all that water very slowly has to make its way toward the sea. So this is what you end up with, huge river swells and in many cases they have not peaked in some of these larger cities along the coastline. So something we'll be watching.

If you come back over to the weather map over here, look at that, we still have -- nothing left as far as that ex-tropical cyclone Oswalt (ph) that was moving through there. The remnants of that storm or now out in the Tasman Sea. It's much weaker than it was before moving into cooler waters.

So as this continues to move away, the weather here improves, but still that potential for flooding along the coastline because of the water that is in the rivers, or the water that continues to drain down.

Now Kristie, one of the things that we've been getting a lot is those amazing images of the foam, and you just talked about it right before the break. I want to go ahead and show you some more of these images, because we're getting a lot of questions. Look at that. Those are ocean waves. It's almost like living in a giant, I don't know, shaving cream case or something? And this one is a car that comes right out of the foam and you see the bus going through there.

One of the things that happens when you have a large storm it -- you know, if you go to the beach and you see the waves kind of rolling through sometimes on a normal day you'll get a little bit of sea foam. This sea foam is different than that. It's because the air -- the water has been agitated so ferociously constantly by the wind little tiny air bubbles get caught in between the sea foam -- in between the water. That sea foam gets created usually when there's a lot of protein in the water, sometimes from algae blooms or other things. And in some cases, it can actually be toxic. In this case it is not, and you can see a lot of kids playing in that.

I don't know, it looks a little creeping, but it apparently a lot of fun. And it's dangerous, though, because then you can see what's in the water underneath, but at least they're having a little bit of joy when it comes to this terrible, terrible storm that has been affecting that region.

So it does happen every once in awhile. You have to have that force of the wind agitating the ocean and you've got to have a lot of protein in the water there, Kristie. So, back to you.

LU STOUT: It's incredible how it's just been frothed up to such a consistency. And you're right, it does look like shaving foam.

RAMOS: Some areas have several meters of it along the coastline.

LU STOUT: Oh, my goodness. A lot of that stuff.

Mari Ramos there, thank you.

Now you're watching News Stream. Coming up next, with 10 be the charm for BlackBerry? Research in Motion gets ready to roll out its much delayed new operating system.

Also ahead, questioning Apple's Cook? With competition rising, critics have their eye on CEO Tim Cook.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now Britain is to send troops to support the French military mission in Mali as French and Malian forces reclaim more of the country from Islamist militants. And the British government says its troops won't be engaged in combat. Meanwhile, the EU is to contribute $67 million toward an African led support mission.

Egypt's defense minister says a wave of violent protests lead to the collapse of the state. And the army it trying to ensure security without crushing legitimate protests. On Monday night, protesters openly defied curfew in the cities of Port Sayed and Ismailiya, demanding amendments to the country's new constitution.

Now 21 people have been killed in a passenger plane crash in Kazakhstan. The accident took place near the country's commercial capital, Almaty. A spokesman for the city hall said that there were five crew members and 16 passengers on board. And there were no survivors.

Now U.S. President Barack Obama is preparing to make a key speech on immigration. It comes after eight U.S. senators agreed on a plan that could give undocumented migrants the right to live and work in America and place them on the path to citizenship. The bipartisan agreement also calls for the strengthening of border controls.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Last week was a pretty dramatic one for Apple. It announced huge profits. But the stock dived because of worries over Apple's outlook. So despite all the success Apple has seen, CEO Tim Cook still has his work cut out for him. Dan Simon examines those challenges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With its incredible sales and product buzz --

SIMON: -- at long last --

SIMON (voice-over): -- Apple is still the envy of practically every company. But stock declines amid growing competition has the tech industry wondering whether it's still relatively new CEO, Tim Cook, can keep Apple on top.

TIM COOK, CEO, APPLE: It's an amazing time at Apple.

SIMON (voice-over): Cook does not have the natural charisma and showman style of his predecessor, Steve Jobs. He concerns himself more with what's going on behind the scenes. He's almost universally regarded as a brilliant supply chain manager.

TIM BAJARIN, CREATIVE STRATEGISTS, APPLE: Tim clearly is more than capable of handling not only the operations but the business side of apple.

SIMON (voice-over): Long-time technology analyst Tim Bajarin says the critics are asking too much of Cook.

BAJARIN: What I' m hearing is that they want Apple to innovate faster. And that's really an unfair thing to do. If you look at the original iPhone, that was actually -- took four to five years to bring to market.

SIMON (voice-over): If Jobs was the product visionary, Tim Cook is more executive.

And since taking over nearly 18 months ago, he's put his stamp on the company by making Apple more charitable through matching employees' donations and by issuing Apple's shareholders dividends, something many felt should have happened long ago with the company's 100-plus billion- dollar cash hoard.

In a bit of rare introspection, Cook said this to NBC's Brian Williams when asked about the comparison to Jobs.

COOK: One of the things he did for me that removed a gigantic burden that would have normally existed is he told me, on a couple of occasions before he passed away, to never question what he would have done, never ask the question, what Steve would do, to just do what's right.

SIMON (voice-over): Such as responding to critics and protesters, who complain about long hours and human rights abuses at its Chinese supply factories and sending inspectors to identify the problems.

Also, for the first time in many years, Cook says the company known for outsourcing its manufacturing, will begin making one of its Mac products in the U.S. If this suggests a kinder, gentler Apple, the must- have devices continue to roll out.

COOK: We've got some really cool stuff to show you.

SIMON (voice-over): Nearly every single one of them has gotten a makeover under his watch. But Cook has had a share of challenges, beginning with the Siri feature on iPhones.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here's the forecast for today.

SIMON (voice-over): Too slow and undependable at times.

SIMON: Then there's Maps, skewered by users. It's gotten better, but many regard Google's new app as being superior. Cook has also yet to deliver his own breakthrough product. And with competitors like Samsung setting their own sales records, Cook now faces his first real test of leadership -- Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: And it is a big week for the BlackBerry, the once iconic gadget will get a complete makeover on Wednesday when brand-new phones running the new BlackBerry 10 operating system are unveiled. And it's hard to believe it's been four years since Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to proudly use a BlackBerry.

But it's been a story of steady decline since then. Now RIM sold 32 million BlackBerries in 2012. That's according to IDC. Now that doesn't sound too bad until you realize that they sold over 50 million BlackBerries the year before. IDC says RIM's share of the smartphone market is now below 5 percent. And as more people switch, experts say it's harder to switch back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER PACHAL, MASHABLE: It's really like breaking up with someone you -- when you break up with a mobile device.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Talking about mobile platforms, there's also highlights from RIM's strengths. Now we can divide six of the biggest players in the mobile industry into three segments. First up, there are the guys that mainly make handsets, Nokia and Samsung. Both make smartphones but they only build the hardware. Now the operating systems on their handsets are made by Google and Microsoft.

The mobile's industry's a big players only two make both the hardware and the software. Apple and RIM are building both the phone and the operating system, in a strategy that's worked out extremely well for Apple. And the question is whether it's the right model for RIM. Now let's put that question to an expert now.

David Pierce is senior reviews editor for the tech blog The Verge. He joins us now live from CNN in New York.

And David, BlackBerry 10: can it really save RIM or is it just too little too late?

DAVID PIERCE, SENIOR REVIEWS EDITOR, THE VERGE: It's really hard to tell. It seems like from everything we've seen so far, BlackBerry 10 is a great operating system. They've done a lot of things right. It feels modern. It feels like almost a combination of a lot of the other operating systems we've seen. But, again, the question is, is it too little too late? They haven't done enough in the last five or six years.

I mean, the iPhone came out six years ago. And the BlackBerry today looks basically the same as it did on that day. And it's going to change tomorrow. But they've just given up so much ground in that intervening time that it's really hard to tell if they'll ever get it back.

STOUT: You know, and I'm wondering, you know, should RIM be considering a plan B? Should they think about licensing and software to other handset makers?

PIERCE: So they've talked about that. And BlackBerry 10 is really what this company is betting its entire future on.

But what BlackBerry 10 will look like kind of remains to be seen. They've talked about licensing and they've talked about a number of different places BlackBerry 10 could be used, whether it's in cars or on totally different devices we haven't thought about yet. So the company's clearly not totally sold on the future of its handset business. And it's definitely looking into other ways of trying to keep itself afloat.

STOUT: (Inaudible) mobile ecosystems now. And right now we have two very well developed mobile ecosystems. We have Apple's and Google's. And RIM isn't the only one trying to be the third player here, because you also have Microsoft. But can the market support three or even four major mobile operating systems?

PIERCE: Well, I think it can support three. And I think we've seen - - what's going to be interesting is the battle between really Microsoft and RIM and Thorsten Heins, the RIM CEO, said at one point that he was very excited and very confident that BlackBerry 10 could bring RIM into third place, which is not exactly, you know, a battle cry you want to hear, but is definitely what they're going for.

But the challenge for them, I think, is, again, in that intervening six years, where they just haven't been building on their platform, all of their developers or many of their developers, at least, have left. And their developers are now on Android. And they're on IOS. And RIM has this incredible challenge of trying to tell this story of why people should come back.

And they've developed apps they've had, packathons (ph), where people have ported their Android apps over to BlackBerry and they'll have a lot of apps when they launch. But the question will be will they have big ones? Will they have Instagram? Will they have Spotify? These apps that people really associate with their phone. And I just don't know the answer.

And I think RIM (inaudible) is aware that they need to have it. But whether they'll have those and kind of the next tier of apps that people want is really still up in the air. And that's a scary thing for RIM.

STOUT: Yes, they need to have those apps to win the battle for bronze versus Microsoft. Now David, hold tight; I want to bring in CNN's Jim Boulden from London.

Jim, I know the consumers have been telling you about what they want from the mobile devices from their phones. What do they say?

PIERCE: Yes, well, I think that's the question, Kristie, is that why would people still want a BlackBerry, the old one or the new one coming out tomorrow? You'd look at apps. You'd look at the screen size. You look at how easy it is to write emails. So we did go out on the streets of Hong Kong and London, asking a few people what they thought. And here's what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm using the Samsung I9003. And I bought it like two years ago. It's cheaper than Apple. So -- and the function's not bad. So I'm happy with it. And all -- most of the time, I use (inaudible), Facebook and some camera apps and also go online to read the news every day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The downside is that Apple is too domineering (ph). You have to do everything through iTunes. The plus side is that it's more convenient to use.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have an iPhone 4X and I bought it because I was using (inaudible) and but I was getting frustrated with it, the (inaudible) of it. (Inaudible).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOULDEN: And Kristie, we even found someone here in London who uses what I do, which is have an iPhone and the BlackBerry so you can use it for different things. But I think it will come down to apps, will the phone, the BlackBerry 10 tomorrow, will it have enough apps on that?

But I (inaudible) to say, you know, here in the U.K., we said a lot of teenagers use the BlackBerry. They love the BlackBerry. We've got three in our house. So you know, people do want this BlackBerry to work. They want it to succeed, even if it is only the third best ecosystem in the world.

STOUT: Yes, like you, Jim, I'm also a dual user, iPhone and BlackBerry.

Now let's go back to David Pierce of The Verge.

And David, we heard there was consumers all over the world want from their phones. You know, they mention service, price point, but apps, that seems to be the really key thing. So which companies are best placed to deliver just that?

PIERCE: Well, I think it's -- you know, it's Google and it's Samsung and it's Apple and this is, again, RIM's incredible challenge, is they've had to build their own apps. They've worked with -- they've talked about working with Twitter and Facebook and LinkedIn to build the apps for the platform. And that's incredibly important.

But there -- there's this entire giant world of tpty developers. And Apple likes to talk about how people can make a living as iOS app developers, just building these goofy games and little productivity apps.

And whether those people will -- especially when it's just one person building an app they think is cool, whether they'll jump ship to BlackBerry 10, that seems like a big hill to climb for RIM. And they're so entrenched in these other operating systems that I'm not sure I see them switching.

STOUT: Well, it's a big week for the company. David Pierce, The Verge, thank you very much indeed.

A big thanks to Jim Boulden of CNN London as well.

Now mobile messaging service WhatsApp is under investigation for breaching international privacy laws. In a new report by Canadian and Dutch Data Protection Authority, WhatsApp has been accused of forcing its users and nonusers to provide it with all the numbers in their phones. Now the chairman of the Dutch Data Protection Authority said this, quote, "Users should (sic) be able to freely decide what contact details they wish to share with WhatsApp."

Now while investigators say that's WhatsApp is committed to making changes, they will continue to monitor the app and could impose penalties if the breach continues.

Now one of the companies that invented the CD is getting out of the gadget business. Philips says it will sell its consumer electronics arm to Japan's Funai Electric for about $200 million. The Dutch electronics giant has struggled to compete with Asian rivals in recent years.

Philips was once on the cutting edge of gadgets. It worked with Sony to jointly develop the CD format. And before that, it created the audio cassette tape. Now Philips will now focus on products related to health care, consumer lifestyle and lighting.

You're watching NEWS STREAM. And still ahead, filling in the blanks. Now we are used to looking at this view of North Korea. But now Google's giving up the different look at the hermit kingdom. We'll explain.

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STOUT: Welcome back. Now this week on "Leading Women," the Asia Pacific chief operating officer of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Jennifer Taylor was the first person in her family to go away to university and is now one of the world's top female executives in banking. I caught up with her in Hong Kong.

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STOUT (voice-over): Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- this is the global side of one of the world's largest financial institutions, operating in more than 40 countries helping customers with everything from trading to investment advice to entering capital markets.

Step inside the Asia Pacific headquarters, though, to see a more individual side of the global business.

JENNIFER TAYLOR, COO ASIA PACIFIC, BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH: Do you want to set the stage for what we're hoping to try and achieve today?

STOUT (voice-over): It's not hard to spot executive Jennifer Taylor with her blonde hair and her Irish accent, she stands out in a sea of suits. And in this global teleconference concerning the changing regulatory environment, she is the one in charge.

She runs the backbone of the business in Asia Pacific, everything from the technology that supports the traders to the policies that ensure compliance with international regulations.

STOUT: How would you describe your job to a general audience?

TAYLOR: Well, my role is called chief operating officer of Bank of America at Merrill Lynch. And what that essentially means is I help manage the day-to-day running of the business across all 12 countries in Asia.

STOUT (voice-over): This multitasking, multipassioned executive is Jennifer Taylor.

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STOUT (voice-over): Hong Kong is a city of skyscrapers and downtown finance rules, the lofty towers packed with Asian headquarters at the world's largest banks. Jennifer Taylor arrives most mornings for work at 7:00 am, walking through the web of skyscrapers to reach her office on the 15th floor.

The early mornings let her get a head start on her inbox. She reads every single email she gets. And it takes some time to think about the day before her conference calls and meetings begin.

TAYLOR: I think the ability to handle a lot of issues at one time and knowing when you need to get into the detail on a issue is really, really important.

STOUT (voice-over): After that, it's time for meetings. The way this busy executive stays on top of the broad range of issues and offices she oversees.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Jennifer.

TAYLOR: How are you? I don't know whether to say good morning or good evening, because I can't remember what it is in San Francisco.

I think when I roll (ph) a lot of the time, it is as a facilitator. So I bring a lot of -- a lot of groups together. So a number of the meetings that I chair or hold are getting groups across line of business, across support functions, to come together to make a decision, to take action and move on.

TAYLOR: And Crystal (ph), how's the client logic (ph) going?

CRYSTAL (PH): We are (inaudible) to finally getting the (inaudible).

STOUT (voice-over): And so goes the day of a top banking executive, discussion, decision-making and distilling lots of information into action.

TAYLOR: I think that that's what I bring. I can take large volumes of information, summarize them as the key facts and then encourage and help people to make the right decisions.

STOUT (voice-over): Taylor joined Merrill Lynch in London in 1997, armed with a law degree. She has risen up the ranks, eventually becoming general counsel and now serving as Asia Pacific's COO for five years.

STOUT: How would you describe your own leadership style?

TAYLOR: I think my leadership style is I try to build consensus. But if a decision needs to be made, I'm very willing to take the risk and make the decision.

STOUT (voice-over): As a female leader, she's in good company at Bank of America. More than 30 percent of the company's managers are women. But it's not that way everywhere in finance.

STOUT: Banking is a very male-dominated industry. How long is it going to remain that way?

TAYLOR: I think we've made a lot of progress over the last 20 years. I think it's no longer as much the absolute preserve of men as it once was. But I think we still have a long way to go.

STOUT: If there were more women on boards of major banks, would it have made a difference?

TAYLOR: I'm not sure that it would. I think there were some truly extraordinary circumstances that surrounded the global financial crisis that may not have been a big differentiating factor.

STOUT: But do you think having more female representation on banking boards will change the diversity of thinking, leadership styles?

TAYLOR: I think we need to have a more inclusive approach in general, not just to boards. So I think if we're truly going to make change, those in the financial services industry and more broadly, we have to have more women in all parts of a company, not just the board.

STOUT: And the cynical question: why do we need more women in all parts of the company?

TAYLOR: I think the -- an inclusive environment, where there's a difference in approach and a difference in how to deal with issues ultimately leads you to making better decisions.

I myself went to university in Ireland.

STOUT (voice-over): In the coming weeks, find out why Taylor thinks mentorship is key to bringing more women into the business and how such a busy executive still finds time for family dinners.

TAYLOR: I think the secret is learning how to play (inaudible) and knowing what call or meeting is really important. One of the things I do every weekend is going to my calendar and take four meetings out the following week. And it works.

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STOUT: Jennifer Taylor there.

Now up next, it was a British performance from one of the game's all- time greats, Tiger Woods crushed the field at Torrey Pines, just like the Tiger of old. Now Alex Thomas will have all the highlights next.

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STOUT: Welcome back. Now Tiger Woods has won his first golf tournament of the year in the United States and he's done it in impressive fashion. Let's join Alex Thomas in London for more on that and the day's other sport.

Alex?

ALEX THOMAS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, hi, Kristie. He may have been replaced by Rory McIlroy's as Gold's poster boy, but Tiger Woods has proved yet again it's too soon to write him off. The American impressed many with how well he played to win his opening PGA tour event of the year.

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THOMAS (voice-over): Woods held a comfortable six-stroke lead when the storm-affected Farmers Insurance Open concluded on Monday. And here at the 13th, he again showed how he's been playing like the Tiger of old, striking a 5-iron more than 240 yards to the green of this par 5. A couple of putts later -- that was another birdie in the bag for Tiger.

Conditions on the course, tough again for the closing holes. Woods did drop strokes, including a double bogey at the par 4 15th, pulling his tee shot into the hazard. However, the 14-time major winner was never in danger of being caught.

He had such a big lead built up. He enjoyed the ovation down the final hole, Woods finishing four strokes clear, a -14, winning at Torrey Pines a record eighth time. It's his 75th career victory. Only Sam Snead has more titles to his name. And Woods says the key is doing the basics well.

TIGER WOODS, PRO GOLFER: I drove the ball beautifully all week. And as I was explaining that my short game's been coming around, came around end of last season and you're not going to hit every par 5 in 2. But you need to get up-and-down.

And I did that this week. My short game was back to how I know it can be. My shots that I hit, especially out of these nasty little lies, I hit some really good ones this week. And that allowed me to, you know, save some pars, save some birdies and, you know, move my way up the board. And basically that's what I did.

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THOMAS: As simple as that. Now there are still three days of European football's January transfer window to go. But it's unlikely any club will match the headline signings that Galatasaray have made.

Only seven months after joining China's Shanghai Shenhua, Didier Drogba's been lured back to Europe by Turkey's big spending champions and current league leaders, the former Chelsea striker signed an 18-month deal worth around $13.5 million. And Galatasaray, remember , have already signed Dutch star Wesley Sneijder.

Drogba's playing for Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations at the moment, of course, and we now know two of the quarterfinal matchups, Ghana and Mali having joined South Africa and Cape Verde in the last eight on Tuesday.

Look out for another huge evening of action later in that tournament, the holder, Zambia, must win their final Group C game against Burkina Faso to guarantee a place in the knockout rounds. And Nigeria play Ethiopia in the other game.

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THOMAS (voice-over): U.S. President Barack Obama is well known for his love of basketball, so no wonder he enjoyed the visits to the White House of reigning NBA champions, the Miami Heat on Monday. He even joked that he played a part in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the rest taking the title last year.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A few of them were here a couple of years ago for a pickup game on my birthday. Now I'm not trying to take all the credit, Coach. But I think that it's clear that going up against me prepared them --

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OBAMA: -- to take on Kevin Durand and Russell Westbrook (ph).

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THOMAS: Maybe Barack Obama part of the training camp next season. That's all for now. Kristie, back to you; more on "WORLD SPORT" in just over three hours' time.

STOUT: Well, we know the U.S. president loves this sport. Alex Thomas there, thank you.

Now North Korea has virtually no Internet and for a long time, the country looked completely might on Google Maps. Right now, citizen cartographers have helped fill in the blanks. Now Google's Mapmaker lets people add details, including roads and points of interest, including monuments and prisons.

Now here is an area identified as Bukchang Gulag. Now human rights groups say as many as 200,000 people may be prisoners in North Korea's political prison camps. And you can see structures in this close-up of Camp 22. It labels guard compounds and the office of the director. Even the country's main nuclear site shows up.

But right now people may be less interested in Yongbyon than the still unlabeled test facility. Now Pyongyang is believed to be preparing for another launch. Now all of this comes shortly after Google chairman Eric Schmidt visited North Korea to urge Pyongyang to embrace the Internet or face further decline.

And that is NEWS STREAM. But the news continues at CNN. "WORLD BUSINESS TODAY" is next.

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