Return to Transcripts main page

NEWS STREAM

Israeli Restricts West Bank Access After Tel Aviv Terrorist Attack; Rememberin Muhammad Ali; Security Still Major Concern A Day Ahead of Euro 2016 Opening Match; Stanford Rape Case Sparks Worldwide Outrage; U.s. President, Vice President Endorse Hillary Clinton. Aired 8:00a-9:00a ET

Aired June 10, 2016 - 08:00:00   ET

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

[08:00:18] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream.

A major security test for France. The kickoff to Euro 2016 is only hours away as a serious terror threat hangs over the football tournament.

Also, we are learning more about the capture of one of the Tel Aviv terrorists , how an off duty police officer became a hero.

And remembering the greatest -- Muhammad Ali's hometown prepares to say farewell to the boxing legend. And we'll show you how he captured

hearts and minds right here in Asia.

This hour, excited football fans are arriving in France. The Euro 2016 championship kicks off in just a few hours, and French police are

making final preparations.

Now, tens of thousands of security forces have been deployed. And competing teams are under heavy protection. All these to make sure attacks

like those in Paris, they happened last year, won't happen again.

Now, the opening match will take place in Paris. And World Sport's Alex Thomas is there. he joins us now.

And Alex, the kickoff is today. We know this a month-long tournament. It's taking placein a variety of cities across the country. I mean, what

kind of security is in place here?

ALEX THOMAS, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, 10 cities in total, Kristie, including Paris, where I am now, the capital.

I'm outside the Stade de France, the national stadium built specifically for the 1998 World Cup, the last major football event that France hosted.

And they won it. They'll be hoping to do the same again.

But you're right, a long list of concerns ahead of this major sporting occasion. Security has been right at the top of the list. Around 100,000

security personnel, including police, military and other security forces employed on the street.

The organizers say essentially they've taken 100 percent precautions - - although they admit that does not mean there's a zero percent risk. Everyone is saying the risk of a terror attack is very high in terms of

their intelligence, although there is no specific threat.

But one indication of how seriously it's taken authorities have actually released a terror alert app. You can download it on your

smartphone, and it will alert you if there are any attacks. We've seen numerous drills from the security forces as well -- although, just

anecdotally, out on the streets in my experience, it hasn't affected the mood in the buildup to Euro 2016, Kristie.

LU STOUT: That's good to hear.

But video has emerged that these clashes in Marseilles between English football fans and French police. What happened? What triggered the

violence?

THOMAS: We think probably alcohol at the end of the day, although police are still looking into the matter. The facts that we know as things

stand is that around 200 England supporters in the city ahead of their teams opening game over the weekend clashed with locals in Marseilles. It

isn't a tourist rough city, this was in the old port area of the town. Echoes, really, of the 1990s when there was rampant English hooliganism in

part.

There's been crackdown on since. This is a very rare thing these days.

And the most worrying thing of all, Kristie, is that there are reports based on video we've seen on social media, but CNN hasn't been able to

independently verify, that the word ISIS was used in taunts to some of the local youths. And of course, a massive ethnic population there, many of

Arabic or North African descent.

So, that's really the concerning thing.

There were six injuries, including four police officers, although just described as slight injuries. And the police in Marseilles confirming they

did have to release four tier gas canisters.

LU STOUT: Now, at the end of the day, Euro 2016 is all about the sport, so let's talk about that. And today the stadium behind you in

Paris, it's going to be France versus Romania. And France not only the host of the tournament, but the favorite as well?

THOMAS: One of the favorites, Kristie. And there's an interesting tournament for several reasons, two of them being that this is an expanded

European championship, up from 16 teams to 24 this year. Concerns that it may have diluted the excitement haven't really materialized yet. We'll

have to wait and see what happens through in the action.

But none of the historical favorites like France, Spain, Germany, Italy have really excelled in the buildup to this tournament. France have

looked very good, though, since losing to Albania surprisingly last year. They've certainly been unbeaten this year, and only lost to England in the

buildup since then. They scored 10 goals in their last three games.

They're lead by captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. He was speaking on the eve of their match against Romania, which kicks off at 9:00 tonight

local time. And he was trying to play down their chances.

LU STOUT: OK, we'll leave it at that.

CNN's Alex Thomas joining us live from the -- from Paris at the Stade de France. Many thanks indeed for your reporting. We'll talk again soon.

And do stay with us this weekend for a kickoff special on Euro 2016 live from Paris. Alex and World Sport's Amanda Davies, they'll be joined

by a man who knows what it's like to play at the European championships -- former England star Owen Hargreaves. You can tune in at 6:00 p.m. Friday

in Paris, midnight Hong Kong time.

Now, Israel imposes tough new measures following Wednesday's deadly terror attack in Tel Aviv. It is the first Friday of Ramadan, and

Palestinian worshipers are attending prayers at the al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Israel has closed border crossings with Gaza and the West Bank through Sunday. And exceptions are being made for Palestinians headed to Friday

prayers in Jerusalem, and cases involving humanitarian or medical issues.

Now CNN's Phil Black is in the West Bank this hour. We'll go to him live in just a moment. But, first, our senior international correspondent

Fred Pleitgen joins me now live from Jersualem. And Fred, despite that freeze on travel permits, we know that some Palestinians are being allowed

to travel and to pray at the al Aqsa Mosque. Please set the scene for us.

[08:06:17] FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, you're absolutely right, Kristie. People are allowed to go the Temple

Mount. There are some restrictions for males who are under -- under 45 years old. They have to get a special permit to go and pray inside the

compound of the al Aqsa Mosque. And what we saw when we came here to the area of the old town in Jerusalem is that there were some pretty heavy

security presence here. You saw a lot of cops on the street. Apparently, there's thousands of additional police officers, border police as well as

voluntary police on the streets as well. And you can that at the checkpoints as they were only allowing very few people to actually get

through.

So, there certainly are some restrictions. Nevertheless, when the Friday prayers were going on, we did see a considerable amount of people

who were inside the compound who were praying. And so far after those Friday prayers have finished, we have not heard that clashes have been

taking place inside the area of Old Jerusalem. So, we'll wait and see whether or not that holds. But the latest information that we're getting

is that so far things appear to be fairly quiet.

Now, over the whole of the country, there are of course considerable restrictions for Palestinians wanting to travel. There's a travel freeze

that's been put on permits for some 83,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and from Gaza as well. That, of course, was imposed after those attacks

that took place in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

And certainly it was one of the things that really contributed to the situation here in Jerusalem being very tense during these first Friday

prayers of Ramadan, because of course they only come two days after those attacks in Tel Aviv and after those restrictions were imposed on the

movement of Palestinians here inside the country, which of course is something that really puts a strain on people during the month of Ramadan

when many people want to visit their relatives and also, quite frankly, many people from the West Bank and Gaza want to try and come here to the al

Aqsa Mosque to pray as well.

But again, it seems as though at this point in time things have remained quiet during this very tense period, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Fred with the mood there in Jerusalem.

Let's cross over to our Phil Black.

And Phil, in Yatta, Israeli troops, we know that they are conducting these door-to-door searches and interviews. They're looking for clues.

What's the latest on this operation and Israel's response there?

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, for two consecutive nights now they have been conducting raids and searches of

homes in the town of Yasser. They've made multiple arrests, we're told. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said that among the arrested

was someone who cooperated with the attack in Tel Aviv.

Beyond that, they're not releasing too many details. And, indeed, we can't discuss too many more details than that, because the Israeli

authorities are enforcing a gag order, which prevents media seen in Israel from discussing the details of the case, that includes CNN.

Meanwhile, the military is enforcing a partial blockade of this town. We can show you waht that looks like here where we're standing. Just

across the road from where I am, you can see an Israeli military roadblock. At this point, at this road leading into Yatta, the Israeli military are

stopping all cars, all vehicles.

At other roads around the town, what we've seen not an Israeli military presence, but simply huge piles of rubble, or large stone

boulders, all of which have been shifted into place blocking the roads.

Now, I describe it as a partial blockade, because they are preventing vehicles from moving in, but they're not stopping people from moving in and

out on foot.

This is, however, having something of an impact on the people's lives here. What it means is that any time anybody needs to access anything

beyond the town, they need to walk out on foot, meet a taxi, or meet a friend from somewhere else who then drives them.

And it means what we're seeing people carrying in food and supplies. We've seen a man in a wheelchair have to get out here on the road and then

be wheeled in passed the security checkpoint into the town to meet another vehicle in there. We've seen pregnant women walking across the field and

so forth.

This, at the time of Ramadan, where the days here are long and people are indeed fasting.

So, it is, I suspect no surprise to hear that the people here, the 120,000 or so people in this town, largely believe that these restrictions

that have been placed on the town, well they seem them as collective punishment. The entire community here being punished, suffering to some

degree if you like, because of the actions of those who may have been involved in that attack in Tel Aviv.

At this stage, the Israeli authorities aren't saying how long this partial blockade will be in place, Kristie.

[08:10:42] LU STOUT: All right, Phil Black showing us what that partial blockade looks like.

And let's go back to our Fred Pleitgen in Jerusalem. And Fred, stunning new details out of how an off duty Israeli police officer

unwittingly invited one of the attackers into his home. How did that happen?

PLEITGEN: Yeah, absolutely. It's one of those stunning things that came out over the past, I would say, early last night was the first time

that we heard about it is apparently after this attack took place, of course, many people there in Tel Aviv fled the area of the Serona (ph)

market, trying to get out of the line of fire. Well, there was an off duty police officer who was inviting people into his house to help them get

shelter there. And who after he invited a bunch of people into his house, went to the scene of the Serona (ph) market to try and help out there, to

try and help people who had been wounded, to also of course check out the security situation as well, and then he realized that one of the attackers

who had been arrested was wearing a suit, and then realized that one of the people that he had given refuge to inside his house was also wearing a very

similar suit. And then he made the connection. He told the authorities that he believed that one of the attackers might be hiding out in his

house, and that was exactly what was the case.

Now, the authorities here are saying that at this point in time, as this attacker was hiding out in this off-duty police officer's house, that

he had no longer possession of the weapon that he had used in the attack. Nevertheless, obviously, of course, this was something that really moves

the case forward. And this police officer certainly very much being hailed as a hero here in Israeli media, and of course, among many of the people in

Tel Aviv as well -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: A stunning revelation.

Fred Pleitgen and Phil Black both reporting for us. A big thank you to you both. Take care.

Now, yesterday we told you the story about this man in Pakistan whose wife was murdered in cold blood by her own mother for eloping with him.

And now he is telling the world about what the couple went through. Clarissa Ward has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: 18-year-old Zeenat Rafiq, burned to death by her mother and brother, simply for marrying a man

against her family's wishes. It's the latest horrific example of a so- called honor killing in Pakistan. Hassan Khan, the victim's 19-year-old husband, buried his bride early Thursday after her own family refused to

claim the body.

Khan says they had dated secretly for five years, but Rafiq feared her family would kill her if they knew, so a little less than two weeks ago the

couple eloped and moved away.

Then, this week, Rafiq returned to her family home in Lahore. Khan tells CNN, his wife was lead to believe the family wanted a reconciliation

and that she was promised no harm would come to her.

HASSAN KHAN, ZEENAT RAFIQ'S HUSBAND (through translator): Her cousin gave the guarantee that nothing would happen to her. We were not sending

her otherwise.

WARD: But there was no homecoming. Instead, police say Rafiq's mother and brother tied her down, poured gasoline over her, and set her on

fire.

According to CNN affiliate Geo News, an autopsy shows Rafiq had been strangled, but was still alive when she was set ablaze.

Afterwards, witnesses say the victim's mother, Parveen Rafiq (ph), ran into the street shouting that she had killed her daughter. She is now in

police custody. Authorities say she has expressed no remorse.

KHAN (through translator): She was supposed to come home today. They killed her a day before. We went to her house and her burnt body was lying

on the stairs.

WARD: Khan and his family say they were devastated. His mother tells CNN Rafiq was like a daughter to her.

SHAHIDA KHAN, VICTIM'S MOTHER-IN-LAW (through translator): There should be justice. How could they be so heartless and kill this girl? She

was our child now. She had married our son.

WARD: Sadly, this is only the latest in a long list of honor murders. More than 1,000 women were killed by family members in Pakistan last year

alone. According to the country's independent Human Rights Commission. And activists say while progress has been made, a lot more still needs to

change.

NAZISH BROHI, SOCIAL RESEARCHER & ANALYST: The problem is that the (inaudible) prosecutions are still off the country is a mess. And that's

as true of honor killings as it is on cases of terrorism.

[08:15:01] WARD: Pakistan's prime minister has condemned these brutal crimes in the past, but so far his government has taken no new actions to

stop the killing.

Clarissa Ward, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Such a sickening crime.

Now, the prime minister of Pakistan has condemned this murder. Earlier this year, he promised to take a tougher stance after watching an

Oscar winning documentary about these brutal killings. Since then, the country's Human Rights Commission has recorded at least 160 new cases.

Now, investigators will examine several pieces of debris to see if they are from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. An American lawyer

found three of those pieces off the coast of Madagascar, another was tangled in seaweed on Kangaroo Island in Australia.

Alexandria Field has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLAINE ALAN GIBSON, FOUND DEBRIS: This is what you see as you sit on the plane on the seat in front of you. This is very graphic. I have to

tell you this, that the monitor screen touched me very deeply and brought tears to my eyes.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Three pieces of debris discovered on a beach on Nosi Bahara (ph), an island off the east coast of Madagascar.

Seemingly, they're two parts of panels and a piece of a screen, items Blaine Gibson believes belong to missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370.

Officials plan to take a closer look.

GIBSON: There's even a little bit of fabric from the seat that it was on. And on the back, this is very important, there are three small

barnacles. So, those barnacles can give clues as to where it came from and what route it took to travel here.

FIELD: Gibson, a lawyer from Seattle, has made it his personal mission to find parts of the plane. He is traveling the world on his own

dime looking for pieces of a puzzle that he says can be used to refine the search area.

GIBSON: I always believed that the first clues would not be found by the big underwater search, but by simple, random people walking on the

beach. The sea is revealing its secrets.

FIELD: Last February in Mozambique, he found a piece of wreckage that authorities say almost certainly comes from MH370. They're now looking at

whether yet another new piece of debris could, too, this one picked up in Australia on a remote beach on Kangaroo Island.

SAMUEL ARMSTRONG, FOUND DEBRIS: Just stumbled across a piece of what I presume to aircraft, I guess. And then thought about planes that had

gone down and wondered where it could have come from.

FIELD: No traces of the plane have turned up in the designated search area in the Indian Ocean, thousands of kilometers off the west coast of

Australia. Efforts there are expected to be complete by August. And there are no planes to continue the official search after that.

Alexandra Field, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And still ahead, seeing good- bye to the greatest. Muhammad Ali is to be buried after a final journey through his hometown.

Also ahead, Democrats in the U.S. look to finally be rallying behind a main player, presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton has landed the endorsement

of the president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:20:30] LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back, you're watching News Stream.

Now, he was a boxing legend who transcended his sport. And Muhammad Ali's funeral procession will pass through his hometown in about an hour.

It is a final journey that will take him back to where it all began -- the once little known boxing gym in Louisville, Kentucky.

Muhammad Ali planned the ceremony several years ago. He wanted it to be open so his fans could have a chance to say good-bye.

Martin Savidge is in Louisville with more. And he joins us now live. And Martin, tell us, later today how will his hometown say good-bye to

Muhammad Ali.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, this has been a two-day farewell. And just as you point out, Kristie, it's been in the planning

for 10 years. And make no mistake, Muhammad Ali had a very direct say into how he wanted to be remembered. And one of the things that he wanted to

have happen was he wanted to drive through his town one last time. That was for him, and it was also for the tens of thousands of fans, hometown

and from around the world before gathering here.

What you're looking at now, is the street scene here, because the pink house in the background with all the adornment, that's the boyhood home of

Muhammad Ali, this is the street he grew up in. And as much as he is known around the world, he is considered a hometown hero in Louisville, Kentucky.

People have started claiming their seat.

There's also a great deal of media, about 800 credentialed media have come from all around the world to cover this remarkable event.

And then after the procession, there will be a private bridge-side ceremony. And then another public event, 14,000 people expected to descend

on the local arena. Tickets for that vaporized in less than one hour.

So, if you want to say good-bye to the champ and you don't have a ticket, standing on the street right now is the best way to do it, and

that's what many people are hoping to do -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: And Martin, in the last few days you have seen a number of tributes to Muhammad Ali there. And your favorite, at least according to

your social media feed, a favorite of yours in where he learned to box. It involves a bicycle. Could you describe that tribute for us?

SAVIDGE: Yeah, this is Spalding University, it's a nearby Louisville school.

And so the story goes at age 12 he had his bicycle stolen, it's the red bicycle that you probably get to see in this video eventually. And he

was so angry he said he was going to go out and whoop somebody.

Well, there was a police officer by the name of Joe Martin who overheard him. And Joe actually ran a youth boxing program and he said

maybe you ought to learn how to fight first.

Well, that's how it all began. And that's why that red bicycle hanging up as it is, is, to me at least, one of the most remarkable

tributes.

And there are many, many people have personal tributes in their yards as well as ones taht you see in many of the major locations. Really,

really nice to see, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, a beautiful tribute, a beautiful story. Martin Savidge there reporting for us live from Louisville, Kentucy. Thank you,

Martin.

And CNN will bring you that memorial service live from Ali's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Our coverage starts at 1:45 a.m. Saturday in Hong

Kong right here on CNN.

Now, Muhammad Ali was much loved here in Asia as well. And one of his most famous fights was known simply as The Thriller in Manila. Our Andrew

Stevens went to the Philippine capital to relive a showdown etched in sporting history.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MUHAMMAD ALI, LEGENDARY BOXER: I just want to tell you to move. And in my glory, I'm here in my glory, whippin' Joe Frazier.

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ASIA PACIFIC EDITOR (voice-over): When Muhammad Ali arrived in the Philippines in October 1975 for the "Thrilla in Manila,"

he was already a household name in this boxing mad country.

Thousands of fans turned out to welcome him and thousands more just to watch him train.

One of them was a young Romy Macalintal, a hardcore fan, who just wanted a signature on his prized possession: a collection of newspaper

clippings about Ali. But Romy got a whole lot more than he'd bargained for.

ROMY MACALINTAL, ALI FAN: It was an experience which I cannot now forget, one of the most memorable experiences in my life.

STEVENS (voice-over): Romy ended up not only meeting Ali in private but spending the entire afternoon alone with the boxer, the two of them

watching movies.

MACALINTAL: We were just sitting on the carpet watching the movie and in between he would stand up, he would get some cookies, some juice and he

would be offering me or serving me.

Imagine the heavyweight champion, serving me at the time with biscuits and juice.

[08:25:08] STEVENS (voice-over): Romy didn't get to the fight but like millions of other Filipinos, he watched it on television, a brutal

encounter eventually won by Ali and now regarded as one of the greatest bouts ever in boxing.

RECAH TRINIDAD, JOURNALIST: The lights would turn around because of the blood splashing from the mouth.

STEVENS (voice-over): Recah Trinidad was a journalist who watched the fight ringside. For him, the fight wasn't about the sport so much as the

politics. The dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos had been in power for three years and the country was under martial law. Marcos himself had been key to

getting the fight staged in Manila.

TRINIDAD: It was something to camouflage, the misdeeds of the martial law as far as the world audience was concerned.

STEVENS (voice-over): But to a young fan, the memories are not of politics, not even the fight but of Muhammad Ali himself.

MACALINTAL: For me, I would always remember him as a very humble, a humble man, a man with humility and a man with a heart, my encounter with

the greatest, a very great man, really the greatest champion in the world.

STEVENS (voice-over): Andrew Stevens, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, two years before the Thriller in Manila, Muhammad Ali was here in Hong Kong sitting behind a complaints desk at the old Kaitek

Airport (ph). Later in the program, we'll tell you the story behind this incredible photo.

Now, U.S. President Barack Obama has thrown his weight behind the Democrat's presumptive nominee, Hillary Clinton. Vice President Joe Biden

and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren quickly followed suit.

Now, these are the three biggest endorsements to date. Suzanne Malveaux reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONENT: An incredible show of force, top Democrats lining up behind Hillary Clinton.

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm with her. I am fired up. And I cannot wait to get out there and campaign for Hillary.

MALVEAUX: President Obama endorsing Clinton just hours after meeting with Senator Bernie Sanders at the White House. The president and Clinton

set to hit the campaign trail together in Wisconsin next week. Vice President Joe Biden following suit, making it clear who he thinks the next

president should be.

JOE BIDEN, (D) VICE PRESIDENT: God willing, in my view, it will be Secretary Clinton.

MALVEAUX: And progressive senator, Elizabeth Warren, backing Clinton too.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: I am ready to get in this fight and work my heart out for Hillary Clinton to become the next

president of the United States.

MALVEAUX: Warren, a liberal favorite, could be crucial in bridging the gap between Clinton and Sanders supporters. The coordinated endorsements

stealing the thunder of Sanders trip to D.C. as his campaign winds down.

BERNIE SANDERS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Needless to say, I am going to do everything in my power, and I will work as hard as I can to make sure

that Donald Trump does not become president of the unit, states.

MALVEAUX: Sanders also helping to project unity by meeting with the vice president and Senate congressional leaders.

SANDERS: Here we are in mid-June, and we're still standing.

(APPLAUSE)

MALVEAUX: The question now is when will Sanders fully support Clinton as the nominee.

OBAMA: My hope is that over the next couple of weeks, we're able to pull things together. The main role I'm going to be playing in this process

is to remind the American people that this is a serious job. You know, this is not reality TV.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, for U.S. Republicans, presumptive nominee Donald Trump and his team are honing in on an aggressive fundraising strategy ahead of

the general election fight. The real estate mogul met with more than 60 top donors in New York to ease worries over the state of the campaign's

finances. Now, one prominent donor says the party is hundreds of millions of dollars behind Clinton's operation.

Now, she wrote a heartbreaking letter about the trauma she suffered from being raped. And now people all over the world are standing up and

making sure her voice is heard. We have more on the global reaction to the Stanford rape case next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:32:30] LU STOUT: Now, I want to update you on the global outrage over the Standford rape case. More than a million people have signed a

petition on Change.org saying that they want the judge removed from his post. He gave a convicted rapist a six month jail sentence. Now Sara

Sidner explains why so many people are blasting that decision.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHIRLANE MCCRAY, NEW YORK CITY MAYOR'S WIFE: You don't know me, but you've been inside me. And that's why we are here today.

CYNTHIA NIXON, ACTRESS: I was butt naked all the way down to my boots. Legs spread apart, and then had been penetrated by a foreign object by

someone I did not recognize.

ASHLEIGH BANFIED, HOST, CNN'S LEGAL VIEW: I stood there examining my body beneath the stream of water and I decided I don't want my body

anymore.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The searing words of a sexual assault victim, brought to life by people who have never met her but want her voice

herd. The 12-page letter first read allow in court by the 23- year-old victim to her 20-year-old attacker.

Former Stanford student and swimmer, Brock Turner. The two go to the same party, both drink too much and Brock Turner attacks her. Two graduate

students find her unconscious behind the dumpster. A jury convicts Turner of three felony counts.

The prosecutor asks for six years in prison. The judge sentences to him just six months in jail and three years' probation. In line with the

probation officer's recommendation, the decision sparks outrage by the prosecutors, victims' advocates and more than 950,000 people online trying

to recall the judge.

Then, letters in support of Brock Turner are revealed, some partially blaming the victim for drinking, others turning Brock Turner into the

victim. Turners father writes in part, "His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve, that is a steep price to

pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life."

That letter causes its own fire storm. Another father's message to the Turners going viral.

JOHN PAVLOVITZ, NORTH CAROLINA PASTOR: There's no scenario where your son should be the sympathetic figure here, he is the assailant, he is the

rapist. I can't imagine as a father how gut wrenching that reality that is for you, but it is true.

SIDNER: In this case, the deeply personal words of a victim managing to stir a nation and spotlight an issue so often kept in the dark.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: According to the CDC, one in five women will be sexually assaulted during her lifetime.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And in 80 percent of those cases, those attacks are perpetrated by someone they already know.

[08:35:04] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And one in four girls will be sexually abused before the age of 18.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This isn't a secret.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's reality.

SIDNER: What is further outraged people is that, Brock Turner won't spend six months in jail, he will spend half of that time, that is the law

here in California, only 50 percent of the six months, which means he'll be out in three.

Sara Sidner, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, this case has even drawn the condemnation of the U.S. vice president. Joe Biden addressed the victim in an open letter on

BuzzFeed echoing her own heartbreaking message. He wrote this, "I do not know your name, but your words are forever seared on my soul, words that

should be required reading for men and women of all ages, words that I wish with all my heart you never had to write."

Now, the rape victim's letter struck a cord not just in the U.S., but also around the world. In China, feminists are using the hashtag

#solidarityforstanfordsurvivor and posting pictures of themselves holding signs like drinking isn't a crime, rape is.

Now, the group gathering the photos wrote, "our message is simple, the Stanford survivor and all the survivors who face injustice, you are not by

yourself."

Now, some of these supporters are no strangers to fighting sexual harassment. Now this right here in the corner is Lee Mize (ph), she's one

of the feminists who were detained in China last year for planning a protest against sexual harassment.

Now, she's part of a group of five Chinese feminists who fight for women's rights in China. Now, they had planned to campaign against sexual

harassment on public transportation for International Women's Day last year, but all five were detained by police before the campaign began.

They were released a month later after the news of their arrest sparked widespread condemnation.

And even after their release, these five women are still considered suspects in a criminal investigation and could face charges in the future.

And you're watching News Stream. Still to come on the program, the headlines after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, it is the start of the monsoon season in India. And hundreds of millions hope the annual heavy rain will ease two consecutive years of

drought. The stakes here are high. India's farming community makes up half the country's population.

CNN's Sumnima Udas reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Another weak harvest. Weak monsoons for two consecutive years have desiccated India's heartland,

and the core of it, India's farmers, are bleeding.

"Look at this soil, it's become acidic. It's unusable," he says.

Balraj Benewal (ph) is a man of the earth who can tell if the much awaited monsoons are coming just by looking up.

"Before the monsoons arrive, the clouds become thick and start rumbling. The wind picks up. The whole environment changes," he says

wistfully.

Life in 64 percent of India's farmland, Benewal's (ph), too, has no irrigation system. So, he depends on the monsoons, which bring three-

quarters of India's total rainfall.

"During a good monsoon, I make about $400 to $500 per acre. But if the monsoons are bad, we lose about $150 per acre. Right now, I'm in

serious debt," he says.

It's a common story playing out across rural India, from one parched farmland to another.

When it comes to the Indian economy, this is what it's really about, more than half of India's population depends on agriculture for a living.

So what happens here in fields like this has a direct impact on the country's bottom line.

Better rains means better crop output, reviving the struggling agricultural sector, capping food inflation, bringing down interest rates,

and boosting rural demand.

"When it rains we can buy motorcycles and tractors. India has big dreams, but the reality is this country is still heavily dependent on the

rain," he says.

Saddled with debt, the Benewal (ph) family has been making ends meet by working as daily wage laborers. They hear India has become the fastest

growing major economy in the world. But here, they say, there's no semblance of it, and only a good monsoon season can change their story.

Sumnima Udas, CNN, Huriana (ph), India.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:41:25] LU STOUT: Now, Britain's royal family is celebrating a double birthday this weekend. The queen's official 90th birthday coincides

with the 95th birthday of her husband, Prince Philip.

And this was the scene at London's Saint Paul's Cathedral a few hours ago. A thanksgiving service began three days of special events honoring

the queen. Now, she actually turned 90 in April, but by tradition the monarch celebrates her birthday in June. In part, it is to take advantage

of the better weather.

And before we go, the backstory to this wonderful picture of Muhammad Ali sitting at a Cafe Pacific (ph) complaints desk here in Hong Kong in

1973.

Now, you might ask, why was a boxing superstar handling complaints for an airline? Well, a Cafe (ph) employee says that Muhammad Ali had been on

a stopover in Hong Kong's old Kaitek (ph) airport and this was long before the days of executive lounges. So, to keep the boxer occupied, Cafe (ph)

came up with the idea for this classic photo op.

Well, the sign on the desk, it may have read complaint's department, but apparently the only thing passengers came forward with were

compliments.

And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. World Sport with Christina Macfarlane is next.

END