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tv   CNN International  CNN  May 28, 2015 11:00pm-12:01am PDT

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we are just hours away from fifa's presidential election and despite o the recent scandal, sepp blatter could win. and 17 nations come together to try to solve the migrant crisis in southeast asia. plus, volcanic ash spews into the sky in japan and people on a remote island are ordered to get out. hello, i'm natalie allen. welcome to our viewers here in the united states an around the world. you're watching, cnn newsroom.
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and we begin with the latest in the fifa corruption scandal. u.s. bribery charges against world football officials. the head of fifa, sepp blatter, says the crisis has brought shame and u mihumiliation to football. he is calling for those allegedly involved to be punished. he calls as members of the congress vote today on whether to effect blatter to a fifth term as president. and as its members decide feef why's future, blatter said he won't step down despite calls do so from world leaders, krcritic and the heads of world football. we have more from zurich. >> reporter: shaming as fifa's
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shaming in epic proportions. fighting for sound bites. >> you can be sure mr. blatter will be re-elected and we want to try to avoid that. >> and in the middle of this, feels like a revolution in the making. leading the way for change, the body of fifa -- >> i'm disappointed, i'm disgusted and fed up. enough is enough. >> michel plantini said he told his friend to step down. >> it is not good for the rest. is my duty to tell that. >> reality is, when the delegates inside here on friday vote for the new president, it is going to take a lot more than platini and u uefa to get
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blatter and fifa to change course. >> we are yet to be convinced hundred percent that blatter himself is corrupt. if he is indicted, if he is convicted, then certainly we aren't going to -- africa, we we're not going to give him a vote. >> so you are still voting for sepp blatter. >> in nigeria, we vote for blatter. >> at the openinger er iing cer blatter not sounding like he is beaten yet. >> i cannot win everyone all of the time. if people want do wrong, they try to hide it. but it must fall to me to be responsibility for the reputation and well-being of our organization.
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and to find a way for to fix things. >> fifa congress now under way, you would never guess they are in crisis. meanwhile, while all this volatility is going on, outside here in the real world, fifa's woes are piling up. nic robertson, cnn, zurich, switzerland. >> for more now we turn to alex thomas, he is among our team there is zurich. it appears that sepp blatter fighting to keep his job may just do that in the coming hours. what's the mood there? which would seem bizarre, wouldn't it, natalie? tuning in and seeing these headlines, surely, as you see with a major corporation caught up in a scandal or a government, the ceo or prime minister or
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president would seriously have to think about stepping down. sepp blatter has survived many scandals since being in charge of fifa since 1998. none of them have stuck so far and his message, opening ceremony yesterday, as nic said in his report, the same as usual. i'm not the one doing wrong things, i'm trying to reform the organization. stick with me. >> and he heard from the africa member there, the nigerian chief that he will vote for blatter still because they like what he's done for the game. blatter treats even the smallest nations the same as the biggest ones, natalie. >> so he may be able to hold on here. he certainly will have a fifa in chaos to deal with. and there is also the situation in the upcoming world cups. is there going to be any kind of vote for decision at this meeting about whether they will continue in the upcoming countries?
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>> it is not on the agenda for congress today as far as i'm aware but remember there are two separate investigations that sparked all these headlines this week. the one here in switzerland looking at the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 world cups award, russia and qatar, most surprising. and from the u.s., we saw the conference from the department of justice, where all of the list is read like a script from a hollywood mafia movimovie, di it? they are looking at corruption from the past, making arrests and applying for extradition for people. that means not all of the 209-member associations that could vote in today's election may do so. remember, blatter's audience within heads of national associations, 209 of them, from around the globe, we understand that we know a representative from brazil because one of those is arrested and his second in command fled the country in fear
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of reading reports this morning. but the numbers stack up in blatter's favor because the people in those positions are too afraid of change, even when the rest of us seemingly are crying out for it. >> we appreciate it, thank you. alex thomas there for us? zurich. he he will continue to cover the meetings there. now more on the upcoming vote and fifa scandal, let's turn to gavin hamilton. he is in london, editor of world soccer magazine. thanks for joining us, gavin. i would like your take on blatter wanting to hold on to the reigns of fifa. he said, i cannot monitor everyone all the time. those corrupting football are in minori minority. what do you think about that comment and whether or not he should keep his job? >>. >> caller: well, it tells an awful lot about the man who devoted his life to fifa. he doesn't know any other life. and he is expert to stay on at fifa. he is determined to stay on at
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fifa. he is great survivor, and he will try to tough things out. i think what we will see today in zurich is a bid for him to cling ton power. the election will be closer than anybody thought. it was assumed it would be a walk-over for blatter and prince, the lone challenger, would struggle for votes. but it is clear that prince ali is claiming more votes than we thought possible and it could be a close-run aware fod. >> well, prince ali or sepp blatter, aside, can fifa, under any leadership, will they be able to rebound from this? so many have said it's entire future could be at stake. >> i think that the issue is that fifa, sepp blatter would struggle for now and that's the real issue. and it would only affect change,
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substantial change and real change, if it is the organization and reaching that critical point now where he is the issue. and survival is the crucial item and he is refusing to accept that anything is wrong with the organization. he has overseen corruption and claims he doesn't see anything going on. and if he didn't know about it, then he shouldn't be in charge. his leadership is the issue. so whether he stays or whether he goes is the most important thing to note. >> okay. that's something we will be watching. this investigation has been fwoifwo going foreign some time. bribery. goes back 20 years. isn't it fair to say that maybe everyone but sepp blatter knew that there were problems, ethical problems, in the upper echelons of fifa? >> well, there's always been that he would -- fifa is capable
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of policing it self. that they would have -- we had internal inquiries. and nothing, no action taken against anybody within fifa. and fifa cleaned its own house out. but it is clear from the intervention of the fbi that it has taken, the intervention of the american authority. so any action to really, really initiate and it is an extraordinary situation where it has taken wiretapes from the fbi. and evidence uncovered by the fbi. to force fifa into taking action. >> yes. and as you speak, we see this graphic there on the screen, that kind of tells the story. the one guilty plea was for mr. blazer, who went ahead and was wiretapped by the fbi there as president blatter at the top untouched right now. it'll be interesting to see what
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happens with the sponsors for fifa. that could be a key turning point, right? >> yeah. i mean, it is crucial. tv companies pay for the rights for the world cup. it is crucial because they supply the money that pays for sepp blatter's operation and it is redistributed back to the members. obviously pays its own rent and running of football, but a vast, significant proportion of the money, goes back to the members. and every member that received a large slice of money. and america, brazil and germany, it's not that important but for the tiny african states on the pacific island, it is a lifetime stand. and they will express their gratitude by voting for blatter. so the money is crucial. if there is anything that that
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money is under threat, then that would be serious for fifa. these sponsors are hard-nosed business people. they have invested a lot in fifa and their sponsorship and tv rights. so it is the thing at the moment that is of concern. whether or not they actually pull out or not is another matter. it will be interesting to see what happens. >> yes, coke, adidas, nike, mcdonald's, among those concerned. thanks, gavin. other news. in the u.s., former speaker of the house of representatives have been indicted for lie together fbi about more than $3 million he agreed to pay in hush money. dennis hastert is accused of trying to hide transactions that he paid to an unnamed individual to cover up past misconduct. the indictment doesn't explain what hastert's alleged misconduct was but does detail
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various transactions over several years. former u.s. house intelligence chairman mike rogers described his reaction to the indictment. >> i'm just shocked and disheartened that dennis hastert found himself in a position where he found himself have doing something this drastic. he must have known it was illegal do in the way they structured it because that's the way they structured it. on a personal level, shock, dismay. i hope they get it worked out. from a professional view, was he extorted, individual a, means individual a is likely to have cooperated with the fbi in this investigation. i think there's a lot more story to be told here. >> hastert was house speaker from 1999 to 2006. cnn has not reached him for comment. thailand is taking steps to reach the growing migrant crisis
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in southeast asia. we will have a live report from the international summit to address this problem you see here coming next. you probably know xerox as the company that's all about printing. but did you know we also support hospitals using electronic health records for more than 30 million patients? or that our software helps over 20 million smartphone users remotely configure e-mail every month? or how about processing nearly $5 billion in electronic toll payments a year? in fact, today's xerox is working in surprising ways to help companies simplify the way work gets done and life gets lived. with xerox, you're ready for real business.
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we turn now to iraq where two car bombs killed at least nine people in baghdad. simultaneous explosions on two hotels. both popular with foreigners, including journalists. meantime, in tikrit, forensic teams pulled nearly 500 bodies from makeshift graves. officials believe they are iraqi military cadets killed by isis last june. >> cnn's ian lee is joining us from cairo. he is falling these details of these developments. we are finding out about -- first, let's talk about this mass grave, ian. 500 bodies, former military cadets. what more do you know about that and how these men might have been killed.
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>> what we are hearing, natalie, is that they were executed about year ago last june. dumped into mass graves. and what we are hearing from authorities is that this could be just one of many more mass graves yet to uncover military cadets that were killed by isis. their bodies have been taken to baghdad where there is forensic experts going over them, trying to identify their remains beforehanding them over to the families. but really this just underscores the brutality of isis, when they take control of a city and territory. >> yes. one can understand why many of the iraqi troops are dropping their weapons and running when isis moves in. what more can you tell us about the bombings that happened in these two popular hotels in baghdad? >> it is a thursday night in and for the middle east, many countries here, it is the beginning of the weekend.
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so you have a lot of people going out to these different places for a night on the town and at these two hotels you have iraq's elite, journalists, westerners go to these hotels as well which makes them targets for these sorts of bombings. we are hearing on social media that there is also gunfire after the bombs detonated and this comes as baghdad is trying to get back to normal. last february they ended their 12-year night curfew. so they are trying to get back to this normalcy, why isis is taking territory or holding ton territory around the country. >> and can you update us on the status of iraq's push to recapture the city of ramadi? >> we haven't heard and we don't -- the major operations to retake the city haven't begun yet but we are hearing from the
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united states that they are contemplating now giving weapons directly to the sunni tribes. that is very controversy. something that baghdad has been very afraid of. they don't want to give too much out for sunnis. there is a lot of mistrust there. but they are very important for retaking this area. anbar province is predominantly sunni, so they will be needed to retake the area. but we are also hearing that there have been air strikes in and around ramadi, trying to soften the target. when we look at the battle for tikrit, the air strikes are crucial for the last push to really retake the city. so they will be, appears to be crucial, for retaking ramadi. though major operations right now have not begun to retake the city. >> it'll be -- it'll be a challenge for sure. we thank you ian lee continuing to follow developments in iraq for us out of cairo.
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well, thousands of bangladesh refugees are believed to be stranded on boats. more than 12,000 rohingyans tried to cross but most were sent back it camps in myanmar. lucy watson got a first look inside the camps. >> reporter: rudimentary life is one of rejection and suffering. stateless muslims, stigma advertised in myanmar, regarded as illegal immigrants, so looking for any escape. the family fled to malaysia on a ship with 400 others. an ordeal that lasted 50 days.
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they were rescued two weeks ago. trance we got a handful of rice for the day. we had to stay still the whole trip. if you moved, you got beaten. the thai crew was so brutal. some days i just wanted to jump into the sea. i wished i was dead. it was so hard. but zyan's husband left more than a month ago. their family has heard nothing of him since. i'm so worried about him. i think he must be dead. i'm terrified for my sister and the future of her children. it is so difficult for them here. they've little to survive on. >> a million of them are confined to state, 140,000 of them living in camps like these. they see their existence like living in a prison. that is the root of the problem that is pushing them into the clutches of the traffickers.
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traffics who are known to them, one agreed to talk to our tv news. >> there are lots of us here. we are in 150 pound a person when we take to the big ship. >> this minority with little access to education, medicines or sanitation is being capitalized upon. as the government still refuses to class them as burmese. >> i'm afraid and i worry. some people don't follow our program and they don't -- they are refusing to apply citizenship. so that's why this is a problem. >> but while rohingya's homes are gated, their desire for real freedom via the sea won't fade.
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>> so what to do for these people. well, thailand is hosting an international summit right now to try to find a solution to southeast asia's growing migrant crisis. humanitarian disaster that captured the world's attention. representatives from 17 countries are attending the meeting in bangkok and saima is with us. there is a lot of motion on what should have with these people and who bears the responsibility. >> reporter: that's right, natalie. very important meeting today. you cannot forget those pictures of the refugees and migrants at sea trying to find someone to save them. there are 17 countries involved in the meeting here in bangkok. most important ones are thailand, indonesia, malaysia,
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the countries these people are transiting through, trying to get too. the countries they are leaving, now earlier today, unhcr said it is very important for myanmar also takes responsibility for those departures. i'm joined now from unhcr who was in that meeting, thank you for speaking to us today. can you tell us how important is it for myanmar to take responsibility for those people that live in their country? >> obviously, when we look at the current tragedies that, it is extremely important that we look at all of the countries comprehensively. that we identify action that is not just related to search and rescue, and that's very urgent, that's the priority number one is saving lives. but it is also to address the root causes. caused in bangladesh and myanmar and it is important that in particular the situation is
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addressed through legal status, through citizenship status. and in this particular environment. >> now, you seem to be the only delegate to have addressed this issue. and also we have heard a lot of very careful diplomacy around these terms. we haven't heard the term rahingya mentioned, we add specific community in question. how important is it that these people are recognized? >> it is important to address the reasons that are behind this movement. some is is the fact that there is no legal status attached to them. obviously all those issues will need to be addressed in order to make sure that people do not take advantage across the seas and see it is very crucial that we work on that collectively and
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constructively with all governments involved. >> how desperate are the conditions that particularly both in myanmar and then through this route at sea for the destination that they take them. can you tell us exactly the kind of situations they are facing? as you know, they have faced a lot of problem. unfortunately, there are traffickers and smugglers and there are ways that are aabominable, which we see by the mass grave sites. it is true this we need to find an end to it so people can get on and normalize their lives. >> what do you want to see come out of today's meeting? >> a very strong concerted ve
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regional effort. not just the cause but the consequences of it. it is the beginning of the process, not the end of it. >> thanks very much for speaking to cnn. >> thank you. >> in response to what they today say earlier in the meeting, myanmar responded with a very heated comment saying that you, my dear friends, are ill informed and myanmar cannot be solely held responsible. speaking to us here earlier on cnn, that myanmar is denying responsibility for the systematic abuses that it is carrying out. back to you. >> and these people caught in the middle in no man's land. thank you, saima. we will get back to you if you hear any more to this meeting. >> showing no mercy to the most vulnerable, we are telling you where cancer patients are waiting for treatment. in a live report coming next. i'm reworking the menu. veggies you're cool...
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and welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and watching from around the world. this is cnn live coverage. i'm natalie allen. let's update you on our top stories this hour. thailand hosting an emergency international summit to address the growing migrant crisis in southeast asia. thousands of bangladesh migrants have been in the ind man sea. nigeria's next president to
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be sworn in today. the first to beat the leader at the polls. john kerry and other presidential delegations will attend the inauguration. the head of fifa says the scandal engulfing his organization have brought shame to football. but sepp blatter said he won't step down, despite calls from world leaders and pundits to do so. members will vote in the coming hours on whether to elect blatter into fifth term as president. a scalding heat wave show no signs of cooling. people are flocking to hospitals to seek treatment for chronic illnesses. >> reporter: this is home now. the streets of new delhi. these patients have come from different corners of india to get medical treatment for
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various ailments. problem is, the government-run hospital behind them is full. so they are camping outside in the blistering heat. temperatures in the capital topped 45 degrees celsius. 114 fahrenheit in the past few days. affecting the poorest of the poor. >> no matter how hot it is, we have to live here day or night, this man says. we are lucky if we get to sleep a little bit. we have no choice. >> what they have is resilience. used to living through hot summers every year, for these people, this heat wave is a secondary problem. many in this group are cancer patients. some so sick they don't even have the energy to fan themselves. they can barely afford to buy water.
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somehow, they cope. finding respite in a shady spots, covering their eyes with their hands. this baby makes the most after piece of cardboard. they don't have much but they do have hope. >> survival, this lady asks, what can i say. it is all in the hand of god. cnn, mumbai. >> such a horrible situation for so many people there. as we said, 1700 people have died. meteorologist derek van dam is following this story in india and he is looking for any relief they may see in the future. derek? >> it does appear natalie that temperatures have cooled off by a degree or two. which seems minimal to us. but i think in this particular case, they will take what they can get and it just seems like they are playing out over much of india. you have seen this, if you've been in extremely hot
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conditions, this pavement, creating this mirage appearance. this is a famous area of new delhi, look at these temperatures. i want to talk about the states along the east coast of india. we will focus on this region because not only have they had ten days straight over 40 degrees, you can see averages right here on your tv screen, but we have also had overnight low temperatures that have been at least nine consecutive nights above 29 degrees. this is significant. because the temperature is not cooling down overnight. that adds extra stress to the people who have to spend overnight periods outdoors. it didn't allow your body to cool off so you have to seek other ways to cool off and that being any kind of water or shade. look at the temperature going forward. well above average for most locations. there was a small shower that popped up along the east coast but didn't provide much relief.
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only not .7 millimeters of rain fall. now this man has the right idea. he is transporting ice between his different communities. this is the current location of the much anticipated southwest monsoon making its way across southern sri lanka. not quite reaching the east coast of india. i want to bring you to the other side of the world now, southwestern japan where we have just recently and on friday morning had a volcanic eruption captured on video. this is take a look at this visual coming in from the region, this is part of the chain of japanese volcanic island very sparsely populated. this is volcanic ash shooting into the air. this is the second eruption in about nine months. what you will see on the next video is the ash and the hot gasses reaching the ocean,
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cooling off. we are actually watching that on your tv screen. more of just geography in action. you are seeing the island, this very sparsely populated island, starting to expand as that flow cools off in the ocean. cool stuff. >> incredible picture. thankfully yes. just 110 people live on that island. and they are out of there. >> they are evacuated. >> thank you. >> a mosque in phoenix arizona is the scene for an anti-islam rally tonight in the united states. we will have more on the controversial contest organizers are planning. next here. my name's louis, and i quit smoking with chantix. i had tried to do it in the past. i hadn't been successful. quitting smoking this time was different because i got a prescription for chantix. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. the fact that it reduced the urge to smoke helped me get that confidence that i could do it. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix.
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organizers are planning an anti-islam contest.
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a similar event ended in gunfire in texas just last month. sara sidner reports on this new event in phoenix. >> reporter: they are calling it free cdom of speech rally round. because they held one before. they are planning on doing what is a prophet muhammad cartoon drawing contest similar to the one we saw three weeks ago in garland, texas. with you remember what happened there and they say this is in response to what happened in garland. two men that attended the mosque went to gun police down and ended up dying themselves by an officer. police believing they were trying to get into that drawing contest there in garland. as far as this one goes, they say it will be peaceful. they are holding it here to send a message. but they also put something on their facebook that they hadn't had in the past.
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i want it read that to you. people are encouraged to come to this rally it utilize their second amendment rights at this event just in case the first amendment comes under much anticipated attack. the second amendment being the right to bear arms. and the if ifirst, freedom of speech. they are holding this on friday while they are having evening prayers. the rally will be outside of the mosque itself. people are concerned and some folks simile aren't going to show up. we also were able to interview someone who spoke on behalf of the community here about the concerns that those who come to this mosque and frequent this mosque have. >> recently, the mosques here in phoenix had threats, specifically sighing we will massacre your congregation. this is all within the last week. this adds to that intersection of islam phobia and gun sector. when they cross one another, now
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people are saying, well, maybe we shouldn't go over there. we're advising people from our organization, you know, better to stay clear from the event, don't engage with these people. >> as for the police presence, we do know that police will be here. they have been looking around, sort of surveying the place. we saw them earlier today. they will be out here again. they will be monitoring the situation as it unfolds in the evening. sara sidner, cnn, phoenix, arizona. >> and we will of course cover that story for you as it happens there in phoenix. one chinese astronaut says he wants to fly aboard the international space station. find out next why that likely won't happen. plus, our exclusive look inside china's secret space program. david mckenzie has that story for you in just a moment.
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after years of being locked out of the international space station, china decided to build one of its own and it could be the only one with a permanent presence in space. that's part of what we are learning about china's secret space program.
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cnn's david mckenzie has our exclusive report. >> we're head together far northwest of beijing to try and get access to a story we've been working on nor than a year. because we've been dealing ultimately with the people's liberation army. going inside space city, where foreign journalists are almost never let in. it's the heart of china's most expensive and ambitious project yet. the manned space program. we're meeting three of china's best known astronauts. it's their first ever interview with a foreign reporter. is it very difficult to dock the two spacecraft together? >> translator: it is very difficult to dock the two spacecraft together. that is why we todhad to do the simulation many, many times.
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>> how many hours did you have to practice? >> translator: we trained for the docking for two years. two years. >> cnn obtained this exclusive footage of their rigorous training. thousands of hours of simulations honed technique. so it's perfect in space. physical, psychological and team testing always on the go. and it seems like you have to be a certain height. you have to be -- have a degree. you need to pass all these physical psychological team tests. do you have to be super human to be an astronaut? >> translator: though the training process of astronaut says very difficult, we are just ordinary people. but certain characteristics make us more suitable to fly space missions. >> so this is a model and in fact a simulator of what the
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chinese astronauts do in space. this over here is the space lab that went into orbit some years ago. and over here is the spaceship that attaches to it. the shenzo was originally modelled on the sawyer's russian or soviets union spacecraft. >> china borrowed heavily from the russians when it launched its space program in the early '90s. since then, first man in space, first space walk, first multiday mission. but it comes decades after the cold war race to space. >> translator: the united states and russia started their space programs early. they are the pioneers. >> resumably you wanted to be the best. >> translator: of course. i hope our space program will be better and better. >> the chinese space program cooperates with the european
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union and others but the entire program is locked out of nasa by u.s. congress and it is banned from the international space station where 15 nations operate. >> every time this gets mentioned at all near congress, it gets shut down immediately. there is tremendous exceptism there as china. it is viewed as a foe, viewed as a government that seeks to take our intellectual property, our national secrets and treasure. >> is it disappointing that you cannot directly cooperate with nasa or do joint exercises with international space station? o. >> translator: as an astronaut, i have a very strong desire to fly space missions with astronauts from other countries. >> for now, they man space program goes it alone. china plans to put its own space station in orbit within a decade. but their ultimate aim is perhaps the moon. or even mars.
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>> for more on his exclusive report, i'm joined now by cnn's david mckenzie live from beijing. david, hat off to you and your team for sticking with this for so long to try to make this story happen for us. it is quite fascinating to see what china is working on. being up close up front with a new era of astronauts, anything surprise you about them? >> actually, it was really surprising, natalie. here in china, you very rarely get access to officials and even less frequently get access to military officials. all of the astronauts are part of the military, the liberation army, and senior officers at that. what surprised us, their person
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als came through. you had the joker. you have the female who brought a lot of during gruelling hours of training. they were passionate about wanting to work with other astronauts, particularly from the u.s. >> very fascinating story. i know that we will see more of it. thank you very much. david mckenzie live from beijing. can you see more of his story, "inside space city", at 12:30 in london. you're watching cnn newsroom. i'm natalie allen. george is back with me for another hour of news. don't go anywhere. thanks for watching.
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fifa's leadership under fire. the organization's president facing an uncertain election after a corruption scandal. >> and the u.s., an indictment
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for the man who was once second in line for the presidency. >> and an historic moment, nigeria prepares for its first peaceful transition of power. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm george howell. >> and i'm natalie allen. you're watching cnn newsroom. >> and we start this hour with the corruption scandal gripping the world of football, soccer as it is known here in the united states. it is giving fifa a huge credibility problem. >> but the organization's long time leader, sepp blatter, says he won't let the actions of a few destroy its reputation. he is calling for those allegedly involved to be punished as fifa works to rebuild its reputation. all of this comes as members of the fifa congress vote in the coming hours on whether to elect this this man, blatter, to a further term as president.

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