[Anna Coren:] Welcome to NEWS STREAM, where news and technology meet. Hello. I'm Anna Coren, in Hong Kong. We begin in China, where stories of torture and abuse are emerging after the dramatic downfall of a man tipped to be one of the country's future leaders. Using social media to battle famine, as UNICEF tries to get help for a region of Africa struggling with drought. And why this Israeli football team from a tiny town could soon be facing European giants like Barcelona. Well, China's political system continues to feel the aftershocks of a scandal in Chongqing. You may remember this man, Bo Xilai, was suddenly removed from his position as the city's Communist Party chief. Although Bo had been tipped to become one of the country's top leaders during this year's transition, he has not been seen since he was sacked. No one is saying why. But Bo's critics are talking. And as Stan Grant reports, some of their stories are horrific.
[Stan Grant, Cnn Sr. International Correspondent:] The man you'll see here is dead. He was executed in China in 2010, convicted of murder and running a criminal gang. But on death row, Fan Qihang recorded this testimony. His lawyer made this video in 2009 as part of a campaign to save his client's life. In recent days, posting it online and giving a copy to CNN. On the tape, Fan claimed he was beaten by police and forced into a confession.
[Fan Qihang, On Death Row In China:] They tortured me every day. For half the year I was forced to sit on an iron chair every day. They call it the interrogation chair. They put fetters on me weighing 24 kilograms and confined me to the chair.
[Grant:] These are images of Fan used to support his claims. They show bruise marks around his hands and arms. Another shows how Fan bit off part of his tongue. He says an attempt to bleed to death.
[Fan:] So the relentless torture really made me want to die. I tried to commit suicide. I couldn't take it anymore.
[Grant:] Fan said he was strung up with both hands behind his back, tied to an iron bar. He said he would go days without sleep or food, the handcuffs cutting into this skin.
[Fan:] Last time they tried to open the handcuffs, there was blood and puss all over them. It took them more than an hour to separate from my flesh. I'm still shaking.
[Grant:] So why this video coming out now? Well, Fan Qihang was arrested as part of an anti-crime crackdown by ousted Communist Party official Bo Xilai. Bo's sacking last month has sparked a mystery that has captivated China. He's made his name as party chief of Chongqing, a massive metropolis of more than 30 million people in southwestern China. Bo targeted gangs and corruption, but his critics say he used the anti-crime campaign to rub out enemies and rivals. "Their barbaric kind of law enforcement, or, rather, their trampling of the law," he says, "was against everything our modern civilization stands for and the development of the rule of law." Li Zhuang is another who claims he was targeted by Bo Xilai. He's a lawyer. He's not connected to the Fan case, but says, like Fan, he was also tortured. Li spent 18 months in prison. He says police beat him into confessing to falsifying evidence. Now he is finally free to talk, even on normally heavily state-censored Chinese media. He vividly describes being tied to a chair and his hands bound above his head for several days and nights. He says police tortured one of his own clients, an alleged gang leader, into testifying against him. "He eventually soiled himself," he says. "His interrogators ordered him to remove the feces on the floor with his bare hands and use his own shorts to clean up, then they hung him up naked." Getting tough on crime was supposed to be the making of Bo Xilai. In fact, it's led to the exact opposite. In yet another twist, it's Bo's own former police chief, the man he entrusted to carry out the crime crackdown, who was led to Bo's undoing. Now, the top cop split with his boss, seeking refuge in an American consulate, purportedly fearing for his life. When the police chief voluntarily left the consulate, he disappeared. [voice-over]: Bo Xilai has also vanished. No one's heard from him. Now his critics seemingly have free reign to attack Bo. The iron hand of the Chinese state apparently turning on one of its own. The release of this video seemingly designed to further smear Bo Xilai, but it won't help Fan Qihang. The man Bo locked up is dead. Breaking down on the video, his last words were how the torture marks would haunt him forever. Stan Grant, CNN, Beijing.
[Coren:] Well, let's now turn our attention to Syria. And the Syrian government is promising to pull its soldiers and heavy weapons out of its cities by April 10th. But, in the meantime, the fighting continues and witnesses say it's some of the most intense yet. Heavy shelling is reported in several northern Syrian provinces, where opposition fighters are battling government troops. Anti-government activists say helicopters even fired on civilians and at least four people have been killed. And in this chilling amateur video from the suburb of Damascus, soldiers on a rooftop appear to be firing at civilians and then turning to the camera and smiling. Well, CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of this video. Well, some members of the U.N. Security Council worry Syria's Bashar al- Assad regime will use the days before the April 10th deadline to crack down even more violently. Mohammed Jamjoom is monitoring developments from our bureau in Abu Dhabi and joins us now. And Mohammed, we could potentially see so much bloodshed in the next seven days, couldn't we?
[Mohammed Jamjoom, Cnn International Correspondent:] That's the concern right now, Anna. Despite the pledges by Syria that they will begin withdrawing armed forces from population centers, what we're hearing today from opposition activists is that, in fact, fighting and clashes have intensified, specifically in the Damascus countryside. We've had reports of the military reaching Zabadani. Also, Daraa, clashes between Free Syrian Army fighters are reported, and the Syrian Army. And especially in the northern province, in Idlib, on the border with Turkey, the cities of Binish, Taskanaz and Tahoum. These are all opposition strongholds. We've heard, especially Binish, that it's come under heavy, heavy shelling today, that there have been helicopters hovering above, sometimes shooting at people, civilians trying to flee. They're saying these are intimidation tactics, that they're trying to specifically go after Free Syrian Army elements and resistance fighters and clear them from those towns. So the concern right now, even though there have been these pledges, even though there is some renewed hope because of the Kofi Annan six-point plan and the fact that the Syrians have agreed to it, how much time will this continue to go on? And the concern is before April 10th. They're saying that all these all these forces are supposed to be withdrawn by April 10th, but between now and April 10th, what more will happen? A few other new developments to talk to you about. We just spoke from the spokesperson for Kofi Annan that there's an advance U.N. team that is going to Syria, that they should be arriving within the next 48 hours, and that this advance team is going to discuss the eventual deployment of a U.N. monitoring force to make sure that the agreement is implemented Anna.
[Coren:] Mohammed, you speak about this renewed optimism and hope, but there's a great deal of skepticism at the U.N. and within the international community that Bashar al-Assad's regime will actually honor this agreement. What will happen? What will be the response if Bashar al-Assad does not actually agree to this deadline?
[Jamjoom:] That's what everybody is trying to find out right now, Anna. Despite the fact that you had the Friends of Syria meeting in Istanbul, despite the fact that you have this six-point peace plan and initiative by Kofi Annan, there is so much skepticism. There was a little bit of a ray of hope when the plan was agreed to, but there is so much skepticism as well. People do not believe that Bashar al- Assad will adhere to these commitments. There have been many times in the past, whether it's the Arab League, the U.N., that he has indicated that they will agree, only to continue the crackdown that's been going on in Syria. This crackdown has been going on, this brutal crackdown, for more than a year, and the concern is, what can the international community do? Even if they send in a U.N. monitoring force, what will that mean? There are so many questions right now. Every time a monitoring force or body has gone in to try to make sure that a plan is being implemented, it seems to have ended in failure. And the concern is right now, even if the U.N. sends in a team, will this plan actually be implemented? Will the al- Assad regime stick to its commitment? Will there be a cease-fire? We've also heard today that the International Committee of the Red Cross, their president is in Syria, that he's trying to make sure that they have access to areas. But whether or not the president of the Red Cross will be able to go to these areas himself, we just don't know at this time Anna.
[Coren:] The world will certainly be watching. Mohammed Jamjoom, joining us from Abu Dhabi. Thank you for that update. Well, held captive for more than a decade, 10 hostages were released from the Colombian jungle as peace talks progressed to end one of the world's longest insurgencies. Well, the left-wing guerrilla group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia gave up their captives after talks to end a war with the Colombian government that began in the 1960s. Rafael Romo has more.
[Rafael Romo, Cnn Latin Affairs Editor:] They were held in the jungle for more than a decade, living in harsh conditions that included being chained to trees and enduring torrential rains and a blistering sun. But 10 members of the Colombian Security Forces are now free men, spending time with their families in more than a decade. The hostages were liberated at an undisclosed location in the Colombian jungle, where they were released to a humanitarian mission led by the International Red Cross, the Brazilian Air Force, and former Colombian senator Piedad Cordoba. They were then flown to the city of Villavicencio in the Colombian province of Meta, where they were greeted by their families. Some of the hostages had been held captive for 14 years. It was back in December, and then again in January, that the FARC had announced they would liberate the last group of soldiers and police officers without specifying a date or a location. Speaking after the liberation of the hostages, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said this is an important step taken by the guerrilla, but not enough to put an end to the conflict.
[Pres. Juan Manuel Santos, Colombia:] When we finally reached a moment in which the government determined that there are enough conditions and guarantees for the peace process to begin, the country will know it. In the meantime, everything said on this issue is just speculation.
[Romo:] Kidnapping government forces and civilians has been a key strategy of the rebel group in its war with the Colombian government since the 1960s. At one point, the Marxist guerrilla group kidnapped a presidential candidate in Colombia, but the FARC announced last month they were putting an end to the practice of kidnapping people for money. Now the focus shifts to the estimated 400 civilians who are still captive. Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.
[Coren:] We want to show you some of the joyful moments when the hostages arrived. Well, here you can see one man walking with his arm around a smiling medic. The other has a flag draped around him the Colombian flag, of course. Well, he later jumped up and down and blew a kiss to the crowd. And these two are accompanied by a small animal. Well, it looks like a pig, but it may also be what's called a pickering. Others reportedly brought back a monkey and two small birds. Well, all are certainly happy to be home. Coming up on NEWS STREAM, we're on the campaign trail in the United States, where Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is aiming for a triple victory in the latest round of primaries. And Maryland is gripped by a mystery. Who's the real winner of the Mega Millions lottery? A lot of people are going to great lengths to find out. And fighting stereotypes in Afghanistan. Meet the Afghan women's Olympic boxing team on the road to London. That's ahead here on CNN.