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U.S. Launches New Airstrikes on ISIS; Abu Qatada Released From Jordanian Prison; Future Cities: London's Sustainable Bridge; A Look At Monrovia's Dead Collectors

Aired September 24, 2014 - 8:00   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 the U.S. launches new airstrikes on ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

We have an exclusive interview with the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry live in just a few minutes from now.

And experts warn the Ebola outbreak could directly affect over a million people in West Africa in just a matter of months.

New developments in the past hour, the U.S. and its coalition partners have carried out more airstrikes on ISIS targets. They happened overnight

into early Wednesday.

Now a U.S. official says that there were four strikes in Iraq and one in Syria.

Now in Syria the official says that they damaged eight ISIS vehicles after hitting a staging area used by the militant group near the Iraqi

border.

And in just a couple of hours from now, the U.S. President Barack Obama is set to speak at the UN General Assembly. He is expected to defend

his decision to bomb terror targets in Syria without approval from the UN, without the approval of congress or the Syrian government.

Now there has been an exodus of refugees from Syria to Turkey in recent days. Some estimates put the total at 200,000 people.

But not everybody makes it across the border.

Now for more, Phil Black joins us from the border town of Mercipinar (ph) in Turkey.

And, Phil, the ISIS advance has created this crisis, a major refugee crisis there in Turkey. What have you seen?

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, Turkey already had a major refugee crisis from many years of the ongoing Syrian

conflict. It's already had somewhere in the order of 1.5 million Syrian refugees within its territory. Now, here, just in the last few days, we've

seen that number spike by possibly anything up to 200,000 or so.

Most of those hit the border between the two countries over the weekend. And there were so many of them that the Turkish authorities

really just had to throw open the gates and let them through.

Now that that major wave has past, what the Turkish authorities are still dealing with are big crowds of Syrians at the border on the other

side of the barbed-wire fence, waiting their turn to come in, because the Turkish authorities are now doing it in a more slower, more gradual, more

thoughtful way through only two entry points, two checkpoints of people being allowed in, really only in groups of 100 or so at a time.

They are being searched, they're being cared for, they are being given medical treatment, food and water. They are being registered.

This group behind me, they basically have been through that whole process. And now what they are waiting for is transportation. They will

be given a lift to either the big refugee camps that have been set up in this region, or perhaps if they're lucky, they've already got extended

family who have already settled themselves and they'll be able to look after them.

But there is no doubt that the people that have got to this point have endured so very much. These are the people that say in the last week or so

they saw their homes, their villages and towns come under direct assault from ISIS in the north of Syria. They were terrified. They grabbed what

they could, their children. They fled largely on foot, hiking through the very rough northern Syrian landscape to get to this border crossing point.

And I've been saying some of them have had to wait a few extra days to actually make the crossing and get to this point where they are now.

So, really, a horrible ordeal for all of them. They are tired, they are thirsty, they are really just exhausted and really quite emotional when

you talk to them. And generally, the view is, they just want to go home. They don't care for this conflict. They just want to go home and live

peacefully. And I guess the sad point is, they really don't know if or when they will ever have the opportunity to do that again, Kristie.

LU STOUT: These refugees have endured so much as they escape the threat of ISIS militants in northern Syria. Phil Black reporting live from

the Syrian Turkish border for us, thank you so much for that, Phil.

Now ISIS has been using the Syrian city of Raqqa as its de facto headquarters for the last few months. And those living there have had to

live by ISIS rules.

Now CNN's Brian Todd has a new account of what life inside Raqqa is really like. And a warning, some images in this report are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)??

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Inside the main ISIS stronghold, one witness relayed what it was like as allied missiles struck.

The witness, who requested anonymity, said ISIS leaders in the city of Raqqa vanished from site. ??

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They fled out of fear, but previously some of them were living among civilians and this is something

very dangerous.

TODD: This Syrian city is the center of ISIS's power. According to accounts of people inside Raqqa, ISIS terrorizes them every day. This is

what residents routinely see, crucifixions of nonbelievers. The severed heads of ISIS enemies displayed on poles.

(on camera): Are scenes like this and public crucifixions still commonplace in Raqqa?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: All right, let's break away from that report. The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is speaking exclusively to Christiane

Amanpour. Let's join our partner network CNN U.S. for that.

(SIMULCAST WITH CNN USA)

LU STOUT: And that was the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaking to our Christiane Amanpour. On the war against ISIS he said,

quote, "we stopped the ISIS onslaught with air power."

Now Secretary Kerry also added that the U.S. will be openly training the Syrian opposition.

Now on the coalition taking part in these U.S.-led airstrikes. Secretary Kerry this, "that he was absolutely convinced that the coalition

is on board. And they are committed because this is the threat to every nation.

Now the U.S. President Barack Obama is looking for more support in this war against ISIS. In fact, he is due to address the UN General

Assembly very shortly. And CNN's Isha Sesay is at the United Nations. She joins us now live.

And Isha, President Obama. He decided to take on this battle to strike ISIS in Syria without the approval of the UN. What is he going to

say there at the UN in this address?"

ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kristie. Well, I think we can expect from the U.S. president further defense of his

decisions to go after ISIS in Syria. As you pointed out, the U.S.-led coalition does not have the support of the UN Security Council or the

authorization by the U.S. Congress or an invitation by the Syrian government.

So I think for the president of the United States, this is an opportunity to really lay out to the world to assemble leaders here at the

United Nations his reasons for doing so and his justification in his eyes for doing so.

You heard Secretary Kerry telling our own Christiane Amanpour just moments ago that the U.S. believed they have the legality to support their

actions.

So I think what we're going to hear is that, that defense laid out very strongly, very clearly. But also, Kristie, we're hearing from White

House officials that the president will also speak to the broader issues regarding the genesis of groups like ISIS, the reasons that such groups are

able to take shape and to prosper. So he'll be talking about sectarian conflict, he'll be talking about extremist ideology, these are all things

we expect to hear from the U.S. president.

And crucially, Kristie we expect the U.S. president to really talk very clearly about the need for coalition building, for more people to take

on this fight against ISIS, because Kristie, as you heard Secretary Kerry say this is a fight that involves everyone. ISIS is a threat to world

peace, world stability -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: That's right. Secretary Kerry said ISIS is a threat to every nation.

Let's talk more about the challenge of building a coalition so far in this U.S.-led war against ISIS. We have five Arab states on board, others

are not, most notably Turkey, European countries. Could Mr. Obama's speech change that?

SESAY: I think that's an excellent question and it is one that everyone will be looking to see. If indeed there is that change, whether

this is indeed that tipping point.

You mentioned Turkey bordering a lot of that area that has been seized by ISIS. I mean, the Turkish government had been very clear in recent days

saying that they would not get involved in the fight against ISIS. One of the reasons had been, as has been put out there by commentators, the fact

that for a long time militants were holding a number of Turkish diplomats.

Now they were released over the weekend, so some are wondering whether they have turned the corner, the Turkish president in New York, giving some

information that there may be a change in Turkey's policy towards these strikes on ISIS, but it's unclear, it's unclear where they stand in the

fight.

Also worth pointing out that there is a view that Turkey may be a little hesitant in getting involved in this, because of their proximity to

ISIS and for fear that if they get further entrenched in a fight against these groups. They may suffer blowback in terms of actual attacks on

Turkish soil.

So interesting to see whether President Obama's speech has that impact that people hope it will have on Turkey.

You mentioned the Europeans, again, you heard Secretary Kerry say this is a global fight. Can they get the Europeans on board, British media is

saying that they will debate this in the British parliament to see if it can get the support for British involvement in airstrikes.

Again, we are all very keen to see whether the president can provide that unified message that will sway these countries that are currently not

involved in airstrikes D Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, CNN's Isha Sesay joining us live from New York. Thank you, Isha.

You're watching News Stream. And still ahead, along with ISIS, a new al Qaeda group in Syria has been targeted by the U.S. What we know about

Khorasan after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: 90 minutes from now, the U.S. President Barack Obama will deliver a message to the world: stand together to defeat ISIS.

Now his address to the UN General Assembly comes as the U.S. and its Arab allies continue to target militants inside Syria. A U.S. military

official confirms one new strike near the Syrian Iraqi border and four more in Iraq.

On Tuesday, the coalition hit the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa and these other cities, but the U.S. military also acted alone and took aim at the

Khorasan group west of Aleppo. Now U.S. officials say it was planning an attack, possibly involving a bomb on an airplane. Nic Robertson has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These are the first images of the aftermath of the U.S. and Arab ally's attack on the Khorasan

group, an al Qaeda affiliate training jihadists to attack in Europe and the U.S. Until last week, Khorasan was barely known.

JAMES CLAPPER, U.S. DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: This Khorasan group, so-called, which I guess is out there is potentially yet another

threat to the homeland.

ROBERTSON: The Khorasan training camps and bomb making facilities around Aleppo in the north of Syria are believed to host foreign fighters

recruited to return home to fight rather than join the jihadists in Syria and Iraq.

These strikes, intended to take out Khorasan's leadership. How successful not yet clear.

REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: One of the things we were trying to do to disrupt their ability was to go after their

leadership.

ROBERTSON: One of those figures, 33-year-old Mushin al-Fadhil, a senior al-Qaeda figure, has a $7 million U.S. Department of Treasury bounty

on his head. He is believed to be recruiting European and American jihadists to learn bomb making and fighting skills from a few as 100

veteran al Qaeda jihadists.

PETER NEUMANN, KING'S COLLEGE LONDON: It's really not about the numbers, it's about the expertise they bring to the table, because these

guys draw on the entire international network of al Qaeda. If they can now draw on the foreign fighters that are present in Syria, that would indeed

be an explosive combination.

ROBERTSON: al-Fadhil is believed by U.S. officials to have organized the finances for an al Qaeda attack on a French oil tanker in October 2002.

The MV Lindbergh was attacked in the waters off Yemen, killing one crew member and injuring four.

In recent years, al-Fadhil was believed to be hiding in Iran, but now is believed to have emerged and seems set to reassert al Qaeda's relevance

and take on ISIS's growing global jihadi dominance.

NEUMANN: Khorasan and al Qaeda, which are not part of ISIS, for them attacks on the west are a priority. They do have the expertise. And

though they are much smaller than ISIS, they have to be dealt with because in the short-term at least they are the greatest threat to the U.S.

homeland.

ROBERTSON: It is this that makes them such a threat to the west.

Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now the airstrikes in Syria also appear to have taken a toll on another terror group, the al Nusra Front. It is linked to al

Qaeda. It's believed to have up to 6,000 members. They operate mainly in Syria where the group is trying to establish an Islamic state.

Now it formed during the ongoing Syrian civil war. It's emerged as one of the most effective resistance groups against the government, but the

U.S. State Department says the al Nusra Front is trying to hijack the conflict for its own purposes and has killed many Syrian civilians.

Now the U.S. has not said that it targeted the al Nusra Front, but the group says one of its key leaders, Abu Yousuf al-Turki (ph) was killed in

Tuesday's strikes. It posted a photo of him on Twitter.

Now CNN cannot independently verify the group's claims. But if true, it could be a blow to the battle against ISIS.

Al Nusra had been associated with ISIS until April of 2013, but has been vigorously fighting against it since then and with no boots on the

ground, the U.S. has limited options to hit ISIS after airstrikes.

Now the wife of a British aid worker held hostage by ISIS says she's received audio of her husband pleading for his life. And once again,

Barbara Henning is appealing to the militant group to free him.

Now Alan Henning was part of a team of volunteers who went to Syria in December to deliver aid. In the message released by the British government,

Barbara Henning questioned why ISIS militants won't let her husband go after an Islamic court declared he wasn't a spy or a threat.

Now the Pentagon says freeing the hostages remains an important goal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRBY: Well, we've remained concerned about the fate of the hostages that we know that they have. It's not something we've ever taken lightly,

certainly something that we've never stopped thinking about. As you know, we did attempt one rescue not long ago over the Fourth of July weekend. So

it's something we're watching very, very closely, as closely as we can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: To Jordan now where the radical preacher Abu Qatada has been freed from jail after being acquitted of terror charges. Now the

cleric was deported from the United Kingdom last year to face trial after years of appeals. In July, he was cleared of conspiring to bomb a U.S.

school in Jordan. A short time ago, he was acquitted of plotting to bomb millennium celebrations in Jordan.

Now the court ordered Abu Qatada's immediate release if no other charges were laid against him.

Abu Qatada was a fiery preacher, cited as an inspiration to the 9/11 conspirators. He fought extradition from the United Kingdom to Jordan for

more than a decade. And CNN's Max Foster is in Abu Dhabi. He joins me now live with the latest.

And, Max, tell us more about what led to the decision to clear Abu Qatada of terror charges.

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's simply that there was insufficient evidence, that's what the court is saying,

insufficient evidence that he carried out or was involved in any sorts of plots you've just been referring to them around the millennium. There just

wasn't that evidence there.

There are various conspiracy theories emerging from here as well, though, some leading analysts in the area suggesting that actually Jordan

needs Abu Qatada, because he opposes ISIS. He's an influential figure, but at the same time of course he supports al Qaeda. And he isn't supporting

these U.S. strikes on Syria.

So quite how useful he is in the battle against ISIS, which certainly Jordan is supporting, isn't clear. But analysts are suggesting that he is

a powerful figure and someone that is useful to Jordan in that context.

But as far as the court is concerned, it's simply because there wasn't enough evidence against him.

LU STOUT: Abu Qatada, he was deported from the UK in 2013 after a long legal effort to extradite him. Now that he's been released, where

will he go? And can he return to the UK?

FOSTER: Well, there certainly, he was a very controversial figure in the UK. And it became a political issue. And the home secretary got

involved and she was really pushing for him to be deported. There was this whole legal argument around that, because there was concern that evidence

used in torture would be used in the Jordanian which stopped under human rights law, Qatada being deported, finally they resolved that by coming up

with a treaty between the UK and Jordan saying any evidence used against people deported from the UK cannot be linked to any sort of torture.

So that was resolved, but it was a very big political issue. And the home secretary today issued this statement, "Abu Qatada remains a subject

to a deportation order and the United Nations travel ban. He is not coming back to the UK."

So we can be sure that he won't be going back to the UK on any level on legal terms, political terms, it would not be acceptable to have him

back there.

LU STOUT: All right, CNN's Max Foster joining us live from Abu Dhabi with the latest. Thank you, Max.

You're watching News Stream. Still to come, a gruesome job handling the burial of Ebola victims is a dangerous but necessary task in Liberia.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Now, another shocking forecast on the Ebola crisis. Now the U.S. Centers for Disease Control warns that the virus could infect up

to 1.4 million people in Liberia and Sierra Leone by January, that makes up 14 percent of the population of these two countries.

Now this worst-case scenario, it was developed using the CDC's latest forecasting tool. Its based on observations that infectious are now

doubling every three weeks. It also assumes that current case count is underreported.

But the CDC says that there is hope to reverse the trend. It says if 70 percent of the patients are given proper treatment, the outbreak can be

contained.

For now, though, Liberia is struggling to hold back an epidemic. More than 1,500 people are believe to have died from the disease. And burying

the dead is a grim, dangerous, but necessary job.

Now in Monrovia, a group of young men have taken up the task. And our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has more on the dead body

management team.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the morning list of Monrovia's dead.

This must be difficult work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very difficult work, very difficult.

COHEN: The Liberian Red Cross dead boy management team getting ready to retrieve bodies, bodies that could still be carrying the Ebola virus.

GURU DEV SINGH, INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS: They are only quite aware that it takes only one mistake to be contaminated.

COHEN: Today, they're retrieving 10 bodies. First, suiting up from foot to head, a supervisor making sure every inch of skin is covered. This

worker, strapping on a chlorine sprayer to disinfect victims before they're handled.

But even the best safety equipment can't protect their hearts from what they see on the job.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I took they key. I opened the door and I went in. I saw 6-month-old child licking on the mother, because the mother died, she

lie on her stomach like this and the baby was licking on the mother's skin. So right away, I started shedding tears.

COHEN: Before collecting today's victims, a prayer for God's guidance, then winding through Monrovia's porous slum West Point, they

retrieve the first victim. Her name was Lucy Kane (ph). She was 62. Her family and neighbors distraught as the DBM team removes her from her home.

Khane's (ph) family is lucky, they know someone at the ministry of health and she's allowed to have a burial. That can be time consuming, so

most victims are simply cremated.

We followed the DBM team on a 45 minute drive through rough roads to where Kane is being buried. Her relatives say a final prayer.

After this, nine more bodies to retrieve before their day is done.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Monrovia, Liberia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, U.S. President Barack Obama, he called for all countries to join him in combating climate change in a speech at the UN

climate summit in New York.

Now he specifically called out China, saying that the world's most populous country must lead in reducing carbon emissions. Now the Chinese

vice premier said that his country is ready to assume more responsibility in addressing climate change.

Now Mr. Obama said developed nations need to set an example for the rest of the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, this is hard, but there should be no question that the United States of America is stepping

up to the plate. We recognize our role in creating this problem. We embrace our responsibility to combat it. We will do our part. And we will

help developing nations do theirs.

But we can only succeed in combating climate change if we are joined in this effort by every nation developed and developing alike. Nobody gets

a pass.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now the Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio also spoke at the UN summit. He is urging world leaders to act now on climate change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEONARDO DICAPRIO, ACTOR: As an actor, I pretend for a living. I play fictitious characters often solving fictitious problems. I believe

that mankind has looked at climate change in that same way, as if it were a fiction, as if pretending that climate change wasn't real would somehow

make it go away. But I think we all know better than that now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, is also weighing in. Now speaking at the opening event for climate week in New York, he urged

businesses to find innovative ways to protect the environment while still making money.

Now Apple has been vocal about its efforts to tackle climate change. It's made it a long-term goal to power all its offices and shops entirely

on renewable energy. Its website says all of Apple's data centers are running on renewable energy.

Now time now for your global weather forecast and your climate change update with new thinking out there about our carbon footprint. Let's get

the latest with Mari Ramos. She joins us from the World Weather Center D Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kristie. You know, even you were reporting on this earlier this week about the carbon footprint

that each and every one of us leaves here on the planet.

Now the news earlier this week was that China for example now has a larger carbon footprint than the EU, and that was a big deal. But still

the largest carbon footprint per person is still here in the United States.

And why is this important? Well, because this is what scientists believe is influencing climate change that the actions that we are doing as

humans is influencing what our planet is doing as far as climate and weather. And, for example, this, the warmest year on record, yeah, it

could be.

Right now, it was the third warmest January through August on record across the entire world. And it could be -- right now all the data shows

that this is on pace to be the warmest year on record.

The more the climate changes, climatologists are saying, the more we're going to see extremes D extreme cold, extreme heat, extreme rain,

extreme tornadoes, extreme typhoons, all of those things and more people will be displaced by these natural disasters.

In 2013, 22 million people were displaced by natural disasters. Compare that to the amount of people that are displaced by wars, for

example. That's three times, about three times more people are displaced by natural disasters D in other words, by what mother nature is doing than

by war. And that's a number to really start to think of.

And the data right now is showing that more people are displaced now than they were in the 1970s, so that trend continues to go up. And that is

very alarming, because that means more and more people will be suffering by these things D for example, remember Supertyphoon Haiyan? That displaced

more than 4 million people in the Philippines.

We also had those extreme floods in China that displaced over a million-and-a-half people in China alone, but this also happens in the more

developed countries, in the U.S., in Oklahoma with the tornadoes. We have over 200,000 people that were displaced here in this country alone.

So you can see that this is something that affects people all over the world.

But all of the data continues to show that it is the more D the less developed countries, the developing countries, the ones that are having the

most displacement. And Asia is the worst affected with about 81 percent of the global total. And of course this has a lot to do with they have more

people, people are more exposed and more vulnerable to all of these changes.

So just something else to think about when we talk about climate change and it is how people are affected by this, which is the main thing,

and how they are affected by natural disaster.

But with that said, I want to switch gears and show you something different. Let's go ahead and talk about a little D something a little bit

happier. This right here is my favorite tweet of the week. I realize this is one of my favorites in a long time. This is from Mars Curiosity. It

says Namaste, Mars Orbiter, congratulations on the ISRO and India's first interplanetary mission achieving Mars orbit.

Well, what's going on? Yeah, India has reached Mars. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With the antenna.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAMOS: Oh yeah, they were very happy there as the Indian space organization in Bangalore. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi was there to

welcome the Mars rover, so to speak I should say the orbiter.

It took 10 months for it to get there. And its orbit, yeah, it's thee in orbit. And this is the first time an Asian nation is able to reach

Mars. It's -- they're not alone up there. There are, of course, the two rovers that I mentioned earlier from NASA. There's a European orbiter,

Maven, that reached this -- the planet, what, just three, four days ago, Kristie. And it is pretty special. And they are of course very happy that

they were able to reach Mars. IT is quite an accomplishment. So congratulations.

LU STOUT: Yeah, congrats. An incredible achievement for India. Mari Ramos there, thank you.

Now, Britain's Queen Elizabeth largely remained silent of Scotland's independence referendum, but apparently she was pretty happy with the

result. Now Sky News cameras caught prime minister David Cameron talking to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and revealing just how

pleased the monarch was when Scots voted no last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, PRIME MINISTER OF BRITAIN: The definition of relief is being Prime minister of the United Kingdom and ringing the Queen and

saying, "it's all right. It's OK. That was something. She parried down the line (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it should never have been that close.

CAMERON: It wasn't in the end. But there was a time in the middle of the campaign when it felt (inaudible).

(CROSSTALK)

CAMERON: I've said I want to find these polling companies and I want to sue them for my stomach ulcers, because of what they put me through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: All that caught on camera.

Now after the vote, the queen issued a statement calling on Scots to unite and to show mutual respect.

Now still ahead right her on New Stream, debunking myths and establishing a product in China. We'll delve into the biggest market for

red wine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now if you've ever been to London it's hard not to notice how bridges transform the city's landscape. And into today's segment of CNN's Future

Cities, Nick Glass takes a look at how one historic river crossing is getting a sustainable upgrade.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK GLASS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Would London exist but for the Thames, that great artery that brought in ships and people and

trade? There have been bridges across it since the Romans. You could if you wanted tell the city's history bridge by bridge. Some celebrated, some

new, and now a reconstructed bridge of this suddenly and dramatically solar powered.

The Romans made their military bridge of wood. Modern engineers have different aims and different materials. In this case, dismantling a

wrought iron Victorian bridge, Black Friar's Bridge, and rebuilding it, in part so it can generate some of its own power.

Uniquely for the Thames, Black Friars is both a bridge and a railway station.

UNIDENTIFEID MALE: We decided to put a module on the roof during the evening and install them during the day. And we have to provide nets,

because there was a train underneath and there were travelers.

People in most cases not aware. And that's what it should be.

GLASS: The pitched roof faces south and pretty much every square meter is covered in solar panels, more than 4,000 of them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a wonderful showcase of how Britain can actually build something that's significant. This is the most powerful

bridge in the world. And it's powered by solar power in Britain, which is not famous for its sunshine.

GLASS: No one in London would have even considered a project like this a decade ago. Solar panels were just too expensive. But driven by

production in China, prices have plummeted.

On a sunny day, the Black Friar's roof produces a megawatt of power, or as an Englishman would have it--

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It generates electricity that's equivalent to about 80,000 cups of tea a day.

GLASS: Or put another way, half the station's energy needs or enough electricity to power over 300 houses all year around. It's also a saving

on carbon emissions over 500 tons a year, which is not to be sniffed at.

With its new canopy, the Victorians simply wouldn't recognize Black Friar's Bridge. On a brilliant September morning, a symbolic shimmering

mirror of solar power.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was Nick Glass reporting on Future Cities.

Now this month CNN's On China explores the world's biggest market for red wine. I recently traveled to a far flung corner of northern China

where wine makers both big and small are putting down roots.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: I'm standing in the middle of a thriving verdant vineyard in a far flung corner of northern China. This is Grace vineyard covering

200 hectares in Changxi Province (ph). And from these grapes, Grace produces some 2 million bottles a year.

And it's not just about cheap table drinking wine in China. Wine producers here are creating fine wines targeting a growing and

sophisticated middle class.

Now here at Grace, wine bottles retail up to $90, one vintage scoring a pretty impressive ranking from the wine guru Robert Parker. Not bad for

a bottle produced in the middle of China's coal country.

In the middle of the vineyard, there's a small rural village housing the residents who look after the vines. And an abandoned brick factory, a

symbol of the province's industrial past.

The founder of Grace Vinyard made part of his fortune here in coal mining back in the 1980s. He calls this winery his way of paying back the

province.

Now wine makers both big and small are setting down roots in China, the world's biggest market for red wine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And join me as we uncork China's growing and evolving taste for wine with key players in the industry. It's the latest On China. It

debuts this Thursday, 4:30 p.m. Hong Kong and Beijing time.

And that is News Stream, but the news continues at CNN. And stay with us in the next hour for live coverage of the UN General Assembly with Isha

Sesay.

END