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NEWS STREAM

ISIS Shells Turkish Border Near Kobani; Turkish, French Presidents Hold Joing Press Conference on Syria; Is the iPhone 6 Camera Worth the Hype?; CNN Heroes: Juan Pablo Romero Fuentes; Temple Mount Reopens With Restricted Access; Inside Sony's Innovation Lab

Aired October 31, 2014 - 8:00   ET

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

MANISHA TANK, HOST: I'm Manisha Tank in Hong Kong. Welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.

Inside Syria's civil war, as we meet recruits from Afghanistan fighting for the Assad government.

Inside struggling Sony's plan to turn its fortunes around. We go inside Sony's innovation lab.

And putting the iPhone camera to the test. A CNN cameraman tries to shoot a story using Apple's handset.

It seems the new contingent of fighters is now part of the high-stakes battle for a key Syrian border town. Schools of Iraqi Peshmerga are

approaching Kobani with heavy weapons and artillery to help Syrian Kurds in their struggle against ISIS.

Around 10 Peshmerga troops are already in Kobani with an estimated 150 more nearby.

Weeks of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes have failed to break an ISIS siege as the militant group continues to shell the only border crossing

with Turkey.

Well, there are several groups fighting in Syria and each are vying for ground. As Nick Paton Walsh found out, their routes stretch a long way

outside the country, even as far as Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The regime is fast advancing around Aleppo, trying to encircle rebels there. This building

was blown up in that fight. And now rebels dig, leisurely maybe, as this rescue operation is different. They know the mouth they can just see

belongs to a regime fighter.

"Where are your friends?" They ask him.

They want him alive, curious, asking is he from Yemen?

No. In fact, this is something they just haven't encountered before.

Bandaged up on a drip, he can't speak their Arabic. That is because he is Afghan. Valuable enough to keep, they feed him, film this footage,

which we can't verify.

"My name is Said Ahmed Hussaini (ph)," he says. "The Iranians pay people like me to come here and fight. I am from Afghanistan and an

immigrant in Iran. The Iranians brought us to Syria to fight to defend the Zainab Shrine. I don't want to fight anymore."

He said he was paid about $500 a month to fight.

It is a long journey between two lands brutalized by war, but in eastern Afghanistan we found the other end of his story. In this tiny

village, men who used to fight with the Taliban are off to fight for the Syrian regime.

They've come home briefly after training in Iran to say goodbye to their families and ask their fathers if they can go to war. They think

they can fight America in Syria.

"We want to go there for two reasons," he says. "One is to fight against those who are being assisted by Americans in Syria. And secondly,

because Iran pays us to fight in Syria. Before this, we used to be part of the Taliban in Afghanistan, but after our disagreements caused tensions

among us, we left the Taliban and went to Iraq."

They say they were driven to a base, blindfolded for 15 days training with infantry weapons and will be paid into these Iranian banks.

But they know little about Syria's war.

"For now, we don't have a lot of information about ISIS," he says, "but if we see them in Syria we'll definitely sit with them, talk to them.

And if our thoughts are similar, we could become friends."

America's old enemy, the Taliban, now fighting in their new war. Yet more alien furies piling into Syria's maelstrom.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TANK: Well, Nick Paton Walsh is in the Turkish town of Gaziantep and he can speak to us now.

Nick, just putting it all in context, we're thinking about more fighters coming on both sides to this area, a fight that's becoming ever

more complex. Right now, is this becoming more and more extreme? More and more difficult?

WALSH: Well, I think it makes the job of a political solution extraordinarily hard, because normally sides are willing to talk about

ending a conflict when their fighters are exhausted. And you see on both sides now, every few months it seems, a new set willing to join to bolster

all different sides.

We have three different sides now, as well. We have the global radical groups who are willing to join ISIS, 2,000 westerners, 15,000

foreigners by some counts. We have the regime, which have had Hezbollah from Lebanon join them, Iraqi Shia militia join them, and now it seems some

degree of Afghan assistance as well.

Any militia, frankly, it seems they can lay their hands on it.

And then the much more complex and fractured more moderate Syrian rebels, but even they have some al Qaeda affiliates in their ranks and then

part of the other side, individuals receiving U.S. aid.

So, constantly, there's a fresh set of people willing to join this fight, which just makes the possibility of it stop being at some point much

more remote -- Manisha.

TANK: So, we have these Peshmerga who have come in and they've come in with this heavy artillery. What does this mean? What does this tell us

about the fight that's going on in Kobani right now and where that stands?

WALSH: Well, they haven't coming in yet. What we've seen so far nine or 10 Peshmerga scouts. They're in looking where the heavy weaponry should

best be placed around Kobani to hold ISIS back.

But we've been speaking to a spokesperson for the Kurdish militants inside that town. And he says that the delay is perhaps for two reasons:

they sort of blame Turkey, I think, really for not getting the Peshmerga in quicker, but in the same breath they do accept that the official border

crossing that everyone thinks they're going to forget these remaining 150 Peshmerga and over 30 military vehicles in Kobani, well that's constantly

being attacked by ISIS who are apparently doing their best to stop that reinforcement from crossing.

So a messy situation indeed. And we understand, too, the people are looking perhaps to a western safer route to get the Peshmerga in.

But the level of publicity and bickering ahead of this deployment has made it very tough. And then of course there's the Kurdish-Turkish

politics too. That is enough of an obstacle almost in itself Manisha.

TANK: Yeah, you know, Nick I wondered about that. It's a very difficult situation right on the border with Turkey. You are in Turkey

right now. How are people there feeling about this conflict which is going on, on their doorstep?

WALSH: Well, they've been dealing this or three years now. Where I'm standing, Gaziantep, is full of Syrians, refugees; they're more moneyed

with their own homes, but many refugees in camps all over this area, too. It's had an enormous impact on southern Turkey already and very many people

credit Turkey for being welcoming to a lot of refugees here, over a million so far, but militancy is certainly more tenable in Southern Turkey at the

moment and the Turkish have now found they have this Kurdish issue thrown upon them with the focus on Kobani.

They've been dealing with decades with Kurdish separatism, desiring an independent state here. The Syrian Kurds fighting for Kobani they view as

terrorists, allied to Turkish Kurds who they have described as a terrorist organization inside here.

Now there are Iraqi Kurds coming to the assistance, that's the Peshmerga of Kobani, the hope that perhaps through some sort of Kurdish

unity there might be able to arrange an agreement which could settle the Kurdish issue in this region.

But the fight for Kobani has dragged that Kurdish issue in to Turkey's equation here, complicated it, and of course it seems further complicated

the chance of assisting those fighting for Kobani -- Manisha.

TANK: Indeed, very -- yeah, very complicated. Thanks a lot for putting it in context for us. Nick Paton Walsh and the whole scene there

on the ground in Gaziantep. Thanks.

So, as Nick and I were just talking about that situation in Turkey is quite difficult. And clearly the country has a huge stake in what's

happening in this region.

And France is also involved in this fight against ISIS as a member of the coalition that is launching the air strikes.

So the French and Turkish president certainly had plenty to talk about at their meeting in Paris today. Our senior international correspondent

Jim Bittermann is in Paris. Let's check in with him and talk a bit about that.

So, basically, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has to go around and get some kind of backing for this no-fly zone, this safe haven that he's been talking

about. Was there any sense that he's going to get that sort of support from the French?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think he will. I think the French are behind that idea. They're also behind another idea

that he has, and that is the overthrow of Assad in Syria. And that's where he -- or the French and the Americans differ a little bit, because the

Americans are -- kept saying that the battle should be about ISIS, the French are saying, yes, up to a point. In Iraq, yes, but not in Syria and

they haven't been willing to, for instance, do any of the airstrikes that they've done in Iraq and have not been willing to expand those across the

border into Syria.

So, it's -- as Nick was saying there, quite a complicated picture. But there is certainly a lot for these two to talk about. There's among

other things there's an issue that picked them up as this idea about closer cooperation on intelligence, because there are a lot of French young people

who are known to have crossed the border into Iraq and Syria through Turkey. And I think the French are concerned about that, would like to

stop that flow somehow and they'd at least like to know who is going and perhaps participating -- getting trained up and who might pose a threat

down the line coming back to France.

So, there's a lot for them to talk about. Also, the Turks would love to have the French on board with more support for their bid to become a

stronger partner in the European Union.

So, a lot to talk about. And we expect to get a news conference at the end of it, which may clarify some of this anyway -- Manisha.

TANK: Yeah, actually, Jim, we've been keeping an eye on that live feed. And, you know, if it happens we'll try and jump to it if we can.

But sometimes it's anyone's guess when these things start.

Just another question though, about how much French support there is for Hollande and his position on the Syrian problem and his position vis-a-

vis helping Turkey or not. Would you say that that support is very much there, that popular support from the French public?

BITTERMANN: I think it is, yes. I think in this case this is one where it is so confusing that I'm not sure the French public really

understands most of the nuances here and they're willing to trust Hollande's judgment on these matters.

And his judgment has been to pretty much throw in with the NATO allies and the United States in particular and say we'll do whatever we can up to

a point, and that point is, as I mentioned before, up to the point of supporting groups that in some way might lend aid to -- rather Bashar al-

Assad because he, you know, believes that Assad should be overthrown and as a consequence he doesn't want them -- you know, the pro-Assad forces

winning any support indirectly by supporting the air strikes.

So, it's a confused picture and I think it's the kind of thing where the French public would just as soon not know too many of the details,

because they wouldn't understand it. And they've probably like to have a president have his way on this one.

TANK: Yeah, a complex situation. Jim, thanks very much for putting us on the picture as to those talks in Paris. Jim Bittermann there.

Still to come this hour on News Stream, a sight sacred to Jews and Muslims is open again in Jerusalem. But tensions are still running high.

We'll have the latest for you.

Also, the lava flow on Hawaii's Big Island may be slow, but anything in its path could be threatened for years. The details are just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TANK: The military in Burkina Faso says it has taken control of the country, this after violent anti-government protests on Thursday. Tens of

thousands of people demonstrated against President Blaise Compaore's plan to change the constitution so that he could stay in power.

In the capital Ouagadougou, demonstrators set the parliament building on fire. The military is now enforcing a dusk to dawn curfew. Mr.

Compaore has been in office now since 1987. And he says he has dissolved the government and plans to lead a transitional administration.

Police in Jerusalem have reopened the sensitive holy site, this after clashes that took place on Thursday. But there are new restrictions in

place at the site that Jews call the Temple Mount and Muslims call the Noble Sanctuary. Only women and men over the age of 50 are being let in.

The unrest started after what police describe as an assassination attempt on a controversial rabbi on Wednesday. The suspect in the shooting

was later killed by Israeli police.

So, let's get the very latest on that story. Erin McLaughlin is tracking developments. She's in Jerusalem. Let's speak to her if we can

now.

You know, Erin, the Temple Mount has been reopened for Friday prayers. It's a significant day in the weekly calendar, but not doubt there's

increased security. How is the mood there?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Manisha, there was this concern that there would be clashes here in East Jerusalem

today, but so far I haven't seen any evidence of that. The weather has been pretty variable, pretty wet and rainy. Those rains seeming to have

driven people for the most part indoors and off the streets.

Now earlier today here outside Damascus Gate there was a very heavy security presence. But for the most part, those security forces have

packed up and gone away. Friday prayers are now over.

Now as you mentioned, the Noble Sanctuary, also known as the Temple Mount, had restricted access today, though it was open. Yesterday, though,

the site was completely closed, which angered many Muslims. The spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas calling the closure a

declaration of war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCLAUGHLIN: The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem poignantly walks through the streets of the old city. Today at the third holiest site in Islam, he was

turned away from noon prayers, closed following the attempted assassination of far right-wing Rabbi Yehuda Glick.

Following the assassination attempt, a group of right-wing Israeli activists vowed to enter the Temple Mount also known to Muslims as the Al

Aqsa Compound for Prayers.

But as you can see, the site is completely closed to all worshipers.

Now Yehuda Glick lies in an Israeli hospital. Medical sources say he is in serious condition.

We say a man on a motorcycle shot him four times. Glick had just hosted an event attended by members of the Israeli knesset, which called

for more Israeli Jews to go to the Temple Mount, also called the Noble Sanctuary to pray.

It was here at this house that the suspect, 32-year-old Palestinian Moataz Hijazi was killed in a shootout with Israeli forces.

There had been increasing clashes in Jerusalem, and Islamic scholars had been protesting the number of far right Israelis arriving daily at the

site with limitations on access to Muslims.

SHEIKH AZZAM AL-KHATIB, GENERAL MANAGER OF ADMIN. AL-AQSA MOSQUE (through translator): It's the Jewish right-wing extremism that has raised

the pace of assaults against the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Since 2003, we've been talking about these unilateral decisions. The pace of assaults has

increased.

MCLAUGHLIN: Jews are not allowed to formally pray at the site, which is considered to be one of the most sacred in Judaism.

Glick and others have been calling for greater access. More moderate voices say a solution is possible.

RABBI DAVID ROSEN, DIR. OF INTERRELIGIOUS AFFAIRS, AMERICNA JEWIS CONG: Good will and trust, it should be possible to accommodate everyone

without it in any way jeopardizing their attachment, but there has got to be that goodwill.

MCLAUGHLIN: These days, good will is hard to come by. More police are out. Hijazi's neighborhood uneasy with clashes and now all too

familiar scene on the streets of Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, as for the main suspect, 32-year-old Palestinian Moataz Hijazi, well, circumstances surrounding his death now under dispute.

His funeral happened late last night -- back to you.

TANK: Erin, thanks very much for that.

OK, we did mention this a little earlier in the show. We want to take you live to Paris. The French President Francois Hollande has been holding

those talks with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Let's listen to what they have to say.

(FRANCOIS HOLLANDE PRESS CONFERENCE)

TANK: OK. We'll we're going to keep an ear on that press conference. This is the first address the two presidents are doing since they have had

those talks.

Now, at the crux of those talks, and this is what people were really - - some in the international field were certainly looking out for was any mention of a possible no-fly zone on that border between Syria and Turkey.

So, they have talked about those zones. It seems they started the press conference talking about that.

And the focus for France certainly coming from President Hollande there was to be able to train the Free Syrian Army in that no-fly zone, in

that border zone. But that could be controversial. Certainly many will be doing analysis of that, because that no-fly zone would be in Syrian

territory potentially.

So, certainly Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan wanting to go around and get support for that, it seems that he may have that French support indeed on

board, which for something that was widely expected -- we were talking to Jim Bittermann about that earlier, and certainly it seems that popular

support is there in support of Francois Hollande in providing a bigger role there.

But he talked about the training of the Free Syrian Army.

What was interesting is he didn't mention necessarily it being an area for the refugees that are flowing out of Syria.

Now let's listen to Mr. Erdogan.

(PRESIDENT RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN PRESS CONFERENCE)

TANK: So, just picking up there, that is the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He was addressing the press. Just before him, President

Francois Hollande of France spoke.

The Turkish president there focusing much more on what is going on right across the border from his country and talking about the threats, of

course, talking about ISIS both in Syria and in Iraq, but pointing out that 200,000 inhabitants have now left Kobani. And he was trying to outline why

Kobani was so important. Kobani being, of course, on the border with Turkey, 2,000 fighters, he said, were still left there fighting ISIS.

So, just bring you up to date on that address going on in Paris right now.

Now, in its heyday, Sony was the symbol of resilience in Post-War Japan, beating the odds to become a global frontrunner in Technology, but

with the rise of other industry titans Sony has struggled for years to regain its dominance.

For a look at what the future may hold for Sony, Will Ripley visits the company's innovation lab.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tokyo's Sony archives are like a time machine of electronics milestones. The first color TV in

1965, the first Walkman in '79, the first CD player in 1982.

But in 2014, Sony is struggling.

Back in the day, Sony had the hottest products.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, they definitely did.

RIPLEY: What's it like now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. There are a lot cheaper options.

RIPLEY: Decades of domination replaced by stagnation. Sales for most Sony products are flat or falling.

MAKIKO YOSHIMURA, S&P ANALYST: They have a very strong brand recognition in Japanese market. But globally, unfortunately no.

RIPLEY: Makiko Yoshimura is an electronics analyst with Standard and Poor's. She says years of staggering losses raise serious question about

Sony's profitability.

YOSHIMURA: It's very tough.

RIPLEY: S&P could soon downgrade Sony's credit rating to junk status following similar moves by Moody's and Fitch. Restructuring and layoffs

are doing little to stop the bleeding.

YOSHIMURA: Competition is quite different.

RIPLEY: Fierce competition from companies like Samsung and Apple, which began building a cult of loyal customers just as Sony diehards

started dwindling.

You're actually inside the television right now interacting with it.

Sony's strategy to bounce back -- play on its strengths -- gaming consoles, 4K ultra HD TVs, high res audio.

Sony developers show us they're also creating new products like this credit card-sized device aimed at replacing a wallet full of plastic.

And Sony's challenge to Google Glass. It could mean you'll never forget a name again

HIROSHI MUKAWA, SONY GENERAL MANAGER: By using the camera as the recognizer.

RIPLEY: This is your view through the glasses. The person's name and other information is displayed in that green box.

MUKAWA: We can use, for example, face recognition technology to identify who is who.

RIPLEY: These smart glasses are supposed to help with cooking, navigation, even using voice recognition to translate other languages.

But, will it be enough to bring back Sony, a symbol of Japan's Golden Age that now feels like a fading memory.

The first Playstation 20 years ago reminds us of Sony's innovative past and its struggle to stay relevant today and in the future.

Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TANK: My gosh, I'm old enough to remember some of the more vintage footage there.

Anyway, there are some bright spots at Sony. The Playstation 4 is off to a great start. It has consistently outsold Microsoft's rival Xbox One.

And it is worth reminding you where the biggest percentage of Sony's profit actually comes from, it's actually financial services.

Sony has a division that offers life insurance in Japan. And actually this unit contributed the most operating profit to Sony in the most recent

quarter.

Now, Tim Cook presented Apple's latest iPhones the 6 and the 6 Plus just over seven weeks ago. In its various incarnations, the iPhone has

helped revolutionize the way that we take pictures and video. And increasingly, filmmakers are turning to the pocket-sized gadget.

CNN Cameraman Harvey Hogan looks at what can be achieved compared to his professional kit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARVEY HOGAN, CNN CAMERAMAN: I'm, Harvey, a cameraman at CNN. And I've worked in the industry for 14 years.

Day-to-day, we use standard issue professional grade kits. I also own an iPhone 6. And the camera on this has been widely praised.

A lot of people ask me just how good this is?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell them, Peter.

HOGAN: Good enough to make feature films and music videos like these.

They were shot using specialist apps as well as filters and lenses.

On the flip side, the filmmakers complain about the same things I do: poor battery life and problems filming in low temperatures.

So, to see how good it really is, I took both of my cameras to London's Piccalilli Circus.

This is a standard news camera and this is my iPhone, both I use every day. Let's see how the cameras compare.

The iPhone colors look a little washed out on the bagpiper, this is because of the ambient lighting. The news camera can handle it much

better.

But his audience looked great.

And the shots of traffic are cool for such a small camera.

And using the iPhone's slow-mo feature, this guy in the costume looks pretty scary.

When you're filming on any type of camera, there's a few things that you have to keep in mind. First, there's the perspective. Choose an

angle, which shows depth in your shot, then it will look more lifelike and less flat.

When filming, trying to imagine your viewfinder divided into thirds. And make sure your subject is in one side. This creates space.

Try to shoot a sequence of shots instead of one long shot to make it more interesting. And avoid awkward pans and zooms.

As you can see, Apple's new retina display looks fantastic, but let's go back to the edits and wait and see how they both compare.

When you're editing the pictures you can really see the difference. The broadcast camera, the pictures are sharper. There's more depth. And

they're much more vibrant.

The iPhone on the other hand, they're more anemic, there's more grain, and the pictures are very flat. It is like comparing a mini to a Maserati.

And there are plenty of other Minis around. The Samsung Galaxy S5 has a 16 megapixel camera, while the iPhone still has only an 8 megapixel

camera.

At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what kit you are using, it's about being out there, having fun while you're filming and

being creative. So less about the kit and more about the shots.

Harvey Hogan, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TANK: OK, so we thought we'd do our own comparison. What you're watching right now is being filmed on an iPhone 6. But if we step back and

make a side by side comparison, you'd see the iPhone on the left and here on the right I'm using one of our regular studio cameras. Can you tell the

difference?

Of course, it's worth remembering that these studio cameras cost thousands of dollars and the iPhone has only been able to shoot video for

just five years. So it's fair to say that the gap will probably narrow in the years ahead.

We'll have more News Stream after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TANK: The surge in undocumented children crossing the border from Mexico into the United States has been making headlines for months. Many

of them are trying to escape extreme poverty and violence in Central America. But this week's CNN Hero is a Guatemalan tackling crime and gang

violence at the source. He's helping children in his community find hope at home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUAN PABLO ROMERO FUENTES, CNN HERO: My country's violent history has created a very violent present. Gangs are everywhere, kids are exposed to

drugs, to violence and to the lack of opportunities for them to improve their lives.

I was a teacher in the same community that I grew up. My students were dealing with the problems that I was dealing 20 years ago.

I wanted to change that. The best thing for me to do was open my house doors and bring them here.

Eight years later, I'm still running the program in my family house.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN (speaking Spanish)

FUENTES: We provide classes so they can find own passions.

We give them a decent plate of food.

(APPLAUSE)

FUENTES: Children are powerful, just they don't know about yet, so I created a safe place for them to realize that they actually can change bad

aspects in their lives and their community.

UNIDENTIFIED BOY (speaking Spanish).

(APPLAUSE)

FUENTES: In violent country, the only weapon we can have, it's love.

I still believe that we can change this country. I see potential in kids` dreams and ideas. The other one is in charge of writing - history in

Guatemala.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TANK: Beautiful story.

That was News Stream. I'm Manisha Tank. Don't go anywhere. And World Sport is next. Bye for now.

END