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FIFA Suspends Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini; Syrians Begin Ground Offensive With Russian Support; The Worlds Third Global Coral Bleaching Event in 12 Years Threatens Reefs. Aired 8:00a-9:00a ET

Aired October 08, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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


[08:00:06[ MANISHA TANK, HOST: Hello, I'm Manisha Tank in Hong Kong. A warm welcome to News Stream.

FIFA's president and the favorite to replace him are both facing bans and they didn't even get the harshest punishment, not even close.

Russian cruise missiles launched from ships head for targets in Syria. While the Free Syrian Army uses weapons from the CIA to take out Syrian

tanks. A ground war in Syria heats up.

One of the wonders of the natural world is fading. Coral is turning to white skeletons. And experts say climate change is to blame.

So, let's begin with some breaking news out of Zurich where the leadership of the world's football governing body remains uncertain.

Just moments ago, FIFA's ethics committee handed down a series of suspensions on some of its top leaders, including President Sepp Blatter

and the head of UEFA Michel Platini. So, let's take a closer look at the men actually involved in all of this.

Sepp Blatter has been FIFA's president since 1998. He was reelected to serve a fifth term in June, but announced shortly after that that he would

step down.

Michel Platini is the head of UEFA, the European football body, the richest and the most powerful of all FIFA confederations. He was also a legendary

player for France and a leading contender to replace Blatter.

Jerome Valcke is FIFA's secretary-general and key aide to Blatter. He had already been placed on leave.

Those three are provisionally banned from any football activity for at least 90 days. And former FIFA Vice President Chung Moon-joon has been

banned for six years and fined just over $100,000.

Chung, like Platini, is campaigning to become the next FIFA president.

So let's get the latest on this story, which has been developing in the last hour or so. CNN World Sport's Amanda Davies joins us now from FIFA

headquarters.

And first of all, Amanda, before we get into all the details of this, is it -- am I correct in understand that we've actually now had some comment from

one of the gentlemen in those bans?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely we have, Manisha. Yes, whilst the curtains are firmly closed on Sepp Blatter's office, over

the fence and down the drive here at FIFA House we have received a statement from his American-based lawyer Richard Cullen reacting on behalf

of Sepp Blatter. It says, "President Blatter was disappointed that the ethics committee did not follow the code of ethics and disciplinary code,

both of which provide an opportunity to be heard. Further, the ethics committee based its decision on a misunderstanding of the actions of the

Attorney General in Switzerland, which has opened an investigation but brought no charge against the president. In fact, the prosecutors will be

obliged by law to dismiss the case if their investigation, barely two weeks old, does not establish sufficient evidence. President Blatter looks

forward to the opportunity to present evidence that will demonstrate that he did not engage in any misconduct, criminal or otherwise."

A statement that as you will expect is full of legalese, which is an interesting stance, I suppose, because this is a suspension after an ethics

committee investigation, which is not a legal process, it's a quasi-legal process, which has been opened by FIFA's internal independent regulatory

body in response to the opening of the Swiss criminal investigaion just some two weeks or so ago.

That investigation, as that statement alluded to, very much continues.

Michel Platini, the UEFA president, who has also been suspended for the 90 days, he actually got in with his response almost preemptively. We

received a statement from him about an hour before the official statement announcing the suspension. And he described it as an attempt to damage his

reputation.

He said, "I will stop at nothing to ensure the truth is known."

And interestingly, also admitted that he this morning submitted the five nominations that he needs to officially stand for FIFA president in that

election that is set to be held on February 26.

Those nominations then need to go through the integrity checks that are now in place. And what ramifications this suspension now has in terms of that

presidential campaign remain to be seen.

[08:05:17] TANK: Yeah, Amanda, so given all of this that's going on right now, and given these bans, who is actually running FIFA?

DAVIES: It's a very good question. Because Sepp Blatter, the top man, is not there. His general secretary Jerom Valcke who has for many years been

known as his number two, his right-hand man, he has been suspended some weeks ago now, but again has been officially been suspended by this ethics

committee as part of today's statement.

The simple answer is that it seems that World football's governing body is being run by a group of American lawyers, Quinn Emmanuel who were brought

in following those raids here in Zurich around that explosive FIFA congress back in May, and then the announcement by Sepp Blatter that he would stand

down, lay down his mandate.

The deputy Secretary-General Marcus Cantner (ph) is also still in place. And also the head of legal affairs at FIFA Marcus Villaga (ph).

But the question now for world football's governing body going forward is what structure do they put in place? Do they retain this structure that

has seen Sepp Blatter lead this organization with such autonomous power over the last 17 years, or do they try and restructure altogether?

This is not just a football organization anymore, is it? It's a massive multi-billion dollar business as well.

And, it is a game that many people at the grassroots love, but it is the World Cup, it is big, big business involving the big sponsors that we saw

speak out last week, the likes of Visa, the likes of Master Card, the likes of Coca Cola. And so that is really the big decision for FIFA going

forward.

The suggestion is they need to bring in somebody from the outside to try and bring this back into some form of working organization.

TANK: Yeah, it's disappointing for many, isn't it, Amanda, this murky area between business and sport. I'm sure we'll talk more about it in coming

days. Thanks very much for that, though. Amanda Davies there who is in Zurich and following that story closely.

Well, allegations of corruption and wrongdoing have long been leveled at FIFA. But earlier this year everything changed in just a matter of seven

days.

It all really began on May 27. And this was when several FIFA officials were arrested just before a major meeting in Switzerland. One of the

reasons FIFA members had gathered there was for a presidential election. The election continued as planned, but on May 29 Sepp Blatter was reelected

president of FIFA. The pressure on him, though, remained.

And the biggest twist was still to come, on June 2, FIFA secretary-general was accused of being aware of a bribe. Later that day, Sepp Blatter

announced that he would step down as president of FIFA.

But, that took place some four months ago. And FIFA is very much still in chaos.

For more, Keir Radnedge is with World Soccer Magazine. And joins us from London.

This is pretty much a crisis for world football. So what does FIFA need to do now?

KEIR RADNEDGE, WORLD SOCCER MAGAZINE: Well, FIFA has been in crisis really for about the last five years, it's just sort of deeper and deeper than

into the depth, until its reputation is almost at vanishing point.

I mean, what FIFA has to do is to restructure, rebuild, and it has to find new people with credibility to lead it forward.

The problem is, finding those people inside the organization and persuading the old that actually they really do need to change and get their heads

into the modern world.

TANK: Yeah, I wondered about that. What are the options in terms of leadership?

RADNEDGE: Well, they are very restricted now with the decisions today. If Michel Platini appears likely cannot stand for president, then Chung Moon-

joon, (inaudible) candidate is also gone, then the last man standing is Prince Ali of Jordan who lost to Blatter last May, although he put up a

very good fight.

I would -- yeah.

TANK: I'm going to jump in very quickly. Stand by, because Amanda has some more breaking news, I believe, from Zurich. Let's cross to Amanda

whose been following the story. What can you tell us?

DAVIES: Absolutely. I can say we've just received another statement from FIFA following on the one talking of the suspension for Sepp Blatter and

Michel Platini.

And it says that Joseph S. Blatter for the duration of the 90 day ban is not allowed to represent FIFA in any capacity, act on the organization's

behalf or communicate to media or other stakeholders as a FIFA representative. That suggests there won't be a press conference, I have to

say.

It then says, "as mandated by article 32, six of the FIFA statutes, Isa Hiatu (ph) as the longest serving vice president of FIFA's executive

committee will serve as acting president. So, Isa Hiatu (ph), who is currently the head of African football, a position that he's held since

1998, a long-term close confidante of Sepp Blatter is the man who is interim president of FIFA.

He himself has something of a murky past. He was sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee in 2011 for allegations around bribery and

corruption and wrongdoing, but he is the man who will lead FIFA in one of the most turbulent periods of their history, I don't think it's unfair to

say. Until the election, which remained scheduled on February 26 next year when Sepp Blatter's long-term successor will be decided.

TANK: OK, Amanda,thanks very much for that.

So, let's take it back to Keir and try and get a grip on what all of that means.

So, Isa Hiatu (ph) is going to be acting president. What do you make of that?

RADNEDGE: Well, that was entirely in line with what we expected, because that's what the rules say so they're just sticking with the rules.

I have to -- yes, as Amanda said, he does have a tainted history. And also he is known for the way that he has made sure that the rules suit him to

keep him in power in Africa in football. So he is again one of the old guard that I was referring to earlier who have been resistant, if you like,

to change within FIFA.

Now, that's not necessarily so much of a difficulty because his power will be comparatively limited in what he can do and can't do, because at the

moment everything is being guided probably behind the scenes now by the legal advisers.

TANK: In terms of possibly a change in the future structure of FIFA, does it need to change? Does it need to stop working as having this one

president? If there are so many what seems to be geographical fiefdoms, should there not be some sort of committee maybe? Maybe this time for a

complete overhaul?

REDNEDGE: Well, it does have a committee, which is the executive committee, but that is a source of a lot of the problems, because of the

fact that you have this sort of terrific power of patronage that is beholden to the members of the executive committee.

What FIFA certainly needs. There are various proposals for reforms that are out there and term limits is one of them. And that's one significant

step that FIFA needs to take to fall in line with what can start to make it a more credible organization.

TANK: Yeah, let's talk about this, the crossover between business and FIFA, because one you know it doesn't survive without the business of

football, that's what it's -- I mean, a large percentage of it is all about let's admit it. So, how must that change as we move into the future,

because clearly that's created problems. It's a very murky interplay.

REDNEDGE: Yes, I don't think you can necessarily say that the sports industry -- I mean, this is what it is. I mean, this isn't just people

sort of you know trotting out on a Saturday afternoon and let's play football for an hour or two. You know, the sports industry if vast, and

it's not only football that's involved in it.

What FIFA has to do is to come up with a system whereby it separates, if you like, the political decision making from the actual technical,

commercial contractual side of the business. I mean, you have seen in the last week or two some of the World Cup sponsors become very agitated about

events at FIFA, quite properly because they feel that their image has been tarnished by association with, you know, what you say Blatter and his

cronies.

TANK: OK, let's bring back Amanda who is standing by in Zurich.

Amanda, I want to bring it back to the grassroots. We talked about that a little bit earlier. You know, it's the beautiful game. People follow it

from all over the world.

From a practical point of view, does this affect those people who just love football?

DAVIES: I think people will continue to go and support their team on Saturday than Sundays around the globe. And that will continue.

And there is -- and that is one of the big crticisms in many ways is that this body here in Zurich stood behind the big fence with the big wolves

FIFA is actually in very many ways very, very removed from the actual 3:00 p.m. kickof, you know, fans going with their families with their dads, with

their sons and daughters going to watch the action on the pitch.

If you remember Christian Ronaldo was asked in a CNN interview what he thought about what was going on here at FIFA. And he was not impressed.

He said I don't care and he walked out. He didn't want to know about it. That's perhaps not the right response, but it does tell you something about

the divide between the players and what happens at the clubs and even to some extent at the international level of football what happens here at

FIFA.

I think there is just now a very sad acceptance that this is a story with very many parts and very many arms that still needs to be played out. There

are processes that are going through, that are being gone through. There are more and more people being brought into it. And we are going to get

more and more headlines of what has gone on in the past for a long, long time to come.

When the office of the attorney generals of both here and Switzerland and the FBI investigation held their press conference here in Zurich a few

weeks ago. They very firmly made the point we are not even nearing halftime yet. There is a lot more mudslinging and accusation so calm. And I think

the important thing for FIFA and for football is to try and move forward, to bring in that new structure that you were talking about with Keir and to

make sure that this doesn't happen again.

[08:16:38] TANK; OK. Let's just finally take it back to Keir Radnedge and just talk about that future. Let's talk about the next half, as it were,

Amanda saying there's going to be more mudslinging possibly. What do you expect?

RADNEDGE: Well, I think that's guaranteed, frankly, because when the United States attorney general was in Zurich a few weeks ago, she said that

there were going to be more arrests. The process of extraditing some of the people who were arrested in Zurich in May, that is still ongoing. So

the bulk of the American court case has actually got to come to court. So, there will be a lot more to come out there. And of course that's not going

to be a quick process, that's going to take a long time.

So,over the next few years you can guarantee that there's going to be a great deal more unhappiness and a great deal more very murky business

that's going to be about the way FIFA has run its event and its business.

TANK: OK, we'll wrap it up there. That's full time on that for now, but there's still a lot more to come I'm sure in the coming months. Keir

Radnedge, thank you so much for that. Amanda, thank you, too, for following the story for us as its happening over there in Zurich. Thank

you to you both.

Now, Syria says its launched a major offensive against terrorists. Meantime, Russia is pushing forward with its campaign from the sea and from

the skies. Details after the break.

Plus, the president of the United States has apologized, but Doctors Without Borders says that's not enough. What the group is demanding

following the U.S. airstrike on a hospital in Afghanistan.

Also ahead, new images show the world's coral reefs are under threat. Why scientists say climate change is to blame.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:22:08] TANK: Syria's army says it has launched a widescale offensive to eliminate what it calls terrorists and liberate towns under their

control.

It follows a week of airstrikes by the Russian military, which is now also bombarding ISIS targets from the Caspian Sea.

The Russian defense ministry says cruise missiles launched from warships there hit ISIS facilities in Raqqa, Idlib and Aleppo in Syria.

So, let's get the view now from Russia. Senior international correspondent Matthew chance is in Moscow. He's been following this story for us.

So, there's a great deal of concern, of course, Matthew, in the west about what is an apparent escalation of Russia's involvement here. But how is

this being viewed from Russia. What is -- what is the game here? What is the end game here?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: ..say that their strategy is to strike hard at ISIS positions and the positions of other terrorist

groups, as they call them, to eliminate that threat from Syria and to restore a degree of, you know, a degree of calm to that situation.

The way in which their doing it is really kind of -- been an (inaudible) how the west views the best strategy in Syria. Basically, what the

Russians are doing is striking any groups, including non-ISIS opposition groups that are opposed to the government of Bashar al-Assad. They're

giving that government its full backing, essentially providing air cover for its forces and other pro-Assad elements fighting in Syria like the

Iranians and Hezbollah, to make advances on rebel groups, whatever their color or persuasion. And that's something that NATO defense ministers who

are meeting in Brussels, for instance today, are really concerned about.

NATO is trying to be -- has been calling on Russia to change that strategy, not to support Bashar al-Assad. NATO is also very concerned about the use

of cruise missiles, you're seeing their pictures there. Fired for the first time yesterday from Russian naval vessels in the Caspian Sea, there

are airstrikes that have been carried out as well for just over a week now, more than 100 airstrikes pounding positions of various rebel groups, a few

of them ISIS, but many more of them non-ISIS groups.

But at the moment, Manisha, there's very little sign at all of Russia doing anything but intensify this campaign.

TANK: Yeah, I wondered about that. I wondered if there had been any indication of how long this element of the campaign will continue, or

whether perhaps right now it's still open-ended or unclear.

CHANCE: Well, it's open-ended and it's unclear is the short answer. I mean, what the Russians have said is that they will carry on these

airstrikes as long as the Syrian army is in offensive mode, that's the phrase they use. So what we don't know at the moment is how long the

Syrian army will keep up this counter offensive against rebel groups.

Is it just going to try and consolidate its position in about 20 percent of Syria? Or is it going to go for something much more ambitious and tackle

these opposition groups, first of all, but then move on to reclaiming much of the country that has been taken over by ISIS? If that's the case -- I

mean, the Russian involvement in this could last for a considerable time, you know, in certain weeks, but probably months and months.

TANK: Yeah, and of course many Russians locally don't want to see a repeat of anything that happened in Afghanistan in previous years, but you know,

we shall see, won't we. Matthew, thank you very much for that. Matthew Chance live for us in Moscow with the Russian angle on that story.

Now, the U.S. President Barack Obama has apologized for the U.S. airstrike on Doctors Without Borders and their hospital in Afghanistan. That bombing

killed 22 people.

In a call to aid the group's president, Mr. Obama expressed regret and offered prayers to the victims and their families. But the charity says

that's not enough, it wants the U.S. to consent to an independent investigation led by the Interantional Humanitarian Fact Finding

Commission.

The Pentagon has called Saturday's attack in Kunduz a mistake, but before that U.S. reports of how and why the airstrike happened had changed a

number of times.

Well, joining me now with more is our Nic Robertson who is in Kabul. Nic has been following the story for us from the beginning.

What more, then, have we learned Nic about this bombing and how much of a warning MSF may or may not have had?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERANTIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, MSF held another press conference here in Kabul today. They said they didn't have any

warning that this was coming. Indeed, their staff at the hospital felt and reported to them that it was a quieter night in that area, so there was a

sense that nothing was about to happen.

They also pushed back very sternly and very firmly on Afghan government accusations that the Taliban were using the hospital as some kind of firing

base. They say that absolutely wasn't the case. But the other detail that emerged, and this really points to the nature of the scale and gravity of

the tragedy itself, is that there are still -- remembering here that Doctors Without Borders no longer controlled the hospital compound, have

pulled all their staff out of Kunduz -- there are still, they say, 24 bodies inside the hospital yet to be retrieved.

They also say there are still a number of missing people. Of the 105 patients in the hospital, nine, they say, are still unaccounted for. And

that the total number of all MSF staff there. There are 461 staff, 24 of their staff are still missing.

So, the death toll could climb yet. Of course they realize that some of those people that are unaccounted for may have fled when the bombing

happened, have left the town, haven't checked in, that sort of thing. But the fact so many bodies remain and so many people are unaccounted for, it

seems that the death toll here will climb some more yet, Manisha.

TANK: And all that amid what is an ongoing fragile security situation in Kunduz. We'll have to leave it there, though. Nic, thank you very much

for that. Nic Robertson and the team in Kabul.

You're watching News Stream. Coming up on this program, the head of Volkswagen U.S. is about to face some tough questions on Capitol Hill. We

take a look at the scandal that's landed him in the congressional hotseat.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:31:41] TANK: Hi, Manisha Tank in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

FIFA's ethics committee has suspended some of its top executives, throwing into question the leadership of world football's governing body. FIFA

President Sepp Blatter, UEFA President Michel Platini and FIFA secretary- general Jerome Valcke have all been provisionally banned for at least 90 days. Former FIFA vice president Chung Moon-joon has been banned for six

years and fined 103,000 dollars. Vice President Isa Hiatu (ph) will serve as FIFA's acting president.

Russia says a wave of precision attacks launched from its warships in the Caspian Sea hit ISIS facilities in Raqqa, Idlib and Aleppo, Syria. It

comes as the Syrian army says it has launched a widescale offensive to eliminate what it calls terrorists and liberate towns under their control.

Doctors Without Borders wants U.S. President Barack Obama to agree to an independent investigation of a deadly airstrike on one of its hospitals.

Mr. Obama has offered a personal apology, but the aid group says that's not enough, adding that the U.S. has repeatedly changed its account of

Saturday's attack. At least 22 people died in that U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan.

Volkswagen's U.S. chief has had a tough day -- will have a tough day ahead in Washington. Michael Horn will field questions from lawmakers about his

company's emissions scandal. In prepared testimony, Horn acknowledges he has known about the issue since last year, but says he was told engineers

were working with regulators on a solution.

The auto giant revealed last month that it installed software that allowed as many as 11 million diesel cars to cheat on emissions tests.

So, this is just the latest in a string of car related scandals from faulty ignition switches in GM vehicles to defective Takata airbags. Isa Soares

looks at what's becoming a credibility crisis for the auto industry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Scathing and damning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is an unprecedented crisis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This really does cast a negative light on a company like Volkswagen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put the spotlight on the industry and the industry has to respond to reassure the public.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a big price to pay if you don't get it right as an industry.

DAVID HAIGH, BRAND FINANCE CEO AND FOUNDER: It is catastrophic to the reputation.

SOARES: The verdict on Volkswagen's credibility. As the company admits, 11 million of its cars worldwide could have cheated emission tests, the

manufacturers set aside $7.3 billion to deal with the fallout. But some are placing the true cost near to $87 billion. The scandal, though, is just the

latest in the series of incidents damaging the credibility of the car industry.

General motors had to pay $900 million to settle criminal charges related to its flawed ignition switches which cause at least 124 deaths. Fourteen

million vehicles were recalled by 11 manufacturers after exploding air bags made by Japanese firm, Takata, were linked to the deaths of eight people.

In 2012, Toyota agreed to pay a $1.2 billion fine. That's the largest for a car manufacturer for problems with the accelerator pedals.

While it was revealed that Toyota and General Motors knew about their vehicle defects for years before acting, Volkswagen, on the other hand,

admitted to deliberately installing and covering up illegal software in its cars. As more discrepancies and fuel consumption and emission testing

emerge, consumers remain suspicious that other car companies may also be cutting corners.

[08:25:15] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, up until the scandal with Volkswagen, I would have said yes. Now, I suspect they're all at it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, obviously, it does reflect badly on them. But I don't know enough about whether it's the auto industry, generally, or

Volkswagen.

SOARES: So, how does a car industry restore its credibility?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The way forward is A, to have more transparency. That's going to be increasingly critical. But B, in this case in

particular, a real look at the emissions regulations.

SOARES: In the same way the Libor scandal reveals further malpractices in the banking sector here in London, the fear is that the VW crisis has a

potential to do the same to the auto industry. So, for the time being, expect further regulation and more scrutiny.

Isa Soares, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TANK: You're watching News Stream. Still ahead on this program, what's happening to the world's coral? Why a scientist say these images prove

that much of it is dying.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TANK: Hello, again.

As part of the CNN series Two Degrees, we explore how global warming is changing our planet. One especially striking way to see that is by looking

at coral. In this episode, we see how rising temperature is turning colorful reefs into a sea of white skeletons.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD VEVERS, XL CATLIN SEAVIEW SURVEY DIRECTOR: The XL Catlin Seaview Survey started three years ago. We've been to 26 different countries and

photographed 1,000 kilometers of reef every two meters. And that gives us an incredible record to then monitor change over time.

Well, this is the SV2 camera, which was specifically developed for the XL Catlin Seaview Survey. And it's got in the head of the camera three

individual cameras that make a full 360 image. That's operated by a tablet here and then as a driver -- so you're a diver being pulled along by the

camera behind the scooter.

So what we're doing with this imagery is uploading it into Google Streetview. This allows anybody anywhere in the world to go on a virtual

dive to see what's happening on reefs and events like a coral bleaching event.

Coral bleaching is when the water temperature gets so warm that the coral literally turns clear and exposes its skeleton and that's the white color

that you see from bleaching. And unless the temperatures drop quite dramatically fairly quickly, then the coral starves to death and then the

tissue falls away and the skeleton breaks up.

In the El Nino of 1997, we had a mass global coral bleaching event. Then we had another one in 2010.

What we're announcing is the third global coral bleaching event. So we're talking about 12,000 square kilometers of corals dying.

We're seeing an incredibly fast rate of change in ocean temperature at the moment. And what we're going to see over time is more and more of these

big bleaching events. And the problem is, the coral reefs don't have time to recover. So even those that do are going to get hit by another event

and another event and another event.

When people see a coral reef bleach, it really affects people because you know you're turning from a reef that is really colorful to bright white and

then to dead. And this is the equivalent of a rain forest turning white and no one noticing.

These are the kind of images that make people sit up and take notice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TANK: What a stark image right there at the end showing us really how it is right now.

As we told you here at CNN, we've been focusing on global warming as part of our Two Degrees series. And you may be wondering what is Two Degrees?

Well, experts say if our planet gets just two degrees warmer, the Earth will cross a boundary that changes our world forever.

Possible scenarios include super droughts, rising seas that could destroy homes, and mass extinctions.

The good news is that some say if we drastically cut carbon emissions, we can stay below the two degree threshold.

So, if you want to learn more about this, just head to our website. It's all at CNN.com. Do check it out.

So, before we go, we want to take you to Hunan province in China where a suspension bridge has been closed just two weeks after it opened. The

tourist attraction features a glass bottom and is very popular with thrills seekers. The problem, well, visitors ran in fear after seeing the glass

crack beneath their feet. Chinese officials say there's no threat to safety, because there are only cracks in one out of three layers of

tempered glass. Still, though, they are closing the bridge for inspection.

And that's it for this edition of News Stream. I'm Manisha Tank. We'll have much more on our top story on World Sport. That's after the break.

END