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Palestinian Man Disguised As News Photographer Stabs Israeli Soldier In Hebron; U.N. Security Council To Gather To Discuss Palestinian-Israeli Conflict; Turkey Says It Shut Down Drone That Crossed Into Airspace Near Syrian Border; Russia Continues To Strike At Syria With Impressive Show Of Military Force; Malaysian Police Arrest Hacker; World Sports. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired October 16, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:09]

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ROBYN CURNOW, HOST: Hi there, welcome to the International Desk, I'm Robyn Curnow.

We begin with another violent day in Israel and Palestinian territories.

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A Palestinian man disguised as a news photographer stabbed an Israeli soldier in Hebron before being shot and killed the IDF said in a statement.

Huge flames were seen in Nablus after Palestinian rioters set fire to the compound housing Joseph's Tomb overnight. The Tomb is considered holy by

Jews and Christians.

Resentments are running high after two weeks of violence in which dozens of people have died. All this happening as the U.N. Security Council gathers

to meet in about an hour to discuss this very issue.

Meanwhile, protests continue in Bethlehem in the West Bank. Our Ben Wedeman is there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: What's happening right now? Hi, Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi Robyn, well what we have now is the Israeli border police have brought out, they brought out

just a few moments ago their jeep that is mounted with a multiple launcher for tear-gas canisters.

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WEDEMAN: And they fired that in the direction of the Palestinian demonstrators and of course they've gone way up the road at this point.

Here you have the Israel border police just surveying the area, they've been trying to keep protesters away from what's known as Rachel's Tomb,

where -- is a holy place for Jews. It's 4 to 5 by 8 meter high walls all around it, and this is right in the middle of the town of Bethlehem. So on

a regular basis this sort of clash happens and certainly almost every day over the last two weeks these clashes have been going on, keeping in mind

of course that remembering today was yet again the third in about a week declared a day of rage by the Palestinian factions.

And we're seeing not only clashes here but clashes down in Gaza where a 20- year-old man was shot dead by Israeli live fire at one of those protests, perhaps an attempt to break through the fence that separates Gaza and

Israel.

Now of course you referenced that incident in Hebron where apparently a man wearing a vest that said press and according to some accounts he was even

carrying a camera went up to a group of Israeli soldiers and stabbed one of them. He was shot dead immediately.

So no sign that this current wave of violence is coming to an end, and if anything its looks like it's going to continue at this pace for quite some

time, Robyn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: With all of this in mind, all of this anger, all this frustration, overnight, as I mentioned, Joseph's Tomb was set alight. What is the

significance of that?

WEDEMAN: Well this is a tomb, that from Joseph from the Old Testament, it's a place that is holy to Jews, and over the years Jews have been able to

have access to this site.

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WEDEMAN: It's in the middle of the town of Nablus which is under Palestinian control. Now we understand what happened last night, was that

Israeli forces went into Nablus reportedly to demolish the homes of two men who were part of the Hamas cell that's accused of being behind the murder

of two Israeli settlers at the beginning of the month.

Now when the Israeli troops tried to get in, apparently Palestinian youth (inaudible) were in the streets trying to stop them and in the process some

of them lit a building or site adjacent to the Tomb. The Tomb itself has not been harmed. Shortly afterwards Palestinian security came in to break

it up.

Now President Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority has pledged to launch an investigation into this incident and he did condemn

the damage done to the site.

But the fact that it happened is worrying, -- it's an indication that perhaps Mahmoud Abbas doesn't have full control of the situation of the

areas under his control, keeping in mind, of course, that he doesn't really control any of these areas because Israeli forces do and can enter them at

will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN: So this is something also to keep in mind as we watch this situation deteriorate, Robyn.

CURNOW: Ben Wedeman, in Bethlehem there and we will keep an eye on things and come back to you. Thanks a lot.

Well for months we've focused on the flood of migrants trying to reach Europe from Syria and elsewhere. Now a new report highlights just how many

people are making this dangerous journey.

According to the International Organization for Migration more than 613,000 people have reached Europe this year by land or sea, more than 3,100 have

died.

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[15:05:03]

CURNOW: Well Turkey has born much of the burden and has been in talks with the EU on an aid package. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Istanbul and he

joins us now.

There's been an offer, tell us about that.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL REPORTER: It does seem at this early stage that some sort of deal has been reached.

The EU President, Don Tusk referring to that in a statement some hours ago. But some confusion, really. Everyone I think knows Turkey because of the

dire need Europe is in their assistance in stemming the migrant flow but Turkey is going to drive a hard bargain here and has been doing so.

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WALSH: Their Foreign Minister in fact saying it's a draft plan that's been agreed it's not been finalized, but here is pretty much where it seems to

go.

This would involve Turkey agreeing to assist in stemming the flow of migrants that head from here often to Greece, other areas potentially as

well in exchange for an aid package that would be partially financial. The cost of refugees they say here is about $7 billion, well they've asked for

3 billion, they're going to get one we understand so far potentially, $1 billion under this deal as well.

But here's the key thing. Here an election imminent. President Erdogan trying to regain his majority in Parliament. One thing he can offer the

electorate here is the potential real carrot in this deal which is Visa liberalization for Turkish citizens towards the European Schengen area.

Right now they need a Visa; under this deal potentially they might not. That's a substantial gain for Turkey.

Also Turkish officials suggesting maybe as well there may be some sort of assistance in creating the no-fly zone they've wanted in Northern Syria.

The Buff Zone, that's way more complicated now Russia has entered into the airspace there bombing targets. So let's put that to one side. But also too

within this mix, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor who's due here at the weekend, she is clear that there needs to be assistance from all EU member

states in order to protect Europe's outer frontier.

So Greece for example dealing with the burden of all those refugees turning up on their islands and shores right now isn't going to have to police the

border itself. It may find other nations willing to assist in that operation too.

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WALSH: A huge package here but for the first time we are seeing the potential for things that have been on paper perhaps coming into practice

in the months ahead and Turkey really I think using this as hard as it can to try and get what out of the EU it wants. It wants talks about a session

potentially but above all this visa liberalization that's a substantial boon ahead of an election here. Robyn?

CURNOW: Thank you, we're going to leave it at that, Nick Paton Walsh as always, thanks so much (inaudible).

Now to the war in Syria, where a key offensive could be underway near Aleppo.

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CURNOW: Media reporters say Syrian troops have started to push south of the city. Reuters reports the offensive also includes forces from Iran and

Hezbollah.

The events are backed by new airstrikes from Russia which has been hitting targets around the city this week.

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CURNOW: Russia's strikes in Syria are giving us a glimpse of Moscow's military might.

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CURNOW: We'll take a closer look ahead. And a dangerous dance with a brutal killer. A former hostage recalls his tango with Jihadi John. That's next on

the iDesk.

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[10:11:36]

CURNOW: Welcome back. Well there's been a new incident in the Syrian civil war that could stir more tensions between the various countries involved.

Turkey says its air force shut down a drone that crossed into the airspace near the Syrian border. Initial reports suggest it was Russian according to

two U.S. Defense officials. Well Russia says all of its drones are "functioning as planned."

Its strikes in Syria now on their third week are giving us though an idea of Moscow's military strength.

Let's turn to CNN's Matthew Chance in our Moscow Bureau to talk about - to talk about this.

What we're seeing in Syria, the Syrian campaign is sometimes the first time a lot of Moscow's military hardware has been tested, essentially, out in -

out in the open.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPODENT: Yes, that's absolutely right. And I think that's one of the key -- the key, kind of

side benefits, if you like. The Kremlin is caring out the intensive campaign inside Syria.

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CHANCE: It's giving it an opportunity not just to fight ISIS and the other rebel groups that it's making such a political statement about but it's

giving it an opportunity for the first time to put to the test some of the weaponry that it's spent billions of dollars developing over the past

several years but have never before used in combat.

I mean there's two examples that come to mind that have played a prominent role in the campaign in Syria so far. The SU-34 fighter bomber jet, it's a

multiple role fighter jet; it's one of Russia's most advanced warplanes. It's never been used in combat before but it's doing you know if not the

bulk of the bombing at the moment it's certainly playing a very large part in the repeated air strikes that are taking place across Syria by that

Russian air group that is based inside the country, and so it's really important for the Russians to see how the aircraft performs.

The other very high-profile test or use of a weapon was the incidents a few days ago in which the Russians fired a caliber-cruise missile, 26 of them

in fact at Syria, at targets inside that country from a ship in the Caspian Sea, something in the region of 900 miles away.

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CHANCE: They've never have been fired before in anger, if you like, they're newly developed and some analysts believe they are even more technological

advanced than the - than the American cruise-missile counterpart.

And so we're talking about the cutting edge essentially of Russia's conventional weaponry, that is for the first time in many occasions being

actually tested in a war situation, and that's why this is so crucial, I think or one of the reasons, for Russia.

CURNOW: And we've talked about how politically this Syrian campaign plays into Putin making himself look like a statesman on the world stage. But

what this also very much points to is the modernization of Russia's military and of course Russia's military strength. What does that tell

Western security agencies for example?

CHANCE: You're right, I mean - I mean yes, politically this is all about showing that Russia is a great power, that it's still a crucial country

when it comes to diplomacy, particularly in the Middle East.

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CHANCE: And it's asserting that claim extremely boldly. And I think there's a sense in which you know it has been quite awesome in the - in one sense

of the world that Russia has been watched to use - has been seen to be willing, rather, to use this advanced weaponry.

[10:15:05]

CHANCE: Because it's one thing you know having this weaponry at your disposal and parading it on Red Square and developing it and spending

billions of dollars. It's quite different showing that you are willing to use it in an actual real-world theater, like Syria. And I think that that

has given the Russians a certain amount of credibility. That look, may not agree with them but you certainly have to deal with the Russians. They're

willing to put their money where their mouth is, as it were.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Do you think they've been underestimated?

CHANCE: I think to a certain extent, probably in some circles, they have been, yes. I mean they've been sort of casts very much as a paper tiger,

the idea they've got all this military might, they parade it every year on Red Square, they make such a fuss about it but they very rarely you know

use it so overtly as they have done in Syria.

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CHANCE: I mean this is the first time remember that Russian forces have engaged in a conflict outside of the former Soviet Union really since the

late 1970's, since the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union.

That ended really badly of course and there's a concern that this conflict may also drag Russia into a conflict it can't get out of. But so far I

mean things have been going as according to play so the Kremlin is looking at the moment pretty good to its own people out of this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: OK, Matthew Chance, as always thanks so much. We're going to leave it at that. Matthew coming to us there from our Moscow Bureau.

Well police in Malaysia have arrested a hacker accused of stealing personal information from members of the U.S. military and feeding it to ISIS.

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CURNOW: Kosovo's citizen Ardit Feirzi, is behind bars in Malaysia while American authorities apply for his extradition. The data he's accused of

stealing including names and home addresses was posted online in August by a group calling itself the Islamic State Hacking Division.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Meanwhile, we are learning more about the brutal and bizarre behavior exhibited by the Sunni extremist group from a former hostage.

Here's Brian Todd, with this story.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He's ISIS' best-known killer, presiding over the beheadings of American's James Folley and other western

hostages. He may have killed some himself and with each video he's trash talked his enemies.

JIHADI JOHN: Obama, you have started your air bombardment (inaudible) which keeps on striking our people so it's only right we continue to strike the

necks of your people.

TODD: Now a new and bizarre account of the cruelty handed out by Jihadi John, the masked ISIS militant identified by western officials as British

National, Mohammed Emwazi.

Daniel Rye, a 26 year old Danish photographer held by ISIS for more than a year says one day "he picked me up and I had to dance the Tango, John and

I."

MICHAEL WEISS, CO-AUTHOR "ISIS INSIDE THE ARMY OF TERROR: It's not really that surprising that he would have this kind of you know almost clockwork

orange sense of you know sinister humor about torturing and abasing one of his hostages. A lot of the ISIS trolls on twitter were laughing about this,

they think it's hilarious.

TODD: In an interview with Danish T.V. Rye said when Jihadi John was tangoing with him, he kept his eyes on the ground. Looking Jihadi John in

the eyes he said would bring a beating. He says he was beaten anyway after the dance.

Then Rye says "they finished by threatening to cut my nose off with pliers and things like that where I was thinking, what the F."

AKI PERITZ, FORMER CIA ANALYST: The guys who run this organization they're a lot of these guys who control their hostages, they're sadists.

TODD: Rye says he was held alongside James Foley, Rye was released in June of last year several weeks before Foley's execution.

Rye's family reportedly paid ISIS a large ransom which the U.S. government had previously discouraged the families of American hostages from doing.

WEISS: The survivors of American victims of ISIS, James Foley's family, Steven Sotloff's family, there's a great deal of resentment that they

harbor toward the Obama administration for simply not talking to ISIS, either directly or indirectly as many European countries have done.

TODD: President Obama has since changed U.S. policy agreeing to communicate with terrorist hostage takers but still no payments.

As for Jihadi John, neither U.S. nor British officials will say where they believe he might be.

PERITZ: He's an absolutely high value target. We know that the British government is actually looking to strike him in a big way because he's done

so much damage to U.S. and U.K. relations. He's also done some terrible things to their own citizens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Jihadi John hasn't been seen in a hostage video since January of this year and his fate remains a mystery. There were uncorroborated reports that

he might have fled from ISIS, that his value to the group might have diminished after his identity was revealed. But one analyst says his lack

of visibility recently might be simply because ISIS might be running out of western hostages to murder.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

CURNOW: Very disturbing. Well coming up.

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[10:20:00]

CURNOW: A majestic animal shot and killed in a legal hunt, conservationists are out and some are outraged over the death of one of

Zimbabwe's largest known elephants.

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CURNOW: Welcome back, I'm Robyn Curnow. Well London police have recovered some property stolen in a Hatton Garden burglary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: You may remember the robbery happened over the Easter bank holiday weekend in April this year. Thieves managed to break into the Hatton Safe

Deposit Company in London's diamond district making off with gems and cash. The precise value of the stolen goods was never revealed but at the time

British media reported the value could exceed $300 million.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Now to Africa where there is more outrage, another outrage, over a big game killing in Zimbabwe. This time it's an elephant.

Well we're going to Nairobi where Robyn Kriel now joins us. Hi there. This was a very, very big elephant, just explain to us why the controversy.

ROBYN KRIEL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well sure, Robyn. This time it's not so much of a - of a question of what this an legal hunt or an

illegal hunt, some of those concerns I guess swelled over the Cecil the lion hunt that occurred in Zimbabwe earlier this year.

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KRIEL: This hunt was legal, the professional hunter had all the right permits, the German hunter who shot the elephant had all the right papers

we understand and it was in the correct area that it should have been hunted in, that they were permitted to hunt in.

The issue here is the scale of the animal. And this animal, from what we can tell, we've had experts review these pictures looks enormous.

From what we understand from experts it's around 12 feet to 13 feet and its tusks judging from the pictures that we've seen (inaudible) about 120lbs.

Those are some of the biggest tusks people think that they've ever seen in the world. Definitely we've spoken to one expert Robyn who said he's been

doing - he's been a safari operator and a guide all across Africa for the past 40 years, he has never seen an animal with such large tusks shot

before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KRIEL: So this - it's more about the scale and the size of the animal. And the questions really are should one kill an animal that is that bid and

it's more of an ethical than a legal question.

CURNOW: Indeed, and also I think there's some mystery as to where this elephant was from.

I mean he wasn't wildly known within that - within those parks.

KRIEL: Well exactly. Gonarezhou National Park is a trans-national park so it's really a conglomerate of national parks that seeps into areas of South

Africa and even Mozambique so the "ele's" there really do move around quite a lot and they cross over.

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KRIEL: So the question is where did this elephant come from? It is so big. What we also understand is that elephants that survive this long, and this

elephant would have been very old because he has got such long tusks, would usually be skittish because they would be used to being hunted and preyed

upon as it were, so elephants like this are usually very wiley and difficult to catch. However this elephant was obviously - was obviously

shot in a hunting concession.

The other questions that have arisen around this Robyn, you know some of the questions about animal quotas, why are animals like this allowed to be

killed? I mean all of these are obviously issues as Zimbabwe does have legal hunting as does several other countries in South Africa, as long as

you're hunting in the spaces that you're allowed to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: And as many people argue, many conservationists argue that legal hunting helps not just to contribute back into conservation but also to

local communities.

Robyn Kriel in Nairobi, thanks so much for that update.

Well war and poverty continue to fuel the migrant crisis in the Middle East and Europe.

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CURNOW: Next we'll have an exclusive report, some rare insight from one of the many smugglers who are making living moving migrants out of their

countries. Stay with us.

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[10:30:34]

CURNOW: Welcome to the International Desk, I'm Robyn Curnow, here's a check of the headlines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: An Israeli soldier was wounded in a stabbing attack in the West Bank Friday, other soldiers responded shooting and killing the Palestinian

attacker.

Resentments are running high after two weeks of attacks and clashes in which dozens of people have died.

The U.N. Security Council is meeting about a half an hour from now to discuss the latest wave of violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

While Turkey says it's air force shot down a drone that crossed into airspace from Syria, its two U.S. officials say initial reports indicate it

was a Russian drone but the Russian Defense Ministry says all Russian aircraft on combat missions in Syria returned to their bases and that all

drones doing reconnaissance are "functioning as planned."

Syrian troops are reportedly on the move, south of Aleppo trying to take territory back from rebels. Reuters News Agency says Iranian and Hezbollah

forces are also taking part in the offensive and it's backed by fresh Russian air strikes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: And the European Union has struck at least a tentative deal with Turkey on the migrant issue.

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CURNOW: Ankara would get at least a billion dollars in aid in exchange for help in stemming the flow of migrants and refugees trying to reach Europe.

The deal would also ease visa restrictions on Turks giving them easier access to E.U. countries.

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CURNOW: Well the migrants flowing into Europe are coming from several different countries, a lot of them though are coming from Afghanistan. Our

Nic Robertson talked with a professional smuggler in Kabul who explained how he's helping Afghans get out for a price. Here's Nic's exclusive

report.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm meeting a people smuggler. How many people have you taken to Europe? 1,500 to Germany in the

past six months, he tells me, the most popular destination. We can't show his face because what he does is illegal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (As translated) We take people to Germany, on three different routes, by sea for $7,000, we take people by road and foot for

$9,000 and we take people by air for $20,000.

ROBERTSON: Top dollar he tells me buys a black market visa and direct flights, and nothing less could cost your life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have had our clients injured and even killed along this journey. Just 15 days ago 70 people were caught by Iranians and

deported from the Turkish border which included 15 of my clients.

ROBERTSON: But there are plenty here ready who are ready to take the risk. Before dawn the outside Kabul's passport office stretches several blocks,

people worried about the faltering economy, worried about war.

Getting a passport has never been so popular, people here say. These lines never so long. Precisely how many plan to flee is hard to nail down, but

early estimates this year already say the number of Afghans arriving in Europe is second only to the number of Syrians and how they get there

starts right here.

Oman Saboor runs the passport office. How many people are applying for passports every day?

OMAN SABOOR, PASSPORT OFFICE DIRECTOR: Every day, more than 7 or 6,000 people.

ROBERTSON: None here are ready to admit their plans, but Saboor knows many will leave.

He tells me, since Europe opened its doors to refugees, we have seen a direct increase in the number of people applying for passports. For the

smuggler, each passport holder is a business opportunity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (As translated) They leave their money with a trusted person, for instance, a money dealer, and as soon as the person reaches his

destination, then he calls the money dealer to give us the money.

ROBERTSON: But as he explains, if the person doesn't get through, he still gets paid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (As translated) Our rule is that we try three times but if the person couldn't reach his destination after three attempts, he has

to pay us.

ROBERTSON: The surest uncertainty, it seems smugglers, always win.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Kabul, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Great insight there. Thanks to Nic for that.

[10:35:00]

CURNOW: Well we will have more on the iDesk after this short break. Stay with us.

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CURNOW: Welcome back. Well Russia are in the Ethiopian capital is chaos often. Every day many buses crisscross (inaudible) crammed with commuters,

but things could get better soon thanks to a new extensive rail network. Amir Daftari has this report.

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AMIR DAFTARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's morning in (inaudible), and people are on the move.

In a city of around 4 million people, these blue and white mini vans are a popular way to get around, they are basically a cross between a bus and a

taxi. (Inaudible) picks up people wherever they are and takes them wherever they need to go.

Thanks for the ride. See you later. That's a more traditional way of getting around the city, now let's try something new.

The Ethiopian Railways Corporation has opened a new urban metro service, the first of its kind for Sub Saharan, Africa. The $475 million light

railway project is a joint Chinese and Ethiopian venture and the CEO, Getachew Betru tells me it will help transform the city.

GETACHEW BETRU, CEO ETHIOPIAN RAILWAYS CORPORATION: (As translated) A square meter of land can cost as much as London, New York or Tokyo, so for

people working in the inner city of Addis-Ababa we need to take them out to the suburbs, and a light railway does that. In an hour we can take

something like 60,000 people in one direction outside Addis-Ababa and then bring them back to the city. This really is a time of renaissance for the

railway in Ethiopia.

DAFTARI: From 6:00 in the morning until midnight, passengers can jump aboard two lines, connecting east and west, north and south. Tickets cost

up to 6 birr or around 27 U.S. cents. For the Project Manager, maintaining a high level of efficiency is key, in a city where the electrical supply is

intermittent.

Talk to me about how the energy is generated.

BEHAILU SINTAYEHU, MANAGER LIGHT RAIL PROJECT: We are just getting direct connections from the national grid so that we will not share the

power from the cities and (inaudible). And also will not have continuous interruptions in the power shortage problems.

[10:40:10]

DAFTARI: Informing passengers how to use the service will keep the schedule on track.

SINTAYEHU: People are new to this light system and sometimes they don't know where to take their tickets, how to use the electric, where to get

all, how to stand out for it, things like this. These things can be just corrected through experience.

DAFTARI: Well once completed the Light Rail will connect up with the national train system of Ethiopia so by 2025, there will be 5,000 km of

track across the whole of the country which will not only help Ethiopia but it will help travel across the whole of Africa itself.

Amir Daftari, CNN, Addis-Ababa

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Thanks Amir for that report.

Well the makers of the T.V. show "Homeland" say they wish they'd been a bit more careful to catch what they're calling an act of artistic sabotage.

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CURNOW: The show aired in the U.S. Sunday with some subversive graffiti in Arabic. One of them reads "Homeland is racist."

The show had hired a graffiti artist to lend authenticity to a scene depicting a Syrian refugee camp but apparently didn't check the

translation.

Three people have taken credit for the messages. They told our Ian Lee the show repeatedly mislead audiences about the Middle East.

HABA AMIN, STREET ARTIST: It's to really open this dialogue of the lack of awareness of what people have of how these images are incredibly dangerous

and really have a real world impact even if it's a fiction story and even if these are fictional characters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well Homeland showrunner, Alex Gansa says he wishes he had caught the images before they made it to air.

An update now on MBA star and estranged husband of reality star Khloe Kardashian, Lamar Odom. His children are now speaking out as their dad

fights for their lives.

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CURNOW: His son and daughter seen here released this statement. "Thanks for your outpouring of prayers and support for our dad, we appreciate everyone

respecting our privacy at this time. We ask for your continued prayers."

No updates on Odom's condition have been made public in the last 24 hours. Loved ones are staying tight lipped since he was found unresponsive at a

legal brothel in Nevada.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW:

Well that does it for us here at the International Desk, I'm Robyn Curnow, thanks so much for joining me, World Sports is next.

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[10:45:10]

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Hi there, and welcome along to CNN World Sport, with me, Christina Macfarlane live from London.

After some surprise performances and equally surprising exits, we're down to the business end of the Rugby World Cup, and what a Quarterfinal weekend

we have in store.

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MACFARLANE: Here are the four match-ups that you can see right behind me. On Saturday South Africa will face a depleted Wales team at Twickenham,

whilst arguably the clash of the weekend New Zealand take on France at the Millennium Stadium in Wales where eight years ago the French caused a world

cup shock by dumping the All Blacks out of the competition.

Now Sunday will see Ireland take on Argentina, while Scotland will try their luck against Australia.

The two time world champions received some bad news just a little while ago that Israel Folau and David Pocock have not recovered from injuries and

will not play in that match. Ben McCalman and Kurtley Beale step in as replacements.

The Wallabies have failed to reach the semi-finals just once in the previous seven World Cups.

New Zealand are of course the defending Champions and favorites one again (inaudible) and they've recalled their big guns for their clash against

France interestingly swapping in Ma'a Nonu for the big Sonny Bill Williams at center.

And by the look of things it could be a case of de ja vu for New Zealand because reports emerged last night that for the second world cup running

France are on the brink of dumping their coach, Phillipe Saint-Andre for the remainder of the competition.

Reports say that players have decided that their coach is no longer fit to lead them and senior members of the squad have even stepped in to make

squad selections ahead of Sunday's game.

Now this is nothing new the last time this happened was only four years ago at the 2011 World Cup. That time it was (Mark Leaverman) who was sent

packing. But despite the descent France astonishingly made it all the way to the final where they almost toppled the All Blacks, missing out by just

one point.

French legend Thierry Dusautoir was captain of that team at the time and had the really difficult task of not only having to unite his team but also

facing the All Blacks in what was one of France's biggest games in history.

Now with history on the brink of repeating itself again, I had a chance to speak to the captain before the tournament about his dealings with the All

Blacks..

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THIERRY DUSAUTOIR, FRENCH NATIONAL RUGBY CAPTAIN: Hello, I am Thierry Dusautoir, I am the captain of the French national team.

MACFARLANE: France's captain has had a glittering career. But his most memorable performances have so often been saved for the World Cup, and

against the formidable opponent.

In 2007 he posted a world record 38 tackles in the Quarterfinals to send New Zealand tumbling out of the competition. In 2011 he led his team

within an inch of World Cup glory losing to the hosts by just one point.

DUSAUTOIR: Well the way we took towards the final wasn't so easy, it was really hard and we were so close to be out of the game after the

(inaudible) won.

It's still a memory because I think in a man's life it's this huge moment in your life, you can remember and think OK, maybe I did something really

special, and I think this day was special for us.

MACFARLANE: What did you learn from your experience of captaining that side back in 2011?

DUSAUTOIR: It's very difficult. It's a privilege, it's something huge but it's difficult because you have different moments in your career, you have

good moments of course, bad moments, but you have to still carry on and to show the good way to the guys.

MACFARLANE: A heavy defeat to Ireland in their final group stage match could be just the wakeup call France need as they face do or die time once

again against a familiar foe. But Dusautoir admits it's often difficult to predict which French team will show up.

How do you account for France's often irregular performances on the pitch?

DUSAUTOIR: It's a big question, if I had the answer, maybe the French would have more consistence you know. It's true that we are different behavior,

and it's a big problem. A big problem, because it's nice because you can find something (inaudible) because we're able to be the best team that

we're about to losing of the (inaudible). So for me as captain, it's really difficult to manage our - this part of our character.

MACFARLANE: And our Alex Thomas will sit down with World Rugby CEO, Brett Gosper to talk about the success of the tournament and why there have been

so many disciplinary cases heard this year. Watch that at 11:30 p.m. in London, only on CNN.

[15:50:09]

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Hi, still ahead, FIFA could be facing a new investigation. We'll tell you why, next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: And Jose Mourinho has some strong words for the English F.A. Find out what the Chelsea boss has been left - or why the Chelsea boss has

been left feeling not so special.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Welcome back to World Sport. Germany's Football Association have announced that they are investigating a $7.5 million payment from the

country's 2006 World Cup organizing committee to FIFA, which they say may not have been used as intended.

The German F.A. said they had found no indication of wrong doing in the overall process that awarded the World Cup to Germany, but these

allegations will inevitably cast a further shadow over football's governing body who have been (inaudible) in controversy amidst U.S. and Swiss

investigations, and allegations of high-level corruption.

The association say they are looking into legal aspects of the case and the possibility of having the money returned.

Meanwhile, FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, has spoken out for the first time since being suspended by FIFA's Ethics Committee about the questionable

payments made between he and UEFA President, Michel Platini in 2011.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Blatter reiterated that the payment was a "gentleman's agreement" between the two and revealed that he had not yet heard back from

the Appeals committee regarding the next steps in the process.

He and the UEFA boss are suspended for 90 days but have since appealed that ruling which was imposed last Thursday.

Now yesterday, the French President had confirmation that all 54 European Football Member Associations were continuing to back him and that he had

the full support of UEFA. But today the English Football Association confirmed that they have suspended their support for the UEFA President.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: While meantime the English FA got quite the tongue lashing from Jose Mourinho a short while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: The Chelsea boss says he's appealing the fine and suspended one match stadium ban imposed on him after the Blue's 3-1 defeat against

Southampton.

While Mourinho pleaded guilty to the charge he said he feels the severity of the sanctions were unfair and as you can hear he doesn't have a lot of

love for football's English governing body right now.

JOSE MOURINHO, CHELSEA MANAGER: Maybe I am naive but for me English football - English football fans, the English passion for the game, what

makes me like so much this country and the football in this country is not the F.A. It's the people. It's the people and if one day I have to work for

that people, I will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Interesting comments.

OK, this weekend is set to be a telling test for Anfield's new man. He's only been in the job a week but already Jurgen Klopp has made quite the

impression with his wit, his charm and his beaming smile. But tomorrow he begins the job in earnest at White Hart Lane against Tottenham. And the

tool task of taking his team back to the top of the Premier League.

The Reds are currently 10th in the table having scored just 8 goals in 8 matches. But Klopp is typically optimistic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JURGEN KLOPP, LIVERPOOL MANAGER: I told them because I'm here, because I LFC is a great club. But I am here because of them, because I had the

feeling that I can help these guys. And so, -- and I hope we have to work together, and I need their help of course. And if this works together and

we don't dream on only success in each situation, if they are prepared for problems in the game, if we are strong enough to handle this situation,

yes, then we can stay in the game, and if we can stay in the game, you can win the game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: That's all for this edition of World Sport, I'm Christine Macfarlane in London, Robyn Curnow, returns now with more from the

International Desk. See you next time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END