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Massive Earthquake on Afghan-Pakistani Border; James Bond's Brand; China Prepares For 13th Five-Year Plan; EU Plans More Reception Centers As Cold Weather Seeps Into Eastern Europe. Aired 8:00a-9:00a ET

Aired October 26, 2015 - 8:00   ET

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

[08:00:01] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I am Kristie Lu Stout in Honk Kong. And welcome to News Street.

A large quake shakes Afghanistan, shaking buildings from India to neighboring Pakistan.

Now China's ruling party meets this week to form the next five-year plan, laying out a road map for the world's second largest economy.

And Bond is back, along with an array of sponsored products.

And we begin with breaking news, a powerful 7.5 quake has struck South Asia. The U.S. Geological Survey says it hit in Afghanistan near the

border with Pakistan but has been felt hundreds of kilometers away.

Now you are looking right now on your screen just a glimpse of the damage we have seen.

Now Reuters is reporting that at least 29 people have been killed and dozens injured.

Our senior international correspondent Ivan Watson has been following developments. He joins me now live. And Ivan, you're getting more details

on the situation in the quake zone. What have you learned?

IVAN WTASON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it has been a little less than three hours since the earthquake hit and already we know

that it is a deadly quake. Reuters reporting that at least 29 people have been killed. One instance, one tragic instance we're already hearing about

from police in Northeastern Afghanistan close to the epicenter describing how 12 school girls were killed in a town of Kulikan (ph) when the

earthquake hit and they were trapped and then crushed in the stairwell of that school as they were trying to escape in the panicked moments as so

many people tried to do in those panicked moments when the earth began to shake.

Now the scale, the breadth of this earthquake extends from northeastern Afghanistan, from the Badakhshan province where the epicenter

was, across north trembles (sic) felt all the way in Kyrgyztan, in the capital of Bishkek by eyewitnesses, across the border in Pakistan where our

own staff were terrified, where they had kitchen appliances falling in their apartments in Islamabad, and certainly in the Afghan capital Kabul as

well where a number of eyewitnesses now have described this as the worst earthquake they had ever experienced, and Kabul is

in an active earthquake zone as is that Hindu Kush of Afghanistan as well.

And the earthquake felt as far east as New Delhi where Indians rushed out

of their buildings also in those terrifying moments when the earthquake struck.

The president of Afghanistan, the chief executive of Afghanistan have put out

messages saying that they're meeting with their national disaster emergency teams to try to get a sense of the extent of the damage, and its has been a

big problem in the initial few hours trying to get phone calls through to northeastern Afghanistan to get a sense of how bad this damage could be.

We will be following this closely -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Indeed. And Ivan, you have been to the quake zone there at the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Could you describe this area?

What is it like there? How many people live there?

WATSON: Yeah, I mean, I first traveled to this province 14 years ago. At that time there was not a single paved road in Afghanistan's Badakhshan

province. There has been a lot of development since then. There's a small airport in the provincial capital of Fayzabad which presumably would help

for bringing in emergency teams and rescue and emergency aid to the stricken area.

The countryside there is very mountainous, this is the Hindu Kush. There are mountain passes there that cannot -- could not be crossed in

previous decades after the month of November because the snow was so high at such altitudes that you literally couldn't cross by vehicles.

The rural communities in the area, it is sparsely populated, largely rely on mud bricks to build their homes, barns, for storage of livestock,

for example. And unfortunately I have covered earthquakes in this region before, those mud brick structures are not good at withstanding shaking of

the earth, and people do get hurt when these things collapse.

The earthquake took place shortly before 2:00 in the afternoon, so presumably people would have been awake and perhaps alert able to get out

of these usually one and two story structures hopefully to get out of there. There are slightly larger

population centers, and it will be important to see what happens in some of these areas.

This is an area that is also prone to landslides. And across the border in

Pakistan we had reports of record rainfalls in recent days, and that's going to make these areas far more unstable and far more vulnerable to

landslides and avalanches -- Kristie.

[08:05:32] LU STOUT: All right, so this is a sparsely populated area but prone to potential landslides and avalanches. As you point out, very

basic infrastructure, mud brick buildings prone to collapse.

Ivan Watson there, thank you.

Now let's bring in CNN's Sophia Safi. She's with us by he phone from Islamabad. Sophia, the epicenter, again it's at this region that Ivan was

talking about at the Afghanistan/Pakistan border near Jarm.

What have you learned about the situation there now?

SOPHIA SAFI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, at the moment we are having bad communication, so getting information in is proving to be slightly

difficult.

We do know that the national disaster management authority has activated the military, that people are now going in there to see and

assess the damage.

Like Ivan said earlier, there is not much infrastructure there. There are houses are made of mud. Farther down south across the border in the

province of Veluchistan (ph) we have heard that, you know, there has been infrastructure damage to these houses. There have been injuries, but no

casualties in that part of the country so far.

We do know that in the city of Peshawar, which is also in the northwest, there has been emergency declared in hospitals across the city

and we are seeing visual on local media of people with bloodied wounds coming in to the emergency rooms of the hospitals themselves.

We are aware that there might have been casualties, but like I said, it is proving difficult to get information in.

Things in Islamabad were quite bad when the earthquake itself happened. I was talking to people who have grown up here and who have

experienced earthquakes regularly in this part of the region and they said that they have never ever experienced something at this level before even

when the Kashmir earthquake happened ten years ago in 2005.

So we are just trying to find out as much as we can as information comes in.

LU STOUT: Yeah, and we're waiting for that information, as you mentioned, just how that earthquake was felt earlier today there in

Islambad it just only indicates this was a major earthquake and the potential for major damage really, really huge.

The Pakistani military, are they on stand-by to help out?

SAFI: They are not -- they have been activated. So, they are going in to help out. I think they've been activated. So, we have been seeing

tweets by the military spokesperson saying that they are on standby -- they're not just on standby, they've actually gone in to assess the

situation. And we will be finding out how bad this is closer to the epicenter as soon as that information comes in.

But, just to put it into perspective, the earthquake in 2005, I believe, was 7.1 on the Richter scale, and this one was 7.7, however, the

depth of earthquake of the one that happened ten years ago was much more shallow and left thousands of people dead. So that was around 19

kilometers.

However, this one is 195 and that depth itself may have resulted in lots

of lives being saved. But we're still waiting to see how bad this has been, this earthquake has been.

LU STOUT: That's right, USGS reports that this was a pretty deep earthquake. Here's hoping that equation that led to more lives being saved

is indeed correct. Sophia Safi joining us on the line from Zomba (ph). Thank you, Sophia.

Now, let's go straight to Kabul, Afghanistan where journalist Katherine James joins me now by phone.

And Katherine, you felt this earthquake there in Kabul. I mean, describe to us where you were, what happened, and just how strong a

magnitude 7.5 quake is there in Afghanistan.

KATHERINE JAMES, JOURNALIST: That's right.

Well, in Kabul it wasn't the epicenter, but definitely we felt it here, the strongest I felt it in about four and a half years. To other

Afghans who had been living here for 30 plus years they said it was the strongest they've ever felt.

So, it definitely threw a lot of people into panic, especially because it seemed to go for a lot longer than normal that we were sometimes get.

And, so, I was in a three story building, and of course the initial few seconds people stayed at our desks, but after a few moments we realized

this was a pretty big one.

The people started walking and then when it just -- the building was just shaking and of course I had gotten down two flights of stairs and

somebody yelled run because the building was still shaking and shaking. Then we all were trying to kind of get out this door.

No one was hurt. People were pretty calm. But once we got to the street, a few of the girls from the office started crying, one girl

fainted.

I think, you know, it was just on top of everything that happens here, it

is one of those moments where just the panic and the shock was a little too much for some.

[08:10:53] LU STOUT: Yeah, you describe a sense of panic, shock, this is the biggest earthquake you have experienced there in Afghanistan in four

years. You did not see any injuries. But what about the extent of the damage to homes and buildings there? Are you seeing cracks in the walls?

JAMES: In Kabul itself, there hasn't been -- or as far as I can see where I am, any visible damage. I mean, we went back in time to the

building after checking it out for a good five minutes, checking for cracks and that.

But the reports coming from other parts of the country are that it brought down in other provinces, it has brought down a couple of structures

and I know that in the north where it was closer to the epicenter, there have been deaths reported.

Actually so far the highest number of deaths was from what sounds like a panic situation when a lot of school kids tried to get out of the

building and the report is that up to 12 school children have been killed.

LU STOUT: That's right, we have been reporting on that as well. Very tragic to hear those deaths due to a stampede in the immediate wake of this

huge 7.5 magnitude quake.

Katherine James, a journalist joining us on the line from Kabul, Afghanistan. Do take care and thank you for joining us here on CNN.

You're watching News Stream. And still to come right here on the program, the Kremlin offers air cover to Syrian rebels on the battlefield.

And after the break, we'll tell you how the Free Syrian Army is responding.

And European leaders come up with a new emergency plan to deal with the migrant crisis. What they're proposing now when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:15:22] LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, the western-backed Free Syrian Army tells CNN it is open to cooperating with Russia under certain conditions, that after the Kremlin

offered to provide air support to the rebel group.

Now, an FSA spokesman says the Kremlin must first stop using air strikes to

support President al-Assad. Now, Russia has been accused of using these strikes to take out anti-Assad groups, the FSA among them.

Now, meanwhile, a Russian lawmaker says that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is ready to hold parliamentary and presidential elections, but he

says his first priority is defeating terrorism.

Now here to help us break it all down is our international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson. He joins us live from Moscow. And Nic, why did

Moscow appeal to Assad to stand in new elections?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDEND: Well, the lawmakers were in Damascus. They were discussing with Bashar al Assad, we understand,

his thoughts about the future. And he has said as he has said in the past that he is willing to stand and run as president if the people of Syria

want him.

Look, what Russia is engaged in here. We have had several weeks of heavily

publicized heavy air strikes in Syria. The west says they're not against ISIS. As Russia says, there's certainly a strong sense in the west that

these strikes are supporting Bashar al-Assad.

Russia says no, that they are ready to support the patriotic opposition and President Bashar al-Assad equally. They are not (inaudible)

if you will who comes out on top.

The belief in Russia and what's emerging in Russia is that while they are sort of creating this narrative on the ground that Bashar al-Assad's

forces are winning some territory on the ground, that these strikes are being effective, they want to get a political dialogue going very quickly.

And that's one of their reasons to reach out to the Free Syrian Army and offer them -- the offer of air strikes to support them on the ground.

They've also said that they want to know where the Free Syrian Army are.

Now you can understand the Free Syrian Army might worry about that as they believe that Russia has already been striking them on the ground, so

that would be a concern.

But the caveats that the Free Syrian Army have put on that Russian help seem to negate any possibility of it happening. They've said, you

know, you have got to stop that support for Assad, you've got to stop your air strikes and your war and intervention in Syria.

And indeed they go beyond that. The spokesman says that they are skeptical of the Russian position and that they don't trust the Russian

foreign minister, so we don't seem to have come much further forward on that.

But Russia really is trying to push this diplomatic effort while it feels

it has got some military momentum on the ground here, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Nic Robertson joining us live from Moscow with that. Thank you, Nic.

Now, it is a closed door meeting held in a heavily-guarded hotel in Beijing. And the world is watching and waiting for details.

This week, the Chinese Communist Party is meeting to discuss the 13th five-year plan. It is the latest social and economic blueprint for what

lies ahead in the world's second largest economy.

Now, the five-year plan is significant. It is a set of targets and guidelines that will set China's course in a range of social, environmental

and economic issues. The first five-year plan, that ran from 1953 to 1957, just a few

years after the Communist Party came to power based on a Soviet model, sickles on everything from steel production to livestock numbers and it was

largely a success.

Now since then, China has carried out major reforms. But the five- year plan is still key to this centrally planned society.

Now here's how it works. Once every five years, a small committee meets in October or November to work on a plan for China's economic and

social strategy for the next five years. In March, details of these are presented for approval to China's parliament, National People's Congress

and can be implemented fairly swiftly after that.

Now that rapid turnaround is a powerful and efficient way to keep things moving in a country of 1.3 billion people.

Now, we will follow the meetings all this week and bring more on this key blueprint for the future of China.

Now, you're watching News Stream, and still to come more migrants on the move in Europe as European leaders try to deal with the mounting

crisis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:23:15] LU STOUT: Coming to live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.

Now, European leaders came up with an emergency plan over the weekend to handle record influx of migrants, that includes setting up reception

centers in Greece and the Balkans to take in 100,000 people and sending 400 police officers to Slovenia to monitor the border.

Last week, Greece received almost 50,000 people in just five days, that is the highest rate ever recorded this year according to a monitoring

group.

Now meanwhile in the Balkans, Slovenia received over 60,000 people in just a matter of days, that is after Hungary sealed its border with Serbia.

Now, EU foreign ministers, they are meeting in Luxembourg and the migrant crisis is firmly on the agenda.

Now, let's bring in Atika Shubert now. She joins me live from Berlin. And Atika, it is getting colder. Temperatures are falling across Europe.

Has that created a greater sense of urgency among EU leaders to finally deal with this crisis?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Definitely, it is a race against time really. It's already been miserable conditions when it's

raining, but when the temperature drops below zero, then it's going to be - - frankly it is going to get deadly.

There have been warnings that if that starts to happen as winter approaches, you could see more cases of hypothermia as people try to make

it across Europe basically on foot, walking across.

And this is why these measures are so urgent. Unfortunately, even though it is a good sign that we are starting to see coordinated EU policy

on dealing with the flow of refugees coming through, it is simply not enough at this point.

What's on offer is anywhere between 50,000 to 100,000 spaces at reception centers across what's now being called the Balkan route for

refugees. These are temporary spaces where refugees register, get IDed and then after what is thought to be a short wait, then brought to the country

that has accepted them as asylum seekers.

The problem is of course this is all very theoretical at this point. It is not clear exactly how this is going to work, where these reception

centers will be, and how long it will take for refugees to be processed.

This is key, because if it takes too long, what you are going to see is this tremendous backlog and bottleneck of refugees trying to come

across, which is of course what we saw in the summer. But it could be even worse as winter comes.

LU STOUT: Atika Shubert reporting live for us. Many thanks indeed for keeping us updated on this story.

Now, an American man with cerebral palsy, he was returning home from a meeting about accessibility for disabled people when he was faced with that

exact problem. He had just completed a five hour flight on United Airlines when the wheelchair that was meant for him was accidentally removed.

He was told to wait, despite urgently needing to use the restroom. Eventually, he threw himself into the aisle and crawled to the exit. He

said the United crew watched him crawl, rather than offering to help.

The airline later called to apologize. United offered Neil (ph) $300, and said the crew manager had been suspended.

You're watching News Stream. And after the break, we have more on our breaking news coverage on that powerful earthquake that has hit South Asia.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: I am Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

Now, the U.S. Geological Survey says a 7.5 magnitude earthquake has hit Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan. Reuters reports at least 53

people have been killed, dozens are injured. And police tell CNN 12 of the dead were girls killed in a stampede while trying to escape their school.

Now China's Communist Party kicks off a week of high profile meetings to finalize their five-year plan. It is a blueprint for the country's

social and economic reform. Now the Chinese government hopes to ease concern over its slowing economy.

Moscow has offered air support to the Free Syrian Army. In response, the western backed grouped says it is open to cooperating if the Kremlin

stops supporting al-Assad with air strikes. Now Russia has been accused of using its air

campaign to target anti-al-Assad groups including the FSA.

Now, there has more bloodshed between Israelis and Palestinians this time on West Bank. The Israeli military says a Palestinian man was shot

and killed after he stabbed an Israeli soldier north of Hebron.

Now the wounded soldier has been hospitalized. And on Sunday, Israeli officers shot and killed a Palestinian woman they say was carrying a knife.

A witness says there was no knife and described the woman as a 14-year-old girl.

Now, let's get more now on our top story this hour, the impact of that 7.5

magnitude earthquake in South Asia. Unni Krishnan is the head of disaster preparedness and response for Plan International. And joins us now live

from CNN London. Dr. Krishnan, thank you so much for joining us. Details of this earthquake in Afghanistan are still coming in. What have you heard

about the situation in the quake zone?

UNNI KRISHNAN, PLAN INTERNATIONAL: I have spoken to my colleagues at Plan International in Pakistan and it is extremely difficult to get any

concrete information at this stage. The communication channels are down, the mobile phones are not working or it is jammed. So, it is at this

stage, it is very difficult to get a picture of what is happening.

And now with darkness setting in, the day is almost over. It is going to be even more complicated. So, we are unlikely to get a true picture of

the devastation for the next several hours, at least until tomorrow morning.

LU STOUT: Right. The details are very murky, but USGS believes significant

casualties are likely. Do you agree with that assessment?

KRISHNAN: Yes. A 7.5 is a deadly earthquake, it's a monster. And there are three more things that can amplify both the deaths as well as the

casualties and suffering there. One, it is difficult terrain. So, to get information and to get

aid to some remote effected areas will be difficult, and people can die from crush

injuries and other injuries they would have sustained. That's one thing.

The second thing, the buildings do not often meet good standards. For example, we need to remember that earthquakes don't kill people, it is

about buildings, sometimes unsafe schools that kill children and people. So, that's a second thing to note.

And the third thing, the preparedness at the local level in some remote pockets are not necessarily very good. So, that's going to delay

support that goes in to save people. And the early hours, the initial hours, are extremely crucial and medical assistance and other support

during those hours can make or break relief efforts.

LU STOUT: The quake struck southwest of Jarm, Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan. This is a remote area, very poor building

infrastructure, not a lot of earthquake preparedness there, as you mentioned. I am assuming not a lot of

emergency infrastructure there, not enough doctors, nurses, hospitals. So, how much help is needed and what do they need most?

KRISHNAN: Yeah, to begin with, the initial hours in a rescue will be the most important one. The search and rescue should be the top priority

and medical assistance should go along with the search and rescue efforts that should go hand in hand.

And as you rightly said, preexisting infrastructure, the medical teams and hospitals and the level of preparedness will make a huge difference.

And unfortunately the medical infrastructure in that part of the world is very weak, and in some places nonexistent.

And we must always remember in a big earthquake like this, especially when it hits remote areas, the first responders are sometimes the only

responders in the early hours or even the initial days of the local people.

So this earthquake once again reminds us that it is important to invest, to prepare and (inaudible) as well as increase the readiness of

local communities.

And this region has got a history, if you look at recent history in the last ten years, there was a major earthquake in Pakistan in 2005 which

resulted in more than 70,000 deaths, and it was also -- it left many people dead on the Kashmir on the Indian side. Then we saw this year actually

yesterday we were observing the six months of the Nepal earthquake.

So -- and there has been tremors and shocks in India and other countries in the region. All the more, all these earthquakes point out it

is important to invest in local communities, especially to prepare children. We saw the tragic news about several children dying in school

during the stampede. And that is something that should stop.

In order to make that happen, it is important to prepare children, invest in school based disaster (inaudible) and preparedness measures.

LU STOUT: Yeah, preparedness is needed in the wake of this major earthquake in Afghanistan. Help is on the way. And here's hoping that

it's going to get there really soon. Dr. Unni Krishnan of Plan International joining me live from London, thank you very much indeed. And

to you and your team, all the best as you help people there in the quake zone.

Now, you're watching News Stream and still to come, a dissident artist Ai Weiwei, he's in the middle of another kind of controversy. I'll tell

you why people are showing their support by sending him pieces of Lego.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, supporters of the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei say that they will send him large quantities of Legos after Ai says the Danish toymaker

refused his request for a bulk order on political grounds.

Now the Legos are needed for an exhibition that Ai is doing in Melbourne, Australia in December. A Lego spokesperson says the company

does not endorse, quote, the use of Lego bricks in projects or context of a political agenda, but Ai claims that Lego is acting with its own political

motivations, pointing to recently announced plans to build a Legoland in Shanghai.

Now, James Bond, he returns to the silver screen with Specter. And the world's most famous spy seen as an icon of style around the world, one

that many brands want to cash in on.

Isa Soares looks at 43 years of product placement in the James Bond movies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: sorry about that.

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDNET: Blink and you'll miss it: 7Up, Seiko, and British Airways, among the first product placements to

feature in a bond movie, launching a trend that has turned into a lucrative relationship

between Bond and brands.

Talk to us about what brands get out of the franchise, and what does the franchise get out of these big brands?

DARRYL COLIS, DIRECTOR: So, when a brand ties in with something like James Bond, what they're tying it with is a property that is going to have

global reach and it's also an identity and a personality that kind of says a lot about the brand. And what the production get out of it is brands who

are willing to promote their association with James Bond on a global scale.

SOARES: And there have been many. Take Die Another Day, the 2002 movie alone featured as many as 20 brand partners.

PIERCE BROSNAN, ACTOR: If there's any left, 61 Bolinger.

SOARES: From champagne to cars.

JOHN CLEESE, ACTOR: Aston Martin call it the Vanquish, we call it the Vanish.

SOARES: To watches.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rolex.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Omega.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Beautiful

SOARES: They all have stood the test of time.

Others, though, have faced criticism for diluting the traditional sophisticated Bond image. Many 007 fans felt shaken not stirred after

Bond's move to drinking Heineken in Skyfall.

If you're a Bond fan, do not despair, Bond is returning to his drink of choice, a martini, in Specter. This after Belvedere Vodka, owned by

LVMH, signed a partnership deal for an undisclosed sum.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excellent choice, Mr. Bond.

SOARES: In the upcoming movie, Belvedere is among 14 official brand partners, all vying for the attention of mostly savvy male Millennials who

don't mind seeing products on the big screen.

JAMES CHAPMAN, UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER: I think if that's too obvious, or too excessive then people can take against it. It's seen as a

sort of crass commercialism and distracting from the narrative.

But when it is does in a subtle way, or maybe in a rather ironic way, incorporated in a film in a way that we associate with James Bond, I think

audiences appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have no authority, none.

SOARES: With each incarnation, the enigmatic spy has evolved with the time and so have the products he uses, mirroring the changing tastes of his

fans.

While the secretive deals between 007 and advertisers are worthy of an MI-6 operation, it is no secret this is a priceless partnership for both.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we are just getting started.

SOARES: Isa Soares, CNN, London.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Magnificent, isn't she?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that is News Stream.

And we will have much more on the earthquake in Afghanistan in the hours ahead right here on CNN. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And

Chrstina Macfarlane is next with World Sport.

END