Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

John Kerry to Hold Talks on Conflict in Syria; Kurdish Fighters Target Raqqa; U.S.-China Naval Tensioins; Rescue Crews Searching for Victims of 7.5 Magnitude Earthquake; Whale-Watching Tour Boat Sinks Near Canada; Russia Submarines Patrol Near Vital Undersea Cables; North-South Korean Family Reunions Come to An End; Bond is Back; Newly Remastered "The Beatles 1" Out Nov 6. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired October 27, 2015 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:13]

ISHA SESAY, CNN HOST: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. CNN is on the front line with Kurdish fighters in Syria as they battle ISIS, what they say, it will take to win this war.

Challenging China, the U.S. Navy sends one of it's most advance guided missile destroyers into disputed waters and want them maybe more to come.

Plus, hundreds killed and widespread damage reported in Afghanistan and Pakistan after a major earthquake, we are live in Kabul.

Hello and welcome to our viewers right around the world. I'm Isha Sesay, NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.

U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry is planning to hold new talks later this week on ending the conflict in Syria. Meanwhile Kurdish fighters in Syria are preparing for a U.S.-backed defensive toward ISIS strongholds, including ISIS headquarters in Raqqa. CNN international correspondent Clarissa Ward has been touring the front lines in Northern Syria. Here's somewhat she found.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These men are at the core of America's latest strategy to defeat ISIS, manning positions along a vast and desolate front line with ISIS entrenched in villages just through the haze. They're fighters with the YPG, a force of roughly 30,000 Syrian Kurds, which, backed by coalition airpower has dealt decisive blows to Islamic State militants across Northern Syria.

Commander Bahuz (ph) is in charge of this front line position in the city of Hasakah, which the YPG took from ISIS in August after months of fierce clashes.

BAHUZ (PH), COMMANDER (trough translator): They tried to attack us again 10 days ago. We were prepared, so they didn't reach their target.

WARD: But they keep trying.

ISIS has control of the next village along, which is just over a mile in that direction. But the men at this base tell us that ISIS fighters often go at night to that building just over there so that they launch attacks on these positions.

The U.S. hopes the YPG will soon move from defense to offense, taking the fight to ISIS' stronghold in Raqqa. But at makeshift bases across the front line, the fighters we saw were lightly armed, poorly equipped and exhausted by months of fighting. And Senior Commander Lawand (ph) knows the battles ahead will be even tougher.

Can you take Raqqa without heavier weapons from the coalition?

LAWAND (PH), SR. COMMANDER (through translator): The weapons we have are not high quality. For this campaign, we'll need new heavy weapons.

WARD: The most important weapon they do have but don't want to talk about is this device, which helps the YPG get exact coordinates for enemy positions. Those coordinates are sent to a joint U.S.-Kurdish operations room and minutes later, fighter jets come screaming in.

Rezan (ph) told us he was given a week of training before using the device.

Who trained you how to use this?

REZAN (PH) (through translator): Believe me, I can't say. When you finish the training, it's a secret. But they weren't speaking Kurdish.

WARD: A mystery, as is so much of the unfolding U.S. strategy in this critical corner of Syria. Clarissa Ward, CNN, Hasakah, Syria.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

SESAY: Well all this week, our CNN International Correspondent Clarissa Ward brings you a series of reports from Northern Syria. CNN visits the area as newly liberated from ISIS, yet still vulnerable and needs the people who are defending the front lines. You won't want to miss it. It's only here on CNN.

Now, Russia says its air force carried out more than 160 air strikes in Syria in the last three days hitting ISIS and other terrorist targets. Meanwhile, the western bag three Syrian army says, it has not turned down and offer of military support from Moscow. A spokesman from the rebel group tells CNN they will work with Russia if Moscow stops supporting Syrian president which I'll assert. The FSA and the U.S. have accused Russia of targeting rebels with its air strikes instead of ISIS.

The ongoing conflict is taking an increasing toll on Syrian civilians. The U.N. estimates the number of people displaced from their homes in Aleppo, Hama and Idlib provinces has more than doubled to 120,000 in just one week. [00:04:59] The three provinces are in the country's northwest, where most of the recent fighting has been taking place.

Now, United States Navy destroyer has just sailed within 20 kilometers of a manmade Chinese island in a congested (ph) part of the South China Sea. The voyage with the U.S. has lasted within what China considers its territorial waters. Before the warship near the island, Chinese spokesman had warned the United States not to "do anything provocative". There's been no comment from the China since the ship pass by.

CNN Chief U.S. Security Correspondence Jim Sciutto joins as now on the line. Jim, thanks so much for joining us. What message is the U.S. administration sending China with this mission?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (via phone): They're sending China the message does not -- the U.S. does not recognize these islands as Chinese territory. Twelve miles is the accepted territorial waters for any land mass. So to sail within those 12 miles is to say we don't recognize this is a Chinese land mass, these manmade islands here. And it follows on a step that the U.S. took in May this year when it flew a U.S. surveillance plane, and we were on board, directly over these islands to say that the U.S. has not recognize Chinese air space over these islands.

You can view the two of them together as a direct message with military backing in effect in the air and on sea that the U.S. is going to challenge China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.

SESAY: So to be clear, what is the desired outcome the U.S. is seeking here?

SCIUTTO: That's a fantastic question, Isha. Because listen, in an ideal world the U.S. would like them to, you know, tear these islands up and move away. But you know, practically, China has built 2000 acres of land that didn't exist in the South China Sea on a number of what were just atolls, really, you know, piles of rocks in the ocean. They've now created a number of islands that have -- that are equipped with airstrips and ports and military installations and barracks, et cetera.

So, you know, I don't think anyone expects that China is going to chop those up and then move away. But the point will be that OK, you've created these land masses but we're not going to recognize them or treat them as your territory going forward and we'll continue to fly these planes and continue to sail these ships as such.

Now, from a practical standpoint China would still have the islands. And some have referred to them as unsinkable aircraft carriers in effect. Right? They've got landing strips, ports, et cetera. So it's a bit of a stalemate. And remember we just had a summit presidential visit her by President Xi to Washington, clearly this was on the table. And clearly it was not settled in that summit.

SESAY: You make the point about the state visit by president Xi which begs the question why this mission now? SCIUTTO: It's a good question. It's always hard to know exactly why the timing. There was talk of taking this step before the summit when there was a judgment among some white house officials. Let's not do that now, that would spoil the waters as it were for the summit and perhaps provide an opportunity to come to closer to an agreement in that meeting. And clearly, they did not. But I'll tell you, this option is been on the table for a number of months because when we went up in the air over them in May, there was already discussion then about a next step that would include sailing ships within those 12 miles.

So it's been on the table for sometime and the presence taking decision now. But I think you could take that as partly a message that they didn't make positive progress in that summit between Xi and Obama.

SESAY: How do we China responding to this and a more broadly speaking, the impact on U.S.-China relations as result to this move?

SCIUTTO: How does China respond first? They've already said -- they said earlier today as we were reporting that this mission was imminent that the U.S. should not flex its muscle in China's words this way. And that the way China has generally described is as saber rattling, muscle flexing. This is, you know, and that can be dangerous, that could damage relations. The question is, you know, it does damage the relationship, there's no question because they will disagree then.

The question is how much they can find the way forward because you have this in a number of others which on the table where they had trouble coming closer to agreement one being sager taxidermy (ph) was going to China for a number of the pack quickly against U.S. private sector. They signed something of an agreement but an unbinding one at the summit. A remain to be seen if there's attacks evade at all in either direction.

So you have two major national security issues where these two great powers are at logger heads. And that's something that it's has to be resolved.

[00:10:00] SESAY: Jim Sciutto, joining us there on the line from Washington. We very much appreciated, thank you.

SCIUTTO: Thank you.

SESAY: From walls (ph) entertainers (ph) Steven Jiang joins us now live from Beijing. Steven, what can you tell us about this U.S. mission?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well as you hear from Jim this is a mission that's not really a surprise to anyone who has been following news in the South China Sea. The USS Lasses, a destroyer, basically conducted a transit according to defense officials within 12 nautical miles of Subi reef. That's one of the reefs that Chinese have turned into a manmade island and that considered to be their sovereign territory. Now, we understand, there were also U.S. aircraft in the air to provide both cover and reconnaissance. Now, U.S. officials telling CNN this mission is now complete and over. But they also emphasize this is a routine mission and this not going to be the last time they conducted this, Isha.

SESAY: Steven, little by way of reaction from Chinese officials, is this surprising?

JIANG: Not really, you know, you heard the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi actually, this morning before the confirmation of the news telling reporters. Basically repeating it's often mention line warning that U.S. to think twice before acting not to act recklessly and not to create trouble out of nothing.

Now remember this issue has been simmering for months and Chinese officials actually privately have taught me they're both angry and perplexed by the timing of this impending mission when they were talking to me.

Now, Jim mentioned some of that as well. The Chinese think their president just conducted a very successful stay visit to the U.S. and a lot of agreements were reached to both economic cooperation and cultural exchanges even though there was no agreement on this particular issue. They simply don't understand why the U.S. is doing this now when the bilateral relationship seem to be at a very good place. That's why they are both angry and perplexed. But the Chinese government officials are probably going to come out later today in the coming hours with very strong worded statements. Again condemning such visits as the U.S. basically in Frinjan Pohnget's (ph) sovereignty rights.

But the whole point is now the Chinese in a way have put themselves in a bind because they have been insisting this is their territory since ancient times. And this is how a lot of Chinese believe it. So on line, you already seeing a lot of angry netizen response. They are -- there's a lot of patriotic and nationalistic sentiment with a lot of netizens asking why the government has been so weak so far. So it's both a stalemate and the dilemma and certainly not an issue now going away anytime soon. Isha.

SESAY: Very interesting indeed. Steven Jiang joining us there from Beijing with some very important perspective appreciate it Steven, thank you.

Now rescue crews are coming to rubble in South Asia. After Monday, 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck the region. At least 304 people are confirmed dead, mostly in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But number is expected to rise as authorities reach more remote areas.

The quake was scented in the Hindu Kush Mountains near the Afghan- Pakistani border. It could be felt in five countries. Journalist Catherine James is in Kabul as she joins me now live. Catherine, thank you so much for joining us. What are you hearing about rescue efforts? CATHERINE JAMES, JOURNALIST: Well rescue efforts kicked off this morning with the daylight made it much more visible to start clearing some of the roads to a lot of these remote areas where blocked by landslides. And they were a number of aftershocks the latest being around dawn this morning. So the landslide risk is still quite high and obviously rescue teams are trying to quite mindful of that. And in terms of medical assistance is quite a high priority at this point.

And for example, the 12 school girls who were killed yesterday in a stampede to get out of the building, two more have seen died overnight and another eight (ph) in quite a critical condition. However, they have not yet been able to get helicopter to the capital Kabul in order to get better medical treatment. So these kinds of -- basically, the helicopters are in demand in a lot of parts of the country. And so this -- there's this ongoing effort to try to assess which are the most serious cases and where the eight is highest.

SESAY: And Catherine as you speak to officials there on the ground, what are they telling you as the biggest challenges in this response effort?

[00:14:58] JAMES: Understandably the biggest challenge right now is really trying to get to the areas and understand exactly what is happened. So my understanding is that the governors are sending out teams to visit the more remote villages that they understand would have been affected and really try to get on the ground assessment of what happened. Keep in mind that a lot of the communications were down last night. So this is also a difficulty in getting information from these places. And so they're trying to send people.

The road access is limited. A lot of these places only have one road to access them and in the cases where they've been blocked. The first -- in the first instance that those areas need to be cleared.

SESAY: It's an incredibly undertaking for officials there in Afghanistan, Catherine James is joining us there from Kabul. We appreciate it thank you so much.

Our meteorologists Pedram Javaheri join us now with more on the science behind this enormous quake and the after shocks that will likely follow. Pedram, this area this incredibly prone to earthquakes, why is that first of all?

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, the plate boundaries here among the most active on our planet Isha. And you think about this region of the Hindu Kush Mountains, typically, once every 10 years you get one of these magnitude 7.0 or greater place with 10 years ago. We have large scale fatalities with the massive quake in this region. But you think and look at the perspective as far as some of the images coming out of this region. And again, I often say earthquakes, it is not the quake itself, of course, that kills people. It's the -- a construction and the facility in.

But if you look at the construction across this area, we know a lot of the mortar used in the construction, very brittle when it's dry. When it's wet, you get tremendous rainfall, we're talking about becoming very pourest (ph). But certainly the weather is havoc on what happens when it comes to large scale quakes, a very arid landscape. Generally, speaking and we know that casualties with this, the U.S. causing for a significant casualty event to take place. And to take a look, an orange alert was issued immediately after the quake, they gave it a 33 percent chance, the highest livelihood there for fatalities to be somewhere between 100 and 1000. Right now as we said over a 300 to certainly, the numbers looked be accurate (ph) when it come to historically what you would see with the devastation for a quake in this region.

Nearly 30 million people felt the shaking associated with this quake with the vast majority of it been on the moderate to strong side associated with this quake. But breaking out exactly what transpired here, why this all happens. We'll take you out toward the Indian Plate and also the Eurasian Plate because the interaction between these two plates really fascinate. The plates across Indian region actually dive north towards the Eurasian Plates on the order of about 40 millimeters per year. Think of how your finger nails grow. It is roughly that same rate.

You bring the cross section into place, we know at the very surface. If it's a shallow quake, you have the continental crust interacting. If it's deeper, you have the lithosphere diving and subducting beneath that continental plate. This is what happened with Monday's quake as we had the diving underneath that take place there and, of course, that rapture, that energy has to be displaced farther to the North so you have the steelings of our planet created when this sort of events sets up. It take you out toward the Tibetan Plateau just suffer (ph) where this interaction occurs when he have the Himalayans, you have the Karakoram mountains, you have the Hindu Kush Mountains all of this coming into action here over millions of years of this occurring.

So the quake certainly very prominent with this interaction of a movement in this part of the world and will lead you at this item (ph) because only seven quake so far, aftershocks from this initial 7.5 that is pretty rare to get this low of number after shocks, historically, speaking I would show you have one that would be at least 6.10 over 5.5. We have not have had any of these yet. And that certainly something a little scary for the people in this region because we know the aftershocks haven't really picked up in earnest yet.

SESAY: Yeah, very, very scary indeed. We saw a pictures of people running into the streets when the earthquake happened incredibly terrifying. Pedram Javaheri joing us there from the CNN International Weather Center, thank you.

We're learning new details about the people who died after their tour boat capsize near Canada's Vancouver Island. The latest is just ahead. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:20:00]

(WEATHER REPORT) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: Well come back everyone. There is no word to the actual what cause a whale watching tour boat to sink of Canada's Vancouver Island on Sunday. Of the 27 people on board, five are dead and one is still missing. Now, Canadian officials are trying to figure out what went wrong. CNN Stephanie Elam has more in this report from Tofino Canada.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Isha, the owners of this whale- watching tour boat involved in this tragic accident say that this boat had made the journey twice a day for 20 years, making it all the more mysterious why this accident happened in the first place.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS MCLELLAN, EYEWITNESS: The ambulances, it was just like one after another after another. Like they just -- they didn't stop.

ELAM: The Leviathan 2, a 65-foot, two-deck whale- watching boat, sends out a mayday late Sunday afternoon and a desperate effort to help the passengers' kicks into gear.

MCLELLAN: The first boat on scene just sort of saw nose up and bodies in the water. And that was sort of a -- this is bad.

ELAM: But the question is why? Why did the large boat carrying only 27 passengers capsize on relatively smooth seas?

JOSIE OSBORNE, TOFINO, CANADA MAYOR: And it was a beautiful day here in Tofino, and there were -- there were some big swells out on the ocean but we just don't know anything about what may have happened at the scene.

ELAM: It all happened around eight miles off the coast of Tofino, British Columbia, a small logging town turned surfer's haven that hugs the west coast of Vancouver Island, popular among tourists and nature lovers alike.

VALERIE WILSON, SPOKESWOMAN, VANCOUVER HEALTH AUTHORITY: This is a small community. Tofino is just 2,000 people and really everybody knows everybody.

ELAM: The company operating the whale-watching excursion released this statement that reads in park, "It has been a tragic day. Our entire team is heartbroken over this incident and our hearts go out to the families, friends, and loved ones of everyone involved. We are doing everything we can to assist our passengers and staff through this difficult time. We are cooperating with investigators to determine exactly what happened."

The coroner's office provided preliminary details on those five individuals killed, four males and one female. Three were tourists from Britain and two British nationals living in Canada.

[00:25:01] All found in the 50-degree water with no vital signs.

SHEILA SIMPSON, EYEWITNESS: The paramedics were working with people in the boats, those who were critically injured.

ELAM: One passenger out of the 27 remains missing. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police now picking up the search as the community of fishing and tour operator boats troll the waters day and night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're on that water and right in raiding that spot and the water was, what, there was two and half meter waves yesterday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, I think there was big waves.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: But even with less than ideal conditions, a small community still hopes to find one more survivor.

And the owners say that here were life vests for everyone on the ship. However, with this kind of vessel, they weren't required to wear them while they were out on the water, Isha.

SESAY: Our thanks to Stephanie Elam for that report.

And now to a very disturbing from inside a high school in the U.S. State of South Carolina. It shows a school resource officer violently removing a female student from her seat as he tries to arrest her. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS

BEN FIELDS, SOUTH CAROLINA SCHOOL POLICE OFFICER: Put your hands behind your back. Give me your hands. Give me your hands. Give me your hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: We don't know exactly what lead up to the incident on Monday. Our affiliate WIS reports, "The student was asked to leave the classroom and when she refused. The officer was called in." Earlier, I spoke to CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin about what she saw in the video.

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: She was sitting down and I guess refusing to leave. That, in and of itself, in my view, Isha, never can justify what we saw. And that's why, you know, oftentimes we have these videos and I think they're so important. People don't want to believe what their eyes are showing and -- showing and telling them. I think that people should look at this video and ask themselves is this appropriate? What if this were my child? Is this excessive? And I think it's really clear that it is.

SESAY: The officer involved has been placed on an administrative leave and the school district is investigating.

Cables carrying much of the worlds communications and come as lie under the cease.

Now, New York Times report is suggesting Russia could cause a threat to those vital links. We will explain just ahead.

Plus heart breaking moments as Korean families say goodbye to each other after an all too brief reunion, details coming up.

[00:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live From Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay; the headlines this hour: Rescue crews in South Asia are searching for more victims of a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that was centered in northeastern Afghanistan. More than 300 people are now confirmed dead. The quake struck Monday afternoon, local time, and could be felt in at least five countries.

Investigators are trying to figure out what caused a whale-watching tour boat to sink off Canada's Vancouver Island Sunday. 27 people were on board. Five British Nationals were killed when the boat capsized. 21 people were rescued, but one is still missing.

UK police have arrested a 15-year-old boy in connection to the recent hack on Telecom Company Talk Talk. The boy was arrested when police searched a house

in Northern Ireland. The company says a cyber attack against them could jeopardize the data of over 4 million customers.

Now, a new report is raising troubling questions about the security of undersea cables, the lines which carry much of the world's internet communications and business transactions. "The New York Times" suggests Russian submarines pose a threat to those vital communication links if a larger conflict were to break out.

CNN's Brian Todd has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's one of the most enduring images of Vladimir Putin, flexing his military might inside a Russian Navy submersible. But now some are questioning if Putin is doing more than just putting on a show under the sea. A new report from the "New York Times" cites more than a dozen unnamed U.S. officials raising concerns Russian submarines and spy ships are aggressively patrolling near important undersea cables, massive fiber-optic lines spanning from continent to continent carrying the bulk of the world's internet communications.

STEPHEN BLANK, MILITARY EXPERT, AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY COUNCIL: Their goals are to humiliate the United States and show that it can't defend itself, and to project naval power into the Atlantic, thus showing the United States and Europe we're here. You have to deal with us and take us seriously and we can pose a threat to your most vital interests.

TODD: According to "The Times," officials are concerned that if a larger conflict between Russia and the west broke out, a Russian ship could locate an internet cable on the sea floor, lower a submersible down to it, and either attach a wiretap to eavesdrop on it, or worse, sever the cable, cutting off a crucial data pipeline.

JONATHAN HJEMBO, SENIOR ANALYST, TELEGEOGRAPHY: They're extremely vital. They're the core of our communications infrastructure. So we hear a lot of talk about the "Cloud", for example, and we think of it as something nebulous, something in the sky. Well, the cloud is really under the ocean.

TODD: Jonathan Hjembo works with a company which monitors telecom infrastructure. he says there are hundreds of these cables stretching across the ocean floors, enough, he says to span the globe at the equator 15 times. Hjembo says if multiple undersea cables were cut at once it could harm American business and government interests and could have even more catastrophic effects on Europe. The Pentagon won't confirm the concerns raised in "The New York Times." One official says while the Russians could tamper with the cables, the U.S. hasn't seen a significant increase in Russian activity where the cables are located. There's also been no evidence of any actual cable cutting; but newspaper reports say the Russian ship the "Yantar", which is equipped with submersibles capable of cutting undersea cables, has been spotted cruising in the Atlantic, on its way to Cuba, not far from where at least one cable is located.

No U.S. agency would comment, for the record, on the concerns raised in "The New York Times" report. A Pentagon spokesman said it would be a concern if any country was tampering with America's internet cables. The Russians, meanwhile, are pushing back hard. A foreign ministry spokeswoman saying the media has been whipping up hysteria lately, trying to make Russia look like the aggressor. Those reports, she says, are not based on facts but on assumptions.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[00:35:00]

SESAY (voice-over): It was an emotional scene in North Korea, as relatives who hadn't seen each other in decades had to say good-bye once again. About 1,000 North and South Koreans had once-in-a- lifetime reunions at a mountain resort in North Korea. The families were separated during the Korean War. Monday the reunions came to an end.

Kathy Novak has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHY NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tearful farewells in North Korea after families who had been separated for the six decades since the Korean War were briefly reunited. They had only a few hours to spend together over a period of three days, then they had to say good-bye. Among them was 85-year-old An Yun Jun, who fled North Korea as a teenager to avoid being drafted into the army. He didn't even tell his family he was leaving. Before his reunion he told us the one thing he wanted to say to his sisters was that he is sorry and he did just that. AN YUN JUN (via translator): This all happened because I wasn't there. If I had been there they would have all been my responsibilities. I couldn't do it, and you all took that burden and worked so hard. So I've always wanted to apologize to you if I met you one day.

NOVAK: An had been consistently applying for a reunion since the program began in the 1980s, but now that he's back in South Korea he tells us that he regrets going. He says it was difficult to learn about the hardships his parents and sisters faced and he says his younger sisters actually look older than him now; signs, he says, of a difficult life. The reality for Mr. An was this was most likely the last time he will ever see his sisters. Less than 200 families took part in this round of reunions. 130,000 South Koreans have applied, but tens of thousands died waiting.

Kathy Novak, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Very sad indeed. Shifting gears now, the latest film in the James Bond series gets the royal treatment at the world premiere. Details next, plus more than 50 years after the Beatles split up, a new version of an old album will be released, and it looks a lot different.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: Welcome back, everyone. Britain's top secret service agent is making another highly anticipated appearance on the big screen. Of course I'm talking about --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL CRAIG, ACTOR, JAMES BOND: Bond. James Bond.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: While the latest installment in the Bond series, "Spectre", is long overdue for fans of the franchise, such as myself. On Monday, in London, the stars of the film hit the red carpet for the world premiere.

CNN London correspondent, Max Foster, talked to lead actor Daniel Craig on living up to the success of the series; and there was a couple who stole the spotlight from the stars.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CRAIG: You have no authority; none. Mexico City, what were you doing there?

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, an epic movie in an epic franchise. and obviously an epic premiere, to match, here in London. The question is, can "Spectre" possibly meet up to expectations when "Skyfall," the predecessor, was critically acclaimed and was commercially successful as well? Well, that was a question I put to the leading man, Daniel Craig?

CRAIG: We just set out to make the best movie we could. We had so much wonderful success with "Skyfall" that you've got to use that momentum and you've got to try to do better.

FOSTER: Bond offers one of the last remaining opportunities for truly epic filmmaking on a real scale which is not computer generated. It's done for real, real special effects, real stunts and, yeah, there's a tradition, isn't there, about the first ten minutes of the Bond movies now. The bar is set pretty high.

[00:40:00]

SAM SMITH, SINGER, WRITING'S ON THE WALL: Lyrically I really tried to catch what the film was about. So hopefully it will all collide very nicely and work together. I just want it to be an epic love song. That's what I wanted it to be. and also I wanted to add a little vulnerability to the character.

FOSTER: Well, a massive guest list and topped by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, and you can see them up there on the screen actually, as they're meeting people involved in the movie and the various charities involved as well. The critics generally really like this movie. They thought it fit well into the genre, this massive franchise. But now it's out on general release and we're going to get a sense about what the public thinks. will it be commercially successful?

Max Foster, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Bond is back, and our Max Foster looking pretty sharp in his tux there.

Well, it has been nearly 50 years since the Beatles split up, and technology has come a long way since then. So next month a newly remastered version of the record-breaking album "The Beatles 1" will be released, with songs like "Penny Lane."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THE BEATLES: Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Hopefully you can see the difference there. The album comes with dozens of digitally enhanced videos. Just look at the difference. The restored video's on the left and the original is on the right. it will also have other rare Beatles footage. The director for many of the music videos, including "Hey, Jude," spoke to CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL LINDSAY-HOGG, DIRECTOR, THE BEATLES: After 50 years, The Beatles, their music, their work, and their images are as strong as they've ever been. You can't beat them. The work that's been done on the release of the videos is really great. The images have been restored beautifully. They look great. The sound has been worked on to perfection. Viewing and listening to the videos is really a great experience. I know a lot of them. I directed them myself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, the album drops November 6th, and we will have a live report on the Beatles makeover next hour. You will not want to miss that.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM live from L.A. I'm Isha Sesay.

"WORLD SPORT" is up next, and I'll be back right after that, in 15 minutes, with another hour of the latest news from all around the world. You're watching CNN.

(WORLD SPORTS)