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Kurdish Forces Fight to Take Sinjar from ISIS; Sweden Creates Barriers to Slow Migrant Flow; Russian President Responds to Doping Allegations; Family Sues After Virginia Man Tasered, Died; Arrests, Jobs Lost at University of Missouri; Jet-setting Indian President Gaining Celebrity Status; Ben Carson Asked about Aborting Baby Hitler; Gay Rugby Referee Struggled to Accept Himself. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired November 12, 2015 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:10] ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: The Kurdish offensive to retake the city of Sinjar from ISIS has begun. Commanders say it won't be an easy fight.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: And European leaders are meeting for the sixth time to find a solution to the migrant crisis and making a big offer to Africa.
BARNETT: Later this hour, protests, resignations and now an arrest. More fallout from racial turmoil at the University of Missouri.
CHURCH: Hello, and welcome to our viewers from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
BARNETT: I'm Errol Barnett. We're with you for the next two hours. Thank you for joining us from CNN NEWSROOM.
CHURCH: It is 10:00 a.m. in Sinjar, Iraq, where Kurdish forces have launched a major offensive to retake the city from ISIS. The terrorist group took the town last year and abducting thousands of Yazidi women and girls and forcing them into slavery.
BARNETT: Operation Free Sinjar involves up to 7500 Peshmerga troops advancing on three fronts to cordon off the city. War planes from the U.S.-led coalition are providing close air support.
CHURCH: Senior International correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, joins us on the line now from outside Sinjar.
So, Nick, what are you able to tell us about this major offensive to retake the strategically important town of Sinjar, and how long might it take?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We don't know had you long it will take. The Kurdish regional government and the have just seen the results from this morning's offense. They have now taken control of a village to the West of Sinjar and a stretch of what many see as the real strategic goal. Of course, they want to set the wrong right. But there is a potentially a further strategic goal here for the collation. You can hear the war planes above me. The town of Sinjar has running through it route 47 that goes from Mosul in Iraq to Raqqa in Syria, the self-declared caliphate capital city. And if it they cut that road off, they could potentially injure the supply line to key towns. And this morning, they may have done that.
(AUDIO PROBLEM)
PATON WALSH: Because of the rules we've agreed to in order to travel with the Peshmerga leading this offensive. But it does seem from the explosions we're hearing and the progress being made around us that quite a lot is happening this morning around Mt. Sinjar.
CHURCH: Our Nick Paton Walsh there with the Kurdish Peshmerga. And we apologize. Some audio issues of course that you would understand on live TV.
Errol?
BARNETT: Rosemary, we want to bring in military analyst, Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona. He joins us live from California.
Rick, it seems each time we bring up the Kurdish Peshmerga, there's a new military success to announce. Nick Paton Walsh telling us they're doing well so far. And they've done well compared to Iraqi forces as well. What kind of preparations would have led up to this retaking of Sinjar?
LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Sinjar, as Nick said, is a very strategic point along that road. This will allow the coalition to cut the supply line between the capital in Syria and Mosul. And Mosul, of course, is the strategic target for Iraqis. They need to take it back. So, taking Sinjar will be an important first step. And they've been planning this for some time. We've been expecting this for several weeks now. They've been flying a lot of recognizance. Because you have to be sure that you're striking the right targets because you want to destroy as many as these booby traps and mine fields, ambushes that the ISIS has set up. Remember, ISIS has had over a year now to build that city into a basic death trap. They know the offensive is going to come, and they will go to great lengths to defend it. A small number of ISIS were able to hold off a large number of Iraqi troops in Tikrit. They're hoping to do that again here.
[02:05:01) BARNETT: Colonel, it will take a while to clear out ISIS militants. They've likely prepared the battle field already. So what is a reasonable amount of time to allow this to help and the residents in the city min mean time?
FRANCONA: Let's talk about the residents first. If any left, they are in danger. They may be used as human shields by ISIS but most of the residents fled in that initial offensive last august. Many of them went unto Mt. Sinjar and this battle is going to destroy many, many of their homes. It's not going to be a pretty site.
The Kurds are being a little optimistic. They're saying a few days. I would think a few weeks. It's difficult to assess how difficult it's going to be because you're going to have truck bombs, car bombs, all kinds of booby trap. And the Kurds are very effective but they're going to go through slowly, deliberately and do this right. But I don't think we should be talking days.
BARNETT: Always good to get your insight. Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, joining us from California, where it's just past 11:00 p.m. tonight.
Rick, thanks.
FRANCONA: Thanks.
CHURCH: And the second day of the migrant summit is just getting started in Malta. It's the sixth such meeting for world European leaders. And these leaders are looking for ways to control the flow of people flocking to the continent.
BARNETT: And already they've offered African leaders nearly $2 billions hoping that aid will help the African continent crack down on human smuggling.
Meanwhile, Sweden says they'll put up temporary border controls in the coming hours to help manage the influx of migrants. It will last for 10 days but the country may extend them later.
CHURCH: Let's bring in CNN international correspondent, Arwa Damon, for the latest on this situation. She's on the Greek island of Lesbos.
Arwa, hundreds of thousands of refugees have made it by boat to Lesbos. We see behind you those life jackets. They're on their way to new lives in Europe. Talk to us about the challenges they face and of course, and the conditions they confront once they reach the shores of Lesbos.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's absolutely enormous, Rosemary, and these life jackets are but a fraction of what litters this entire coast line between the island and just over there, you see Turkey. It's about eight kilometers away.
540,000 people have made the journey from Greece to Turkey and that is 13 times the number that made the journey last year during the same time period.
What we have here is a unit of volunteer Greek lifeguards and you see that rusted ship in the water, that boat filled with life vests --
(AUDIO PROBLEM)
CHURCH: All right. We appear to have lost our audio with Arwa. We're going to try to reestablish that communication because it is critical as she talks about the challenges that people confront, the migrants and the refugees, that come across from Turkey and land there. And a lot of problems once they get there, and many challenges as they move forward on their way to their final destination in Europe. But we'll keep you posted. We'll have a very short break and try to reestablish that
communication. We'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[02:11:04] KATE RILEY, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Kate Riley, with your CNN "World Sport" headlines.
The Russian president has spoke for the first time about allegations that his country was involved in widespread doping. Vladimir Putin said Russia must do everything it can to irradiate doping. The country faces a possible ban from the Olympic in Rio next year. Meanwhile, we might see a foreign expert head up Russia's laboratory. That news comes after the lab's director quit amid allegations this week.
Sepp Blatter has suffered, and I quote, "a body breakdown." The advisor has told CNN the 79-year-old is in hospital and is in good mental and physical state. Blatter has been suspended by FIFA's Ethics Committee since the Swiss attorney general opened criminal proceedings against him. He's expected to have his appeal heard in the coming weeks.
And England's rugby team are looking for a new head coach. Stuart Lancaster (ph) stepped down from his post. The decision follows England's disappointing World Cup campaign. The team knocked out of the tournament after defeats to Wales and Australia to become the first host nation to fail to qualify out of the Greek stage.
And that's a look at all your sports headlines. I'm Kate Riley.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARNETT: We want to show you some live pictures as the second and final day of the migrant summit is just getting started. There's been progress. Some $2 billions agreed to be provided to African nations to help stop the flow of migrants from Africa to Europe.
And let's talk more about this. We have reestablished communication with CNN's senior international correspondent, Arwa Damon, with the latest on the migrant and refugee crisis on the Greek Island of Lesbos.
And, Arwa, we were talking about all those life jackets, of course, that have been discarded on the shores of the island of Lesbos. Let's talk about those challenges that they face as they come across by boat, land on the island, their expectations and of course what they actually face and the challenges ahead.
DAMON: If you just take a look right there, that boat has been strung with life vests to try and act as something of a beacon for the various different migrants and refugee ships to go through to because this is a good stretch of land for them to arrive on. Just around the corner, it's bumpy and rocky and they're traveling in these rubber dingies packed into them. There are volunteers here, Greek life guard volunteers. And these are professionals who saw the need come down here. They set themselves up along various different points along the coast line.
People were telling us, often very frightened, very relieved to have finally made it but these boats they're arriving in have, in many cases, taken in a lot of water. People very, very cold by the time they get here.
And the problem is that you can throw money towards Africa, you can even try to throw money towards the refugee crisis happening elsewhere but that's not going to stop people from trying to seek a better life, better opportunity.
[02:15:07] More and more people are in fact coming. There was a theory that with the winter months that would slow down the flow of migrants coming from Turkey and it's quite the opposite. People are coming to terms with the very sad reality that they won't be able to go back to their homelands. Remember, lot of them are coming from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan. And, yes, they are going to take all the chances they can to try to get across. And the distance between Greece and Turkey is just eight kilometers but it's incredibly deadly. Just yesterday, at least 18 people lost their lives trying to make this journey.
And the team here has spotted a dingy on the horizon. They're not entirely sure where it's going to be landing at this stage because of the tides and the currents but what they do is try to ready themselves so that they can receive these boats immediately, so they can help the people get to shore, get warm, calm down. And again, this is just the beginning of what is a very long journey to try and reach their final destination.
Whatever measures Europe tries to put into place to control the flow of refugees, it is fought going to be able to stop it and what the leaders need to be addressing is how to potentially make these routes safer or the much bigger challenge, how to bring about an end to the factors that are driving these people from their homes. In Africa, it's war, corruption, oppressive regimes, and Afghanistan and other war zones, trying to bring about an end to the violence forcing them to make this very deadly, dangerous and difficult journey.
CHURCH: Let's talk about that. Of course, we know that this migrant summit in Malta is in its second and final day. So far, as you mentioned, some $2 billions will be given to African nations to crack down on human smuggling to try to stem the flow, but we're not being told what is going to stop the reason the people are being pushed out of their homeland, in essence. Can we expect anything more than just throwing this $2 billion at various nations? And what conditions will be attached to the money to insure something is done?
DAMON: Those are great and valid points that need to be addressed because the core situation. When it comes to Africa, is they are very corrupt and oppressive and there's no guarantees that money is going to be put to use in the sense that it will actually help these people trying to flee find reason to stay at home. Nobody makes this journey because they want to. Nobody makes this journey because they have a choice. They make this journey because they believe it's worth the risk, worth that quest for a future, a life, a basic dignity and human respect.
In Africa, you have one problem to be dealt with and in Middle East, a different problem set that needs to be dealt with and confronted. We still don't have a solution for that. None of these global leaders seem capable or willing to really come together and do what needs to be done and that's what is so heart breaking for so many making these choices. And we've seen, waiting at the main ferry station, families coming across absolutely terrified and all saying the same thing. They do it because they believe it will give their children a better chance than the one they have back home.
CHURCH: Arwa Damon reporting there from the shores of the Greek island of Lesbos. Many thanks to you.
There are such valid points there. Talking about the people pushed out of their homelands. They covered some 3,000 miles, and they go by foot, by boat, train, any way they can. And it's so important to see what this migrant summit is going to cover.
(CROSSTALK)
BARNETT: And we'll watch that closely as it gets under way.
Still to come, explosive doping allegations against Russian athletes and an apparent cover up at a Moscow-based lab. People there aren't talking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: (on camera): Do you know about the cheating that's been taking place here? Do you know anything about it? Do you want to talk to us about it at all, from CNN?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[02:19:53] BARNETT: The latest on the investigation after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Russian President Vladimir Putin wants an internal investigation into doping allegations involving Russia.
BARNETT: Mr. Putin told state-run news that Russia needs to do everything they can to keep banned substances out of sports. The World Anti-Doping Agency alleges widespread, state-sponsored cheating among athletes and high-level efforts to cover it up. And a drug testing lap in Moscow is now accused of throwing away some 1400 samples from Russian athletes.
BARNETT: That reportedly happened just days before anti-doping inspectors were scheduled to visit.
Matthew Chance has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHANCE (voice-over): Behind gates, locked to the public, this is the secretive Moscow laboratory at the center of Russia's doping scandal. It's currently closed with the director resigning to protect the lab's reputation. But no on here wants to talk about the explosive allegations of drug cheating now engulfing Russian athletes.
(on camera): Do you know about the cheating that's been taking place here? Do you know anything about it? Do you want to talk to us about it at all, from CNN? You don't want to talk to us?
The employees at this lab are clearly being very tightlipped but the report from the World Anti-Doping Agency goes into great detail describing the alleged activities inside that building. It's claimed this is meant to be a place that roots out cheats among Russian athletes but in fact it works hand and hand with coaches and Russian officials to cover up possible doping tests and the explicit reason to get Russian athletes to win at major sporting competitions.
[02:24:57] (voice-over): Athletes like former 800-meter runner, Julia Stephanover (ph), featured in this documentary for German television last year. She's admitted paying a bribe to cover up her own positive test, and says doping is a routine part of Russian athletics.
JULIA STEPHANOVER (ph), FORMER RUSSIAN 800-METER RUNNER (through translation): The coaches have it hammered into them and the coaches hammer it into the athletes, therefore, the athletes do not think when they're taking banned drugs that they're doing something illegal.
CHANCE: But now Russia is paying the price. The stadium club, next generation of athletes have been put through their paces. This country sees themselves as an Olympic super power and the threat of exclusion from the Rio games for cheating has left Russians in shame and disbelief.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): This is a disgrace for Russia. Our sportsman should not act like that because they've always been the best. I feel ashamed for them. How can they possibly compete in the Olympics now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I think all of this is a provocation because there's no proof. They just say there was an ex- athlete caught doping and claimed everyone was doping. It seems to me this is not true.
CHANCE: Hello.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.
CHANCE: Do you know anything about the cheating?
(voice-over): In a country that spent billions on Olympic venues, simple denial may no longer be enough.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: College students in the U.S. stand up against racial bias. Coming up next, the latest in a University of Missouri controversy, including an arrest over alleged terrorist threats.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:30:16] BARNETT: Hello to viewers joining us from the United States, and a warm welcome back to our viewers from around the world. I'm Errol Barnett.
CHURCH: I'm Rosemary Church. It is, of course, time to check the main stories we've been following this hour.
Kurdish Peshmerga have launched an offensive to retake the Iraqi Sinjar from ISIS. At least 1500 fight are involved along with the U.S.-led coalition. ISIS captured Sinjar last year and took thousands of Yazidi women and girls as sex slaves.
BARNETT: This E.U. is offering Africa leaders nearly $2 billion to help address the migrant crisis. You're looking at live pictures coming to us from Malta as the meeting for a two-day summit resumes. European leaders hope the money can be used to crack down on smuggling rings.
CHURCH: And we're learning more about the small plane crash that killed nine people Tuesday in Akron, Ohio. The U.S. NTSB says the plane was flying low, banked left and scraped the ground before it hit an apartment home. No one was inside the home at the time.
BARNETT: Now a U.S. man died in police custody shortly after he was tased outside a hospital. That was back in 2013 but now his family is suing.
CHURCH: CNN has obtained newly released police video from that night.
Pamela Brown reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SHOUTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This police video shows three officers in Virginia tasing a man right outside a hospital emergency room. Shortly after, that man, 46-year-old Linwood Lambert, died in police custody.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: We're not locking you up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: The video begins with officers picking Lambert up at a motel early one morning in May of 2013 at a hotel after several 911 calls about noise. In court records, police say because of how Lambert was acting they took him to the hospital for a mental health evaluation. They say he made comments about murdering two people and hiding their bodies in the ceiling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: We're going to take you to the emergency room and make sure you're good to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Inside the patrol car, police say he kicked out the window.
Then the video shows Lambert running straight into the hospital doors while handcuffed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: Get on your belly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: He falls to the ground and the officers repeatedly ask him to roll over onto his stomach while threatening to tase him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: On your stomach. On your stomach. On your stomach.
BROWN: Lambert then admits he was on drugs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINWOOD LAMBERT, DIED IN POLICE CUSTODY: I just did cocaine, man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: But instead of taking him inside the emergency room, the officers take him to the police station.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: You're under arrest. Come on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: The officers tase Lambert multiple times. He's bleeding, apparently, from breaking the squad car window. By the time they reach the police station, he appears unconscious in the backseat. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital after going into cardiac arrest, according to the medical examiner's report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: Get rescue vehicle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: The report ruled the cause of death as acute cocaine intoxication. But the family blames the police and they filed a $25 million wrongful death lawsuit, alleging, quote, "The officers' callous disregard for Linwood Lambert in tasering him multiple times and depriving him of the desperate medical care he needed violated his constitutional rights to be free from cruel and unusual punishment."
Police have denied the allegations, saying Lambert's erratic actions required the use of force.
Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: After claims of system racism on the University of Missouri campus, an arrest and more jobs lost. Police charge this 19-year-old on Wednesday for posting terrorist threats on social media sites. He does not attend the school.
BARNETT: There are also calls for the university to hire more African-American faculty. Right now, they just represent about 3 percent of staff here.
CHURCH: This comes on the heels of the resignations of the university president and chancellor. Students staged protests and a hunger strike and the football team refused to play until the president quit.
BARNETT: Meanwhile, the journalism professor and the Greek life director caught in confrontations on camera are being investigated. The professor can still teach but she'll no longer advise doctoral students. The director is on leave. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM TAI, STUDENT JOURNALIST: What's your name?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't push me.
TAI: What's your name?
(CROSSTALK)
TAI: You're from the office of Greek life?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is -- (CROSSTALK)
TAI: Ma'am, are you from the office of Greek life?
(CROSSTALK)
TAI: I'm media. Can I talk to you?
JANNA BASLER, GREEK LIFE DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI: No, you need to get out. You need to get out.
TAI: No, I don't.
BASLER: You need get out.
TAI: I actually don't.
BASLER: All right.
Hey, who wants to help me get this reporter out of here? I need some muscle over here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[02:35:16] CHURCH: And students at some other universities, including Yale and the University of Southern California, are protesting campus racism as well.
BARNETT: Joining me now to talk about all of this is CNN political commentator, Marc Lamont Hill. He's also a professor at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
It seems like this is more and more looking like a modern day civil rights movement. We've seen the Black Lives Matter protests and incidents of police force. And now college campuses becoming the focus of race relations. But are things improving in healing the racial divide?
MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, before you can heal the racial divide, you have to heal the race problem. And one of the things we're seeing on college campuses, as you pointed out, is a waive of protests very much reminiscent of the civil rights movement. And Martin Luther King Jr was speaking about the need for mass action and that's what we're seeing in places like University of Missouri and Yale. And people can more easily access actual protest actions and what we're seeing is people doing just that. So, all around the country people are addressing the race problems and they're making demands for structural change so the issues of race get talked about and ultimately repaired.
BARNETT: The dialogue is taking place but are institutions of higher learning really hearing what black students are saying? After all, the president only stepped down when the football players' boycott was set to cost the school money.
LAMONT HILL: That has always turned the corner on social justice. Nobody listened in the 1960s until people stood on the Pettis Bridge and there have always been boycotts that have led to change. States and institutions don't have feelings, they have interests and when those intersect with the needs of the people, we often see change. The question isn't why did they cave to the demands, it's if they do. Once they have diversity training and a different campus climate, things long-term will change. I will love for a university to have a religious conversion.
BARNETT: And there's a narrative of resistance and even fear of all this in the U.S. You have New Jersey Governor Chris Christie saying he will out right not meet with the Black Lives Matter protests.
LAMONT HILL: I would summon history. There are people who refused to meet with Martin Luther King Jr because they said he was a trouble maker. He was called an attention grabber and someone who didn't care about healing the nation. I don't expect anything different in 2015. There's also a strategic political advantage because they're trying to talk to a section of people dissatisfied with Black Lives Matter talks and activism. And whoever becomes president, whether Democrat or Republican, they will ultimately meet with activists concerned with Black Lives Matter. Ultimately, we'll see a substantive and hopefully revolutionary kind of conversation around race in this country. And I'm optimistic that will happen whoever is president, despite what we're hearing in the presidential primaries.
BARNETT: We know for sure that conversation will continue.
Marc Lamont Hill, great to get your insight, joining us from Philadelphia.
LAMONT HILL: My pleasure.
CHURCH: And another story we're following, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a three-day visit to the U.K. just hours from now. On Thursday morning, Modi meets with his British counterpart, David Cameron, and later he will address the British parliament.
BARNETT: The prime minister has been quite a jetsetter this year. Crowds turn out to see him wherever he goes, but some say he's not home enough to deal with India's problems.
Here's our Sumnima Udas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(CHEERING)
[02:40:56] SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Not a rock star --
(CHEERING)
UDAS: -- or a Hollywood heartthrob.
(CHEERING) UDAS: It's Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in New York's Madison Square Garden.
(SINGING)
UDAS: Not many world leaders can boast this kind of crowd pour, from Sidney's Olympic Park to San Jose.
NARENDRA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UDAS: Rousing at least 25,000 strong.
In 17 months, Modi has travelled to nearly 30 countries. That's pretty much one day a weak. Checking out culture, taking selfies, getting emotional.
There's no doubt Modi's globe-trotting ways generate buzz, promoting India on the world stage, attracting foreign investment, but it also comes at a cost.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was trying to focus on the relationship and now it's getting obsessive. And he should stay in India, look at the problems and try to find solutions.
UDAS: And the criticism extends beyond the streets.
"Is it true Modi just boarded a flight to visit India?"
"Welcome home Mr. Prime minister. How long will you be staying this time," reads this tweet.
(on camera): By the end of the year, he will have travelled to some 30 different countries. But many are beginning to wondering if racking up the air miles is going to translate to anything tangible for India.
(MUSIC)
UDAS (voice-over): Modi's government says the impact is already visible.
"Prime minister's visit has created an unprecedented impact. Heads of governments associate with India and India and the Indian leader at a new wavelength," wrote Indian's finance minister in a recent Facebook post.
In terms of the dollars and jobs, that's just a matter of time. Until then, onwards to Turkey, Singapore and France.
Sumnima Udas, CNN, New Delhi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And CNN's New Delhi bureau chief, Ravi Agrawal, joins us now.
So, Ravi, Prime Minister Modi's plan to visit to the U.K. has spurred up buzz and criticism. What is expected out of his three-day trip?
RAVI AGRAWAL, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, it has generated a fair bit of buzz and criticism. The buzz is, of course, because this is Modi's first visit to the U.K. since being banned from the country. And they're quite excited to see him and the way he generates excitement and enthusiasm and patriotism. And the criticism is linked to, A, the fact that he was the chief minister of the state in 2002 when there were riots there. And there are protests in London today and tomorrow, saying that he may have had a roll in them and hasn't fully been investigated. And there's a climate in India right now of intolerance. A number of Muslims are been killed over rumors that they were eating beef or transporting beef, and they're saying he hasn't done enough to stop those kinds of activities. That's the criticism and the excitement, and you're seeing that reflected amongst Indians in the U.K.
But what is going to come out of his visit there? We're expecting a fair number of deals into India. He's quite good at doing that, drumming up support, getting people to invest. So, we're looking at maybe a few deals being announced in the next 72 hours, which is good for both of the countries.
CHURCH: Maybe it will quiet some of the critics. We'll see.
Ravi Agrawal joining us live from New Delhi. Many thanks. We'll be watching that 3-day trip very closely.
BARNETT: And one of the major subjects on the agenda for India is the environment, and there are dire circumstances at stake as well.
Our Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us with more on that.
First time seeing you this week. Derek, good to see you.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. Nice to see you too as well.
We've been talking about this Two Degrees Celsius being that threshold that scientists believe if we reach that, we will run away with climate change. A new study from the United Nations is saying India could push the world into the two-degree danger zone on its own. Not saying that India is the only country to blame, just that they're expanding so significantly. And if other countries don't reduce their carbon footprint, we could see that three degree threshold met quite easily.
Look at this. First, we have to look at the economy to fully understand the concept. Just looking at the coal powered fire plants, 148 active coal fire plants with more expected to be built over the coming years and that's because the population is building so quickly. By the middle of the century, 1.5 billion people and that will surpass China. And 13 of the polluted cities are actually found in India on its own.
[02:45:32] Take a look at this. This is a list of the world's population in terms of carbon footprints. You can see the three biggest emitters, United States, China and there's India. And this new United Nations summit study is talking about the different individual pledges that countries are making in advance of the cup 21 climate change conference coming up in Paris this year. India is planning on generating from renewable sources but their challenges is the increase in coal burning fire plants and increase in population, 1.7 metric tons. If you look at the country as a whole, we have 1.2 billion megatons and they'll be emitting nine billion by 2030, just second behind China. And if thse developed countries don't lower their emissions and India continues to increase, we will breach that two-degree threshold scientists are so worried about. So hopefully, we're spurring some action in Paris this year.
BARNETT: A dangerous tipping point.
VAN DAM: That's right.
CHURCH: Absolutely. Thanks for that, Derek.
BARNETT: Derek, thanks.
CHURCH: Well, coming up, beloved rugby referee, Nigel Owens, talks to CNN about what he went through before revealing he's gay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIGEL OWENS, RUGBY REFEREE: The biggest challenge I came across in my life was accepting who I was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: He also talked about his suicide attempt and a message from his mother that changed his life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[02:49:29] JAVAHERI: Good day. Your weather across the United States.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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BARNETT: Welcome back. We talked about this a bit earlier this week. The topic of baby Hitler. It's back on the presidential trail. This time, it's Republican candidate, Ben Carson who is asked whether he would go back in time and abort the future dictator. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: As perhaps the most anti-Hitler and most anti- abortion candidate, would you be in favor of aborting baby Hitler?
DR. BEN CARSON, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not in favor of aborting anybody.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Not even Hitler. OK.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Pro Hitler.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEB BUSH, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He said, if you could go back in time and kill baby Hitler, would you? I need to know.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Would you?
BUSH: Hell, yeah, I would.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: So, that is what Ben Carson says, comes after Candidate Jeb Bush said he would kill baby Hitler if he could go back in time, but Bush was not asked about abortion specifically, but he did answer, hell, yeah, he would kill baby Hitler.
This whole abhorrent, really. Is that a hard question? The whole notion? Very strange.
Here's a detail you may have missed during the Republican presidential debate. Donald Trump's wife, Malania, is carrying a $1700 clutch decorated with the flag of the United Kingdom.
BARNETT: The purse was designed by the latest British designer, Alexander McQueen, and is said to be made in Italy. The Stars and Stripes may have been a more appropriate decoration for the event, but the Slovenian-born Malania is a naturalized U.S. citizen who obviously enjoys her international items.
In the world of rugby, referee Nigel Owens is a household name from Wales to Australia. He refereed the Rugby World Cup. He's respected for his style on the field.
CHURCH: He can lay down the law and show compassion, and he's also gay.
Owens talked with our Alex Thomas about his journey to accept himself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(CROSSTALK)
ALEX THOMAS, CNN WORLD SPORT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Normally, a referee or umpire is the least popular person on the field. But Nigel Owens is one of rugby's most-loved characters, given a standing ovation at the World Rugby Awards when he was named referee of the year a day after taking charge of the World Cup final. After refereeing his sports' most important match in front of an
estimated global TV audience of over 20 million, Owen is at the pinnacle of his career. And he's been lauded by many who know his tail of triumph through adversity. In 2007, Owens was the first male professional rugby figure to come out as gay. A decade earlier, he was saved after trying to commit suicide, but few realize how serious the struggles over his sexuality became.
NIGEL OWENS, RUGBY REFEREE: I didn't want to be gay. I actually went to the doctor to see if I could be chemically castrated and see if it would stop me from being gay and when I tried to commit suicide, my mom said if you do that, then you take your dad and me with you because we don't want to live without you. And I need to grow up and accept who I am. And that was the biggest challenge in my life.
THOMAS: Summoning the courage to come out was the biggest challenge, but once he did, and he never looked back until the kick off in rugby's World Cup final.
OWENS: Just standing between the two best teams in the World Cup among some of the greatest players in the world and reflect and think for a minute of everybody that helped you get there. And I lost my mom about six years ago and I always look up to the sky for a couple of seconds and I was looking up for a couple of seconds and you just sort of picture a face looking down on you.
[02:55:16] THOMAS (on camera): What did you dad think of your performance?
OWENS: Very happy. Before he said anything else was, how in the hell did you miss that forward pass?
(LAUGHTER)
I thought, I know, Dad.
THOMAS (voice-over): Although there are few openly gay athletes, Owens believes hopes that his experience shows it's a safe environment for players and officials to come out.
OWENS: The biggest challenge that you ever come across in your life, the biggest challenge I came across in my life was accepted who I was and that's one of the reasons why people aren't out in sports. No one can tell you what to do, you have to decide for yourself if you can accept who you are and once you've accepted who you are, then all the diversity in rugby is, it's not only the greatest team sport on the field, in my view, but without a doubt, the greatest team sport off the field.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Powerful message there.
And thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.
BARNETT: I'm Errol Barnett. More after this break. Stay with us.
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