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Iraqis Begin Push to Retake Ramadi; Prominent Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Gets Suspended Sentence; Kenyan Muslims Protect Christian Passengers on Bus Attacked by al Shabaab. Aired 8:00a-9:00a ET

Aired December 22, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:17] ANDREW STEVENS, HOST: I'm Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong. Welcome to News Stream.

Iraq strikes back at ISIS saying its launched an offensive to retake the city of Ramadi.

A human rights lawyer in China is given a suspended sentence after being found guilty of inciting ethnic hatred on social media.

And as streaming video services grow, we look at how cable TV channels like HBO are keeping up.

We begin with a new push to reclaim the Iraqi city of Ramadi from ISIS. The Iraqi military says it launched an operation just hours ago to

recapture the ISIS held city center. Two Iraqi defense sources tell CNN ISIS militants are using civilians as human shields to slow the offensive.

Well, our Robyn Kriel is following the story for us. And she joins us joins us live from London.

What can you tell us at this stage of the offensive, Robyn?

ROBYN KRIEL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Andrew, ISIS has been in control of Ramadi city since May of this year. And we're told that

the U.S.-backed coalition air strikes have launched a number of air strikes around the

city, outside of the city earlier today.

But as you said, the Iraqi forces have been advancing very slowly and carefully because ISIS has forced a number of civilians who were trying to

flee the city ahead of this assault to stay with them and will be using them as human shields. So as to avoid massive civilian casualties, the

Iraqi counter-terrorism force, an elite force that is leading this operation, have been advancing extremely slowly. And this is obviously an

extremely sensitive operation.

250 to 300 ISIS fighters, CNN is told by Iraqi intelligence officials, remain inside the city and will battle this coalition into the day.

STEVENS: So this is more of a precise sort of focused offensive than a

broad brush stroke offensive.

KRIEL: It will have to be.

As I said, it will have to be done slowly, not only because of the civilian casualties that could occur, but also because of the fact that

ISIS knew that these troops were coming. They dropped leaflets on Sunday saying that they were planning on coming in and urging civilians to leave

the city.

So, ISIS would have had time to perhaps plant booby traps such as improvised explosive devices, to plant other traps, suicide carbombs, for

example, for -- to take a number of these troops out as they come into the city.

So, as you said, yes, it will be a slow and precise operation. No real indication that this will be a broad brush stroke. Although, as I

said, air strikes are happening outside the city. We know that a weapons cache has been hit as well as a few ISIS command posts.

This, just to give you a bit of context, Andrew, this is an incredibly strategic city and it will do an enormous -- if they do manage to recapture

the city it will do an enormous service to the Iraqi coalition because of just the

damage of the psyche -- on the psyche of the Iraqi forces when it was seized in may so easily. It was a huge humiliation.

And it will be, obviously if it is liberated, it be a massive boost to their propaganda, a coup to their propaganda war against ISIS.

STEVENS: Yeah, as you say, a humiliating defeat for the Iraqi government, the forces back in May of this year when ISIS took Ramadi.

This time around, there is a coalition involved. Who is in that coalition?

KRIEL: Well, the U.S. -- it's a U.S.-led coalition with a number of key heavy hitters behind it. And obviously, when it comes to coalitions

like this, it is quite sensitive. So, we're not exactly sure who is behind these air strikes today, although it was released to the -- via the

Pentagon of these air strikes that are occurring.

But some of the -- on the ground at least, we know of that it's this U.S.-trained counter-terrorism force that is Iraqi -- that is an Iraqi

trained counter-terrorism force. We do know that there are also Sunni tribes on the ground as well as the Iraqi army. So they will really be

spearheading this operation backed, of course, by international heavy hitters who are dropping the bombs and trying to clear the way.

This operation started back in November. They've been trying to cut the supply routes to stop ISIS fighters from advancing any further towards

Baghdad. It's only 60 kilometers west, 60 miles, rather, west of Baghdad, so it is incredibly strategic and really there is nothing stopping ISIS if

they would have advanced any further towards Baghdad. So, that's just another reason why this is such a crucial town for the coalition, for the

U.S.-led coalition air strikes as well as for the Iraqis to stop.

[08:05:23] STEVENS: All right, Robyn, thank you very much. That Robyn Kriel joining us live from London.

Well, turning now to Afghanistan and the fight there for the southern Helmund province. The police official says Afghan forces are in a

desperate standoff with the Taliban in the Sangin (ph) district and are running out of weapons and

supplies.

Much of the district has fallen to the Taliban and heavy fighting is reported in that province.

Our Alexandra Fields spoke earlier about the latest statements from police in that district.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He says there are some 150 police personnel including the police chief who are inside under attack from these

Taliban forces. And he is appealing for help from the central government. This is a similar cry as was made from another local official in Helmund

province on Facebook just a couple days ago when another official asked the central government for help in fending off these attacks from the Taliban.

This police official says that the Taliban has taken over almost all of Sangin (ph) district save for this police barracks, which is now

seemingly at the center of this fight and also another barracks housing part of a military battalion.

So, the fighting becoming more and more tense over the last few days, according to officials on the ground.

As for the response from the central government, well, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the chief executive, says that there are efforts under way to try

to relieve the forces and repel the Taliban.

And Andrew, you'll remember it was just back in September when Taliban militants were able to briefly take over the city of Kunduz. They were

beaten back by Afghan security forces who were helped at the time by U.S. military advisors on the ground and also help of U.S. air strikes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: Now, that was Alexandra Field reporting.

Now a frantic search is under way in China for scores of people trapped under mountains of earth after a landslide. Rescues have recovered

are trying to reach 76 people who are still missing. It's been two days now since a huge pile of industrial waste came crashing down in Shenzhen

burying 33 buildings.

Well, Shenzhen is right across the border from Hong Kong, part of a cluster

of cities around the Pearl River Delta, including Guangzhou.

The region has rapidly grown over the last 30 years and is now a major manufacturing hub. Companies like Foxconn have massive factories in the

area that churn out millions of smartphones as well as many other types of electronics.

Well, let's get more now on that rescue mission. We can cross to CNN's Matt Rivers. He is in Shenzhen.

Matt, you've been pushed back about a kilometer away from the site where the landslide occurred. But let's be clear about this, this is still

very much a rescue mission at this stage.

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At this stage, you're absolutely right. We continue to see excavators about a kilometer or so behind me

continue to do their work that we have seen since we've been out here since the early morning hours and they have been doing the same thing,

systematically but carefully going through the rubble, trying to find any of the 76 people that officials tell us are

remaining trapped at this point.

But that said, there is hope starting to fade just slightly as these hours go on and as the days go on, the chances of finding anyone alive get

worse.

That certainly on the mind of some people that we talked to earlier today at the evacuation shelter here that's where people are gathering who

have family members that could be still trapped in the rubble and that's where we met

two young brothers who tell us they're not sure if their parents are still alive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIVERS: the landslide was incredibly sudden, striking with tremendous power. It toppled buildings and swallowed dozens of people inside. Days

later, only a handful of people have been rescued.

Hong Libao's (ph) parents are among those still trapped. 6-years-old, he stoically wipes away quiet tears. For now, his aunt and 16-year-old

brother are looking after him. They all went to the scene on Monday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): When I asked him to leave, he simply wouldn't go. He said even if someone gave him all the money in

the world all he would want are his parents.

RIVERS: Chinese state media said it was a 20-story pile of Earth and construction debris that collapsed. But as rescue crews continue their

difficult work searching through rubble more than ten meters high, the looming question, who is at fault for all of this? State media reports

have placed blame on both poor construction management and a lack of usable dump sites in the area.

But this is just the latest deadly accident in China this year. On New Year's Eve, 36 people died in a stampede in Shanghai. Officials later

admitted they weren't prepared to handle the crowds.

In June, more than 430 people drowned after a riverboat sailed into a storm. And in August, there was this: a massive chemical explosion in the

port city of Tianjin after authorities say a company illegally stored combustible chemicals in a residential area. More than 160 people died.

And now this, a man-made landslide. It's not clear yet if it could have been prevented, but people in Shenzhen did report problems to local

authorities, according to state media. The pain of this disaster clear on the faces of these two brothers potentially orphaned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I simply cannot accept his as true. We are not prepared for this.

RIVERS: From his little brother, simpler words.

"I just want my parents back," Libao (ph) says. But as the hours and days go by, the chances of a reunion grow faint.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:11:18] RIVERS: And Andrew, even though this is a rescue operation still officially, we have seen a noticeable dropoff in the amount of

personnel and equipment going in to this entrance to this site behind me since the sun set here in Shenzhen. We're not exactly sure what that

means, but it could be evidence that the Chinese officials are now preparing to move from what is a rescue operation, preparing for what could

become very quickly a recovery operation.

STEVENS: Matt, thank you very much for that. Matt Rivers joining us live from Shenzhen.

You're watching News Stream. Still ahead on the show, a Chinese human rights attorney whose case sparked international outrage now knows his

fate. The sentence he was given after being found guilty of, quote, picking quarrels.

And the number of refugees entering Europe has reached staggering new levels. The latest figures and what they could mean for this ongoing

crisis still ahead.

(COMMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEVENS: A high profile human rights lawyer in China has been given a suspended three year sentence dodging what some expected to be a much

harsher outcome.

A Beijign court found Pu Zhiqiang guilty of, quote, picking quarrels and inciting ethnic hatred based on several social media posts that he made

between 2011 and 2014.

Now, these posts reportedly criticized government officials and Chinese policy in the ethnically divided regions of Tibet and Xinjiang

where Pu has already served a 20 month detention.

His lawyer says he will now go home and does not plan to appeal.

A little earlier I spoke to William Nee from Amnesty International about this ruling.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM NEE, AMNESTY INTERANTIONAL: Well, China is in a crackdown right now, and we've seen hundreds of lawyers targeted, labor rights

leaders targeted, so given this context many people feared for the worst, which would have been an eight year sentence. So the fact that he was

found guilty, but given a suspended sentence and probably won't have to spend another day in a detention facility is obviously a positive thing.

But, with the big caveat that he never should have been found guilty in the first place. And now, because he's been found guilty of a crime, his

ability to practice law will -- you know, he won't be able to practice law anymore.

STEVENS: So, he has no livElihood, in other words.

NEE: He has no livelihood.

STEVENS: What I want to ask you, relatively speaking, as you say, it could have been a much heavier sentence.

So what's the message that Beijing is sending with this suspended sentence rather than a much tougher one?

NEE: Well, I think that Beijing looked at the incredible amount of international criticism that they've had on this case, and just last week

we saw tremendous protests outside of the courtroom in which diplomats and journalists were being beaten up and the outrage on this was tremendous.

So perhaps they were giving in a little bit to this.

And there are people probably within the system who are very unhappy with this type of persecution of one of China's most famous lawyers.

But generally they're sending a hardline approach, and they're saying that you cannot tolerate -- we cannot tolerate this type of criticism of

our policies, especially with relation to ethnic minorities and the war on terrorism.

STEVENS: But he, as you say, is a very high profile dissident lawyer. Will the law be applied differently for other dissidents.

I know there are 25 other lawyers who are also -- have been detained.

NEE: Yeah, this is one of our key concerns. There's 25 lawyers and other activists who are still being detained. The government will have to

decide what to do with this -- these people very quickly.

So, that we need the same sort of international pressure, pressure from governments, human rights organizations, to keep the pressure on the

government so that they will not go after these lawyers to the full extent that they could.

STEVENS: And with Pu just seven tweets, not serious from the outside, they couldn't impose a tougher penalty, because they couldn't find a

serious enough crime.

NEE: Yeah, they didn't use endangering state security crimes like inciting subversion, which they're using against some of the lawyers. So

they used lesser crimes.

But, still, I mean, he could have faced eight years. So, it's still a harsh message. It's saying that you could be prosecuted based on what you

write on social media and differing from the Communist Party line.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEVENS: And that was William Nee from Amnesty International who I spoke to a little earlier today.

Now figuring out how to stay in demand in the ondemand era has fast become a majority for the big television brands. Now after the break,

we'll be hearing from the head of HBO about how the traditional broadcaster is keeping up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:22:14] STEVENS: That's a shot looking across Victoria Harbor to downtown Hong Kong.

Welcome back. You are watching News Stream.

Now, the way people watch their favorite TV shows has been shifting dramatically. And it's no secret that traditional media outlets have been

a little slow to keep up. As part of CNN's new-tube series our Brian Stelter went to see

how HBO, that's a company owned by CNN's parent Time Warner, is benefiting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Streaming video is going to be, I think, the forefront for a long time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether it's coming through your television, whether it's coming through your laptop, whether it's ultimately coming

through your phone, all video is ultimately going to be streamed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just want everything to be available to me immediately, the second I want to see it.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is a big threat to the cable TV bundle: streaming. Companies like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon are changing

the way we watch TV, giving us more options than ever while cable is taking a hit for

the first time ever, all together losing half a million customers this spring.

Everything must be just a click away. So the giants of old media have to adapt. The question is exactly how they should keep up with this

rapidly expanding and hugely popular shift in media.

Take HBO. It's been on cable boxes for over 40 years. But instead of holding on to its old model, it's shaking things up, becoming the first

stable of cable to offer all its programming in an online subscription, no cable box need.

RICHARD PLEPLER, HBO CEO: I think this is the most exciting inflection point in the modern history of HBO.

STELTER: And this is history in the making. We're on the set of HBO's new

show Vinyl. It's a drama about the music business in the 1970s. It's the kind of program that HBO CEO Richard Plepler needs to be a success both

online and on cable.

But he says the two businesses don't have to be mutually exclusive.

PLEPLER: There was an implicit criticism that we were going to cannibalize our core business, less than 1 percent of our core business has

left to get HBO stand alone streaming service.

STELER: HBO and CNN are both owned by the same company, TimeWarner. The company doesn't release the number of subscribers HBO has in the U.S.,

but analysts estimate around 30 million subscribe via cable and now close to one million subscribe online.

Combined, it's still a smaller number than Netflix' 40 plus million in the U.S. and making the competition even stiffer, HBO Now costs twice as

much,

STETLER: How do you justify the cost?

PLEPLER: Listen, we think it's a premium product. We have four Hollywood movie studios. We have, you know, 3,000 hours of library

programming. We think that's more than a fair price. It's a movie ticket and a bucket of popcorn.

STETLER: Are we at the point where HBO is a streaming service, an on- demand service that happens to have a linear television network?

[08:25:02] PLEPLER: No. No. No. It's -- as we say multi-lateral. People are enjoying the network in myriad different ways.

We just want to give them the flexibility to do so however they want, whenever they want.

STETLER: HBO's high-quality brand is supposed to be a signal to subscribers in 2015, just as it was in 1995, that you're going to enjoy

this hour of TV, whether you're streaming it or watching it through your cable box.

PLEPLER: It's a very exciting time for people who make their own great content. We have more people lined up to our door, more talent lined

up at our door who want to work with us than ever before. And the net result of

that, I think, is great, great content.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEVENS: That was Brian Stelter reporting.

And Brian will be back to talk much more about the changing media landscape and how it threatens the cable industry as you know it. That's

up next on World Business Today with Maggie Lake starting in about 30 minutes or so from

now.

The number of migrants seeking refugee in Europe reaches a milestone. This year's arrivals passed the one million mark. We have a live report

just ahead.

And an amazing display of unity and bravery. We'll tell you how Muslims in a

bus in Kenya risked their own lives to protect their fellow christian travelers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:31:10] STEVENS: Well, one million and counting, that's the staggering number of refugees who have crossed into Europe this year.

That's according to the International Organization for Migration. It includes people arriving by

both sea and land. It's also nearly five times the number of last year.

Many of these refugees are fleeing war in their home countries.

For more now, let's go to Diana Magnay. She joins us from London.

Diana, does the IOM say how many of these million people are from Syria?

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Around half of them, Andrew. 3 percent of them are crossing by land from Turkey through to

Bulgaria and Greece, but the vast majority of them are coming by sea across the Mediterranean. And it is a deadly journey.

This year, just under people lost their lives making that crossing. Interestingly, most of those losses were on the central Mediterranean

route. So, from North Africa up to Italy.

And the numbers there have dropped somewhat. So, the bulk of the crossings at the the moment are coming from Turkey to the Greek islands.

And just to give you an idea of how many, there were 4,300 landings on Tuesday alone. Today alone, two-thirds of those on the Greek Island of

Lesbos.

So this year, with this total of one million, Greece has had to take 800,000 of them. And, really, it is the country least equipped

economically in the Eurozone to do that.

As you know, the European Union is handling this pretty badly. It has resulted in a rise of right-wing, anti foreigner, anti-immigrant, anti-

muslim sentiment. And Europe has not have a coordinated response.

In the last meeting, they have agreed to tighten up controls along the EU's external borders. But you're beginning to see fences being built

within the EU itself. Hungary, Slovakia. It is a very, very difficult problem for Europe's politicians.

But let's put this number into perspective, finally, Andrew. It is one million coming into Europe. There are 2.3 million Syrian refugees in

Turkey. There are one million in Lebanon, there are 600,000 in Jordan. It is these countries who per capita are bearing the real brunt of the refugee

problem.

And because most of the refugees cannot work in those countries, many are then taking the journey further into Europe -- Andrew.

STEVENS: And this is five times the number of last year. The Syrian War has been going on a lot longer than one year, it's been going on for

several years now, four or five years. So, why the sudden spike in refugees seeking a new life?

MAGNAY: There are quite a few factors involved in that. One of them is that the smuggling groups who are so key to the trafficking of the

migrants, the prices have come down. It's as simple as that. They've become more efficient. They've got this situation taped.

Then you have the overburdening of the refugee camps in the host countries close to the conflict area: so Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon. And you

have so many of these refugees realizing that Europe is offering some kind of safe refuge. They have heard that Germany opened its doors. They've

chosen to take the path with the knowledge that the situation in their own country, in Syria, doesn't look like it's

improving anytime soon.

So there really are a combination of factors.

I think it is interesting to see that the number coming from North Africa is tailing off somewhat, but even though half are coming from Syria,

it is also people who are fleeing Eritrea, persecution in Eritrea, who are fleeing

Afghanistan, who are fleeing Iraq. So, it isn't just Syrian refugees. And of course, there are, in

that mix of a million, economic migrants also, and the far right in Europe likes to push the line that -- that many more than are coming here to

benefit from the social welfare system that Europe offers.

And that, therefore, is a very loaded debate, this whole argument between who are migrants and who are refugees, Andrew.

[08:35:30] STEVENS: And a debate that shows no signs of being resolved at this stage.

Diana, thanks very much for that. Diana Magnay joining us live from London.

Now, in Kenya, Muslims on a bus ambushed by al Shabaab militants banded together to protect Christian passengers. It happened near the

border town of Mandera (ph). Witnesses say the Somali Islamist militant group demanded that

Muslims separate from Christians, but the Muslim passengers defied the gunmen. They told the attackers that they were prepared to die together.

Well, joining me now with more on this extraordinary show of unity is David McKenzie in Nairobi.

Extraordinary is an understatement, David, considering what was actually at stake.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. And I was just thinking that, Andrew, as you led into me, because the

stakes couldn't have been higher. Because there have been attacks like this in Kenya in the past. In Garissa, the university, on a bus last year

where passengers or students were separated. Those who could recite the Koran, who said they were Muslim, were spared and those who said they were

Christian were killed.

So, they saved their lives, these Muslim passengers. There were more than 150 on board that bus traveling to the northeastern part of Kenya on

the border of Somalia.

Now, a witness tells us as they ambushed that bus, there were some dozen Christian passengers on board, they helped hide some of them. The

women gave hijabs, head scarves, to some of the Christian women. And then they had to line outside, according to this witness, on the road. And they

basically said, in fact, that we're all Muslims. And you have got to kill all of us or leave us. And the gunmen fled.

Tragically, two people were killed, one a man, a Christian who fled the scene, and another a passerby driving in a truck.

But here in Kenya, certainly huge amount of praise from ordinary Kenyans, from politicians about this unity and bravery shown in that border

region of Kenya.

STEVENS: Are we hearing from the passengers themselves?

MCKENZIE: Yes, we are. And the witness I described was a passenger on board. He was a paralegal who was heading to Mandera.

There a lot of people, obviously, move between the capital and the places they're from. For years, the al Shabaab militant group has been

trying to sew division in those border regions. Many of the people there are in fact Somali-Kenyans, ethnically Somali, and so they're trying to

push that division between Christians and Muslim Kenyans.

But in this case, and according to that man on the bus, they said enough is enough and they're tired of this insecurity and of al Shabaab

trying to divide people.

I wanted you to take a listen to a leading Kenyan politician who had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH NKAISSERY, KENYAN INTERIOR CABINET SECRETARY: We are all Kenyans. We are not separated by religion. Everybody can profess its own

religion, but we think we are one country, we are one people. That was a very good message from our brothers and sisters from the Muslim community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: And I have been covering this country a long time, Andrew. I used to live here. And there are issues with division within Kenya, but

in this case, it's certainly a very promising sign of -- and really an extraordinary sign

of the bravery of these individuals who laid their lives on the line for their

fellow citizens -- Andrew.

STEVENS: It certainly is. It really is. David, thank you so much for that. David McKenzie joining us live from Nairobi.

You're watching News Stream. Still to come on this show, a major milestone for a leading space company. We'll explain why getting this

rocket back on Earth is something to celebrate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 3, 2, 1, 0.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have liftoff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEVENS: A double mission accomplished for SpaceX, the rocket company launching an unmanned spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Monday

evening. 11 small communications satellites being successfully deployed into orbit.

But what came back down was even more significant. Watch this very closely.

(CHEERS)

STEVENS: That is the rocket booster which detaches from the payload after liftoff, and it was safely guided back to land. And you can hear the

response from mission control: ecstatic. This is the first time that SpaceX has

successfully landed a rocket. Their previous attempts had failed.

Now, it means the rocket can be reused, marking a major step towards cheaper space travel.

Now, traditionally rockets are disposed of after they detach. That's because sending them back to Earth in a usable form is actually very

difficult.

Now, the company is one of just a handful that delivers supplies to the International Space Station. And that's just the first step.

NASA is hoping to contract out some of its space flights to less expensive commercial operators.

Well, SpaceX is working on a reusable capsule to carry astronauts. The first journey is set to happen in 2017.

And that is News Stream. Thanks so much for joining me.

I'm Andrew Stevens. World Sport with Alex Thomas is just ahead.

END