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Shenzhen Landslide Latest; Details of the Fighting in Ramadi; Susan Sarandon Helping Syrian Refugees in Greece. Aired Midnight-1a ET

Aired December 23, 2015 - 00:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:00:19] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN Newsroom live from Los Angeles.

Nearly three days after the Shenzhen landslide. Underneath all the mud and debris and against all odds, a survivor blast out alive.

Ground invasion, Iraqi troops stormed the center of Ramadi, getting U.S help. The process (ph) is sneak attack against ISIS. Do they now have what it takes to drive the terror group out?

Bad milestones, one million refugees from Northern (ph) countries have ended Europe this year. One of the world's most recognizable actresses in Lesbos right now, vowing to make a difference.

Hello and welcome to our viewers from all around the world. I am Isha Sesay, Newsroom L.A., starts right now.

Our top story of this hour. A 19 year old man has been pulled out alive from under a collapsed building more than two days of the landslide. Hit an Industrial Park in Shenzhen, China. The media report some bodies were also recovered. About 76 more people are still missing. Dozens of factory buildings and homes engulfed in the landslide, 4,000 rescuers are working to clear the debris.

Well for more on the rescue efforts let's turn to CNN Matt Rivers live there in Shenzhen. Matt, bring us up to speed with how the search and rescue efforts are going.

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are very much still in full swing here in Shenzhen. Buoyed (ph) by the fact that there was a successful rescue here early this morning that 19-year-old man was first located by authorities at the site around 3:00 a.m. local time. He was pinned underneath the rubble. It took them another three to four hours just to remove enough rubble on top of him to get him out of there. He was put in to a stretcher and taken to a nearby hospital. And amazingly we're told, he is in stable condition.

That said for every success story that we had so far. As you mentioned, there are many, many more people still on accounted for. And we also know that there had been three deaths so far attributed to this landslide. It's those kind of things that are on the mind of people where I am right now. We are at a nearby evacuation shelter where people who were living in that factory compound are now staying as well as being joined by the family and friends of those remained unaccounted for. It's where we meet one man a little bit earlier today. He flew in as soon as he heard the news that his father, a man in his 60s was trapped inside the rubble. He worked in the factory compound and right now, he is not very happy with what he calls a lax effort by the government in responding to this crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YU DONGSHENG (Through Translation): I've never received any updates. No one has called me to tell me anything. The authorities have given us no information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: And so there is just a lot of frustration just like we've seen from that man here. If you talk to many people here at the shelter, they will tell you similar things, perhaps exacerbated by the fact that there still remains so much uncertainty on bound whether their love ones will emerge OK. Isha?

SESAY: People with so many questions on their mind. Matt, has there been any progress made into the investigation and to all of this. How this happened?

RIVERS: All right. Well the new piece of information that came up via Chinese State Media a bit earlier today would be the fact that multiple outlets are reporting here that one of the senior managers of the company that owns that pile of debris that then collapsed causing this landslide has been detained by authorities.

Now we don't know that man's name. We don't know if he has been charged with anything or if he has nearly just being questioned, but it does seem that the investigation in to this company, into what they were doing at this site in full swing, that the Chinese authorities are at least beginning to fry and get to the bottom of this and figure out who is responsible.

SESAY: Clear. And Matt just give our viewers some context on where all of this happened this accident of course happening in Shenzhen, a city that is come to really symbolize China's rapid growth?

RIVERS: Absolutely, this is a good microcosm of what we have seen in China economically speaking over the last 20 to 30 years. This area is a bloom town. There is an incredible amount of construction and development that is going on and that's why you see waste sides like the one that collapsed.

[00:05:07] When you build new buildings, there is going to be waste that comes from that. Beneath the soil that has removed to place foundations for buildings or debris from general construction. Apparently there something went very wrong here at this site the amount of debris simply too much at this one pile. SESAY: Something went very wrong indeed. Matt Rivers joining who's there from Shenzhen, China. Matt, I appreciate the reporting. Thank you.

Well, we want to show you a few images that illustrate the build up of the debris in Shenzhen. The dirt mountain rose over the past two years. Now look at this, this is the industrial zone in 2013 you can actually see a quarry filled with water once existed there. Before it was filled with construction waste, and here we see what this site look like earlier this year. The quarry is gone replaced by a towering pile of rubble. Those arrows there showing the direction the rubble took as it's poured down the hill. Very frightening indeed.

To Syria now, where small contingent of U.S. Special Forces has deployed. Their mission advising local fighters and their war against ISIS. The Pentagon is not saying how many soldiers are actually working in Syria or where exactly they are. The U.S. President Barrack Obama has approved up to 50 troops there.

Across the border in Iraq, government forces are trying to push ISIS out of Ramadi. The terror group has held strategic cities since May. Iraqi commander say the operation could take a few days. They say the fighting is slow going because of concerns about ISIS using civilians as human shield.

CNN Barbara Starr has more on the fight to Ramadi and what it means to the leaders of Iraq and the United States.

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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Gunfire and battle now rising across the ruin city of Ramadi. Iraqi forces on the move to take back the city center from ISIS seven months after they ran away from the fight. Back in May, when Iraqi forces fled top U.S. officials thought it was a bump in the road.

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: It is possible to have the kind of attack we've seen in Ramadi. But I'm absolutely confident and the days' ahead that we'll be reversed.

STARR: But it's taken months of American back training many fights. And careful choking off of ISIS supply lines to get Iraqi forces to the point where they finally made their move.

The new Iraqi assault begun by unfolding the bridge like this one across the branch of the Euphrates River, the U.S. military provided the training for the operation.

The Iraqis then push into the center of the city. With help from U.S. air strikes to begin confronting an estimated 350 ISIS fighter. Optimism from the U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad.

STEVE WARREN, U.S. MILITARY SPOKESMAN IN BAGHDAD: I think the fall of Ramandi is inevitable, you know, the end is coming.

STARR: The fighting is brutal, the U.S. believes ISIS is using civilians as human shield. The Iraqi is trying to get many of them out. Dropping these (inaudible) with instructions on leaving, but ISIS fighters are dug in.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: ISIS is probably laid mines in buildings and laid explosive devices throughout the streets and inside the houses that are going to cost a lot more casualties.

STARR: Just getting control of Ramadi back will not be enough.

RETIRED COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Taking back and holding territory is a very difficult operation. It's one thing to clear that area and initially then but the problem that you have is actually coming back and making sure that nobody else goes into an area when you move to the next building or the next objective.

STARR: Getting Ramadi back and holding it, a vital win for the Iraqi forces but also a must win for the Obama administration trying to prove it's anti-ISIS strategy is going to work.

Barbara Starr CNN, The Pentagon.

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SESAY: Lieutenant General Mark Hertling joined this now from Florida. General Hertling, thank you for being with us once again. As you know a massive pushes is under way by Iraqi forces to retake Ramadi. Tell us what you know of the cities terrain and the nature of this fight. Are we looking at street to street fighting here?

HERTLING: We will be looking at that and this is a very dispersed city Isha. It is a mostly low buildings, one and two storeys, a lot mud huts on the outskirts, but a lot of winding and very narrow streets going in to this city center with Euphrates River on the Eastern side of the city.

This has been a tough fight, the Iraqi security forces for the last several weeks have been conducting a siege operation around this city.

[00:10:01] And it's been interesting to watch because these are green troops. These are the soldiers who have been training recently by the American forces in various training centers there, they are also using special operations in Iraq to the enforcement to this fight.

And you're seeing some very new tactic which I think is caught ISIS by surprise. A lot of preparations for this fight over the last several months and for those of us who have been watching this very closely, a very measured and prepared response and attack into this major city in Anbar Province.

SESAY: Gen. Hertling talk more if you will about these new tactics today and play.

HERTLING: Well, what you've seen in the past with the Iraqi security forces over the last several years, they're capability is truthfully have deteriorated because their leadership deteriorated under Mr. Maliki, I think he replaced many of his Generals and many of his Colonels with cronies of his.

Now you're seeing an army that's being led by soldiers who know how to conduct operations. And with the contributions I think of the United States and some of the other coalition partners in terms of training these new recruits, you have five solid brigades and in around Ramadi. You've also seen in Iraqi special operations forces are resurgence of capabilities, they were a very good force a few years ago when I left Iraq but they also deteriorated over awhile.

SESAY: Turning are attention to Syria for a moment. CNN has learned that the small contingence of U.S. special operations forces is now back in Northern Syria, it's advised in local fighters moving against ISIS there. General Hertling, how does such a force even begins to prepare for such a mission?

HERTLING: Yeah, it's a great question Isha. They have been preparing for months. In fact the special operation forces received their orders probably right after the July timeframe of last year so they have been preparing their forces, they have been gathering intelligence and this is something that I think is an important point to make..

There are a lot of U.S. politicians who will say, hey just put more special forces on the ground and that will solve everything. And those who are beyond initiated who don't really understand how special operations work. Don't realize that there is a long led time for some of these forces on major missions. They can conduct small raids and small attacks with short periods of time, but when you're talking about contributing as they hope to do with the Syrian, the free Syrian Armies and other forces that are in accords that other forces that are in Northern Syria that takes a long preparation time and a long gathering of intelligence.

We've now seen that occur, you now see special operation soldiers who have gone into Syria come out, gathered some intelligence, pass it to the rest of the force and I think now you're going to see them ready to fight and contributes significantly to what's going on in Northern Syria.

SESAY: Fascinating amazing. General Hertling it's always good to have you on the show. Thank you so much for your insights tonight.

Now, amnesty international says some Russian air strikes in Syria may amount to war crime. The groups report focus on 6 attacks in Homs, Idlib, and Aleppo between September and November. It says the strike killed at least 200 civilians and of course massive destruction to homes, mosque, market and medical facility with no obvious military targets nearby.

Russia says its forces are only striking terrorist targets. Times for quick break, as staggering number of migrants and refugees have entered Europe this year. The landmark threshold the crisis as hit is just ahead.

[00:13:47] Plus, some infectious diseases that many considered eradicated in Britain are making a comeback. We'll tell you what's triggering this development. Do stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:17:51] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At least 11 people died on Tuesday after boat carrying migrants to Greece capsize at Turkey's Aegean Coast.

At Turkey, some of the official news agency report that the coast guard rescued seven people during the routine patrol, it also says three children were among those killed.

The International Organization from migrations says more than 1 million migrants and refugees have entered Europe year..

The vast majority have come to Greece after crossing the Mediterranean and of those traveling by sea almost 4, 000 drowned went missing during their journey.

While actress Susan Sarandon is on Greece in Lesbos Island welcoming refugees.

The activist said UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador is also issues any documentary. She hopes that the funds raised by the film will help people who were trying to escape.

Sarandon spoke to CNN about why she got involved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNDINTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.

SUSAN SARANDON, ACTRESS & ACTIVIST: You're welcome, welcome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to Europe.

SARANDON : What a difficult landing you have ha?.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was very difficult.

SARANDON: I came to listen and learn to hear people stories to try to then pass them on, first hand. When I talk to refugees and I find out what's their situation was and is and what their hopes are.

And I'm also here just to honor my grandparents who were both immigrants and came to the United States.

My grandfather is 15, fled to Italy because they're rounding everybody up because there was a war going on so I understand -- you know this is our reputation of that.

Well, one of the questions I've been asking myself as I talk to women with babies and small children, it's -- that's the heartbreaking thing because you would know that it must be an impossible situation to think that getting on the rubber boat with someone that doesn't even have a driver, not knowing what's going to be at the other side. And then to make that choice that that is the good alternative, we have to be quite desperate. So, I supposed it would, you know, would I get in the boat with my small children, if I was that desperately, yes I suppose I would, there's no alternative and I think that's the people have to understand that this is an expensive dangerous venture in many, many ways. And I don't think anyone understands.

[00:20:10] It seems like such a short little trip, you know, but they don't understand the how weakly (ph) the boats are and how do weather can change and how difficult the landing are and often there people with the in wheel chairs are very old people and its very, very dangerous.

I think the moment that made me just call and try to find the way to get over here quickly was more they rhetoric that was suddenly emerging in the United States. I was keeping cabs on what was happening and then I was, you know watching and I was very upset.

But then when I'm started hearing this hatred being normalize as of the political climate, you know, that Donald Trump. This really simplistic graces, ignorance, narrative that was being repeated over, and over, and over most growing and I'm just said somebody has to start to tell these stories encounter that framing of this one of the largest crisis that I think we'll having our lifetime. And so, I just said I'm going up in Christmas in Lesbos.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Actress and activist Susan Sarandon speaking to CNN there.

Now, tuberculosis and other potentially deadly diseases are making a comeback in Britain. In London alone some neighborhood have higher rate of TB than part of the world than in much poorer.

CNN Max Foster explains the cause of the resurgence.

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UNIDENTFIED FEMALE: Hi, I haven't got much time.

MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Scurvy, tuberculosis and scarlet fever may conjure up images of a Charles Dickens tale. But diseases of the Victorian-era are re-merging in modern day Britain.

UNIDENTFIED FEMALE: That was, yeah a complete shock.

FOSTER: Twenty four year old Josie Garrett is nearing the end of intensive treatment for TB. She's studying for master's degree but year ago was isolated in hospital.

JOSIE GARRETT, TB PATIENT: I contracted tuberculosis from my boyfriend. He caught T.B. from his friend. His friends contracted tuberculosis from her dad and his dad first was diagnosed with T.B. in the 90s after traveling to India, and then it basically re-emerge again as drug resistant form of the disease.

Up until this point, I wasn't able to work. I wasn't able to kind of socialize. I wasn't able to kind to life a normal life.

FOSTER: T.B. is one disease often synonymous with poverty affecting the most vulnerable, but health officials warn that string of the disease lie undetected in all pass of modern society and could breakout in the future.

DR. ONKAR SARHOTA, LONDON ASSEMBLY: The bacteria of tuberculosis can infect you and stay in your body later for long time and it did becomes reawaken again and many tested as the disease ways on the (inaudible) you main level.

FOSTER: Tuberculosis was one the deadliest diseases in the Victorian- era. Killing one in four people at one points and thousands of victims are buried here at the cemetery. Of course the situation isn't as bad today, but there are parts of London where T.B. rates area higher than they are in Rwanda or Iraq.

In the recent study by Britain's Nationals Health Service found out that other diseases common in the 19th century and making a comeback.

DR. NURIA MARTINEZ-ALIER, GUY'S AND ST. THOMAs HOSPITAL LONDON: Notedly there's been a huge rising as scarlet fever, 14,000 cases in the last year, the highest since the 1960s. We have seen arise in the case of tuberculosis, we seen arrive in the cases of whooping cough. We have seen more measles in the last 10years and we're putting the 10 years before that.

FOSTER: In fact of the last 5 years in England cases of scarlet fever have risen by 136 percent, scurvy by 38 percent and cholera by 300 percent. Both scurvy and cholera their numbers are very slow. So, why resurgent?

MARTINEZ: Reduce that synaptic for example with measles reduce population immunity for example with whooping cough increase poverty as well as the in plan in migration and malnutrition.

FOSTER: Two hundred years later and age of reflections poverty, malnutritions, lack of health care contributing to the rise of Victorian-era diseases today.

Max Foster CNN, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Quite shocking really. Well, schools are close constructions is halted and traffic is limited and Northern China Hebei Province has a region issued its first ever red alert for air pollution, state major report the alert that will end 6:00 a.m. local time on Thursday.

[00:25:07] The neighborhood city of Shenzhen has also issued the same alert for the first time. On Saturday Beijing issued its second red alert this year, it was lifted at midnight Tuesday.

Now the released of the youngest man convicted in a deadly gang rape in India has led to renew the outrage of the attack.

Sumnima Udas reports parliament moved quickly to change the laws on juvenile crime.

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SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It took India's Upper House the parliament just two days to add two days after the youngest six rapist is convicted in that notorious 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder was release from juvenile custody, simply because he was a few month shy of the 18th birthday. Indian law makers active swiftly to prevent similar releases in the future, from now on, anyone between the ages of 16 and 18 accused of committing a series crime like rape or murder can be thrived as an adult.

And so today's new legislation, the maximum sentence of suspect under the age of 18 could face with three years in a reform facility no matter what the crime.

Now the new law is not retroactive so it will not apply to the juvenile convict of committing the most savage gang rape this country has ever seen. He remains a free man, but the parents of the rape and murder victims were in parliament all day listening to the law makers debate the pros and cons of changing the juvenile law and after the vote the dead girl's mother walked away crying. Saying, why my daughter did not get justice, others now will. And the new law will helpfully deter other minors from committing such crimes in the future so no one will have to go through what her daughter went through back in 2012.

Sumnima Udas, CNN New Delhi.

SESAY: We're going to take a quick break now.

Afghan forces are struggling to hold on to the key district under attacked by the Taliban. We'll have the latest in a live report.

Plus, looking back in Myanmar's Historic Day. International correspondents who were there talked about the country's first pre- elections in decade.

We will be right back.

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[00:30:45] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

The headlines this hour. Rescues in China found a 19-year-old man live more than 60 hours of news (ph), he's buried in a landslide at an industrial park in Shenzhen. Set in the reports and bodies were also recovered.

4,000 rescuers are searching for about 76 people who are still missing. At least 16 people are in the hospital.

U.S. Special Forces are back in Northern Syria, trying to neutralize ISIS. CNN has land a small contingent is there to advise local fighters. An initial group went there several weeks ago to very site from which they might operate.

The Iraqi forces are pushing into the center of the city of Ramadi. They're fighting to recapture the provincial capitol from ISIS. The terror group has held the city about 110 kilometers west of Baghdad since May. Iraq's military command has say, their operation could take a few days.

The International Organization for Migration says more than 1 million migrants and refugees have ended Europe this year. The vast majority came to Greece at the coast of the Mediterranean. And those traveling by sea almost 4,000 ground are went missing, joined their journey.

Now, Afghan forces are trying to hold of Taliban militants in a battle for a key district in Helmand province. The soldiers defending the district of Sangin are reportedly running out of weapons and supplies and there have been no reinforcements. British troops have deployed to offer it support.

Our CNN's Alexandra Field joins us now from Seoul South Korea to talk about the situation in Afghanistan.

And Alexandra, I understand we are learning some new details about the identities of the U.S. service members killed in the Bagram bombing on Monday. What can you tell us?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're learning their names and we're learning more about the families that are now left to grieve them, we know that Joseph Lemm was killed. He was the former NYPD detective. We know that Adrianna Vorderbruggen was also killed. She was in the air force, she a prominent gay rights activist, a pioneer in the fight to repeal the military's former "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Also Louis Bonacasa, who had their four tours of duty in the regional.

All of them killed along with Staff Sergeant Chester McBride, Michael Cinco and Peter Taub who we now know leaves behind a pregnant wife and a child.

This is a suicide bomber who unleashed the attack on a joint patrol of Afghan security forces and also NATO forces. And while NATO did hand over security operations to the security forces in that country a year ago some 12,000 service members remain in the country today Isha, tasked with services like providing support in acting in an advisory role to the afghan security forces.

SESAY: While the Taliban has claimed responsibility for that Monday bombing, the Taliban launching fight on several fronts in Afghanistan including Helmand province.

We hear the situation there is increasingly tensed, what new details are emerging?

FIELD: Yeah, it's a province. And you got local officials on the ground who have been raising the alert levels and the alarm bells for days now. They are appealing to the central government for help the same.

They aren't getting the resources they need particularly in the Sangin district which they say has been overrun by the Taliban. It's a key district in that province. They say that only a police chief's office and a command center for a battalion of the army have been left. Not under the control of the Taliban. But they say the fighting is fierce, they're running out of supplies they say, they're running out of food and ammunition.

And while they have made appeals of the central government, they say they aren't getting the resources that they need. But Isha at the same time the country's CEO Abdullah Abdullah says that relief is being sent their way to try and help repeal this Taliban forces, if not people on the ground situation is becoming dyer. And they expressed their fierce that all of Helmand could fall to the Taliban.

SESAY: A very, very tense situation indeed.

Alexandra Field, joining us there from Seoul South Korea, thank you.

Now, 2015 will be remembered as via full of historic events, one of them Myanmar freeze election in decade.

[00:35:00] Some of our international correspondents talk about that landmark day on November 8th, what it meant to them and to Myanmar.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Seeing people lined up before dawn 5:00 a.m. at their polling stations.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: ... feeling?

WATSON: Waiting the vote. Like for them this was such a beautiful moment.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We came here for granted when we have it.

WATSON: I made all this (inaudible) I went to a country that have been a military dictatorship for decades and watch they applaud. But somewhat democratic election and saw someone who'd been under house arrest for years, her party kind of win.

I couldn't believe that the generals who had dominated Myanmar and locked people up for years are allowing kind of what appears to be a peaceful transition of power.

ELBAGIR: I voted for the first time in my life during the British election.

WATSON: How do that feel?

ELBAGIR: Well because for once, I'm so unused to being in an election situation where there were no soldiers, there was no tear gas. And I walked up to this primary school, they have been turned into a polling station.

And being, you know, from a military dictator, I set up with my passport and all my documentation and I was like, "Right, here I am to vote."

And a woman just looked to me tremendously (ph) like, "Yeah, you just need a pencil." See a little bit like that, to kind of be in a situation in election. But...

WATSON: ... was people who embraced a freedom that have been denied them for decades. And that's a beautiful thing to see. And it's all to rare that I think people recognized or appreciate that freedom and that right.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So how was Aung San Suu Kyi, how is she going to manage because there was a lot of people talking about, she's not allowed to become president because his children were not born in Myanmar or...

WATSON: She's doing the delicate dance with the military.

WARD: Who's going to be president? I mean how will that...

WATSON: She's even suggested that she would have a kind of a follower basically take that post, but she would actually role from behind.