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Russia Launching Cruise Missiles, Air Strikes in Syria; NATO's Secretary-General Calls on Russia to End Military Support Assad, Fight ISIS; Doctors Without Borders Says Obama Apology Not Enough; More Trouble for FIFA's Sepp Blatter; Hillary Clinton No Longer Supports Trans-Pacific Partnership; Israel to Take Harsher Measures to Stop Violence in West Bank; Yazidi Women Take Up Arms Against ISIS; Women's Rights Protesters Storm Red Carpet at London Movie Premiere. Aired 2- 3a ET
Aired October 08, 2015 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:16] ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Russia launches its first naval assault into Syria from warships in the Caspian Sea. But the U.S. says 90 percent of these attacks are not against ISIS or other terror groups.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, FIFA's Sepp Blatter in the spotlight as questions arise about whether he'll face a 90-day suspension.
And later --
(CROSSTALK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's great to see feminism alive and active in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Protests at the London premiere of Meryl Streep's new movie "Suffragette."
CHURCH: Hello, and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett. Thanks for joining our two-hour broadcast. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
It is now 9:00 a.m. in Syria, where Russia says a wave of cruise missiles has taken out ISIS and other terrorist targets. The Russian navy launched the precision rockets from ships in the Caspian Sea.
CHURCH: It's part of an intense campaign that includes punishing air strikes coordinated with a Syrian government ground offensive.
Ben Wedeman reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) (EXPLOSION)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Syrian rebels fire a U.S. made tow anti-tank missile hitting a Syrian army troop carrier.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Allah Akbar!
WEDEMAN: The army was on the move in northern Hama Province in central Syria. The video posted by the Free Syrian Army.
(EXPLOSION)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Allah Akbar!
WEDEMAN: Following a week of intense Russian strikes, it appears a ground offensive is under way in the area, an area far away from the zone controlled by the Islamic. But it's not easy going.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Allah Akbar!
(SHOUTING)
WEDEMAN: "At dawn," says this rebel field commander, "there was an intense bombardment with rockets, artillery, tanks and Russian planes trying to smash our defensive lines. But we held our ground."
He claimed the Syrian army was trying to advance on three fronts.
Also in Hama Province, Russian-made hind attack helicopters were in action, though it's not clear if the pilots are Syrian or Russian.
Further north in Aleppo Province, rebels say weapons bombed a depot full of weapons and ammunition belonging to a unit of the Free Syrian Army, known to have links with the United States.
"Thank god we escaped alive," says this man, vowing to fight the regime of Bashar al Assad without weapons and ammunition, just knives and swords.
(SHOUTING)
WEDEMAN: And Wednesday, Russia let loose with even more firepower, launching 26 medium-range cruise missiles from warships in the Caspian Sea at ISIS targets almost 1,000 miles away, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
(EXPLOSION)
WEDEMAN: The sound and fury of this brutal war, quickly growing ever more intense.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Beirut.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: And Ben Wedeman joins us now live from Beirut to talk about all of this.
Ben, as you just pointed out, warplanes, helicopters, and missiles flying toward mostly rebel forces. Do we have a sense of just how damaging these Russian strikes have been for the anti-government forces inside Syria?
WEDEMAN: Well, they have been seriously damaging, Errol, as you can see in those videos they're putting out. They are hitting a lot of the vital military facilities of these rebel groups. But nonetheless, at the meantime they seem to be using these U.S.-supplied anti-tank missiles with quite good effect. What we understand is well over a dozen Russian tanks and troop carriers have been destroyed, captured by the rebels. And it doesn't appear the Syrian forces backed by Russian air power have made dramatic advances in that area of northern Hama Province. But nonetheless, they don't have -- it's important to remember that they don't have a large supply of these anti-tank missiles. So eventually they could run out, and certainly it's early days in this campaign. It's been these Russian air strikes have been going on just for eight days now, this Syrian offensive, army offensive. And of course, there are elements from Hezbollah and Iran involved on the ground. It's only 24 hours old. So this could -- at the moment it appears the rebels are holding the line. But that might not last for very long -- Errol?
[02:05:15] BARNETT: And there are some reports from U.S. officials that perhaps Russia doesn't have the ability to continue this type of attack for long, but we'll have to see. At the moment, though, Russia's attacking from vessels, as we've mentioned, in the Caspian Sea, from aircraft, and there's this possibility that they could attack via the ground forces soon. Could this worsen the exodus of refugees from Syria? That's the major fear.
WEDEMAN: Of course, there's a very good possibility that it could increase regardless of the possible intervention of Russian ground forces. You are talking about hundreds of thousands of people in the areas that are controlled by the rebels. And I'm not talking about ISIS. For instance, it appears that many of the air strikes are on Idlib Province, which was captured by the rebels in March, and it is contiguous. It's the largest contiguous area controlled by anti- regime forces, and it also borders Turkey. And if it appears that the Russian air strikes backing up the Syrian army is going to make a significant push into Idlib Province there's a very high probability that there could be further waves of refugees fleeing from Syria going into Turkey, which is already overburdened with a huge population of Syrian refugees.
BARNETT: As is Lebanon as well. As you were mentioning yesterday, one in four people there refugees from Syria. That could worsen here in the future.
Our Ben Wedeman live for us this morning in Beirut. Thanks very much.
CHURCH: And we have this just in to CNN. NATO's secretary-general is calling on Russia to end its military support for Syrian President Bashar al Assad and, instead, to help fight ISIS. BARNETT: And just a short time ago, Jens Stoltenberg answered
questions from reporters as he was arriving for a defense ministers meeting in Brussels. We've just got this sound in. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL: In Syria, we have seen a troubling escalation of Russian military activities. We will assess the latest developments and the implications for the security of the alliance. This is particularly relevant in the view of the recent violations of NATO's air space by Russian aircraft.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: So you're seeing regional reaction, NATO reaction to Russia's behavior, and in many ways, this is why people feel it's in Russia's -- Russia holds the cards here to determine what happens next. We'll, of course, keep watching this very closely.
CHURCH: U.S. President Barack Obama offered his personal apology to Doctors Without Borders for the deadly air strikes in northern Afghanistan.
BARNETT: The Pentagon has admitted the sustained strikes on the hospital in Kunduz on Saturday were a mistake. 12 medical personnel and 10 patients were killed. 37 others were injured.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This morning, from the Oval Office, President Obama spoke by telephone with Doctors Without Borders international president, Dr. Joanne Liu, to apologize and express his condolences for the MSF staff and patients who were killed and injured when a U.S. military air strike mistakenly struck an MSF field hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, over the weekend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Doctors Without Borders lost many of its staff, as you might imagine. That apology wasn't enough.
CHURCH: Nic Robertson has details now of the aid group's response.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Doctors Without Borders are saying a strike against this hospital is a strike against the Geneva Convention. They want the International Humanitarian Fact Finding Commission, a body that was set up under the Geneva Convention, to do this impartial international investigation. Doctors Without Borders are saying, look, we go into these situations with our eyes open, these conflict situations, put our doctors in harm's way to help innocent civilians, but we do it on the basis that we understand the rules of engagement, Afghan rules of engagement, U.S. rules of engagement, Taliban rules of engagement. If they have this independent investigation, put everything on the table -- if somebody's understanding of the rules of engagement have changed, then, obviously, we, Doctors Without Borders, need to re-examine and see if we can actually go into these conflict zones.
But they're saying it is just not good enough to write this off as a mistake.
DR. JOANNE LIU, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR; DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: It is acceptable that the bombing of a hospital and the killing of staff and patient can be dismissed as collateral damage or brushed aside as a mistake. Today we are fighting back for the respect of Geneva Convention. As doctor we are fighting back for the sake of patient. We need you, as members of the public, to stand with us to insist that even wars have rules.
[02:10:18] ROBERTSON: The Doctors Without Borders are worried that without an impartial investigation, an international investigation, bad actors in other conflicts can strike their hospitals with what they fear is impunity. So that's the basis of their concern here.
But we also heard from the U.S. secretary of defense, Ash Carter, speaking about the responsibility that the United States will accept.
ASH CARTER, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Repeating something that General Campbell said yesterday and that I said yesterday, which is to express regret and to -- for the United States to take responsibility for any mistakes that resulted in the loss of innocent life in Kunduz in recent days. We're conducting a full and transparent investigation and will hold accountable any responsible for conduct that was improper.
ROBERTSON: So, as of right now, three investigations are under way, the U.S. investigation, the NATO investigation, and the Afghan investigation. The NATO investigation expected to get preliminary results fairly soon, perhaps before the others.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Kabul, Afghanistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: All right. We do want to turn now to world football, where FIFA's troubles are taking yet another turn. The sport's governing authority isn't commenting on whether its President Sepp Blatter is actually facing a 90-day provisional suspension. Initial reports on Wednesday indicated he was suspended.
BARNETT: But his lawyers claim that if that's the case, Blatter wasn't notified, and they say Blatter still considers himself the president of FIFA is, quote, "prepared to serve FIFA." Swiss authorities opened criminal proceedings against Blatter last month and FIFA's Ethics Committee is also investigating him.
CHURCH: Keir Raddnege, with "World Soccer" magazine, joins us from London with more on this developing story.
Thanks so much for chatting with us. So is Sepp Blatter suspended or not? And why are we hearing these
different stories coming out of Blatter's own camp?
KEIR RADDNEGE, WORLD SOCCER MAGAZINE: Well, it all was rather messy yesterday. But actually the situation is quite clear. What we understand from sources very close to the people involved is that the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee has recommended a 90-day suspension for Blatter. That doesn't mean they've found him guilty of anything. It just means they think he should be removed from the immediate vicinity of everything while an investigation, proper, takes place. But that has to be judged by the ethics judge, and only after he has made a decision one way or the other can then anything formally be notified.
CHURCH: All right. So that explains why his lawyers haven't been told. But realistically, how long request Blatter hang on to power?
RADDNEGE: Well, technically, if a 90-day suspension were issued to him, it could later be topped up by another 45 days. Blatter himself, he has ridden out so many crises in the past. For him this is just another crisis, and he expects to ride this one out. But really this is by far the most serious he's ever faced and it would be frankly unprecedented for a major sports organization to be seen to be suspending its own president.
CHURCH: Yeah, he has certainly shown to be quite the survivor so far, hasn't he? When will we likely hear the committee's final verdict on Sepp Blatter, do you think?
RADDNEGE: Well, I think the understanding is a decision would come around midday central European time.
CHURCH: All right. Keir Raddnege, thanks so much for talking with us.
BARNETT: Now to some other stories we're tracking closely. The U.S. Coast Guard has called off its nearly week-long search for the missing cargo ship "El Faro." Officials say the ship sank last week with 33 crew members on board.
CHURCH: Coast Guard crews found one victim in the water but no survivors.
CNN affiliate, WINK News, spoke to the wife of one crew member.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED WIFE OF "EL FARO" CREW MEMBER: I just want them to continue doing everything to honor their father and make him even prouder no matter where he is. I just want him back. Even if it's just his body, I want him back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We all do, yeah.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[02:15:12] CHURCH: A source close to the investigation told CNN a U.S. Navy salvage team has been requested to search for wreckage.
BARNETT: Now, U.S. presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, says she no longer supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership she advocated for as secretary of state. The reason she's reversed her position, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Let's talk a little weather on this Thursday morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: New polls show U.S. presidential candidate, Donald Trump, is holding his lead in two key swing states.
BARNETT: That's right. The latest Quinnipiac University poll out of Florida shows Trump beating his closest rival, Ben Carson, by 12 points. That's a healthy lead. He has an even larger margin over the two home-state candidates -- keep that in mind -- former Governor Jeb Bush and Senator Marco Rubio.
CHURCH: Polls also show Trump is on top of the Republican pack in Ohio, although he has just a five-point lead over Carson. However, he's still 10 points ahead of Ohio's governor, John Kasich.
[02:20:07] BARNETT: This is an interesting twist. U.S. Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, is now reversing her stance on the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
CHURCH: Yeah, this is at odds with her position during her time as secretary of state when Clinton actively supported the deal.
CNN's Brianna Keilar has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hillary Clinton breaking with President Obama and breaking big, opposing his signature trade agreement that she once heralded.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: As of today, I am not in favor of what I have learned about it. I don't believe it's going to meet the high bar I have set.
KEILAR: Add it to the list where Clinton has taken a position against Obama, the no-fly list in Syria, his deportation policies, and her announcement she's against the Keystone XL Pipeline before Obama announces his decision.
Clinton's Democratic rivals weighed in on her trade reversal. Bernie Sanders saying this.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I), VERMONT & DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm glad that she reached that conclusion. This is a conclusion that I reached from day one.
KEILAR: And sharper words from Martin O'Malley.
MARTIN O'MALLEY, (D), MARYLAND GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Secretary Clinton can justify her own reversal of opinion on this but I can tell you that I didn't have one opinion eight months ago and switch that opinion on the eve of debates.
KEILAR: A new poll shows Clinton well ahead of Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. But her trade deal switch comes as Sanders challenges her in Iowa and New Hampshire and a possible Biden run threatens to siphon off some of her supporters.
A Biden spokesperson reiterated his backing of the trade pact as he considers a bid, sounding a lot like a candidate at a Latino event slamming Republicans.
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People are depressed. And the message I have for you guys is these guys don't remotely speak for America.
KEILAR: As he weighs a candidacy, the Draft Biden super PAC is out with a new TV ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Things can change in a heartbeat. I know. Six weeks after my election, my whole world was altered forever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Josh Alcorn is a senior adviser to the PAC.
JOSH ALCORN, SENIOR ADVISOR, DRAFT BIDEN SUPER PAC: The point of this ad is to tell a story of Joe Biden that many people outside of Delaware may not know. It's a story of his overcoming personal tragedy and gaining this enormous empathy for people who've suffered, and then it offers this hopeful vision, optimistic vision for America.
KEILAR: One source close to the vice president says there will be a family conversation this weekend that could determine whether he gets in the race.
(on camera): But Biden's pathway to victory is uncertain at best with the Democratic establishment firmly behind Clinton and the Democratic grassroots enthusiasm backing Sanders.
Brianna Keilar, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: Now, as vice president, Biden is, of course, number two to the president. But in just a few hours -- this is exciting -- Republicans will vote on who will be third in line for the presidency, their nominee for the next speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
CHURCH: And right now, majority leader, Kevin McCarthy, seen here on the right, is favored to win over Representative Jason Chaffetz on the left.
BARNETT: But a small group of conservative Republicans, The House Freedom Caucus, just announced they'll back little-known Congressman Daniel Webster for the post. This is the same group that helped oust current Speaker John Boehner, who's stepping down at the end of the month.
CHURCH: All right. Well, Israel says it will take harsher measures to stop a rise in violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank. This video has emerged from a riot in the West Bank. It appears Israeli security forces were disguised as Palestinian militants. They suddenly turn on Palestinian stone throwers, beating and then arresting them.
BARNETT: Now, all of this happened near the city of Ramallah. The IDF says hundreds of Palestinians were throwing rocks, fireworks and fire bombs.
CNN's Erin McLaughlin has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been a brutal day. Violence has spread from east Jerusalem and the West Bank. Now incidents near Tel Aviv and southern Israel.
The bloody day began in the morning. Israeli police say a Palestinian woman stabbed and wounded an Israeli man in the back near the Lion's Gate of the old city. Palestinians say she was provoked trying to enter for prayers.
In the West Bank, there were heavy clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers. Palestine TV shows undercover soldiers beating Palestinian men.
Violence in east Jerusalem as well, as extreme measures announced by the Israeli government.
Take a listen to what Jerusalem's mayor had to say.
NIR BARKAT, MAYOR OF JERUSALEM: Those people that are creating violence we will be more extreme, more harsh, just to make sure that violence doesn't pay.
MCLAUGHLIN: Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu postponed a trip to meet Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel. He spent the day at a police center in Jerusalem to give his support to the officers.
The violence spreading. It's unclear what Israeli and Palestinian leaders can do to stop this. People here are bracing for what comes next. Some preparing for what may be the new norm.
Erin McLaughlin, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:25:18] CHURCH: We're back in a moment here on CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARNETT: A warm welcome back to our viewers here in the states and those of you tuned in globally. We appreciate it. I'm Errol Barnett.
CHURCH: We do. And I'm Rosemary Church. Let's update you now on the main stories we've been following this hour.
U.S. President Barack Obama personally apologized to the president of Doctors Without Borders for the deadly air strikes in northern Afghanistan. 22 people were killed Saturday at the aid group's hospital in Kunduz. The group is still calling for an investigation by an independent agency.
BARNETT: A new revelation from the Volkswagen emissions scandal. The company's U.S. chief says he knew about a possible problem last year. Michael Horn says he was told engineers were working with regulators on a solution. Volkswagen admitted last month it installed hidden software that allowed 11 million cars to cheat emissions tests.
CHURCH: Two Chinese Internet start-ups have announced they are merging in a multibillion-dollar deal. Meituan.com is similar to GroupOn. It's half owned by Internet giant, Alibaba. And yangping.com is similar to Yelp. It's backed by 10 Cent, China's largest Internet service portal.
[03:00:02] BARNETT: Russia appears for the first time to be coordinating its air strikes in Syria, where the government ground offensive. It launched its heaviest bombing yet in the Hama and Idlib Provinces. The U.S. and opposition groups say Russia's targeting rebels fighting regime forces, not ISIS.
CHURCH: Russia is ramping up its campaign in Syria with precision cruise missiles launched from ships in the Caspian Sea.
BARNETT: Moscow's hinting it could soon begin military operations in Iraq as well.
Here's senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tearing into the night over the Caspian Sea, Russia's first naval barrage of its Syrian war in the latest dramatic escalation in this conflict. Russia's military says it's now using some of its most advanced warships and precise weapons to strike ISIS and other terrorist groups in Syria. The Russian defense minister proudly informed the Russian president of
the details in this highly staged meeting broadcast on television.
SERGEY SHOYGU, RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER (through translation): Four missile ships launched 26 cruise missiles on 11 targets. All the targets have been destroyed, and no civilian facilities have been hit. The strike results have confirmed the missiles' high long-range efficiency at distances of nearly 1,500 kilometers.
CHANCE: The defense ministry has released this map of the twisting route the missiles took, from the Caspian, across Iran and Iraq to their targets in Syria. It's emerging as Russia's back door into the Middle East.
UNIDENTIFIED MILITARY ANALYST: While it's safe, there are no American spy ships around or drones or submarines. They can't monitor our launches, which is important. This is a kind of safe location. There's only Russians and Iranians there. So our ships from there can shoot right from their home lake into enemy territory. And that's important and good.
CHANCE (voice-over): And that, of course, includes Syria and Iraq if Russia is requested to do so.
UNIDENTIFIED MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, because that also includes Iraq. Actually, Iraq is closer to the Caspian than Syria is because right now there's talk that the Iraqi government may ask Russia to intervene and bomb ISIS and Iran.
(CHEERING)
ANNOUNCER: Vladimir Putin!
CHANCE (voice-over): But for the moment, Vladimir Putin, who is celebrating his 63rd birthday, appears to have other priorities, like playing in this exhibition hockey match. State television announced he scored no less than seven goals for his team.
The Russian president seems unstoppable both on and off the ice.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And CNN political analyst, Josh Rogan, joins me now. He's also a columnist for "Bloomberg View" and has written extensively on this topic.
Josh Rogan, thanks so much for talking with us.
JOSH ROGAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Great to be with you.
CHURCH: So Vladimir Putin appears to be scoring numerous goals, doesn't he, in the skies and on the ground. On Wednesday, a Russian plane came within 20 nautical miles of U.S. planes. A little too close for comfort there. This, after incursions into Turkish airspace and then suggestions that Russia wants to work with the U.S. in its fight against ISIS. Some mixed messages going on. What is happening here?
ROGAN: Well, basically, the Russians have been advancing a very well organized as we discovered yesterday through some great reporting, some long-planned efforts to greatly expand their military effort and military presence on the ground in Syria. Meanwhile, the coalition has been scrambling to catch one these Russian moves and to find some way to salvage their strategy in Syria amidst changing facts on the ground. The de-confliction talks after one round seem not to have prevented the incident over Syrian skies today. Very simply, the U.S. does not know what it will do in response to these Russian moves, and their lowest common denominator simply to avoid clashing with Russian planes in the sky is on shaky ground as of today.
CHURCH: And that's a problem, isn't it, because with that specific incident we're hearing that the U.S. has been told if these Russian planes come too close then pull back, which is basically giving that air space over Syria to Russia.
ROGAN: Well, that's exactly right. And it shows what the U.S. priority here, the Obama administration's number one priority is not to get into a shooting war with Russia. That is a message that is being communicated throughout the coalition. The other major incident we saw was when Russian planes multiple times violated Turkish air space. That risked an all out military confrontation with a NATO- allied country. So the risks of miscalculation are high. The tension is high. And the U.S. priority here is not to have that tension go any higher. That's a far cry from having any plan to respond to Russia's overall moves in Syria, much less have a coordinated plan with Russia that would make any sense whatsoever.
[02:35:29] CHURCH: It's a real concern, has a lot of people on edge. And also Russia insists it's hitting ISIS targets and having an impact on the militant group. The United States disagrees, insisting Russia simply wants to prop up the Assad regime. How do we get to the truth of the matter when there's no one on the ground to confirm or deny these assertions?
ROGAN: Well, there's actually a lot of anecdotal reporting on these air strikes. We're five years into the Syria war and there are NGOs on the ground. There are Syrian groups. It's very hard to prove each incident, but according to the Turkish prime minister's speech today, Russia has hit two ISIS targets out of 57 air strikes so far. According to intelligence assessments that were reported in the "Wall Street Journal," Russia is actually targeting the U.S.-backed, CIA- backed rebel groups. We can see what the strategy is. And Russia is not exactly denying that they're hitting western-supported groups. What they're saying is all the terrorists are the same and they don't make any distinction at all. But for the people on the ground and for the different powers supporting various groups inside Syria the distinctions are very, very important.
CHURCH: Josh Rogan, we always appreciate your analysis. Many thanks.
ROGAN: Thank you. BARNETT: Severe smog blanketed much of northeast China this week,
causing widespread travel disruptions.
For more on this, let's bring in our meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri.
Travel disruptions, and it also messes with people's sinuses, doesn't it?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It does. A lot of health quality concerns over this region as well. We know about 200,000 people per year, according to the World Health Organization, lose their lives because of air quality issues. About half that number comes out of eastern Asia, eastern China in particular.
In fact, want to show you video coming out of this region of what it looked like in recent days with the air quality index over 400, which is considered hazardous. And very few places on our planet in Europe, in North America, have people experienced the air quality that occurs routinely across this region of China. You literally would have to be near a wildfire, a forest fire, even an erupting volcano to get the air quality to be this high. And this is consistently of course what people are dealing with across this region of China.
Showing you the satellite images. Really fascinating to see how pollutants are trapped in certain areas around town. In beige you see the line indicating where the pollutants are going to be their highest and put the maps in motion. About 30,000 kilometers up look down. It all gets trapped across this valley.
Showing you the perspective when it comes to what it looks like if you were down across the sea of Beijing in particular. We know among the highest population densities in the world, we know when it comes to just the industry across this region as well. The mountains certainly don't help. With the population density you put the pollutants in place, it will be trapped with the topography and also very little air movement with the wind. Work your way toward California the L.A. basin very much the same when it comes to air quality concerns, locked in place, mountains also and high industry. But something similar here happened across the 1970s in the Los Angeles basin. We had population density on the boom of course. We had also a lot of industry taking place across that region. And look at this. Back in the 1970s, the number of days per year in Los Angeles where the air was considered unhealthy to breathe, somewhere on the order of 200, 234 back in the mid 1970s. Work your way to 2014, that number dropped to about 92. Clean Air Act enacted in the same time period. Significant improvements in the air quality, of course. And when you think about the topography, certainly has a lot of similarities when it comes to portions of China.
So we go back toward areas of China, we know the typical frontal feature you have cool fronts or cold fronts come in they can move the stagnant air out of place and improve the air quality issues which is what has transpired in recent days but we had the China open take place across this region over the past couple of days and the fans, a lot of them having to wear masks. We know the players reporting dizziness as well. Cold front has come by across this region. It's dispersed much of the smog across the area. In fact, just speaking to a viewer down across Hong Kong in the last couple minutes via social media and he was sharing a picture with us of what is happening with the air quality index there, going up to about 160, which is what is considered, again, on the unhealthy side. But now in Beijing we're actually seeing improved conditions as all of that is moved down stream. So it always becomes somebody else's problem, of course. But this is a problem that has been persistent across China. But you compare it with southern California, it was much the same three or four decades ago.
(CROSSTALK)
BARNETT: Breaking that down --
CHURCH: Yeah, absolutely.
CHURCH: -- and realizing the mountains traps in all of that haze and smog.
Pedram stays in contact with viewers.
What are you, JavaheriCNN on Twitter?
[02:40:06] JAVAHERI: That's correct.
(CROSSTALK)
CHURCH: We'll send you a tweet.
BARNETT: RosemaryCNN, ErrolCNN, we all like to chat. There you go.
JAVAHERI: Absolutely.
(CROSSTALK)
BARNETT: We'll see you next hour.
CHURCH: Thank you.
[02:40:] BARNETT: Now, this story is cool. The World Wildlife Fund is highlighting more than 200 newly discovered species in the eastern Himalayas while still warning about the threats against them. Take a look at this. Among them, the Dracula minnow, named for its unusual fangs at the front of its jaw.
CHURCH: And there are also snakes, as you saw there, and a bird. And a frog with long eyebrows that look like horns. The WWF report says the region is facing a wide range of threats from mining, oil and gas projects and climate change among other things. Incredible pictures there.
Well, still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, women's rights protesters storm the red carpet at a London movie premiere. We'll be right back and explain what exactly happened there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: All this week CNN's Freedom Project is bringing you special reports on the plight of the Yazidi religious minority in Iraq and Syria. Yazidi women and girls have faced countless atrocities at the hands of ISIS. Hundreds have been raped and sold into sex slavery.
BARNETT: Well, now one group more than 100 strong says they've put up with enough torment.
As Atika Shubert shows us, they've taken up arms against ISIS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[02:44:47] ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The women of the Sun Brigade stand proud. They are not battle tested -- yet. We asked each one, what is your message to ISIS?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE):
SHUBERT: The Sun Brigade is made of women, Yazidi women, a special unit of Peshmerga, Kurdish forces. Most have never even held a gun. But there is no shortage of volunteers.
Zata Shingale (ph) is their commander, a Yazidi singer-turned-soldier. It was her idea to make an all-female unit to defend the Yazidi.
ZATA SHINGALE (ph), SUN BRIGADE COMMANDER (through translation): There should be no killing in this world. In the Yazidi book it says to have a clean heart. Every person must do this. But what do you do when you need to fight, when there's no one to defend you or your family? This is the first time for Yazidi woman to become a commander.
SHUBERT: The Sun Brigade has only begun basic training. They won't be posted on the front lines yet. But it will support Kurdish forces hoping to regain territory lost to ISIS.
We sat with the newest recruits and asked if they ever thought they would become soldiers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
SHUBERT (on camera): What do you think ISIS or Daesh will make of the fact that they're now fighting women, the very women they tried to capture and enslave? Do you think they'll be afraid of you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
SHUBERT (voice-over): Their uniforms are starched and spotless, their boots still shiny, but the women of the Sun Brigade say they are not afraid.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
SHUBERT: Messages to ISIS that they may one day deliver in person.
Atika Shubert, CNN, Dehuq, in the Kurdish region of Iraq. (END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: Now on Friday, in the last installment of our week-long series, victims tell us how the terror group tries to justify its brutality.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And you can also go to CNN.com to find exclusive reports from the CNN Freedom Project in its bid to raise awareness for Yazidi women.
We'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORTS ANCHOR: Hi, there. I'm Patrick Snell, with you CNN "World Sport" headlines.
More on the future of embattled FIFA President Sepp Blatter with lawyers for the Swiss contradicting earlier reports the 79-year-old could be facing a provisional 90-day suspension. Blatter is accused of signing a contract unfavorable to football's governing body and making a disloyal payment to UEFA President Michel Platini. Blatter denies any wrongdoing and his lawyer said on Wednesday that he had not been notified of any action.
Turning now to the Rugby World Cup in England, and two-time champion South Africa are now in with a chance of becoming the first country to win the tournament after losing a pool fixture. A resounding 64-0 victory for the Springboks over the Americans on Wednesday. Special moment in the crier of Brian Hibani who ran in a hat trick of tries. That means he now equals New Zealand's Jonah Lomu's record of 15 Rugby World Cup tries.
NFL owners have approved scheduling of more international regular season games through 2025, including in countries beyond the U.K. Host countries for future games may include Germany, Canada and Mexico, where more than 100,000 fans watched a regular season NFL game 10 years ago. Now, as recent as last Sunday, an international NFL game took place at Wembley Stadium in London with the New York Jets defeating the Miami Dolphins.
Thanks for joining us. You're bang up to date. I'm Patrick Snell, with your CNN world sport headlines.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [02:51:36] CHURCH: Well, it seemed to be a case of life imitating art as women's rights protesters stormed the red carpet at the London premiere for the new film "Suffragette."
BARNETT: The movie depicts the women's suffrage movement at turn of the 20th century.
CNN's Neil Curry has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEIL CURRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Leicester Square has hosted hundreds of movie premieres in the century since suffragettes took their campaign for women's votes to the streets of London. But perhaps none quite like this.
(CHANTING)
CURRY (on camera): This is the opening night of London Film Festival. The film playing tonight is "Suffragette," starring Meryl Streep, Helena Bonham Carter and Carey Mulligan. Just as the stars were arriving, a group of protesters -- you can see behind me -- against domestic violence went over the barriers, got themselves on the red carpet, and they're linking arms and refusing to move. The stars have just arrived. Romola Garai, Helena Bonham, Carter who just arrived. They're continuing to do interviews but they can't make their progress up the red carpet.
The protesters have been shouting, "Romola join us." Will you go find out what they're up to?
ROMOLA GARAI, ACTRESS: I'm on stage doing a production of "Measure for Measure" in about 20 minutes. I would chain myself to the railing if I didn't feel I would be slightly hampering the young Vic's production of "Measure for Measure." But it's great to see feminism alive and active in the world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MERYL STREEP, ACTRESS: For 50 years, we have labored peacefully to secure the vote for women.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURRY (voice-over): Meryl Streep plays Suffragette leader, Emmeline Pankhurst, in the film. And Mrs. Pankhurst' descendants were on the red carpet, delighted to be witnessing female voices raised in protest once again.
HELEN PANKHURST, GRANDDAUGHTER OF EMMELINE PANKHURST: The contrast between the glitz and the glamour, yes, we need it. It's important. It will bring people to watch the film. But at the same time we have the reality of direct action. And you know, the two come together. Very fitting.
HELENA BONHAM CARTER, ACTRESS: I think it's perfect. It's the perfect opening to -- a perfect advertisement for this film. That's exactly what this film is about. If you feel strongly about something, and if there's an injustice being done, you protest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Women should not exercise judgment in political affairs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we allow women to vote, it will mean the loss of social structure.
(SHOUTING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a film about women protesting, women protesting to create change. So it's not an action that we discourage. And we very much welcome the fact that they have now moved on and allowed us to continue with the premiere.
CURRY (voice-over): Outside the premiere, there were further demonstrations, both in sympathy with and against the Suffragette cause.
(SHOUTING)
CURRY: By the time Meryl Streep and Carey Mulligan made their way along the carpet, the demonstration had been dispersed. But just as in the days of Emily Pankhurst and the Suffragettes, women's voices had been heard on the streets of London. Life imitating art, or the other way around.
Neil Curry, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BARNETT: There you go. Feminism, alive and well.
CHURCH: It is, clearly.
BARNETT: Now, the Chicago Cubs are one step closer to the World Series and to making this prediction from an iconic movie come true. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER LLOYD ACTOR: Kid, give 100 bucks, will you, and help save the clock tower.
MICHAEL J. FOX, ACTOR: I'm sorry, no.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Come on, kid, that's an important historical landmark.
FOX: Some other time.
LLOYD: Lightning struck that thing 60 years ago.
FOX: Wait a minute. Cubs win World Series.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
[02:55:15] That's a famous scene from the 1989 film with "Back to the Future, Part 2" which happens to take place in the film 2015. Cubs fans are pretty excited about the possibility of a real World Series win since the team hasn't won the title since 1908.
CHURCH: Of course, many of "Back to the Future" predictions haven't come to pass, such as flying cars or hoverboards. But one product from the movie will be hitting stores later this month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: All I want is a Pepsi.
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: There you go.
Pepsi says it plans to release a limited edition version of the Pepsi Perfect when "Back to the Future, Part 2" is released in theaters. Although the bottle will look just like the one in the film, the company says it will taste like a regular Pepsi.
Wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to promote something.
(LAUGHTER)
BARNETT: That's a shame that it's going to taste exactly the same. I mean, come on. Come up with something new, Pepsi. You've had all this time to prepare something.
I'm waiting for my self-drying jacket from "Back to the Future."
CHURCH: Oh, there you go. Well, you keep waiting.
(LAUGHTER)
Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.
BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett.
Our second hour of NEWSROOM begins after this short break. Stay with us.
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