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Polls Busy As Scots Vote For Independence; Kurds Need More Help To Defeat ISIS; Rude Airline Passengers Shamed On Facebook; St. Andrews Golf Club To Vote On Admitting Women; Liberia Welcomes U.S. Involvement In Quelling Ebola Virus

Aired September 18, 2014 - 8:00   ET

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

KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.

Now Scotland goes to the poll as it decides whether to break away from the United Kingdom.

A day before what could be the biggest IPO ever, we speak to an insider who was there at the start of Alibaba's rise to the top.

And there's another major vote in Scotland that could change centuries of tradition. Will the home of golf finally allow female members?

We start in Scotland where voting on the country's independence referendum is underway.

Polls have been open for six hours and will stay open for another nine.

Now millions of people are expected to cast their vote on whether Scotland should leave the United Kingdom and become independent.

Now let's head straight to Scotland now where senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joins us from a polling station in Glasgow.

And Nic, the polls, they've been open for a few hours. What have you seen today?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've seen a lot of people coming and going from the polling station, Kristie. Really, we were

here just before the polls opened. And about 5:00 to 7:00 it was just quiet, very quiet area and then suddenly just before the doors opened, you

could literally hear the footfalls coming down the streets, a lot of people in suits looking like they were on their way to the office. We've seen

mothers bringing their children coming into vote before dropping the children off at school.Now, perhaps an older part of a generation has been

coming along.

But it's been busy, it's been continuous all day. And I've talked to some to the people who are sort of campaigning at the gates here. They've

done this in other elections. And they say they're seeing far, far more people turning out than in previous elections. And that's what we've been

told to expect, more than four-and-a-quarter million people registered to vote. That is 97 percent of the possible number of potential registered

voters. That is a huge number. And I think that, so far, is really the story of the day. People are turning out. It was predicted, but they're

doing it -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: A very significant turnout this day. Nic Robertson reporting live from Glasgow. Thank you, Nic.

And CNN is the place to be for the very latest on Scotland's referendum. The polls, they close at 10:00 p.m. local time tonight. And

that is when our special coverage begins. So do stay with CNN.

Now, Australian police say that they have prevented a plan to behead a member of the public than wrap the victim in an ISIS flag. 800 officers,

they carried out raids in Sydney and Brisbane. At least two men have been arrested, 15 were detained.

Now the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott spoke soon after the raids.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY ABBOTT, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: These people, I regret to say, do not hate us for what we do; they hate us for who we are and how we

live. That's what makes us a target, the fact that we are different from their view of what an ideal society should look like, the fact that we are

free, we are pluralist, we are tolerant, we are welcoming, we are accepting, all of these in their eyes are wrong and that's what makes us a

target.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now the charges include conspiracy, financing terrorism and weapons offenses. Nine people have been released.

Now the U.S. Senate could vote today on a White House request to arm and train Syrian rebels to fight ISIS.

Now the House approved the measure on Wednesday, but one-third of the lawmakers voted against it with significant opposition from both major

political parties.

Now Alibabais looking for a windfall when it starts trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. The eCommerce giant will announce its

offering price after the U.S. market wraps up on Thursday. And with an expected price range of $66 to $68 a share, this is set to be the biggest

IPO in history.

Now a lot of people have been having trouble understanding just what Alibaba is. It's because it combines elements of Amazon and eBay, PayPal

and more. But we have a simple way to just break down what makes Alibaba different.

Now, if you were a retailer in the days before the internet, it was pretty simple. You had stores and you sold products in these physical

locations on streets or in malls. And then came the internet and Amazon. And Amazon changed all of that by eliminating stores. Instead, they set up

giant warehouses and sold products online that allowed Amazon to undercut traditional retailers by not paying rent for shops.

But, Alibaba's business model goes a step beyond that. Alibaba doesn't have stores. It doesn't have a warehouse. Alibaba is just a

website, but it's a website that helps connect people who sell things with people who want to buy things.

Now its co-founder Jack Ma, he put it this way. He said this, quote, "Alibaba helps others to do eCommerce. We do not sell things.

Now, for another perspective on Alibaba, I spoke to the former vice president of the company Porter Arisman. Now he joined Alibaba in year

2000 just after it moved its headquarters from a small apartment. And he directed a documentary film on the early years of Alibaba. It's called

Crocodile on the Yangtze.

I spoke to him earlier this week from Arizona. And I began by asking him what it was like to work for Jack Ma.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PORTER ERISMAN, FRM. VICE PRESIDENT, ALIBABA: What you see in the film is hopefully different sides of him. One of the things he did at

these company meetings is he, along with the other senior managers, would get up and sort of in a self-deprecating way try to make fun of themselves

and so you see him dressed as a rock star kind of making fun of himself.

For me, working with him was really just a great experience. I learned about business, but I learned a lot about life. Jack is somewhat

of a philosopher. And even when you ask him if he considers himself a business person, he'd be more likely to say he considers himself an artist

creating things that hopefully benefit society in some way.

And so he was a fun guy to work with. He had a great sense of humor, but he had a really strong sense of purpose. And when you didn't perform

the way he wanted you to, he definitely let you know about it. He was a very tough boss in that way, but that's because he expected very good

results from everyone. And so it made us all want to work hard to achieve the goals Alibaba was chasing.

LU STOUT: Jack Ma is a big personality. He is a pioneer for the development of the internet in China. Is he a visionary on par with Mark

Zuckerberg of Steve Jobs?

ERISMAN: Yeah, I really believe that. I mean, it's interesting, because he's someone who saw the future, sort of predicted it, then built

the company with a really long-term vision. More importantly than having the dreams, he just could really see how he could grow ecommerce in China,

to in a way build the economic institutions that the government and the other institutions have failed to build. And so if you think of Steve Jobs

created the operating system for the computer and the smartphone, Jack Ma created the operating system for commerce in China.

LU STOUT: A number of investors in the west are still trying to scratch their heads and to decode and understand the business model. How

would you describe the Alibaba overall business model?

ERISMAN: Yeah, for me it's fun to watch western analysts try to describe the model, because they can't seem to do it. They say maybe it's

an Amazon plus an eBay plus a dash of Google and a little bit of PayPal. The reason they can't put their hands around it is because it's a truly

unique model.

LU STOUT: Now something that has been named as a risk factor for Alibaba and for Alibaba's stock when it starts to list is the issue of

piracy and counterfeiting, which you can find on the Taobao platform. How big of an issue does that pose for Alibaba? And what can Alibaba do about

it?

ERISMAN: Yeah, I think the counterfeiting -- the problem that it poses for Alibaba is really a perception issue. You know, when I was at

the company, we looked at our site in China, we looked at eBay China, we both faced the same problem, and that's when you run a marketplace where

buyers and sellers can post their products and services online they each are supposed to take responsibility for what they post and as a marketplace

you're supposed to -- when people notify you of things, you take it down.

So when I was at Alibaba, we were meeting and exceeding in the global standard, but in a China environment, until the Chinese government gets

serious about enforcement you're not going to see the counterfeit issue addressed really well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now that was filmmaker and former Alibaba vice president Porter Erisman there.

Of course, another reason there's just so much anticipation of Alibaba it's because it is the largest ecommerce company in the world's largest

ecommerce market. And ecommerce in China can generate some $540 billion in sales next year. As David McKenzie explains from Beijing, young shoppers

are the reason.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Like most Chinese in their 20s, Jia Hilan (ph) loves to shop online.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not sure this is real Apple.

MCKENZIE: From drives to Divans.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got them on Taobao.

MCKENZIE: She's bought them all on Taobao, the online shopping platform run by Alibaba.

Can you get anything on Taobao?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can't get a weapon on Taobao.

(LAUGHTER)

MCKENZIE: With millions of independent vendors, you can get just about anything else -- fakes are a big problem on Taobao. And they

recently announced a crackdown.

Still there are dubious deals like a Chanel Le Boy handbag costing $4,000 on sale for just $50. $900 Roger Vivier shoes just $19.

If you love shopping, it could be a problem.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone loves shopping.

MCKENZIE: I hate shopping.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

MCKENZIE: In China, they're addicted to it. And all along the chain they are packing in the profits.

At Shentong, a mid-sized career company, most of their business is now moving merchandise bought online. Manager Xiong Jun says their biggest

challenge is keeping up with growth.

"Santa comes just once a year," he says,"while we work every day of the year to get these packages out."

They sort the packages based on size and then send them to 66 distribution centers across Beijing. During their busiest online shopping

period of the year, they can move more than a million packages to the capital.

To go from factory to front door, deliverymen like Pei Pengfei hit the road. A migrant from Henan, he navigates the city of 11 million in his

three-wheeler delivering the goods that make it run.

"Our job is really important," says Pei,"deliverymen make it all happen in the internet age we live in. If we did not exist, it would make

Beijing a more crowded city. Things would become inconvenient, inconsistent and worse."

Etailing has seen 120 percent compound annual growth in China for 10 years. It's become how business and buying is done.

David McKenzie, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And still to come, a U.S. promise to do more to help fight Ebola in West Africa is raising people's

hopes. And we'll speak to a government minister in Liberia who says the country just cannot defeat the virus alone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Now let's go back to one of our top stories, the spread of ISIS.

Now opposition reports from Syria say that ISIS has captured 16 villages in northern Syria near Turkey. But while ISIS makes gains in

Syria, it is losing some ground in northern Iraq. The Iraqi army and the Kurdish Peshmerga say that they have retaken territory in recent days.

Now CNN's Anna Coren has been near the frontlines. She joins us now live from Irbil in Northern Iraq. And Anna, let's first talk about the

Kurdish Peshmerga forces. What advances have they made against ISIS there?

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, they've made some significant advances in the past few days. We were there and better with

them earlier in the week. As they took back five very important towns in a strategic bridge that was blown up by ISIS a month ago, now through this

operation, with the help, of course, of U.S. air strikes they managed to claim back this territory, the aim to be -- to rebuild this bridge, which

connects Irbil, which is where we are, the capital of Kurdistan to Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, which has been an ISIS stronghold since June.

So the plan is that they will gradually retake ground towards Mosul as they make their advance towards Mosul, obviously the battle for Mosul, that

is some way off. But certainly, you know, speaking to the commander of the Peshmerga forces, he says before we take that on we do need much more help

from this global coalition that President Obama is putting together. He says we need arms, equipment, ammunition, intelligence, we also need the

training, on the ground training.

So this is what they are telling us that they need before they can make that essential advance towards Mosul -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Anna, overnight we heard from President Obama. He repeated his pledge, no American ground troops in Iraq. So, Anna, do you believe

that ISIS can be defeated there with no U.S. boots on the ground?

COREN: Yeah, it's a really interesting question, Kristie. Certainly you know when you spend time with the Peshmerga, as we have been doing for

the past few weeks, you know, they definitely have the will and the determination, but they don't have the skills.

And the same goes to the Iraqi security forces. I mean, we heard from America's top military official, General Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint

Chiefs of Staff who basically said that half of the Iraqi security forces are incapable of being a partner with the United States to fight back ISIS.

Now, this seriously raises the red flag, because these are the troops on the ground, these are the forces taking the fight to ISIS.

So, obviously U.S. airstrikes are critical, there is no doubt about it, but they are effective out in the open plains. There have been 174

today, according to U.S. Central Command. And they will continue. And the hope is that there will be an intensification of this program.

But once you get to those urban environments, those major cities like Mosul, you know, and then further down south in the country -- Tikrit,

Fallujah -- you know, the United States is not going to want to attack these cities in fear of collateral damage. They do not want to be killing

civilians, and predominately Sunni civilians that have allowed ISIS into their towns and cities, because that would just further alienate the Sunni

population and drive them into the arms of ISIS.

So it really is a delicate balance, Kristine.

LU STOUT: And Anna, as you put it, it's the Peshmerga that are the boots on the ground there in Northern Iraq. We know that U.S. airstrikes

have been assisting them since August. How effective have the airstrikes been in degrading ISIS in Iraq?

COREN: Look, I think they are definitely chipping away. There is no doubt about it. But you've got to remember it's a couple of airstrikes a

day. We're not seeing this mass bombing campaign.

When we were out there several days ago on the front line not far from where we are here in Irbil, you know, we heard the jets circling the entire

time, that was before dawn late into the afternoon. But they are monitoring the situation, they are there providing the cover for these ground forces

to move in. They are taking out the enemy position, they are taking out these armored vehicles, you know, stopping these convoys, these hordes of

convoys that have been allowed to, you know, drive across much of Northern and Western Iraq to the point where ISIS now controls one-third of the

country.

So these U.S. airstrikes pushing them back, stopping that further advance, containing them. But as far as defeating them, Kristie, we know

it's going to take a lot more than U.S. airstrikes.

LU STOUT: And Anna, you recently talked to the Kurdish president about the ISIS threat. What did he tell you about the Peshmerga forces and

what they need to win this battle?

COREN: Look, I mean, he believes in his forces there's a great deal of patriotism up here in Kurdistan in Northern Iraq. They believe in their

soldiers.

You know, many of them are volunteers, Kristie, they're not all, you know, these highly skilled soldiers that we would normally associate with

military from a country. But he believes in them. He says that we are not asking for foreign boots on the ground. He said that request has not been

made. However, however -- and this was the interesting point. He said if that is something that countries want to give us, then we would welcome it.

We would welcome that assistance.

But obviously, Kristie, as we heard from President Obama yesterday, he said that is not going to happen, certainly as far as the United States is

concerned, they will have no U.S. combat forces on the ground here in Iraq.

LU STOUT: All right. Anna Coren, live on the ground there in Northern Iraq in Irbil. Anna, we thank you for your reporting.

Now you're watching News Stream. And still to come on the program, it is the world's second largest sporting event, and it is about to begin.

And we head to the host country South Korea. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.

Now in South Korea, the Asian Games kick off on Friday. The event is second in size only to the Olympics. And our Paula Hancocks is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: 13,000 athletes from 45 different countries have descended upon South Korea for the 17th Asian

games, each is dreaming of a medal, hoping that their hard work paid off, but this may also be an opportunity for sports diplomacy to work its magic.

North Korea has sent its 273 member delegation. As they arrived at the airport earlier this month, pro-unification groups from South Korea

chanted we are one.

North Korea's presence is significant here, as its athletes will be competing in what could be considered enemy territory. North and South

Korea are still technically at war.

But the president of the Olympic Council of Asia tells CNN, first and foremost, they are all athletes.

SHEIKH AHMAD AL-FAHAD AL-SABAH, PRESIDENT, OLYMPIC COUNCIL OF ASIA: We will participate in the same field and maybe in the same event and maybe

and they will hug each other and shake hands and this is the (inaudible) of sport, this is why we believe the sport shall always break the ice whenever

there is a hot spot in the world.

HANCOCKS: But there's already been one political hiccup. All national flags of countries competing have been removed from the streets of

Incheon, the city hosting the games, following protests from local citizens and conservative groups. Under South Korea's national security law, North

Korean flags cannot be displayed in the south.

There's also some concern about low ticket sales. Incheon is an hour- and-a-half away from Seoul. There's some concern there's not the excitement and the buzz of previous Asian games. But organizers say

they're not worried. They believe once the games start those ticket sales will pick up.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And still to come, working on an action plan: the UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on

Ebola.

And the referendum isn't the only vote happening in Scotland, a prestigious golf club is deciding whether to let women in for the first

time in its 260 year history.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

Now across Scotland, people are heading to the polls to vote in the country's referendum on independence. A record 4.2 million people have

registered for the vote that could see the country separate from the United Kingdom.

Now polls close in less than nine hours when we will have extensive coverage of the results.

Australian police say that they have stopped a terror plot aimed at beheading a member of the public and wrapping the victim in an ISIS flag.

Now raids were carried out in Sydney and Brisbane. They arrested two suspects and detained 15 people for questioning.

The governor of California has declared a state of emergency in two counties in Northern California with thousands of homes are threatened by

wildfires. Authorities say one fire has burned more than 11,000 hectares and is only 5 percent contained.

An opposition group says 16 Kurdish villages in Syria have been taken over by ISIS in the past day. Now this video from YouTube, it's said to

show Kurdish forces defending their territory.

Now the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that ISIS used tanks and artillery in its attack.

And the United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting later today on the Ebola crisis.

Now Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the head of the world health organization will outline an international action plan to address the

outbreak in West Africa. Now the UN praised the U.S. government's plans to send more equipment, health workers, and even U.S. troops to effected

areas.

Five countries -- Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal - - have all seen a number of cases. And one of the hardest hit countries is Liberia.

Now its president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, is welcoming U.S. plans for direct military assistance. And says that she hopes it will spur the rest

of the world into action.

Lewis Brown is Liberia's information minister. And he joins me now live from Monrovia. And, sir, thank you for joining us here on the

program. First, tell us what is the reality of the outbreak there in Liberia? What impact is it having on your people?

LEWIS BROWN, LIBERIAN INFORMATION MINISTER: Well, thank you for having me.

As you know, as (inaudible) indicated, the president has not (inaudible) interventions, especially led by the United States and has

hoped that it continues to spur on additional international support for (inaudible) international problem.

The situation on the ground is (inaudible). There are a number of grim projections (inaudible), but we continue to be hopeful as a government

that if we work with the international community and the people of Liberia can do what we must do, then (inaudible) statistics.

LU STOUT: Now, Liberia has welcomed the U.S. response to Ebola, including the commitment of 3,000 troops to fight the spread of the

disease. But, sir, it was months ago when Ebola was declared this current outbreak as the worst on record. Do you fear that the international

response so far really has been too little, too late?

BROWN: It has been slow in coming, but like most Liberians who are, if you will, dealing with this -- like the government, the military,

(inaudible) outbreak.

Our thing right now is better late than never. What we must continue to be is to act decisively go forward to make sure that some of these

projections don't become reality.

We cannot afford for (inaudible) affected by the virus to slip back into state that the previously were in, especially Liberia where we are

just recovering from (inaudible) we saw total collapse in our economy. We cannot afford for these countries to go back.

We must act and we are asking the world to join the United States and others, who are in joining this fight to act robustly, decisively and

(inaudible) to fight the unprecedented scourge and (inaudible) national life.

LU STOUT: You are calling for more international action. The action better late than never, that's what you said just now.

The UN Security Council will meet later today in emergency session to come out with what you hope to be a definitive action plan to help you

fight Ebola and Liberia as well as neighboring countries there in West Africa.

Now, sir, your nation, Liberia, as well as the others, have been isolated by these travel bans put into place. How has that affected the

crisis response? And should those bans be lifted?

BROWN: Yes. They should be. We understand that each country, each (inaudible) must continue to (inaudible) prevent this as we combat it -- to

prevent it ever slipping across our borders. But frankly these measures, given the kinds of support we have put in place, the kind of preventive

measures that are going, including our international airport, these actions of isolation and abandonment of countries currently affected have no point.

They neither contribute to a resolution, nor are they really protecting countries that (inaudible) protection.

I mean, in this world of trade and travel, what must be done to (inaudible) countries? And ever the fight against this virus? This is the

only way we can be safe anywhere.

LU STOUT: Well, may aid and medical resources be swift in coming to your country to help counter, and one day soon, defeat this virus, the

deadly Ebola outbreak there in Liberia.

Mr. Lewis Brown, the information minister of Liberia joining us live on the line. Thank you so much for joining us here on News Stream.

Now, there are things that you can do, all of us can do, even small things, to help this global fight against the deadly Ebola outbreak. And

find out more, just go to CNN.com/impact. We've put up a number of links to reputable aid agencies and groups, all of them are working tirelessly to

contain the outbreak.

Again, CNN.com/impact.

Now, you're watching News Stream. Let's get a check of the global weather forecast, including another storm in the Philippines. Samantha

Mohr has got that. She joins us now -- Sam.

SAMANTHA MOHR, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, it looks like this one could be a real rain maker as well as we get into the next 24 hours or

so. You can see what happened to Kalmaegi. And that is now moving off to the west. But we're seeing this next system, Fung-Wong, Tropical Storm

Fung-Wong already dumping heavy rain here. In Legazpi City, we've already seen 116 millimeters of rain. And we'll continue to see all of this deep

tropical moisture moving in the next 24 hours or so.

You can see it is tropical storm strength with those 65 kilometer per hour max-sustained winds, gusts up to 85 miles per hour. Notice how in the

satellite pictures, this really interesting -- we're seeing this area of convection you can see just east of Manila by about 300 nautical miles or

so. But you can see, it looks like we're were starting to see some development here that could end up making this system more concentric,

signs that it is strengthening. And we do expect it to become a typhoon as it moves off to the northwest and then starts to make a turn to the north.

But we're most concerned with all of the rainfall we will likely get, especially here in the Cordillera Mountain range, which of course sits up

around, oh, 5,000 kilometers or so -- or I should say 1,500 kilometers, around 5,000 feet.

But all that moist air moving in with Fung-Wong lifted up and then just wrung out as the air is cooled. And of course that makes the air cool

to the dew point and we get condensation and we get some very heavy rainfall.

So we could end up seeing heavy rain on top of the already 300 millimeters or so we saw last -- just last week with Kalmaegi. And you can

see how much rain, you can see with Fung-Wong now. I mean, some of these areas could end up seeing a meter of rain and of course that can cause

concerns with landslides and mudslides.

So we're going to have to monitor this carefully as we head into the next day or so. And then it starts to make that turn to the north. So

we'll have to watch that as well as a typhoon.

Now the latest runs have it going a little bit more west. So it is quite possible it could take more of a western track on up towards eastern

China, across Taipei, so in that case we could end up seeing torrential rainfall here in Luzon. Of course, that can cause some problems with the

mudslides and the landslides and the typhoon strength winds.

And then it'll be significantly less of an impact here if it does start to make a turn to the north earlier. But right now, it looks like

it's taking more of that western turn. And then potentially we'll have to watch for how it could impact Japan early next week. So we'll continue to

keep our eyes on Fung-Wong.

In the eastern Pacific, look how far we've gotten. We rarely get up to a P storm. And of course Odile, the O storm made headlines when it

swamped Cabo San Lucas and now bringing rain into the desert southwest with flood watches all across the region right now, even some flash flood

warnings where you see the red in West Texas and then we have another system on the way as well, Kristie, the hits just keep coming, as they say,

with Hurricane Polo.

We're going to have to watch to see if it will also hit Cabo. Right now, it looks like it will come very close indeed, hitting that already

damaged area.

LU STOUT: Very, very busy at the world weather center. Samantha Mohr joining us live. Thank you, Sam.

Now, the mayor of Toronto is due to start chemotherapy this week for a rare and aggressive form of cancer. Now up until recently, Rob Ford had

been planning to seek reelection, that is despite the fact that the city council had stripped him of most of his mayoral powers in response to

instances of erratic behavior and after he admitted smoking crack cocaine.

Neil Herland from CNN's partner network CBC finds out how voters in Canada's largest city are taking in the news.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The diagnosis is a malignant lyposarcoma.

NEIL HERLAND, CBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: It's the news none of these Rob Ford supporters wanted to hear: confirmation the mayor has cancer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chemotherapy is very hard to go through. I had a friend go through it. He lost all his hair, very hard on his system.

HERLAND: For many Ford supporters, the mayor is a man of the people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's like one of us, simple -- he's a simple guy and he's for the simple people like ourselves.

HERLAND: At this campaign office in Scarborough, a giant card to sign.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rosalie Bersey(ph), get well soon. Rob Ford, we miss you.

HERLAND: Rosalie Bersey (ph) is praying for the mayor.

ROSALIE BERSEY (ph), TORONTO RESIDENT: If the lord hear me and I think the lord will take care of Rob too.

HERLAND: And (inaudible) cheers of support.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ford nation. Yeah. He's going to be OK. God bless you, Rob. We're here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the first I've heard about it. I think it's unfortunate. Rob deserves better.

HERLAND: Among Ford detractors, however, reaction is mixed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He made his mistakes in the past. That's nothing in comparison to what's going on now. It's something that we all need to

let the past be the past and now he's got to focus on his future and his family's future.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I'm sorry to hear that. However, I'm so happy that he's not going to be mayor anymore.

HERLAND: No matter what people think of the mayor and his past battles, with tonight's diagnosis, many people are realizing the mayor is

in the fight of his life.

Neil Herland, CBC News, Toronto.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching CNN. And coming up next on News Stream, it is a centuries old institution and some would say of gender discrimination.

Now members of this exclusive golf club in Scotland will decide whether or not to let women finally join.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Now, today CNN launches a new series. It's called Tomorrow Transformed. It looks at how communication technology is changing the way

we live.

In our first installment, Richard Quest explores how smartphones are giving us new ways to navigate urban traffic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hail a cab, buy a bike, own a car, the traditional ways of getting around town, which in the

future could look quite quaint.

Today, the smartphone is our vehicle for getting from A to B. Transportation has embraced new technologies that widen our choices in ways

we couldn't have imagined, even a decade ago.

Just touch the screen and a car arrives. Scroll through the maps and find a bicycle waiting for you.

Vehicle sharing is growing around the world. It's a reflection of a reality that we all have different transport needs at different times. And

these can now be met using technology.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The smartphone allows for things that are just unbelievable.

QUEST: Sam Acrilanu (ph) is living this new life. Two years ago, tired of his brutal commute into Boston, Sam packed up and moved into the

city. He bought a bike, got rid of his car, and now shares vehicles of all types when he needs them.

Such as Uber for the one-off trips. You book on the app, monitor the car's arrival and someone like Fadi Ghorra is driving the car.

FADI GHORRA, UBER DRIVER: Every single trip with Uber it's recorded. It's innovations. It's technology.

QUEST: Car sharing companies like Zipcar wouldn't be possible without hefty technology in the background, managing large fleets of cars that

never stay still.

MILLIE PARK, ZIPCAR: It's not easy to always know where your cars are. And our vehicles are kitted with technology that allows us to lock

and unlock cars remotely that allows us to understand where cars are when they are in trouble.

So, there's a lot of technology beyond just the app that goes into making Zipcar successful.

SAM AQUILLANO, SHARES VEHICLES: If it wasn't smooth, then I'd do something else. These car sharing and bike sharing are competing with I

have a car, I'll just start the car and go. And so it has to be that smooth. And that's where the technology comes in and just makes it

amazing.

QUEST: Like the cars and the bikes we rent, this revolution is moving fast, ready to take advantage of whatever technology offers us in the

future.

PARK: I'm really interested to see what happens with driverless cars. We know that that's just around the corner.

QUEST: Less traffic on the roads, fewer accidents, more time at home, technology is evolving the way we move. Our lives are evolving with it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Richard Quest there.

You're watching News Stream. And still to come, photos of airplane passengers behaving very badly have gone viral. And you may be amazed at

just what some people will do on a plane.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now another historic vote is happening today in Scotland. And for some, it overshadows even the independence referendum.

Now the royal and ancient golf club at St. Andrews will decide whether or not to allow women to become members. The club has been men only for

its entire 260 year history.

Now St. Andrews is widely regarded as the spiritual home of golf. And CNN's Alex Thomas joins me now for more on the story from CNN London.

And Alex, just how will this historic vote proceed?

ALEX THOMAS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the voting is already finished, the ballots are in and being counted, the Royal Ancient Golf Club

have told us that 75 percent of the almost 2,500 members balloted across the world, postal votes being considered for the first time. 75 percent

turnout. And they expect to announce the decision on whether or not women members will be admitted between 6:00 and 7:00 tonight UK time, that's

around five hours from now.

It is expected to be a yes to women.

LU STOUT: Wow, but why has St. Andrews waited until now to make this vote on female members?

THOMAS: I think it's a PR thing really, Kristie, it's just become untenable for them to continue as they are, because of this link to the

fact that they are the governing body of golf worldwide, except for America and Mexico where the USGA is the governing body. They rule the game of

golf together.

And some years ago, the club was split between the R&A as the governing body, which did have women working for it and members, and the

actual physical golf club with that famous old clubhouse you were showing in your introduction. And that's the thing, women have been playing on

that famous old course at St. Andrews for hundreds of years, but they haven't been allowed to get a beer or a glass of wine or whatever they want

to in the clubhouse, they haven't physically been allowed to go in.

The local head of St. Andrews University, always traditionally gets membership at St. Andrews, but for the first time it's a woman head of the

university and she's American. And she says it's disgraceful that I can't go in a few hundred yards away to join the club and be a member. That

should change within the next few hours now.

LU STOUT: Yeah, a yes vote is expected as a result of a record -- just pretty significant turnout of RNA members participating in this

historic vote. Do you think this vote will also affect remaining male only golf clubs around the world?

THOMAS: They are under no obligation to, but we've seen with other male only memberships there is a social pressure. Augusta National, which

stages the first of the four annual major championships in men's golf did admit women members in 2012.

This vote is just about the Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St. Andrews. It won't affect where the Open Championship here in Britain is

held every year.

Earlier, I spoke to a former women's British Open champion golfer, Vivian Saunders, who has always been pushing for female members to be

admitted to the R&A and this is what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIVIAN SAUNDERS, RETIRED GOLFER: I think it will make a difference, because the R&A is the governing body of world golf with the United States

Golf Association. And I think it will just give a much better message that it should be an inclusive game, because you know, in lots of places golf is

literally dying on its feet. And I think this will help really modernize the game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS: So, at the start, Kristie, not much will change, but as Vivian said there, it sends out all the right signals about golf trying to

include women on an equal footing in the game going forward.

LU STOUT: Now a yes vote is expected today. A historic vote for the R&A club for golf and for women. We'll leave it at that. Alex Thomas

joining us live from CNN London, thank you.

Now, if you have ever behaved badly on an airplane beware, a photo or a video of you could end up on Facebook.

Now the woman behind a particular page is exposing passengers' rude behavior and the bizarre things that happen in the not so friendly skies.

Here's our Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)??

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Passengers, prepare for shaming especially if you're not in the upright position and your feet are

on your tray table. ??

(on camera): Yikes.??

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so yikes. It's so beyond yikes.??

MOOS (voice-over): Former flight attendant Shawn Katlin (ph) created a Facebook page "Passenger Shaming", showcasing photos of passengers behaving

badly, leaving dirty diapers in seat pockets and going shirtless. How far we've flown from the elegant old days.??

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The travail has been taken out of travel.??

MOOS: Instead of pearls, check out the altitude of these shorts.??

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's getting worse by the minute.??

MOOS: Her personal pet peeve???

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Socks stay on.??

MOOS: Except they don't. Sure it's funny when John Candy does it in the movie.??

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my dogs are barking today. That feels better.??

MOOS: But who wants to let barking dogs lie when they intrude from another row???

(on camera): We recommend keeping your feet covered and your hands exposed.??

(voice-over): How gross is it to see a guy sleeping with his hands shoved down his -- avert your eyes.??But Shawn Katlin (ph) has seen

passenger do worse.??

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He caught his hair on fire in the lavatory while he was smoking crack.??

MOOS: Sort of makes chewed gum less than a safety card seem quaint.??

(on camera): And whatever you do, do not get nailed using clippers.??

(voice-over): Why don't you just skip the in-flight manicure? No one wants to see you caring for your feet at 30,000 feet.??

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was this gentleman treating his warts with Compound W. Yes, that happened.??

MOOS: Shawn Katlin quit her flight attendant job a year ago to become a nurse practitioner. She'll see plenty of naked men in nursing. But

somehow looking at this???

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't.??

MOOS: Seems worse, a passenger using a pillow case to cover his eyes while uncovering the rest.??

(MUSIC)??

MOOS: Sure, let's fly, but don't leave behind your boxers, your dentures, your toenails or your wig.??

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.??

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: I am going to contribute to that Facebook page.

And that is News Stream. But the news continues at CNN. World Business Today is next.

END