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Japan's Surprising Showing at Rugby World Cup; North Korea Celebrates 70 Years of Worker's Party Rule; Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet Wins Nobel Peace Prize; Russia Supporting Syrian Ground Offensive. Aired 8:00a-9:00A ET

Aired October 09, 2015 - 8:00   ET

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

[08:00:20] ROBYN CURNOW, HOST: I'm Robyn Curnow at CNN Center. Welcome to News Stream.

Well, you may have never heard of this year's Nobel Peace Prize winners, but their work has set an example for a region torn apart by civil

war.

We're live also in Pyongyang as North Korea prepares to host a major military parade.

And Facebook moves beyond the iconic like button, but where's the dislike button?

The Tunisian national dialogue quartet has won the Nobel Peace Prize beating out more than 270 other candidates. The Norwegian Nobel Committee

bestowed the prestigious honor on the group just a short time ago for its contribution to building a democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine

Revolution in 2011.

Well, for more on the group, let's go to Phil Black who is in London. Why them?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Robyn, this particular group, according to the Nobel committee, and people who know them and their work,

deserves enormous credit, they say, for maintaining Tunisia as a Democracy today. Remember, Tunisia was the first of the Arab Spring countries to

rise up against an authoritarian leader: Libya, Egypt, Syria all followed, but today only Tunisia stands as a democracy.

And it hasn't been an easy road. It almost derailed at various points. The Nobel committee is saying it didn't largely, significantly,

due to the work of these four civil society groups that worked together, created a national dialogue, and helped push this country down a path

towards establishing a democratic tradition.

Take a listen now to a little more from the Nobel committee explaining its reasons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KACI KULLMANN FIVE, CHAIRWOMAN, NORWEGIAN NOBEL COMMITTEE: It established an alternative peaceful political process at a time when the

country was on the brink of civil war. It was thus instrumental in enabling Tunisia in the space of a few years to establish a constitutional

system of government, guaranteeing fundamental rights for the entire population irrespective of gender, political conviction or religious

belief.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACK: So this prize is meant as a reward for this group's efforts, for Tunisia's progress down the path towards Democracy, but it's also meant

as an encouragement because that Democratic future is not assured. This is still a country with enormous problems, enormous political and religious

divides. It functions as a democracy, because up until this point the secular and the Islamist leaning parties have been able to work together,

been able to find common ground for the national good. The Nobel committee says this award celebrates that fact and encourages the country to keep

working even as it still experiences enormous security, economic, political problems.

Security, we've talked a lot about this year. This country has suffered two big terror attacks largely targeting western tourists. That

has struck the economy significantly, because tourism is such a huge part of that. And that ultimately affects this country's political stability.

The Tunisian president has commented that a large-scale terror attack like this could see the country collapse.

So, it is a country that has achieved much, but whose grip on democracy is still quite tenuous. The Nobel committee hopes that this

encourages the country to continue down this path -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Thanks so much for that. Phil Black there in London. Thanks.

Now, the war in Syria is growing every more complex as French war planes launch a fresh round of strikes on ISIS targets in Raqqa. Now, the

French defense minister says they hit an ISIS camp that was training foreign fighters to go to France and carry out attacks in Europe.

Meantime, both Iran and Russia reject U.S. claims that four Russian cruise missiles never reached their intended targets in Syria, but instead

crashed in Iran.

Russia fired those missiles as part of its escalating campaign in Syria, but the British and American defense secretaries say Russia's

involvement will only inflame tensions in the Middle East.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL FALLON, BRITSH DEFENSE MINISTER: By propping up Assad instead of defeating ISIL, Russia risks making a grave situation much worse. We

want Russia to use its influence with Assad to find a diplomatic solution and help alleviate the humanitarian crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:05:10] CURNOW: Well, nearly five years of civil war have ravaged Syria. And now Russia's new military now Russia's new military campaign

adds a new threat. Arwa Damon has the story of civilians on the ground fighting to survive.

But first, a warning, some of the images you're about to see are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Barely able to see through the thick dust, somehow members of the Syrian

civil defense team also known as the white helmets, pull out a little girl.

Grab her one orders and turns around.

Miraculously the children appear unharmed. But then another strike. Frantic cries of God is great. Luckily, this time it seems everyone got

out, but often not.

The white helmets, an independent medical rescue team, have been through this before. Too many times for most to count. But now it's not

just Assad war planes and barrel bombs. Since Russia's bombing campaign began on September 30th, they say they have documented around 182 civilian

deaths including two of their own which they say were caused by Russian strikes.

The Kremlin boasts of its accuracy, insisting civilians are not being targeted or killed. But those on the ground say it's a lie. The strikes are

indiscriminate and often land on areas far from the front lines or rebel bases.

A child here treated for wounds. Two others appear shell shocked. Childhood they will never know. We cannot independently verify the activist

claims of Russian responsibility for these casualties, but perhaps what is most despicable is that it is happening at all. And has been happening for

too long. No matter who to blame.

As the Russian-Syrian regime, Americans, NATO and other key players talk of war maneuvers and strategic gains, this is what that rhetoric looks

like on the ground. These images are graphic and they are real.

A child covered in blood screaming in pain crying out for his mother.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Difficult to watch, isn't it?

Well, thanks to Arwa for that report.

Other news, Iranian state media is reporting that a key commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has been killed near the Syrian city of

Aleppo. Reports say he was killed by ISIS extremists. Iran is a regional ally to Syria's embattled government led by Bashar al-Assad.

And across Israel and the Palestinian territories, police are out in full force as there are more instances of violence. Let's get straight to

our Ben Wedeman. He joins us from Albira (ph) in the West Bank.

Hi there, Ben. What's the atmosphere like?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, actually we're now on the northern edge of Ramallah in an area called the Balour (ph)

where there have been clashes going on for about the last hour-and-a-half between Palestinian youth, women and men, and Israeli security forces.

The Israeli security forces firing rubber bullets, tear gas and also this water that is used to disperse crowds. It smells absolutely horrific.

It's been used quite a lot here.

Now we understand -- we've seen lots of ambulances taking away the injured from these clashes, and of course these clashes come after days and

days of rising tension.

As far as the security situation across the area goes, there have been a variety of reports of attacks. We do understand that in Demona (ph) in

the Nagev Desert in southern Israel there was an incident where an Israeli teenager attacked four people, two of them Israeli Bedouins, two of them

Palestinians.

But what we see here is what we've been seeing for quite a few days are these sort of daily clashes. Young men and some young women going on

here, reflective, I suppose of the feeling that many people have is that the situation has gotten to the point where there's not much else to do but

fight.

I mean, for instance, there was an opinion poll recently conducted which found that 57 percent of Palestinians feel that their only way in the

absence of a political solution to this decade's old occupation is to launch another intifada. There's been a lot of talk about a third

intifada.

I was here for the second and the end of the third -- or the first -- it's not quite at the same level, but definitely when you speak to people

here, the emotions seem quite similar -- Robyn.

CURNOW: With that in mind, any comments from Israeli and Palestinian leaders?

WEDEMAN: Well, we've heard, for instance, the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu holding the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas and

Hamas as responsible for what they call the incitement that has led to the inflaming of this situation. The Palestinian authority has said that it

doesn't want a third intifada. We've seen reports in the Israeli media that in fact that the Israeli security establishment thinks that the

Palestinian Authority is doing something to prevent further inflaming of the situation.

In fact, as we were coming here now, we saw some elements of Palestinian security several blocks away. But they don't seem to be doing

much at the moment to try to disperse this situation -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Ben Wedeman there in the West Bank. Thanks so much.

You're watching News Stream. Coming up, in Pyongyang, dancers rehearsed ahead of a lavish celebration this weekend. A live report from

Pyongyang, that's just ahead.

And will Japan make it to the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals? The team's unlikely winning streak has whipped up a frenzy among fans. We'll

take you to Tokyo.

Plus, when the like button just isn't quite enough. Now Facebook is giving us more options to share our online emotions. We'll explore what

that means for us and the company. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Welcome back. I'm Robyn Curnow.

Well, this is a big weekend in North Korea. A giant celebration is set in Pyongyang to mark the 70th anniversary of the ruling Worker's Party.

For months now, performers have been practicing day and night to make sure nothing will go wrong. We're also expecting to see a lavish parade of

military hardware.

Well, for a preview of the big day, Will Ripley is standing by for us in Pyongyang. Hi there.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Robyn.

Yes, you're absolutely right. This is going to be a lavish celebration. There are new satellite images being analyzed that show the

mass of military equipment gathered at an airbase outside of Pyongyang. This is the North Korea group that observes the North Korea at 38 north

saying that they have actually seen this military equipment gathering since May. And there are now hundreds of vehicles -- tanks, of course thousands

of personnel expected to be goose stepping in the streets. Also, a lot of people watching for missile launchers to see if North Korea has added

anything new to its arsenal.

Clearly, this country sending a message.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: When it comes to massive displays of state muscle, nobody does it quite like North Korea. Then again, no other nation has the Korean

Workers Party, led by three generations of the same family for seven decades.

This weekend's spectacle is supposed to be a showcase of loyalty to the party and its supreme leader. Pyongyang citizens have been rehearsing

for months, day and night.

"We want to celebrate in the most significant way," says this university student.

Tens of thousands will fill the streets, a lavish celebration, for a nation still struggling economically.

You'll often see North Korean young people dancing in large group formations like this, this one way that they celebrate major holidays like

the one that's coming up.

Behind them is a monument to the Workers Party, an imposing symbol of North Korea's only ruling party that turns 70 on Saturday.

We're taken to the party's first headquarters, a place the North Korean government says foreign media has never visited before. As many

communist regimes collapsed, North Korea's system is practically unchanged.

People are in the rooms learning about the history of the Party.

From their earliest days at school right through their adult working lives, every North Korean attends regular history studies. They learn the

official story of Kim Il Sung's rise to power. From teenage revolutionary, to Workers Party founder, to supreme leader for 46 years.

A title passed on to his son and grandson. Third-generation leader Kim Jong Un rules a nation some call a Cold War throwback.

But North Korea insists it's here to stay, developing nuclear weapons and missiles to defend the regime. This weekend's parade is a show of

devotion to the leadership, a defiant show of force to the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: Supreme leader Kim Jong un is all but certain to preside over this parade tomorrow. He'll be joined by a high ranking delegation from

China, but almost no other countries are sending top level officials to see this parade, Robyn. It is expected to be perhaps the largest, certainly,

since Kim Jong un has taken power, one of the largest in North Korean history. And there could be more action on the horizon.

Space scientists here in North Korea told me just a couple of weeks ago, they're planning to launch a satellite into orbit. Of course, many in

the world also view a satellite launch as perhaps a ballistic missile test in disguise. And there is also information that a nuclear test, another

nuclear test could be upcoming.

So, this may be the first of many messages that we see North Korea sending to the world, Robyn.

CURNOW: Indeed. Thanks so much. Always great to have you there on the ground.

I think it's your fifth trip in just over a year. So thanks so much. Will Ripley there from Pyongyang.

After the break, Japan is looking to make a surprise run into the quarterfinals of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. A live report from Tokyo just

ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:21:56] CURNOW: Welcome back.

Japanese rugby fans are on the edge of their seat as Japan prepares for its last chance to make it to the quarterfinals of the rugby World Cup.

The success in the tournament has been a huge surprise and has drawn a wave of new fans, as Matt Rivers now reports from Tokyo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A newfound passion for Rugby in Japan, a country without the sporting pedigree of more established

opponents. And yet it was the two-time champions South African team that fell to the Japanese squad in its opening match.

It was perhaps the biggest upset in international rugby history.

Suddenly, the Japanese team has newfound fans joining the ranks of long-time enthusiasts.

"Winning against South Africa was unbelievably big news. I am so glad that Japanese people now know Japan's rugby can match up against the

world's best teams. It's a great push for the sport here now."

Nearly 25 million people watched the team nicknamed the brave blossoms beat the Samoan squad two weeks later, a national viewing audience record

for the sport.

And all that popularity has translated, as it so often does these days, into merchandise. In fact, workers here at this B&D sports shop tell

us that all of the famous national team jerseys, the red and white jerseys that you see were sold out after South Africa lost to Japan.

In fact, the only jerseys they haven't sold out are the alternate national team jerseys.

Beyond jerseys, the other thing that sold out, the official Japanese match balls.

Now one thing that is still selling is just your standard rugby ball bought by eager first timers ready to try out a sport they were inspired to

try out by watching this team on TV.

Retail success just another indication of rugby's growing popularity. Fun to watch for players in Japan's university league.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After World Cup, even -- it's all over the news now, so even people who don't play rugby know all about it.

RIVERS: Whether the upstarts make it to the tournament's quarterfinals remains to be seen, but the team will certainly hope to match

their success this year in the 2019 World Cup said to be held, of all places, in Japan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Well, let's get right to Tokyo now and CNN correspondent Matt Rivers.

OK, as a matter of disclosure, I'm South Africa. I think my countrymen are still trying to recover from that loss in the early stages.

So the question is what are the chances of Japan actually now making it to the quarterfinals?

RIVERS: Well, before we get to that answer, you have my deepest condolences after that match. I'm sure that was relatively brutal.

That said, moving on a little bit, the chances for Japan to move on really rely on other teams at this point. And those two teams would be

Scotland and Samoa. If Scotland beats Samoa Saturday night -- their match is played Saturday night local time here in Japan, then what will happen is

Japan's chances go completely out the window.

However, if Samoa can beat Scotland, then Japan has a chance to move on to the quarterfinals if Japan can beat the United States early Japan

time Monday morning.

So, it's a little bit up in the air at this point, but most Japanese fans certainly rooting for the Samoa squad to pull out the victory Saturday

night.

CURNOW: No doubt.

And as you mentioned there in your story, I mean, Japan is hosting the 2019 World Cup. There's been a bit of concern about delays or if it's

ready to host. What's the status now?

[08:25:36] RIVERS: There was. There was a bit of a delay. What caused the recent controversy was that Japan is building the national

stadium here in Tokyo and that was being built for the 2020 Summer Olympics that will be held in this city. That stadium was supposed to be ready for

that 2019 World Cup final.

Well, officials recently came out and said that stadium not going to be done in time. And so that prompted an entire review of their plan here

in Japan.

That said, Japanese rugby officials were able to go back to the international rugby officials and tell them, look, this is our new plan.

And now the World Cup -- rugby World Cup final in 2019 set to be played in Yokohama Stadium, which is the same stadium that hosted the 2002 football

World Cup final. And so there was a little bit of a bump in the road there, but it does appear that the Japanese Rugby officials here have

righted the ship and this country certainly seems ready to bring the world stage here in 2019.

CURNOW: Yeah. And it's just great for the game. More fans, more players, you know, it just helps the game.

So, thanks so much. Great chatting.

You're watching News Stream. Coming up, Facebook wants you to empathize with your social circles. And it's rolling out a whole new set

of buttons for that one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:21] CURNOW: I'm Robyn Curnow at CNN Center. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

The Tunisian national dialogue quartet has won the Novel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel committee says the group contributed to building a

democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution in 2011.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter says the U.S. plans to change the way it trains Syrian rebels to fight ISIS militants on the ground.

Speaking a short time ago, Carter said that he was not satisfied with early efforts at training these ground forces. President Barack Obama is

expected to detail those changes soon.

At least three new stabbing attacks are reported in Jerusalem and the West Bank. In Jerusalem, police are out in full force following Friday

prayers and access to the old city is being restricted.

And Sepp Blatter's lawyer says tell CNN his client will file an appeal a day after FIFA's ethics committee slapped him with a 90 day suspension.

Blatter announced in June he's stepping down as president of FIFA following allegations of corruption within the organization.

An American service member who was stabbed helping stop a terror attack in France is now in hospital again, the victim of yet another

stabbing. Doctors worry that his wounds might be life threatening, but now say he will fully recover.

The fight was caught on video. CNN's Kyung Lah has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What police say started as an altercation inside a Sacramento bar soon spilled outside and turned into

a wild street brawl. This liquor store surveillance video captured the fight. U.S. Air Force Airman Spencer Stone, the tall man wearing a white

shirt, throwing punches as a group of men appeared to surround him. Watch closely. This is the moment where Stone is apparently stabbed. What looks

like blood on his shirt as everyone flees the scene.

KEN BERNARD, DEPUTY CHIEF, SACRAMENTO POLICE DEPARTMENT: The assault does not appear to be a random act. It's believed to be related to a

nightclub incident.

LAH: It was just this August when Stone was hailed as a hero, along with Oregon National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Saddler, for

taking down a would-be terrorist aboard a passenger train in France. Stone was praised for his aggressive role in disarming a man who was carrying

firearms and a box cutter.

SPENCER STONE, AIRMAN FIRST CLASS, U.S. AIR FORCE: I put him in a choke hold. It seemed like he just kept pulling more weapons left and

right. Pulled out a handgun, Alek took that. Took out a box cutter, started jabbing at me with that.

LAH: He was treated for his injuries and returned to the U.S., greeted with a hero's welcome. He met with the president at the White House,

appeared on nightly talk shows, was honored with a parade in Sacramento, where he's stationed at Travis Air Force Base. (on camera): But what led to

the altercation that was captured on this surveillance camera? Police here in Sacramento say the entire incident is under investigation but they

already know this, the suspects likely had no idea who they were fighting. But they likely know now.

BERNARD: This incident is a very unfortunate altercation between two groups of folks who were enjoying the nightlife in midtown Sacramento. This

incident is not related to terrorism in any way. We know it's not related to what occurred in France.

LAH (voice-over): Spencer Stone only recently recovered from his injuries after his heroism in France. He is now again in the hospital, in

serious condition.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: What a story.

Well, this Friday marks 445 days in detention for Washington Post reporter for Jason Rezaian. That means he's spent more time detained in an

Iranian prison than the U.S. diplomats who were taken hostage after Iranian revolutionaries seized the U.S. embassy in 1979.

Rezaian has been detained over charges of espionage. The Washington Post insists he's innocent. A closed Iranian court issued a verdict in

August. It has yet to be made public.

And Volkswagen's U.S. chief has apologized for what he called deeply troubling events at the company. Michael Horn's remarks came on Thursday

during testimony in Washington before U.S. lawmakers.

Horn also told them he blamed engineers at the company for the deceptive software that cheated emissions testing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL HORN, VOLKSWAGEN U.S: This was not a corporate decision from my point of view. To my best knowledge today, the corporation in no board

meeting or no supervisory board meeting has authorized this, but this was a couple of software engineers who put this in for whatever reasons, and I

would also like to find out. And I fully.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, Horn also said that three Volkswagen employees have been suspended as part of an internal investigation.

Coming up, a heart for love, or tears for sadness. Soon, you'll be able to show how you really feel about your news feed with Facebook's new

feature.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:36:58] CURNOW: Well, James Bond is never one to mince his words. And the actor playing the British super spy is blunt about his time as 007.

Daniel Craig admits he's burned out after four straight blockbusters. He told Timeout London he's tired of always having to look the part. And when

asked about doing another Bond movie, he said he would rather "break this glass and slash my wrists. I'm over it at the moment."

Wow.

"We're done. All I want to do is move on."

Pretty strong words there.

Craig spent eight months filming the latest Bond epic, Specter. And he says he's looking forward to some sleep and a few drinks, probably not

one of those shaken not stirred martinis.

What a pity.

Well, Facebook is testing the waters with a new way to respond to posts. Right now you can hit the like button to show that you approve of

something, but what if you want to show sympathy or anger or a few other emotions? Well, Facebook is bringing in reactions. It takes us from the

like button to these, animated icons that let you express love, surprise or just sometimes plain fury.

It's not exactly a dislike button, but Facebook says reactions capture that spirit.

Well, the icons are still being tested by a small group of users right now. Let's go to Brian Stelter in New York for more. Why the change,

Brian?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as always with Facebook, they're trying to have you spend more time with Facebook and they're trying

to collect more data about what you like and dislike. So it makes a lot of sense to get beyond just the thumbs up, just the like button.

Obviously, people's emotions are more complex than just liking things.

There was talk a few weeks ago about an actual dislike button, like a down vote. But as you can see here on screen, it's actually more

complicated than that. There's a wow, a love, a haha emoji. There's a yay, a sad face, an angry face. So you can give different reactions to

different content.

And what's behind it like I said, well, they want you to spend more time on Facebook. They want you to be interacting with more information,

more comments, more articles so you'll be able to give feedback on those stories. And, like I mentioned, data.

When you say you're angry about something or you love something it gives Facebook more data, which they can use to target advertisements to

you, which they can use to make Facebook even better for you algorithmically to give you more of what you want. And that might cause

you to spend even more time on Facebook, right?

CURNOW: Ah, so if you -- you know, if you're really sad or your really happy about Daniel Craig not wanting to be the next James Bond we

can really get into our emotions on Facebook over that.

But the fact is there's no dislike button, there's no...

STELTER: Yeah, there's no exact dislike button. That would be a little bit too black or white, right. The world is much more gray than

that. And rather than disliking something you can say your sad about it or you can say your laughing at it, you're making fun of it. It gives you

more options, more ability to actually express how you feel.

And like you mentioned, it's starting right now in just two countries. It's a test in Spain and Ireland, but I'm sure we'll see it expand over

time. You know, it's the kind of thing that Facebook will test with small groups of users and then roll out more broadly.

It kind of is the same thing we're seeing with the text messaging. We're seeing emojis becoming more and more and more popular, almost like a

whole new language. And what we're seeing is Facebook using some of that emoji-like language in order to get people more ways to give feedback.

CURNOW: So there's really no point in talking, we can just send silly faces to each other, hey.

STELTER: Well, you know me, I send about half emojis, half words. I don't know about you. But I'll be sure to go in love your Facebook profile

now that we can do more than just like.

CURNOW: I'm old school. So, you know, that's all you're getting from me, Brian Stelter.

Thanks so much. Great chatting as usual.

Well, that's News Stream. I'm Robyn Curnow at the CNN News Center. Alex Thomas has the latest from FIFA and the recent suspensions that go all

the way to its highest ranks. That's next on World Sport.

END