Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
NBC Spoils Gold Medal Race; Romney Aide Curses at Reporters; Battle for Syria's Biggest City; India Hit by Second Blackout; American Climbers Killed in Peru
Aired July 31, 2012 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL PHELPS, SWIMMER: We have seen a significant change over the last, you know, 10 years, but in my eyes it can change so much more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Phelps is scheduled to swim in the 200-meter butterfly, around 2:45 p.m. Eastern Time.
Thanks for watching, everyone. "NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL" starts right now.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. We are taking you around the world in 60 minutes. Here's what we're working on now.
The crippling power outages in India just got a whole lot worse. We're talking about 600 million people in the dark.
Then to Syria where the rebels say they could be days away from taking hold of a critical city, the battle is now heating up. CNN is there for a rare glimpse inside that civil war.
But first, a big controversy at the Olympics. That's right. A 16-year-old Chinese swimmer wins the gold medal and denies that she is doping. Ye Shiwen set an Olympic record in the 200-meter individual medley yesterday. Now on Saturday, she won gold in the 400-meter individual medley.
Well, yesterday, the head of the World Swimming Association called her swim unbelievable. And suggested she may be doping. But the young swimmer, she told reporters late last night and we are quoting here, "My achievements derive from diligence and hard work. I will never use drugs. The Chinese team is extremely strict on doping control. So I can assure you that it is not an issue with us."
In women's gymnastics, the team finals happening right now. If the U.S. wins, it's going to be their first team gold since 1996. We're going to keep you posted on that one.
I want to go back to the swimming. The women's 200-meter freestyle happening in about two hours. Seventeen-year-old American Missy Franklin, she is taking on the world record -- holder, rather, that is Fredricka Pellegrini of Italy.
In men's swimming, Michael Phelps could win two medals today. First up is the 200-meter butterfly. Now if he pulls it off, jumps back into the pool for the 4-by-200 freestyle relay. If he wins both, he's going to have a record 19 Olympic gold medals.
Wow. Zain Verjee, she's in London with the best assignment ever.
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: Zain, we talked about --
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: It is.
MALVEAUX: -- Missy Franklin. I wish I was there. Missy Franklin, this young American swimmer. There is a lot to her story and some of it, of course, involves a little bit of embarrassment for NBC as well. Tell us what happened.
VERJEE: Yes, it was a bit of a mess-up on NBC's part. Basically they aired a promo of her saying that she had won gold in her first time ever here at the Olympics, 100-meter backstroke. I watched it. It was really an amazing race. She did so well. But that promo on NBC then aired right before the race itself. So anyone who tuned in would actually knew what the result was before they could actually watch it.
So there's been all this outrage and NBC, you're spoiling the Olympics for people. And hash tag basically came up called #NBCfail and everyone is just complaining essentially about this.
What's interesting here to note is that, you know, if this had happened four years ago, maybe tape delays wouldn't have become such an issue. But in the world of social media, Twitter and Facebook, everyone is getting results instantaneously. So this whole delay is causing a real issue for so many people, but, Suzanne, you can watch it live streamed on NBC's Web site.
So that's one option. Another option is just to go on a Twitter, Facebook, social media diet. And the other is to come to London. So that's all I can offer.
MALVEAUX: I don't think people can do that thing. I don't think they can go on a social media diet. I mean everybody is just connected to these things.
Tell us about the women who are actually competing right now.
VERJEE: Yes. Yes, it started about a little over half an hour ago. And we're all watching it. And just looking to see how the U.S. women's gymnastics teams are doing. This is the all around competition. And Jordyn Wieber who left in tears in the individual competition is actually doing pretty well. She just did the vault a moment ago and did a bang-up job. It was great. And the women's U.S. team overall has been performing pretty well. So keep your fingers, toes and eyes crossed that this time they can beat the Chinese who have the last gold the last time around.
MALVEAUX: And whatever you do, put down the BlackBerry. Don't look at the tweets that are coming in.
All right, Zain, thanks again. Appreciate it.
Mitt Romney heading back to the U.S. after getting a warm reception in Poland. That was one of the final stops in the overseas trip. The speech just a few hours ago, Romney praised the country as an example and defender of freedom. He says the partnership between the U.S. and Poland is based on common beliefs and values.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our nations belong to the great fellowship of democracies. We speak the same language of freedom and justice. We uphold the right of every person to live in peace. I believe it's critical to stand by those who have stood by America. Solidarity was a great movement that freed a nation and it's with solidarity that America and Poland face the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: During his visit to Poland, Romney met with Lech Walesa, once a shipyard worker who inspired the Solidarity Trade Union and went on to become president. Walesa invited Romney to visit Poland.
Well, just hours before the speech, Mitt Romney's press secretary kind of lost his cool with reporters. The Republican presidential candidate, he was visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Some anxious reporters, they were firing off some questions as Romney walked to his car. Here's what happened next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Governor Romney.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you discuss some of the mishaps on your trips?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Governor Romney, do you have a statement for the Palestinians?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What about your gaffes?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Governor Romney, do you feel that your gaffes have overshadowed your foreign trip?
RICK GORKA, ROMNEY TRAVELING PRESS SECRETARY: This is a holy site for the Polish people. Show some respect.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Governor Romney, just a few questions, sir.
GORKA: Show some respect, Jim. UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: We haven't had another chance to ask some questions.
GORKA: (EXPLETIVE DELETED). This is a holy site for the Polish people. Show some respect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: That aide who said that has since apologized.
Want to bring in Hala Gorani with CNN International. You know, covering --
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: Covering numerous campaigns. The language can get a little salty. It's usually not captured on camera, however.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And didn't we get a shove it to a political reporter -- a Politico reporter as well.
MALVEAUX: Yes, absolutely.
GORANI: So that happened as well.
MALVEAUX: Tell us more about this.
GORANI: Yes.
MALVEAUX: Because I think for viewers they might not understand how this works. But when you're traveling with a candidate, you know, you have a certain opportunity -- or the president -- you shout questions in an international setting, sometimes in a place that is holy and sacred because you don't get a chance to really get to the candidate or to the president.
GORANI: And you covered the White House for 10 years.
MALVEAUX: Yes.
GORANI: You followed presidents and candidates as well. What is the -- what are the rules of --
MALVEAUX: You know it's funny because I may not covered President Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
GORANI: Yes.
MALVEAUX: And it it happened all the time. During all the press conferences, he would be with world leaders and reporters would ask him about what people cared about in that investigation. At the time that's what people were talking about. That's what they cared about. And so it happens.
GORANI: Right. MALVEAUX: And it might look strange that it's -- it might look disrespectful in some ways, but when you don't have a chance to actually get to the person --
GORANI: Right.
MALVEAUX: -- and ask those critical questions, sometimes you just got to shout it out. And that's what you do.
GORANI: Well, for the last several days, I've been looking at the world's reaction to Romney's trip.
MALVEAUX: Yes. How's he doing?
GORANI: So, in "The Guardian," there was an op-ed calling it the "Romney's insult the world tour." We had a very strong reaction from Middle Easterners, understandably, about what he said regarding Jerusalem, that it should be the capital of Israel and that if he were elected president, he would move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. It's in Tel Aviv right now, by the way.
But I think what really irked Arabs more than that is when essentially he told Jewish donors during a fundraising event that cultural differences explain why the Israeli economy is doing better than the Palestinian economy. Well, there, of course, you had a torrent of response. Including from Ahmed Shihab-Eldin. He's somebody who works for the "Huff Post Live."
MALVEAUX: Sure.
GORANI: "Palestinian refugees have helped build Jordan, Saudi, Kuwait due to their rich cultural and work ethic and lack of opportunity in Israel." So Arabs are making it very clear that, listen, it's not a question of cultural differences. There is an occupation going on.
MALVEAUX: Yes. Sure. I know --
GORANI: Yes.
MALVEAUX: -- that Romney had tried to kind of clear things up a little bit on his way home.
GORANI: Yes.
MALVEAUX: Do you think that this is really going to have a lasting impact? I mean, let's say, let's say he wins, let's say he does become the U.S. president, how does he make up for some of these kind of blunders that people are -- they seem to be quite offended by?
GORANI: Well, I don't know. Some people are saying perhaps change your media adviser. I mean there you have somebody who is himself --
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: Don't use those expletives. Yes. Right.
GORANI: -- at the reporters. Right. But I think that, I think that in the case of this tour in particular, you know, you'll know better than me, it is several months before the election, but also importantly, Americans care about one thing and one thing only now at the top of their list of concerns. And that's unemployment.
MALVEAUX: That's the economy.
GORANI: And getting and finding jobs and the economy as well. But I just wanted to add one thing about this statement on Jerusalem. You know, President Obama himself when he was a senator running for president said the same thing to APAC. He said, "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided," although he backtracked the next day saying, "Well, that's also a matter for the Palestinians and the Israelis to decide."
So we'll see, it'll be interesting if Romney is back on U.S. soil will try to back track on some of the statements, whether he feels it will hurt him politically or not. My guess is no, because he's going to have to focus on the economy and on other issues that --
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: We know that -- one of the -- one of the debates is going to be on foreign policy.
GORANI: Yes.
MALVEAUX: So he's going to -- he's probably now going to have to answer some of those questions. But you're absolutely right. I think like the two months, more than two, three months or so before the election, it's plenty of time to kind of clean this all up so.
GORANI: All right.
MALVEAUX: So you know?
GORANI: It's going to be -- it's going to be interesting to see.
MALVEAUX: The news cycle.
GORANI: But if any of our viewers are on Twitter, and I know many of them are, look at some of the reaction from around the world to this Romney trip. Some of it is very interesting what people have -- what has resonated with them in terms of what they have found offensive. There is, of course, Poland, but there was -- you'll remember the Olympic, the statement on the Olympic Games.
MALVEAUX: Yes. Did not -- did not go over very well.
GORANI: That ruffled some feathers in the United Kingdom. Right.
MALVEAUX: Start off to a bad start. Let's see if he can make up for it. GORANI: All right.
MALVEAUX: Thanks again, Hala. Good to see you.
An update now on a story that we brought to you yesterday. International Olympic Committee says that this young athlete now can wear her hijab during the judo competition on Friday. That is the traditional dress, as you know. Yesterday, we told you the Saudi kingdom and the young woman's father said she had to pull out of the games if she could not wear the head scarf. Well, the IOC says the agreement they reached respects what they say are cultural sensitivities in the Muslim kingdom.
Here is more of what we're working on for this hour for NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL, she is going to be on the cover of "Playboy." That is right. Now for some people here in the U.S., it is considered an honor. But in India, photos like this are bringing shame to her whole family.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Despite being outgunned and undermanned, Syrian rebels seem to be making some small gains in the city of Aleppo. Now these are new pictures that we're showing you. The opposition touring a police station they claim to have now captured. The neighborhood battles have sent an estimated 200,000 people running now for their lives. They also scored a notable victory when they took over an army outpost that is near the commercial hub.
As Ivan Watson shows us, they have seized more materials to try to help their cause.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The fires are still smoldering after Sunday night's rebel attack on a large Syrian army base next to the main highway between Aleppo and the Turkish border to the north. And look at the results of this attack. An armored personnel carrier blown open and just take a look at how ferocious this assault was. The turret, the turret was blown off the vehicle, something like 20 yards away.
We were listening as the battle unfolded on Sunday night. Tracer fire lighting up the night sky. Explosions. The Syrian army calling in artillery all the way from Aleppo, which was located miles away. And we could hear the rebels as they approached, the earth works around this army base crawling on their stomachs carrying rocket propelled grenades which can only fire at close range to take out heavily armed vehicles like this.
The day after the battle, the rebels are celebrating. This is why this outpost was such a strategic victory for the rebels. It overlooked that main highway that runs from the city of Aleppo all the way to the Turkish border. And with this taken out, the rebels have assumed control of a crucial artery, transport artery, between these two destinations. Ahmed Afish (ph) was one of the key commanders of this battle. And he's now showing us the tanks and armored personnel carriers, just three of them that they captured in Sunday night's battle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Through Translator): God willing soon we will meet the regime forces in Aleppo and take the tanks with us.
WATSON: The regime forces have been pushed out of this area, but they're still making their presence known with artillery strikes. We've now heard at least four shells crash, probably within a mile of where we are right now. You can see dust over here from an artillery strike which is our cue to get the hell out of here.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Anadan, Syria.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: As violence escalates in Syria, the pressure intensifies for President Bashar al-Assad to leave.
Our Barbara Starr, she talked to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and he says that Assad is now in deep trouble and needs to get out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I'm sure that deep down Assad knows he's in trouble and it's just a matter of time before he has to go.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: What would you say to him?
PANETTA: I would say if you want to be able to protect yourself and your family, you better get the hell out now.
STARR: How do you get Assad to leave if, and unless he believes, there is a U.S. military option? You're the most powerful secretary of defense in the world. Unless he believes you're going to attack him, why on earth would he -- why on earth would he leave power?
PANETTA: Because he's losing. And because the opposition is continuing to gain strength. The opposition is being assisted in their effort. They are organizing. They are confronting them. What we saw happen in Syria with the loss of virtually his whole national security consul sends a very clear message that he is indeed trouble.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Half of India is now without power. We're talking about half of the country. We're going to tell you why political corruption could be impacting the country's power grid.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Welcome back to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. We're taking you now to India. The country getting slammed by another huge power blackout. A partial collapse of the power grid yesterday affected about 350 million people. Well, today it is now closer to 600 million. Half the country without power in sweltering summer heat.
Want to give you some perspective here. That is more people than the United States, Mexico and Canada combined. Hundreds of trains stopped in their tracks, hospitals now are struggling to keep up emergency power.
Want to bring in Harmeet Singh, he is a CNN producer in New Delhi.
And Harmeet, first of all, tell us, this power collapse today, this is actually a new one, not just a continuation of yesterday's collapse. We got a new problem on our hands, right?
HARMEET SINGH, CNN NEW DELHI PRODUCER: It is in fact a new problem. Today's collapse, yesterday's collapse happened in seven states. Five more states went down today because yesterday it was the northern grid, today it was northern grid and the eastern grid. Both put together, they contribute -- they account for around 40 percent of India's total electricity generation capacity.
MALVEAUX: So, Harmeet, how you are people actually surviving? What are they doing to deal with all this, because they can't travel, they can't communicate? I mean this really must be kind of frightening for folks.
SINGH: Well, India is no stranger to power cuts. There are lots, lots of the country, which are still without power. They're not electrified as of now. Even India is fighting to become an economic power. But still, as far as the supplies are concerned, they are not there in many parts of the country still. But --
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: But Harmeet, this is certainly on a scale that you have never seen before. This is certainly on a scale that you've never seen before. I mean this is extraordinary when you talk about 600 million people. What are some of the real challenges that they have that they're facing right now?
SINGH: Yes. This is the grid collapse, which happened in a -- in a decade. This is a grid collapse which impacted so many parts of India all of a sudden. When we talk about its impact, the impact was most pronounced on the rail and road transport systems. And, of course, on urban Indians. Urban Indians because they are not used to -- they depend on backups like generators and in motors but they too ran out after some hours of service.
So that was the impact that was felt on urban Indians and when we talk about the rail transport, the Indian officials tell me that some -- that more than 300 trains were held up when the grids collapsed. This means tens of thousands of passengers were stranded for hours because of the outage.
MALVEAUX: Is there any concern now -- because we see you're in the dark. Is there any concern about safety, about people taking advantage of this as an opportunity to either -- to commit crimes or to attack fellow citizens when you don't have the same kind of infrastructure, you don't even have lights to actually see what's happening?
SINGH: That may not be the issue at this point in time as far as law and order is concern. I think the Indian state is well in order. The blackouts are not going to cause any kind of law and order problems. It doesn't look like they will cause any kind of law and order problem. But, yes, it has exposed the urgency to fix India's power sector. And the Indian government's efforts to seek $400 billion of investment in easing the supply bottlenecks.
MALVEAUX: All right, Harmeet, we certainly wish you the very best and obviously folks there who are trying to get through this very difficult time. We appreciate it.
It is considered one of the most dangerous peaks in the world. The weather is difficult year all round. And thanks to a combination of strong winds, avalanches and enormous crevasses, as Brian Todd tells us, the challenge of trying to conquer proved fatal for two American climbers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In one of their last communiques, climbers Gill Weiss and Ben Horne gave an indication of what they were up against. Just before they vanished earlier this month on the 20,000 foot Peruvian peak called Palcaraju Oeste, Horne wrote on his blog that he'd encountered hurricane force winds that had knocked him off balance. And, quote, "very deep and loose snow."
The two Americans were found dead at the base of that peak over the weekend. We spoke with Ted Alexander who coordinated the rescue effort from nearby. He says his team believes the two men had a horrific fall.
(On camera): About how far do you believe they fell?
TED ALEXANDER, COORDINATED RESCUE EFFORT: The evidence being their equipment was strewn over the glacier, there was sign of great impact. It would lead us to believe that they did fall. My guess looking at the photos and from talking to our guys out there that it was probably about a thousand foot fall.
TODD (voice-over): The rescuers who pulled the bodies from that mountain have just given Alexander new details on how they believe the men fell. He passed that information on to us.
(On camera): Alexander says from what he and his team have put together, it looks like this was the route used by the two climbers to climb that mountain. Alexander says they believe the men reached the summit then descended down this way. Now about halfway down, roughly in this area, Alexander says he believes that they reached what's called a serrac, a large hanging chunk of ice. Investigators believe one of the men may have been looking over that chunk of ice trying to determine if they could descend to the next level from there. Now at that point, investigators believe something gave out from underneath that climber, causing him to fall roughly 65 feet. But because they believe the two men were tethered together, that fall pulled the other man off the edge, causing both of them to be pulled off the larger cliff and down.
Both of the bodies were found in this area.
(Voice-over): Ted Alexander who knew Gill Weiss says the two men were experienced climbers, not reckless, but he says they had not taken on this dangerous peak before.
A relative of Ben Horne's tells us he had worked with the Peace Corps in Kyrgyzstan and developed a love of hiking in the Boy Scouts. Gil Weiss had started his own production company in Colorado and had photographed a wedding staged on a peak there. His sister told us what she'd like the world to remember about Gil.
GALIT WEISS, CLIMBER'S SISTER: Gil had the most optimistic view on practically everything. And I think it is really important to understand that you have to make the most of -- of what you've got and you've got to be grateful for everyone in your life.
TODD: Galit Weiss says one thing the family will cherish now is a hiking trip Gil took with her and their father recently in Colorado. She says Gil got their father to climb what is called the First Flat Iron, a difficult trail near Boulder, and that they were all thrilled with that. Gil Weiss was 29 years old. Ben Horne was 32.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Hotels in London are swarmed right now for the Olympic Games. So what do you do if you're there and you have nowhere to sleep? Hail a cab?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Even if you can't get seats for the Olympic Games, finding a place to sleep, well, that's another story. More than half the hotel rooms in London, they are now booked. Guests are paying 70 percent more for their rooms during the Olympics. Average rate for a night in a London hotel now $293. Rosie Tomkins, well, she actually found an alternative.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSIE TOMKINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pillow, duvet, reading light, cuddly toy. Everything you need for a good night's sleep. Granted, the setting is unusual. But with Olympic London full of tourists, those in search of accommodations may be feeling a little more open-minded. DAVID WEEKES, LONDON CAB DRIVER: Hotel rooms are fully booked or they're charging enormous amounts of money just to spend a night. And I thought my taxi's empty at night, I'll put the two together.
TOMKINS (voice-over): Enter Relax-A-Taxi. Parked outside the home of London taxi driver David Weekes, it is a clean bed for the night at $75.
TOMKINS: This was a very low-cost business to get off the ground. The only startup costs, duvet, mattress, a few pillows, a little creature comfort. He already owned the taxi, the parking space is completely free, so all the takings are profit.
TOMKINS (voice-over): Profit that David hopes will help combat a predicted fall in revenue during the Games. Taxi drivers aren't allowed to use special Olympic lanes, causing concern that an effort to avoid slowdown his entire fares, customers will avoid taxis altogether.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) money. And the traffic will be horrendous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was thinking of just going away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to be doing a job. There is normally seven pound. It is going to be 20 pound.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People just won't be getting London taxis because of the gridlock that is going to be on the roads.
TOMKINS (voice-over): The thought of that gridlock got David thinking creatively and his hotel for one was born.
TOMKINS: It is actually pretty comfortable.
TOMKINS (voice-over): What is unusual is the location, which is nonnegotiable. And if you need the bathroom, you knock on David's door.
TOMKINS: Just wondering what you think of this as an alternative to a traditional hotel room.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you serious?
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I would, if I was just visiting and I didn't have a hotel.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have access to a bathroom.
TOMKINS: Yes, you do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are there shades and (inaudible) alarm and...?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very cool.
TOMKINS (voice-over): Two people have already spent the night. And four more have booked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it is quiet. And they're just happy with it. I was a bit worried. But no, they said it is fine.
TOMKINS (voice-over): It is not for the fainthearted or those in search of luxury. But certainly a quirky experience for an intrepid few. And when you're being driven to your bed, in your bed, the location becomes significantly less important -- Rosie Tomkins, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: She's going to be on the cover of "Playboy" magazine. Well, here in the States, some people would consider that an honor. But in her native India, a scandal that could affect her whole family.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: The Ebola virus is back. An outbreak has killed at least 14 people, sickened another 34, mostly in a rural area in western Uganda. The World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control, they both have people on the ground, in the area.
And local health officials, they are now scrambling to try to contain this. Want to bring in our chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, to talk a little bit about this.
How dangerous is this situation here? When you hear Ebola, a lot of us think, oh, my God, this is very, very serious.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is. And it is one of the deadliest viruses that we know of. It causes something known as hemorrhagic fever. And that basically means you develop symptoms of flu and then you develop joint pain and eventually start to have bleeding. That's ultimately what leads to death in these patients.
So it is very concerning. Death rates can be as high as 90 percent sometimes with Ebola. So obviously that's why you're seeing so much international attention.
What you're finding is that the best sort of thing that they can do and they're doing already is quarantine. So they find these patients, they quarantine them in specific locations and try and just contain it as quickly as possible. Fourteen dead as you mentioned, 34 sickened. So that puts mortality rate at a little less than 50 percent.
MALVEAUX: Why has it come back? Why is it here again? GUPTA: It probably never leaves. It's just that, you know, these are viruses that can often live in the soil; it can often live as natural viruses in animals. Doesn't make the animals sick, but they become carriers.
So oftentimes if you have sort of a swap, as they say, someone is butchering an animal, for example, who has that Ebola virus, and they get a swap of body fluids, it gets into a cut or something, that's how you start seeing it in humans again and then it spreads human to human.
MALVEAUX: Why do we find it in western Uganda and not, say, in a place like the United States?
GUPTA: Well, mostly because if you look at all of the pathogens, viruses and stuff that make us particularly sick, most of them do come from animals. And so it is the contact between animals and humans that really seems to be the big focus. You see that a lot in the jungles of Congo.
I was traveling there with Nathan Wolf, who's a virus hunter, and we actually saw how this happens. People actually going into the bush, trying to get bush meat. You also see it in Southeast Asia, people keeping chickens, for example, as pets underneath their homes. That's how you see the genesis of certain kinds of flus. But what you're looking at right there, that's how some of this actually starts.
MALVEAUX: How do people protect themselves? Is this something that can be contained? And if you live in that area, can you avoid it?
GUPTA: Yes. So it is a real important question. First of all, it is not airborne, because a lot of people believe Ebola is airborne, therefore, coughing or something like that could spread it. It is really spread through bodily fluid, so saliva, blood, things like that. It can spread that way.
So it is hand washing. It is the same sort of precautions that are pretty much given anywhere in the world to try and keep yourself safe.
The patients themselves, if they're identified as having Ebola, are quarantined until they hopefully get healthy. But obviously a lot of patients have been dying from this. So that is sort of the key to containing this. And I think that's what is happening now.
MALVEAUX: And Sanjay, real quick, because I know we got to go. But is there any off chance that this is something that could spread to major cities or even to the United States?
GUPTA: I think very little chance, in part because the patients are so sick, they don't travel. In part, because they sometimes die. And if you look at the transmission, nine of the 14 people who died all lived in the same household. The other five were either their health care workers or families of health care workers. So you get a really clear idea of how this is transmitting and how to contain it.
MALVEAUX: That's so tragic. Sanjay, thank you.
GUPTA: Thank you. Yes, yes.
MALVEAUX: Appreciate it.
You can watch more coverage of Sanjay's special, we're talking "SANJAY GUPTA, MD," Saturday at 4:30 pm Eastern and Sunday at 7:30 am Eastern, only on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: We're now talking Bollywood and nudity. That's right. Twenty-eight-year-old Indian actress Sheryl Chopra is expected to appear in "Playboy" magazine in November. Well, she's believed to be the first Indian-born woman to bare it all for the magazine. It's causing a little bit of a stir, as you can imagine.
Want to talk about that with CNN International (inaudible). I'm sorry. Azadeh. Wow. So, first of all, tell us a little bit about who this person is, this woman, who seems to be getting a lot of attention --
AZADEH ANSARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL: Absolutely.
MALVEAUX: -- for various reasons.
ANSARI: So, Suzanne, she's not this A-list actress, like Aishwarya Rai, right? So she's -- movie critics in India that I spoke with said that she's probably going to get more attention from her centerfold in "Playboy" as she is from any of the cameos that she's had in Bollywood.
But that's not to take away from the fact that they -- "Playboy" claims she's the first Indian woman to grace their covers. But --
MALVEAUX: They put it so politely, "grace their covers."
(LAUGHTER)
ANSARI: But you know, her mother is Muslim, her father is Christian and she's going to be in the November issue. But, again, she's not this Bollywood legend that "Playboy" says that she is on their website.
MALVEAUX: So what is happening? What is the reaction in India?
ANSARI: Mixed reaction. But whereas like here in America for example, we had Jenny McCarthy or Farrah Fawcett, being in "Playboy" really helped launch their career. In this case, not so much. If anything, it is more of a career killer if anything, the reason being is because, for the longest time, in Bollywood, just kissing on screen was considered taboo. Here you have somebody who is baring it all. That's not going to go over very well.
So I think she's embracing the idea, based on comments that she's made on her website. And we tried to reach out to her, but haven't heard from her as of yet.
But in an interview she did recently with BBC Hindi, she said that my sister is proud of my achievement; I haven't told anything to my mother, but I think I will visit her and tell her that she has to accept me the way that I am. I would like to be there for that conversation.
MALVEAUX: Yes, I know. How you do you think that's going to go over? Do you think because she's doing this now, does this kind of pave the way for other women in India? Or is it such shame, such taboo that essentially she's going to be the only one and that's that? That's just not going to happen again?
ANSARI: That's an excellent question. I don't know if it is going to necessarily want -- make other women want to do this. But because it is a society that -- contrary to what we think, gave us "Kama Sutra" and then here we are, like we're thinking now they're against kissing on screen -- but the Bollywood film industry has come a long way.
And we do see actresses and actors engaging in more intimate roles. However, it is still very conservative because the Bollywood audiences are more PG or family-oriented audience. So I'm not sure. That's up for grabs, but it is not like everyone is jumping on the bandwagon and saying, oh, she did it and that's her rise to fame, and that I want to follow in her footsteps.
MALVEAUX: Why is she doing it? Is it to promote a little bit more openness in Indian society? Is it to push Bollywood a little bit? Or is it really kind of a personal quest for her?
ANSARI: It could be a number of things. You know, it could be really, like I said, because she hasn't gotten back to us, so I mean, I would like to hear that -- I would like to know myself why.
But the movie critics that I spoke with in India say that it is a way to get attention, a way for her to get that heightened fame that she's looking for, because she wasn't -- she hasn't, as of yet, been able to do that in India and within the Bollywood film industry.
MALVEAUX: All right. Well, she's getting attention now. So we'll see how this all plays out. Thank you, Azadeh. We appreciate it.
ANSARI: You're welcome, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: The song that is going to want to make you dance actually.
(MUSIC PLAYING) MALVEAUX: We are going to meet some of the band members. They're joining us from Sweden.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
MALVEAUX: That's the band Panetoz with their hit, "Dansa Pausa." We introduced you to them a couple of weeks ago. They're a multicultural band, as you can see, topping the charts across Scandinavia. Panetoz formed in Sweden, but members come from Finland and countries across Africa.
The single has reached number one on iTunes, already certified double platinum, and in case you couldn't tell from the video, the band's mission statement, they say, "make people laugh and dance." It is working. Three band members, Pa Moudou Badjie, Nebeyu Baheru and Johan Hirvi, join me via Skype from Stockholm.
Hey, guys. Nice to see you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you?
MALVEAUX: Introduce yourselves. Tell us a little bit about who you are.
PA MOUDOU BADJIE, BAND MEMBER: Yes. I'm Pa Moudou.
NEBEYU BAHERU, BAND MEMBER: Nebeyu from Panetoz.
JOHAN HIRVI, BAND MEMBER: And Johan. We are three of Panetoz; we are actually five.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daniel and Njol, who's not here today.
MALVEAUX: OK. Well, it is good to have you three on. I have to say, when I heard it, when I saw it, yes, it made me dance a little bit. I was bopping to it. I liked it. How did you guys get together?
BADJIE: Yes, we met -- we met at school when we were like 12, 13, 14 years old. And we just kept on rapping and had the idea, a dream of becoming the greatest rappers of all. And we're working towards that right now.
MALVEAUX: Now you guys are from all over the world. Tell us a little bit about what kind of music this is, if it even has kind of a music genre, or if you take influences from everywhere.
BAHERU: We take like influences from everywhere, but, like you said, we come from different countries in Africa and we have Johan from Sweden and Finland. And the music is all about Afro beats, hip- hop beats, R&B, soma. You know, you can find anything in our music.
MALVEAUX: It is very original. Do you guys take a little bit from some of the hip-hop scene that you see in the United States or influence from Europe or some of the African songs as well?
BAHERU: Yes, of course. We have been listening to all the music that comes from U.S., from Sweden, hip-hop. And Johan have a background as a singer. So we just mixed it up and it makes Panetoz actually.
MALVEAUX: Tell me a little bit about --
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: Sure, go ahead.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
MALVEAUX: Okay. I see you grooving a little bit. Tell me a little bit about the dancing that you guys are doing in the video as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very simple. The dance, Panetoz. The music, Panetoz. It is all about dancing, feeling good, it's a feel- good vibe. And the dance, it was made by a girl called Sarabellum (ph). And we do the dance, we dance on stage, and we dance everywhere. Whenever you see us on stage, we are dancing, never stopping. That's why there's --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're (inaudible) group but we don't stop dancing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, people mistake us for a dance group.
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: Does it have a name? You know, we've got line dances here, does it have a name, the dance that you guys are doing in the video?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The "Dansa Pausa" dance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dance and pause. That's the name.
MALVEAUX: Dance and pause.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Dansa Pausa" means dance and pause. So we just make the move and then we pause.
MALVEAUX: And then you pause.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).
MALVEAUX: That looks easy enough. Tell me a little bit about this flash mob that you guys created when you took over a subway in Stockholm.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that was a really cold winter day when everyone was going back from work. It is rush hour in the traffic so we decided to just bring our happiness to all the sad people on the train.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were some that were -- they were really scared. They thought that we were going to do something really bad. But when they saw us with the music, dancing and singing, there was a sign that was like, shit, this is good, let's go with it. And then all of a sudden it was like, oh, shit, what is happening? But, you know --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People can mistake you for, like, you're going to ask for money or something, when you perform, but we were just like --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Having fun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Having fun, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seems like you guys really, I mean, it is like contagious, people really having a lot of fun there with you guys. Tell me, what is the next move for you guys, Panetoz? Where are you guys going next?
BADJIE: Thinking it over. The plan is to be everywhere and, you know, spread this joy, this feel-good music. We have Poland. We have, like, over 40,000 in the (inaudible) that love the music. We have England coming up. We have U.S. with Cap (ph) Crazy. We did some song remixing for Rihanna. And we have a lot of new countries, Denmark, all these neighboring countries, they are calling for us.
And they need to see this. You need to see Panetoz. You need to be there and party with us. And feel the feel good. It is not all about guns and naked women and bling bling and anything. It is just about plain people trying to do it for the love and for the music.
MALVEAUX: I love that. Got to love that message. We got to let you guys go. Panetoz, you got our attention when we saw that video. We want to make sure we got you guys on.
We love what you're doing. And just making people laugh and it is not about all the bling and the womanizing and all that stuff. We appreciate it. We're going to try to catch you in concert at some point. Thank you, Panetoz.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for having us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Peace. MALVEAUX: Peace.
Here are some of the most famous men in London. Well, now these statues in Trafalgar Square are sporting some fancy headgear. We're going to explain.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Several stories caught our attention today, photos as well. Want you to take a look.
Protesters continue to take to the streets in Japan, rallying against the use of nuclear power. These demonstrators, they are wearing outfits similar to those that decontamination workers wore at the Fukushima nuclear plant, which was crippled by last year's earthquake and tsunami.
And famous statues in London's Trafalgar Square are looking a little different these days. You're looking at King George IV, wearing a fancy hat. London's mayor introduced Hat Walk across the city, where up-and-coming designers place their designs on the statues to gain exposure.
