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Violence Plagues Israelis and Palestinians; Typhoon Koppu Pummels Philippines; Key Al Qaeda Leader Killed; Protests Over India Child Rapes; Syria Withdrawing Doomsday Seeds; Chinese President Arrives in U.S.; Lamar Odom Steadily Improves; WORLD SPORT Highlights. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired October 19, 2015 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:09] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM. Live from Los Angeles.
ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour, terror in Israel after another lone wolf Palestinian attack leaves an Israeli soldier dead and 11 others wounded.
VAUSE: And as the violence spreads, Israel builds a temporary blockade in east Jerusalem.
SESAY: Plus, thousands forced to flee their homes as Typhoon Koppu pummels the Philippines.
VAUSE: And anger and disgust across Delhi after two little girls, one 5, the other not even 3 years old, are attacked and raped.
Hello, everybody. Thanks for being with us. We'd like to welcome our viewers all around the world. I'm John Vause.
SESAY: And I'm Isha Sesay. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.
VAUSE: We begin in Israel and new details about a deadly attack at a bus station in the southern city of Beersheba. A lone gunman opened fire Sunday night killing a 19-year-old Israeli soldier and wounding 11 others. An Eritrean man was also killed. Our affiliate there Channel 2 reports, police say he was mistakenly identified as a second attacker.
SESAY: In east Jerusalem, Israeli police has started erecting a wall between an Arab and Jewish neighborhood. New roadblocks and checkpoints have also been installed in recent days in Palestinian areas of the city.
The surge in violence has prompted U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to meet separately with the Israeli prime minister and Palestinian Authority president later this week.
VAUSE: Phil Black is live in Jerusalem, where it was just past 7:00 Monday morning. So, Phil, is there now a greater level of concern over this attack in
Beersheba? The Palestinian allegedly armed with a gun, not a knife, and this happened deep inside Israeli territory.
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And John, that's right. We should point out that this is not the first of these recent street attacks to involve a gun. This would be the second. But all the others so far have involved knives, cutting implements.
There is concern -- there is always concern about restricting access to firearms in this country particularly when it comes to Palestinian access. And the concern also generally has been how to stop them. How to police these attacks that have been taking place.
The fact that the knives have provided such a challenge has been a real concern. Just simply the -- the random, very unpredictable nature of these attacks. Add a gun to the mix and it's all obviously the potential for damage for the loss of life is considerably greater. The location is different from what we've seen so far as well. The south of the country whereas most of the attacks have taken place in Israel. There have been in other locations as well.
So far, the south has not been a target or an area where these sorts of attacks have taken place. So there will be concern that perhaps from that -- that region of the West Bank, that Palestinian territory, there could be some sort of spillover that could be showing there in the south of Israel as well -- John.
VAUSE: And Phil, what is the latest that we know about this Eritrean man who was shot dead, apparently by police. There was some kind of mistaken identity. They thought he may have been another attacker?
BLACK: Yes. We know very little. There's no official comment from the police on that at this stage. What we know comes from Israeli media and it is being very widely reported here that this was a case of mistaken identity. There was some -- initially some confusing reports from the scene of the attack itself. Was there one attacker, was there two? Now according to Israeli media, as I say, being widely reported here, one -- looks like one of the suspected attackers was an Eritrean man in a case of mistaken identity. This man, an asylum seeker, appears to have been shot in the chaos of the moment. But just what sort of condition he's in just yet we have not been able to confirm.
VAUSE: OK. And, Phil, also the Israeli Police now constructing what they say is a temporary barrier in parts of east Jerusalem. That's one area which has seen a lot of violence recently. What are political implications that come with that?
BLACK: Well we know the emotional reaction to this is pretty strong. We've been seeing barriers go up around Palestinian neighborhoods in east Jerusalem as these neighborhoods have been effectively locked down. People's movements have been heavily restricted both on foot and by car as well.
What the Israelis say they are doing is trying to return security to the streets of Jerusalem because they say most of the people involved in these knife attacks on the streets of Jerusalem have come from these Palestinian neighborhoods in the east of the city, So what that is doing is making life considerably harder and more difficult for the people within these the communities. They're now finding it very difficult to come and go. It takes a long time to get their cars out of these neighborhoods.
When they leave on foot, what we've been seeing people being forced to lift up their shirts, turn around, empty their pockets, proves that they're not armed. The people that we have spoken to there, who undergo this procedure find it pretty humiliating. They don't like it at all. What this is all viewed as by these Palestinians is collective punishment, entire communities they say being punished because of the actions of these individual attackers.
[00:05:14] The Israelis say it's temporary and it's necessary and it's reasonable, and it is all just about getting security and safety back to these streets -- John.
VAUSE: OK, Phil, thank you. Phil Black live this hour in Jerusalem. Thanks, Phil.
SESAY: Turning now to the Philippines where Typhoon Koppu is dumping massive amounts of rain. More than 400 millimeters in some areas. At least two people have died in the storm and five others were injured.
VAUSE: Disaster officials said about 20,000 people have fled their homes. That number is expected to rise. Some areas are already dealing with flooding and landslides. Koppu is expected to linger over the Philippines for a few more days yet.
SESAY: Well, our CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri is tracking the storm's path. But first let's get our correspondent Matt Rivers. He's covering the storm from Hong Kong and joins us now live.
Matt, good to have you with us. Power outages, floodwaters and thousands displaced. What can you tell us about how the government is responding to the situation?
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, government officials certainly face an uphill battle as this storm continues to linger over these islands and continues to pour lots and lots of rain as well as lingering winds that continue to be an issue for emergency crews trying their best to help the people in this region.
According to our affiliate, ABS-CBN in that area, we're seeing lots and lots of rising floodwaters, actually forcing people to the roofs of their homes as the rivers in this area continue to spill over their banks, as rain continues to fall. We're seeing rescues by boat. Some people needing to be taken off the roofs of their homes. Forced up by these rising floodwaters.
According to Federal Emergency Disaster officials, their latest information, what we can tell you is that there are 15 different sections in several different provinces, mainly in the northern part of Luzon island, that's where the intensity of the storm really has focused. Fifteen different sections experiencing various levels of flooding. And it continues to rain in this area.
These issues not going away any time soon.
SESAY: No. They certainly don't appear to be. Given the geographical spread of all of this, Matt, at this stage do we think we have the full picture when it comes to loss of life and injuries?
RIVERS: I don't think we do. Just given the fact that -- if we look at what the numbers have changed over the past 12 hours or so, when we were reporting on the story yesterday there was under 10,000 people that had been displaced by this storm. When we came back in today, and we looked at the latest numbers, as we -- as the Philippines woke up, as the sun rose, that number had swiftly doubled to nearly 20,000 people that have been displaced by the storm. Nearly 19,000 of which spent their evenings in makeshift evacuation shelters that the federal government as well as relief agencies had set up.
The other issue that we are dealing with, too, as this rain continues to fall is in this area. It's a very mountainous area. And so the chance for landslides is extremely high. They could happen in the blink of an eye. And so that's certainly something that officials are worried about moving forward.
SESAY: Yes, indeed. It is a fast developing situation.
Matt Rivers joining us there from Hong Kong. We appreciate it. Thank you.
VAUSE: Let's bring out meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for more on this.
So, Pedram, the big question, when will the storm move on? And when will the storm move on?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's taken its time, John. Yes, that's really the question here that everyone wants to know. And it's just been losing a lot of steering environment. So when you look at the storm system and you look at it on a larger scale, we're talking about a storm that is very little in the way of motion away from the Philippines. So the forecast over the next couple days is it'll meander over this region. Produce another round of potentially similar to what we've already seen, upwards of half a meter coming down over this region.
So showing you the landfall when it made landfall late Saturday into early Sunday, going right towards portions of the Sierra Madre Mountains. And notice the area right here, that's the Cagayan Valley. So typically you have landfall to the north. You interact with the mountain ranges and then you go over the valley. You begin to lose some steam. This particular storm took it entirely over a mountainous track. So at least, you know, weakening quite rapidly but of course, when you're talking about a storm that has little in the way of any steering environment, it is not going to go anywhere anytime soon.
Right now 140 kilometer per hour winds. That would be equivalent to category 1. And you take a look, with high pressure to the north, the storm system losing a lot of its steering capability so will just meander over this region over the next two, maybe three days before it starts moving out of the region. And when it does, it slowly moves out of this region so heavy rainfall certainly going to be an issue.
And having covered tropical cyclones over the Philippines, hundreds of times for the past couple of years, I can tell you that unfortunately after two to three days of this amount of rainfall, you typically see the news come out across some of these isolated communities which I know of at least two towns that are only accessible by planes. There are literally no roads across some of these mountainous communities.
[00:10:13] So sometimes you don't hear about the events that are occurring right now until later on, couple of days after the events take place. And you notice 500 millimeters of rainfall still possible across the northern tier of the Luzon.
And of course, John, Isha, you're talking about the Philippines. It's one of most vulnerable places on our planet for tropical cyclones. And place, literally oftentimes, called in a bowling alley zone because you have subtropics, the equator, storms like to go in this general direction. And this is the end result, of course, when it comes to the Philippines being impacted sometimes more than 15 times a year -- guys.
VAUSE: Yes. A lot more rain on the way. OK, Pedram, we appreciate the update. Thank you.
SESAY: Thanks, Pedram.
JAVAHERI: Yes.
VAUSE: Now to Turkey where arrests have been made in the attacks that left scores of people dead in the country's capital last weekend. A Turkish court took four suspects into custody late on Sunday. The twin suicide bombings in Ankara killed 102 people.
SESAY: The bombs exploded just seconds apart outside the main train station on October 10th, targeting a rally of pro-Kurdish activists. The attack is the worst of its kind in modern Turkish history.
Turning to Syria now. And Syrian troops assisted by allies from Hezbollah and Iran have made gains in their attempt to recapture territory around Aleppo.
VAUSE: The army launched its latest attacks on Friday against rebels and jihadist fighters. It's one of a number of assaults launched since Russian jets began airstrikes last month. This latest offensive has focused on rebel areas south of Aleppo rather than on the city itself. At least 40 ISIS fighters were killed when warplanes hit their convoy. That's coming from the London based Syrian Observation Group. It happened near the city of Raqqa, the militant's unofficial capital.
SESAY: Meanwhile in northwest Syria, a U.S.-coalition airstrike is said have killed the head of a shadowy band of veteran al Qaeda operatives called the Khorasan Group. Sanafi al-Nasr was once al Qaeda's chief financial officer and played a significant role in recruiting militants to join fighters in Syria.
VAUSE: Let's get more on this. Our CNN military analyst, Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona joins us via Skype from Port Orford in Oregon.
Colonel Francona, thank you for being with us. Let's cut to the chase. Is this a big get in the scheme of things or just another round of whack-a-mole?
LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, it's another round of whack-a-mole but this is a good get. But I think it's more significant in the fact that this is the fifth guy we've got in the past four months. So evidently the United States has been able to penetrate this group to develop good intelligence, effective intelligence, and act on it. So this group that everybody was very worried about a year ago, if you remember this is one of the groups that caused the timing of the airstrikes to begin because we thought they were on the verge of imminent strike on the United States. Now finds themselves under a lot of pressure from the United States and the airstrikes have been pretty effective. So it is a significant get.
VAUSE: This is a pretty small group of jihadists here. I mean, we're only talking a few dozen. If five senior guys have been taken out in the last couple of weeks, how many are left? And how can they continue on if you like if such a huge number have been taken out?
FRANCONA: Right. Right. There's a debate going on inside the U.S. government right now. It's like, is this an effective strategy? It's called decapitation. Are you going after the leadership? And the theory is that as you take out the leadership the replacements are not quite as capable so you're degrading the capability of the group. But they seem to have no shortage of people willing to work for them. Although it is a small group, these are the senior operatives. These are the professionals.
These are the guys that were active in Yemen. They were active in Pakistan. They were active in Iran. They were part of this Iranian group. And now they've moved to Syria, you know, as the other places become untenable. We may see them moving from Syria as the Russians bring more pressure and the Syrian government moves up into that area.
VAUSE: OK. As you say, we don't know a lot about this group, the elites, the high-ranking jihadists, if you like. They're described as big of a threat to the United States as ISIS. In what way?
FRANCONA: Well, these guys, they have the technology. If you remember, a year ago, everybody is concerned about their bomb-making capability. Although we've taken out some of their bomb makers, they inherited all the bomb making capabilities of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula regarded as the best of the bomb makers in al Qaeda. So that was threat, that they would be able to use Syria as a launching platform for attacks against the United States. The air campaign has really dampened that threat and I think as long as we keep the pressure up the threat from this group diminishes over time.
VAUSE: OK. Five senior members in the past four months, would you be surprised if there was a sixth senior member taken out in the next couple of weeks?
FRANCONA: No, not at all, John. Because I think that what we're seeing here is a very good penetration somehow, either through communication, somebody on the ground, or just, you know, a drone observation.
[00:15:08] But they're able to locate these guys and as you said, it's not a very big group, we know where they are, and so when see any kind of movement we're able to put, you know, weapons on the targets very quickly. And a lot of that is because we now have the drones operating from much closer to the target area, we're able to use those Turkish air bases now.
VAUSE: OK. Colonel Francona, good to speak with you. Thank you for your insights. Appreciate it.
FRANCONA: Thank you, John.
SESAY: Huge protests in New Delhi, India, Sunday after two young girls, a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old were raped.
VAUSE: Activists from the youth wing of the opposition Congress Party held signs and chanted outside the home of the city's chief minister. They say the government and police have both failed to protect obviously women as well as young girls.
SESAY: Malika Kapur is following the story for us. And she joins us now from Mumbai.
Malika, these attacks are absolutely horrifying. There are now reports of arrests. What more can you tell us?
MALIKA KAPUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have heard from Delhi Police a few hours ago and they have confirmed that yes, they have made arrests in this horrific case. And they've confirmed to us that they have arrested two young men last night. These are two teenage boys, one is aged 17, one is the age of 16. They made the arrests yesterday.
It is an absolutely chilling case. What we know about the incident is that this young girl, this toddler, about 2, 2 1/2 years of age, was playing outside her home. And there was a brief power outage. And in those few minutes when it was dark and there was a power outage these two teenage boys abducted her, took her away, and attacked her. They allegedly raped her.
Her family began looking for this child. Lots of people in the neighborhood helped them look for her. And these two young boys, these teenagers, they belong to the same neighborhood as well and they were known to the family. Eventually the family found the girl about three hours later, dumped in a park nearby where they found her beaten and bruised and bleeding.
So we heard from the police. So they interviewed more than 250 people. And there were able to nab these two suspects and they have been arrested right now. SESAY: It's stomach churning. Malika, rape activists in India have
repeatedly made the point that India's judicial system fails rape victims. So here's the thing. I know that there have been these arrests but the real test is whether there'll be a speedy prosecution?
KAPUR: Absolutely. That is of course what is most important, and the hope is that there will be a speedy prosecution. And this is an interesting case in India because we have seen some changes in India's judicial system over the last couple of years, you know, after the Nirbhaya case. And if we take a step back here, and you look at the Nirbhaya case, you know, there was a fast track court set up to deal with the Nirbhaya case right after that horrible rape case happened. And the trial was wrapped up within seven months.
Now this doesn't seem necessarily speedy in other parts of the world but in India for a case to be wrapped up within seven months, Isha, is actually pretty good. You know, we've had cases over here in India that drag on for years, 10 years, 15 years. That's not uncommon. So the Nirbhaya case was wrapped up within seven months. That was a good sign. A sign of a speedy prosecution. But then again, you know, it has been almost three years since then. And while the culprit in the Nirbhaya case are in jail, they have been given the death penalty. They have appealed. And now their appeal is stuck in a higher court.
So yes, it is slow. But at the same time we are seeing signs of the government taking it more seriously. The police bringing into action more quickly. And even in this case, we've had the arrests made last night. And the police are saying that they hope to have official charges made against these two teenage boys within the next 10 days self. So we are seeing things improving somewhat, not necessarily very quickly. But there is definitely an attempt perhaps to speed up trials of these cases.
SESAY: Yes. Malika Kapur joining us there from Mumbai. We appreciate it, Malika. Thank you.
The prosecutions may be moving a little bit faster but women and girls are still being assaulted.
VAUSE: It's a problem which India has confronted before. Obviously have not done enough about.
SESAY: Yes.
VAUSE: A short break. When we come back, deep in the Arctic, the seeds of essential crops kept frozen in a vault designed to withstand, well, all most an apocalypse.
Coming up, we'll tell you why Syria is being forced to tap into these so-called doomsday vault.
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[00:23:43] SESAY: Hello, everyone. A vault designed to protect vital crops through a global catastrophe is being tapped into earlier than anyone expected.
VAUSE: Syria is asking to withdraw some of its seed samples because of the ongoing civil war there.
Arwa Damon has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine earth decimated. Essential food crops wiped out by catastrophe. It is here, buried deep in an Arctic mountain, where the seeds for humanity's survival are stored. But it wasn't an environmental disaster that caused the first mass withdrawal from the so-called Doomsday seed vault.
It was war. The war in Syria. Cut off from its vault in battle-torn Aleppo, ICARDA, the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, requested a portion of the seeds it deposited back.
MAHMOUD EL-SOLH, ICARDA DIRECTOR GENERAL: This is where we are storing the seeds, the first shipment of seed that came from Svalbard.
DAMON: Now based in Lebanon, ICARDA director general Mahmoud El-Solh has the challenging job of keeping precious genetic lines alive.
[00:25:05] This is a wild relative of wheat that likely doesn't exist in nature anymore.
(On camera): Why is what I'm holding in my hands so important?
SOLH: This is -- this is a source of desirable trait, including drought tolerance, including heat tolerance, including resistance to diseases and so forth.
DAMON (voice-over): But it's not just the wild strains. Its other crops, like these fava seeds that have been grown by farmers over hundreds of years.
(On camera): This seed contains traits that might end up being necessary for the survival of the species and we just don't know it yet?
SOLH: Exactly.
DAMON (voice-over): The seeds with traits potentially vital to help us adapt to climate change, will be replanted in Lebanon, just across the border from Syria. Another vault built to replace the one in Aleppo, lost to war. And a parallel project in Morocco. Crop diversity is a prerequisite for food security. And experts say our past is fundamental to our future survival. But war has meant that humanity has had to activate its backup plan, sooner than anyone ever anticipated.
Arwa Damon, CNN, the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, China's president heading to the UK for his first state visit. He'll get the red carpet treatment, address both Houses of Parliament and he'll stay at Buckingham Palace.
SESAY: Very swanky. Plus the latest numbers on the Chinese economy were better than economists expected. But is it enough to ease global concerns? We'll have a live report for you. Do stay with us.
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[00:30:00]
VAUSE (voice-over): Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.
SESAY (voice-over): And I'm Isha Sesay. The headlines this hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY (voice-over): A shooting at a bus station in southern Israel left two dead and nearly a dozen wounded. The two killed were an Israeli soldier and an Eritrean man. Police tell CNN affiliate Channel 2 that the man was mistaken for a terrorist. The alleged attacker is also dead.
VAUSE (voice-over): Typhoon Koppu is dumping massive amounts of rain in the Philippines, more than 400 millimeters in some places. Two people have died. Thousand have been displaced. Flooding and landslides are a major concern right now. Koppu is expected to linger over the island for a few more days.
SESAY (voice-over): The Pentagon says the U.S.-led coalition airstrike has killed the leader of an Al Qaeda-linked group. Sanafi al-Nasr was reportedly killed Thursday in Northwestern Syria on Thursday. Al-Nasr was in charge of the Khorasan Group and was skilled in funneling money and recruiting fighters.
VAUSE (voice-over): Police are searching for the shooter who killed a 20-year-old man and injured five others at a zombie-themed street festival in Florida on Saturday. Crowds ran screaming from the scene when the shots rang out. Police say the annual festival attracts more than 20,000 people.
SESAY (voice-over): Now, Chinese president Xi Jinping arrived in the U.K. Monday and the emphasis will be on building financial ties. The four-day state visit is expected to result in a number of multimillion-dollar business deals.
VAUSE: President Xi has had high praise for the U.K.'s openness and willingness to strengthen commercial ties with China. But the visit comes as China's economy posted its slowest growth rate since 2009.
SESAY: Andrew Stevens joins us now from Hong Kong with more on all of that.
Andrew, those numbers may be slower than back in 2009 but they're still a little better than we were expecting.
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Isha, quite a lot better than we were expecting. We were talking 6.7 percent growth. It's coming in at 6.9 percent growth, which is pretty much in the zone where China says it will be, around about the 7 percent mark.
There's a couple of interesting bright spots in this. The reason it seems to have held up a little bit better than expected is because consumers have been buying. And this is very important in China at the moment because the Chinese government is undertaking a long-term change in what drives the economy. They're moving away from this export model to more consumer-based economic growth, a bit like the U.S., if you like.
And what we're seeing is that consumers are responding. The government has been stimulating the economy as much as they can. They've been cutting interest rates. They have been taking money off the table in the banks for people to got out and spend. It appears to have been working.
So this is a slightly better than expected number. But make no mistake, Isha, this is still pretty weak. This has to go back to that 6.2 percent back in 2009 to see the slower growth rate.
The question now becomes, can the Chinese keep growth going at around this, around this 7 percent target? A lot of the economists are saying, well, a little bit is artificial at the moment because there is this stimulus. We will really have to wait and see.
Certainly this does not at this stage signal that this could be the bottom in the current economic slowdown.
SESAY: Andrew, talk to me about the impact this is likely to have, these numbers, on the regional economy and beyond.
What's your thoughts?
STEVENS: Well, if you look at the regional economy, it is very, very sensitive to whatever happens in China. In fact, the entire globe is now sensitive to what happens in China.
When China -- it's an old saying. It used to be when New York, when Wall Street coughs, the world catches the flu. Now it's when China coughs, the world catches flu. And we have seen this much, much weaker commodity prices around the world, which has really hurt the economies like Brazil, South Africa, Australia.
So any weakness is going to continue to hurt these economies around the world because China is such an important player now.
But there's another question here, Isha, is just how much can we actually rely on these numbers? How realistic are they? Because there is a lot of measure which would tend to suggest that the economy is growing perhaps a little bit weaker than these headline numbers. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
STEVENS (voice-over): When it comes to growth, one number does not tell it all, least of all in China where official numbers are met with a healthy dose of skepticism. GDP, the most used measure --
[00:35:00]
STEVENS (voice-over): -- of any country's growth is an indication.
But to get a better gauge of the world's second biggest economy, many economists try to dig deeper. They look behind the headline headlines. In fact, China's own premier, Li Keqiang, once described GDP numbers as "manmade" and thought reference only.
Back in 2007, according to leaked U.S. government documents, he said that electricity consumption, rail cargo, bank lending, they were better measures to look at economic performance. But now, as China moves away from manufacturing towards a service-focused economy, many argue that even those measures are now outdated.
The investment research house Sanford C. Bernstein has created its own index. And it looks at things like movie ticket sales, mobile phone subscribers, airline passengers, Alibaba sales, home prices and car sales.
And under those, China's third quarter growth is just 4.1 percent. But, Bernstein does admit the index has a mountain of shortcuts and assumptions -- his own words. That makes an accurate estimate all but impossible.
Let's take another example. In 2014, China officially grew 7.3 percent. Bernstein's model says 6.7 percent. But get this: the Li Keqiang model shows the economy actually shrank 1.6 percent. That's right, a recession.
But here's the thing. In a vast country with so many moving parts, even Beijing is unlikely to know exactly how fast its economy is growing. Virtually every economist will tell you, though, that it is growing and still at a pace that is the envy of most developed countries.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STEVENS: I think, Isha, the key thing to look at now is how the Chinese government reacts. If we start seeing them taking big, strong measures to underpin economic growth, it shows that they're panicking. And at the moment we're not seeing that.
SESAY: Andrew Stevens joining us there from Hong Kong. Always appreciate it, Andrew. Thank you.
STEVENS: Thank you.
SESAY: Now, Lamar Odom appears to be improving after he was found unconscious at a brothel in Nevada.
Will the former NBA's player's ordeal play out on reality TV?
VAUSE: Sounds like it already is.
Also ahead, British singer, Adele, teases her fans with a snippet of a new song the first in years. Hear it when CNN NEWSROOM L.A. returns.
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[00:40:00]
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. There are some signs of improvement for former NBA and reality TV star, Lamar Odom. Sources say he woke up, spoke to his estranged wife, Khloe Kardashian. This all happened in the past few days. And on Saturday, Kim Kardashian tweeted that Odom had opened his eyes and smiled.
SESAY: Odom had been in a coma since Tuesday when he was found unconscious in a Nevada brothel.
For more on this story and other entertainment news making the headlines, we are joined by Kim Seraphin.
VAUSE: Senior editor for "In Touch" weekly.
Great to have you here, Sunday. Let's talk Kardashians. Because -- my favorite topic.
(LAUGHTER)
VAUSE: How much are they turning this tragedy of Odom into just another plot point, another turning point in their ridiculous reality show?
KIM SERAPHIN, SR. EDITOR, "IN TOUCH": Well, first of all, there is no way they could separate themselves from this. They are a part of the story. And they obviously --
(CROSSTALK)
SERAPHIN: -- but they did put out a statement asking for privacy. They did stop the social media posts for a while. They stopped posting and updating their apps for a while.
And as you mentioned, Kim did put out a tweet, saying, prayers do work. There was a nice picture of her and Lamar together.
Kris did put out a tweet as well.
VAUSE: So that's holding back? That's like respect our privacy while we tweet like crazy?
SERAPHIN: But I think their fans expect that.
(CROSSTALK)
SERAPHIN: And people want to know what is going on. And so much of it is coming through the Kardashians. And he was so much a part of the show. He had his own show with Khloe. The two of them had a reality show together. He's been a part of the story line.
VAUSE: -- take a camera into the hospital?
SERAPHIN: No, they have apparently said that they haven't. And sources are saying that cameras have been banned from the floor.
SESAY: So you, I don't want to say, are confident.
But what are the chances that some footage will emerge however from all of this?
VAUSE: Caitlyn Jenner (INAUDIBLE) --
SERAPHIN: You never know.
I mean, I don't know how they can ignore this on the show. And something that the Kardashians do, that they're very strategic and they're' brilliant about marketing. But they also, in their reality show, they're real.
People complain that reality shows aren't real.
(CROSSTALK)
SERAPHIN: But they put everything on this show. You know they put the good stuff. They put the bad stuff. They put the emotional stuff. Everything with Bruce transitioning into Caitlyn. I mean, they put everything out there. So I don't know how you can not have this. You know, we'll have to see what happens in the future, but...
VAUSE: Good point.
SESAY: We'll see what happens.
Speaking of real and raw: Adele, the one and only Adele, finally, after months of silence, has teased fans with a new song that's on its way. A snippet was played on British TV.
We actually have the snippet. Let's play it for our viewers and then we'll chat.
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(MUSIC PLAYING)
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(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's such beautiful pain. It's sad. It's so emotional.
SESAY: Kim is with me on this.
SERAPHIN: I'm with you, yes.
VAUSE: I am never going to win here.
Go on. Talk about it. Talk amongst yourselves.
SESAY: Her voice sounds good because we know she has had these throat issues.
SERAPHIN: Right. Right. Exactly.
And we have not heard from her in such a long time. I mean, "Skyfall," but since then. You know, she had a baby but really has kind of disappeared. She is very private. And, yes -- and it doesn't say it is her but you know.
(CROSSTALK)
SERAPHIN: You know it's her.
SESAY: Women up and down, (INAUDIBLE) around the world, bawling their eyes out.
VAUSE: Are we done?
SESAY: OK.
VAUSE: We're done.
SESAY: I'll cry in private.
Kim, thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
VAUSE: Thanks, Kim.
SESAY: And thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Isha Sesay.
VAUSE: I'm John Vause. A live edition of "WORLD SPORT" is up next with Andy Scholes.
Andy, what have you got?
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, guys. Yes, it was a big Sunday in the NFL, the marquee matchup, of course, a Deflategate rematch. Tom Brady and Patriots taking on the Indianapolis Colts.
Who came out on top? I'll have the highlights up next on "WORLD SPORT." (MUSIC PLAYING)
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[00:45:00]
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SCHOLES: Welcome to WORLD SPORT. I'm Andy Scholes.
Ever since the AFC championship game last January, New England Patriots fans had their matchup with the Colts circled on their calendar. Sunday's game was much more than a normal regular season contest.
Remember, it was the Colts that told the NFL that the Patriots were using underinflated footballs. That of course led to Deflategate, which ended up with the Patriots receiving a $1 million fine, a loss of multiple draft picks and Tom Brady suspended for four games.
Now Brady ended up getting his suspension overturned in court. And even though no one would say it during the week, Sunday, a chance for Brady and the Patriots to get a little revenge.
Now Colts' fans, they haven't forgot about Deflategate, either. Lots of signs in the stands on Sunday. Picking up second quarter, Tom Brady passes to Julian Edelman, and he bobbles it. Mike Adams picks it off, takes it in for the touchdown. This is Brady's first interception this season. And really wasn't his fault. Colts would lead 21-20 at the half.
Third quarter, the Colts run one of the most bizarre plays in NFL history. They were trying to trick the Patriots on a punt. But for some reason, they snapped the ball when they were outmanned 5-2. Everyone was left baffled after the play.
Patriots could take over. And Brady was in. Finally, LeGarrette Blount for the touchdown. Brady, three touchdowns in the game. The Patriots win the Deflategate rematch by a final 34-27. They are now perfect 5-0 on the season.
Elsewhere, in the NFL on Sunday. Despite again, not having a great game. Peyton Manning was able to lead the Broncos to victory. They beat the Browns 26-23 in overtime, to improve to 6-0.
Cincinnati Bengals also remain undefeated as they went on the road. Beat the Bills, 34-21.
In the afternoon games, Packers beat the Chargers, 27-20. They're also a perfect 6-0. And the Panthers also able to stay undefeated; they came back to beat the Seahawks 27-23.
The New York Mets and Chicago Cubs have two of the most tortured franchises in all of sports. The Mets haven't won a World Series in nearly 30 years. For the Cubs, it has been 107 years. One of these teams is going to get a shot at the World Series. They are facing off in the National League Championship series.
The Mets took game one of the Series. They got the hot start in game two. Mets second baseman, Daniel Murphy, continuing to swing a red- hot bat. First inning, there's this two-run shot (INAUDIBLE). He is now 0-4 in four straight games. That gave the Mets a 3-0 lead. And that's all they would need.
Noah Syndergaard pitches five and two-thirds, giving up just one run while striking out nine. The Mets win 4-1. They now take a 2-0 lead in the Series. Game 3 is going to be in Chicago Tuesday night.
Let's turn now to the Rugby World Cup. It's been a very exciting tournament. It's even been historic. But as we near the end, geographically this is the most lopsided World Cup of all time.
For the first time ever, all four teams in the semifinals are from the Southern Hemisphere. Now Scotland was one of the North's last chances for a semifinal bid. And they were involved in a nail-biter with Australia, the Wallabies were losing at halftime. And never before have they won a World Cup match from such a position. But Drew Mitchell put Australia --
[00:50:00]
SCHOLES: -- back in front. That was after Scotland's Sean Maitland had been caused virtually senben (ph), but they hung in there. And Mark Bennett's dramatic interception gave Scotland the lead with minutes to go. And in this last minute. Bernard Foley converted a debatable penalty. And the Aussies win it by one, leaving Scotland just heartbroken.
The Six Nations' chance, Ireland, trying to continue their great year. But Argentina, well, they had other plans. They played well in every facet of the game. And the Irish, just unable to overcome a plethora of injuries that they have suffered so far in this tournament.
Argentina ran away with this one, 43-20. The Pumas are now into the semis for only the second time in their history.
So next weekend, we have an epic semifinal clash to look forward to. Saturday, at Twickenham, the defending champions, New Zealand, going to take on South Africa, who last won it back in 2007.
Then on Sunday, the Wallabies will face the Pumas from Argentina.
All right, is anybody ever going to beat Novak Djokovic? Right now he looks absolutely unbeatable. The Serbian serving another win in Shanghai. We will speak with Djokovic about his latest victory when WORLD SPORT continues.
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(MUSIC PLAYING) SCHOLES: Welcome back to WORLD SPORT. Novak Djokovic has been the World's number one player since he won Wimbledon last year. He continues to look just unbeatable. No one can get near him.
He continued his remarkable streak with a third Shanghai Masters on Sunday. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was the latest lamb to the slaughter. And the French man was predictably blown off the court in straight sets. This was Djokovic's 17th consecutive match win since the U.S. Open. He hasn't lost a set, dropping only 43 games.
On average he is winning pretty much every match, 6-2, 6-2. This one was 6-2, 6-4. He's now won nine titles this season.
And afterwards, WORLD SPORT's Don Riddell spoke with Djokovic about the amazing run he is on.
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NOVAK DJOKOVIC, WORLD NUMBER 1: One thing that I can point out and say that is the secret of success obviously. It's many years of, you know, hard work, dedication, professionalism, passion and love for the sport. And just understanding of yourself as a person, as a player and how to improve how to get yourself to the, to the peak of your abilities and I managed to do that.
Everything came together for me this season. That has been definitely the best of my life and career and just trying to cherish every moment.
It depends on the court. I love competing. I love hitting the tennis ball. That's the kind of feeling that is staying with me ever since I started playing tennis. I think that's what motivated me the most, the fact that really I love being out there. I love training. And it pays off in the end.
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SCHOLES: Well, on Saturday, Argentinian Emiliano --
[00:55:00]
SCHOLES: -- Grillo gained notoriety at the Web.com Open for almost hitting World number 3 Rory McIlroy with an errant tee shot.
On Sunday he made headlines for a completely different reason. Grillo on the par 4 10th, his third shot from the bunker. It's going to take two hops and go right in for the birdie.
Fast forward to 18, Grillo looking for the birdie in the outright lead. And he is going to drain this putt. So he would be in the clubhouse at 15 under. And Kevin Nowdo (ph) made a late push, four birdies on the back nine, including this one at 18 to force a playoff.
In the first playoff, oh, Grillo had an easy one to win it.
But check this out. It lifts out. So we would have to go to a second playoff. Grillo gets another chance. And this time he would knock it down. It's his first PGA tour win and this win actually earns him a spot in the Masters in April.
All right. That will do it for this edition WORLD SPORT. I'm Andy Scholes. Thanks for watching.
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VAUSE (voice-over): Hello, everybody. This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.
SESAY (voice-over): Ahead this hour, a bus station is the scene of the latest attack in a wave of violence rocking Israel and the West Bank.
VAUSE (voice-over): A slow-moving typhoon unleashes floods and landslides in the Philippines, forcing thousands from their homes.
SESAY (voice-over): And a futuristic building designed to save humanity in the event of a global catastrophe but modern-day events are already drawing from it.
VAUSE (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world, great to have you with us. I'm John Vause.
SESAY (voice-over): And I'm Isha Sesay. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.
