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Russia Demands Answers in Airline Crash; Yazidi Forces Getting Ready to Battle ISIS. Aired 3-4a ET.

Aired November 02, 2015 - 03:00   ET

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

[3:00:11] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL HOST: Russia demands answers in the crash of Flight 9268 as the first victims arrive back in St. Petersburg.

Plus, preparing for an assault on ISIS. Yazidi forces are getting ready to do battle with the Islamic militant group that forced them to flee their homes a year ago.

And later, the Spectre of millions. The latest 007 movie stirs fans and breaks up the box office records, raking it in for its U.K. opening weekend.

Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. This is CNN Newsroom.

A tragic homecoming is playing out in Russia, 144 bodies out of the 224 people who died in an air crash Saturday arrived back in St. Petersburg. Another group of bodies is expected to arrive there later in the day. Meanwhile, investigators in Egypt now believe Metro Jet Flight 9268 broke apart well before hitting the ground in the Sinai Peninsula. But they don't know what caused the break-up. The flight was filled with Russians heading home from the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

For the latest, we want to turn to CNN, Ian Lee in Cairo, and International Diplomatic Editor, Nic Robertson who is in St. Petersburg. Nic, I want to start with you of course, as we have been reporting. Bodies being flown back to St. Petersburg. We know 25 children were lost on this flight, as well as many parents who were on vacation, who left many orphans now. It is a tragedy that has touched the whole nation. What do we know about those who were onboard?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, Rosemary, every minute here you witness the tragedy, people like this lady coming to pay their respects on the way to work, on their coming and going from the airport. A whole football team arrived here earlier, to lay flowers. Of course, the emotions that they're going through, and the people standing here right now, looking, saying prayers, coming to remember all those victims onboard the plane. The 25 children, as you say, so many parents. People we talked to here this morning have told us, that while they can perhaps begin to understand, or try to understand what happened in this tragedy, they can't begin to feel the pain of the families. For those families of the victims today, this is the day that it will perhaps become very real and very tough. The bodies, the 144 bodies that arrived at the airport in the early hours today have been taken, driven to a crematorium about 20 miles away from here. And the families will be taken to that crematorium by government officials.

Psychologists are on hand to help them, ambulances are on hand, medical personnel are on hand to help the families. But they will be taken to see the bodies today, to begin to identify their loved ones. This is going to be perhaps a long and very, very difficult process. More bodies will arrive back, we're told, later tonight. Personal possessions will also come back on a flight overnight tonight. But this is the day, really, that a lot of people here are feeling the pain of the families, and of course, such a tough day for those families ahead. Rosemary.

CHURCH: It must definitely is. And Ian Lee, we don't know what caused this plane crash. But there are numerous questions about the airworthiness of this aircraft. What is the latest on the search and recovery efforts, and on the investigation?

IAN LEE. CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm outside the main morgue here in Cairo, where bodies are still being stored. We had those 144 go to St. Petersburg. According to Egyptians state media, 187 bodies now have been recovered, which means there's still 30 bodies out there in the desert waiting to be recovered. Crews are still out there searching not only for the bodies, but also going through the wreckage, trying to search for clues. This is a large area. This is about 20 square kilometers that they're going over and looking for evidence. We've seen in some of this video, that it is a very rugged area. Also, you're seeing pieces scattered everywhere.

And what we heard from a Russian official is that it did break apart in the air. Now, what caused that is still unknown. We do know that this plane had an incident in Cairo in 2001, where the tail hit the runway. Now, we don't know if that could have played into it at all. It's likely that the plane would have been repaired and inspected after that. But there are a lot of questions about the airworthiness of this plane, especially coming from the co-pilot's ex-wife. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[3:05:10] TRANSLATOR: Our daughter had a telephone chat with him just before the flight. He complained before the flight that one could wish for better technical condition of the plane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Now, Rosemary, we know according to the Civil Aviation Minister that this plane was inspected before it was - - flew. We also know that the pilot didn't complain of any technical problems. The Egyptian government said if those were brought up, that they would look into them and tried to fix them. So, there are a lot of questions about the moments that led up to this crash, this tragedy. We know those black boxes are in Cairo right now. They are going to be analyzed. There's a team from Airbus here, as well as a team from Ireland that will be helping, aiding in this investigation. CHURCH: And, Nic Robertson, if we can go back to you very quickly, in

St. Petersburg, of course, as we've been mentioning, we understand that this -- the airplane broke apart midair. We don't know why, and that of course is the critical question. But according to Russian authorities, they doubt that terrorism is behind this. And this is despite ISIS claiming responsibility for shooting the plane down. Talk to us about that.

ROBERTSON: Yeah, the Russian authorities are basing their analysis at the moment on what they're hearing from the Egyptian authorities. We are being cautioned here that by Russian officials that we shouldn't, you know, we can't say definitively what it is until the investigation is complete. And we're still a long way from that process. But it does seem that Russia seems reasonably confident at the moment that it wasn't the result of the aircraft being shot down.

That said, that several Russian airlines are now -- have now announced they're going to avoid flying over the Sinai area in Egypt. What officials here are doing with the Egyptians, according to President Sisi of Egypt, in a phone conversation with President Putin here, is that they're working very, very closely on this investigation. You've had the head of the transport ministry in Egypt, the head of the emergency ministry in Egypt, you had the head of the aviation ministry, all in Egypt, that is to build this strong connection.

So I think when we hear from Russian officials and they say the best information they have so far indicates that it is not the result of a terrorist action, this comes from that close cooperation. But at the moment, Egypt leads the investigation. And so that the -- so their observations so far are based on what they're hearing from Egyptian authorities. But again, that caution, that they cannot be ruled out until this investigation is complete, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yeah, understood. And Ian, finally back to you, clearly people want answers, and they want them fast. How difficult is this investigation likely to be, and very quickly, how dangerous is the Sinai Peninsula?

LEE: Well, this investigation, you have this plane in an area of 20 square kilometers. The benefit that the Egyptians have over the previous air crash is, they know where the area the plane has crashed. While there is an Islamist insurgency in the northern part, this area has been secured. So the investigators can get to all the pieces. So from that aspect, it should be fairly straightforward.

Now, we don't know the condition of the black boxes. Will they be able to tell everything from what was being said in the cockpit, and all the data from the instruments, that is to be seen? So really depending on that, but as Nic said, you know, Egyptian officials here are also saying that it should not jump into any conclusions, that terrorists were involved. That military source told CNN that it really is unlikely, at least as far as a missile is concerned. It's nearly impossible for the militants to shoot down a plane that's traveling at 30,000 feet. They just don't have the technology. They don't have the weapons to do so. There has been the theory that potentially a bomb was on there. But, I think we need to reiterate that we don't know. And right now, that is important. And the Egyptians are saying that it is more likely a technical issue.

CHURCH: Right. It is way too early to know for sure. Nic Robertson, reporting there from St. Petersburg. And of course, Ian Lee in Cairo. Many thanks to both of you.

Well, Al-Qaeda's leader is calling on Muslim supporters to unite against the West and Russia in Syria and Irag. It's not the first time he's pushed for more unity between Al-Qaeda and ISIS. In an audio recording released online, and reported by Reuters, Ayman al- Zawahri says a unified front is crucial to fight against what he calls the satanic alliance that is aggressing against Islam.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[3:10:10] TRANSLATOR: The Americans, Russians, Iranians, Alawites and Hezbollah are coordinating their war against us. Are we not capable of stopping the fighting amongst ourselves, so we can direct all our efforts against them?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Now, we don't know exactly when this recording was made. But the references to Russia suggest it was made after Moscow began air raids in Syria, in late September.

Well, ISIS forces have seized a key town in Syria's southwestern Homs province, that's according to the Syrian observatory for human rights. The group said some 50 regime fighters were killed or wounded. The takeover means the militants are just 20 kilometers, or about 13 miles, from the highway connecting the capital Damascus with other main cities, including Homs. Syrian state media have not reported the attack.

U.S. forces are intensifying air strikes against the ISIS stronghold of Sinjar in Iraq, ahead of a planned ground offensive to retake the town. When militants took over a year ago, they killed hundreds of the Yazidi religious minority, and forced thousands more to flee. Well now, Yazidi men are part of the group hoping to drive ISIS out. And Nima Elbagir met some of those men and has this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Yazidi fighters, volunteers, former soldiers, and a handful of trained officers looking out over the ISIS front line. He's pointing out us along hey, you can see the defensive ditches that have been dug. So they come as close as that valley, just there. They mortar -- they fire on us. They eventually retreat. But it's pretty never-ending.

This vantage point itself was in the not too distant past ISIS held. He said that - he said you can see what they did to the Yazidis. The houses are completely destroyed. They slaughter all the families inside. It really drives home how visceral this was.

Deputy Commander Malku Sido is 66. He is a retired soldier, one of the few here with fighting experience. This is a fragment of skull that they found. This whole patch of ground is mass graves. They said they found about 150 bodies, from children as young as one year old, all the way up to 80. It is, they say, just a reminder to them of what it is they're fighting for. They're fighting for their very survival.

The massacre of thousands of Yazidi men, women and children by ISIS last year resonated around the world. Here in the foothills of the Sinjar Mountains, thousands of Yazidi volunteers are joining up to fight.

Sinjar City and the mountain that looms over is at the heart of the homeland of the Yazidi minority. It falls along a crucial supply route, linking ISIS strong holds in Iraq and Syria.

When ISIS took the city August last year, their intent was to drive the Yazidis to extinction. Those who managed to escape the ensuing massacre now shelter in top pollen tents on barren slopes overlooking their former homes. These are the families of the fighters standing guard down below. This is what they're fighting for.

At the front, a poem is being recited. It speaks of lost honor, slaughtered wives and sisters, empty homes. It's meant to remind the soldiers of what's at stake. They tell us they know only too well, this is a battle for their very existence. Nima Elbagir, CNN Mt. Sinjar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: We'll take a very short break right here. But still to come, a surprise result for Turkey's President. As his party stages a major comeback in Sunday's snap elections.

Plus, a rare and powerful tropical storm racing toward Yemen. We'll explain why this cyclone could be especially devastating for the region.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[3:17:17] PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: I am Patrick Snell with the CNN World Sport Headlines.

Nico Rosberg took first victory for more than four months, and beat Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday. The German who is on pole controlling the race from start to finish would beat newly crowned world champion Hamilton, only a couple of seconds behind, but unable to get near enough to make a challenge. There's also now the potential for further seen controversy with Hamilton disagreeing with the request for him to make a second pit stop. Rosberg fourth victory of the season, moving him back into second now in the championship behind Ferrari Seb Vettel who crashed out.

The English Premier League on Sunday, Sunderland season going from bad to worse there, (inaudible) Everton found their shooting boots in a big way. Fine individual performance by Everton Arouna Kone, the Ivorian striker first hat-trick for Turkish coming, as Sunderland were heavily beaten 6-2.

And Simone Biles becomes the first female gymnast to win 10 world titles with two more world championship goals. The 18-year-old trampling on beam and floor on Sunday final day of competition, in Glasgow in Scotland, with the winning score of 15.800. Biles, becoming the most medal female gymnast in history. The teen also won team gold, a record third successive individual all-around title and bronze in the vault as well.

Thank you so much for joining us. That is a look at your CNN World Sport Headline. I'm Patrick Snell.

CHURCH: In a stunning electoral comeback, the Turkish President's justice and development party is claiming victory in said parliamentary election held Sunday. The party lost that majority in June, but now the country's prime minister is urging Turkey's political parties to work together. Earlier, CNN spoke with a columnist from the Turkish website Almonitor, and asked him if he believes the country's polarization will continue after this election's unexpected outcome.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNINDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that depends on the course that Prime Minister Davutoglu and the President is the one who will follow. They now won a major victory, I hope that they will feel safe, safe about all the conspiracies they believe that they're targeting them. And maybe, they can initiate reconciliation. Prime Minister Davutoglu told the (inaudible) tonight, he said we're planting love in this society and tolerance inciting. That's great if that message stays. But polarization is very deep and they should really reach out to the enemies within, at some point they called them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:19:55] CHURCH: The win will likely help President Erdogan tighten his grip on power, saying the vote was a victory for stability. In the wake of last month's suicide bombing that killed more than 100 people in Ankara.

An unusually powerful cyclone is barreling toward Yemen and Oman. Chapala is equivalent of a category three hurricane. It's expected to weaken some, but still the region doesn't often deal with rain and wind like this. The storm could hit right in the heart of Al-Qaeda territory, an area wrecked by civil war.

Meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins us now to talk more about the unusual storm. And of course people in that region, they want to know just how bad this is likely to be.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right, for all the folks living right there along the coastline, which is not that many in terms of the population of Yemen in general, but all of this folks living along the coastline are going to be hit the hardest. But it's not just the one living there, it's all the ships. There are a lot of ships that go back and forth throughout that area, that are going to be affected by this particular storm. It's not any weak storm to talk about. This is the second strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Arabian Sea, very impressive. Take a look at this wind, up around 195 kilometers per hour, as it barrels toward Yemen. We were talking about all the ships that we have throughout this area. We alone about 400 ships in the Red Sea that they have to deal with there, all of those ships are going to be affected once this storm finally makes its way crossing into Yemen. It should make landfall as you can see here sometime Monday night, into early Tuesday morning local time. Now, notice how weak - - how quickly this storm weakens. It goes from 140 kilometers per hour right before landfall, to about 55 kilometers in just less than 24 hours. But, in that 24-hour time span, it's going to do quite a lot of damage. Here is the satellite estimate, as it begins to move its way up, it weakens very quickly. And once it finally crosses out of Yemen, really doesn't have much moisture left to it. The reason for that is all of the dry air that is going to be pushed down into it. And also, we have the mountain range that sits right there along the Yemen coast as well. That is going to start drying and pulling out all of the moisture from that storm. So the combination of the two really is going to decrease this storm quickly. And that is very good news. But it still could become the strongest storm on record in the Arabian Sea. The previous was Gonu, back in 2007. The big issue from a lot of folks in Yemen is going to be the rainfall. Normally they average 80 to 100 millimeters of rain in one year. They are likely to get 200 to 250 millimeters of rain in just the first 24 hours. Here's a look at that again. Mostly focused in the central region where we expect to get the majority of the rain. Winds will also be a factor as well, and some storm surge right there along the coast. So again, you hope and pray that these folks can protect themselves, and be able to get out of harm's way. Perhaps go a little bit further inland. Because even say, 30 kilometers inland will make a huge difference compared to coastline areas.

[3:20:10] CHURCH: Yeah, the amount of water that you're talking about is just incredible. Yeah, and of course the ground just cannot absorb.

CHINCHAR: That dry ground cannot. That's why the flooding potential is very high, and also the threats for some mudslides as well.

CHURCH: All right, Allison, many thanks for the heads up. Appreciate it.

CHURCH: In the United States, there's a revolt under way among the Republican candidates for President, and it's a revolt against their own party. Representatives from all the campaigns huddled in Washington, Sunday night to decide on new rules for future Presidential candidate debates. And they shut out leaders from the Republican National Committee. The contenders are especially angry as of last week's debate hosted by CNBC. They said it lacked substance, and was filled with gotcha questions. Key changers agreed to by candidates' campaigns are two-hour debates, where each candidate gets 30 seconds for opening and closing statements, and equal speaking time for all candidates. But they failed to agree on having all candidates on the main debate stage, or splitting into random groupings. They plan to send their demands to networks this week, without input from the Republican National Committee. With U.S. Republican Paul Ryan is getting set to tackle the challenges

that will come with his new job as Speaker of the House. The man who held that position until Friday, John Boehner, announced he was quitting after seeing the party become more and more fractured. He told CNN's Dana Bash, it took some convincing to get Ryan to run for Speaker.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA DASH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's talk about Paul Ryan. You tried -- you successfully tried to convince him to run. How did you do it? What did you say to him?

JOHN BOEHNER, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE: Well, first I laid every ounce of Catholic guilt I could on him. And.

DASH: How does that goes? Lay some Catholic guilt on me. I want to know what that feels like.

BOEHNER: You have no choice. It is not about what you want to do, it's about what God wants you to do.

(CROSSTALK)

[03:25:02] DASH: You pulled the God part, huh?

BOEHNER: Yeah, I pulled it all out. Listen, Paul was the right guy, at the right time. I know he-- knew didn't want to do it. He kept telling me he didn't want to do it. But it was obvious to me that he was the right person for the job. And I had to do everything I could to convince him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And as for Paul Ryan himself, he said he feels good about his decision, even though it could spell end of any Presidential ambition he may have. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA DASH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think this mean the end of the road for any hope of being President?

PAUL RYAN, CURRENT SPEAKER OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE: I don't know, hope of being President?

DASH: Meaning when you're Speaker of the House, it's just a lot harder .

RYAN: That's okay with me, it doesn't really bother me. I was - - if I really wanted to be President, I would have run in this cycle for the presidency. I had the chance and opportunity to do so. I chose not to do that. So I'm perfectly happy, and content with this decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: And to some sad news now, Former U.S. Senator and actor Fred Thompson has died. His family says he lost a decade-long battle with lymphoma on Sunday. Thompson was a Republican who represented the state of Tennessee for nearly 10 years in the senate. He also briefly campaigned for President in 2008. Thompson was also known for his long-running role in the T.V. series, Law and Order. He was 73 years old.

What is ahead here in CNN Newsroom, investigators reach some conclusions about the crash of a Russian airliner in Egypt. But they're still struggling to figure out exactly what brought the plane down. Plus.

UNINDENTIFIED FEMALE: No survivors. My little girl was gone.

CHURCH: A mother's anguish at losing her daughter after a cargo ship vanished. Her emotional story, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:25] CHURCH: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. We want to update you on the main stories we've been following this hour.

U.S. forces are intensifying air strikes on the ISIS stronghold of Sinjar in Iraq, ahead of a ground offensive to retake the town. When militants took over a year ago, hundreds from the Yazidi ethnic religious minority were killed, and thousands of others were forced to run for their lives. Now Yazidi men have joined the battle to drive ISIS out.

Turkey's President is calling for unity, after his justice and development party secured an outright majority in Sunday's snap election. The country's Prime Minister called the vote a victory for democracy. The surprise win will help the AKP tighten its grip on power, after losing its majority in June.

The broader news of the majority of the passengers from Metro Jet Flight 9268, have arrived back in St. Petersburg, Russia. Two hundred and twenty four people, mostly Russians on holiday, died when their airliner crashed in the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday. More bodies are expected to arrive in Russia later in the day.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will try to recover bodies from the wreckage believed to be the El Faro cargo ship. There was a plan to send a deep ocean vehicle to the wreckage on Sunday. The NTSB said, it doesn't intend to recover the ship. The El Faro went missing on October 1st, near the Bahamas during hurricane Joaquin. The company that owns the ship has filed a lawsuit to keep families of the crew members from suing. Four families have already filed suits, claiming the company has a history of poor maintenance. Well, the mother of one El Faro crew member said, she still cries every night thinking of her lost daughter. She also says knowing the wreckage may have been found isn't bringing her comfort. Rhodella Richardson from affiliate WCVB in Boston, Massachusetts, has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY SHEVORY, MOTHER OF EL FARO CREW MARIETTE WRIGHT: I did not care about a ship. It was wood and nails and plastic. And I did not care about losing that. I cared about losing my flesh and blood daughter.

RHODELLA RICHARDSON, WCVB REPORTER: Her daughter, Mariette Wright, grew up in Assanet and died at age 51, when the El Faro cargo ship sank a month ago today. Navy vessel sonar may have found the missing ship that had 33 crewmen onboard. The emotional toll at the brothen home of her younger sister and mom, almost unbearable.

SHEVORY: No survivors. No survivors. Which meant my little girl was gone. I don't know how to express my grief rationally.

RICHARDON: She calls Wright, her middle child a ball of fire, an adventurer, little but able. It could take investigators two weeks to now locate the ship's data recorder. That's information this broken family could find to be healing.

SHEVORY: I wonder when she knew the ship was sinking. If she had tried to figure out some way to escape, or some way to save everybody on there. Because that's how she was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Difficult story to tell that. And that was Rhodella Richardson, from CNN affiliate, WCVB reporting.

I want to return now to our top story, the crash of flight 9268. Investigators now believe the airliner came apart well before it hit the ground. But they don't know why. We are joined by Philip Butterworth, an air traffic control expert and a consultant and commentator on aerospace issues. And he joins us now via Skype from Brighton, England. Thank you, sir, for talking with us. And now, when you look at all that we've been told about, all bringing these pieces together, as an air traffic control expert, what is your sense of what may have happened to this doomed flight?

PHILIP BUTTERSWORTH, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL EXPERT: It's very, very strange, because airplanes just don't break up in flight. I think in the entire history of aviation, that we've followed, there are some possibly three or four incidents when that's happened. And we know exactly what happened in every instance. We've built airplanes so that will not happen. So, at the moment this is a very extraordinary aviation incident that we don't know the answer to.

[03:35:10] CHURCH: What is confounding as well is that ISIS is claiming responsibility, saying it shot down the plane. How likely is that though, when you consider, really, this plane was at 31,000 feet. And isn't it 14,000 feet that these surface-to-air missiles can hit? So how is that even possible, do you think? Does it play into this at all?

BUTTERSWORTH: No. I don't think it -- you know, if something wrong happened, wrong I mean actually brought down by some terrorist organization, it wouldn't have been shot down, I wouldn't have thought. There would be some other explanation. But again, I mean, we're really struggling just to look at what natural could cause it -- it could be. We'll be able to fight out quite soon once they have the black boxes. But at the moment it's a real mystery.

CHURCH: There was talk about the condition of this plane. Is it hit before, and the tail, it wasn't considered airworthy by some. Do you think, as you say, these planes don't just break apart, do you think, though, if it's not structurally strong, that there's a possibility that could have played into this in some way?

BUTTERSWORTH: Absolutely not. No, I mean, these airplanes are built to be particularly strong. Three things have to go wrong for a major catastrophe like this to happen. And that just doesn't happen anymore. You know, if you look at how -- 17 years old aircraft, which is not young, but it's certainly robust enough to be, I would say, safe. I mean, absolutely, no question about that at all. So something, not just one thing, but two or three things must have gone wrong. I mean, if you look at what could have happened, could have been an explosion in the fuel tank. Again, they would have stop that, perhaps the shock could hit the backup system when it was on the ground (inaudible). Again, there have to be two or three different structural failures for that to have caused this whole incident. So, this airplane just doesn't break up in flight.

CHURCH: It is just incredibly confounding. And hopefully the data, the black boxes will be able to answer some of these questions. But many thanks, Sir Philip Butterworth-Hayes, for talking with us. We appreciate it.

Diplomatic break-through, as Japan and South Korea try to reach common ground on the controversial history of comfort women. That is coming up.

CHURCH: Plus, Myanmar's historic election just days away. We will show you the pageantry and excitement in the final days of campaigning. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:41:12] CHURCH: China has just unveiled its first homemade large passenger plane. The C-919 was rolled out in Shanghai and is said to rival similar models from Airbus and Boeing. The aircraft will take its maiden flight next year, followed by another three years of ground test before being put into commercial use. The planes manufacturer said they've already received more than 500 orders for the jet.

Well, the leaders of South Korea and Japan made a significant break- through Monday during their first bilateral talks since both leaders took office. South Korean President Park Geun-hye, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have agreed to accelerate talks to resolve the bitter controversy of the so called comfort women. The mostly career women who was forced into prostitution, as Japanese brothel during World War II. Will Ripley has that part of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Her body is weak. Her memories are strong. Kim Bok-dong nearly 90 years old, says she still haunted by nightmares from five years as a sex slave of the Japanese army.

TRANSLATOR: I can't put into words the scars it left me with. It still keeps me awake at night.

RIPLEY: Kim says she was only 14 when the Japanese came to her Korean village, forcing her to leave her home, her family. You thought you would be working in a factory?

TRANSLATOR: Yes. There was no option not to go.

RIPLEY: Instead of going to a sewing factory, Kim said she ended up in Japanese military brothels, in half a dozen countries. She was told her job was to revitalize the soldiers.

TRANSLATOR: It went on for such a long time. By the time the sun went down, I couldn't use my lower body at all.

RIPLEY: Kim said years of physical abuse took a permanent toll.

TRANSLATOR: In my old age, I couldn't have a single person who can call me mother. I could never have a child.

RIPLEY: Her story matches testimony from other so-called comfort women. In Washington, this former Korean sex slave made a tearful plea to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, demanding an official apology. Critics say Abe has not been vocal enough. They fear his government is trying to whitewash the past, to appease conservative who feels comfort women were paid prostitute, not victims of official military policy.

KOICHI NAKANO, PROFESSOR SOPHIA UNIVERSITY: We have gone through tremendous trauma. In a way, different Japanese government risks committing second rate by discrediting their testimony, and treating it as if they're liars.

RIPLEY: Abe insists he and other Prime Ministers have made repeated apologies.

TRANSLATOR: I am deeply pained to think of the comfort women who experienced immeasurable pain and suffering.

RIPLEY: But since Abe first came to office, his government has succeeded in removing references to comfort women from many Japanese school textbooks.

TRANSLATOR: My only wish is to set the record straight about the past, before I die.

RIPLEY: Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Well, Myanmar is less than a week away from its long-awaited and what will surely be a closely watched election. Opposition leader Aung San Suu kyi, drew a massive crowd on a rally in Yangon over the weekend. Our Ivan Watson was there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is part of a river of red shirts and flags, supporters of the national league for democracy. All streaming towards the last big campaign rally before elections. The last big rally to be held here in Myanmar's largest city, Yangon. The people look like they're in a really good mood right now. It's very festive. A lot of happy faces in crowds. Because for these people, it's the first time in a generation that they'll get the chance to vote in national elections for their party.

(PEOPLE CELEBRATING)

[03:45:20] WATSON: There literally isn't room to walk here in this crowd that's seated in the heat, patiently waiting for the lady of the hour. Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the NLB.

(PEOPLE CHEERING)

TRANSLATOR: Some people say it's not time for us to achieve real democracy yet, but I think it's just because they don't want to give it to us. Everyone deserves democracy.

WATSON: Aung San Suu Kyi leads the biggest opposition party in Myanmar. The last time they competed in a national election was in 1990. And by all accounts, they won big-time. But then the military annulled the results of the vote, and placed her and many of her colleagues under arrest for decades. But the main rival will be the incumbent ruling party, which enjoys the support of the military. And the military is guaranteed to hold on to at least 25 percent of the seats in the next parliament. Meaning the Generals are not going away anytime soon. Ivan Watson, CNN, Yangon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Some of the top women in Hollywood are planning remakes of all male cast movies starring women only. We will have the details coming up in an entertainment roundup.

Plus, celebrating in Kansas City, Missouri, after the royals won Baseball's World Series. More on the exciting finish, just ahead.

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ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm meteorologist Allison Chinchar, and you are watching CNN Weather Watch. Finally some relief for folks in Texas now, no longer having to deal with all of that heavy rain that has just inundated the area. Temperatures should be about 24 degrees for the high temperature in Dallas. A lot of that rain has pushed off to the east. So cities like Atlanta now dealing with those showers. High temperature of around 20 degrees. Beautiful across parts of Chicago. Sunny conditions. Highs in the low 20s. Absolutely gorgeous day, 19 degrees in New York. I'll be, we will have at least a few light clouds. Finally, some rain also beginning to arrive to the West Coast, especially in California. Where they really need to see it. Could even see some snow in the higher elevations of California, up to a foot of snow in some areas. So Again, very impressive statistics out there. And again, California needs to see that rain. Although it really will not end up being that much rain. They will take even the little bit that they can get.

A few showers and thunderstorm is expected in Belize City. High temperature around 30 degrees should top out a 33 for the high temperature in Havana. Again, we've got a few isolated showers along many of the islands, including Kingston, should pick up at least a few heavy showers at times. We are looking at a high temperature today around 23 degrees in Lima. We will have a few isolated showers and thunderstorms in parts of Rio de Janeiro, with a high temperature of 28 degrees.

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[03:50:50] CHURCH: The Kansas City Royals proved they are the best team in baseball. And once again, World Series Champions.

Their fans celebrated back home, after the Royals defeated the Mets in New York in game five of the series. They took the Royals extra innings to clinch the 7-2 victory. And Royal catcher, Salvador Perez was named MVP at the World Series. Sunday night's win is only the second World Series Championship in Kansas City franchise history. The last one came 30 years ago in 1985. Can you believe that? Unbelievable. Well done.

Well earlier Sunday in New York City, more than 50,000 runners took to the streets for the world's largest marathon. Stanley Biwott, won the men's division of the race finishing in 2 hours 10 minutes and 34 seconds. In her second New York City victory, Mary Keitany hit the finish line in 2 hours 24 minutes and 25 seconds. Another Kenyan, Geoffrey Kamworor came in second in the men's division by just 14 seconds.

James Bond is back and breaking records at the box office. Specter, the 24th installment in the series on the world's top-secret agent set, one-day record at the UK box office, bringing in $9.2 million. That was Tuesday. And since then, the film has pulled in nearly $64 million. That's the largest total ever, and is bigger than the most successful film in the series, Skyfall. Spectre opens in the U.S. on Friday.

Kim Serafin joined us now to talk more about all of this. So Kim, let's start with the weekend box office. Lots of smiles in the U.K. with the new bond movie, it was a great success. Not so much good news in the U.S. with its worst Halloween box office in 16 years. What went wrong?

KIM SERAFIN, SENIOR EDITOR IN TOUCH WEEKLY: Yeah, it was a scary Halloween weekend for a lot of reasons at the box office. Really did not do well with the worst weekend of the year. And I think the worst Halloween weekend in 16 years. Which is really surprising, because two of the movies that opened were a Sandra Bullock, star in Our Brand is Crisis, and Bradley Cooper starring in Burnt. And both of these underperformed. Really by a lot. Bradley Cooper films made about $5 million, $2 million less than expected. As Sandra bullock's film made half of what was predicted. There might just be too many adult theme movies opening, there were a lot of movies in October. And not some of these big franchises you know. Yet The Martian is great. And that's been holding at number one. But some of these other movies, just there, might just be too many movies out there right now. And really not looking good for Sandra Bullock, got so much publicity for this movie. And Bradley Cooper just came off of American sniper. So very disappointing.

CHURCH: Yeah, very strange for those two stars. And you know, you mention Sandra Bullock, she's looking to continue this trend of gender swapping, because that what happened with that last movie you just talked about. She's got plans now to take on George Clooney's role in an all-female, Oceans 11, reboot. And we are hearing lots of rumors some about who might join her in the line-up. What are you hearing?

SERAFIN: Yeah, it's interesting because of the gender swapping trend is being talked about everywhere. Coming from Sandra Bullock doing Our Brand is Crisis, then the all-female Ghost Busters, there have even talk about, you know, could there be another James Bond who is female. Not so much, Spectre is obviously doing well this coming week. But yes, Sandra Bullock is going to take on George Clooney's role of the Oceans 11 reboot. And now everyone is speculating who could be in this all-star cast. The first thing that's been coming up is Jennifer Lawrence, because Gary Ross is directing, and he directed her in Hunger Games. But the best thing about this is you think about the wide variety of actors they have to replace in this. You know, you've got people who are older, and younger, and you got to replace Matt Damon, and Brad Pitt, and Carl Reiner and Andy Garcia. So there going to be some amazing female a-list actresses in this.

CHURCH: Yeah, there going to pick the right one, right? And of course, let's finish with - - a look at Halloween, some of those celebrities, they stepped out in some of their costumes. What were the standouts?

[03:55:05] SERAFIN: Celebrities always do such a great job on Halloween. Heidi Klum, you have to start with her as Jessica Rabbit, unrecognizable she documented how she wore prosthetics to look like Jessica Rabbit. She looks like a cartoon, a living cartoon. Then Kim Kardashian, went as Kim Kardashian, a throwback Kim Kardashian, she her pregnant self, when she was pregnant with her first child. Then you have Ellen DeGeneres, continuing the Kardashian trend, she went as the long lost lesser known Kardashian sister, Karla Kardashian, which is very funny. And you know Patrick Harris took his whole family as they went as Star Wars. So we're going to see a lot more Star Wars I think as we get closer to the holidays. Even Lebron James went as Prince, and even performed Purple Rain. Halloween is great for celebrities.

CHURCH: It's certainly is a lot of fun, of course we've all packed away our costumes and our decorations until of the following year. Kim Serafin, many thanks to you as always, appreciate it.

SERAFIN: Thank you so much.

CHURCH: And before we go, Haitians honored and remembered their decease love ones on Sunday. With the day of the dead celebration, dozens gathered at the national cemetery in Port-au-Prince, for the tradition. The day of the dead is celebrated across Latin America and the Caribbean. But in Haiti, there is often a voodoo twist often with bones, rum and a black cross. Some people also offer fruit and coffee to their ancestors.

And thank you so much for watching CNN. I'm Rosemary Church. Early Start is coming up for our viewers in the U.S. And for those of you elsewhere, stay tuned for CNN Newsroom. Have a great day.