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U.S. Spy Satellite Detects Heat Flash as Russian Airliner Crashed; Conflicting Reports on Cause of MetroJet Crash; Obama Weighs in On Republican Complaint on Debates; Jeb Bush Tries to Reboot Floundering Campaign; "El Faro" Cargo Ship Found on Ocean Bottom; Tropical Cyclone Makes Landfall in Yemen; Migrants to Europe Find Shelter in Old Airport with Lots of History; Yazidis Face Brutal Winter on Mt. Sinjar; Myanmar Buddhists Threatened by Islam; Prosecutors Push for More Jail for Oscar Pistorius. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired November 03, 2015 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:00:24] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: More of the victims of the MetroJet crash have returned home to Russia but the mystery surrounding the crash is getting more complicated.
Plus, presidential candidate, Ben Carson, is surging in popularity and overtaking Donald Trump in a nationwide Republican poll.
And later, prosecutors are trying to put Oscar Pistorius back in prison. Why they say he should have been convicted of murder.
Hello, and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Thanks for joining us. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
And we start with a potentially major clue to the crash of MetroJet flight 9268. A U.S. spy satellite over the Sinai Peninsular detected a heat flash just as the airliner crashed. Analysts are looking at the data. The flash could simply register the plane hitting the ground, or it could indicate an exPLOsion.
CNN security analyst, Robert Baer, described the likelihood of a missile attack on the flight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT BAER, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: ISIS has shoulder-fired, surface- to-air missiles but have a very limited altitude, 11,000 to 15,000 feet. Some have come out of Libya itself. These missiles couldn't have taken down that airplane at 31,000 feet. I think what scares people is if somehow the Islamic State got, you know, high altitude missiles, the same one that took the Malay flight down, the BUK system, which the Egyptians have.
What is scary here is if the Islamic State turned an Egyptian army unit, a crew from the Egyptian army and convinced it to shoot this airplane down. I don't know where those missiles are, where they're located in Egypt. I don't know how they arm them. But that scenario would worry a lot of people and, in particular, not just world aviation, but the Israelis, as well, because if the Egyptian military lost control of sophisticated weapons like this, this would be a real danger to that part of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Bob Baer there.
Meanwhile, there are conflicting reports about what else might have caused that crash.
For more, we turn to Ian Lee in Cairo; and international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, in St. Petersburg.
Thanks to you both for joining us.
Ian, to you first.
Let's start with the pressure that's increasing on investigators to come up with answers to how this plane crashed. We talk now of this satellite detecting a heat flash as the plane crashed. What more do we know about the progress of the investigation and how does this play into it?
IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Reporter: well, we do have that heat flash that was detected by U.S. satellites, military and intelligence analysts are going over it to determine if it was in the air or on the ground. There are possible scenarios. We heard one would be a missile, but as we just heard, that seems very unlikely. We know that militants in Sinai just don't possess the sophisticated missiles to take down an airliner at 30,000 feet. And we've never heard of an Egyptian military unit turning like that. So I think that is a very, very low possibility that that could be a scenario. Granted, it would be very disturbing, but I think right now that seems very, very unlikely. The next is a potential bomb on board. That is something that they're going to be testing the plane for residue so far. Nothing has come out positive. But there's still a lot of the plane left to test. The next is a potential engine malfunction where there was an exPLOsion there. That could have triggered this heat signature, or finally, the plane, when it hits the ground, we've seen images of the wreckage. There are scorched parts of the plane, so that could have also been a cause for this heat signature. Right now we just don't know. They're going over that. But we also have the investigation on the ground. They're looking at all the different pieces. They're also looking at the bodies too to determine if they can have any clues. And you have those black boxes and that is going to be crucial. While everyone wants to see results and answers quickly, we've been told by the Egyptian government and Russian officials that we need to be patient, that this could take some time before they determine exactly what happened.
[02:05:18] CHURCH: All right. Ian Lee talking to us there from Cairo. Many thanks to you.
I want to go to international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, now in St. Petersburg. Nic, the airline, MetroJet, not surprisingly, insists pilot error did
not play a role and there was nothing wrong with the aircraft. Instead, the airline is implying terrorism played a role. What has been the reaction to that explanation in Russia? And what's being said about this heat flash that we're hearing about, that was detected by that U.S. satellite?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I think the big picture is Russian officials continue to say Egypt leads the investigation. The investigation is far from over and complete conclusions won't be reached until that investigation is over. As far as the heat signature detected, we haven't had an official Russian reaction to that yet. The reaction by Dublin officials to the fact that the -- an executive from MetroJet said it had to be a certain external impact, a certain external mechanical or physical issue that contributed to the airline coming down. Again, officials do come back to that line, that this leads full investigation. We also hear from officials here that they are investigating the financial -- current financial circumstances of the company. Those are all factoring in.
But really, I think more broadly here, people in Russia are still having difficulty coming to terms with what happened, and the tragic loss of so many children.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Russia is in shock. So many tears, so many victims, so many of them children. The youngest, a 10-month-old. She was on holiday with her parents, Tatjana and Alexi. 25 children died. At this makeshift memorial, parents count their blessings. A day to hold their children closer.
Vladimir hugs his son, Alexander, and he tells us, "It's a tragedy to lose so many children. We understand, but we can never feel the pain of their families."
7-year-old Olga came to pay her respects. "Luckily, we didn't lose anyone," she tells us. "I just wanted those children to be remembered." Her favorite toy, adding to the deep carpet of cuddly childhood treasures.
Overnight, at a rally for victims, hundreds spelled out the word "mom," in recognition of the children and parents lost. With many orphans left behind, Russia's soul has been laid bare. Few pause without weeping.
Oxana (ph) stopped by on her way to work. "I'm a Russian, and we need to say what has happened," she tells us. "And we need to explain it to our kids."
Today, Russians came looking for answers, found only pain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON: So far, according to Egyptian authorities, 196 bodies have been repatriated to Russia. And the latest figures we have from the emergency ministry, known of those bodies have been identified by relatives. It's a very difficult process. And as I told you here, a line of people has just arrived bearing carnations for them to lay. This is the scene that we're just seeing repeated here every day, Rosemary, every hour. It's a very touching moment to watch.
CHURCH: Yeah. It is a tragedy so hard to fathom.
Our Nic Robertson reporting from St. Petersburg. Many thanks to you.
Ben Carson is surging ahead of Donald Trump in the race for the White House. A new national poll from NBC News and the "Wall Street Journal" shows Carson leading Trump 29 percent to 23 percent, followed by Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush. The poll surveyed likely primary voters, both before and after last week's debate.
[02:10:01] The Republican candidates' attempt to unite and reshape future presidential debates is falling apart. Several of them, including Donald Trump, John Kasich, Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina, now say they won't sign a letter of demands to the media groups that sponsor the debates. That letter was drafted over the weekend. The campaigns were calling for reforms after criticizing the questions and moderators in last week's debate.
President Barack Obama is also weighing in on that debate, joking about the candidates' complaints. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every one of these candidates say, "Obama is weak. Putin is kicking sand in his face. When I talk to Putin --
(LAUGHTER)
-- he's going to straighten out." It turns out, they can't handle a bunch of CNBC moderators.
(LAUGHTER)
If you can't handle those guys --
(LAUGHTER)
-- you know, I don't think the Chinese and the Russians are going to be too worried about you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: President Obama having a bit of fun there.
And Republican candidate, Jeb Bush, has a new slogan after some less than stellar debate performances. He's trying to reboot his floundering campaign.
CNN's Athena Jones has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEB BUSH, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: Our story is about action. Doing, not just talking.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jeb Bush, rolling out his new slogan today in Florida, "Jeb can fix it."
BUSH: As your president, I will fight every day with a reformer's heart.
JONES: Bush's "Fix It" tour will also take him to South Carolina and New Hampshire this week.
But it may be his campaign that needs fixing. He's hoping a renewed focus on what he calls his proven conservative record will give him a much-needed boost in the midst of consistently weak poll numbers, worried donors --
BUSH: I've gotten a lot of advice lately myself.
(LAUGHTER)
More than enough, thank you.
JONES: -- and a weak debate performance.
BUSH: You should be showing up to work.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R), FLORIDA & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Someone has convinced you that attacking me will help you.
BUSH: I know I have to get better at doing the debate. I'm a grinder. When I see that I'm not doing something well, then I reset and I get better.
JONES: Bush's speech today included jabs at front runner, Donald Trump, and his surging protege, Marco Rubio.
BUSH: The answer isn't sending someone from side of the capitol city to the other. And you can't just tell Congress, "You're fired," and go to commercial break.
(LAUGHTER)
JONES: The "Fix It" tour comes as Bush releases a 730 page e-book, full of e-mails he sent and received during his two terms as governor.
BUSH: They used to call me the e-governor.
JONES: The book includes revealing moments, like an angry e-mail he received during the Florida recount in 2000. And one who complained Bush was spending too much time campaigning for his brother and not enough time doing his day job, an attack line Bush struggled to use against Rubio. Also included, some gentle ribbing from George H.W. Bush about his son's swearing-in photo. The former president saying, "I love the photo of your swearing in. It's so good of you that I've gotten over my being cropped out by the photographer."
The big question for the man hoping to become the third President Bush is whether this latest push will resonate with Republican voters.
Athena Jones, CNN, Tampa, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And we have this report just in to CNN. In Pakistan, everyone aboard a private airliner is safe after the jet made a hard landing. Airport sources say the landing gear malfunctioned and the plane blew a tire, then veered off the runway and landed in the grass. All 120 people on aboard the Karachi to Lahore flight were evacuated. We'll have more on this for you as soon as we get more information in.
If a new court decision stands, comedian Bill Cosby will have to appear for another deposition. A California judge ordered the comedian and his former attorney to testify in the Janice Dickinson defamation lawsuit. The former model filed a lawsuit claiming the comedian defamed her character when he called her a liar, claiming she fabricated her story. Dickinson and more than 50 other women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct over several decades. Cosby has never been charged and denies any wrongdoing.
U.S. officials have confirmed the wreckage of a cargo ship that disappeared last month has been found. The ship's owner wants legal protection from lawsuits.
Martin Savidge has more on the grief and anger the crew's relatives are feeling.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That it's been found brings new heartbreak to the families of the 33 people lost.
[02:15:04] UNIDENTIFIED FAMILY MEMBER: 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.
SAVIDGE: And their suffering may not be over any time soon. While the U.S. Navy was still searching for the ship that disappeared October 1st in the middle of a hurricane, "El Faro's" owners, Tote Marine, launched a preemptive legal strike, aimed at limiting what families could receive in a lawsuit. It relies on a law written more than 150 years ago.
DAN ROSE, MARITIME ATTORNEY: This 150-year-old law was intended to buttress and support a fledgling maritime industry back in the day when we didn't have insurance and it made sense to try to promote the industry. But now the industry is obviously highly successful.
SAVIDGE: Attorneys for the families are outraged.
UNIDENTIFIED FAMILY ATTORNEY: They're relying on an old law enacted when we had wooden ships, wooden sailboats transferring cargos. It's -- the family feels betrayed.
SAVIDGE: In the complaint filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Florida, the owners seek, quote, "exoneration from or limitation of liability," unquote. If the company was found to be liable, it suggests paying the families based upon 1980s value of the cargo, plus the value of the vessel itself.
ROSE: In their own papers, they estimated the value of the vessel, which is now at the bottom of the ocean, at zero dollars.
SAVIDGE: That means the most each family could get is $460,000. So far five lawsuits have been filed, blaming Tote Marine, for other things, for improperly maintaining the ship and knowingly sending it off into the path of a growing and dangerous storm. We reached out to the company to the new legal course they are now sailing but Tote would only say, quote, "The company will not discuss individual legal actions out of respect for the legal process. Our focus remains on support and care for the families and their loved ones," unquote.
Martin Savidge, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: We'll take a short break here. Still to come, a country ravaged by war now faces a new danger. We'll have the latest on the rare tropical cyclone hitting Yemen.
Back in a moment.
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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[02:19:40] DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: I'm Don Riddell, with you CNN "World Sport" headlines.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho's problems continue to mount after admitting to a misconduct charge over his language and behavior in the defeat by West Ham last month. Mourinho's been punished with a one- game stadium ban and a $60,000 fine. Unless he appeals, he will be forced to miss Saturday's game.
Onto matters on the field, Aston Villa have suffered a 7th successive Premier League defeat. It was pretty much one-way traffic before halftime, doubling their advantage from 18 years with a brilliant goal. The Londoners expended their unbeaten run to 10 league games.
And Villa's defeat was watched by their new manager, Remi Garde, who was in the stands. He's joined on a three and a half-year deal. The Frenchman has succeeded and described managing the Premier League bottom team as, quote, "an unbelievable honor." His first day at the club has not been straightforward, though. Not only did fog ruin his travel plans to Birmingham, but Villa's website misspelled his first name in just the space of a couple of lines, one with an "I" at the end, one with "Y."
That's a quick look at your sports headlines. I'm Don Riddell.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Candy Crush, one of the most popular mobile phone games in the world, is being sold for $5.9 billion. Gaming company Activision said Tuesday it will buy king digital entertainment, the company behind Candy Crush. Activision is known for blockbuster games like Guitar Hero and Call of Duty. But it didn't have much of a stake in mobile game business until now.
Volkswagen's emission cheating scandal is spreading to it Porsche and Audi. Regulators cited 10,000 vehicles Monday, including the 2015 Porsche diesel. V.W. and Porsche deny the new allegations, claiming the model is, quote, "fully compliant." Volkswagen already admitted to dodging regulations for 11 million vehicles by using a defeat device, software that lowered emissions only during testing.
Turning now to Yemen, the war-torn country is facing a disastrous new threat, flash flooding and mudslides. A rare tropical cyclone, called Chapala, made landfall just hours ago. It's expected to dump two or three years' worth of rain in just a day.
We turn to Meteorologist Allison Chinchar who joins us now.
The quantity of water is just mind blowing.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is, it is, because again, when you look at the numbers specifically, 200, 250 millimeters, a lot of areas get that. But they don't have the same kind of topography that Yemen does. That's why it causes so many problems. One perk, now that the system has made landfall, the winds are calming down. You can see that here. Winds now down to 140 kilometers per hour, gusting to around 165. This is certainly less than we've seen over the last couple of days. Take for example this, this could be norm alter rain for much of Europe, much of South America, Australia, where you have that normal ground cover, say it's grass or shrubs. When it rains, the rain is able to penetrate through and go down and fill the water table. That is good. But the topography in Yemen is different. The sun bakes down, so it becomes crusty and hard. So when it rains on this type of crust, the water just sits on top. It can't absorb down into the ground. That's why we have such big flooding potential with this storm. As we mentioned, the storm will continue to weaken rapidly. Less than 24 hours, we don't expect the winds to be but 55 kilometers per hour. Also note the trek up through this area. The more heavily populated areas are on the Western edge of the country. That's a little bit of good news that the more heavily populated areas are not likely to take the direct hits. Winds will be an issue. Take a look down here in the Gulf of Aden. We typically have about 400 ships a week pass through these areas and they'll be dealing with winds 50 to 90 kilometers per hour for the next 24 hours. We talked about the rain they expect. 80 to 100 millimeters of rain is average, but they'll pick up two to three times that, or two to three years' worth in just 24 hours. We talked about all the rain they expect. Interesting stat for you. The Arabian Peninsula has had three major impacts since 2005. Florida, a place that we typically see tropical activity, has had zero. So as rare as this is, that area has seen more activity than Florida has in that particular category. Very ironic and impressive.
[02:25:16] CHURCH: Why is that happening?
CHINCHAR: This happens to be related to El Nino. Typically, in the Atlantic --
(CROSSTALK)
CHINCHAR: Yeah, where Florida is, they don't tend to have quite as active as the Pacific tends to be during El Nino years.
CHURCH: Allison, thank you so much. We'll talk again soon. Appreciate it.
Well, more than 218,000, that is the number of migrants the U.N. says crossed into Europe in just last month. It's roughly the same number that Europe saw in all of last year. The majority of these migrants are Syrians, traveling through Turkey and into Greece. Many are trying to make it to Germany.
As Atika Shubert reports, some are finding temporary shelter in an old airport with a lot of history.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Orville Wright flew one of the world's first airplanes at Tempelhof in Berlin. By the 1930s, this had become the busiest airport in Europe and the aviation hub for the Nazi regime. After the war, it became a symbol of freedom and a lifeline for West Berlin. Cut off by the Soviet Union, U.S. forces defiantly flew supplies in.
This airport has secured its place in history long before it was closed in 2008.
(on camera): The Tempelhof Airport exists almost as a time capsule. You can still see an old U.S. troop carrier parked out there. And you can cycle up and down the massive runways here.
It does stand as a sort of monument with plenty of space. So when the need came to house hundreds, even thousands of refugees, well, this seemed like a natural choice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not a hotel or an exhibition center. This is a hangar. It's an old hangar. It's a monument. Nothing was there. There's no water, no heating. Step by step, we had to bring in everything that you need to host so many people.
SHUBERT: I have just walked inside one of the airport hangars. This is where refugees will be housed. Take a look. There are four dedicated airport hangars here. The capacity in all will be roughly 2,200 people. This is where refugees will be sleeping. You can see they've got it set up with bunk beds, about a dozen people in each compartment. And there are dedicated spaces for men, women, and for families.
The idea is this is a temporary home, for a few days and weeks, until they are registered as asylum seekers and able to find more permanent housing.
(voice-over): Only a few have started to move in after their long journey across Europe.
UNIDENTIFIED REFUGEE: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey.
SHUBERT (on camera): What do you think of this?
UNIDENTIFIED REFUGEE: This is good.
SHUBERT: It's good? It's OK?
UNIDENTIFIED REFUGEE: Good. Very good.
SHUBERT (voice-over): It will be used as a temporary shelter for at least the next year. Even in retirement, it seems the Tempelhof Airport has found itself yet another place in history.
Atika Shubert, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Despite being in the overwhelming majority, some Buddhists say Myanmar is sounding the alarm that their religion is under attack. Coming up, who they say is responsible.
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[02:32:00] CHURCH: Welcome back to you viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. I want to update you on the main stories we've within watching this hour.
A U.S. satellite detected an infrared flash over the Sinai Peninsula around the same time that metro jet flight 9268 crashed. Analysts say the heat blast may be a vital clue for investigators. 224 people died in that crash. A tropical cyclone is barreling across Yemen with hurricane strength
winds. The storm is expected to dump two to three years' worth of rain in just a day. Flash flooding and mudslides are a major concern because of the country's dry, mountainous terrain.
The Pentagon says U.S. Special Operations forces will be on the ground in Syria within weeks. Their goal is to help local fighters take on ISIS. U.S. President Barack Obama insists the deployment does not break his promise against boots on the ground in Syria.
Across the border in Iraq, Yazidi families are preparing for a harsh winter. The religious minority has been tormented by ISIS for more than a year, and as fighters prepare for battle, hundreds of Yazidi girls are still being held captive by ISIS.
CNN international correspondent, Nima Elbagir, has this exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These slopes claimed the lives of dozens of children last winter. This year, the Yazidis are bracing themselves for the worst.
UNIDENTIFIED YAZIDI FEMALE (through translation): "The mountain is so cold. You can see there is nothing up there."
ELBAGIR: Buha is 30. She and her nine daughters escaped the ISIS onslaught last year. This year, she says she worries it will be the mountain winter that kills them.
(on camera): Buha was telling me that 17 of them live in this tiny, tarp-lined tent. Everything that you see here, the clothing they're wearing, the pots, pans, this is it. This is all that they have in the world. And they are facing another incredibly brutal winter up here on the mountain.
Smoke plumes rise over Sinjar. Coalition air strikes intensifying as preparations begin for the push to retake the town.
(voice-over): Sinjar and the mountain that looms over it are the heart of the homeland of the Yazidi minority. In the mountain's foothills, the Yazidi men are training for the fight ahead.
The mountain shelters their holiest shrine, the shrine of the founder. It also falls along a crucial ISIS supply route, linking ISIS strongholds in Iraq and Syria.
Last year, the world watched as thousands of Yazidis were massacred during the ISIS push for Sinjar. Hundreds of Yazidi girls are still held by ISIS fighters as slaves.
Buha believes her sister and two teenage nieces are among the captives. Every moment in her day, no matter the task, she told us, it is spent thinking about them.
As the offensive draws nearer, she worries they're still in the town below her.
[02:35:30] UNIDENTIFIED YAZIDI FEMALE (through translation): Where are they? Will they take them further away? Will they be caught in the fighting?
ELBAGIR: Below, the Yazidi soldiers are standing guard. Many of the fighters here have families up on the mountain slopes above.
(SHOUTING)
ELBAGIR: Today, a local folk singer has come to rally them. But they know too well what they're fighting for, their very existence. Ill- equipped and poorly supplied, they tell us they need all the help they can get. UNIDENTIFIED YAZIDI MALE (through translation): We need international
support, especially now. We stood against ISIS with nothing but machine guns. We were against a huge enemy. We stood strong. We need your help.
ELBAGIR: For now, the Yazidis are clinging on, desperate to stay within sight of their abandoned homes. Zero hour is approaching. They are getting ready. Everyone hopes this will be over soon, even as they prepare themselves for what awaits them in the town below.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, Mt. Sinjar.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: A gas station in Afghanistan could be the most expensive in the world, a whopping $43 million, and the American taxpayer is footing the bill. That is according to a new report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, a watch dog group. It says a similar gas station in Pakistan cost only $500,000. The Defense Department task force that built the gas station was disbanded in March and the new report says the department can't explain why the cost was no high. The Pentagon has agreed to provide more documents to the inspectors.
But this isn't the first example of waste in Afghanistan. The same watch dog group found earlier this year that $36 million was spent on this unused command center at Camp Leatherneck.
Myanmar is just days away from holding its general election, but one issue seems to be dominating many political discussions. Although the country is overwhelmingly Buddhist, a group of nationalist monks says their traditions are threatened by Islam. And anti-Muslim rhetoric is becoming main stream.
Our Ivan Watson has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A street party for the Full Moon Festival in what up until a few years ago was one of the world's most isolated countries. On this Buddhist holiday, it looks like the whole city is out celebrating in the streets and praying in the temples.
Around 90 percent of this country is believed to be Buddhist. And yet, some powerful voices here insist Myanmar's most popular religion is in danger.
(on camera): Who is threatening Buddhism in this country?
UNIDENTIFIED BUDDHIST MONK: Muslim.
WATSON (voice-over): "Muslims," says this radical Buddhist monk, who leads a group called the Committee for the Protection of Nationality and Religion. UNIDENTIFIED BUDDHIST MONK: (through translation): Muslims threaten
Buddhism by taking many wives and children. Their population grows and it threatens us. They are very violent
WATSON: Muslims make up only 4 percent of the population, but he's calling for a boycott of Muslim-owned businesses in Myanmar.
Critics call this hate speech and some accuse him of inciting violence.
This is what happened two years ago in a central town, when a dispute between Muslims and Buddhists exploded. Days of violence left scores of people dead. Amid the killing, this Buddhist monastery became a sanctuary. For days, the monks here sheltered more than 900 Muslims. The abbot tells me he protected them from a machete-wielding mob at the monastery gates.
"This is all political," he says. "There are actually no problems between the religious communities. But it has been influenced by political groups."
Seated next to him, leaders of the town's Muslim community, who say the anti-Muslim boycott has pushed many Muslim families out of this town.
(on camera): It's been two years since violence claimed dozens of lives. Mosques like this one are still broken and looted, a symbol of the discrimination that the Muslim minority in this community say they face in modern day Myanmar.
(voice-over): Of the 12 mosques that once operated here, more than half are still in ruins or have been boarded up by the town's authorities. Due to overcrowding, the town's remaining Muslims pray in shifts at one of the few mosques still functioning here. The mosque now protected by razor wire.
(on camera): There is still tension?
[02:40:54] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. Of course, of course.
WATSON: How do you feel as a Muslim?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, it's impossible.
WATSON (voice-over): The monastery where the radical monk teaches his anti-Muslim rhetoric is decorated with Islamophobic propaganda, a message of hatred and intolerance against an entire religious community that is being passed on to future generations.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Myanmar.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Oscar Pistorius out on parole now, but you are looking at live pictures of the courtroom where prosecutors will be fighting to put him back in prison. We'll have a live report on what is likely to play out.
Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:44:52] CHURCH: Happening right now, in a South African Supreme Court of Appeals, prosecutors are getting ready to push for a change to the conviction of Oscar Pistorius for the shooting death of his girlfriend. If they succeed, Pistorius, who is out on parole right now, would face more jail time.
Our David McKenzie joins us from Johannesburg with details.
David, what does the argument hinge on and what are some of the state's challenges to win this appeal?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, there are many challenges for the state to win this appeal. In fact, it might be that they have to convince the court that it is a matter that should be seen on appeal. This isn't a review of the fact or it shouldn't be. This is a review of the law, and the state is saying that the judge in the case of Oscar Pistorius, the disgraced Olympian who shot and killed his girlfriend in 2013, they are saying that based on the facts presented in court, the judge got her understanding of the law incorrect. And this should be a charge of murder, not culpable homicide. Pistorius is in house arrest, paroled from prison. His team is going to try to show that the judge got it right and this isn't a matter that should be seen by the supreme court of appeal in South Africa, effectively the second highest court in the land. They'll look at the case. They'll have the oral arguments. First, the prosecution, then the defense. It's a very high stakes appeal. But very unclear which way it's going to go -- Rosemary?
CHURCH: David, how are we likely to get a decision today do you think? Could Pistorius go back to jail?
MCKENZIE: Well, if he loses the appeal, yes, he could go back to jail for a very long time. He sent just shy of just one year in prison, a sixth of his sentence for that culpable homicide conviction. We will potentially have proceedings wrap up at the appeals court today. Lit be a very in-depth legal discussion, tells of lawyers arguing it out based on case law and based on the facts, based on the legal interpretation of the facts oh it have case. We don't expect a decision today by the appeals court. It could be some days or weeks from now. They could even say that they'll look at this hour or give it a decision on this matter after the recess, which starts on November 30th. So this long trial that has had many twists and turns, a show trial in South Africa, had many people glued to their seats during the proceedings, you could have more intrigue, but it's not going to be wrapped up today -- Rosemary?
CHURCH: Our David McKenzie keeping a very close eye on things there, joining us live from Johannesburg. We'll join you next hour and get another update on the situation. Appreciate it.
This year's Melbourne Cup winner did something never done before in the 154-year history of the cup. The details, next.
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[02:49:45] CHINCHAR: I'm Meteorologist Allison Chinchar. Thanks for watching CNN "Weather Watch."
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CHURCH: We have new pictures just in to CNN from Pakistan, where everyone aboard a private airliner is safe after the jet made a hard landing. Airport sources say the landing gear malfunctioned and the plane blew a tire. Then it veered off the runway and landed in the grass. All 112 people on board the Karachi to Lahore flight were evacuated.
Australia's Melbourne Cup ends with an historic finish after a female jockey rides home with the title for the first time in the event's 154-year history. Australian jockey, Michelle Payne, aboard New Zealand's Prince of Penzance were a 100-1 long shot in Tuesday's race. The victory makes Payne the first woman to ever win the title and Australia's most famous and richest race. The prize money for this year's cup, $6.2 million. How about that?
British singer Adele has also achieved a milestone first. And she did it with a very simple greeting.
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CHURCH: Adele's first single "Hello" from her third album" 25" is the first song to sell more than one million downloads in the U.S., according to "Billboard." The single is also number one on "Billboard's" Hot 100 and currently has more than 204 million views on YouTube. "25" will be released on November 20th.
One dog's now-found Internet fame is not for the best reason after a passenger snapped a not-so-flattering picture of him boarding an airplane.
Our Jeanne Moos has more.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You are looking at Hank's good side. This is his not-so-good side.
(on camera): Do you really call him Hank the Tank?
KARI WHITMAN, HANK'S OWNER: Everybody seems to call him Hank the Tank. But we're going to try to get that tank part down.
MOOS (voice-over): Hank was boarding an American Airlines flight in Los Angeles when Madeleine Sweet snapped this photo. "I (EXPLETIVE DELETED) kid you not, the dog is flying first class on my flight."
Of course, he was. Owner Kari Whitman says Hank is a frequent flyer. Once this photo went viral, Hank even got immortalized in animation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He travels first class all the way.
[02:55:00] MOOS: The owner, Kari, buys him a ticket.
She is a former "Playboy" playmate from 1988 and is now an interior designer to stars like Melanie Griffith and Kristen Bell. She runs a dog rescue. And Hank is her certified therapy dog. Kari suffers from optical migraines. Hank alerts her when one is coming on so she can take her medicine.
WHITMAN: He knows before I know. Nobody can believe it. It's like a bird. Nobody can believe it when they hear it. They're like, oh, my god, that sounds like a bird. He does this like noise.
MOOS: Hank has his own health issues. Complications from surgery from a torn ligament prevent him from walking much. Plus, he has a thyroid condition, which is why he is obese. From 160 pounds, he's down to 146, eating a cup and a half of raw food a day.
As for his new found fame --
(on camera): It's been crazy, has it not?
WHITMAN: Yeah.
MOOS (voice-over): Kari isn't crazy about that famous photo.
WHITMAN: He's not as fat as he looks in there.
MOOS: This is a dog who sure sounds like he should fly.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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CHURCH: He's enjoying life for sure.
I'm Rosemary Church. CNN NEWSROOM continues after this very short break. Stay with us.
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