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ISIS and the Fight for Iraq; US Strategy for ISIS Fight; Jeb Bush in Europe; Latest on New York Prison Escapees; Pool Party Melee Described, Officer Involved on Administrative Leave; MERS in South Korea. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired June 09, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:06] LYNDA KINKADE: Hello, and welcome to the International Desk. I'm Lynda Kinkade, at the CNN Center, a lot to get through this hour, and

we begin in Iraq where security officials are claiming progress against ISIS militants. They say allied Iraqi and Shi'ite paramilitary forces have

reclaimed most of the key oil refinery in Baiji. This weekend, officials said they had regained control of the city of itself, that the US warns,

it's too early to declare that the city is liberated. This comes almost a year since ISIS launched a sweeping offensive that overran much of Iraq's

Sunni Arab heartland including the City of Mosul. Let's go more now from CNN International Correspondent Ben Wedeman in Baghdad, and, Ben, first

let's look at Mosul, Iraq's second largest city. Estimates vary, but most diplomats and military commanders agree that government forces and tribal

fighters far outnumber the ISIS militants in that city, so why is it proving so difficult to reclaim it?

BEN WEDEMAN: Well, largely because there doesn't seem to be a consensus within Iraq, within the Iraqi Government, on how to do it. Keep in mind on

the one hand that ISIS' fighters seemed to be highly motivated. They use also sorts of unconventional tactics, which the Iraqi Army is having a very

hard time dealing with as we've seen most recently in Ramadi, which fell on May 17th to ISIS, and, on the other hand, the Iraqi Government, for one

thing, is hesitant to provide weapons to Sunni fighters who might be willing to take on ISIS in Mosul itself, and, for instance, the Peshmerga,

the Kurdish forces, have made it clear that they aren't going to go into the city to fight ISIS. They will provide support in the hinterland but

they feel that it's not really their territory, and they don't want to risk their men and weapons there, and so the Iraqi Army is already highly

challenged trying to hold the line in a sense. They've lost Ramadi. They have been able to regain Tikrit and over the weekend, as Iraqi

officials are telling us, they've regained most of Baiji, as well as 75 percent of the Baiji Refinery, but those are relatively small towns. Keep

in mind that before the troubles that the population of Mosul was two million people. About half of them have left the city, but that remains a

million people in a very large city. ISIS, traditionally, what it does is, it sows any area it wants to defend with hundreds, perhaps even thousands,

of IED's and other booby traps which make it very difficult, so the sort of challenges the Iraqi Army and the Shia paramilitary forces have had to deal

with in Tikrit and Baiji will be much more serious than when they finally get to Mosul, and as far as when that's going to happen, it's not at all

clear, Lynda.

KINKADE: And then, of course, the civilian population is continuing to pay a high price for this surge in violence. Millions have fled. Can you

paint a picture for us of the humanitarian disaster there?

WEDEMAN: Well, it definitely is a disaster. Around three million people have been made homeless over the last year, and they're sort of spread out

around the country. Now, for instance, today we went to an old girls' school that has been converted to, essentially, a refugee camp for 48

Christian families from Mosul, and they complain, for instance, that the government hasn't provided them with any assistance, that they're living

off donations by private individuals, and international relief groups, and many of them have simply given up hope that they will ever to -- be able to

go back home. In fact, one man I spoke to today said the chances that he'll ever see his home again in Mosul is one in a million. There really

doesn't seem to be a lot of confidence in the government's ability to change the situation anytime soon, so many of them are saying, look, we'll

go anywhere. We want to leave this country. Because especially for these refugees, Christians, they feel they just have any future in Iraq,

Lynda.

KINKADE: No doubt. It must be hard for them to keep any hope alive there. Ben Wedeman in Iraq. Thank you very much. US allies conducted more air

strikes against ISIS positions in Iraq and Syria in the past 24 hours, but a comment from US President Barack Obama on Monday is raising eyebrows and

leading some to question how committed the US really is to helping Iraq defeat ISIS. CNN Pentagon Correspondent, Barbara Starr joins us now from

Washington, and, Barbara, you know, the US has had this commitment to destroy and degrade ISIS for a very long time.

[10:05:02] Was it an accidental slip yesterday when the president spoke at the G7 Summit revealing that there isn't a complete strategy?

BARBARA STARR: Well, the White House will tell you no. In fact, what the president was talking about, not that there isn't a complete strategy, that

there isn't a complete strategy for training Iraqi forces. He was looking at one very specific part of it. His comment awkwardly worded, perhaps,

but if you read the transcript, it becomes very clear what the president was talking about, and in terms of training the Iraqi troops, that's now a

top priority. It's felt that's the way to get the situation moving in the right direction, get more territory back from ISIS, but one of the key

things is, they've got to get the Iraqis to offer up more troops to train. This is becoming a problem, so what the president is talking about is a

two-pronged need to adjust the training strategy. Get more Iraqi troops into the pipeline to train, and then if you get more Iraqi troops that

you're able to train, what does the US, what does the Pentagon do about it? Do they send more trainers? Do they send more advise and assist teams? Do

they increase the flow of weapons? All of these things are a jigsaw puzzle of pieces. Decisions have to be made, but the US, very clear that they are

looking at this one part of the strategy. That's the focus right now to get that moving, Lynda.

KINKADE: And, Barbara, the president did say that he thinks there is enough people willing to train but not enough recruits. Now, he met with

his counterpart, the Iraqi Prime Minister, what came of that discussion?

STARR: Well, I think that, that's one of the big things they're talking about, you know, that Iraq wants more support, clearly, from the US and the

rest of the coalition members. The US, especially after the debacle at Ramadi when Iraqi troops not trained by the US, according to the Pentagon,

walked away from fight. The US wants to see more of a will on the part of the Iraqi forces to fight across the board. The sense the Pentagon

officials say they have is when those Iraqi troops have gone through the US training, they're much more competent, and they're more confident, but,

still, a very long way to go.

KINKADE: A long way, indeed. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Thanks very much for joining us. And speaking of Ramadi, CNN is get a firsthand look

at the push to retake that city. ISIS captured the strategic city in Anbar last month. Iraqi forces are training for a looming offensive in al-

Habaniyah Military Base east of Ramadi. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh and his crew were granted exclusive access to the base. As he tells us, Iraqi

troops there face a constant struggle to keep ISIS militants at bay.

NICK PATON WALSH: A long, edgy road leads to the Iraqi base at al- Habaniyah, the closest the military has taken western television towards Ramadi since it fell to ISIS. Huge, sprawling, it's meant to be where

soldiers and militias, both Sunni and Shia, are amassing to retake Ramadi from ISIS, but we're told, they're mostly deployed outside. And here, it

is the Iraqi Army along the northern edge of their base in a vicious frontline with ISIS along the river. ISIS have blocked a dam upstream to

lower the tides and help them attack. Well, it is minute by minute here. The situation can change, and that riverbed, very much the frontline.

They've been using water from the lake to keep its levels high, but, still, as you can hear, ISIS are very close. They see and watch ISIS daily, but

say they're overlooked by coalition air strikes. They're supposed to give us some support now from war planes he says. We're in control of the

ground. All we need is air support. Here, caught between the ISIS towns of a

Ramadi and Fallujah, they face a thousand ISIS, they think, but here, he says, he sees only a few with long beards and a flag here. But soon, ISIS

fire back. This is what happens when you poke that snake. They lead us out. This, the Iraqi Army's stronghold, where they speak of readiness and

glory to come, yet seemed busied by an enemy far too close.

[10:10:06] Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, al-Habaniyah, Iraq.

KINKADE: Former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has been one of the Iraq War's biggest defenders, but now he's saying he has doubts about

creating a democracy in the country. In an interview with the Times of London over the weekend, he said, and I quote, "The idea that we could

fashion a democracy in Iraq seemed to me unrealistic. I was concerned about it when I first heard those words." We want to turn now to the

Mediterranean and a new revealing figure of the stark reality facing the European migrant crisis. The UN's refugee agency says 103,000 people have

reached European shores so far this year. That's outpacing the rate from 2014. Most of the migrants are arriving in Italy and Greece, departing

mainly from Libia and Turkey. Our Isa Soares went on a patrol board with the Greek Coast Guard. She saw a group of migrants on a tiny rubber dingy

being pulled out of the water. A rescue situation that's becoming all too familiar.

ISA SOARES: The Hellenic Coast Guard have been patrolling these seas pretty much all night. The weather is not so good today, but we have come,

nevertheless, across the dingy. These five men arriving, rowing, as you can see, paddling their way to Greece. The Hellenic authorities now will

move slightly back so they can actually move with them, trying to bring them on shore to safety. The distance between Turkey and Greece is

something like six kilometers, so for many, this is, indeed, a fast route, and what we have seen in terms of the people coming here, seems to be a lot

more Syrians than before. They used to go to Italy by the Mediterranean. They're now coming here because it is so much quicker. Temperatures, as

you can see, are not great. It's somewhat cloudy. The waters are somewhat choppy, too, but that's not stopping boatload after boatload of migrants

from arriving here. The Coast Guard worked tirelessly to make sure their number one priority is to have -- to make sure that they are safe.

As you can see, it is very tough to bring them onboard to safety, trying to keep them here, but they have a phenomenal track record, and they are proud

of it. They're now boarding the boat with very few belongings they have brought with them. We don't know their nationalities. We have asked them.

We're not getting any answers. Clearly, very shocked. We have seen the majority from Syria, some 70 percent, but also many from Afghanistan and

Iraq, many telling us this is just the tip of the iceberg. Isa Soares, CNN, near Kos in Greece.

KINKADE: You're watching the International Desk. Still to come, a soon- to-be US presidential candidate begins a tour of Europe. What kind of reception will Jeb Bush get at his first stop in Germany? Also, an

explosion at a fuel depot sparks a massive fire in Kiev. We'll update you a the situation there. All that and much more here at the International

Desk.

[10:13:14]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:26]

KINKADE: Welcome back to the International Desk. A fire sparked by an explosion at a fuel depot is still blazing in a suburb of Kiev, Ukraine.

At least firearm are reported to be missing and two are dead. The fire spread to some 16 tanks at the depot, which is located about 30 kilometers

from Kiev. Hundreds of residents living near the area have been evacuated, and a top security official warned the fire could spread to a nearby

military facility. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has not yet officially announced his candidacy for the US Presidency, but he's already acting like

a candidate, beginning a European tour ahead of his expected announcement to run for president on June 15th. Bush's first stop is Germany. Senior

International Correspondent Atika Shubert joins us now from Berlin, and, Atika, this is his first real foreign policy test ahead of his expected

announcement. We're seeing some excerpts from the speech he will give. What did he say about the relationship between the US and Europe?

ATIKA SHUBERT: Well, this is a speech he's giving to the Economic Council for the Christian Democrats, which is, of course, the political party of

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and it focuses quite a bit a trade, but also on the crisis in Ukraine, and he's going to urge politicians here to

act tough on Russia in particular, taking Vladimir Putin to task, so we do expect to hear that later on, but you're absolutely right. This is really

about burnishing his foreign policy credentials, and sort of showing that he can be very statesman like, and he's not the first one to try this kind

of a tactic, of course. Former -- President Obama was here, of course, in 2008, when he was running for president, and he spoke to thousands of

people at Brandenburg Gate, and that was a huge success. On the other hand, also another candidate, Mitt Romney, came through the region and made

gaff after gaff during his run for the presidency, so it very is -- very much a tricky road you go when you start trying to go to other countries

and act presidential; especially, if you haven't quite claimed your candidacy yet.

KINKADE: And it certainly is. And, of course, most people will remember, and that's not too fondly there, that his brother, George W. Bush, they'll

remember his foreign policy, the president responsible for launching the invasion in Iraq in 2003. Do you think his brother's shadow will be

hanging over him during this trip?

SHUBERT: Well, it certainly will be the case for the average German, Berlin resident here. Nobody here really knows who Jeb Bush is, and they

associate the name Bush with former President George Bush, and the war in Iraq, and that is not a good legacy for many people here. They see think

very negatively. It's one reason why we saw so many people coming out for President Obama when he was running for president and made that famous

speech here. Because there was so much antipathy towards former President George Bush, so Jeb Bush has a lot of overcome with the German public, but,

again, he's not wooing the German public here. He's really talking to politicians and showing the public back home in the United States that he

does have the qualities and foreign policy credentials to be a presidential candidate.

KINKADE: We'll have to see how it goes over the next few days. Atika Shubert in Berlin. Thank you.

Well, still to come, four days into the manhunt for two murders who escaped a New York prison. Still the killers remain on the loose. What a man who

lives near the prison is telling investigators he saw shortly after their escape.

[10:18:56]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:20:41]

KINKADE: Welcome back. Four days into the manhunt for two escaped murders in Upstate New York, there's still very few indications where they may have

gone. An army of law enforcement officers is combing the forests, byways and roads across the region searching for the escapees. A man who lives

near the prison is now telling authorities he may have seen the two killers in his backyard shortly after they escaped, but other than that, it seems

the men have vanished without a trace. Polo Sandoval is monitoring the manhunt from Upstate New York and joins us now with some more details, and

I understand a woman is being questioned by police who may have helped in the escape. What can you tell us?

POLO SANDOVAL: Hey, Lynda, that's right, and that is what much of this investigation will focus on right now is to try to find out more about this

woman who, again, is being -- according to CNN sources -- is being considered a possible accomplice in this thing. We should mention no

charges have been filed. This individual has not be publicly or officially identified as well, but, nonetheless, investigators are now trying to find

out, if -- again, that's a big if -- this woman did help these two very dangerous individuals get out of this jail, this prison here, so that is

still a development that we expect in the hours, perhaps days, ahead. Meanwhile, the other question still remains. Exactly how were they able to

pull this thing off? Well, there's some interesting perspective that we want you to listen to. It comes from a man who used to work at this

prison. He spent many years, not just behind these walls, but, quite literally, within them as well. The intense manhunt is spreading. The

fugitives

could be anywhere from New York's North Country up to Canada, or even south into Mexico where 49-year-old fugitive Richard Matt is believed to have

connections.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anything is a possibility. We really need the public to call in.

SANDOVAL: A law enforcement source tells CNN an employee is being questioned as a possible accomplice. The woman who worked with inmates'

tailor and clothing knew Richard and 35-year-old David Sweat, but she hasn't been charged. A man who claimed to have confronted the escapees in

his backyard talking exclusively to ABC News.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were looking around a little bit. As soon as I came across, they ran out of my yard.

SANDOVAL: Many think the dangerous duo could not have done it alone.

RICH PLUMADORE (ph): They redid that wall twice since I've been working here.

POLO SANDOVAL: Rich Plumadore (ph) worked behind these 60 foot walls for three-and-a-half decades. He says he retired from his job as maintenance

supervisor of the prison. His daily duties included working in the hidden maze of walkways believed to have served as Matt and Sweat's path to

freedom.

RICH PLUMADORE (ph): There's some many tunnels, all the attics, all the catwalks. It's a big maze.

POLO SANDOVAL: And they used that maze.

PLUMADORE (ph): They used the maze. They knew exactly where to go.

SANDOVAL: Plumadore (ph) suspects the escape plan took time and serious knowhow to execute.

PLUMADORE (ph): Inmates should never get that knowledge.

SANDOVAL: Cutting at the wrong steam pipe at the wrong time could have been deadly or at least blown the inmate's cover.

PLUMADORE (ph): You had high-pressure steam coming up this tunnel. You have low-pressure. I believe they cut into a low-pressure line because

they couldn't cut it (inaudible).

SANDOVAL: Like the rest of his neighbors, Plumadore (ph) waits anxiously for the search to be over, and a pair of cunning criminals to be back

behind bars. And back out live at the gates of the Clinton Correctional Facility, I can tell you the investigation and the search does seem to

press on despite the rain. We've seen several officials come and go here from a command center that's been set up just outside of the facility.

They have a very tough task ahead, Lynda, you see, they received at least 300 leads right now, and investigators promising that they will go one by

one trying to sort them all out, and all of these leads, Lynda, coming in from, not only the region here, but also Canada, which is about 40

kilometers away, and even from as far as Mexico.

KINKADE: Huge rescue [sic] operation, no doubt a huge cost, too. Polo Sandoval, thanks very much for that update. Hundreds of demonstrators

staged a peaceful rally on Monday night in a Dallas, Texas, suburb following an incident of alleged police brutality at a community pool.

UNIDENTIFIED VOICES: All lives matter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Matter.

UNIDENTIFIED VOICES: All lives matter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on.

UNIDENTIFIED VOICES: All lives matter.

KINKADE: The protesters marched to the pool carrying signs that read, my skin color is not a crime and chanting, black lives matter. This weekend a

white police officer pinned a black teenaged girl to the ground and pulled a gun on others following a fight at a party, and that officer involved in

the incident has been identified as Eric Casebolt, and he's been placed on leave by the McKinney, Texas Police Department.

[10:25:10] CNN's Nick Valencia has more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you say?

NICK VALENCIA: So this is where you got hit?

JAHDA BAKARI: Yes.

VALENCIA: What happened? Fourteen-year-old Jahda Bakari is still emotional about what happened to her. Seen here on cell phone video, she

was one of the teens at a pool party in this Dallas suburb. She says the officer, who is now on administrative leave, struck her in the arm and

face. What do you want to see happen to the police officer?

JAHDA BAKARI: I really want -- I really -- I honestly think that he should be -- like it shouldn't just be a suspension. It should be like -- he

should get fired because.....

VALENCIA: A sorry isn't good enough.

JAHDA BAKARI: No. It's not good enough because sorry -- just because you say sorry, it could still happen again. He hit me in the face when I tried

helping the girl, and then when two more guys tried helping the girl, he pulled his firearm out.

VALENCIA: It's a memory she won't soon forget.

BAKARI: So when he pulled that out, I was kind of like -- that's -- the only reason I did not run away is because I was frozen. I was not sure. I

was just like.....

VALENCIA: You thought you were about to get shot.

BAKARI: Yes.

VALENCIA: The white officers who pulled his gun was one of a dozen officers who responded to reports of a fight at the community pool.

Bakari's father, Jahi, says there's only one reason why this happened --

JAHI BAKARI: I don't know.

NICK VALENCIA: -- to the group of teens.

JAHI BAKARI: I think that they are -- I think the only reason is because they were black. That's my only recourse [sic].

VALENCIA: Jordan Gray, Bakari's cousin was also at the party on Friday. He saw things a little differently. Do you think any of this has to do

with race?

JORDAN GRAY: This doesn't have to do nothing with race.

VALENCIA: What does it have to do with then?

GRAY: This has to do with just a group of teens getting together having a good time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold up, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told you to stay. Get your (beep) down on the ground.

VALENCIA: Not everyone in the community is angry at the police officer. Some are outright defending him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he deserves a medal for what he did. This McKinney resident witnessed Friday's incident. She says she's afraid to go

on camera after neighbors who vocally supported the officer received death threats. I want everyone to know that, that police officer, along with

everyone else, they were completely in the right and protecting everyone. He was not out of line. I completely support him drawing his weapon or a

taser or whatever it was that he did pull because he was being attacked from behind. Nick Valencia, CNN, McKinney, Texas.

KINKADE: Still to come, South Korea is battling the deadly MERS virus and public fear of it. Ahead on the International Desk, we'll look at whether

people really should be so scared.

[10:27:40]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:30:19]

KINKADE: Welcome to the International Desk. I'm Lynda Kinkade, and here are the headlines. Iraqi security officials are claiming progress against

ISIS militants. They say allied Iraqi and Shi'ite paramilitary forces have reclaimed most of the key oil refinery in Baiji. This weekend, officials

said they had regained control of the city itself, but the US warns it's too early to declare the city liberated. An Argentine businessman wanted

by the US in the FIFA corruption scandal has surrendered to police in Italy. Alejandro Burzaco is one of 14 people indicted by US authorities.

He's the president of a sports marketing company. A fire sparked by an explosion at a fuel depot is still blazing in a suburb of Kiev, Ukraine.

At least three firearm are reported to be missing and two are dead. The fire has spread to some 16 tanks. The depot is located 30 kilometers from

Kiev. South Korea says a seventh person has died from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. Eight more MERS cases have been confirmed, bringing

the total of this outbreak to 95. Almost 3000 people who may have been exposed to the virus are under quarantine. The MERS outbreak began a few

weeks ago, and people in South Korea are already very nervous. CNN's Kathy Novak looks at how experts are scrambling to keep it from spreading.

KATHY NOVAK: Many of the recently confirmed cases Middle East Respiratory Syndrome can be traced to one emergency room at a hospital here in Seoul.

Authorities are making more than 200 preliminary testing centers available and asking anyone who is experiencing symptoms that may be associated with

MERS to report to these first. The government has also announced it will bear the cost of all testing and treatment for MERS. A team from the World

Health Organization is in town working with South Korean experts as they try to prevent any further spread through hospitals, and, crucially, into

the public. On Tuesday, more than 2000 schools were closed. A governor from a province that was affected by MERS says South Korea is now fighting

two battles; the virus itself and fear. Kathy Novak, CNN, Seoul.

KINKADE: The parents of Reeva Steenkamp are protesting the possible August patrol of South African sprinter of Oscar Pistorius. He's serving a five-

year prison sentence for the culpable homicide of Steenkamp. Pistorius shot the model dead through the bathroom door of his home in 2013, but

under South African law, he could be released after just 10 months. Steenkamp's family says they forgive Pistorius, but the 10 months in prison

is simply not enough.

Still to come, American Pharoah may have won the Triple Crown, but his work is not over. Now the colt will eventually transition from performance at

the track to performance at the stud farm. Plus, a flying saucer alert, but this unusual spacecraft was launched by NASA. We'll tell you why the

test launch did not end well. Stay with us.

[10:33:23]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:35:03]

KINKADE: Now to another shocking failure by the agency in charge of US airport security. A new report reveals the TSA did not screen out dozens

of airport workers with links to terrorism and even allowed them to work in secure areas. CNN's aviation correspondent Rene Marsh has the details.

RENE MARSH: (Inaudible) workers with terror connections working at US airports. The TSA, in charge of vetting these employees, green-lighted at

least 73 people with links to terrorism.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are airport workers, so this really speaks to the issue of the insider threat. TSA's primary way to guard against that is to

make sure that these background checks are complete and they're exhaustive, and what this report says is, is they're not complete, nor are they

exhaustive.

MARSH: According to the a Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report, the slip-up is a potential national security risk even the

TSA acknowledges, quote, the individuals were cleared for access to secured airport areas despite representing a potential transportation security

threat. They worked for major airlines where airport vendors and other employees with unescorted access to commercial planes, the tarmac, and

luggage. The misstep happened because TSA does not have complete access to every agency's terror watch list.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a classic example of them not working together as they should, and so who's to blame? TSA and DHS are really at lead

here.

MARSH: The fear, airport workers with terror links could facilitate an insider attack. In a CNN investigation, Drew Griffin uncovered employees

with access to airplanes and tarmac were not screened daily; although, the agency says it ramped up random screening after a baggage handler was

caught smuggling guns onto commercial planes in Atlanta. Scrutiny over TSA's vetting process comes after embarrassing news the agency's officers

failed to detect weapons and fake explosives almost every time undercover teams put them to the test.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just points to a larger problem that TSA has in making sure that their operations are running smoothly, and it comes from

leadership, and not having a leader in place for some time now, I think has been detrimental to the agency.

MARSH: Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.

KINKADE: And these are live pictures from Capitol Hill where the Senate Homeland Security Committee is holding a hearing on the agency and its

security challenges.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want just read a couple of stats to kind of describe.....

KINKADE: Now back to the MERS, the MERS outbreak in South Korea and it is a tense time as the number of infected keeps rising. For more on this,

let's go to Andrew Easton who researches viruses at the University of Warwick in England. Thanks very much for being with us. Firstly, Hong

Kong --

ANDREW EASTON: Nice to talk to you.

KINKADE: -- cancelling hundreds of tours. Can we expect other countries to do the same, and should people traveling around Asia be concerned about

contracting the virus?

EASTON: Well, to answer your second question, first, the spread of this virus is, at the moment, appears to be restricted to individuals who have

had contact with hospitals or healthcare situations. That seems to be the environment in which it's been spreading up till now, so the general public

would, therefore, not be at any particularly high risk. That said, this part of the world experienced SARS in 2002, 2003, which caused a great deal

of concern at the time, and so it's understandable they'll be somewhat edgy at the moment about what might develop from this, but at the moment, it's

very much a might. There is no indication that it will spread significantly, so some of the more extravagant steps are being.....

KINKADE: I think we've just lost the link to Andrew Easton. We will try to get him back later today. Thank you very much, Andrew. Now, NASA has

launched a test start, but it had a very rough ending. The US space agency launched a saucer-shaped craft off the Hawaiian Coast on Monday, lifted up

by an enormous balloon. It carried a parachute that could one day help a manned space craft land safely on Mars. At 32 kilometers above earth's

surface, the chute deployed but it did not inflate. NASA vows to learn from the partially-failed test and try again next year.

Now, when the latest winner of the Triple Crown is does racing, it won't just be put out to pasture. He'll be put out to stud, and wait till you

hear how frequently this thoroughbred will be encouraged to breed. CNN's Jeanne Moos reports on American Pharoah's frisky future.

[10:40:12] JEANNE MOOS: American Pharoah is definitely a ladies' man. When it comes to human ladies.....

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unbelievably amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go baby. (Inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was so excited [sic].

MOOS: Hey, maybe the horse isn't the one who needs a cold bath, but mares are what will excite the Triple Crown winner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is a really cool dude.

MOOS: Destined to become a stud, breeding four times a day, and making 75 to a $100,000 each time, his owner told ABC news.

AHMED ZAYAT: So when you retire, all you do is eat, play, and have sex, so bad?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no. It could be worse.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sound exhausting.

MOOS: Maybe to you, Dan. But the president of WinStar Farms says it comes natural to stallions. They enjoy it.

ELLIOT WALDEN: Every now and then, you might have a horse say, hey, you know what, I'm kind of tired of this, but very rarely.

MOOS: I have a headache.

WALDEN: (Laughter).

JEANNE MOOS: American Pharaoh's dad, Pioneer of the Nile, lives at WinStar Farm, and his stud fee may double thanks to his offspring's Triple Crown

success from 60,000 to perhaps a $120,000 per session. Some horses take just a minute or two, but Pioneer of the Nile takes his time, 20 minutes to

breed a mare.

WALDEN: He doesn't come in and want to get the job done right away, and courts his mares, lick them on their flank, nicker at them a little bit.

MOOS: Even a Triple Crown winner shouldn't expect privacy. Around four handlers stand by during breeding wearing helmets.

WALDEN: You can get bopped in the head.

MOOS: Do they actually wear flack jackets?

WALDEN: They do.

MOOS: And don't expect them to put on any Barry White music.

(BUGLE PLAYING)

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

KINKADE: He has a busy job ahead. Well, that does it for us here at the International Desk. I'm Lynda Kinkade. But don't go anywhere. Sport

World with Alex Thomas is up next.

[10:42:06]

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