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Rupert Murdoch to Step Down as CEO of 21st Century Fox; Latest on New York Prison Escape; Chinese Security Chief Convicted of Corruption Charges; MERS in South Korea; American Dies Fighting Against ISIS

Aired June 11, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

ROBYN CURNOW, CNNI: Welcome to the International Desk. I'm Robyn Curnow at the CNN Center. We begin with breaking news in the business world.

Rupert Murdoch, the Australian media mogul, is preparing to step down as CEO of 21st Century Fox. Well, let's go straight to our Maggie Lake. She

joins us now from New York. Hi, there, Maggie. I know that there's not a lot of information. Do we know why Mr. Murdoch has decided to step down

now?

MAGGIE LAKE: We don't, Robyn. This is just coming across, but it's worth pointing out that he is 84 years old, still, a vibrant and powerful force

in the media landscape for decades now, and someone, who just last year, made a bid to try to buy Time Warner, which, of course, is the parent of

CNN, so this is a man who had his hands on the wheel, certainly, and has been a major force in this company, which many know as News Corp. It was

split off after the trials and tribulations of the newspapers in the UK and formed a publishing and then the sort of media, TV, and movie side, which

is 21st Century Fox, but Rupert Murdoch stepping down.

What we do know from earlier reports, and, again, this just coming in, and these are reports, is that James Murdoch, his son, will take over as the

head; although, he will run it in conjunction with his brother, Lachlan. It looks like the current COO, Chase Carey, will be stepping out of that

role; although, perhaps not stepping away from the company altogether for at least a transition period, maybe moving into some sort of advisory role.

Again, these are all reports not confirmed by CNN. This is going to be interesting to see how investors react to this. As legendary as Rupert

Murdoch is, there has always been concern about the family control of this company, the stormy relations between the family and just what a succession

plan would look like. Investors loved Chase Carey when he came in. He really helped firm up the company, drive that entertainment arm, which has

been the money-making arm of this empire for some time now. It's been, as you know, a very tough environment for publishing, and so Chase Carey was

very much loved by Wall Street. Now that he's stepping in and the family really taking over this next generation, I think the verdict is out on

exactly how they're going to feel about that. There's going to be a lot of work done to sort of shore up confidence, but, again, this is a big

development for media on a man who's really towered over the landscape,

Robyn.

CURNOW: He has towered over the landscape. An extraordinary story, you know, taking his father's newspaper in Australia and creating this massive

global empire, and it hasn't just spanned media. I mean, the political influence that Rupert Murdoch has wield, also significant. Do you think

that will change, or how much of an impact did that hacking scandal play into the fortunes of Mr. Murdoch's company?

LAKE: I think this had a huge impact in terms of looking at his legacy. When is it comes to the company, I mean, this was such a huge story at the

time. We followed it so closely, and whenever I would talk to investors, they would have a very different perspective and say, listen, as long as

there's a firewall, and it doesn't touch the entertainment part, that's the real core of this company. Murdoch loved his newspapers. He was a

newspaper man, and the publishing side meant a lot to him in terms of his story, but for investors, it was all about that entertainment side, the

television, the movie studios, so I think that when we look at Rupert Murdoch's story, that hacking chapter, very important in terms of looking

at his legacy. It certainly changed things reputationally. Some people thought it was going to be the end for Rupert Murdoch. If you remember

back to that powerful man sitting in front of UK Parliament, having to sort of explain himself. He looked very humbled, and it was such a different

Rupert Murdoch that we saw. A lot of people thought that it might be the beginning of the end then, but, instead, it wasn't. He came storming back,

made that bid for Time Warner, so that is why it's so the significant, I think, to see that sort of bold, and Rupert Murdoch choosing now, this

moment to step aside, Robyn.

CURNOW: Thank you so much for all your updates there. I mean, an extraordinary man, no matter whether he love him or hate him.

LAKE: (Inaudible).

CURNOW: He really has left quite a legacy, and also made very sure that his line of succession, his children, I think he's been nurturing them from

a very young age to --

LAKE: That's right.

CURNOW: -- take over now, so, Maggie Lake, thank you, and any more details on this story, you will bring them to us. Thank you. And there's a lot

going on here at CNN. Also, we're hearing major developments in that story that has absolutely focused police in the US. There have been developments

in that prison escape. We're going to take you to our sister network, CNN USA for that.

(SIMULCAST OF CNN DOMESTIC REGARDING NEW YORK PRISON ESCAPEES)

CURNOW: Okay. You've been listening there to our coverage, continuing coverage, of a major story that's been breaking and developing in the US

the past few days. That rather audacious prison escape by two murders. They've been hunted for the past few days here in the US, and it looks like

police say they have picked up some scent, police dogs have picked up a scent of them, so we'll keep you updated on that story if there are new

developments on if authorities find them, but there's also another story breaking here on CNN, which has global implications, and that's about

Rupert Murdoch, the CEO of 21st Century Fox is preparing to step down. Well, our Brian Stelter joins me now from New York, and, Brian, there's not

a lot of information. Maggie Lake was saying that earlier. The question I have is why now?

BRIAN STELTER: Absolutely. Well, you think about Rupert Murdoch, you think about one of the giants of global media, but a person who has been

thinking for a long time about succession planning, about who to hand his company to now as he continues, you know, to run these companies, day-to-

day, two of them; 21st Century Fox and News Corporation. And the word is that he'll be stepping down from 21st Century Fox, which is the bigger, and

the more valuable of the two companies. It's the company that includes Fox News, Fox Sports, most of -- pretty much all of his television and film

assets all around the world, and he will apparently be handing the reins over to his son, James. Now, Murdoch's company is not confirming any of

this yet. This is according to a source with knowledge of the matter who is speaking to me for the moment. Apparently, these plans were not

supposed to come out yet, but they are being put into place, and we will be hearing more about them shortly.

CURNOW: I mean, Mr. Murdoch has been a huge character within the media scene for decades now, but he is 84 years old. He's just -- a few years

ago had a rather messy divorce, and it does seem particularly after that hacking scandal, he looked definitely, frailer, didn't he? That said, this

is a man who's known for being very tenacious. His sons, what do we know about them? There's James Murdoch, who looks like he's going to be handed

the day-to-day running of 21st Century Fox, but there's also Lachlan Murdoch who's been based in Sidney, Australia, who some reports I'm reading

here are saying that these brothers are going to try and work together in partnership, and, of course, Rupert Murdoch will still have major

influence.

STELTER: Yeah. We should mention first and foremost, according to the source that I'm speaking with, Murdoch will remain executive chairman, so

that would give him the final say --

CURNOW: And also he'll be co-executive chairman --

BRIAN STELTER: -- over issues at Fox.

CURNOW: -- I understand.

BRIAN STELTER: That's right. Yeah. And then Lachlan would be co- executive chairman while working with his brother James. Anybody who's got brothers can imagine the dynamic here, and anybody who's got a lot of money

can imagine the dynamic there as well. When you've got brothers who are trying to, in some cases, compete for their father's affections, well, that

has been a story of the Murdoch empire for a long time. There have been family members, you know, siblings -- excuse me, children of Rupert Murdoch

who go away for a while, who come back, who go away for a while, but, lately, James Murdoch has become more involved with the company. He has

been seen all the time at the company. He's been by his father's side, so it makes a lot of sense that he is apparently expected to be named CEO of

21st Century Fox.

CURNOW: Indeed. I mean, when you look to this new generation, James specifically was very hurt by that hacking scandal in the UK. He stepped

down as the head of BSkyB.

STELTER: Right.

CURNOW: But I understand from reports and, you know, people that, you know, within the media industry, saying that he has become perhaps a more

mature leader in the last few years, and also that he has been very -- he has pushed ahead with digital expansions. Do you think that's also key?

STELTER: You know, you think back to that hacking scandal a couple of years ago, and people like me, frankly, were writing stories about the end

of his empire. Well, that certainly did not come to pass. It certainly was a terrible situation for the companies. It was a massive ethical

scandal, and it did do damage to the companies. Partly, it's why the two companies now are separate, 21st Century Fox and News Cooperation, with

News Corporation owning the newspapers like News of the World and all the rest and all the UK papers, all the Australian papers, et cetera, but, my

point is that they were able to weather that storm. They were able to come through it, and they were able to get to the other side of it, and,

frankly, the companies are in relatively strong shape right now; particular, 21st Century Fox. You mentioned digital, and that's going to

be the most important word throughout this transition, throughout this story. Moguls like Murdoch may know that digital is all that matters, but

their sons, their children, know it more deeply because they've grown up with it more.

Murdoch is -- still has a love for the printed page, for the printed newspaper. His sons, like James Murdoch don't necessarily have that same

kind of attachment, and they may be better positioned to make the changes that are necessary in a digital environment. You know, Rupert Murdoch has

done some important experiments with digital. He's tried iPad apps. He's tried online subscriptions, but I think what we would see in the future

from his sons is much more of a tilt toward all that digital represents; whether that's online streaming services or of web versions of newspapers.

CURNOW: Indeed. And let me -- this is certainly not his obituary, but I think, you know, there is a sense of looking back at the career of Rupert

Murdoch here. I mean, he's not going to let go of the greater vision of these companies when his sons are in the driving seat, but still, I mean,

let's talk about the man, Rupert Murdoch. I mean, just the kind of influence he's managed to peddle in the capitols of the world over the past

few decades. I mean, this is a man who didn't just publish newspapers. He wielded political influence, particularly, in the UK. I mean, look, Tony

Blair is the Godfather of one of his youngest daughters.

STELTER: That's right. Some people have compared him in the past to William Randolph Hearst, and the comparisons make a lot of sense. If I

think about the United States as a media market, you think about Murdoch owning the New York Post, the tabloid newspaper, and in his endorsements in

the Post being very important, but perhaps his most important contribution to the United States, to the political and media spheres here, has been Fox

News, which launched about 20 years ago, which became the dominant cable news channel in the US, and which combines a conservative brand of politics

with news coverage in a way that hadn't been seen before in the United States. That has been an incredibly influential tool for this morning

sometimes and for Roger Ailes, the chairman of Fox News, and Fox News is an example of Murdoch's power and of his influence. It's a news brand but

also with political significance.

CURNOW: Indeed. Thanks so much for your analysis on this news that Rupert Murdoch will be preparing to step down as the CEO of 20th [sic] century --

21st Century Fox. Brian Stelter, thank you for that. You're walking the iDesk. I'm Robyn Curnow, and we'll be right back after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: It's been a busy hour on this iDesk, and there's another story we're keeping an eye on. The swift fall from grace of China's former

security chief. Zhou Yongkang has been sentenced to life in prison for corruption. Now, he was once one of the most powerful men in China who

crushed descent and unrest all in the name of preserving the status quo. Well, our David McKenzie joins me now live from Beijing. What's the

reaction in China to this news?

DAVID MCKENZIE: Well, the reaction is going to be tightly controlled, Robyn, because the media here is all controlled by the communist party, and

they have immediately had the ready-to-go-to-press commentaries on how this shows, from their perspective, that even the most senior leaders here in

China, aren't above the law, and let me put it into perspective. Zhou Yongkang is kind of like a spy master, Supreme Court justice and chief of

police all rolled to one -- into one, and that's at least the role he played here in China, part of the standing committee of the politburo,

which, for many, many, years was considered totally untouchable, and so he's been brought on bribery and other charges, too, but it has taken some

time, in fact, but today they announced that, in fact, he'll serve a life sentence, Robyn.

CURNOW: He obviously is one of those men who would then have a lot of dirt on the ruling -- you know, men within the ruling party. Is this about

corruption? Or is it more about trying to silence a political rival here?

MCKENZIE: Well, many people think it's a bit of both, in fact, and you raise a very good point, Robyn, because one of the charges against him was

leaking intentionally state secrets. Now, some say that, that's also a convenient way to make sure that it was a closed trial, and, yes, if he was

corrupt, and the allegation is that he is, he would have a lot of dirt on very senior, potentially, the communist party leaders. In fact, the way

that did it was to snare him in a net from the bottom up by getting the colleagues he had worked with through the years at the state oil company,

also in his local official posts in the communist party by taking them down one by one, and, effectively, getting them to turn on their boss. Also,

according to state media, his wife and one son at least, did provide evidence at this trial, but, again, we're not allowed in the trial. We

didn't even know the trial was going on until they announced the verdict, and the previous promises of an open process certainly have been very

much contradicted by this very closed, secretive, communist party-style justice, and I think part of the reason is what you just raised, which is

anything he might bring up about the party is embarrassing even if they say it's cleaning out the cobwebs of corruption, Robyn.

CURNOW: Excellent points there. We're going to leave it at that. David McKenzie there in Beijing. Well, coming up, Switzerland and Austria

investigate blames of espionage at the nuclear talks between Iran and six major world powers. Now, the spying allegations could be linked to a

computer virus. We'll have the latest on that story next, so stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Welcome back to the International Desk. I'm Robyn Curnow. Here's a check of the headlines. Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as CEO of 21st

Century Fox. That's according to a source with knowledge of the decision. That source says the 84-year-old will hand over control of the company to

his son James. Murdoch will remain executive chairman. And China's former security chief has been sentenced to life in prison for corruption. Zhou

Yongkang is the highest ranking Chinese communist party official ever to be charged with corruption. He was a member of the party's politburo standing

committee, which effectively rules all of China's 1.3 billion people. British actor Christopher Lee has died, a charismatic presence with a deep,

sonorous voice, Lee became a horror move icon and an unforgettable on- screen villain. Media reports say he passed away Sunday after being admitted to a London hospital with respiratory problems and heart failure.

Christopher Lee was 93 years old. Switzerland has seized computer equipment as it investigates claims of espionage during recent nuclear

talks between Iran and six world powers. Austria is also investigating the claims which could be linked to a computer virus. Well, our Phil Black is

following the story from London. Hi there, Phil, what do we know?

PHIL BLACK: So, Robyn, this all comes about as a result of a discovery that was made by Kaspersky Lab, a private computer security software based

in Russia, one that has a very strong reputation for detecting large-scale attacks by very sophisticated malicious software. It's done this before,

but in this case, it came as a bit of a surprise because it found this new generation, what it calls an incredibly sophisticated piece of malicious

software within its own systems. That triggered an investigation, and as it looked more broadly, it found that this piece of software, this

malicious software, had attacked victims in either western countries, the Middle East Asian countries, and it says, most notably, some of the venues

associated with those negotiations for a deal regarding Iran's nuclear program, between Iran, and the so-called, P5+1, and that is why what we're

talking about there are hotels where these negotiations and talks took place, and that is why you now have Austria and Switzerland announcing

these formal investigations, Robyn.

CURNOW: And any suggestion of where this malicious software came from, who's responsible it?

PHIL BLACK: Well, there is suspicion certainly because Kaspersky, as a rule, doesn't point the finger directly, but it leaves under no question

that this was a nation state attack. It says, the size, the sophistication, the expense involved, the fact that it appears that there

is been no attempt to profit financially from the various attacks and infections. This all points very clearly to a nation state attack. Now,

this latest version of the virus is very similar. It's the one that was discovered back in 2011, which, again, was similar to this very infamously

known, the Stuxnet virus, which was a virus used to control and do damage to Iran's nuclear program, so the shadow of suspicion, and certainly the

commentary that is taking place points very firmly to Israel, a very strong objective to the whole negotiation process with Iran. (Inaudible) has

reached out to the foreign ministry of the Israel and to the Israeli Prime Minister's office as well, and received a very firm no comment, Robyn.

CURNOW: A firm no comment. That's -- and also technicalities of this very confusing to those who answer, you know, take experts here. What exactly

would this virus have done? I mean, what is the focus of the investigation on within these hotels?

PHIL BLACK: So this virus is incredibly capable, and like its earlier incarnation, in the words of Kaspersky, when it gets into an infected

system, it can steal pretty much anything on that system. It can control almost anything, cameras, microphones, so as a spying tool, as a weapon of

espionage, its incredibly powerful in that sense. Now, just what it has achieved, if it was used in those hotels at this time, we don't know. At

the moment, Kaspersky says, these are just as preliminary results, but it believes that the scale of the attack, both in terms of geography and

targets and so forth, is much bigger than what they have already uncovered, but they are continuing to work on it, and, now, as we've been discussing,

official authorities are also involved certainly in Austria and Switzerland as well, Robyn.

CURNOW: Thanks for that. Phil Black there in London, thanks. Well, now to the growing impact of the MERS outbreak in South Korea. Ten people are

dead, thousands are under quarantine, and, now MERS is impacting South Korea's economy. The central bank has cut a key interest rate over

concerns the outbreak will slow growth and spending. The move comes as health officials confirmed 14 new cases, bringing the total to 122. Well,

CNN's Kathy Novak has been following the MERS outbreak for us since the start and joins now from Seoul. Just describe the impact on hospitals in

particular, this real fear of this spreading.

KATHY NOVAK: There is a huge fear here. The virus has been contained to hospitals throughout this (inaudible), but it's spreading across dozens of

them. They're on a list of places that may have been exposed to this virus, and I've been speaking to one woman who actually contracted MERS.

She's one of only a handful of people who has now been declared disease- free and been released from hospital. She's a 77-year-old woman with chronic asthma, and she was being treated at St. Mary's hospital at the

same time as the first man who brought MERS back from the Middle East. She tells me that doctors sent her home, but then she started to feel worse.

THE INTERPRETER: I started taking the new medication, and while I was on them, I started feeling the symptoms again. I was shaking. I was cold. I

coughed all night and didn't get any sleep. That's how bad it was. So I thought, this is not good and went back to St. Mary's hospital, but they

were closed.

KATHY NOVAK: And, Robyn, that hospital was closed because by then, MERS had spread to dozens of people throughout that hospital including Ms. Kim

there, and, like her, patients had been traveling from hospital to hospital and that is what is spreading the disease throughout the country. Now,

there are strict quarantine measures in place, and the.....

CURNOW: We seemed to have lost Kathy Novak there either way. Thank you so much. We got a lot of her reporting and a sense of the fear surrounding

the spread of the MERS outbreak in South Korea. Well, you're watching the International Desk. We'll continue after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Welcome back. Now to more developments at the scandal-rocked headquarters of world football. FIFA has just announced the resignation of

a top official. Well, let's get right to CNN's Alex Thomas with the details. Hi there, Alex. So who has resigned, and also what more do we

know about the investigators raiding FIFA's offices?

ALEX THOMAS: The man that's gone is Walter De Gregorio, Robyn. He was the director of communications. He had been there since Autumn of 2011, so one

of the new breed, if you like, that came to FIFA in the hope and expectation it could reform itself into a modern organization with good

corporate governance and transparency, but he's clearly been one of the victims of the turmoil surrounding the governing body of the plant's most

popular sport, and we're hearing reports that the reason De Gregorio went is for a rather ill-times and ill-judged joke on Swiss television on

Monday. He told a Swiss chat show host that if you've got the FIFA president, general secretary, and director of communications, who's

driving? Answer: The police. Well, clearly, he was just trying to put a happy face on what's been a difficult time at FIFA, but De Gregorio has now

gone; although, we've not got confirmation it was because of that joke. We're putting two and two together there. He's been trying to build

bridges between

FIFA and the media, so it's a serious loss to the organization as they struggle to move on from Sepp Blatter's shock resignation and Blatter still

being at the helm as major reforms are undertaken there.

CURNOW: And also we know that sport and politics should be separate, but it's not always the case, is it? I understand the EU Parliament has

actually voted on what they think Sepp Blatter should be doing.

THOMAS: Yeah. The European Parliament is part of the European union where all the elected members from different countries across the continents come

together, and they voted that Sepp Blatter should go now, not wait for a new election, but they have no authority over FIFA. It does add to the

pressure of the drip, drip effect, if you like. We also had confirmation from FIFA that they have handed overall electronic data relating to the

controversial 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids to the Swiss Attorney General's office; although, it has also been confirmed there was no raid. There were

no investigators going into FIFA's headquarters taking computers this time. It was a handover of data. We're trying to get answers from the Swiss

authorities as to exactly what that means because, Robyn, it seems a bit curious that the persons being investigated are being trusted to hand

overall the data, so we'll try and get -- to get to the bottom of that for you as well.

CURNOW: Thanks so much. Alex Thomas there in London. Appreciate it. Now, the UN an other groups estimate more than 100,000 migrants have risked

their lives since January to cross the Mediterranean for a better life in Europe, and many thousand of those refugees are expected to seek asylum in

Germany. Our Karl Penhaul takes us to one small village in Bavaria where the residents' hospitality is turning into hostility.

KARL PENHAUL: Beneath of the church clock, the inscription, Time Goes and Death Comes. Yet killing time is all these asylum seekers can do as they

live and wait for word on their future.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

PENHAUL: So al-Shabaab killed your brother, dead?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. (Inaudible).

PENHAUL: The Golden Star Guest House is long since faded. It's now a tattered migrant hostel deep in Southern Germany. Hudan Ahmed's (ph) baby

is named Lucky. She was born shortly after her mom landed in Italy after days adrift in the Mediterranean.

HUDAN AHMED (ph): Seven days (inaudible) water.

PENHAUL: Seven days on the water.

AHMED (ph): Yes.

PENHAUL: And how was the boat?

AHMED (ph): It's small. It's plastic.

PENHAUL: Twenty-nine people, seven different nationalities live at the hostel. Some like Albanians, Mario (ph) and Donna (ph) Sediko (ph) are

requesting asylum even though they came in search of jobs, not fleeing war or percent prosecution.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, my (inaudible) is to make better life, to work together for me son I need good life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All life is like this, go, come, go, come.

PENHAUL: Only about a quarter of migrants who seek asylum in Germany are successful, but that's still more than anywhere else in Europe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Life is (inaudible).

PENHAUL: For now, though, the children keep busy heading to free school classes each morning, a chance to learn German and make new friends. The

villages here are chocolate-box pretty, gingerbread houses and God-fearing Lutheran values. But it may not all be quite as peaceful as it looks.

There are signs that under the surface, some hostility may be brewing. One night in December, this soon-to-be-opened migrant hostel was set ablaze. A

wanted poster for the arsonist hangs outside the town hall. Yet, a pastor says most residents welcome the migrants. It's perhaps because of our

wartime past, but also we in Germany realize we live well in peace and freedom and want to give others part of that, he says, but until Germany

decides on their fate, and if they can stay for good, these asylum seekers just wait and listen to the clock which I am as time goes and death comes.

Karl Penhaul, Vawna (ph) Germany.

CURNOW: Four foreign nationals are under arrest in Malaysia accused of angering the spirits of a mountain peak days before an earthquake. Now,

the four were part of a larger group of international climbers that summited Southeast Asia's highest peak and then stripped naked for a

picture. There were obviously a few other pictures involved, not just that one. Two Canadian brothers, a British woman and a Dutch woman are charged

with indecent exposure and face up to three months in jail or a fine. Authorities say more arrests are possible. The 6.0 earthquake struck Mount

Kinabalu June 5th stranding hundreds of people on the mountain and killing at least 16. And a British Nobel Laureate scientist has resigned from

University College London after making controversial comments at a conference. Tim Hunt said women in laboratories, quote, fall in love with

you, and when you criticize them, they cry. The comments were made public in a Tweet by someone at the same meeting, and they sparked immediate

condemnation. Hunt later apologized for calling -- causing offense but stood by what he said, and now some say his resignation doesn't address the

real issue which is sexism in science.

And in Israel, a fierce boycott movement is causing some business owners to brace for the worse, and it's even making Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

admit he plans to step up efforts to fight back. CNN's Oren Liebermann examines this growing movement and the growing financial toll it could take

a Israel.

OREN LIEBERMANN: The latest harvest is ready for bottling at Psagot, an Israeli winery on the West Bank. Owner, Jacob Berg, says business is

growing, but so is a boycott movement against his wine produced in the settlements.

JACOB BERG: (Inaudible). So the majority of the world that believe in those things. It's really a lit -- it's very, very, small organization,

few [sic] organization. The problem is that they have a lot of power, and a lot of money.

LIEBERMANN: That organization is BDS, the Boycott and Divestment and Sanctions Movement. Co-founder Omar Barghouti started BDS a decade ago.

The course (inaudible) to end what he says is a system of discrimination against Palestinians. His movement has activists in many countries and

tens of thousands of followers on social media, growing at least in part, he says, because of Netanyahu's right-wing government.

OMAR BARGHOUTI: Israel is realizing, perhaps a bit late, that BDS is quite serious as a human rights movement based on international law as a non-

violent, non-sectarian movement, it is quite effective.

OREN LIEBERMANN: Last week, the CEO or Orange, a telecommunications company owned in part by the French government, said in Cairo that he would

pull Orange out of Israel if he could. BDS activists called his remarks a success, but within days, he apologized, saying his remarks were

misinterpreted, and that he opposes any boycott of Israel. In Las Vegas, Jewish/America billionaires and political mega-donors, Sheldon Adelson and

Haim Saban pledged to fight BDS. Saban spoke with channel 2 Israel about the Orange CEO and the boycott movement.

HAIM SABAN: This isn't over. This is the beginning, and any company that chooses to boycott business in Israel is going to look at this case, and

once we're done, they're going to think twice whether they want to take on Israel or not.

LIEBERMANN: Israeli politicians have united against BDS. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to go on the offensive against the movement.

We will gather forces in Israel and around the world to shatter the lies of our enemies, he says, and we will fight for Israel's right to live in peace

and security, to live at all. Anti-BDS activists have accused Barghouti and his followers of racism and antisemitism, charges Barghouti denies.

BARGHOUTI: We are targeting a system of injustice. This should never be conflated with an attack on any group of people based on their identity.

BDS targets institutions, complicit institutions, not individuals.

LIEBERMANN: Israel's economy will take a hit from the BDS movement and similar non-violate resistance, a $15 billion hit, according to a new study

by the Rand Corporation. The study says the Palestinians will also take a hit, nearly two-and-a-half billion dollars, a price Barghouti says is worth

it. Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.

CURNOW: You're watching CNN. I'm Robyn Curnow. We'll be right back with more after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Welcome back, now an America who went to Syria to fight ISIS on his own is dead, killed on the battlefield. According to the US state

department, Keith Broomfield a native of Massachusetts, died earlier this month while fighting in Syria. Broomfield is remembered by his friends and

a pastor as a man of God, and he was called by the Lord to fight against ISIS. A woman who says she is Broomfield's sister shared a text message on

Facebook, where she says was her final message from him, and it reads in part, sometimes you got to be a man whether you want to or not. I don't

expect anyone to understand, but I don't anyone to (inaudible). Well, now I'm joined by Richard Jones who fought in the same Kurdish Army group as

Keith. You're back from your experiences of fighting in Northern Syria, Northern Iraq. Why did you go?

RICHARD JONES: I think that when I was observing the news and watching all the atrocities that were happening, I felt a sense of obligation. I felt

frustrated that there wasn't more being done to stop ISIS, and I wanted to go to help and also to make a point that an individual can stand up to

ISIS. I think, you know, maybe a government should as well.

CURNOW: So do you -- why didn't you just join the US military?

JONES: That option, I had enlisted back in 2004, as a matter of fact.

CURNOW: (Inaudible).

JONES: And with the National Guard, and then joined the state guard here in Georgia later in 2010. I got out of the military service, but when I

saw this, I saw this as an option to really do something that wasn't limited by the confines of politics.

CURNOW: Not limited by the confines of politics, so how did you get there, and who did you fight with, and what did you see, what did you experience?

JONES: Well, originally, I joined with the YPG, which is the People's Protection Unit of Rojava. Rojava is the Kurdish semi-autonomous area in

Northern Syria. I contacted them. They were helpful in getting me directions of how to get into Rojava. They got me into Northern Iraq, and

they provided transportation into Northern Syria, and from there, they basically facilitated it just like any other military would.

CURNOW: And so describe for us, what were you wearing? What weapons did you use? And what kind of action did you see?

JONES: Okay. Well, in Rojava with the YPG, they do have their own semi- official uniform, and that's what I typically wore. As far as the weapons that we got, it was a lot of old weapons, a lot of Soviet air weapons, AK-

47s, Vishkas, RPG's, so we're using a lot of the same weapons that the America Military had fought against for the last decade or two, and now

that there's a limited number of foreigners, typically, Americas, over there using these weapons to fight against ISIS, who are actually -- are

typically much better armed and equipped using, oftentimes, America Military weapons.

CURNOW: I mean, the absurdity, perhaps, of all of that. Did that strike you, or did you just very much live day-to-day, and, you know, and not try

and think of all of this?

JONES: It definitely hits you, you know, when you're thinking, I wish I had something I was more familiar with. I wish I had something with a

little by more range or accuracy, and knowing that the enemy may have that; however, at some point, you just have to realize, I'm here to do what I

can, and whether I have an AK or whether I have the -- sticks and stones, I want to go out there and make as much as an impact as I can.

CURNOW: So what kind of -- you know, did you see action? I mean, what -- just give us some sense of what happened on the battlefields there.

JONES: Originally, when I was with the YPG, they sent me off with a smaller group of Westerners who were attached to a larger group of Kurdish

soldiers, and we slowly started being integrated into the front. I think there was a little bit of uncertainty of hey, how should we best utilize

these Westerners? Eventually, they did get us out to the front, and we did see quite a bit of action, and it was intermittent, of course. It's not a

constant battle everywhere all the time, but it would kick off one night. You may have a large attack, and it may go quiet for a week.

CURNOW: And now that you're home?

JONES: Now that I'm home, I'm grateful to be back. I'm very glad I made it; however, you know, I look at the news, and I see what's going on, and

I'm sitting here wishing that more would be taken -- you know, more action would be taken by our government. I walk in and think about -- I have

friends who are probably more well-armed and well-equipped than a lot of these fighters fighting against these terrorists over there.

CURNOW: And that's just in a suburb back here in Georgia.

JONES: Absolutely.

CURNOW: Thank you so much for joining us, Richard Jones, just come back -- one of the many, the growing number of foreign fighter, Westerners, who

have taken arms and actually trying and do something yourself personally against ISIS, a lot of stories, a lot of controversy about what you're all

doing, but thank you for joining us in the studio.

JONES: You're quite welcome.

CURNOW: You're watching the International Desk. I'm Robyn Curnow.

END