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European Commission Unveils Refugee Quota Plan; British Prime Minister Blames Assad and ISIS for Refugee Crisis; Hillary Clinton Announces Support for Iran Deal; Clerk Who Refused Gay Marriage Licenses out of Jail; Yazidi Girl's Account of Enslavement by ISIS Leader; Migrants' Dangerous Journey across Aegean Sea; Britain Celebrates Historic Reign of Queen Elizabeth. Aired 10-11 ET

Aired September 09, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

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JONATHAN MANN, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Jonathan Mann at the CNN Center. Thanks for joining us.

And a call for unity as Europe scrambles, improvises and argues over plans for the huge number of refugees streaming across the continent.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has unveiled a quota plan for the relocation of 160,000 migrants and refugees currently in Greece,

Hungary and Italy. Juncker pointedly said that no wall or fence would stop the swell of migrants, a reference perhaps to Hungary, of course and he

emphasized the need to prioritize help for those truly in need of asylum.

Let's bring in our Frederik Pleitgen, he joins us now from Berlin.

Frederik, tell us more about the plans he has for Europe.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was very interesting, Jonathan, because Mr. Juncker, on the one hand, gave a very

impassioned speech, a very emotional speech, which obviously was aimed at trying to move many of the European leaders to try and get some sort of

common European immigration policy overhaul going.

But at the same time, he had to cater to the divisions that, of course, persist within the European Union and so there were several different parts

to the approach that he took.

On the one hand, of course, especially talking about the concerns of countries like Germany, also Italy, Greece and, to a certain extent the

Hungarians as well, he talked about the quotas. He talked about 120,000 additional refugees having to be distributed equally among European

nations; that, of course, is something that is very divisive within the European Union, especially with a lot of Eastern European countries and

also Denmark, for instance, saying they don't necessarily want to take in additional refugees.

They see all of this more as a border control issue and so that was something that Jean-Claude Juncker also needed to pay attention to.

He also said that he feels that the E.U. has to do more to better patrol and protect its border to, at least in the long run, try to make

immigration to the European Union more controlled.

So he was trying to cater to both audiences because he needs to find some sort of common understanding between the two sides in this issue, otherwise

the speech that he gave today, which was a very impassioned one, won't have any lasting repercussions.

What the European Union needs to do -- and this is something he also said - - they need to come together and forge this policy together and need to come to a mutual understanding of how to majorly overhaul their policies to

make it sustainable for the many people who are coming here at this point in time, but also to make immigration here as controlled as possible.

It was a very, very interesting speech and also, quite frankly, from the years that I've covered European affairs, I've rarely seen a speech that

was as emotional than the one that Jean-Claude Juncker gave today -- Jonathan.

MANN: We have concentrated our reporting on the heartrending plight of the Syrian refugees. But in his remarks he made reference to a big part of the

problem that doesn't start in Syria and that isn't about refugees. He was talking about migrants from other countries and he has some different plans

for them. Tell us about that.

PLEITGEN: Well, certainly. This seems to be something that is also sort of a wink, if you will, at those nations that want to be more restrictive

on immigration policy. There's also talk here in Germany that, for instance, people who come here from the Western Balkans, for instance

Kosovo, for instance Albania, that these countries would be declared safe nations, that also seems to be a part of that general policy overhaul that

folks that come from countries like that, that don't necessarily experience, of course, the kind of violence that you would see in Syria,

Iraq and Afghanistan, that they would be sent back to their home countries quicker.

It's a policy actually that is also very much in line with what the Germans have started doing. There was the first airplane that was sent from

Bavaria back to the Western Balkans with people whose asylum applications had been denied.

So that's also part of that policy overhaul, to, on the one hand, try and provide more space and better protection for people who come from war

zones, but then also send people back who come from places that are deemed safe -- Jonathan.

MANN: Fred Pleitgen, that is the plan.

Anyway, thanks very much.

British prime minister David Cameron says Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and ISIS are directly responsible for the refugee crisis and he says

spending more on aid and taking in more refugees won't stop Syrians from making the dangerous journey to Europe.

The prime minister was grilled by lawmakers during question time. Nic Robertson joins us now outside parliament in Westminster.

Nic, tell us more what he had to say.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he was questioned by the leader of the opposition, Harriet Harman, on essentially

the number that Britain has offered --

[10:05:00]

ROBERTSON: -- to take of Syrian refugees from camps bordering Syria, 20,000.

The question that she asked was, how many of those are you going to allow into the country this year?

The prime minister said it's not important how many we allow in by the end of the year, but as many as possible. We need to get on the process. But

he said that process included making sure there were homes for these refugees, making sure there were schools for the children of the refugees.

So this is the prime minister sort of pushing back on the notion that he is not taking a very moral position, that he could be doing more, the country

could be doing more.

And there was another issue that he did push back on as well, because he was asked essentially, you know, what the government's position was on

Europe saying that there should be a quota system for the 120,000 refugees that have made it to Europe already, remembering Britain is offering to

take refugees from camps.

Those who already made it to Europe, that they should be spread around Europe and the prime minister's really pushing back on that. He's

resisting the idea of quotas. This is how he explained it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, PRIME MINISTER, GREAT BRITAIN: The answer is not quotas. All quotas will do is play into the hands of those who exploit vulnerable

refugees. So of course Europe has to reach its own answers for those countries that are part of Schengen.

Britain, which have our own borders and ability to make our own sovereign decisions about this, our approach is to say, yes, we are a humanitarian

nation with a moral conscience. We will take 20,000 Syrians. But we want a comprehensive approach that puts money into the camps, that meets our aid

commitments, that solves the problems in Syria, that has a return path to Africa, that sees a new government in Libya. We have to address all of

these issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: So a lot of issues there but he did stress the point of how much Britain commits in terms of its GDP, 0.7 of GDP, on its aid budget,

one of the highest of the developed worlds, he said. And really you could really see the prime minister at question time today pushing back on the notion that Britain isn't doing enough -- Jonathan.

MANN: Well, to some lawmakers, Britain seems to be doing too much and it's a related episode in Syria, I suppose, in a sense, news that British

lawmakers are still assimilating that the British carried out a deadly drone strike that killed three jihadis, two of them British subjects in

Syria.

This after Parliament clearly voted against any air attacks on Syria by British forces. Lawmakers still don't know what to make of it.

And how much of a talking down did he get in Parliament today?

ROBERTSON: The tone in Parliament today had a lot to do with the milestone of the Queen's tenure as queen, the longest serving monarch in Britain ever

and the refugee issue.

He didn't get too many questions on that issue of these drone strikes but he did say it's a departure from the normality. He did say it's something

new. He did say that it's legal, that the attorney general had approved this, so there's a legal basis for it, but the questions from the

opposition were really focused on we need more information.

You say that you got a legal green light for this, but what based on precisely information?

He talked about the Intelligence and Security Committee that's been established over the last few months, there will be a new chief elected of

that over the next few days. He said he is willing to discuss these strikes with that committee, once it's in operation with the chief of that

committee.

He said he wasn't going to go to that committee on a daily basis to seek permission for strikes. He said that is something in the hand of the

government and we've already heard from the defense minister as well, saying that if the need arises, there will be more strikes.

So in essence, saying that he's willing to be more open about the decision- making, but pushing back and saying this is the government's job and we're going to continue -- Jonathan.

MANN: Nic Robertson live in London, thanks very much.

Some deadly -- rather, dangerous -- let's not say deadly -- some dangerous drama on the runway in Las Vegas when a British Airways jet catches fire.

One of the passengers injured during the hasty evacuation describes the incident as pretty scary.

Plus what's next for the controversial Kentucky clerk after her release from jail, back into the thicket of American culture war. All that and

more here at the INTERNATIONAL DESK.

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MANN: Welcome back. At the place where diplomacy and politics meet, Hillary Clinton is announcing her support for the nuclear deal with Iran.

In just the last hour, the U.S. Democratic presidential candidate said, if elected, she'd strictly enforce the agreement but she warned the U.S. needs

to take a "distrust and verify" approach towards Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Either we move forward on the path of diplomacy and seize this chance to block Iran's path to a nuclear

weapon, or we turn down a more dangerous path, leading to a far less certain and riskier future. That's why I support this deal. I support it

as part of a larger strategy toward Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: Meantime Iran's supreme leader has ruled out negotiating with the U.S. on anything other than the nuclear deal. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is

quoted on state television today, warning that the U.S. could use further talks to gain undue influence in the country.

We're covering all sides of this story. Our senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny is monitoring the U.S. debate over the deal.

And Scott Peterson, a correspondent with "The Christian Science Monitor" is in Tehran.

Scott Peterson, why don't we start with you?

A deal but no real detente, by the looks at it.

Is the leadership sending out any other kind of signal that hostility and suspicion?

SCOTT PETERSON, "THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR": We definitely heard some strong words today coming from Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei. The

ayatollah basically saying that -- trying to reassure hardliners essentially by saying that, using very strong language saying that "the

Satan," meaning the United States, that had been kicked out during the Islamic Revolution in 1979, would not be allowed back in through the window

through these talks.

Of course, the context of this, of these comments -- and also made some very strong comments about Israel, speaking about how their concerns that

possibly this deal might have a sunset clause that would end in 25 years. He basically said, predicted that Israel wouldn't exist after 25 years.

So those aspects in the context of Iran's domestic politics are a bid to reassure hardliners, who feel that really this Iran nuclear deal is just

the beginning of a much wider opening, one that really is going to change some of the principles of the Islamic Revolution.

We've had, of course some steps toward engagement already and those are the things that it appears the supreme leader of Iran is trying to tamp down

among the hardline supporters of his in Iran.

MANN: Scott Peterson in Tehran, thanks very much.

Let's go to Jeff Zeleny there, talking about the deal in Washington as well today, what are they saying?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SR. WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jonathan, Hillary Clinton pointedly said the far riskier course would be to walk away.

Now in the context of a presidential campaign, this was a not-so-subtle nod at her Republican rivals, who, of course, are campaigning on a pledge to

either step away or renegotiate this deal if they're elected president, at least that's what they're promising.

But it was also a word to her Democratic skeptics of this deal on Capitol Hill.

This is hardly a uniformly supported position among Democrats, but Secretary Clinton did not take a soft glove on Iran. She called it a

ruthless and a brutal regime. She made clear she was ready to take this on.

And it's important that this is coming at this moment of this presidential campaign, Jonathan, which also seems to be a bit trivial here in the United

States.

This was a moment that presidential campaigns are important, they matter, they're about real substance, so we'll get the --

[10:15:00]

ZELENY: -- other side of this argument in a couple hours here in Washington, when Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner for the

nomination, and Senator Ted Cruz, are on the steps of the Capitol, rallying against this deal.

MANN: There's an interesting phenomenon here, in fact, American public opinion, at least as evidenced by the polls, seems to be going in one

direction on this deal and the Obama administration, supported by just enough votes in Congress, is going in the other.

ZELENY: It's true, but on foreign policy matters like this, this hasn't been something the White House has taken a lot of time to sell it to the

public. So I'm not sure that there is a real grasp of what this deal will do, what the consequences are for it.

I think that this is one of the reasons that there is a representative government in Congress and now there are a majority of Democrats who are

going to back the president on this.

So this is something that is going to go through, like it or not. Many skeptics here, but this is not something where most politicians, at least,

sort of hold their finger to the wind and see what their constituents are saying. This is something where most Democrats are lining up behind this

president.

But Jonathan, this is going to take many years to see if this was a good deal or not. Of course, there is a sunset on some of the provisions, 15

years in some respect.

But regardless, whoever the next President of the United States is, is going to inherit the confines of this deal.

MANN: Jeff Zeleny in Washington, thanks very much.

A very different kind of story here in the United States, the Kentucky county clerk who refused to give marriage licenses to same-sex couples is

free.

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MANN (voice-over): Kim Davis came triumphantly out of jail on Tuesday to a rapturous welcome with the rousing "Eye of the Tiger" playing in the

background. She spent five days in jail for violating court orders to issue marriage licenses to everyone legally eligible.

So what is next for the controversial clerk?

We go now to CNN's Martin Savidge for more. He is in Morehead, Kentucky, outside the office where Davis works.

First of all, we got to talk about that exit; she emerged from jail like a heroine, like the winner of something. Tell us more about that remarkable

scene.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, sometimes it's all about timing because what you have to understand is why that crowd was there, was

that Mike Huckabee, a Republican presidential candidate in this country, had already previously slated for that rally to be there.

It was actually a rally to say free Kim Davis, but even it shows presidential candidates don't have all the power. The judge decided to

free her ahead of that rally. So there was a little bit of political theater there; you still had, after she was freed, this presidential

candidate, Huckabee, go inside; he met with Ms. Davis and then later you see the two of them emerge on stage together.

So that's why the crowd was reacting the way they were, but they were actually there for another reason.

That said, the big question mark is, what happens next?

And right now we don't know. The office is open, been since 8 o'clock Eastern time in the U.S., but Kim Davis is not there.

MANN: So we don't know about whether she's going to issue licenses or not, do we?

SAVIDGE: Well, I mean it's interesting, the licenses are being issued now of course by deputy clerks. They have issued 10 licenses since Kim Davis

wasn't here and seven of those have gone to same-sex couples. But her name does not appear on those licenses and that was her big issue.

She was saying that by her name appearing on these licenses, it was, she felt, her giving tacit approval to same-sex marriage, which she totally

disagrees with because of religious reasons.

So now those licenses are being issued, her name is not on them. The reason her name is not on them is because she's not there to sign them,

which, again, brings us back to, all right, well, when she does show up for work, which is expected later in the week, will she sign them or will she

not?

And even the clerks inside cannot give me an answer to that.

MANN: Martin Savidge, live in Kentucky, thanks very much.

Also here in the U.S., 172 passengers and crew on board a British Airways flight out of Las Vegas escaped from a potential catastrophe Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANN (voice-over): Flight 2276 down from London was just about to take off when the plane's left engine burst into flames.

Look at that.

The pilot aborted at the last moment and called for help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Speedbird 2276, fire engines are on their way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mayday, mayday, Speedbird 2276, request fire services.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Speedbird 2276, heavy fire services are on their way.

MANN (voice-over): The Boeing 777 was evacuated in minutes. Quick action by the crew is credited with keeping injuries to a minimum; 13 people were

transported to area hospitals with injuries, most from sliding down the inflatable chutes.

Federal aviation officials are investigating the fire's cause. The fire never reached the cabin but, boy, the smoke sure did. People said they

could smell it and see it the minute they opened the door.

[10:20:00]

MANN: A slave to the man at the top of ISIS: coming up, a young Yazidi girl recounts her captivity in Syria at the hands of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

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MANN: Welcome back.

Amid the fighting in Syria, one man sits at the head of ISIS, the Islamic State. We've heard very little about Abu Baker al-Baghdadi on a personal

level -- until now.

CNN senior international correspondent Atika Shubert spent time with a young Yazidi girl, who calls herself Zainat (ph). In Atika's exclusive

report, Zainat (ph) she says she became a slave of the so-called caliphate, hand-picked by its elusive leader.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In 2014, Kurdish Iraqi and U.S. troops rescued thousands of Yazidis in a dramatic airlift caught on

CNN cameras. Thousands of others were captured, Yazidi women and children parceled out as slaves to ISIS fighters.

One year on, this young Yazidi girl tells CNN she was enslaved but not just by any ISIS fighter, this man, ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

She instantly recognizes Kayla Mueller, the young American aid worker killed in ISIS captivity. They shared a cell together, she says, both

slaves of the caliphate.

We sat down with Zainat (ph), an assumed name, at a safe location. She described how she was handpicked from among hundreds of captured Yazidi

women.

ZAINAT (PH), HELD CAPTIVE BY ISIS LEADER (through translator): The first time he came, I was sitting and crying. He came close to me and called

over the man who was in charge of the house. When I stood up, he looked at me and told the guard, "Take this girl away and put her to the side."

SHUBERT (voice-over): Zainat (ph) says she began work as a slave girl in the Baghdadi household, cleaning up after and cooking for his three wives

and six children. She was just 15.

The family was constantly on the move. Just days after she arrived, Zainat (ph) says an airstrike destroyed the house next door.

Eventually, Zainat (ph) tried to escape with another girl.

ZAINAT (PH) (through translator): They would lock us in and one night we got the key and unlocked the door. At this time we were six girls. We ran

and ran. After three kilometers, we saw a house just outside Aleppo in a village. And there was an Arab woman. She said she would help us, but

then she called Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

SHUBERT (voice-over): They were punished, she says, beaten with a belt, a garden hose and a plank of wood, dislocating her elbow. The last blows

delivered by Baghdadi himself.

SHUBERT: What did he say to you when he hit you?

ZAINAT (PH) (through translator): Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi told us, we beat you because you ran away from us. We chose you to convert to our religion.

We chose you. You belong to the Islamic State.

SHUBERT: Where did he hit you?

ZAINAT (PH): (Speaking foreign language).

SHUBERT (voice-over): This is when she met Kayla, she says, locked in the same cell.

ZAINAT (PH) (through translator): The first time I entered the room, I saw Kayla. I asked, how did she come here.

And she said, ISIS, they captured me.

And I told her, I'm a Yazidi girl from Sinjar and I was captured by daish.

[10:25:00]

ZAINAT (PH) (through translator): After that, we stayed together and became like sisters.

SHUBERT (voice-over): One day, she, Kayla, and another Yazidi girl were moved to the home of a high-ranking fighter by the name of Abu Sayyaf.

Shortly after, she says, Baghdadi came to visit. He called for Kayla.

ZAINAT (PH) (through translator): When Kayla came back to us, we asked her, "Why are you crying?"

And Kayla told us that Baghdadi said, "I'm going to marry you by force and you're going to be my wife. If you refuse, I will kill you."

She was telling me everything. She wasn't hiding anything from me.

"Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi raped me."

That's what she told me.

SHUBERT: How many times did this happen?

ZAINAT (PH) (through translator): Four times.

SHUBERT: Four times that you know of?

Did he ever rape you as well?

ZAINAT (PH) (through translator): Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi told us, "I did this to Kayla and what I did to Kayla I will do to you."

SHUBERT (voice-over): Zainat (ph) and a younger girl plotted their escape.

ZAINAT (PH) (through translator): I told Kayla to escape with me. But Kayla refused.

And she said, "If I escape, they will behead me."

SHUBERT: She says she waited until 1:00 am and pushed open a broken window in their room. After a harrowing three hours, she says, they made it to a

village, and one man agreed to smuggle both girls out.

ZAINAT (PH) (through translator): At the time, I didn't know it was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but when I escaped, I saw him on TV and I heard his

voice. I could not have imagined it would be the leader of ISIS. I was so frightened. He could have killed me.

SHUBERT (voice-over): There is no way for CNN to independently confirm Zainat (ph)'s story. But she says she has spoken to U.S. investigators,

including details about Baghdadi's daily routine, how he woke up at 10:00 am, went to bed at midnight and had no phones for fear of being traced,

relying on others to relay messages.

SHUBERT: What kind of a man was Baghdadi?

Was he ever, ever kind to you?

ZAINAT (PH) (through translator): No, he was always evil. There were no kind words.

SHUBERT (voice-over): She says she hopes some piece of information, however small, will lead to the downfall of the man who once called her his

slave -- Atika Shubert, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MANN: Coming up on the IDESK, a treacherous journey to Europe through the Aegean Sea, exclusive footage, filmed secretly, giving us a close-up view

of how the journey begins for so many.

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[10:30:00]

MANN: Welcome to the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Jonathan Mann. Here are the headlines this hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANN (voice-over): European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says Europe should resettle 160,000 migrants who've made their way into the E.U.

unveiling a plan for mandatory refugee quotas for each nation. E.U. interior ministers are to discuss proposals the next week.

British Prime Minister David Cameron says he's willing to be more transparent about drone strikes against suspected terrorists, but he says

ultimately the decision to conduct unilateral strikes is up to his government.

His comments came a day after Mr. Cameron confirmed two British citizens fighting for ISIS were killed in Britain's first airstrike in Syria.

More than a dozen people suffered minor injuries when a British Airways plane caught fire as it prepared to take off from Las Vegas. The fire

broke out in the Boeing 777's left engine. All 172 passengers and crew got out of the plane, which was heading for London. The cause of the fire is

under investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: More now on our top story, Europe's migrant crisis; we've reported from Germany, which is the destination for most migrants and we've seen a

bold new proposal from the European Commission on sharing the burden of the thousands coming in every day.

Let's go now to the Aegean Sea, where the journey begins here for a lot of migrants. CNN's Ivan Watson is traveling through a narrow passage between

Turkey and the Greek island of Lesbos. He joins us now.

Ivan, you are literally in the waters there, a remarkable thing just technically getting a live signal from sea but, more importantly, tell us

about the ship you're on and who is on it with you.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're very fortunate, we're on board kind of a charter boat floating in the Aegean Sea but tens

of thousands of migrants and refugees, they have chosen to spend a large amount of money and also put their lives at risk, packing themselves into

overloaded rafts to try to make the journey from the Turkish coast, over here, across the Aegean Sea to islands in Greece, like Lesbos, which you

can see right over here.

And we just saw on a Facebook page used by many of the Syrian refugees a distress call going out, about 20 kilometers from where we are right now,

about a boat that was trying to make that journey that apparently has gotten into some kind of trouble and is calling for coast guard help.

From what we've seen on the Turkish coast, it looks like the business of smuggling people over to Greek islands is booming right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON (voice-over): This is how some refugees and migrants are smuggling themselves to Europe, cramming more than 30 people at a time in broad

daylight on board an overcrowded pontoon boat, armed with life jackets and inflated inner tubes, in case of an accident.

This footage, filmed secretly a little more than a week ago off the coast of Turkey. Turks, who appear to be smugglers, shove the overloaded boat

out into the water.

Seconds later, a man appearing to pilot the vessel abandons ship. The inflatable rubber boat turns in circles until the migrants figure out how

to steer the vessel themselves. It then motors off towards the Greek island of Lesbos, an informal gateway to Europe. And it looks like many

more Syrian refugees are on the way.

In the Turkish port city of Izmir on Tuesday, scores of Syrians sit in cafes and on sidewalks with backpacks full of belongings and garbage bags

full of life jackets.

WATSON: The passage to Greece by sea is still a really big business here. Cafes are selling life jackets. You've got Syrians trying them on in the

street, just waiting for their trip across the water.

WATSON (voice-over): This Turkish shop owner does not want us filming his business. Several Syrian refugees, who don't want to be identified for

fear of reprisal back home, tell me they just arrived in Turkey from Syria within the last couple of days.

WATSON: Aren't you afraid, these are bad boats, you know?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know, I know.

WATSON: Something terrible could happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know.

WATSON: People are dying in the water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What could I do?

Stay in Syria?

They are taking guys to the army. I don't want to fight anyone. I don't want to kill. I don't want to get killed.

WATSON (voice-over): They say it costs around $1,300 U.S. to buy passage to a Greek island. Among those waiting for the call from a smuggler, many

families with children. When I ask a father if he's afraid his kids could drown at sea, he answers, they'll die anyway if they stay in Syria.

On the Turkish coast last week --

[10:35:00]

WATSON: -- the refugees just kept coming, some walking with children down to the water. Under the olive groves, they wait for their chance to

escape.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: Now, Jon, what is striking about the refugees that I met, they do not come from that enormous population of some 2 million refugees from both

Syria and Iraq that have come to Turkey for safety over the course of the past couple years.

The people I met in Izmir on Tuesday, they were new arrivals; they had just flown into Turkey within the last couple of days with the express goal of

trying to cross this body of water to get to Greece. Some of them said it seems to have gotten harder in recent days, one man saying that he had made

four attempts that had had to be aborted, but he was still determined to make his fifth attempt to try to go across what was also a very striking

was how just brazen and open this business is.

There were Turkish police all around the area where we were meeting and filming these Syrian refugees, but nobody's really breaking the law if

they're standing around with life jackets in a plastic bag and jumping on board buses to go down to the coast. They can't be intercepted for that.

The question comes when they try to get out into the water in these overloaded boats. And we have seen indications that the Turkish coast

guard in other parts of the Turkish coast have tried to intervene to save lives and stop people from making this potentially dangerous journey --

Jon.

MANN: Ivan Watson, live at sea in the Aegean, thanks very much.

Some of those migrants Ivan just told us about may try to make their way to Hungary, where we have seen frustration boil over as refugees broke police

lines Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANN (voice-over): Camera crews recorded an appalling scene -- look at this. A Hungarian camerawoman appears to kick and deliberately trip people

running through the field; at one point she actually trips a man who is carrying a young child.

The far right television station she works for says she has been fired in a statement it echoed what so many saying on social media: the camera

operator's behavior was completely unacceptable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: Dull or delightful? Incomparably dignified and dependable either way, after six decades, Queen Elizabeth is now Britain's longest serving

monarch. Coming up, we show you the wave of royal fanfare across the U.K.

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MANN: A royal river salute on the Thames, marking Queen Elizabeth's record-setting time on the throne, six decades and change. She's now the

longest serving monarch in British history.

Max Foster is following the celebrations live. He's at Buckingham Palace now, he's been following them around the country all day.

Max, I guess a day of history inevitably for her as a monarch, but a bittersweet one for her personally.

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Yes. And she says this isn't a milestone that she aspired to in any way and the background to that, this is very much hinged

on the death of her father, which is when she became queen automatically. But also she very much reveres her great-great grandmother Victoria as a

great monarch.

You know, also talking about the death of Victoria --

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FOSTER: -- so it was never something that she wanted to celebrate, but over time I think she was advised by the people around her that actually

people wanted to see her in public today and she went further than that.

She went on a visit all day and then she spoke a few words and she talked about her not aspiring to this.

She says, "Inevitably when you live a long time, you reach certain milestones." And she is no different from anyone else.

Of course, she is a bit different. She is this figurehead and cannot live her life in the same way as other people that have reached her age, for

example, but certainly it's a day where she accepted that this was an historic moment but not necessarily something she wants to celebrate, she

said she'd much rather to that next year in relation to her 90th.

MANN: Right. She's extraordinary. But she's a bit of a cipher, really, because when you think about it, she's one of the most closely watched

women in the world but she's never been interviewed.

How much have we gotten to know about her, after all these years?

FOSTER: Well, we don't know really anything about what she thinks and that's really by design. And I think it is something which has retained

the brand of monarchy, if I can say that. There's an air of mystery to them, partly because she hasn't done any interviews.

But why wouldn't she do any interviews?

Well, the reason is, she's meant to stay out of politics, she's not meant to have any opinions at all.

She's just meant to be a figurehead and an instrument of the country really and the government, in many ways, but also she has weekly audience with the

prime minister and she can talk over things in a confidential way with the prime minister, who has always got lots of people in the room usually.

So I think what she stands for is some sort of continuity and because she's been here for so long, she is this historical living figure; she has been

seen at so many big memorable events that we're sort of used her over time.

And I think she basically is someone that we don't really know but we know who she is.

So when she's doing something, we don't know how she feels about it. So we almost always project our own thoughts on what she's doing and we kind of

like to think that she likes the same things as us. I think it's quite clever and I think it's something that really has made the monarchy more

powerful over time. It's more popular than ever, at least here in the U.K.

MANN: And enduring. It is enduring. Max Foster at Buckingham Palace, thanks very much.

Now a different kind of landmark, maybe a more modest one, one for our age, Apple's big event has become a fixture each September and today is the day

the company is expected to reveal its newest products just hours from now.

The announcements are always kept under wraps but the safest bet seems to be that we'll see new versions of the iPhone 6 and 6s; a larger version of

the iPad could also be on the cards and perhaps CEO Tim Cook might surprise us all with some secret new product still up his sleeve. We'll let you

know.

But that does it for us here now at the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Jonathan Mann. Don't go away. "WORLD SPORT" with Christina Macfarlane is next.

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