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Ukraine Restricts Travel For Russians; China Tightens Internet Restrictions; al Jazeera Journalist Mohamed Fahmy Could Be Released Soon; Leading Women: Arundhati Bhattacharya; Measles Outbreak In U.S. Calls Into Question Decision Against Vaccinations

Aired February 03, 2015 - 8:00   ET

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

KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.

Now violence exploding in Ukraine as U.S. considers sending arms to the region.

Plus, the first pictures of Fidel Castro in months. We are live in the Cuban capital.

And a measles outbreak in the U.S. What happens when parents decide not to vaccinate their children?

And we begin this hour with new developments out of Ukraine. The government says it is tightening its borders for Russians. Now from March

1 onward, they will need a special traveling passport to enter.

Now it comes as fighting intensifies in the flashpoints of Donetsk and the Luhansk region.

Ukraine's military says five soldiers have been killed in the past 24 hours. And there are reports of civilian casualties as well.

The United States says it is considering sending defensive arms to help Ukraine battle pro-Russian rebels in the east. That could include

anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons.

Now let's get reaction from Russia. Our senior international correspondent Matthew Chance joins us now live from Moscow. And Matthew,

first, what is the view in Moscow about Ukraine's new tightened border rules for Russians?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean first of all there's been no reaction from the Russians about that specific

measure. It was announced by the Ukrainian government just a few hours ago. And essentially it boils down to their abolition of an arrangement

that existed between Ukraine and Russia that Russian nationals could travel to Ukraine using only their domestic passport. There's a domestic

identification document that Russians have along with their regular foreign passports that they used for identification purposes inside of Russia. Up

until now, the Ukrainians have allowed them to travel to that neighboring country with just that document.

They've now abolished that saying essentially that Russians have to, like other nationals, use their foreign passport to travel to Ukraine now.

It's difficult to read too much into it. I mean, obviously there's some speculation it's an attempt to tighten Ukraine's borders, but in terms

of the flow of militants, across the border from Russia into Ukraine, it's not going to have much impact because those border areas, which are vast

are controlled for the most part by pro-Russian rebels. And so the actual document used by these rebels that come across isn't relevant.

It really marks just a further distancing, I think, of Ukraine from its former Soviet neighbor Russia, a former distancing from it showing

that, look, you know, we're separate countries. We don't have any special relations between the two of us. And so I think that's how I'd interpret

it, Kristie.

LU STOUT: And if the United States goes ahead and arms Ukraine's forces with defensive weapons, how will Russia respond?

CHANCE: Well, it's difficult to say. And that's the big gamble that any decision to arm Ukraine with weapons would carry.

Certainly there's a possibility that Russia would react badly, that Russia would bolster its support for the pro-Russian rebels in eastern

Ukraine, it could even lead to an escalation that would result in a broader conflict, putting many, many more people in eastern Ukraine at risk.

There's a notion, of course, particularly in the United States at the moment, that supply Ukraine with more powerful weaponry might be enough to

stop the Russian rebels, the pro-Russian rebels in their tracks and might be enough to deter Vladimir Putin from supporting those rebels. Although I

have to say there's not a lot of evidence that we've seen up to now that would indicate that any kind of pressure like this is going to be enough to

deter Vladimir Putin or the Kremlin from its support of these rebels.

Remember, there are sanctions against the Kremlin already. There are other measures that have been put in place, calls from the international

community, for Russia to not support these rebels, all of which have gone unheaded. And so it's difficult to say with some -- with any certainty

that, you know, the supply of weapons to Ukraine's government would do the trick.

And so it is a very risky decision that the American authorities will have to make.

LU STOUT: That's right, despite all the political isolation, economic isolation, Vladimir Putin is not deterred.

Matthew Chance reporting live from Moscow for us. Thank you, Matthew.

Now let's recap how we got to this point. Now the crisis began in February last year when Ukraine's pro-Russia government was ousted by pro-

European demonstrators. Now in March, residents of Crimea voted to join Russia, but Ukraine and the west dismissed the referendum as illegal at the

same time, thousands of Russian troops massed along the border with Ukraine.

Now in May, Donetsk and the Luhansk region held referendums and declared independence. This was also dismissed as illegitimate.

Now on May 25, the chocolate tycoon Petro Poroshenko won Ukraine's presidential election, but fighting between Ukraine and pro-Russia

separatists continued.

In July, Malaysia airlines flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine killing 298 people. Now U.S. and Ukrainian officials suspect pro-

Russia rebels were responsible. They deny it.

Now the scars of war are especially visible at the Donetsk International Airport, a new $750 million terminal was added in 2012. It

would have handled more than 3,100 passengers an hour. And this was the airport's control tower before fighting began, but this is what it looks

like now.

Now the ongoing clashes have left it all in ruins.

Now CNN's Nick Paton Walsh gained exclusive access and shows us the destruction firsthand. And a warning, this report contains disturbing

images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nowhere has the fighting been fiercer in the worst war to hit Europe since the Balkans than

here, the Donetsk International Airport.

Ukraine's Army is still shelling here.

Despite being pushed out of this former stronghold two weeks ago by these Russian-backed separatists, themselves heavily armed, this is their

form of airport shuttle. (on camera): We're moving now in an armored car towards the new terminal of the airport, territory which the separatists

have taken but is still regularly under fire from the Ukrainian military.

(voice-over): We pull into the airport long-term underground parking.

(on camera): Occasionally shells are still landing here.

(voice-over): The fight here killed hundreds as Ukrainians used service tunnels. The men claimed these bodies were left in the Ukrainian

retreat.

The last call for passengers on this walkway passed months ago.

These pictures from three years ago showing how it used to sparkle.

(on camera): Hard to imagine how just six months ago we were here flying out of Donetsk, it was then a state-of-the-art international

terminal. Just look at the destruction and how this symbolizes how far eastern Ukraine has fallen.

Mortars often fall here. So we move fast.

They used to call this the new terminal, opened two years ago for football fans coming to see the European championship.

But that new-found European optimism has evaporated. The war here is entering a new phase, with the heaviest of weapons and the random shelling

of civilians, in which victory has become more important than its spoils.

These men blame Barack Obama for this devastation. Russia blames NATO for fomenting this war. NATO says, nonsense, and that many of these

fighters are actually Russian regular army.

Blame, hatred and charred remains everywhere. But Ukraine's bright hopes of modern prosperity, the gate is closed.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Donetsk.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now we now have a verdict from the UN's high court concerning the Balkan wars of the 1990s, Europe's worst conflict since

World War II.

A 17 judge panel at The Hague says neither Serbia nor Croatia committed genocide against each other during Croatia's war for independence

which left some 15,000 people dead.

Now Croatia has sought reparations from Belgrade, accusing Serbs of ethnic cleansing. Serbia filed a countersuit. But the court's president

says judges saw no proof that the two sides were trying to destroy each other.

Now Croatia's foreign minister says she hopes the ruling will help close what she calls a historic chapter and help the region move on to a

better and safer period.

Now you're watching News Stream. And still to come, one journalist has been freed from an Egyptian prison. And now another could soon follow.

We have the latest on the chances Mohamed Fahmy will be released.

Plus, Fidel Castro has surfaced again in pictures. We'll show you the new photos and bring you the story behind them.

Also ahead, a surge in measles cases stirs a new debate over whether American parents should be forced to vaccinate their children.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back. You're watching News Stream. And you're looking at a visual version of all the stories we've got in the show today.

Now we've already shown you the devastating damage in Ukraine as violence continues to grip the east. And later, we'll look at China's

crackdown on the internet.

But now, let's turn to Egypt where there is heightened security. Now police discovered two so-called skeleton bombs in different terminals at

Cairo's main airport. Now they were missing either a detonator or explosives and a homemade bomb exploded in downtown Cairo damaging a shop,

but there were no injuries.

Now Canada is optimistic that a Canadian journalist jailed in Egypt will soon be free. Now CNN has learned that could be in just a matter of

hours.

Mohamed Fahmy was imprisoned, along with his al Jazeera colleagues Bahar Mohammed and Peter Greste. Now Greste was released on Sunday and

just tweeted that he'll be heading home to Australia from Cyprus soon. Fahmy is a Canadian citizen and Canada's foreign minister says he will be

freed, quote, imminently.

For the very latest, let's bring in Ian Lee from Cairo. And Ian, what are you hearing about the release of Mohamed Fahmy?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, we'd been waiting all day for word that he has been released. Now Peter Greste, as we're told, had

only about 20 minutes notice before he was taken to the airport. We're expecting something similar with Mohamed Fahmy, but we're hearing that that

could happen really any time today.

Now he gave up his Egyptian nationality. That paved the way for this release to go forward under a law that was decreed last November by

Egyptian president Abdul Fatah el-Sisi where he said -- which allowed him to deport any foreigner that has been detained. So we're following that

very closely.

But Peter Greste released photos on Twitter, one of them showing him in the Mediterranean Sea flashing the victory sign. He said "free in

Cyprus. Feels sweet. Peter back online for the first time in over 400 days" He also thanked his brother.

And also on Facebook, he posted two pictures, one a selfie with his brother Mike. And another one that looks like he appears to be enjoying a

beer. He also wrote on that, "it's the little things that make the difference: family, beer, sunshine and sand between your toes."

But he also sent out a tweet expressing his thoughts for his two colleagues that are still detained here in Egypt.

Now the third journalist Bahar Mohammed, he does not have dual nationality, so he is likely going to be still here in Egypt. There is no

legal framework that we can see so far that would see him released. He has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, although that has been appealed and

that's currently going through that legal process.

But he has -- if he isn't pardoned or if he isn't acquitted, he could spend up to 10 years in prison.

LU STOUT: All right, CNN's Ian Lee reporting live from Cairo. Do, indeed, please keep us up to date with the legal fate of these two al

Jazeera reporters. Thank you, Ian.

Now new photos of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has surfaced for the first time since August. Now they were published online by a state

newspaper.

Now the 88-year-old Castro, he could be seen talking with a university student leader as Castro's wife is looking on. And these pictures, they

appeared alongside an article penned by the student who said the encounter took place last month.

Now the release of the photos, it seems to be an attempt to quell recent rumors that Castro is suffering ill health.

Let's get more now from CNN's Patrick Oppmann. He joins us live from Havana. And Patrick, what has been the reaction there in Cuba to these new

photos of Fidel Castro?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know it's been something of a waiting game. People here expected that there would have to

be images to dispel these rumors that have really been swirling for months and reached a fever pitch when in December the United States and Cuba

reached this landmark deal not only to exchange prisoners, but to normalize relations after 50 years of bad blood. And all we heard from Fidel Castro

was silence.

People thought it was incredible, really unbelievable that he wouldn't have an opinion. This is a man who could talk for hours about anything.

And yes ever since he stepped down from power in 2006, we've seen a lot less of him, but this is just such big news. People thought he would have

to weigh in. And then we heard nothing.

Finally we did hear last month his opinion of the talks that he said he was in favor of peace relations with the U.S. Still people wanted to

see more of him and that's what the Cuban government has done releasing 21 images, really something unprecedented that they would show so many

different images of Castro in his home with his wife meeting with this young university student we've never really heard anything about until now.

And this university student writes about this meeting, about all the different topics they talked about, whether it was current events, creating

more food for people on the planet, new animals that are in Havana zoo, really just a range of topics. The meeting went on, Kristie, we're told,

for more than three hours. So really vintage Fidel Castro after all these years. He can still talk with the best of them.

LU STOUT: Yeah, with these new photos, with this encounter with the student leader, that recent op-ed about more normalized relations between

Cuba and U.S., Fidel Castro is basically declaring I'm still here.

But he is still not been seen in public for more than a year. So what is known about Fidel Castro's health and his overall condition?

OPPMANN: Well, it all comes from the Cuban government. And there's a saying in Cuba that people who talk are the people who don't know and the

people who know don't talk. But clearly in these photos -- and you can see newspapers that he's reading in the photos seem to line up with the date

range that we've been given about when this interview took place. And our sources here have told us now for weeks that Fidel Castro is, yes, of

course a man of 88 years old. He's had serious health problems. But really that his health, despite all these rumors, is unchanged, that he's

able to have long conversations, that he stays abreast of current events and that he remains very interested in the state of affairs not only Cuba

and the U.S., but Cuba's relations with countries around the world.

But of course these are people who are very careful to manage his image and months will go by where you don't hear anything from him. He

really does live in something of a cocoon here. And the government is very careful to release information that they want to release when they want to

release it, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, Fidel Castro, 88 years old, but indeed still making international headlines.

Patrick Oppmann joining us live from Havana. Thank you.

Now the U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, has been vocal about his opposition to President Obama's new policies on Cuba. In an op-

ed for CNN, he writes this, quote, "when dealing with tyrants, you can't wear them down with kindness." He goes on to say this, quote, "when the

president settles for one-sided deals with the Castro regime, it hurts the Cuban people and their aspirations for freedom."

You can read more of that op-ed on CNN.com.

Now you're watching News Stream. Still to come on the program, China tightens its control over the internet, blocking access to some virtual

private networks, or VPNs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: All right, coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.

The Chinese government is making it more difficult for internet users to access banned websites. Now users have found workarounds to gain access

to those censored cites, including Google, but China has stepped up its internet security to prevent that from happening.

Now for more here's CNN's David McKenzie.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Luo Hao is a well known auto journalist. A few days ago, his productivity came screeching to

a halt.

"All of a sudden," he says, "I couldn't get any emails. I missed an invitation for test driving for a foreign company."

Luo is now cut off like millions of others.

Why do you think the government did this?

LUO HAO, JOURNALIST: I don't know.

MCKENZIE: Do you have any guess?

"I don't understand," he says. "It's political."

The Chinese come in as party enforcers, a draconian system of censorship of the web, dictating what more than 600 million Chinese can

search and they've done it for years.

People call it the great firewall of China. And the scope of the censorship is breathtaking. If you go to sites like Twitter, Google and

Facebook this is what you get.

On Chinese sites, many thousands of terms are blocked, some are obvious threats to the party like Tank Man or End One Party Dictatorship.

But even China's first lady is censored.

For a long time there was a way to get around it.

People in China would use VPNs, or virtual private networks. Think of it like this. Tunneling under the great firewall and accessing the

unfiltered internet overseas. But now the Communist Party is shutting them down.

Jeremy Goldkorn has tracked the internet here for more than two decades. He says the party is becoming more aggressive.

JEREMY GOLDKORN, FOUNDER, DANWEI: It's kind of like the gloves are off. We're going to manage our internet our way and we don't care what

anyone thinks.

MCKENZIE: The party calls it internet sovereignty. But without unrestricted access to business and research tools, the party may be

putting China's budding knowledge economy at risk.

Luo says he switched to a Chinese email service and search tools, but he says it's not the same.

"It's a huge hassle," he says. "But I'm used to it, because I was born here. I grew up here. It's never going to change."

Now with nearly a fifth of the world's population stuck behind the great firewall you can't really call it a worldwide web at all.

David McKenzie, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And coming up after the break, an outbreak of measles in the United States is sparking a heated

debate over vaccinations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've seen children with brain damage from measles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: One doctor warns parents should not take measles lightly. We'll enter the fray next on News Stream.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

Now Ukraine says it is tightening its borders for Russians. It comes as fighting intensifies in the east. Ukraine's military says five soldiers

have been killed in the past 24 hours. And there are reports of civilian casualties as well.

Now the United States says it is considering sending defensive arms to help Ukraine battle pro-

Russia rebels.

Canada's foreign minister says a Canadian journalist for al Jazeera held in prison in Egypt will be released imminently. Now CNN has been told

that could be in a few hours. His Australian colleague was freed on Sunday. An Egyptian producer for the network remains in jail.

The international court of justice in The Hague has found that Serbia did not commit Genocide in Croatia. Croatia accused Serbia of committing

Genocide in the city of Vokovar (ph) and several small towns in 1991. Serbia filed a counterclaim. But the court said neither side's actions

rose to the level of genocide.

Now British lawmakers are to vote on to whether to green light a pioneering fertility treatment. Now it is for parents who want to avoid

passing on genetic diseases to their children by adding healthy genes from a donor. Detractors worry that this could set a slippery slope for so-

called designer babies.

Now endemic measles was declared eliminated from the United States in the year 2000. But a recent outbreak there was raising fears that the

illness is making a comeback.

Now the World Health Organization says measles vaccines help prevent millions of deaths. Now this graph, it's from the World Health

Organization, it shows that there were more than 4 million measles cases per year back in the 1980s.

Now less than 20 percent of children worldwide were vaccinated at that time as shown by the red line.

Now as vaccination rates increased, the number of measles cases represented by those blue bars dropped to fewer than 200,000 cases in 2013.

Now unfortunately developing countries are still struggling with measles, especially in Africa and South Asia. Less than half of all

infants receive measles vaccines in the countries in red.

Now, even though vaccines are readily available in the U.S., some parents choose not to have their children vaccinated. Now at the end of

last month, there were 102 cases of measles reported across 14 states, most of them related to just one outbreak linked to Disneyland in California.

Dan Simon has more on what one doctor in California is doing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. NELSON BRANCO, PEDIATRICIAN IN MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: Let's see what we got here.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Nelson Branco was a pediatrician in Marin County, California, a place at the epicenter of the

growing friction whether parents should be able to refuse vaccinations for their children. That's because it has a high number of students with

personal belief exemptions, 6 percent of kindergartens, about three times more than the state average.

BRANCO: I've seen children with brain damage from the measles.

SIMON: Dr. Branco has no real patients for the discussion, especially after two unvaccinated siblings in Marin County now have the measles. He's

drawn a hard line at his clinic when it comes to the measles. If parents say no to the vaccine, you'll just have to find another doctor.

BRANCO: We were concerned that there would be a case of measles in our county. And we didn't want our practice to be where that case showed up. We

didn't want to be spreading measles in our waiting room.

SIMON: With new cases of measles spreading almost daily, tension has been escalating across the country, with much of the ire directed at the

parents who choose not to vaccinate their children.

An online petition movement now taking hold to vaccines mandatory to a 10 California schools. More than 14,000 now have already signed it. The

debate also shifting to political circles. President Obama directly asked about it in his pre-Super Bowl interview with NBC News.

SAVANNA GUTHRIE, NBC NEWS: Do you feel there should be a requirement that parents get their kids vaccinated?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Measles is preventable. I understand that there are families that in some cases are concerned about

the effect of vaccinations. Science is pretty indisputable.

SIMON: Though not directly answering the question, the president offered no support for those who refuse.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul taking a different stance.

SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: I'm not anti-vaccine at all, but particularly most of them ought to be voluntary.

SIMON: A position that might be considered surprising since he was a practicing physician before entering politics.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie also taking some heat by suggesting that parents be given some flexibility, despite the fact he vaccinated his

own children.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: And that's what we do. But I also understand that parents need to have some measure of choice in things as

well. So, that's the balance that the government has to decide.

SIMON: His press aid trying to quell a backlash, sending out an e-mail saying with a disease like the measles, there's no question kids should be

vaccinated.

With more than 100 cases so far around the nation, doctors like Nelson Branco are hoping that's the message people here.

BRANCO: I think when there's a preventable illness that you can do something to keep out of our school, then it's your obligation to do that.

SIMON: And the data shows that states do a lot better when they take a hard line on vaccines. There are only two states in the nation that do not

allow personal belief exemptions. They are Mississippi and West Virginia. They are two of the poorest states but they have the highest vaccination

rates in the country. In the case of Mississippi, it's 99.7 percent.

Dan Simon, CNN, Novado (ph), California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now Arthur Caplan heads a division of medical ethics at New York University's Langoni Medical Center. And my colleague Rosemary Church

spokes with him about how to clarify the message and ease fears about vaccines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARTHUR CAPLAN, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: I think you have to do two things to convince more Americans to vaccinate. One is you have to calm their

fears about autism that still lingers. It's not true, but it is a worry here. The other issue is somehow people think that it's somehow unnatural

or even poisonous to put vaccines in your body, a small number do. And I think there they have to understand the same things that are out in the

world -- measles, the flu, these are things that we use small bits of to build immunity, but there's nothing unnatural about what's in a vaccine.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN CORREPSONDENT: Exactly right. And of course if they can't be convinced with that message, what about those numbers.

They're shocking. We're talking about 250,000 cases of measles last year, half of those were fatal. So what do people need to do to guard themselves

and their family against contracting this disease?

CAPLAN: Well, worldwide, measles is still a major problem. And if you have other illnesses, if your child is malnourished measles can really

be fatal and that's why we get these high numbers.

What you have to do is first and foremost make the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine affordable. It's got to (inaudible) countries. It's not

everywhere. We need to drive the price down. Foundations and governments need to do that.

Then you need to be able to get it out to people. You can't be protected unless someone comes with the vaccine and is able to give it to

you. So we have to do that as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: The vaccine has to be affordable to get it out to more people.

Now as the recent measles outbreaks, in that heated debate about the choice to vaccinate, a 27-year-old letter by the beloved author Roald Dahl

gives a heartbreaking and personal perspective on the issue.

Now Dalh's daughter Olivia caught measles when she was seven. In the letter, Dahl wrote this, quote, "in an hour, she was unconscious, in 12

hours she was dead. Now there is today something that parents can do to make sure that this sort of tragedy does not happen to a child of theirs.

They can insist that their child is immunized against measles."

Now Olivia died in 1962, that was before reliable vaccine was discovered.

Now testing for two new Ebola vaccines, that is underway in Liberia. Now the country is one of the hardest hit by an outbreak that has killed

more than 8,900 people in West Africa.

Now harmless fragments of the virus are in the vaccine. And scientists hope that they will provoke an immune response in test subjects.

Now the outbreak has slowed in Liberia. And that could actually hurt the tests, that's because researchers might not have enough patients to see

if the vaccine is making a difference.

Now another glass ceiling in India has been broken. And this is the woman who shattered it. The important post she now occupies and a message

to women just like her when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Now for generations only men occupied the chairperson seat at the State Bank of India. Those days are gone. In this edition of

Leading Women, we meet the very first chairwoman at that storied institution. She sat down with CNN's Mallika Kapur.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARUNDHATI BHATTACHARYA, STATE BANK OF INDIA: If you're really challenged and if you are willing to take the plunge, very often some

(inaudible) opens up in front of you.

MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A path did indeed open up for Arundhati Bhattacharya. She is the very first female

chairperson of the subcontinent's largest lender, the State Bank of India.

Bhattacharya took the reins in 2013 and became the youngest person at the helm of this centuries old bank.

So I see all these paintings of the men who have headed this organization before you. This is 208 year old bank. You're the first

woman to head it. I imagine there's a huge sense of pressure and also a huge sense of responsibility with that.

BATTACHARYA: You know, it's because of these people, these men over here on the walls, that the bank has remained relevant for 208 years. And

therefore you know that responsibility is very much there.

KAPUR: That sense of responsibility is what drives Bhattacharya. But the patriarchal nature of Indian society has not made it easy for women

like Bhattacharya to succeed or even just to stay on in their careers. As she puts it, the challenge is obvious and prevalent.

BHATTACHARYA: In India, women are still the primary caregivers, whether it be for children, whether it be for old people or sick people,

you are the primary caregiver no matter in what position you are in. Now how you do the job of the primary caregiver is what determines, you know,

what you do.

KAPUR: Can you tell us about some of the initiatives you've introduced here in your own bank, in the State Bank of India to help women

along, or to make sure that they stay on?

BHATTACHARYA: We have allowed a special sabbatical of two years which people can take three times in their career. And it would be for reasons

of child rearing or looking after sick people. And subsequent to doing this, you know, large number of women who have taken off have actually come

and thanked me, because they said, you know, this feeling of guilt is terrible.

So if they're able to take off, then they stop feeling guilty.

KAPUR: Guilt also challenge Bhattacharya. Back in 2006, she was at a crossroads, mulling over leaving the job and her promising career to ensure

a better quality of education for her daughter. But her mentor, a former bank chairman, told her not to give it up.

BHATTACHARYA: His name is Mr. Varma (ph), Innis Varma (ph). So he really told me that nothing doing -- you have worked long and hard. You

are just about beginning to reap the rewards and you will not give up and you will try your best. Only when you find for sure that nothing is

working, then you should start having these thoughts, not now when you are nearly apprehending (ph).

Hi, how are you?

I still see a lot of recruitment of women. But I think we need to do more in order to get them to stay. There are still too few people staying

put for them to have a good shot at the top jobs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere. World Sport with Alex Thomas is next.

END