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Hala Gorani Tonight
Clinton Unveils Plan For Improving Economy; Aleppo Humanitarian Crisis Prompts Desperate Appeals; Olympic Athletes Express Disdain For Cheats; Ukraine-Russia Tensions Rising Again Over Crimea; Couple's Agony Over Fatal Maternity Fire; Philippines President Insults U.S. Ambassador; Aleppo Humanitarian Crisis Prompts Desperate Appeals; Trump: Obama, Clinton Are "The Founders" Of ISIS; "Time" Cover Suggests Trump Campaign Is Melting Down; Firefighters Battle Blazes In France, Portugal, And Spainp; Kristie Lu Stout, Van Jones, Alexandra Field. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired August 11, 2016 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
HANNAH VAUGHAN JONES, CNN INTERNATIONAL GUEST ANCHOR: Hello. Good evening to you. I'm Hannah Vaughan Jones sitting in for Hala Gorani, live from CNN
London, and this is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
Hillary Clinton is promising to go to bat for working families across America, unveiling plans for what's described as the biggest investment in
jobs since World War II.
The Democratic presidential nominee laid out her vision for improving the economy just a short time ago. She gave a rebuttal to rival Donald Trump's
economic plan unveiled, of course, earlier this week, saying it favors the rich and would drag America into recession.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's offered no credible plans to address what working families are up against today. Nothing on
student loans or the cost of prescription drugs, nothing for farmers or struggling rural communities.
Nothing to build a new future with clean energy and advanced agriculture. Nothing for communities of color in our cities to overcome the barriers of
systemic racism. Nothing to create new opportunities for young people.
Just a more extreme version of the failed theory of trickledown economics with his own addition of outland-ish Trumpian ideas that even Republicans
reject.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Clinton did not address the latest controversial remarks by Trump, accusing her and President Barack Obama of being the, quote, co-founders of
ISIS. But her campaign says anyone willing to sink so low, so often, should never be allowed to serve as our commander-in-chief.
Let's bring in CNN's Richard Quest, host, of course, of "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS." We're also joined by CNN's political analyst, Josh Rogin.
Gentlemen, welcome to you.
You were both with me earlier in the week when we analyzed Donald Trump's economic policy, so only right that we should do the same for Hillary
Clinton now.
Richard to you first, she talked about infrastructure, trade, tax, and jobs as well. Did it all add up?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Yes, what we got from Mrs. Clinton was a traditional candidate's tax policy, if you like. You
may not agree with it, and the Republicans will blast it as being a traditional Democrat tax and spend, new taxes on the rich, taxing on
corporations, making it more difficult for them to go overseas, new trade restrictions, promising a trade prosecutor and targeted trade tariffs.
And on the other side, a lot of new plans, policies for tax credits for families, education, working families. I mean, the difference here is, and
I think in Mr. Trump's favor, you don't have a single big idea, a single big policy like his slashing of the tax code down to three tax brackets.
Instead, with Mrs. Clinton, you have lots of little bits that together make up her program. The difference of course is that those who have looked at
the two plans say that his will create huge deficits, where is hers at least makes some form of economic sense, even if you don't agree with its
underlying political philosophy.
And that's what it's going to come down to at the end. Do you agree with the underlying political philosophy? On sheer, straightforward, garden
economics, her plan probably makes more sense. But his plan has a greater philosophical tinge to it in the way he's put it forward.
JONES: Trump has up until now, though, had an edge somewhat in terms of his economic credentials. Did this speech by Clinton manage to sort of
underline her economic policy and her economic credentials going forward to November?
QUEST: I don't think anybody taking a look at her plan can doubt the qualifications and the competency of the plan. I mean, it's all there.
Everything down to, you know, how to clip your toenails on a good day.
[15:05:08]The level detail that she has been offering up is quite breathtaking in that respect. But on top of it, she has put on this idea
that the Republican plan is one for the rich, the estate tax, for example, which she said would benefit the Trump family by $4 billion but 99.48
percent of the U.S. population, not one jot.
On the other side, though, she does come up with new taxes. There is this feeling that she wants to spend more, without necessarily saying where
she's going to get all that money from on infrastructure, because new taxes on the rich raise some money but not that much.
I think what you're looking at, Hannah, in summary, is a tax plan put together by a politician of long experience, but a tax plan on the other
side by Donald Trump put forward by somebody who has a much more idealistic view of what he believes the tax code should look like.
JONES: Josh, let's bring in you now. There was no mention whatsoever of this e-mail scandal that's besieged her campaign over the last couple of
days at least. Do you think that was very deliberate and did she manage to focus successfully on the policy?
JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. Well, the Clinton campaign strategy is to clearly not focus on either her scandal or Trump's scandal
for two separate about obvious reasons. For Trump's scandals, it's easier to let him talk about his own scandals, he's been mired in several,
accusing Obama and Clinton of being, quote/unquote, "the founders of ISIS," including seeming to have a veiled reference to asking second amendment
supporters to commit violence against Hillary Clinton.
So for the Clinton campaign, the best strategy is to step out of the way and let Trump be Trump. As for her own scandal, they have a slightly
different strategy.
You saw Nancy Pelosi talk about the e-mail hacking in very, very strong terms, pushing back against some Trump conspiracy theories and really
accusing the Republicans of colluding with the Russians.
So Hillary Clinton doesn't have to be the attack dog, her very simple plan for this month anyway is to be as boring as possible, by laying out a
detailed economic policy she can get her message across, try to paint Trump as having policies that only advance the interests of his own friends and
family, and keeping herself out of the firing range. And that seems to be working for her, if we look at the polls.
QUEST: And certainly -- sorry, just to jump in on that, Josh is absolutely right. Josh, if that was the intention, then we got it today, because
clearly this speech -- it was long on rhetoric, helping working families, building things in the future. But at the end of the day, it is a rag bag
of individual credits and policies and plans and projects and infrastructure. It's very hard to -- frankly it's not easy to get excited
by Mrs. Clinton's plan.
JONES: OK, well, it's going to come down to America first versus family first. We will see which economic policy wins out come November. Richard
Quest, Josh Rogin, thanks very much indeed for your analysis this evening.
Now life in the besiege part of Aleppo is hellish and death inescapable. That's the message from 15 doctors are appealing directly to the U.S.
president now for action.
Their letter that reads in part, "what pains us most as doctors is choosing who will live and who will die. Young children are sometimes brought into
our emergency rooms so badly injured that we have to prioritize those with better chances.
Two weeks ago, four newborn babies gasping for air suffocated to death after a blast cut the oxygen supply to their incubators." Others were
firsthand experience of Aleppo have testified before at the United Nations. That happened earlier this week.
Our own Clarissa Ward took part.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The thing that has been killed in Syria, that is much more difficult to rebuild than a bombed-
out building, is trust. There is no trust in the Assad regime, no trust in ceasefires or cessation of hostilities or humanitarian corridors, no trust
in the Russians, and no trust in you, by the way, in us, in the international community, who have been wringing their hands on the
sidelines while hospitals and bakeries and schools have been bombed, while phosphorous and cluster bombs have killed countless civilians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Clarissa Ward, our senior international correspondent, joins me in the studio. Clarissa, while the world seemingly watches idly by, there are
more reports of atrocities happening today on the ground. Just update us on what's going on.
WARD: That's right, the bombardment continues to be relentless, heavy fighting, rebel factions also desperately trying to build a corridor, force
open a corridor that would allow free flowing movement of food and aid and presumably for the rebels also, of weapons.
[15:10:12]Meanwhile, we heard last night doctors on the ground reporting another gas attack. Now, these had been somewhat diminished in previous
months, but we're hearing it was probably chlorine gas, dropped in a barrel bomb.
Three reported dead. Among those three dead, a mother and a son. There is no let-up to the violence. The situation of course is worst in Eastern
Aleppo. That's the rebel-held part of the city. It is home to 300,000 people and it's been under siege for nearly a month.
The Russians had said earlier today that they would open -- or rather, that they would ceasefire, all fire, for about three hours in the afternoon,
didn't appear to exactly happen that way.
What's more, the U.N. came along and said, hold on a second, three hours is not going to cut it, we need 48 hours on the ground to repair the damage to
the infrastructure, which is affecting civilians on both sides.
JONES: This letter from the 15 doctors in Aleppo, it's taking place -- it was a letter directly to President Obama of the United States. It's
happening at a time when there are multiple factions at war in Aleppo, and also it's an election year for the United States. What realistically can
President Obama do now?
WARD: Well, I think with American policy as it stands, the U.S.'s options are very limited, absolutely, because the U.S. doesn't really have any
leverage. When it comes to the negotiating table and it says to Russia and to the regime of Bashar al-Assad you need to stop bombing hospitals and
schools and bakeries and fruit markets.
It doesn't really have anything that it can back those demands up with. So the U.S. may have had other options at another stage, but given the course
that U.S. policy on Syria has taken, it's difficult to see too many options.
And I think the doctors who wrote this letter are cognizant of that. Rather than a sort of, you know -- I don't think they anticipate that this
it actually change U.S. policy.
But what I see it as more is a last-ditch effort to say, listen, we're dying here, we're desperate for help, and inaction has consequences too,
and by not acting and not preventing these massacres, you are therefore complicit in these crimes as well.
JONES: Clarissa, thanks very much indeed and for all your reporting as well from Syria, thank you.
Next on THE WORLD RIGHT NOW, swimmer, Lilly King is only 19 years old, but the gold medalist isn't afraid to speak her mind. How she's become the
poster child for clean sport, coming up.
And the tension is rising and the tough words keep coming. We will have the latest from Moscow as this man, Ukraine's Petro Poroshenko, and
Russia's Vladimir Putin, trade words over Crimea. Stay with us for more on that.
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[15:15:04]
JONES: Hello. Welcome back to THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. Anger over doping continues to make waves in the pool at the Olympic Games in Rio. American
gold medalist, Lilly King, finished seventh in the 200-meter breaststroke semifinal on Wednesday.
She'll compete again on Saturday and will probably face her Russian rival, Yulia Efimova. "World Sports" Don Riddell asked King how she felt about
being the new poster child for clean sport.
King said, quote, "I mean, if I'm going to be a poster child for anything, I think that's good thing for clean sport and being fair for putting the
work in and knowing that work wins." Don has more now from Rio.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON RIDDELL, WORLD SPORT (voice-over): It takes sacrifice and determination to make an Olympic champion, but it takes courage and
leadership to become a role model. At the age of just 19, American swimmer, Lilly King has achieved both here in Rio, taking a stand against
her Russian rival in the pool and all drug cheats, saying, it just proves that you can compete clean and still come out on top.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hopefully this will create some momentum with the governing bodies, of course, the governing body of swimming, hoping this
can give them some momentum to push harder to do it right.
RUTA MALUTYTE, LITHUANIAN OLYMPIC SWIMMER: I think it was very brave of Lilly, just after she became a champion, to speak out and be brave, show
her opinion. And I think she said what we all think.
RIDDELL: It all started when King's Russian rival, Yulia Efimova, declared herself number one after winning in the semis. Among other things, the
Russian was caught doping in 2013 and was banned for 16 months.
But King beat her to the gold medal, saying you wave your finger number one and you've been caught drug cheating? I'm not a fan.
Neither is the Olympics' most decorating athlete, Michael Phelps, who voiced his support. After revelation of a state sponsored doping program,
Russian athletes have been cast as the chief villains of the games, rekindling sentiments of the cold war.
SVETLANA KHORKINA, FORMER RUSSIAN OLYMPIC GYMNAST (through translator): No, it's not war. It's an attempt to mix politics and support. But I
wouldn't want to do that, because the international sporting tent was an idea of a nice little island where everybody was friends, talked, made
peace. We in Russia have a strong state, strong sportsmen, and it seems that disturbs someone.
RIDDELL: But it's not just the Russians and it's not just the Americans taking a stand. The Australian gold medalist, Mack Horton clashed with his
Chinese rival who was found to be taking prescribed heart medication, which was on the banned list but no longer is.
KITTY CHILLER, CHEF DE MISSION, TEAM AUSTRALIA: Mack had every right to express that opinion. He has strong opinions on the need for clean sport.
(on camera)RIDDELL: Athletes used to assume that their governing bodies would protect them from cheats. That confidence has been eroded because of
flawed tests, inconsistent punishments, and politics.
ADAM NELSON, 2004 SHOT PUT GOLD MEDALIST: Athletes have to come together and say this is what we demand, this is where we're going to go with it,
and you guys, IOC and WADA, need to follow us for a change.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of the people I have raced against have failed tests and that stinks, to be racing people that have failed a test before.
RIDDELL (voice-over): There are many questions that need to be answered after these Olympics. Rules and policies that need to be addressed. The
athletes say they've been too quiet for too long. But they're learning fast and they're not prepared to let it lie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Don joins us live from Rio. Don, good to see you. Should athletes be using the Olympics as a platform to voice their views? Are they
qualified to do so?
RIDDELL: Well, that's a very good question. I mean, first of all, if they're not going to voice their opinions here, when and where are they
going to do it? The spotlight is the brightest here.
If they want people to listen and take notice, now would be a fantastic time to do it and get people's attention. And certainly Lilly King has got
all of our attention. The IOC has mixed views on it. They try not to tell the athletes what to do or what not to do.
Their position is that the Olympics athletes should be free to compete in tranquility and not be addressed by others. We encourage people to respect
their fellow competitors. That's the way the IOC see it.
It is interesting, when you talk to people around this, and ask the question about how qualified athletes are, I mean, Lilly King is just 19.
I've been speaking with some of the Russian delegation, Russian journalists as well, and they're saying, she's just 19.
She doesn't really know the full story, she doesn't understand the incredibly complex issue with regards to the science and the testing but
also the legal aspect of it.
[15:20:06]I spoke to the head of the Summer Sports Federation who said, athletes are great at these events, they're very emotional, but they don't
really know what they're talking about. That is one of the main problems.
But I think, as I said in that report, the athletes do feel as though the authorities in their sports and their federations and the governing bodies
have let them down. And they've kind of decided it's time they spoke up and tried to make a difference.
JONES: Don, take us away from the doping and the scandals for a second and fill us in on the sport. What's happening today?
RIDDELL: Well, I'm going to talk about Efimova a little bit because she's racing in the final of the 200-meter breast stroke this evening. She will
be hoping for a gold. She took a silver in the 100. Her great rival Lilly King didn't even make the final.
If we're talking about the pool, I think a must-see event is the men's 200- meter individual medley. It's between Michael Phelps who has already won 21 Olympic golds, and his great friend and rival, American swimmer, Ryan
Lochte.
These two have been swimming against each other since 2004. Between them have set the 13 fastest times in this event. So I think this could be
another very, very quick race, must-watch. That's the pool.
The rugby sevens, which is making its debut in this event, we're down to the final now. It's going to be Great Britain versus Fiji. Fiji have
never won an Olympic medal of any color, they're definitely going to make history tonight.
Golf is back in the Olympics for the first time in more than a century. We'll see how that plays out over the next few days. We've got another new
sport under way at the Olympics -- Hannah.
JONES: Fantastic stuff, Don Riddell, always good to talk to you. Don there live for us in Rio, thank you.
Tensions between Russia and the Ukraine are racheting up once again over Crimea which Russia annexed back in 2014. Russia is accusing Ukraine of
launching an attack inside Crimea, which Ukraine calls insane and it's hovering all its troops in Eastern Ukraine to be at on a, quote, "the
highest level of combat readiness. Our Phil Black explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Could these scattered items trigger yet another large scale military conflict in Ukraine? Russia's
secret security service, the FSB, released this video, which it says shows explosives and weapons intended to be used against targets in Crimea, the
large peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine two years ago.
The FSB says this man was one of the Ukrainian saboteurs it stopped in operations, but also resulted in the deaths of two Russian personnel.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says, these events cannot be allowed to pass. He accuses Ukraine's government of embracing terror instead of
peace.
Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko, described the accusations as insane and a pretext for imminent Russian military action. He's ordered Ukrainian
forces to their highest state of alert. Once again in Ukraine, tensions have suddenly escalated and there is a sense that anything could happen.
SARAH LAIN, RESEARCH FELLOW, RUSI: It does present this idea of either something staring in Ukraine again, some form of a potential offensive or
this is Russia just using this as a pretext to basically blame Ukraine for not being very cooperative.
BLACK: Meanwhile, in Ukraine's east, this is what a ceasefire looks like. These are Ukrainian government soldiers. There is daily fighting in this
part of the country, where Russian-backed militants have carved out their own territory.
International observers say June and July saw a big spike in violence. And the United Nations points to a dramatic increase in civilian casualties,
mostly from heavy weapons. This was all supposed to stop after the signing of the Minsk agreement in February last year.
But since then all parties have continuously accused each other of breaking that peace deal. The U.S. (inaudible) Russia's violations are more
frequent and serious.
America's ambassador to the Ukraine tweeted, "Russia has a record of frequently levying false accusations at Ukraine to deflect attention from
its own illegal actions." He says new Russian weapons systems have made the situation more volume volatile. Russia denies fueling the war.
Analysts say that's key to Russia's policy.
LAIN: Russia can always distant itself from actually being involved in the conflict. So the separatists in the east are not in Russia's narrative,
they're not Russians, they're not supported by the Russian state. What's happening in Crimea, it was the Ukrainians fault in their eyes.
BLACK: Ukraine often resembles a stone, but it's not a frozen conflict, regularly boiling over and reminding the world there is an active European
war with the potential to escalate much further. Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[15:25:05]JONES: To Iraq now and the devastating aftermath of a fire that claimed the lives of 11 newborn babies. For one set of parents, the trauma
is even more acute. They spent everything they had on fertility treatment to conceive. Arwa Damon has the heartbreaking story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There should have been such happiness. The cries of a newborn lovingly bundled
into his parents' arms, but there is none. Shaima Hussein and her husband tried desperately to conceive. They even went into debt and sold their car
to pay for IVF.
SHAIMA HUSSEIN, MOTHER OF BABY (through translator): It was a miracle to get pregnant. I can't describe the feeling. I didn't even care if it was
a boy or a girl.
DAMON: It was a boy. They named him Yeman.
MOAD, FATHER OF BABY (through translator): I wanted to give my child the best life, the best things. I wanted him to be a doctor or something with
status.
DAMON: Shaima delivered by cesarean.
HUSSEIN (through translator): I got out of the operation and as soon as I opened my eyes, I saw my son. I wanted to see him.
DAMON: That utter joy of motherhood crushed hours later. Their baby boy died. Not because of the violence that has stolen so many lives, but in a
blaze many believed could have been avoided. An electrical short caused a fire to break out in the room where Yeman was in an incubator along with
other babies.
HUSSEIN (through translator): It was as if my stomach wasn't sewn up. I forgot my phone. I forgot my scarf. I forgot everything. My whole face
was covered in black soot. I was in shocked. I was asking, where is my son?
DAMON: In the pandemonium, Moad couldn't reach his newborn.
MOAD (through translator): They wouldn't even let people go in and get the people inside, get their wives and children.
DAMON: Iraq's Minister of Health publicly resigned the following day amid an outcry slamming government corruption and incompetence. These types of
electrical fires are commonplace. Yet none of the pledges to refurbish Iraq's infrastructure have materialized.
Shaima's sister removed most of what would have been Yeman's clothes and his crib. The couple saw their child's blackened body, still at the
hospital morgue until definitive DNA testing is done. But a mother knows her baby.
HUSSEIN (through translator): Then they told me they found the child. We didn't believe him, but then his name was there and I recognized him.
DAMON: Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: Stay with us here on THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. Up next on the program, constant bombardment. Reports of a gas attack. Can things get any worse
in Aleppo? We'll speak to the Red Cross on the ground in Syria.
Plus "Time" magazine's latest take on Donald Trump. We'll talk to the Cuban-American artist who created this image.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNAH VAUGHAN JONES, CNN INTERNATIONAL GUEST ANCHOR: Hello. Welcome back. Here are the headlines in THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
Hillary Clinton says Donald Trump's economic plans favor the rich and would drag the United States into recession. The Democratic presidential nominee
unveiled her own proposals for improving the economy just a short time ago. She's promising to go to bat for working families and to boost jobs.
A Japanese gymnast, Kohei Uchimura (ph), is the first man to achieve back to back win in the Olympic all round since 1972. It is certainly easy to
see why they call him "Superman" back home in Japan. His mother was so overwhelmed by his gold medal winning performance on Wednesday that she
fainted.
One woman is dead and a number of other people are injured after a double bomb attack in Thailand. It happens in the popular coastal resort of Hua
Hin (ph). Police say the woman who died was a food vendor whose cart was located in front of a bar.
The president of the Philippines has sparked a backlash after using offensive language to describe the U.S. ambassador. It prompted Washington
to summon the country's envoy to complain. Kristie Lu Stout has the latest on that. A warning, though, her report includes the offensive language.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. is asking the Philippines to clarify a vulgar insult made by the president of the Philippines. Rodrigo
Duterte used a homophobic slur during a recent speech when he referred to the American ambassador to his country. And this is the moment when he
used that slur and other profanity to describe Ambassador Philip Goldberg.
RODRIGO DUTERTE, PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT (through translator): I told him your ambassador is a gay son of bitch. I was annoyed at him for
interfering in the elections giving statements here and there.
STOUT: On the back of those comments, the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs issued a statement today emphasizing that the insult has
not damaged ties between the Philippines and the U.S.
The Philippines government spokesman said what I could tell is that Philippines-U.S. relations remains strong. During the call of Secretary
Kerry, the president said that he places much importance on Philippines/U.S. relations and used effusive language to describe the very
productive bilateral partnership.
But there is still no clarification as to why the president made those comments. Now Duterte earlier said he was annoyed with the U.S. ambassador
for in his words, interfering in the elections.
The Philippines' president first came into conflict with the U.S. ambassador while on the campaign trail after Duterte made light of the
brutal rape and murder of an Australian missionary in 1989 in the Philippines.
The U.S. ambassador strongly criticized those comments and Duterte has apparently not forgotten the criticism. As Manila attempts to clarify
Duterte's insults directed at the U.S. envoy, Duterte has sent an unofficial envoy to the Hong Kong to break the ice between China and the
Philippines.
On Monday, former Philippines president, Fidel Ramos, was in Hong Kong on a mission of goodwill. At a press conference on Monday, he said, my job is
to look for old friends that have linked to the officials in Beijing, not to negotiate but to pave the way, break the ice with my friends during my
time in the PRC.
The visit comes at a time of high tensions still between China and the Philippines especially after an international court ruled against China
over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea. Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: Returning now to the latest flash point in Syria's bloody civil war, Aleppo. Three people are dead after a suspected chlorine gas attack
in rebel-held territory.
CNN cannot verify this video, but you see civil defense personnel apparently combing through the wreckage of the barrel bomb that's believed
to have contained chlorine glass. The shelling has become constant now.
The Russians suggest a daily three-hour window for aid convoys to travel. The U.N. though says helping 300,000 people in Eastern Aleppo requires at
least 48 hours of ceasefire.
All this coming of course as doctors in Aleppo have made a direct appeal for action to the United States president. Let's speak to someone on the
ground in Syria, the spokesperson for the international committee of the Red Cross. She joins me now live via Skype in Damascus. Thank you so much
for joining us on the program.
INGY SEDKY, INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS: Thank you.
JONES: I have to ask you first of all about these chemical attacks, suggestions of chlorine gas being used. Have you heard any evidence of
that from your team on the ground in Aleppo?
[15:35:08]SEDKY: Well, of course, we are following the situation very closely and we have heard about the allegation. However, for us it's very
hard to verify such an information basically because we don't have access to Aleppo.
We would like to remind all of the participants on the ground that it's totally not permitted under the international (inaudible) to use any
chemical weapon or any weapons that can bring unnecessary suffering on the population. Of course, such allegations, we take them very seriously. So
far we cannot verify it.
JONES: OK, this letter then from the 15 doctors directly to President Obama, these doctors are having to work under conditions where they're
having to choose which child often to save. They've got no anesthetic, they limited equipment. Just how desperate is it for doctors and all
medical facilities trying to operate right now out of Aleppo?
SEDKY: Well, unfortunately, the health facilities have been targeted constantly since many months now, on both sides of the city. There are
many facilities and hospitals that were forced even to close due to the lack of materials, lack of medicines, or due to the security situation.
And also with the continuous power and water cuts in recent days, it's impossible to operate a hospital in such a condition. Doctors are totally
overstretched. There is an inflow of patients at every hour, patients who need emergency care and it's impossible to deal with such limited capacity.
JONES: Do you believe, does your organization believe that hospitals, medical facilities, and doctors are being deliberately targeted by air
strikes?
SEDKY: Well, everywhere in Aleppo, no one and nowhere in Aleppo is safe. Every single thing has been targeted and hit. There is an indiscriminate
shelling and bombing on the whole area. Vital infrastructure like the water and sanitation systems, even houses are totally destroyed. People in
the streets of Aleppo, you can find people living in ruins simply because they don't have anywhere else to go.
JONES: And do you join with these doctors in Aleppo on calling on the United States, calling on President Barack Obama, to do something? Is it
the case that inaction in Syria makes you just as culpable as taking action?
SEDKY: Well, of course, we understand their concern and we understand their call. What we are calling for right now is that this ongoing
fighting and this indiscriminate bombing of the population should stop as soon as possible. We need to be allowed as humanitarian organizations and
aid workers to access Aleppo in order to assess the needs of the people and bring in much-needed humanitarian aid.
JONES: And given the fact that you want the cessation of hostilities, as of course everyone does, do you agree with the United Nations that three
hours suggested by the Russians is simply not enough time, it's not enough of a window to get the aid in and the people out?
SEDKY: Well, of course with the current situation, any initiative that would save the life of the civilians is more than welcome. However, our
main concern is that as long as there is no -- the ceasefire is not implemented with the agreement and the consent of all the parties fighting
in Aleppo, we are afraid we will not be able to do our job, we will not be able to access and assess the needs and provide much-needed humanitarian
aid in a safe manner.
It will put us and the civilians as well at great danger. Especially with the situation right now, it's not very clear, we don't know what road we
will be allowed to use. We don't have the necessary security guarantees. Also logistically the time is very limited to on-load and offload the
trucks.
[15:40:05]We have to be able to bring in basic relief like food and medicines. When it comes to restoring and repairing the damages in the
recent weeks, like when it comes to a water system or a sanitation system, it's impossible to do it in such a short time.
JONES: It is a desperate situation on the ground. Ingy Sedky from the International Red Cross live for us via Skype from Damascus, thank you very
much for your time this evening.
Don't forget that you can get all the latest news, the interviews and analysis from the show, on Hala's Facebook page, find it at
facebook.com/halagoranicnn.
You're watching THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. Still to come, Donald Trump often dominates the headlines for better or worse, but Hillary Clinton has her
share of troubles as well. We'll dig into the latest e-mail controversy and more ahead.
Plus, inspired by Trump, we speak to a Cuban-American illustrator about his latest work, his provocative new cover for "Time" magazine.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JONES: Hello and welcome back. It is a constant frustration of many Republicans in the United States. Donald Trump's frequent missteps and
controversial remarks end up distracting from Hillary Clinton's own troubles.
Newly released e-mails that put her campaign on the defensive are a case in point. That story was overshadowed this week by Trump's suggestion that
gun rights supporters could stop a Clinton presidency. Now he's in the headlines again, this time for highly inflammatory remarks about ISIS.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I call President Obama and Hillary Clinton the founders of ISIS. They're the founders. In fact I
think we'll give Hillary Clinton the -- you know, if you're a sports team, most valuable player, MVP, you get the MVP award. ISIS will hand her the
most valuable player award. Her only competition is Barack Obama, between the two of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Let's bring in CNN's political commentator, Van Jones, a former special adviser to President Barack Obama. Van, good to talk to you. This
ISIS claim obviously unfounded, but how effective do you think it might be as a campaigning tool by Donald Trump? Will he gain more votes?
VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, what you're seeing with Trump is the master of the politically effective misstatement. Yesterday
or earlier in the week, he was talking about the second amendment people, blah blah, blah.
What happened is people looped and looped and looped him saying, Hillary Clinton is going to take your guns, Hillary Clinton is going to abolish the
second amendment. Then we focused on the misstatement and the alarming thing, was it seemed like a call for violence.
[15:45:06]Now we're seeing the same thing inside the same week. He knows this is an explosive, unfair, unfounded charge to make, but what it does is
it lets him then force everybody to talk about him and talk about Obama's handling of the ISIS crisis. I don't think it's about trying to extend
votes or to get votes. It's just about him staying on offense by being offensive.
JONES: But of course while he does that, it takes the attention away from Hillary Clinton somewhat. She's having to face down a huge amount of
controversy at the moment about these leaked e-mails and links between her time as secretary of state and the Clinton Foundation. We're hearing at
one point it looked like there might be an investigation into that by the department of just and the FBI. Could this be her downfall?
VAN JONES: I don't think it's going to be her downfall because here's the reality. If the Department of Justice had been aware of enough evidence to
move forward against her criminally, they would have.
The FBI can sometimes be -- they're prosecutors, they want to bring big cases. You have very overeager FBI folks, sometimes, who want to bring a
big case, make a name for themselves.
It's the job of the Department of Justice to look at that stuff and make sure you're not doing something overly zealous. The problem that the
Clintons have, and it's a big problem, is that they've been in the public eye for so long.
They have so many people around them, handlers and minders and hangers on and people who used to work for them, that the sloppiness inside their
network can sometimes look like something's going on.
Somebody who used to know somebody sends an e-mail asking for a favor. Aha, the Clintons are corrupt. No, they have a big network of people who
they're sloppy about how they discipline their network.
That's not the same as saying you can meet a criminal bar of proof that they're actually trading favors. I don't think that's happening with the
Clintons. But the sloppiness is what gives the right wing and even people in the FBI some concern, some reason for pause.
JONES: Van Jones, great to talk to you, thank you.
Donald Trump often contends that his remarks are misunderstood and misconstrued by the media. One frequent defender is former New York Mayor
Rudy Giuliani. Here is what he said to CNN's Chris Cuomo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Why do you have to explain what comes out of his mouth every two seconds?
RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Because I'm going to tell you because you don't give him a fair shot. You take his words and you parse -
- you take him apart. I was on the plane with him when they called him and they said to him, they're accusing you of saying kill Hillary Clinton. He
said what? I didn't say that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: I wonder what the former mayor and his candidate, Donald Trump, will make of this. This is "Time" magazine's latest cover. It features a
nearly featureless Trump melting down the page.
Edel Rodriguez is the artist who created that cover and he joins me live from New York. Edel, thanks for joining us on the program. Talk us
through your motivation. Are you motivated by politics when you're drawing?
EDEL RODRIGUEZ, "TIME" MAGAZINE COVER ILLUSTRATOR: No, I mean, I'm motivated by the news and over the last week or two weeks, Trump has been
through a series of misfires. And I think it's fair to say that the cover is accurate, and he's in quite a bit of a meltdown right now.
JONES: So where is the "melty face" drawing of Hillary Clinton or other Democrats for that matter? Have you illustrated them in the past?
RODRIGUEZ: Yes, I've illustrated covers and illustrations for many different magazines and newspapers. So I will, you know, go and do work on
a variety of topics, from terrorism to politicians to many other things. It really doesn't -- it doesn't really matter what's happening.
It's more, this is what's happening right now. So right now, this is the story. I believe "Time" has done a couple of covers on Donald Trump over
the past year that have been a bit more positive, you know, more features on him. Right now, the stories that his campaign seems to be in meltdown,
so that's what "Time" magazine decided to cover.
JONES: It is of course a free press that we have. But when it's an election year and you're counting down to the big election day, is it fair,
as Donald Trump would say it's not fair, is it fair to have one candidate satirized and criticized on such a prominent media platform and to not
counter that straight away with the exact same criticism of his or her opponents?
RODRIGUEZ: Well, right now the news is Donald Trump and his situation. I believe that a few weeks ago, "Time" magazine did another story on Hillary
Clinton that was not very positive either. So it really -- I think the news just -- and the media and illustrations and what we do follow what's
happening in the world.
[15:50:09]We're not going to just ignore what's going on just to be fair. Right now this seems to be the story to me.
JONES: But Donald Trump of course says there is a media bias against him, not just of course with your illustrations with "Time" magazine but across
the board. He's accused CNN as well of media bias.
The fact that Hillary Clinton maybe won't appear on the next cover of "Time" magazine with a similar description of her suggests he might be
right. There's only 89 days to go until Election Day and the media at the moment have the opportunity to sway the public.
RODRIGUEZ: In a few weeks, if Hillary Clinton has a few -- makes mistakes and makes misfires and insults some people, then perhaps, you know, an
image will be done about her. I basically just am doing what I think is the right thing to do at this moment. In two weeks, if Hillary does
something, I may want to do a drawing of her for someone else.
JONES: Unprecedented coverage means you get unprecedented and different kinds of newspaper articles and drawings as well. Edel Rodriguez --
RODRIGUEZ: Yes, I mean --
JONES: -- thanks very much for your time on the program.
RODRIGUEZ: Sure, thank you.
JONES: Thank you.
Coming up next on THE WORLD RIGHT NOW, hot dry conditions and high winds fuel wildfires in France, Portugal, and Spain. We'll show you how
firefighters are battling the blazes, ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JONES: Hello, welcome back to THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. Thousands of firefighters are confronting huge wildfires in France, in Spain, and in
Portugal. One blaze is even threatening the southern port city of Marseille. CNN's Alexandra Field has the story for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Southern France, this is the worst fire they've seen in nearly 20 years. Crews say they have it
contained, under control. But it's taken about 2,500 firefighters to beat back the flames, stopping them from reaching several petrol chemical plants
in the country's second largest city, Marseille.
Some roads leading to the city are still closed. Marseille's airport is still affected. Some flights cancelled, others delayed. Neighboring
country, Italy, is helping out, sending some of its planes to join the French effort from the sky.
Overhead, aircraft are keeping a close watch for any signs the fire might spread, while thick smoke still chokes the region. On the ground, 400
police officers help people to safety. Hundreds have been evacuated. Some homes are destroyed. At least seven people hurt. Four firefighters are
badly injured.
BERNARD CAZENEUVE, FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): I went yesterday to the (inaudible) Department yesterday express my solidarity to
the firefighters who contained the fire with a lot of courage and to express solidarity to the troops that have been mobilized in the face of
the tragedy that the fire service of our own department confronted yesterday.
FIELD: Since Wednesday, the destruction has spread over 3,300 hectares. Across the border in Northern Spain, five large fires are also burning.
Helicopters are dropping water, desperately. People are taking matters into their own hands, bringing help wherever they can. The region is under
a blanket of smoke
In Portugal, the situation is considered dire. Four people have died while 1,800 firefighters and almost 600 trucks are part of a furious effort to
put out 12 major fires.
[15:55:11]Hot, dry weather and heavy winds have fanned the flames across three countries. Crews everywhere are keeping a close watch now. Fearful
that violent gust could cause more flames to flare up. Alexandra Field, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: We're going to take now out to China and a wedding video to warm your heart possibly and (inaudible) certainly at the same time. This
couple decided to get married on a hammock hanging from a glass bridge. The groom, believe it or not, has agoraphobia, a fear of heights with which
I am well familiar. He reportedly took a long time before letting go of the railing before that ceremony. The bridge is suspended 180 meters over
the ground. If that's not love, I don't know what is.
To another bizarre story. You may not want to eat this before you rsvp to that wedding. People in a town in the Czech Republic are queuing up for a
treat that's apparently both sweet and stinky. Who thought that combination would work?
It's best described as stinky cheese ice cream mixes a smelly local cheese with sugar to get what customers call a superb salty sweet dessert. The
ice cream is proving so popular that the creator has get the recipe patented. I doubt very much he or she will have any qualms with that
request.
This has been THE WORLD RIGHT NOW with me Hannah Vaughan Jones. Thank you so much for watching. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
