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NEWS STREAM

Captured ISIS Fighters Reveal Indoctrination Steps; Oscar Pistorius Guilty of Culpable Homicide; Floods Continue To Displace Pakistani, India Residents; Massive Solar Flare Heads To Earth; Northern Ireland Politician Ian Paisley Dies At 88; Is Apple Pay Secure?

Aired September 12, 2014 - 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 Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of culpable homicide. And now, he waits to hear what his sentence will be.

Now tens of thousands of people in India and Pakistan are stranded by heavy flooding. And officials say there's more to come.

And we get a report from inside a rebel held city in Ukraine where the residents have had enough of Kiev.

Oscar Pistorius will remain on bail until his sentencing begins on October 13. Now today, he was found guilty of the culpable homicide of his

girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, that's equivalent to manslaughter in the U.S. and the UK.

Now the judge recapped key moments in the trial as well as her thought process before delivering the verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOKOZILE MASIPA, JUDGE, HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA: Mr. Pistorius, please stand up.

Having regard to the totality of this evidence, in this matter the unanimous decision of this court is the following: one -- on count one,

murder read with section 51-1 of the criminal law amendment eight (ph) 105 of 1997, the accused is found not guilty and is discharged.

Instead, he's found guilty of culpable homicide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now Pistorius admits that he fatally shot his girlfriend last year, but says he mistook her for an intruder.

Now to recap here, Oscar Pistorius, again, has been found guilty of culpable homicide in the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. He was

earlier cleared of premeditated murder.

Now he was also found guilty of one weapons charge and cleared of two others.

And just a short time ago, his uncle, Arnold Pistorius, spoke briefly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNOLD PISTORIUS, OSCAR PISTORIUS'S UNCLE: On behalf of the family, we would really like to show our deep grateful we are to Judge Masipa that

has found Oscar not guilty of murder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now a question is the sentence. And CNN's legal analyst Kelly Phelps has been following the case throughout. She joins me live

from Pretoria. And Kelly, the sentencing hearing, how will that proceed. And what kind of sentence could Pistorius be facing?

KELLY PHELPS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, the sentencing hearing will be a sort of mini-trial in which both legal teams will have the opportunity to

put what they consider to be relevant evidence towards the judge to try to persuade her of what they think the fair sentence is.

For culpable homicide, it is discretionary sentencing, so there's no mandatory minimum sentencing law regulating the judge's discretion in this

regard. And therefore there's a huge spectrum that she can decide on, as far as a very heavy sentence of imprisonment, direct imprisonment, all the

way down to a wholly suspended sentence.

And she will need to take all of these aggravating and mitigating factors into account, weigh them in the balance, subject them to analysis

with regard to recognized sentencing principles and jurisprudence from other cases in deciding where to peg his case on the spectrum of severity.

LU STOUT: OK, the sentencing hearing we know will begin on October 13. Before then, Oscar Pistorius, he will remain free on bail. Question

remains about an appeal. What does it look like now, the possibility that either side will appeal the verdict, or whether the state could file an

appeal?

PHELPS: Yes. With regard to the defense, I think it's looking quite unlikely that they will appeal the verdict, but the accused person has the

ability to appeal sentence as well. So we'll have a clear indication of that later in October.

The state does seem to have given an indication today when they engaged with the media that they are considering whether or not to lodge an

appeal and will reach a final determination on that at the sentencing hearing.

Now in South Africa, the state has far more restricted grounds on which they appeal. The accused can appeal on the grounds of conviction or

sentence, the state can only appeal on questions of law.

So in other words, if they believe that the judge has either misinterpreted or misapplied a rule of law, they have the ability to appeal

on that basis. And we do know that the eventual murder charge really did come down to quite a technical interpretation of the concept of

constructive, or legal, intention.

So the state may potentially choose to exercise their right in that regard.

LU STOUT: And I wanted to get your thoughts on just the strategy that was taken by both legal teams throughout this long marathon trial. I mean,

for example, you know, looking at the defense team and Barry Roux, looking back do you think he was adequately explain the actions of his client Oscar

Pistorius? I mean, to what degree did that save Pistorius from a murder conviction?

PHELPS: I think Mr. Pistorius owes an awful lot to Barry Roux. I think he has done an exceptionally professional job. There were certainly

commentators who case doubt on the wisdom of some of the decisions he made throughout the trial. But one has to remember that the burden of proving

his version never rested with Barry Roux and the defense team.

What they needed to do was put enough evidence on record or cast enough doubt on the state's evidence to suggest that Pistorius's version

could reasonably possibly be true. And I think they really reached the climax in regard to that with their (inaudible) argument that they handed

into the court at the close of this trial.

It was an incredibly impressive legal document. They had poured over the thousands of pages of this court record and painstakingly reconstructed

a chronology of events from all of the phone records, of all of the witnesses on that night in question.

And it ultimately very largely on that chronology that the judge was persuaded that the state had essentially got it wrong with regard to the

premeditated murder charge and their allegation of murder with direct intention in the heat of the moment.

They clearly did a very competent job at explaining the legal principles at play because it was on the basis of their interpretation of

the law that Pistorius eventually got a full acquittal of the murder charge.

So really I don't think he could have got better representation.

LU STOUT: The verdict is in. We now await the sentencing hearing to begin in October. Kelly Phelps, you've been with us since day one of this

trial. Thank you very much indeed for your analysis throughout. Kelly Phelps there joining us live from Pretoria.

Now it was Valentines Day 2013 when one life ended and another was turned upside down. Pistorius was a Paralympian who defied the odds and

also ran in the Olympics. The Bladerunner, as he was known, won a gold and a bronze medal at the Paalympics in Athens in 2004 and three golds in

Beijing four years later. In 2012, he competed in the Olympics, finishing eight in his semifinal as well as the Paralympics where he won a silver and

two more golds.

But it all changed in February of last year. His hugely promising track career and his power to inspire all came to a screeching halt the

moment he shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp.

Now the press association reports that the former first minister of Northern Ireland Ian Paisley has died at the age of 88. Now the agency

cites his wife Eileen.

Now Paisley was the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party for nearly 40 years. And he played a significant role in the troubles in Northern

Ireland. It was a period of deep sectarian tension and divide.

And he also played a big part in bringing peace to northern Ireland.

In 2008, he stepped down as the leader of the power sharing government formed with Sinn Fein. And Paisley was said to have had a history of heart

problems. He was hospitalized for weeks in 2012.

Now officials in India and Pakistan are working frantically to rescue residents amid massive flooding. Now hundreds of people have been killed

and tens of thousands are still stranded. Now many areas are difficult to access because they've been isolated by rising waters. And officials say

they expect more rainfall and that the worst is yet to come for some areas.

Now the flood waters are expected to hit the city of Multan (ph) in Pakistan today. And CNN producer Sophia Saifi is there. She joins us on

the line. And Sophia, what is being done to protect the people and the city of Multan? (ph)

SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER: Well, Kristie, what's happening at the moment is we were lucky enough to get on one of the military rescue boats

that were going into villages to retrieve people who were stranded there. What we are seeing is that the waters have already flown in. And we

actually saw them flow farther in while we were filming and while we were there.

We've seen that women are boarding the boats far more than men, because men are afraid that their possessions are going to be stolen if

they leave. But you've got crumbling walls, you've got water that's completely submerged the (inaudible) that used to be there. But you've got

people still refusing to believe because they do not want to leave what every possessions they have left in their homes.

It's quite bad at the moment, however it -- there have been mass evacuations. There is a contingency plan into effect. And from the looks

of things, the worst is going to hit tonight, but it seems like everything at the moment for now is contained -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, so evacuations are underway.

But there have been scenes of devastation elsewhere across Pakistan and India. I mean, why is this happening? Why are we seeing such

devastation, the submerged fields. What has made this area so vulnerable to massive flooding?

SAIFI: Well, this season that we have at the moment is the monsoon season when heavy rains are normally expected. However, the monsoon came

late. The rains just were never ending. For three or four days they did not stop, they did not cease. And there's a Barrage close to the city of

Multan (ph) called (inaudible) Barrage and it's peak levels is about 600,000 (inaudible) measure water levels in the water flow.

The peak level, the amount the system actually take is 600,000. What we're seeing right now, and what is expected, is 800,000 (inaudible) of

water to flow through that Barrage, which means that it's going to completely overflow. And it has already -- they've tried to blow up dykes

to ease the pressure on that barrage, which has led to more flooding. That's a natural flooding -- but that natural flooding has been done in

order to prevent worse flooding in those regions.

LU STOUT: Now the monsoon rains, they may have come late, but they have come with this unrelenting for. Sophia Saifi joining us on the line

from Multan, Pakistan. Thank you for briefing us with the very latest there.

Now let's more on the forecast for the region. Mari Ramos joins us right now for that -- Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kristie. You know, it's hard to imagine, but when you think about it this way, it does rain in

Pakistan. It does rain during the monsoon season, right. But they had pretty much the entire rain that they were supposed to get during June,

July and August, and even September, in just a matter of three days. They had three to four times their entire average for the month of September in

just those three or four days. And that is why we're seeing such devastating floods. Everything came down at once.

I want to show you the areas that are at most risk right now before we begin talking about India. Right here, through Saturday, the areas in red,

which includes Multan where Sophia was reporting from right now are under that flood warning because those water levels are going to be in some cases

ten times higher than what we've seen in the past. Ten times higher than the historical high level.

So that's pretty significant in itself.

But that river eventually flows into the much larger river, the Indus River. And once we get to there, there are watches in this area as well.

Even though it's a larger river, we're putting this huge influx of water there, so communities along those rivers and in the low-lying areas are

also at risk and that takes us all the way down even into Sukkur, areas that were flooded back in 2010 when we had that massive flooding across the

Indus River in Pakistan.

So, this is going to be a story that's going to be going on for a long time.

So, the river has already picked up, the Trimmu barrage, that's the area that she was working -- that she was talking about.

When you think of a barrage, it's not really a dam, but think of it as -- they use it to kind of control the water flow during normal rainy and

dry seasons. So it's almost like a valve. They can open it to let more water flow through when there's a lot of water going through the river, or

they can kind of shut down some of those doors to help the water -- retain the water farther upstream so they can use it for drinking and for

irrigation and for everything else.

Well, right now, that acts almost as a stop-gap. And the water cannot get through. There's too much water flowing there so you have tremendous

flooding behind it, and then you're going to have flooding ahead of it.

So, normally it helps control floods, but in this case I think it's doing some harm there.

There's Multan and the river is still rising across that region. You see the Chenab River, how it meets the Indus right in this area, right at

Rajampur, the projected crest there is for this weekend. And then we're going to see some very high water moving into Sukkur easily into next week.

The other thing is the temperatures. In Multan, it feels like 40 degrees right now; in Sukkur like 42 as we head into Saturday. So

temperatures are going to be extremely hot and that adds another layer here into the harshness of the situation there.

Very quickly with my last 30 seconds. In Srinagar, in India, they are overwhelmed by flooding. That's what authorities said. And the rescues

continue in full swing. Nearly 100,000 people have been evacuated. But there are still -- there were -- thousands of people that were stranded,

particularly in the large city here of Srinagar.

This is Srinigar from the sky, the before and the after, Kristie, completely amazing to see such a large city here with so much water. Just

everywhere.

Back to you.

LU STOUT: So much water. They are overwhelmed by the flooding and the extreme heat as well. Mari Ramos there. Thank you.

And we're getting this news item in -- right here at CNN. Officials in Pakistan say that they have arrested 10 terrorists that were involved in

the attempt to kill Malala Yousafzai back in 2012.

Now gunmen, they boarded Malala's school bus in Pakistan. As you recall, they shot her in the head. She was in critical condition, but

later recovered after receiving treatment in England. And of course she rose to prominence as an activist known the world over for female education

rights.

You're watching News Stream. Still to come, residents of one war-torn city in Eastern Ukraine say that they have had enough of the Kiev

government.

Also ahead, alarming new figures about the number of ISIS fighters. Is the threat bigger than first anticipated? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now new European Union sanctions against Russia take effect today. Now the U.S. says it will join the EU and add to its sanctions already in

place as a response to Russia's actions in Ukraine.

Now the new EU measures include restrictions on access to capital markets, financial restrictions on Russian defense and energy companies as

well as asset freezes and travel bans on 24 people.

Now the cease-fire in Eastern Ukraine appears to still be holding, but a NATO military officer says about 1,000 Russian troops are still in

Eastern Ukraine. And he says 20,000 more are just across the border.

Now, many in Eastern Ukraine say that they want nothing more to do with the government in Kiev. And CNN's Reza Sayah talked to people in one

such town.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In the rebel-held city of Shakhtarsk (ph) in southeastern Ukraine, the grim cleanup of war-torn

neighborhoods and the grief of victims who feel betrayed by the western backed government in Kiev.

"How can you bomb your own people? A place with children and the elderly?" Asks Irina Brigadirova (ph).

Irina (ph) blames Ukrainian forces for shelling her grocery store. That's why now she wants a separate state.

Rebel commander Andrei Kozer (ph) wants a separate state, too.

"We can't be part of Ukraine anymore," he says.

How many hear think the solution is a new independent state.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Almost everybody.

SAYAH: You, yes?

What about you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

SAYAH: When you travel around rebel-held southeastern Ukraine, over and over again you hear people say they don't want to be part of Ukraine

anymore. And that brings into focus what could be the next obstacle in this conflict: how do you resolve this crisis when many here still demand a

separate state?

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has rejected calls by the east for a separate state. Instead, he promises a bill that would give the

rebel-held region special status and greater autonomy. How much autonomy is unclear. For many here, the offer is too little too late.

Pro-Russian Ukrainians say Kiev crossed the line when Ukrainian forces targeted civilian areas without any apparent regard for civilian lives.

This is what people here are furious about: shelling that hit just steps away from residential buildings. People here say the Ukrainian army

did this. This one missed, others did not.

In Shakhtarsk (ph), entire buildings were destroyed, civilians were killed, many injured and displaced. It's not clear how many.

The government in Kiev denies shelling residential neighborhoods. Rebel fighters are--

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And that was Reza Sayah reporting.

You're watching CNN News stream. And up next, we get the low down on how Apple's new payment system actually works. Now find out if it can keep

your money safe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News Stream.

Now Apple's long awaited new iPhones are now available for pre-order, that is if you can find a website that's working. Now social media has

been buzzing today with people complaining that they can't get an order through.

Now we've asked Apple about this and we're waiting for a response.

Now the reported problems, they follow the embarrassment over that faulty livestream showing Apple's big event on Tuesday. And it comes less

than two weeks after some celebrities' accounts were hacked and their nude photos posted online.

Now one of Apple's other major launches this week is a new mobile payment system called Apple Pay. And Jose Paglieri explains the technology

behind it and whether it's secure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSE PAGLIERY, CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: Wallet getting thinner a good thing. Welcome to the future brought to you by Apple.

TIM COOK, APPLE CEO: It is so cool.

PAGLIERY: The new iPhone 6 has something called Apple Pay, which lets you store and use your credit cards just by scanning your phone. The

technology that sends your payment from your phone to the register is called NFC. It stands for Near Field Communication. And it's basically an

antenna inside your phone that delivers short encrypted radio waves with your payment data.

And it's been around for awhile. It's used on Google Wallet, PayPal and a few other services.

But is it safe?

Well, it turns out that it's a lot safer than the credit cards we use today. . And it's much harder to steal data with NFC.

For one thing, your phone doesn't give up your credit card number, it actually creates a one-time use code that gets approved by the bank for

every transaction. And that CVV code in the back of your credit card, that changes with every transaction, too. So, even if hackers managed to hack

your way into a store and grab this payment data, it's useless to them, because each code can only be used once.

Plus, even if someone steals your phone, you can actually wipe all the credit cards off them remotely. You can't do that with a wallet. If you

lose the wallet, you have to call the bank for each and every card to cancel that card.

So, while maybe difficult for celebrities like Kate Upton and Jennifer Lawrence to put trust in Apple right now, as it turns out Apple Pay and NFC

are much safer ways to pay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: As Jose mentioned there, Near Field Communication, or NFC, has already been around for some time. Now one example is the Octopus Card

right here in Hong Kong, which is used on public transport and in shops. Now this prepay card, it can be topped up with a credit card linked

SmartPhone.

Now London's Oyster Card also uses the same technology.

You're watching News Stream. Now still to come, we'll have the headlines. Keep it here. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of culpable homicide in the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. He was also found guilty of one

weapons charge and cleared of two more. Now Pistorius will remain free on bail until sentencing, which starts on October 13,

Now French President Francois Hollande is in Baghdad where he met earlier with the country's new prime minister. Mr. Hollande pledged to

provide even more military assistance to Iraq in the campaign to defeat ISIS.

Now, meanwhile, the CIA says the number of ISIS fighters could be three times bigger than previous estimates, up to 31,500 across Iraq and

Syria.

Now NATO says about 1,000 Russian troops are still in eastern Ukraine and many more just across the border. Now for now, the ceasefire appears

to be holding.

Now the U.S. is slapping new sanctions on Russia over its involvement in Ukraine. Now tough new EU penalties take effect today.

In Northern Ireland Ian Paisley has passed away. He was 88 years old. Now Paisley was a preacher who turned into a politician and he was long

considered an uncompromising figure who would eventually help bring peace to northern Ireland.

CNN's Nic Robertson has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IAN PAISLEY, POLITICIAN: --to a government that will chase (ph) rebels forever.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On the stage of Irish politics, Ian Paisley was a giant both revered and loathed with equal

passion.

In every sense, a big man. His booming, pro-British, anti-Irish message helped polarize Northern Ireland for decades.

PAISLEY: And we say today we are part of the Great British family. And they there Dublin (inaudible).

ROBERTSON: Despite being a devout Christian and founding the first free Presbyterian Church in Northern Ireland, he was often accused of being

a bigot, once using his status as a member of the European parliament to heckle the pope, denouncing him as the Antichrist.

To his Protestant Unionist base, he was an anchor against a rising tide of Catholic Irish Nationalism.

Sinn Fein and its military wing the IRA wanted a united Ireland. Northern Ireland's Protestant majority did not.

But after 30 years of sectarian bloodletting, the IRA was ready for a negotiated settlement. Ian Paisley stood in the way.

PAISLEY: Any government which demands that we should negotiate our future with IRA Sinn Fein terrorists who refuse to surrender their arsenal

of bugger weapons, injure our honored dead, are bereaved that we ourselves (ph).

ROBERTSON: But the tide of history was against him. In 1997, Paisley's party, the Democratic Unionist, were outmaneuvered by the British

government and more moderate Protestant politicians. The Good Friday agreement established the principle of power sharing between Protestant and

Catholic parties, but not the reality, and Paisley exploited the fears of many Unionists in the province.

PAISLEY: Notice that the Sinn Feiners are all talking about (inaudible) Ireland. I want to take up that gauntlet and I want -- they

say they're well paid. No united Ireland.

(CHEERS)

ROBERTSON: He was vindicated in the 2005 general election when his party won several seats that had been held by moderate Unionists. Mr. No

Surrender, as he was known, was now in the driving seat just shy of his 80th birthday.

Stormont, the seat of government, stood idle. The idea of power sharing a pipe dream.

PAISLEY: If people have guns, if they use those guns for killing and massacre, if they continue to arm themselves and break the law, then no

matter what seats they win at an election or what councils they control through election, they are not democrats. And I only will do business with

democrats.

ROBERTSON: But the IRA gave up its weapons and Sinn Fein accepted a new deal on policing in Northern Ireland. And the unthinkable happened:

Ian Paisley, after a career built on intransigence, agreed to share power with Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA.

PAISLEY: If you had told me some time ago that I would be standing here to take this office, I would have been totally unbelieving.

ROBERTSON: He became first minister in the new government and seemed a different man, at ease with those he had so long sworn to thwart.

But in 2008, amid rumors of ill-health, he retired from politics, never fully explaining hi monumental political about face.

PAISLEY: That was yesterday. This is today. And tomorrow will be tomorrow.

ROBERTSON: A tomorrow he had for much of his political life, never imagined.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Ian Paisley has passed away. He was 88 years old.

Now, the complexities of what became known as the troubles are simply too many to mention. But here are the basic facts.

The predominately Protestant Northern Ireland, with its capital in Belfast, is a part of the United Kingdom who remain there after the largely

Catholic Iris free state made its first more from London rule in 1922.

And that geographical area is now the Republic of Ireland.

But as we see so often in the world, you can't just draw a line between allegiances.

Now tensions bubbled for decades before boiling over into violence in 1969. And that violence came to a head in 1972 on what history is recorded

as Bloody Sunday.

Now the killing of 14 men by British troops during a civil rights march in the city of Londonderry or Derry, led thousands to sign up to the

IRA. Its campaign of extremist nationalism continued until an official ceasefire in 1997.

But the killing on both sides did not stop there. And the troubles have claimed the lives of nearly 3,600 people over the decades.

Now the latest on the battle against the militant group ISIS. Now the Iraqi military has released a video alleging to show an ISIS militant who

they now have in custody. It is a very rare look into the country's ground fight against ISIS.

Now CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is tracking the story for us from Baghdad. She joins us now live. And Jomana, we know that a number of ISIS fighters

are foreign recruits. From this video, what have you learned about how they are drawn into ISIS?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, for more than a decade now, Iraq has been somewhat of a magnet for foreign

fighters. And the feeling amongst officials here and people there are concerns that with the U.S. -- U.S.'s reinvolvement in Iraq militarily,

this could draw in even more foreign fighters, whether from Syria, from that battlefield in Syria, or from elsewhere.

And yesterday the Iraqi military gave the public a glimpse into their battle against these foreign fighters crossing the borders into Iraq.

(VIDEOTAPE)

KARADSHEH: A rare video from Iraq's defense ministry showing its troops in action this week capturing a man they say is an ISIS foreign

fighter near the Haditha dam, scene of recent U.S. airstrikes and Iraqi ground operations.

"This is an ISIS fighter. He's come here in search of heaven," this local tribesman says, mocking the jihadi ideology. "He's come here to kill

Iraqis. We are your brothers. Our religion is not like yours, you murderous criminals. We are the real Muslims," he tells him.

The militant says he is from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. His capture, according to the ministry of defense, was part of an intelligence-led

operation earlier this week tracking a convoy of more than 150 ISIS fighters crossing into Iraq's Anbar Province from Syria.

Vehicles destroyed, bodies strewn in this western desert, the Saudi fighter and another from Tajikistan in Iraqi custody.

On Thursday, Iraq's state TV broadcast their confessions obtained by the Iraqi military. CNN cannot verify the conditions under which these

confessions were obtained.

The Saudi, identified as Hamad al-Tamimi, known by his nom de guerre Abu Walid (ph) explaining how he ended up in Iraq.

Tamimi is just 18, a first year religious studies college student. Like many of ISIS's recruits, he says he was influenced and recruited by

jihadists online.

In July, he traveled from Saudi to Kuwait, and from there onto Turkey, a main route for jihadists into Syria.

Al-Tamimi (ph) describes his journey -- handlers who met him in Syria took away his passport and phone. He spent a week, he estimates, with 270

fresh fighters.

HAMAD YAHYA AL-TAMIMI, ALLEGED ISIS MILITANT (through translator): There are many nationalities -- from Norway, from America, Canada, Somalia,

Korea, China, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Lebanon and other European countries such as Germany and France.

KARADSHEH: None used their real names, like him, all young he says.

TAMIMI (through translator); From Germany, I knew Abu Hamza (ph). And from Britain, one named Abu Dawoud (ph). And from America, one named

Abu Ibrahim (ph).

KARADSHEH: After 22 days at a religious indoctrination camp, al- Tamimi says he had to swear allegiance to ISIS's leader Abu Bakar al- Baghdadi.

Next, nine days of military training in al Raqqa, ISIS's main stronghold in Syria.

After a short time fighting in Aleppo, orders came to move across the essentially non-existent border into Iraq. The battle around Haditha

needed reinforcement.

Less than two months since his journey began, this is where his short- lied jihad ended. Al-Tamimi now says he just wants to go back home, but fighters like him coming back home is something many nations now fear the

most.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KARADSHEH: And Kristie, Iraqi officials say now the majority, they believe, of the fighters within ISIS's ranks here in Iraq and Syria are

local fighters form both populations. But these foreign fighters. They say, now that the pressure is up, this military fight here in Iraq is

ramping up. And possibly soon in Syria, they say the immediate threat is going to be to countries here in this neighborhood. It's going to be

countries like Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, and even Saudi Arabia saying no country is immune from the threat of these foreign fighters.

LU STOUT: Jomana, the CIA now says ISIS has up to 31,500 fighters, a significant number. What's your read on that number? And does it reflect

a stronger recruitment drive by ISIS?

KARADSHEH: Well, we've heard similar figures here from Iraqi officials. And as I mentioned, Kristie, they believe the majority of those

figures are coming from here, In Iraq and in Syria. And also similar to what the CIA was saying when they released those figures is a lot of this -

- the increase in figures we saw happen after June. Those are the advances we saw when ISIS made those advances in northern Iraq they took over Iraq's

second largest city.

And officials we spoke to here said that was a real turning point for ISIS. They managed to recruit thousands in Iraq right after the fall of

Mosul saying even children they were able to recruit as young at 8 and 9 according to one Iraqi official.

So, there was an increase in their recruitment and also that powerful message that it looked like a strong organization . It was able to capture

a major city, major and carry out these swift advances here while the Iraqi military really crumbled.

So that really helped its drive and enabled it to really increase its figures and its numbers over the past few months.

LU STOUT: All right, Jomana Karadsheh live in Baghdad reporting on the ISIS fighting force and the threat it poses. Thank you very much

indeed for that Jomana.

Now the World Health Organization says that more than 1,000 doctors and nurses are desperately needed in West Africa. The worst even Ebola

outbreak on record has now killed more than 2,400 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Twice that number have been infected.

Now the WHO says the number of new cases is moving faster than the international response to fight the virus.

Cuba has just committed 165 health care workers to help Ebola patients.

Now the WHO says that is the most from any country to date.

As Scotland ponders severing ties with the United Kingdom, businesses straddling both sides of the border are speaking out. Now they are warning

that a yes vote for independence would cause so much confusion it would put the economy at risk.

And on Thursday, banks RBS, Clydesdale and TSB joined Lloyd's, Standard Life and HSBC in saying that they may move their registered head

offices to England if Scotland becomes independent.

Now the scandal over NFL player Ray Rice punching his then fiancee is growing. And now another controversial sports star is weighing in to

defend Rice. Hear that story after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now the NFL faces even more scrutiny over the Ray Rice case. Now the sports broadcaster ESPN cites four sources who say Rice told the NFL

commissioner Roger Goodell about the punch when they met back in June. But Goodell told CBS news this week that he was not aware that Rice punched his

then fiancee in an elevator until Monday when he saw it on video.

Now, a professional boxer is facing backlash for defending Ray Rice. It has put attention back on Floyd Mayweather's own domestic violence

history. Sara Sidner reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: America's highest paid athlete, boxing champ Floyd Mayweather, Jr., defending more than his 46-and-0 winning

streak this after comments he made about Ray Rice's punishment for this disturbing incident.

Tuesday, Mayweather told reporters the NFL was wrong to increase Rice's punishment after this video surfaced, adding, "I think there's a lot

worse things that go on in other people's households. It's just not caught on video, if that's safe to say. You know, I wish Ray Rice nothing but the

best."

The boxer is no stranger to the issue of domestic abuse. In 2011, he was convicted of it, for beating and kicking his children's mother. The

children watched.

Given your domestic violence history, why did you feel the need to just say anything about it and defend him?

FLOYD MAYWEATHER, JR., BOXER: I said what I had to say. You know, I can't just keep dwelling on this. You know, it's time for me to focus on my

fight. You know, I'm not an NFL player, and I apologize to the NFL for whatever I said, or for whoever I offended. Like I said before, I'm not

perfect.

SIDNER: Unlike Rice, Mayweather's career is still going strong. When Mayweather was convicted of domestic violence, soon after, a judge in 2012,

allowed him to delay going to jail so that he could take part in a big money, highly publicized bought. What do you think he was treated

differently than Rice?

YOLVIS RODRIGUEZ, SPORTS FAN: There was no videotape, like you said. I believe if the videotape was out it would have been a different story.

SIDNER: After this video went public the NFL suspended Rice indefinitely. His team cut him.

Contrast that with Mayweather, who made $32 million in the fight after being convicted and sentenced for domestic violence. Boxing fans didn't

desert him. That fight in 2012, generated 1.5 million pay per view buys which translated into $94 million according to Mayweather publicity

documents.

Mayweather's attorney argued in court back then that canceling the fight would hurt the local economy. Several local businesses told us,

that's true.

PHIL LITTLE, BOXING FAN: It's the almighty dollar, I'm quite certain. He's also a woman beater and what -- used to be a fan of his, not anymore

after I heard that. SIDNER: But there are plenty of others in his corner. Mayweather stands to get a $40 million-plus payout in his upcoming fight

against Marcos Maidana.

Do you think athletes such as yourself that make big money for yourself and for the city itself, do you think you get preferential

treatment because of what you do even if you're convicted of domestic abuse?

MAYWEATHER: As of right now, no disrespect, but my job is to focus on Maidana. It's time for me to leave that in the past and focus, because I

have a tough task in front of me Saturday.

SIDNER: Because he still has a job to focus on.

Sara Sidner, CNN, Los Vegas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)?

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And after the break, we'll take a look at the weather in space. A massive solar flare is heading for

Earth. And Mari Ramos will explain how that impacts you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now a massive solar flare is heading our way. So what exactly does that mean for us? Let's sort things out with Mari Ramos. She joins us

from the World Weather Center -- Mari.

RAMOS: Hi, Kristie.

We get a lot of interest in these kinds of stories because (inaudible) kind of scared sometimes as to what happens when solar flares are directed

toward Earth, when we talk about geomagnetic storms and that kind of thing.

But first of let me tell you we're safe here on Earth. Our atmosphere protects us and nothing will happen to us.

There are some concerns for, let's say, astronauts, people that are outside of the protective -- most protected layer of air, those people

could have some concerns. Sometimes, airline pilots or people that spend a lot of time up in the air could also see some problems, but overall most of

us were fine, OK, so don't worry about it.

This is a solar flare right here, the one we're talking about. It was an X-1 class. What's an X class? Well, it's the top of the food chain

when it comes to solar flares. And it goes all the way up to X-10. So there could be a lot stronger ones.

The difference is that this one was facing Earth. So all of that energy is headed toward Earth. So imagine this solar wind, all of this

activity, these charged particles headed right toward us. And the result is a concern for geomagnetic storms. There are several categories for

geomagnetic storms, including all the way up to extreme.

Well, we're going to be right here, right in the middle for strong. We've already had a G2. We're going to probably go all the way up to G3 as

we head through the day on Saturday.

This could bring some minor disruptions to power systems. In other words, some of the electrical grids could have shortages. But it's not

expected to be a widespread problem.

One of the things that you might notice would be maybe some problems with your satellite navigation, with your GPS, with your cellphones, maybe

with your satellite television systems, or things like that, even, you know -- even had ones, I remember, years ago, Kristie, you and I working and our

satellite went down because of a geomagnetic storm. And that was like five or six years ago.

But anyway, the other thing that happens is that we could see auroras. And this time, it's pretty far south, up to 50 degree Latitude.

So you have that solar flare. The solar wind brings all of those electrically charged particles into Earth's magnetic field. That

interaction funnels all of the electrons toward the polls. And that's why you see the auroras toward the polls.

But you end up with those electrons, they get charged, they get excited and they collide with the atmosphere, and that is what gives us all

of those beautiful aurora colors.

So, if you're lucky enough to be in the higher latitudes, yeah, this time around -- even across southern parts of Scandinavia and even central

and southern parts of the UK could see it as far as southern Canada, I should say the northern tier of the U.S. would be able to see the aurora

probably.

And for you guys in the South Island of New Zealand will also be able to see the auroras if you have nice and clear weather.

We painted them green, because the most common color for auroras is the green, because it's the oxygen particles turn green when they get

excited. So, there you go. So we see a lot of green ones. They're less common to see those purple ones or the blue ones, the violet colored ones,

those are when those particles collide with the nitrogen in the atmosphere.

But the very, very rare ones are the red ones, the all red ones. And that's high altitude oxygen. And those are a little bit harder to see.

I want to show you something before I go. We have the video from the International Space Station that Astro Reid took. Talk about having the

perfect view? Look at that. That is a view of the auroras. There you see a lot of oxygen, a lot of green in those pictures taken from the

International Space Station.

And I hope you get to watch them. I hope you guys send me pictures. Have a great weekend.

Back to you.

LU STOUT: Mari, Solar flares are beautiful. I prefer the purple ones. But they also disrupt CNN programming from time to time. I remember

that five, six years ago. Mari Ramos there, thank you. Take care.

That is News Stream. The news continues at CNN. World Business Today is next.

END