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Benjamin Netanyahu To Address Congress Today; Battle For Tikrit Has Begun; Leading Women: Rohana Rozhan; Russia Says Farewell To Boris Nemtsov; Witness To L.A. Homeless Shooting Skeptical of Police Account

Aired March 3, 2015 - 8:00   ET

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


MANISHA TANK, HOST: I'm Manisha Tank in Hong Kong. Welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet.

Israel's prime minister is set to speak to U.S. lawmakers in just a few hours as the White House prepares for the fallout from what Benjamin

Netanyahu might reveal.

Russia says farewell to slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov and a documentary sparks debate in China about the country's pollution problem.

To start the show, though, I want to take you to some live pictures right now coming to us from the outskirts of Moscow, a cemetery there where

the funeral for Boris Nemtsov is getting underway.

The Russian opposition leader is being laid to rest in Moscow. Diplomats and business leaders are among those who will be paying their

respects. Hundreds or so attended a memorial service that was held earlier in the day for the former deputy prime minister. He was shot and killed on

a bridge near the Kremlin on Friday.

And we're going to keep up to date with this and continue to bring you coverage of the funeral throughout the hour.

Right now let's go to Washington where the Israeli prime minister is to address a joint meeting of the U.S. congress. It's going to happen in

just a few hours.

The White House is bracing for what he might say. The worry is that Benjamin Netanyahu will reveal sensitive details of nuclear talks underway

right now with Iran and try to derail those negotiations.

Well, those talks are happening in Switzerland. And two of the key players, the U.S. secretary state and his Iranian counterpart, are meeting

in Montreux. They've given themselves until late March to come up with a framework for a deal on Tehran's nuclear program.

During a break in the talks a short time ago, Iran's foreign minister Zarif told CNN there are still gaps to reaching an agreement, but he adds

there is a seriousness to moving forward.

He says Iran is willing to meet as many times as necessary.

But let's not forget Washington and Tehran have been trying to pin down an accord since 2013. CNN's Jim Sciutto has more on the prolonged

negotiations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: My speech is not intended to show any disrespect to President Obama...

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The acrimony between the U.S. and Israel in Washington...

NETANYAHU: I have a moral obligation to speak up in the face of these dangers.

SCIUTTO: ...so far having no impact on the nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran here in Switzerland. Secretary of State John Kerry and his

Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif meeting multiple times this week with talks accelerating in negotiations to end the decade's long dispute over Iran's

nuclear program with Kerry well aware of Israel's concerns.

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Any deal that we would possibly agree to would make the international community, and especially Israel,

safer than it is today. That's our standard.

SCIUTTO: So what does a good deal look like?

Supporters, including the administration, say a deal would restrict Iran's path to a nuclear bomb and extend the time it would need to embark

on a weapons program, the so-called breakout period, to a year all while allowing a civilian nuclear program enter international monitoring, much

like interim agreement signed in November 2013.

Opponents, including Prime Minister Netanyahu and some U.S. lawmakers, say the only way to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon is to end

Iran's nuclear program altogether, particularly in light of Iran's past cheating.

Just today, the IAEA said Iran still has not provided information on past efforts to research weaponization.

YUKIYA AMANO, DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: We have asked questions and questions are clear so they can answer.

SCIUTTO: Trouble is, Iran says it will never give up its nuclear program entirely, meaning that if no deal is reached, military action and

perhaps war, could follow.

Even as the gaps narrow today, another key disagreement was exposed. If there is agreement, the west wants sanctions lifted gradually to retain

leverage. But Iran wants the sanctions lifted altogether right away.

MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Our negotiating partners, particularly the west and countries, and particularly the United

States, must once and for all, come to the political understanding that sanctions and agreement don't go together. If they want an agreement,

sanctions must go.

SCIUTTO: Tim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TANK: Well, of course the importance of all of this can't be understated. Let's get the view from Tehran, that's where CNN's Fred

Pleitgen is.

And Fred, you know, I'm very interested to know how important -- we can talk about the sanctions -- but how people in Tehran view this, the

importance of this, the gravity of getting a deal?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, I think it's absolutely important.

You know, we were out here in the streets today. And everybody that you spoke to interestingly enough said that they wanted to know what

Benjamin Netanyahu was going to say today. They also, many of them, listen to Benjamin Netanyahu speak there in front of AIPAC yesterday. And all of

this, even though none of that is broadcast here at all, people still keep themselves informed and people still want to know what's going on simply

because these nuclear negotiations are so important to so many people here.

When you grasp the mood of people here, when you ask them how they feel about all of this, they will tell you that they believe that their

country should have the right to have nuclear capabilities, should also have the right to be able to develop nuclear capabilities, however most of

them will also say that the main thing for them at this point in time is to get rid of the sanctions as fast as possible.

People that we've been speaking to here say the sanctions are absolutely biting. They say it's very difficult to get any sort of

economic development going. And they also want foreign investment here in the country, which of course right now is very little.

So, certainly it seems from the mood here on the ground that people very much want a deal. They want these negotiations to go forward. I

would say that the majority of people that we've been speaking to, Manisha, were maybe cautiously optimistic. I think a lot of them think that this

might be the best constellation politically for such a deal to be reached. And that pertains to the constellation in Washington as well as to the one

in Tehran with the politicians in power here.

But they also say that in the past, there have been times where it looked like this might be moving forward only for possible deals to fall

apart, Manisha.

TANK: You know, Fred, I wondered -- and I know that you've monitored this story over the years and these talks, these nuclear talks for some

time. And they haven't always worked, but this time despite all the rhetoric along the periphery, it seems from the Iranian delegation that

they've said, look, we're in this for the long haul. They've talked about going on for a number of days if they have to. Does that seem to you as

very significant that as you say the sanctions really now have them in a very difficult position?

PLEITGEN: Well, I think there's several significant things that have happened, Manisha. But I also think that there are still a lot of hurdles.

And they're not only hurdles that you would see at the negotiations in Switzerland, but certainly ones that you would see here in Tehran as well.

I do think that the government here in Tehran, the Rohani government, is very much committed to trying to get a deal. I believe that the

negotiations at this point are moving forward and it seems as though the Iranians are very much negotiating in good faith with all of that.

However, they do have political backlash here at home. And that's something they have to fear as well. There are hard-liners here in Iran.

For instance, some members of parliament who wanted to walk away from the negotiating table a very long time ago. And at the same time, you have the

supreme leader of this country who is trying to balance all of that.

On the one hand, he's saying he supports negotiations. He wants them to go forward. He wants a deal to happen. But on the other hand, he's

also been very skeptical about whether a deal would happen. And one of the things that he said, which is something that we've been from all sides, is

that he also said from the Iranian perspective, a bad deal would be worse than no deal. And he also said that if indeed there is no deal that Iran

would find some way to move forward even if sanctions were kept in place.

So it certainly seems as though the constellation for these negotiations at this point is probably as good as it's going to get, or as

favorable as it's going to get when you look at Washington, when you look at all the other countries, and add Iran as well.

However, there are still a lot of things that can happen along the way. And this is something that both sides appear to be saying, Mr. Kerry

as well as Mr. Zarif, is that it is very tough going at this point in time, because the diplomats that are trying to negotiate all this, of course,

also have to be aware of the fact that they might find backlash here at home. And certainly that would be the case here in Tehran with many

members of the sort of hard-line establishment here, Manisha.

TANK: OK. With the view from Tehran, thanks so much for that. Fred Pleitgen there live for us.

And of course we will address that controversy in Washington so far as Benjamin Netanyahu's speech goes a little bit later in the show.

Another thing still to come here on News Stream, hundreds gathered in Moscow to pay their final respects to the slain opposition leader Boris

Nemtsov. We're going to have an update on the investigation into his death.

And new video is shedding a different light on the police shooting of a homeless man in Los Angeles. What it reveals about what led up to the

death.

Plus, an online documentary about pollution in China has grabbed the attention of more than 100 million people in just two days. We're going to

have a closer look at the film and why it is attracting so many views.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TANK: Boris Nemtsov is being laid to rest at a Moscow cemetery. Diplomats and business leaders are among those paying their respects to the

Russian opposition leader. Hundreds also attended a memorial service for him earlier in the day.

Nemtsov who served as Russia's deputy prime minister in the 1990s was shot and killed on a bridge near the Kremlin on Friday.

The Moscow investigative committee has offered a 49,000 reward for information leading to his killer.

Well, our senior international correspondent Ivan Watson has been following the ceremony. And he joins me now from the cemetery.

Ivan, perhaps you can give us a sense of how it feels to be there.

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, moments ago mourners buried the coffin of Boris Nemtsov. Several hundred people

gathered there, including family members, of course, his mother who I believe is supposed to be celebrating her 88th birthday today, but instead

if burying her son who was shot dead a stone's throw away from the walls of the Kremlin on Friday night.

Also accompanying family members there, grieving family members, are a number of members of Russia's small largely marginalized and fractured

opposition movement, many of whom have been saying that the killing, the assassination of Boris Nemtsov, is a symbol, is a sign that there may not

be much of a room in modern-day Russia for a politician like him any more, somebody who criticized the Kremlin, who made accusations of corruption at

the highest levels of the government and who spoke out vociferously against what he claimed was Russia's role in the war in neighboring Ukraine, that

in today's Russia, which is facing sanctions from western countries, from Europe, which is increasingly isolated from the west and is in a rhetorical

war with the west as well as with the government in neighboring Ukraine.

and many critics point out in the Ukrainian government and western governments, may actually be sending troops and weapons to Russian backed

separatists in eastern Ukraine, that there simply is not room for somebody to challenge the government of Vladimir Putin in today's Russia anymore,

that this is a real wakeup call to what's left of an opposition that has largely been marginalized, does not enjoy much time on the Kremlin

controlled state TV channels.

And that now is being gunned down in the streets of the capital even though the Russian government has insisted that it will try to bring the

killers to justice and has argued that this is a provocation by enemies of the Russian government aimed at destabilizing this country, even though

supporters of Boris Nemtsov, they claim that the atmosphere and hatred and intolerance that has developed over the course of the past year, especially

with the Ukraine conflict, that they argue that the Kremlins hands are all over this killing -- Manisha.

TANK: Ivan, so far as that investigations goes, what do we know at this time?

WATSON: Well, there's been new video released today from some of the circuit cameras that bristle all over central Moscow showing what is

purportedly the getaway car traveling through Moscow. One other video that was released, a very grainy that was released two days ago, showed what was

purportedly the killer running away from Boris Nemtsov and jumping into a car that very impressive just happened to be driving past when the murder

appeared to have taken place 11:30 p.m. in Friday.

Russian investigators say they're still working through the cartridges that was found next to the body of Nemtsov. They're still working through

the security camera videos. Nobody has been arrested, though, which is striking considering that this area right next to Red Square is probably

one of the most heavily monitored, one of the most heavily guarded places arguably in the entire country, and yet the killer was able to carry out

this crime and then speed away from the scene.

And that is also -- has led to supporters of Nemtsov arguing that they don't feel that the government is sincere when it says it wants to bring

the killers to justice.

Now the key eyewitness who was Nemtsov's girlfriend, a 23-year-old Ukrainian model named Anna Duritskaya, as she flew back to Kiev, to her

native Ukraine late last night after being questioned for three days by Russian investigators, she made an emotional public plea before she was

allowed to go, saying please let me go I don't know why I'm being kept here.

But of course she was closest, she was next to Nemtsov when he was gunned down. In a short television interview, she said that she really

didn't see the killer who came up from behind her. She didn't see the make or the license plate of the getaway car. Once again she just repeated a

plea to please be allowed to get home, and you can imagine the shock and the distress that she was going through, and yet how important her

testimony would be to an unfolding investigation -- Manisha.

TANK: OK, Ivan, we'll leave it there for now. I can see there in the live shots hundreds of people turning up for that funeral at that cemetery

on the outskirts of Moscow, and of course for the memorial that took place earlier in the day, hundreds -- hundreds of meters of people lining up

wanting to pay their respects.

Ivan Watson live from Moscow, thanks very much.

Now, a shocking cell phone video that shows Los Angeles police officers shooting and killing a homeless man had sparked outrage across

America. Now, the man who took the footage is speaking out. Anthony Blackburn says he was so close to the scuffle he could feel the vibration

from the gunshots.

He told CNN's Sarah Sidner that he questions the police officer's version of what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Unlike the millions who have watched this disturbing video online, Anthony Blackburn was there. He is the man

behind the camera.

ANTHONY BLACKBURN, WITNESS: It's really, truly devastating to me just to watch that because I was like really close. I can even feel the

vibration from the gunshots.

SIDNER: Police say it began because of a 911 call about a robbery. And police trying to arrest the man who fit the description of the suspect.

What happened then? When he was standing in front of his tent?

BLACKBURN: When he was standing in front of his tent, the officers were giving him orders to, yeah, you need to get up against the wall, let

us pat you down, and -- but he...

SIDNER: But he refused.

BLACKBURN: He refused. You know, he refused and once he refused they said, well, OK we're going to tase you. So, one officer took out his Taser

and said we are going to tase you.

He said what you going to tase me for?

And so after that, they hit him with the Taser.

SIDNER: He caught the rest on camera. The man is seen swinging at the four police officers moving in on him. Then, a struggle with him on

the ground.

Form what you know, did this person grab -- get ahold of the officer's gun?

COMMANDER ANDREW SMITH, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT: Yeah, I don't know how much of the officer's gun was removed from his holster. I know

there was a struggle for one of the officer's firearms and only for one of the officer's firearms.

SIDNER: Did you see him reach for an officer's gun?

BLACKBURN: No, I didn't see him. While he was on the ground being tased, I didn't see him reach for an officer's gun.

SIDNER: Blackburn says he was just passing by on his way to visit his son, instead he and others on the street ended up witnessing a homicide.

Why do you blame the officers?

BLACKBURN: Well, I blame the officers because it was just like too obsessive. It was too many officers right there to for it not to come up

with a positive solution to the situation.

They should go -- you know what I'm saying, be investigated, you know, and go through a court case, a trial, you know, and come up with a decision

because that's wrong right there.

SIDNER: But police say an investigation is underway and not to rush to judgment. That is hard for Blackburn, not just because of other recent

cases.

BLACKBURN: Well, I've been paying attention of all the stuff that's, you know, in Ferguson, in New York, but I didn't -- you know, I didn't

really believe that it would be me filming something that happened in California.

SIDNER: Sara Sidner, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TANK: Smoky gray haze is unfortunately a common sight in China. One mother decided to tackle the problem in her own way. We'll show you why

her documentary moved many to tears.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TANK: Hi again. Now a newly released documentary is sparking a national debate on one of China's biggest problems: pollution. This is

from the film Under the Dome. It was released on Saturday. And it has already clocked more than 100 million views online.

In the film, journalist Chai Jing (ph) looks into the cause and impact of China's smog. She approaches the documentary from the viewpoint of a

concerned mother and accuses the state-run oil industry of putting profit before health.

Those state-owned enterprises haven't responded to CNN's request for comment, but a senior engineer posted his personal view online denying

blame.

Well, other viewers voiced support for the documentary. On the social media site Weibo, a user asks why make our environment the sacrifice for

coal mine owners making money. But there were critics as well. Besides the criticism and righteous anger, nothing was recent. She didn't look at

how to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of police developments.

So, the video was released just ahead of China's annual National People's Congress where improving air quality is expected to be on the

agenda.

CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri takes a closer look at what policymakers are facing when it comes to dealing with smog.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, we know China is home to 20 percent of the world's population, but unfortunately it is also home to

one-third of the world's cancer related fatalities and lung cancer in particular. At this point, Beijing sits in the good scale for this very

moment in the air quality department. Unfortunately, other major cities around China from Shanghai down towards Hong Kong unhealthy category, not

unusual to see Beijing in that scale.

Usually, Beijing exceeding that when it gets to the worst scale, some 20 times of what is considered healthy air by the World Health Organization

is where Beijing typically sits in place.

But here is the Wei River (ph). 500 million people live north of that region.

Now what we do know back in the 1950s, the Chinese government actually started a campaign there providing free coal across people that live north

of this region. The reason for that being, that was the freezing line as far as the average temperatures are concerned in the winter months. And we

know that really has become an accidental experiment, because the pollution levels in that region have now exceeded some 55 percent higher than any

other place across other areas of China.

Now you take a look, we know this study now, the latest study, finding that life expectancy because of that now decreasing in that area again.

North of the river there by 5.5 years. So these fine particulates get up into the atmosphere and cause all of the issues and in these cold months --

you've got to keep in mind cold air likes to sink it gets down to the surface. It is more dense so it creates and essentially traps the

pollutants down at the surface. Warm air, less dense, gets up above it and acts as a lid, so we get stuck in these patterns of very cold air mass in

place trapping all the pollutants at the surface and millions of people essentially start breathing this in.

And we know Beijing, a smog policy was back in October of 2013, it's kind of a four tier system with a variety of colors there that when they

expect the pollution levels to be quite high for three consecutive days it goes into different areas of warning.

A red warning there, meaning schools will be closed, 80 percent of government owned cars will be taken off roads, no freight vehicles allowed

and no construction zones allowed to operate.

And then you come down to the orange scale of the warnings and schools are advised to close, factories must limit emissions. Some construction

sites are going to halt excavation as well.

Now there's some controversy around this, because it is believed that they are not officially utilized every single time, but we do know they're

trying at least across portions of Beijing when it comes to the policymakers helping with the air quality there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TANK: Pedram Javaheri there.

Still to come on News Stream, the battle for Tikrit is raging in Iraq. Government troops are trying to recapture the key city from ISIS militants.

We'll have a battlefield update.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TANK: Hi, again. I'm Manisha Tank in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

Boris Nemtsov is being laid to rest in Moscow. Diplomats and business leaders are among those paying their respects to the Russian opposition

leader. Hundreds also attended a memorial service for him earlier in the day. Nemtsov was shot and killed on a bridge near the Kremlin on Friday.

investigators are still working to find his killer.

Iraqi forces have begun an assault to try to retake the city of Tikrit from ISIS. Around 30,000 soldiers and tribal militia are involved. Iraqi

media say the troops have already won back some territory south of Tikrit.

The White House is warning Israel's prime minister could put negotiations with Iran in jeopardy when he speaks to the U.S. congress in

just a few hours. Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to warn U.S. lawmakers against striking a deal on Iran's nuclear program. The Obama

administration is worried he'll reveal sensitive details of nuclear talks which are taking place right now in Switzerland.

CNN has correspondents in Washington, Israel and Iran covering the prime minister's speech. Live coverage begins at 11:00 p.m. in Hong Kong.

That's 3:00 in London right here on CNN.

Now, Australia plans to send 300 more troops to help train the Iraqi army to fight ISIS. About 170 members of the Australian special forces are

already there. It follows a request from Iraq and the U.S. to contribute to the coalition training mission.

Australia's prime minister explained the decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY ABBOTT, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: I want to stress that we haven't taken this decision lightly. Ultimately, it is Iraq that must

defeat the death cult, but we do not want to leave the Iraqis on their own.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TANK: Tony Abbott there, the Australian prime minister.

Iraqi troops are trying to recapture the key city of Tikrit from ISIS. The extremist group has controlled that town since last June.

This fresh offensive will be an important gauge of how effective the coalition's training has been for the Iraqi army. Ben Wedeman reports from

Irbil.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The attempt by Iraq to retake the town of Tikrit from ISIS is well underway. According to Iraqi

media reports, there may be as many as 30,000 Iraqi soldiers, policemen, Sunni tribal fighters as well as fighters with the so-called Hash Ishabi

(ph), the Shia popular mobilization unit involved in this offensive.

Now the Iraqi media says that the army and the other militias have been able to take some territory to the south of Tikrit.

Now what's interesting is the level of Iranian involvement in this operation. Qasem Suleimani, the head of the elite Iranian al Quds force,

is apparently in the area. According to Iranian reports he is playing a supervisory role in this offensive.

In addition to that, there are apparently are Iranian troops on the ground. According to some reports, they are using artillery and rocket

launchers in this offensive. Also significant is the absence, apparently, of any coalition involvement. A Pentagon official said the Iraqis did not

ask for any advice on this operation. And that there have been no coalition air strikes in the area. The only airstrikes, in fact, have been

by the Iraqi air force itself.

Now Iraqi officials say this operation could take as long as 10 days, but it could be an even longer slog than that. Tikrit is a town of around

200,000 people, the majority are Sunni Arabs, many of them hostile to the central government in Baghdad. And of course, ISIS has a significant

presence in that city. It's already well known that they have sewn the city with IEDs, explosives and booby traps. So in fact this battle, which

has just begun, may go on for quite some time.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Irbil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TANK: Let's take it back to Washington now and more political controversy. Hillary Clinton is under fire for using the wrong email.

Clinton did not use a government email account when she served as U.S. secretary of state. Instead, she used a personal account. That means

there's no guarantee all her messages were archived. This has some questioning her motives.

U.S. federal agencies are required to keep official records of email communications.

Well, we turn now to the skies over southern Chile. The Villarica volcano began spewing ash and lava overnight. And as you can see from

these amazing pictures, the eruption continued for a few hours before calming down at the break of dawn.

Some 3,000 people had to be evacuated from the area, though. The Villarrica volcano is among the country's most active. But that hasn't

stopped adventurous climbers from trekking up its slope every summer.

A reminder, you're watching News Stream. Coming up, the head of Astro Malaysia tells us why diversity is so important to a successful business.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TANK: Now, she may be by her own admission small in stature, but the company she runs certainly isn't. In this week's Leading Women, the CEO of

Astro Malaysia Rohana Rozhan, tells us how she got to the top of one of the region's largest media companies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROHANA ROZHAN, CEO ASTRO MALASIA: I was born independent, fiercely so. And I always had almost a chip on the shoulder that I have to prove to

everyone that I'm very independent.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: From a young age, Rohana Rozhan new she would carve out her own place as a leader.

You had a nickname as a little girl, Rohana the Piranha.

ROZHAN: Yeah. When I'm bigger...

LU STOUT: Small but deadly.

ROZHAN: Yeah, small but deadly. That's right. Something like that.

LU STOUT: Now at the helm of Astro Malaysia, one of the largest media and entertainment companies in the region, she is a force to be reckoned

with. In charge of producing over 9,000 hours of original content a year, ranging from radio broadcasts to hits on the silver screen.

In terms of consumers, Malaysia is such a diverse country. So many different languages and cultures. I mean, how do you meet the diversity

and the demand?

ROZHAN: Well, again, I mean for us it's not a one size fits all as mentioned. We've got 184 channels, of which 73 are local vernacular. And

it is to meet that, it is to meet the diversity of...

LU STOUT: Investing in diversity is a core part in the way she runs Astro. And her commitment to telling stories extends off air.

ROZHAN: The only way to resonate and to be relevant and to be compelling and to touch people is the best way is to reflect the audience

in your work for us. So if you at Astro, one of our pride and joys, the fact that we actually do just that, we've got about 5,000 employees, and it

is actually a reflection of Malaysia in terms of its diverse mix. It's got -- the good news is we've got 52 percent of women, but one of the things

that we're very, very passionate about is that women has to be -- the women that we have, has to be the best person for the job, every job.

LU STOUT: Do you feel that there's still work to be done to get more women especially in upper management?

ROZHAN: I feel extremely optimistic, but the reality is it all hinges on girls and the women of Astro to also want it. And I think somehow or

other at this juncture less women are willing to do that..

LU STOUT: In a culture that often reinforces tradition, the Malaysia media executive finds that she can be empowered by her roots.

Let's talk about your faith. You are a practicing Muslim. So how does your religion inform and inspire your life and your work?

ROZHAN: I think if you grow up a good Muslim, Malaysian, Malay girl, you can be the smartest kid on the block, but you have to be respectful,

you have to cook, you have to be able to sew, you have to be able to look after the family. and I think ingrained in you are core values that you

learn from and that's part and parcel of your life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TANK: Rohana Rozhan speaking to our view own Kristie Lu.

Head to our website to check out even more incredible Leading Women, including seven that have left indelible legacies on the world. Check out

their photos and stories at CNN.com/leadingwomen.

And that's it for this addition of News Stream. I'm Manisha Tank, but don't go anywhere. World Sport with my colleague Don Riddell is live from

Atlanta. It's up next.

END