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Dutch, Russian Investigators Offer Contradictory Reports on MH17; A Look Inside a Pyongyang Military Parade; A Preview of Democratic Party's First Presidential Debate. Aired 8:00a-9:00a ET

Aired October 13, 2015 - 8:00   ET

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


[08:00:22] MANISHA TANK, HOST: Hello, I'm Manisha Tank in Hong Kong. A warm welcome to News Stream.

Dutch investigators confirm that flight MH17 was shot down by a missile over eastern Ukraine. We'll get reaction from the Dutch prime

minister in just a few minutes.

Hillary Clinton prepares to face her rivals and the American people as the U.S. Democratic presidential candidates face off in their first

televised debate.

And Playboy covers up. Why the magazine now says it will stop publishing pictures of fully naked women.

So let's begin with the investigation into the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight 17 over Ukraine. Two reports have been released in just

the past few hours, and both focused on a missile fired at the plane. The Russian manufacturer of the BUQ missiles says any missile that hit the

plane did not come from rebel held territory and must have been fired from an area held by government forces.

And in the last hour, the Dutch safety board released its findings from a 15 month investigation into the crash. It included the

reconstruction of parts of the aircraft at an airbase in The Netherlands.

Well, the Dutch report confirms the plane was downed by a missile that detonated outside the cockpit and was launched from eastern Ukraine.

For the latest on the investigation, let's speak to Fred Pleitgen. He joins us now from London. So, essentially what do you feel are the core

points now from this report, Fred?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERANTIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly was a very meticulous report and also a very meticulous

presentation that was given there by the Dutch safety board. And one of the things of course, or the main thing, that the reports does not do is it

doesn't assign blame. It doesn't say it was the Ukrainian armed forces, it doesn't say it was the pro-Russian separatists. But as you said, it does

discount a lot of other theories that have been out there.

Of course there were some saying it might have been a Ukrainian Air Force jet that shot the plane down, or maybe there was an explosion on

board the aircraft that caused it to go down, but this report now says that it's absolutely clear that the plane was shot down by an SA-11 surface-to-

air missile, which the Russian forces call the BUQ missile. And that the plane came down because of a cloud of shrapnel from that warhead that

detonated outside the aircraft, which tore through the cockpit, tore off the cockpit and cause the plane to break up in midair.

Let's listen in to what the head of the Dutch Safety Board had to say about that during the presentation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TJIBBA JOUSTRA, CHAIRMAN, DUTCH SAFETY BOARD (through translator): The Dutch investigation board concludes that MH17 fell down because on the

left side of the plane a rocket was exploded. This had -- it's of the type 9H14 and it fits a rocket -- it fits a BUQ rocket system.

As a result of the explosion, the first part of the flight broke off. The airplane exploded in midair. It fell down over an are of about 50

square kilometers in the east of the Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: So, as you see there the plane -- it says the rocket hit outside of the aircraft and then perforated the aircraft cockpit with those

pieces of shrapnel, they said that pieces of that shrapnel were found inside the aircraft, some of them with paint that would match rockets fired

from one of those SA11 BUQ missile systems.

The other main key finding of this report, at least during the presentation that we've just seen, was the fact that the Dutch say that

plane shouldn't have been allowed to fly in that area in the first place. They say the airspace over the conflict zone in Ukraine should have been

closed off and not just closed off to a level of 32,000 feet, which the plane was flying above -- it was flying at 33,000 feet. They say that's

something that should have been happened. They say that's the responsibility of the host country, but also that airlines have to be

more...

TANK: OK, Fred, I'm going to jump in there, Fred, because the Dutch prime minister is now commenting on this. So let's listen in.

(DUTCH PRIME MINISTER PRESS CONFERENCE)

[08:16:30] TANK: OK, so to bring you up to date, that was Mark Russo. He is the Dutch prime minister. He was commenting on a report that we had

out just earlier this hour from the Dutch Safety Board, a long awaited report compiled over 15 months over what brought MH17 down.

Now there he was fielding some comments. He was fielding some questions, in fact, about what he was -- what the relationship with Russia

will be like.

Now all of this is being called into question given some of the conclusions in that safety report. So let's bring in both Jill Dougherty

who is Moscow and also Fred Pleitgen who joins us from London.

I want to pick up with you first, Fred, and just talk about that, because we're getting -- we'll hear from Jill in just a second about what

the Russians are saying, but let's just go over again that very important point about what it is that brought MH17 down that is the main conclusion

from this report.

PLEITGEN: Yeah, it certainly is.

And the main conclusion from the report is -- again, the report was not there to assign blame in any way shape or form. And they said that

earlier during the presentation, but the report clearly states that it is in their mind without a doubt that it was a surface-to-air missile that

shot down MH17 and that that surface-to-air missile was fired from a system that NATO called the SA11 and that the Russians call the BUQ surface-to-air

missile system, which is one that can reach airplanes at a very high altitude, including apparently at 33,000 feet.

They say what typically happens in a missile firing like this one, it also happened in this case, is that the missile does not explode on impact

with the aircraft, but explodes next to the aircraft, in this case apparently above the left side of the cockpit, and then emits a cloud of

shrapnel, if you will, that in this case destroyed the cockpit, killed all those inside the cockpit and caused the plane to break up, Manisha.

TANK: OK, so let's bring in Jill on this, then, because Jill I know that earlier today you were across this press conference that was held by

the company that makes the BUQ missile. And some of the conclusions now we're going to have to analyze how they look different on both sides.

JILL DOUGHERTY, INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR DEFENSE AND SECURITY: Well, they're very different. And I think one of the most important points is

the point where the explosion took place. I mean, the Russians this morning are saying that the missile hit or came close, whatever, exploded

on the right side, the port side, of that plane. And as we heard in this report from the Dutch, it was on the left side.

They also had you can say dueling conferences in terms of the video. Russians were playing video, showing a reenactment, a technical reenactment

of what might have happened. And you had in front of you with the Dutch the actual plane itself with the fragments of that plane.

I think you'd have to say that having that news conference here in Moscow before the Dutch report was an attempt to undermine the Dutch

report. And the Russians, both the company that manufacturers the BUQ and the Russian government, Russian officials, have consistently tried to

undermine that report by saying that they are ignoring the information that Russia has.

Russia supposedly has a lot of information, and it is not being allowed into the conversation, therefore, this report -- I don't think it's

too far to say -- would be tainted without the information coming from Russia.

So, we haven't seen an official response, but over the past months Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister, and others, have made it very clear

that they do not agree with how that investigation was carried out.

TANK: OK, Jill. And -- Jill Dougherty and Fred Pleitgen in London. Thanks very much for the analysis.

And it's worth reminding you all that in a question to the Dutch prime minister, he was asked about the Russian position on this. And he said his

call to the Russians was to respect and give full cooperation to this report and also the ongoing criminal investigation that is still afoot. Of

course, much of this will be discussed in the hours, the days and the months ahead.

Still to come here on News Stream, the stage is set for the first U.S. Democratic Presidential debate of the campaign. CNN is hosting. We'll have

details coming up.

Plus, behind the scenes in North Korea. Our correspondent shows us what it was like to follow last weekend's huge parade from start to finish.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TANK: So, it's a big day in the race for the White House. Democratic Presidential hopefuls are preparing to face off in their first televised

debate. CNN is hosting the event in Las Vegas. Candidates Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley, Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee will

all take to the stage to make the cases to the American people.

So, let's head straight to Las Vegas now where our senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta is there for us live. Jim, so what can we expect

from this debate? Can we expect this to be a fiery one, do you think?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN INTERANTIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Manisha, I think one thing we can expect to see or not see tonight is the White House says

Vice President Joe Biden, who has been speculated as potentially participating in this debate. He will be back in Washington, he will not

be here in Las Vegas for tonight's Democratic debate.

As for the candidates who will be here, you just named them, they will be testing Hillary Clinton who has not debated, remember, since 2008, but

she's already looking beyond her Democratic rivals in taking on Donald Trump. As soon as she arrived here in Las Vegas for this debate, she was

firing off on the real estate tycoon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): Democratic debate day is here. What happens in Vegas could shake up the next stage of the race for five presidential

hopefuls.

Seasoned debater Hillary Clinton, backed by solid early poll numbers in key states, is establishing her presence at these debates. The former

secretary of state making an unannounced stop at a union rally at Donald Trump's Vegas hotel, taunting the business tycoon.

[08:25:21] HILLARY CLINTON, FRM. U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Some people think Mr. Trump is entertaining, but I don't think it's entertaining when

somebody insults immigrants and insults women. If you are going to run for president, then you should represent all the people of the United States.

ACOSTA: Bernie Sanders, who has yet to do a mock debate, insists he's going to play nice as long as his competitors do. The Vermont senator

continues to pick up traction, seeing crowds 13,000 strong in Tucson, Arizona.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I) VERMONT: Let's treat each other civilly. Let's treat each other respectfully, and let's not try to demonize people

who may have disagreements with us.

ACOSTA: A stark contrast to the strategy of their counterpunching Republican rivals.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'd love to run against her, because she is so flawed. I think she's very beatable, but she shouldn't

even be allowed to run.

ACOSTA: Meanwhile, Jim Webb, Lincoln Chafee and Martin O'Malley have a tough road ahead, all looking for a breakout moment on a stage. But in a

betting town like Vegas, anything is possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Now, as for Martin O'Malley, Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee, they will be looking for that memorable moment at tonight's debate. And

all they have to do is look to Carly Fiorina and Marco Rubio, the Republicans who had strong performances at the last GOP debate on CNN and

they were rewarded with stronger poll numbers and it really shook up that race -- Manisha.

TANK: Yeah. As we know, anything can happen at these debates. We're looking forward to it with interest. Jim, thank you so much for that.

CNN, of course, is hosting the first debate among the Democratic U.S. presidential candidates. Anderson Cooper will be the moderator with Don

Lemon posing questions submitted via Facebook.

Our coverage live from Las Vegas starts at 8:30 p.m. this Tuesday on the eastern U.S. coast. If that's a bit late for you, you can watch the

replay. It's at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday in London, that's 9:00 p.m. central European time. It's right here on CNN.

Also, we will replay the debate in its entirety Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in Hong Kong, 8:00 p.m. in Tokyo only on CNN. I hope you got all of that

down.

You're watching News Stream. Still to come on this program, what it's like to be in North Korea while a massive spectacle unfolds. Our

correspondent gives us the front row view from Pyongyang.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:31:18] TANK: I'm Manisha Tank in Hong Kong, you're watching News Stream and these are your world headlines.

The Dutch Safety Board has concluded Malaysian Airlines flight 17 crashed in Ukraine as a result of a missile detonating outside the cockpit,

and it was launched from Eastern Ukraine.

The board also says the airspace over the armed conflict zone should have been closed as a precaution.

At least two mortar shells were fired at the Russian embassy in Damascus as a pro-Russian rally took place outside. No embassy staffers

were injured. According to a Russian news agency, it's not known if anyone outside the embassy was hurt.

Iranian media reports lawmakers have approved the nuclear deal agreed with six world powers. That means Iran accepts constraints on its nuclear

program in exchange for the ending of sanctions. The deal still needs to get the final go ahead from a clerical body.

Israel is considering new security measures after more violence on Tuesday. The deadliest attack was in Jerusalem. Two men, armed with a

knife and a gun, boarded a bus killing two passengers and wounding 10.

Hamas is praising the attackers, calling them heroes.

And near Tel Aviv, police have reported at least two attacks. In one of them, a Palestinian man stabbed four people. One Person was seriously

injured.

And as that violence escalates, Israel has heightened security across Jerusalem. In this picture, for example, you can see Muslim worshipers

praying on the street near a holy site as the police look on.

As Ben Wedeman reports, that holy site has been the center of tension for years.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It`s arguably the most sensitive real estate on Earth, the Temple Mount, the

Haram al-Sharif as it`s known to Muslims, is the epicenter of the long, bitter struggle between Israelis and Palestinians.

In September 2000, then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon went there under heavy security.

ARIEL SHARON, THEN-OPPOSITION LEADER: I come here to the holiest place of the Jewish people.

WEDEMAN: His visit sparked violent clashes, which marked the beginning of the second intifada.

And once again, tensions there are fueling more violence, say young protesters in the West Bank.

(on camera): So why are you here today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because the Aqsa Mosque, we need for us, the access for us. So, we will never give up.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): It`s here that Jews believe their holiest of holies, the Temple of Solomon once stood. For Muslims, the Aqsa Mosque,

which sits within the compound is where they believe the Prophet Muhammad made a miraculous night journey from Mecca before ascending to heaven.

When Israel conquered east Jerusalem in 1967, then defense minister Moshe Diane (ph) pledged to maintain a strict separation barring

unofficially Jews from worshipping on the Temple Mount in what became known as the status quo.

There are few places more emotive to Palestinians and Israelis, says former Jerusalem deputy mayor Meron Benvenisti.

MERON BENVENISTI, FORMER MAYOR OF JERUSALEM: It became the focal point of a conflicting views, or you want ideologies of narratives, of both

national movements.

Yusif Natche works for the Islamic Waq or endowment, that oversees the Haram al-Sharif. Underneath the anger over perceived changes to the status

quo is a deeper issue.

YUSIF NATCHE, DIRECTOR OF TOURISM AND ANTIQUITIES, ISLAMIC WAQ: It is occupation, which causes the frustration, which causes really the unrest of

the Palestinians. And that to imagine that a young people are ready to die for such a cause.

[08:35:09] WEDEMAN: But the status quo is eroding. In recent years, Israeli authorities have allowed a growing number of Jews to tour the area.

And right wing Israeli politicians have insisted on the right of Jews to pray there.

In July, an Israeli cabinet minister called for the building of the third temple on the temple mount.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaves a shaky coalition dominated by hard-liners, insists the status quo remains in place and recently barred

Israeli politicians and officials from going to the Temple Mount.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called for a nonviolent protest against perceived Israeli attempts to change the status quo.

And as leaders on both sides exchange accusations, more and even greater violence around the site is inevitable, warns Benvenisti.

BENVENISTI: This is something that is a ticking bomb. The question is, how long you can postpone the explosion.

And for that you need realistic, smart politicians. And I'm afraid I don't find them.

WEDEMAN: If this is the ticking bomb, what will the explosion look like.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TANK: Now, after the break, we take you to Pyongyang where citizens took part in a highly staged parade last weekend. Our correspondent was

there and shows us what it was really like.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TANK: This past weekend, CNN brought you pictures of a huge parade in North Korea's capital. So, what was it like to actually be there? Our

correspondent Will Ripley has the back story for us. He joins us now live from Pyongyang. Will, good to see you.

From everything I've certainly seen and the glimpses of you at the scene, it was an immense production.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was. And people here in Pyongyang were rehearsing for months, Manisha.

We've been here several times. I've been here -- this is my fifth trip in just over a year. And for the past couple of trips, early in the

morning, late into the evening you saw tens of thousands of people around Pyongyang and pretty much every public space out rehearsing for the

spectacle that was put on for the world this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: It really is unusual to see this many news cameras from all over the world. Normally when we come into this country, we are operating,

just our crew, with our government representatives, but you can see there are hundreds of news agencies here, all of these crews are working, each of

them, accompanied by a government representative, a minder who will be with them as they report throughout the entire trip.

It's the morning of the parade, which we thought would be getting underway about 30 minutes ago, but as you can see I'm standing across the

river from Kim il-Sung square. Nothing has happened yet, and so we are just hanging out here at our hotel, which is home to us and the rest of the

international press core.

Even our minders were telling us they don't have any official information about the start time of this parade. These things are often

kept secret up until the very last moment. And that's just the way things work here in North Korea.

We just found out the parade will be getting started shortly. So we are now in a security line at the hotel, along with all of the other media.

No laptops, no cellphones, only our equipment allowed in.

By the time we got into Kim il-Sung square, the weather was perfect. Blue skies. Sun was shining. In the evening, when it was time for the

torch light parade, the weather was not so cooperative, it started raining really heavily. It was freezing, it was cold, and all of these young

people were lined up in the streets without rain jackets. But they didn't go back inside, they stayed in the streets. And instead, some of them

started singing.

The celebration weekend is ending with what I would call a marathon music history lesson. I say marathon, because this show has been going for

about two hours now and we haven't even hit intermission yet.

What's so remarkable about all of this is that the theme of the songs that they are singing, the themes of the movies that North Koreans watch,

it is in reverence to their leadership.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:41:25] RIPLEY: In addition to this spectacle -- this was also an important weekend diplomatically for North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-

un, he was up on the stage before all of the crowd with Leo Yun-shan (ph), one of the highest ranking members of China's Communist Party. They held

hands. It was a very public sign of the friendship between North Korea and China. President Xi Jinping delivered a letter to the supreme leader.

And so after all the talk about a rift between North Korea and China, talk that the regime is on the verge of collapse, something that defectors

say time and time again, Manisha, that certainly was not the image that was presented here in Pyongyang over the weekend.

TANK: So, a very big political statement as well. OK, Will, thank you very much for that for bringing us some of the inside track on that

event. Will Ripley there with the rest of the team.

Now, you may have heard people say they buy Playboy magazine for the articles. Well, starting now, that may actually be true. In a stunning

turnaround Playboy says it will stop publishing photos of fully nude women. And it's all because of the internet. The magazine says people can pretty

much see whatever they want online for free.

And that's it from New Stream for now. I'm Manisha Tank.

But please don't go anywhere, World Sport with Christina Macfarlane is up next.

END