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Pilgrims Attacked; Wildfires Spread in Israel; Military Abuses on Rohingya Women; Beijing Targeting Muslim Uighurs; Colombia's Peace Accord; Deaths Started Online; Prominent Leader Arrested. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired November 25, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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


[03:00:00] CYRIL VANIER, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: A terror attack targeting Iranian pilgrims in Iraq. At least 80 people are dead. ISIS is claiming responsibility.

Plus, wildfires spread through Israel. Now ten people are detained and the prime minister is talking about arson.

And later, disturbing reports of rape and abuse of the Rohingya people in Myanmar. How some in the movement from minority are fleeing the country.

Hi, everyone. Thank you for joining us. I'm Cyril Vanier, live from Atlanta. You are watching CNN Newsroom.

While the ISIS loses ground in the battle for Mosul in Iraq, the militant group can still strike elsewhere in the country. Thursday, a bomb went off at a gas station southeast of Baghdad causing utter carnage.

At least 80 people were killed and 50 injured. And this is just the latest attack in a country plagued by violence. Far south of the Iraqi government led operation to retake Mosul from ISIS a tragic reminder of the terrorism civilians face in Iraq.

The victims of this attack dozens of Shiites most on a pilgrimage from Iraq. The truck loaded with explosives parked the nearby buses before detonating. The group was on route back to Iran from the holy city of Karbala where they were paying homage to a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack reading, "The flames of battles in Mosul will reach them in Baghdad, Kabala, and Najaf."

The Sunni terror group has long had the ambition of sparking full blown sectarian civil war in Iraq. This bombing was the deadliest in the country since an explosives filled truck blew up near a shopping mall in Baghdad in July killing at least 300 people.

The largest death toll in a single incident since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Under pressure from Iraqi security forces and losing territory fast, ISIS is lashing out.

In October, ISIS launched a failed counterattack in Kirkuk, a tactic, it seems, the terror group intends to repeat.

And back to Mosul in the east of the city, ISIS is no longer in total control but it is still a threat. We're hearing dramatic stories from people inside Mosul.

CNN's Phil Black reports on death and survival in the city.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These people have just lived through the horror of urban warfare, they coward in their homes for days, prayers and white flags their only protection as Iraqi forces fought their way through the neighborhoods of eastern Mosul against fierce ISIS resistance.

Now there is little food, water, or medicine, no electricity, but there's much relief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is like a dark -- a dark thing on your chest.

BLACK: ISIS is like a dark thing on your chest?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

BLACK: And it's gone now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The dark is gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACK: you can hear the fighting in the near distance. It is still dangerously close. ISIS is gone from the streets but its ability to harm these people hasn't passed. Just 24 hours ago, we're told a family was sitting here outside their home when a mortar struck just a short distance away and an 18-month-old girl was killed.

Her name was Amira Ali (Ph). Her father Omar is overwhelmed by grief. He cries, "what did she do wrong? She was just playing. She's gone from me and she's my only one."

Every day this makeshift clinic inside Mosul sees the terrible consequences of mortars fired into civilian areas. It's a bloody production line. The wounded are delivered, patched up quickly and loaded into ambulances for transport to hospital.

At times it seems endless as one ambulance pulls away another military vehicle speeds in carrying more wounded civilians. They're unloaded with great care as the medics work to help the victims of yet another ISIS mortar attack. But they can't save everyone.

This man's 21-year-old son was killed. He says "A mortar just fell in front of the door. We came and he was just a piece of meat. Four or five of my neighbors were standing with him and they're all dead."

[03:05:04] (FOREIGN LANGUAGE) Here, another parent falls to the dusty ground before the body of her son. These people endured two years of living under ISIS only to be killed by the group's desperate military tactics and its total indifference to the lives of the innocent.

Phil Black, CNN, Mosul, Northern Iraq.

VANIER: And police in southern France are searching for a suspect after a woman was found dead inside over time at home for priests and nuns. A local official in the Montferrier areas says a masked man forced his way in to the home earlier Friday morning.

The intruder tied up a staff member who was able to free herself and call police. A source said the suspect used a knife to kill his victim and that it appears she was indeed the intended target. Police do not think the attack was terror related.

At least 74 people are dead after a construction accident in eastern China. The disaster happened when a platform built to help with repairs at a power plant collapsed.

That's according to state run news agency Xinhua. Authorities say 68 people were on the platform when it went crashing to the ground on Thursday. More than 200 firefighters have been deployed with search and rescue dogs to find survivors.

And China has ordered all residents of the Xinjiang region to surrender their passports. Those who want to travel abroad need to get permission from local authorities. The government has not said why they're confiscating passports but activists say that Beijing is deliberately targeting Muslim Uighurs.

In the past, China has targeted the minority groups which are blamed for multiple attacks.

Latin America's longest conflict may finally be over and this time the agreement is expected to be enshrined in law.

Shasta Darlington looks at Colombia's latest attempt at peace with the FARC rebel group.

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Colombia's government and the FARC rebel group have signed a peace deal bringing an end to half a century of fighting again. That's because nearly two months ago, Colombians voted to reject the initial peace accord.

President Juan Manuel Santos and the FARC rebel leader known as Timoshenko signed this new deal in a simple ceremony using pens fashioned out of bullets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIMOLEON JIMENEZ, FARC REBEL GROUP LEADER: Let words be the only weapons of Colombians.

JUAN MANUEL SANTOS, COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT (TRANSLATED): The citizens this past October expressed themselves. They said we want peace but we want a new accord. During those 40 days we have heard the Colombian people, you have heard their fears and their voices of hope to persevere and to not lose momentum when we were so close to our goal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DARLINGTON: While there are some changes in this new accord, the single biggest difference is simply that President Santos is not going to put it to a nationwide vote. This goes to Congress to be voted on.

It also stands in stark contrast to the grandiose ceremony we saw at the end of September when heads of state flew in. The U.N. secretary general was there. Military planes were flying overhead and Colombia's president said that they had finally found peace.

Of course, it was just a few days later, in a nationwide referendum that Colombians voted to reject the deal by a very narrow margin. But it highlighted the divisions this the country, the anger and frustration after decades of conflict that had killed over 200,000 people and displaced about 5 million people.

Many Colombians felt that the rebel leaders simply weren't being held accountable. They weren't looking at jail time. They were being allowed to run for office in the future.

While this new accord does have tougher sanctions. Not all of the demands were met. And in fact, critics say it still doesn't go far enough. But it is expected to pass in Congress because Santos and his allies have a comfortable majority there.

Shasta Darlington, CNN, Rio de Janeiro.

VANIER: Wildfires are raging across part of Israel and the West Bank and Israeli authorities say that arson maybe to blame. An official says at least 10 people have been detained in connection with the fires which began just north of Haifa on Tuesday.

Sixty thousand people have been ordered to evacuate Israel's third largest city. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke earlier about the fires and gave a stern warning to those who maybe behind them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (TRANSLATED): Every fire that was caused by arson or incitement of arson is terrorism by all accounts and we will treat it as such. Whoever tries to burn parts of Israel will be punished for it severely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: So for more on these fires we are joined now by CNN's correspondent Oren Liebermann. Oren is in Haifa.

[03:10:02] The prime minister, Oren, is making a connection between these wildfires and terrorism. What do you make of that claim? All right. We'll get back to Oren Liebermann. He is still setting up.

We'll get back to Oren in just a second and he'll get you the details on the wildfires in and around Haifa and the claims by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We're right back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RHIANNON JONES, CNN WORLD SPORTS ANCHOR: I'm Rhiannon Jones with your CNN World Sport headlines.

Manchester United had a night to remember in the Europa -- Europe -- Europa League. Italy staying off that side. Feyenoord 4-nil at Old Trafford with Captain Wayne Rooney. Europa scoring the host becoming the Manchester United top scorer in Europe. A memorable night for Rooney and his team.

The Steven Gerrard, the legend has announced his retirement from football. The first thing he all said "I have had an incredible playing career and am thankful for each and every moment of my time at Liverpool England and L.A. Galaxy."

The former England captain finished his career with an 18-month stint across the pond but spent the bulk of it at Liverpool across 17 years at Anfield. He won seven major honors including the 2005 Champions League. The announcement will no doubt give Liverpool fans hope of his return to Anfield for a back room role and Jurgen Klopp's team.

Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro has the chance to become a national hero this weekend if he's able to lead Argentina's to their first ever Davis Cup title. It would round off an incredible season for the 28- year-old whose left 1004 places at the ATP ranking to finish the season in number 34.

But Marin Cilic will be hoping to lead Croatia to their second day Davis Cup. The two are likely to face each other in finals on Sunday and it could be a decisive match.

That's a look at your sports headlines. I'm Rhiannon Jones.

VANIER: Let us take you straight back to wildfires in Israel. Now CNN's correspondent Oren Liebermann is standing by in Haifa, the worst affected city. Sixty thousand people have been evacuated there.

Oren, just before the break we heard Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemed to be making some kind of connection between these wildfires and terrorism. That's a claim that's been echoed by several members of his cabinet. And what can you tell us about that? What do you make of that claim?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well. Cyril, at this point there's no doubt that fire investigators say that at least some of these fires were started arson and they have caused severe damage across central and northern Israel.

[03:15:03] As for how many fires, fire officials say they're looking at 1200 since last weekend of which 250 were major fires. What's so difficult about this it's very dry and there are high winds.

So, hot spots, like the one you see behind me those can restart, reignite and spread very quickly in these conditions.

I suspect over the next couple of minutes or so you will see, you'll hear the winds here. You can see all right again this is a bridge that was burned out, a bridge across this short little; it was probably a stream or a creek and then some of the major damage we've seen here.

This home here, this building entirely gutted behind us. The entire area reeks of that burned wood smell and of the melted plastic, of the destruction here that's happened here. You can see this damage all of the wood at my feet is burned. The glass is burned. The chair here destroyed. This is the damage here. This is what we've seen across Haifa here.

This is the hardest-area. We're in a bit of a valley here. So, the fire spread up the valley, up the hill destroying and damaging according to officials 700 homes and buildings across Haifa. This being the hardest hit area of the fire.

Now it's a question of putting out other fires. There are other fires going in northern Israel, as well as evacuations perhaps. We're waiting to find and if those evacuations are confirmed. This is what firefighters are dealing with.

We can take a walk over here. I mentioned those hot spots earlier. Firefighters have come to where we're standing and are putting out those hot spots to make sure this doesn't spread as they deal with these difficult conditions.

You can see these firefighters working to try to make sure what we saw yesterday, which was fires raging across Israel's largest city in the north doesn't happen again. That is the challenge here, Cyril.

It is now an international challenge as Israel has called in help from a number of countries Turkey, Russia, Cyprus, Greece, the U.S. sending in a super tanker to try to make sure these fires that we've seen across central and northern Israel don't get worse.

VANIER: All right. Oren Lieberman, live there from Haifa. Thank you very much for showing us those pictures. Crystal clear as to how dangerous it can be and how volatile that region and how vulnerable it is to those fires is to restarting. Thanks a lot.

Moving on to politics here in the U.S. Now a Washington Post report says Donald Trump has been skipping most of the daily intelligence briefings since his election. The Post says that Trump has met twice with intelligence analysts, yet they have been on hand to brief him every day.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence on the other hand has been receiving his briefings almost daily. The transition team is downplaying this saying don't make too much of the report. Trump has been busy putting his administration together.

CNN intelligence analyst Bob Baer says national security should be a priority for the president-elect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: He needs to put a team together that he can trust. He's going to have to delegate a lot of politics. He simply won't have time to do it himself.

So, if he's got a problem with China he is going to be a Chinese expert. If he intends to write treaties, trade treaties with China he has no know the affect and right now he doesn't. He feels it sounds good in a presidential campaign but at the end of the day we need a president that's plugged in to national security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: The former campaign manager Kellyanne Conway says Trump supporters are not happy about a possible cabinet post for Mitt Romney. The 2012 republican presidential candidate is said to be in contention for secretary of state. But he was fiercely critical of Trump during the campaign.

So, Conway tweeted this, "Receiving deluge of social media and private comments re-Romney. Some Trump loyalists warn against Romney as secretary of state."

And Conway is also mocking a push for a recount in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and Michigan. This is another tweet from Conway, also on Thursday. Quote, "Look at who can't accept the election results. Hillary Clinton supporters call for vote recount in battleground states." End of tweet.

Well, to be fair, neither the Clinton campaign nor the Democratic National Committee has actually called for a recount. That effort is being led by Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Her campaign has raised more than $4.5 million to pay for recounts in Wisconsin, in Pennsylvania, in Michigan.

And some experts say Clinton's vote totals in areas with electronic voting look too low compared to those with paper ballots and they have raised concerns that votes tallied electronically may have been hacked.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL STEIN, FORMER GREEN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What we know is that there were a lot of hacks taking place around this election, hacks into voter databases, into party databases, into individual e- mail accounts, and what we also know, unfortunately, is that the equipment that we use, much of it is not just open to hacks, it basically invites hacks and malfeasance, tampering, human error, et cetera.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:20:04] VANIER: Hurricane Otto has weakened into a tropical storm but still threatens parts of Central America. It made landfall in Nicaragua on Thursday, drenching the region with about a quarter of a meter of rain.

It forced thousands to leave their homes amid the threat of flash floods and landslides. Otto killed at least three people in Panama. Otto was one of two national disasters to hit the region.

Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us now from the International Weather Center with the details. Derek?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Cyril, picture this, you are expecting a nice leisurely, relaxing holiday on the West Coast of Nicaragua then you hear about an impending hurricane. And then on top of that you have to deal with the threat of a tsunami. Well, that's exactly what these tourist and residents of San Rafael del Sur, that's on the West Coast of Nicaragua, had to deal with.

Let me explain. This is the simultaneous natural disaster that took place on Thursday afternoon. We have a land falling strong category 2 Atlantic hurricane in southern Nicaragua. And simultaneously at the same we're talking about a magnitude 7.0 earthquake. And that triggered a tsunami wave, but fortunately that tsunami wave was marginal, it was not a destructive wave.

But nonetheless, scary moments for residents and tourists across Central America. We still have a formidable storm with formidable threats. Greatest impacts being flash flooding, mud slides and landslides from hurricane Otto, which is now been downgraded to a tropical storm.

This is what we know so far. And it's quite interesting to talk about the statistics. Because this is actually the most southernmost land falling hurricane in Central America's history. Center of Otto now moving across the eastern Pacific and when it does show it is not expected to impact land.

But we still have another six hours or so before this actually moves on from the West Coast of El Salvador, perhaps Costa Rica and Nicaragua. So, locations across the West Coast there really still battening down the hatches. Because the winds are strong and the rain is very intense at least for the next half day or so.

They have additional probability of another 200, 250 millimeters of rainfall, which has I've already mentioned has the potential to bring more flash flooding to the region. Cyril, back to you.

VANIER: All right. Derek Van Dam, from the International Weather Center. Thank you very much. Derek there on the double threat for Central America, in Nicaragua and El Salvador, in particular.

And police in the U.K. are looking into the deaths of dozens of men over concerns that they may have been the victims of a serial killer. Stephen Port was found guilty on Wednesday of murdering four gay men and drugging and sexually assaulting seven more.

Now, deaths previously dismissed as drug overdoses are being reviewed as authorities are criticized for mishandling the case.

Erin McLaughlin has the details.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Highly devious, manipulative and self-obsessed. Police say Steven Port was driven to kill by an overwhelming desire to have sex with younger gay men, all were drugged and unconscious.

Port met his victims using dating apps and bought the drugs online. All four victims were in their early to mid-20s. Their bodies found not far from his east London home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This four were found very close to where you live. All men you met, all men that you say that you find attractive. All now dead, Stephen.

STEPHEN PORT, KILLER: I have nothing about their (Inaudible) how they came to be

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLAUGHLIN: This week, Stephen Port was found guilty of murder but serious questions remain over how police handled this case, why they didn't identify Port as a killer sooner. And some are accusing the police of homophobia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER TATCHELL, HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGNER: I suspect that if the victims had been female, there would have been a much more robust and comprehensive police investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCLAUGHLIN: The first murder victim was 23-year-old Anthony Walgate. His body found drugged outside Port's block of flat. Killingly it was Port who called the police pretending to be an innocent bystander.

Police tracked Port down. They discovered the two men had actually met online. Port was arrested and charged with perverting the course of justice, and incredibly, allowed to walk free.

[03:25:01] He killed again some two months later. In August 2014, a dog walker found 22-year-old Gabriel's Kovari's body in a cemetery, a mere 500 meters from Port's home. And then in September, another body, 21-year-old Daniel Whitworth found in the same place by the same dog walker.

In the victim's hands a fake suicide note written by Port saying "Please don't blame the guy I was with last night." Later that same month, he met 25-year-old Jack Taylor on a gay dating app Grindr. And Port killed for the final time. Depositing Taylor's drugged body at the same Abbey Green Cemetery.

Finally arrested after being identified on surveillance footage. Taylor's family blames police for not arresting him sooner. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONNA TAYLOR, JACK TAYLOR'S SISTER: If they had done their job properly, Jack would still be search and may unto us as family. They are just as responsible for Jack's death.

MCLAUGHLIN: Scotland yard has referred itself to independent investigators for review.

Erin McLaughlin, CNN, London.

VANIER: They're fighting ISIS from high up. CNN was granted exclusive access to a secret military planes spying on the terror group. More on that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VANIER: Welcome back to our viewers from around the world. I'm Cyril Vanier from Atlanta. Let's update you now on our top stories.

Police in France are searching for a suspect after a woman was found dead inside a retirement home for priests and nuns. Authorities say an armed intruder forced his way into the home and that the woman was the intended target.

[03:30:03] Police do not think, however, the attack was terror related.

ISIS is claiming responsibility for a deadly truck bombing in Iraq saying it was in retaliation for the battle in Mosul. At least 80 people, mostly Iranian Shiite pilgrims were killed in Thursday's blast at a gas station southeast of Baghdad.

Some Aleppo residents have less than 10 days before they start starving to death. That's according to a Syrian activists interviewed by Reuters.

At least 59 people were killed in the besieged city on Thursday alone. Activists say a chemical attack involving chlorine killed one woman.

And in the meantime, the anti-ISIS coalition is going after the terror group both in Iraq and Syria.

CNN was granted exclusive access to a secretive spying program that targets ISIS militants.

CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen has more.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fighting ISIS in a space suit. We can only identify the pilot by his first name, Captain Steven and by his call sign Meat Head.

He is about to embark on a high altitude reconnaissance mission in a U-2 spy plane. We were given rare access to the preparations, launch and landing of one of these highly secretive missions that have a clear objective, one of the pilots tells me. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJOR MATT, U.S. AIR FORCE: With the U-2 we are able to get out there, and find those guys, track them and get that information back to the fighter tapes, the bomber tapes so that when they go out in there they get the bst Intel, the bets information about where they are and then obviously, do what needs to be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: The U-2 can fly extremely high, more than 70,000 feet and get pictures and other information to forces on the ground very fast. It's a Cold War era plane flying since the 1950s but its cameras and sensors have been completely upgraded.

With its many technological updates, the U-2 Dragon Lady remain one of America's main assets in the information gathering effort against ISIS. but of course, intelligence gathering happens on many levels and much of it happens through drones like this global hawk which patrols in the skies above Iraq and Syria almost every day.

The information from these surveillance platforms is key to helping jets from the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition to strike their targets. Support of forces combatting the group on the ground in places like Mosul and Iraq.

But while the U-2 can soar higher than almost any other plane it's pretty hard to land. We're in a chase car that speed is half of the jet helping to guide the pilot to the ground after an almost 10-hour mission.

Peeling himself out of the cockpit, Captain Steven says he believes the U-2 is making a major impact.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPTAIN STEVENS, U.S. AIR FORCE: The things that we can do while we're up there as well as how often we're up there to meet these guys who are constantly up in the air providing a support for those who need the most.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: And the need for the U-2 services will remain in high demand, while ISIS maybe losing ground the group remains both deadly and elusive.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, in the Middle East.

VANIER: And the U.S. has suffered its first military casualty in Syria. A service member died from wounds after an IED explosion in the northern parts of the country.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in part, quote, "I'm deeply saddened by the news on this Thanksgiving Day that one of our brave service members has been killed in Syria while protecting us from the evil of ISIL."

The Syrian volunteer group White Helmets is apologizing for a mannequin challenge video that they posted online. That video shows rescuers frozen in action. You see it there, just like the social media trend in which people pretend to be mannequins.

The group says they wanted to reach a, quote, "Western audience and show the suffering of many in Syria." But Russian state media said the video raises doubts about other rescues captured on camera. The White Helmets is now calling the video an error of judgment.

And for children in Aleppo, death and destruction is routine, it's just a part of life by now. But one little girl there used the internet to make two requests, one an end to the war, and two, a Harry Potter book. So author J.K. Rowling delivered a bit of magic.

CNN's Robyn Curnow explains.

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Amidst unbelievable destruction in Syria, a small bit of good news for a little girl. This is Bana Alabed,a 7-year-old girl that lives with her family in eastern Aleppo. An almost constant gunfire and bombardment, Bana and her mother tweet about life and their city under siege. One of her recent posts reads "Good morning from Aleppo, we are still alive."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BANA ALABED, ALEPPO RESIDENT: I am sad. It's so bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: In a recent respite from the war, Bana was able to see one of the Harry Potter movie and became an instant fan. But you can't find harry POtter novels in Aleppo.

[03:35:05] So, this week, the little girl's mother posted a message to author J.K. Rowlings saying, "Bana would like to read the book."

And the famous writer responded, "I hope you do read the book because I think you'd like it. Sending you lots and lots of love." Rowlings also sent Bana e-books of all of her Potter novels. Bana's mother says her daughter is now happily reading and she posted this thank you picture and video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALABED: To my friend, how are you? I started reading your books. Thank you very, very much. I love you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: A little girl's wish granted, now reading to forget the war.

Robyn Curnow, CNN.

VANIER: Some Rohingya Muslims say they are fleeing Myanmar because of rape, torture and systematic arson all at the hands of the nation's military. A live report coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VANIER: Myanmar is facing more accusations of human rights abuses over its treatment of Rohingya Muslims. Some Rohingya refugees say that they are fleeing Myanmar and crossing into Bangladesh because of violence that has plagued their villages for weeks. Some say they have suffered rape, torture and witnessed family members being killed by their military.

CNN is still working to verify these claims.

And Saima Mohsin in Bangkok has been monitoring the situation. Saima, it's well documented that the Rohingya are a persecuted minority in Myanmar but we've seen a marked upswing in the violence recently.

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. It's quite horrific some of the scenes we are seeing coming out of Rakhine state are very rare, I must say that we get to see what's going on inside.

[03:39:59] It's on lockdown, and as you say a recent upswing that started in October when alleged Rohingya activists attacked border guards and police officials.

Well, in response to that, we've seen a huge violence crackdown in Rakhine state against the minority Rohingya people living there.

Now as I said some of the images coming out on social media, people trying to get it out on Twitter and YouTube was too horrific for us to use in our report.

And this is not the first time, as you rightly say, we have seen repeated and systematic crackdown by the Myanmar state in Rakhine and that is why the UNHCR has told CNN as you will see in this report that they believe this is systematic ethnic cleansing. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHSIN: He doesn't know it yet, but Abu Hashim (Ph) was born into one of the most persecuted minorities on earth, the stateless ethnic minority Rohingya. They're facing yet another crackdown by Myanmar's authorities and their accounts are harrowing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (TRANSLATED): They raped women. Some women died after being tortured, they even killed a newborn baby. After seeing this I got scared and fled for my home. The same thing could have happened to us.

MOHSIN: Abu's mother, Rasha (Ph) have carried him for four days trekking day and night from their home in Maungdaw in a desperate attempt to reach the Naf River and cross into neighboring Bangladesh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (TRANSLATED): The Myanmar military was shooting heavily. When they fired shots we laid flat on the ground. We kept moving from one village to another. After that we had to cross the river in the middle of the night. MOHSIN: Rasha made it across with her loved ones but her friend the

Sima's (Ph) family was torn apart on the way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (TRANSLATED): When we started our journey there were six of us. We lost three members of our family. My husband and my son were killed and my other son has gone missing.

MOHSIN: CNN can't independently verify these reports or these disturbing videos posted on social media from inside Rakhine state. The Rohingya area is in lockdown with access to media and aid agencies blocked.

JOHN MCKISSICK, UNHCR BANGLADESH OFFICER: It seems to be the aim of the Myanmar military to ethnically cleanse this population.

MOHSIN: Myanmar's government denies reports of human rights abuses claiming they're only targeting violent attackers who killed nine border guards on October 9th.

Since then, more than 100 have been killed and around 600 others arrested. Human rights watch also published NASA satellite images which they say shows more than 1200 Rogingya homes that were burned down by the authorities which the government denies, saying that attackers carried out the arson.

For the few who managed to flee the violence, they end here a squalid refugee camp in Cox's bizarre southern Bangladesh which is struggling to cope with the influx of thousands of Rohingya. Bangladesh has tightened security to push them back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (TRANSLATED): We left everything back there to save our lives. How can we go back? They will kill us.

MOHSIN: Now the families here will wait and hope for a chance to live without fear of persecution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: All right. Saima, we've been looking at your report. We saw the eyewitness accounts. We saw what the U.N. had to say, saying it's one of the most -- the most, I beg your pardon, oppressed minority in the world. The U.N. is talking about ethnic cleansing.

The thing that surprises me here is that this is all coming from Myanmar, a country that is led by the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, she is the de facto leader there. She is seen around the world as a democracy fighter. So, is she unable or is she unwilling to stop the military in her country?

MOHSIN: Yes, that's a good question and one on the lips of everyone, Cyril, who has been watching what's happening inside Myanmar what little we can't see of what's going on inside there. And I think the term that best describes her approach is perhaps willful blindness.

CNN spoke to Aung San Suu Kyi in September and she told Fareed Zakaria that it's not the only problem, referring to the Rohingya minorities, not the only problem that the country faces, it's just the one that the international community has chosen to focus on.

And time and time again we're seeing denials, outright denials from the Myanmar government and as you say, she is the flag bearer for human rights. She was held under house arrest for two decades and there were a lot of hopes with her.

[03:45:02] But as Fortify Rights, a leading group that is focusing on Rohingya minority rights in Myanmar has said that Matthew Smith speaking to CNN said that he is deeply disappointed and has no words for the disappointment in Aung San Suu Kyi and her government. Cyril?

VANIER: Saima Mohsin, reporting live from Bangkok. Thank you very much.

Now staying in Asia, the arrest of a prominent civil rights leader in Malaysia is sparking outrage. Maria Chin Abdullah was detained Friday under an anti-extremism law.

Authorities say that they found, quote, "documents detrimental to democracy while raiding the offices of her civil rights organization."

Thousands of people marched through the streets of Kuala Lumpur on Saturday in protest and they are demanding the police free Chin. They also want embattled Prime Minister Najib Razak to resign.

Now woman's right activists Ivy Josiah had been campaigning with Maria Chin Abdullah. She knows her well, has known for her a long time. She joins us now from Kuala Lumpur.

Now the government says it arrested Ms. Chin for a reason. Because it found documents that were a threat to democracy. What's your take on that, what do you answer to that?

IVY JOSIAH, ACTIVIST: Well, we want the truth. We wanted to be brought to open court. I also want to also remind people that in 2012 the same allegations were heard at Bersih where the news stream have said that Bersih received from foreign elements to destabilize the government and news stream terms have to put a public apology or to her publish a public apology.

So, you know, if you had all these allegations, if you all these accusations bring it out on open court, I'm sure Bersih lawyers are waiting and ready to prove otherwise.

VANIER: All right. And just for our viewers there is a word that's important to our viewers to understand, Bersih, that's the coalition of civil rights groups that both yourself and Ms. Chin were working for that's campaigning for free and fair elections and now for the ouster of the prime minister.

And in fact, as far as that is concerned, the prime minister says you're being manipulated and you are an arm of the political opposition trying to bring him down.

JOSIAH: Now let me be very clear, Bersih means clear, is a coalition of several hundred NGO's, right. We are a coalition that's lobbying for clean, and fair elections. It's very clear. Our objectives are very, very clear.

Now in order to have clean, and fair elections we need institutional reform. Yes, we are also tackling corruption, and I think one of the reasons why Bersih -- Maria Chin was arrested was to quell the outrage around corruption.

We all know that Malaysians are quite concerned about the 1MDB Funds, 1MDB Funds which is a state investment firm investment fund where millions of money have gone missing, in fact billions have gone missing...

(CROSSTALK)

VANIER: Right. And again, for our viewers there are investigations underway by the U.S., by Switzerland, among others, all of them pointing to the prime minister even though that hasn't been proved in a court of law that hundreds of millions, possibly more than a billion dollars of money have been laundered. Carry on.

JOSIAH: I think what we are against is corruption, right? There are allegations that you know, individuals, very close to Malaysian official number one and they found out the Malaysian official number one is the prime minister that has gone into personal -- into the personal bank accounts.

See, if we do not eliminate corruption we are not going to have institutional reforms. We do not reform institutional -- without institutional -- we do not have parliamentary democracy then we're not going to have clean, and fair elections. It's a very simple equation. We are anti-corruption and whoever is elect -- you know, allegedly corrupt we want them to be removed.

VANIER: In your view, was why was Mrs. Chin arrested then?

JOSIAH: Well, I think there are three reasons. I think first is to quell the outrage around 1MDB. Because Malaysians do want answers around 1MDB. Secondly is to instill fear. They had hoped that Malaysian will fear but our leaders have been amazing, they've shown no fear. But more importantly, Malaysians show no fear.

And I think the third reason is that they hope that by removing their leader they will be pull the rug under out feet, that we'll be left in disarray. But I must say that the Bersih 2.0 committee was well prepared. They were well prepared to move forward with or without Maria and in fact, more motivated to move because Maria was not around.

So, for all those reasons to instill fear, to remove the leader...

(CROSSTALK)

VANIER: And just briefly before we have to wrap this up, are you afraid that there might be other arrests within your movement?

JOSIAH: Well, you are always of course afraid. I mean, we anticipate further arrests, further intimidation. But as I said, the Bersih 2.0 movement is a people's movement. And this, it can remove the leaders but the people will move on and we will move on until we get clean, and fair elections and free Maria Chin, of course.

[03:50:06] VANIER: Ivy Josiah, thank you for taking our questions here on CNN. We appreciate it. Ivy Josiah in Kuala Lumpur. Thanks.

Next up on CNN Newsroom, it's the day after Thanksgiving in the U.S. and so-called Black Friday sales are underway. How retailers look to cash in ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAN DAM: Powerful Hurricane Otto made landfall in extreme southern sections of Nicaragua just after noon on Thursday. Look at this system barreling across Central America. Right now it's been downgraded and has weakened to a tropical storm. But still a formidable looking tropical system as we speak with gusty winds and certainly heavy rainfall, especially as it travels across the mountainous regions of Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Winds sustained at 110 kilometers per hour. The system will move offshore over the next coming hours and it will weaken as it does so no longer posing a threat to land. But nonetheless, we still felt the effects of this system across this area. And we will continue to still feel showers and a few thunderstorms as the system departs Central America going forward.

Temperatures today, though, across North America, 15 degrees if you are in Denver. Montreal, Canada, 2 degrees for you, 11 in New York City, Atlanta 23. San Francisco to Los Angeles upper teens and lower 20s.

Your extended forecast across the New England coastline, if you are perhaps traveling to this area, New York, you drop in temperature by the end of the weekend. Washington, staying the same. Atlanta cooling off, as well from Saturday into Sunday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VANIER: Actress Florence Henderson has died from heart failure at the age of 82. She is probably best known as beloved TV mom Carol Brady. Millions of people grew up watching Herderson play the matriarch on the wholesome sitcom the Brady Bunch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, hi.

FLORENCE HENDERSON, ACTRESS: What's all the yelling up there? What's wrong?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, no nothing, nothing at all.

HENDERSON: That's the kind of nothing that bothers me the most.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VANIER: The actress was surrounded by friends and family when she died.

Now, retailers traditionally call the day after Thanksgiving in U.S. Black Friday hoping that big sales will push their books into the black. Shoppers across the U.S. are already lining up for the sales hoping to square some big deals.

[03:55:03] Here's what some shoppers in New York found.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was the discount?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Almost a 40 percent off. Yes, 40 percent off.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Forty percent off. Wow. You got a good deal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice boots. Nice boots. Going to keep you warm.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Happy shopping.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy shopping to you and happy Thanksgiving.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy shopping!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: For many stores this year hiked savings online. Some of which have been available since earlier this month. A report from Adobe says that Americans have already spent $25.5 billion online this month, that's a 3.58 percent increase from last year.

It's not a holiday in Peru, but it sure did look like one. But actually these are illegal fireworks. Twenty three tons of them seized by authorities. It took them to a remote location to detonate them. After Peru imposed strict regulations on fireworks after a warehouse fire killed 300 people back in 2002.

And one more thing for you. Check this out. Some Australians have set a pretty impressive world record.

Derek Herron made the highest basketball shot ever from the top of a dam in Switzerland, that's at 593 feet. That smashes the previous record, if you are wondering, by 60 feet.

And according to Guinness, it was his third attempt. The Australian YouTube star has traveled across the world to attempt the trick shot.

And thank you very much for joining us. I'm Cyril Vanier in Atlanta. The news continues now with Max Foster in London next.

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