Follow Christiane on social media:
What time is Amanpour on CNN?
Check showtimes to see when Amanpour is on CNN where you are. Or watch online.
Scottish independence: Historic eventuality or rash reaction?
By Mick Krever, CNN
To stay or to go.
With just over a week until a crucial referendum and polls on a knife’s edge, the pressure is on Scots to decide whether to end their 300-year-long union with the United Kingdom in favor of independence.
To debate the issue, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour spoke with Brian Cox, an actor and Scotsman who supports independence, and Rory Stewart, a British parliamentarian whose family is Scottish who supports a continued union.
For Cox the push for independence is the result of long pent-up frustrations; for Stewart, it’s a rash and regrettable reaction to a passing set of circumstances.
Iraq: We can defeat ISIS
Click here to watch Amanpour's full interview with Zebari.
By Mick Krever, CNN
On the eve of U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech outlining the American strategy against ISIS, and after the formation of a new government that was like a “caesarean operation,” Iraq’s new deputy Prime Minister said that ISIS in Iraq could be defeated.
“I think they are on the run, on the defensive. And with the increased international support coming … I think they would be defeated, at least here in Iraq. We have every confidence,” Hoshyar Zebari, who was long the Iraqi foreign minister, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday.
Zebari hailed the formation of a new government – a “big, big challenge” – but some are skeptical whether the leadership is renewed or simply reshuffled.
“We all agree that this government has to be different from the previous government – in its leadership, in its faces, in its composition, and its representation.”
But Nuri al-Maliki – who was just forced to resign as prime minister for his divisive policies and whom many blame at least in part for the rise of ISIS – is back as one of the country’s three vice presidents.
Mo’ democracy for Hong Kong? No, says Mo
By Mick Krever, CNN
With a new decision by the Chinese government on how Hong Kong elects its leader, the dream of democracy “is nearly dead,” Hong Kong legislator and democracy activist Claudia Mo told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Monday.
What China has offered instead, Mo said, is a “sort of fake democracy.”
It was not too long ago that Hong Kong was not Chinese at all; in 1997, the United Kingdom handed control of the territory over to Beijing. The agreement the two powers then signed promised “a high degree of autonomy” and “universal suffrage” Hong Kong’s population.
Now, activists say, China has reneged on that agreement. The government last week said that while Hong Kong’s population will be able to directly elect their leader for the first time, the candidates for the position of chief executive must be approved by a committee of Communist Party leaders.
China’s decision must still be approved by Hong Kong’s legislative council before it goes into effect.
“I think China, Beijing, is essentially very insecure and paranoid, and they want to play tough with Hong Kong. And the message is ‘We don't care about Hong Kong anymore. Hong Kong is disposable.’ The supposed financial hub in Asia; the supposed cosmopolitan city, never mind. If you don't like it here, Hong Kong people, you can leave.’”
Could Cameron go the way of Lord North?
In ten days, Scotland holds a referendum on independence; if the 'yes' campaign wins, some say it would be hard for Cameron to stay on as Prime Minister, having presided over the breakup of the United Kingdom.
Could he face the same fate as Lord North, who in 1782, was forced from office after he lost the American Colonies?
Christiane Amanpour has the story.
For Scotland unionists, ‘there is no room for complacency’
By Mick Krever, CNN
With just ten days until Scots vote on independence - and with a poll showing a slight lead for the independence campaign for the first time - “there is no room for complacency,” conservative Member of Parliament and former Defense Secretary Liam Fox told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Monday.
“There’s no panic,” he said. “But I think there’s a genuine feeling at Westminster that the No campaign has focused too much on the negative.”
A ‘yes’ vote on September 18th would mean a bitter divorce after a marriage of 307 years; up until now, the ‘no’ campaign has kept a comfortable lead in the polls.
Political and business titans warn of grave consequences for the Scottish economy, public services, and national security should Scotland leave. But after this weekend’s YouGov poll, critics say unionists must step up their game in the final stretch if the union is to be preserved.
“It’s caused something of a minor political earthquake here at Westminster. I hope that it’s simply a strong wake-up call for those who’ve not been paying attention.”
“It’s very, very important that the ‘no’ campaign give a positive reason for staying in the union,” Fox said.
Russian ambassador anticipates ‘liberation’ of Mariupol in Ukraine
By Mick Krever, CNN
Pro-Russian separatists will “liberate” the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Russia's Permanent Representative to the OSCE, Andrey Kelin, anticipated in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour Friday.
Ukrainian forces are working to fortify the city; they claim that Russian intelligence groups have been spotted in the area.
Mariupol is “the second-biggest city in Donetsk Oblas, probably, and I believe that they are going to liberate,” Kelin said.
West must include Syria stronghold in ISIS fight, says NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Click here to watch Amanpour's full interview with Rasmussen.
By Mick Krever, CNN
The West must include ISIS’s Syria stronghold in its effort to defeat it, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Friday.
There is “no doubt that Syria and Iraq should be looked upon as a whole. Many of the problems originate from the internal conflict in Syria. There is a clear spill over to the region.”
“And that’s why I think the international community will have to address these problems as a whole.”
The United States said at the conclusion of a NATO summit on Friday that it would seek to assemble a coalition to confront ISIS. President Barack Obama has said that the goal is to “degrade and destroy” ISIS.
But the White House has not said yet whether Syria, a country President Obama has long been wary of becoming involved in military, would be included its efforts.
“It has been very hard to see a military solution to the conflict in Syria,” Rasmussen said. “And still I think a long-term, sustainable solution will take a strong political and diplomatic effort.”
“But the bottom line is that we have seen the rise of this terrorist organization, the Islamic State, that has committed horrific atrocities, and now I see it as an obligation for the international community to stop it, to defeat it, and take the necessary steps to that end.”
New Russia sanctions to be ‘deeper and more significant’
By Mick Krever, CNN
A new round of Western sanctions against Russia, yet to be approved, will “be deeper and more significant” than those already on the books, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Thursday.
The sanctions being discussed are “fairly substantial measures that are going to have fairly substantial impact on critical sectors of the Russian economy.”
Bildt would not go into further details about the measures, because they are still under discussion.
He spoke with Amanpour from Wales, where NATO is holding what is likely its most significant meeting since the end of the Cold War.
The military alliance is getting back to its roots – collective defense – as the West grapples with how to deal with a Russian intrusion into Ukraine and ISIS radical militants.
“We are trying to understand what can be done in order to stop the Russians,” Bildt said.
Iraq president pleads for help in ‘very vulnerable situation’
By Mick Krever, CNN
Iraqi President Fuad Masum appealed for international support to fight ISIS in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Thursday.
“If there is cooperation and coordination between Iraq and the United States, and the neighboring countries, I believe that that organization can be quickly wiped out.”
NATO has not received any request for support from Iraq, Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Thursday, but any application would be “considered seriously.”
Amanpour put that to President Masum.
“From here, and through this interview with you, I request … support for Iraq, to fight those terrorists, because Iraq now is in a fragile situation, very vulnerable situation.”
“And when that organization defeats Iraq, it can proceed to other countries.”
U.N. Gaza Inquiry Chairman: 'The International Criminal Court is sitting in the wings'
by Henry Hullah
The war between Israel and Hamas has left both sides accused of committing war crimes as Gaza lies shattered.
In less than two months a reported 17,000 homes were destroyed while tens of thousands have been left destitute and without a place to live.
On top of this, Israel is confiscating around 1,000 acres of Palestinian land near Bethlehem. Human rights expert Professor William Schabas is chairman of a U.N. inquiry in to the conflict.
He's received criticism in this role and the Commission of the Inquiry he is leading has been labelled a 'Kangaroo court' by the spokesperson for the Israeli foreign minister. Schabas seemed optimistic about the prospect of speaking with unenthusiastic officials.
"They can't prevent us doing an inquiry by refusing to give us access."
"I'm hopeful that we're going to convince Israel to cooperate with the inquiry. You know, five or six years ago, there was a controversial inquiry that was presided over by Richard Goldstone."
"He later said that if he had known things when the report was being prepared that he later learned, the report would have been different. I think that's a powerful lesson for Israel about the interest it has in actually coming forward and cooperating with the inquiry."
@camanpour on Twitter
