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Historic Agreement to Limit Climate Change; John Kerry Highlights Importance of Deal; Two Suspects Arrested in Geneva; Prices of Ivory Plummeting in China; Women Voting in Saudi Arabia; Ted Cruz Leading Polls in Iowa; Euro 2016 Draws. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired December 13, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

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GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: There it is, a deal has been struck, a historic agreement to limit climate change is done, but to what's next? We look ahead at what world leaders will need to do to make the deal.

Two arrests in Geneva after several days of anti-terror activity, we take you live to the city for the latest details.

And, you could call this Ted Cruz control. Republicans in the Midwest, they are turning away from Trump and turning to Mr. Cruz.

From CNN World headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell. NEWSROOM starts right now.

And a very good day to you, we begin this hour in Paris where thousands of delegates are headed home after a successful high stakes round of talks. Early Saturday, the Climate Conference approved a landmark deal to curb global warming.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURENT FABIUS, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

(CROSSTALK)

HOWELL: And with that, it is now up to there's 196 nations to hold themselves accountable and put the pact into action. U.S. President Barack Obama is proud of what COP21 accomplished but says the work is far from done.

BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: Because no nation, not even one as powerful as ours can solve this challenge alone. And no country no matter how small can sit on the sidelines. All of us had to solve it together.

Now, no agreement is perfect including this one, negotiations that involved nearly 200 nations are always challenging. Even if all the initial targets set in Paris are met, we'll only be part of the way there when it comes to reducing carbon from the atmosphere. So we cannot be complacent because of today's agreement. The problem is not solved because of this accord.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Our John Sutter was at that conference and now joins us live from Paris. John, good to have you with us. So, we were together yesterday to witness that moment, you know, where this accord was ratified, a moment of consensus but now, these world leaders have to take the deal back to their respective countries and try to sell it.

JOHN SUTTER, CNN DIGITAL COLUMNIST: Yeah, essentially for the deal to go into effect. You need 55 countries and about 55 percent of a global emissions, you need to have those countries ratify this on the national level. That happens differently in different countries in the U.S. but I think they're hoping that this can be an executive orders as opposed to something that goes through Congress because there are, you know, a lot of members of Congress who would be opposed to this agreement and who, you know, express doubt about climates science in generally even though the science is actually fairly sound.

So, you know, I think that it will be interesting to see how that all plays (ph) out, but I think the real question is, how do nations around the world actually carry the ambition of this agreement forward and enact policies that could actually get to us these targets. This treaty essentially sets the very ambitious goal of limiting warming to 2 degrees or even less to 1.5 degrees celsius that's measured as a temperature increase since the industrial revolution. And to give you a sense of what actually would be involved in meeting those goals, it basically means being off of fossil fuels or being carbon neutral in the later part of the century, sometime between 2050 to 2080 is what the experts said I've been talking to say.

So it's a rapid shift, a rapid change in the economy towards cleaner energy and I think that this is a huge signal to the world, to investors around the world, to, you know, businesses and government that is this is something that all the countries in the world are united and want to see happen. But, you know, what policies they have to enact to get there, I think that's what remains to be seen.

HOWELL: Let's talk a little bit more about the details of this deal, even in limiting climate change to less than 2 degrees Celsius or 3.6 degrees

Fahrenheit, there will still be countries, nations that end up with the ramifications of climate change. Talk to us about the money that is set aside to help those countries in their loss and damage.

SUTTER: Yes, so this agreement makes the ambition of putting $100 billion U.S. per year starting in 2020 towards climate adaptation and resilients. So, these are things like, you know, droughts will become more common in some parts of the world. Some, you know, places are already seeing issues with higher tides from sea level rise, increased flooding. There are all sorts of -- people call climate change a threat multiplier so a lot of these issues that may have existed in the past are expected to get worse as the climate warms.

[04:05:04] There already has been a fair amount of warming, I think that's worth stating, we've warmed the climate about 1 degree Celsius since the industrial revolution so it's not like, you know, there are already effects that are being seen. So, developing countries in particular those who haven't done much to cause climate change but are already seeing the effects and are very worried about the long-term future.

They are keen to see that money included in the agreement and promises made from industrialized countries including the United States that they will support this push.

We saw before this agreement actually was made, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pledging to double U.S., you know, commitments to climate adaptations. So I think that this is something that there was, you know, agreement on and both sides essentially see that there will be some effects that will be unavoidable and that there needs to be financing to help with that.

HOWELL: CNN Digital Columnist, John Sutter live for us at our Paris Bureau. John, thank you so much for your reporting there.

This has been described as a sweeping agreement but for an Environmental Law professor that we spoke to earlier, it is also very sobering.

Here's what Patrick Parenteau had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK PARENTEAU, VERMONT LAW SCHOOL PROFESSOR: This is more of a political agreement than a legal document frankly. It's important, certainly, for the nations to commit to what they've committed to and to commit to, as they put it ratcheting up the pledges that have been made. But the timeframe is very short. The amount of carbon that we're putting into the atmosphere every year on order of 36 billion tons is still going into the atmosphere. It will be there for centuries.

The science is telling us that the climate systems of the earth are actually more sensitive than we thought. The rate of melting of the ice sheets, the warming of the oceans, the acidification of the oceans, the sea level rise. Virtually, every measurement tells us that things are bad and getting worse very quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: So let's talk a little more about Saturday's agreement and what it means in real terms for people in the most vulnerable parts of the world.

Derek Van Dam is here with us, to give us a better explanation.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: George, it all boils down to the ability of a country to adapt to the effects of climate change. Take a look at this graph, try to break it down as simple as possible.

Vulnerabilities, people's vulnerabilities increase tenfold as developing nations with a very weak infrastructure and a poor economy are impacted by the effects of climate change. And on the contrary, vice versa, developed countries have a higher capacity to adapt and cope to these natural disasters that we continue to see across the planet.

And George, what I'm going to try to do is layout an example so you can see exactly what I'm talking about. We're going to compare the United States which has a gross yearly income per capita of around $55,000, U.S. dollars to the Philippines who have an average of $3,000, U.S. dollars per person per year. So, their ability to adapt and cope to climate change is drastically different compared to these two countries.

Let me show you what I'm talking about. We've had a recent slew of severe weather in the United States, specifically in Texas. You'll see some of the footage here of a tornado that ripped through the Willis, Texas region just north of Houston. This is about 70 or 80 kilometers north of the Houston area. But this is the result of this particular tornado. There was devastation to a mobile home park.

Now, we're in the United States. We're talking about the U.S. Again, $55,000 U.S dollars, that's the median in terms of an average yearly salary for this particular country and their ability to cope and adapt to natural disasters like this tornado or perhaps a hurricane or a typhoon is significantly higher to that compared to the Philippines, for instance.

Texas, two tornadoes reported on Saturday. There's still this threat of severe weather across the central sections of both Oklahoma and Texas, as a storm system continues to move eastward. We'll monitor that closely here within the CNN Weather Center.

But, now, talking about the flip side of this climate change conundrum almost, we're going to move to the other side of the world. This is the Philippines. Remember, gross annual income per capita here, roughly about $3,000 according to the World Bank.

And, so the ability to adapt and cope to natural disasters like typhoons, and remember, we have had a very active tropical season across this part of the world. And yet again, we have another typhoon just bearing down on Southern Luzon early parts of this workweek.

This is going to be incredibly difficult if these storms continue to increase in frequency as we've seen and also intensity, this storm system will produce a lot of rain and some strong winds and guess what, Manila, some of the largest population densities of the Philippines is in the path of this particular storm.

[04:10:00] Here's, look at the rainfall totals for this area from Legaspi into Manila, we could experience 300 to 500 millimeters of rainfall over the next seven days, that means flooding and costal erosion as well for this part of the world. So, it's interesting to just see what it means for developing versus developed countries and how we're going to pan this out with the latest Paris, you know, accord that has come out of COP21.

HOWELL: Derek, thank you so much.

VAN DAM: Thanks, George.

HOWELL: Well, while there are disagreements on how effective COP21 may be, the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry talked about why it is so important and how it differs from others before it. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We've reached an agreement here that is the strongest, most ambitious global climate change agreement ever negotiated. And many of us here in Paris, you know, have recognized that we're going to have to do that in order to send a signal to the marketplace that can change the direction that the world is on with respect to dependency on carbon fossil fuels. So this agreement does have the abilities to succeed in its implementation where other agreements have fallen short because they weren't global, they didn't include everybody. They didn't have the momentum behind them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: The U.S. Secretary of State won't be headed back to the United States any time soon. He is scheduled to meet in Rome with the Italian foreign minister and a U.N. special representative for Libya. And our senior international correspondent, Sara Sidner is live in Istanbul with more in Secretary Kerry's latest trip.

Sara, good to have you with us. So, what would this agreement mean for the people of Libya?

SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's important on one hand. It's trying to form a government that works and that can take over the daily duty that a government is required to do in order for people to live decent lives. These two rival parliaments exist now, one is considered the Islamist party, which is the general national congress, and the other one the council of representatives that's considered more moderate and more liberal, and it's sort of us against them a (inaudible), the other one is in Tripoli.

And so having them, make (ph) disagreement and come together and say, OK, we need to form a unity government so that we can govern this country. There's only 6 million people in this oil-rich country. They should be doing very, very, very well. But its citizens have been suffering for a very, very long time. Not only when Dictator Muammar Gaddafi was in place but after his fall the country has pretty much crumbled and it's become a lawless state. People need things like electricity and water and some of these areas are now being infiltrated by ISIS as well. And so it is a state that needs true strong government for the people, by the people. They are working towards that and this could be one step closer to that, George.

HOWELL: But talk to us about this step but other things that maybe coming into play because, as you describe it, a lawless place. What else are being done to create stability and security?

SIDNER: It's really, really difficult and all of the countries that surround it are concerned. We were just next door in Tunisia and they're building a fence along their border with the Libya because they have so many of their people who are very frustrated, who are enticed by Jihadists who are going over to train in Libya because Libya has become an open air weapons depot among other things. And what you also see in the country is militias who control cities. So, it's not like there's one big government that's kind of helping take care of and shuttle the country to something that is going to be good for the people.

It's a lot of small, tiny governments taking over certain cities. And one of them is the Islamic State, which has come into some areas and tried to take over and even made the reference that this may be their de facto capital if for example places like Raqqah or places in Syria and Iraq end up being taken over by the coalition, of U.S.-led coalition.

So, you really have a situation where the country is failing its people and this may be a step closer. But there is a ton of work to be done. There are lots of little problem, never mind the big overarching problem of having terrorists come into the country and disrupt the country as a whole, George.

HOWELL: Our Senior Internal Correspondent Sara Sidner live for us in Istanbul. Sara, thank you so much for the background and your reporting there.

Now we move on to Geneva, Switzerland. The city is on high alert after authorities arrested two suspected terrorists. Both suspects had Syrian passports and police found traces of explosives in their car. For more on this story, let's turn to our International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson who joins us live from Geneva. Nic, good to have you with us as well today.

[04:15:00] What do we expect next in this investigation?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well the police have said to expect more house searches and more arrests. They say that doesn't necessarily mean that all the arrests imply that the people being picked up are necessarily terrorists. What they're saying about these two men that they've arrested, neither of them speaks French. They do have Syrian passports. The passports do appear to be authentic, they say. But as we know, it is possible to get, you know, Syrian passports, original Syrian passports on the black market. So, at the moment the police are not outrightly saying that these men are Syrian, only that they appear to have authentic Syrian passports.

They are not saying whether or not the men have Schengen visas in their passports which would allow them legally to move freely inside Europe. That's not true at the moment. The police say they're investigating whether or not they have ties to terrorists organization, not saying which organization, but the implications at the moment does seem to lean towards ISIS. The reason for that is the police here, the intelligence officials here in the last few days have had three separate different terror leads relating to ISIS, relating to Geneva specifically. So the concern is here that these men may have been involved in a plot here.

Interestingly, the police here, the prosecutor in Geneva says that the men have traces of explosives in their vehicle. European security source tells CNN that in fact, what was found in that vehicle were the traces of precursor chemicals, that is the chemicals that might be used to make a homemade bomb, the types of things that you can buy in hardware stores, gardening stores, those sorts of things. So at the moment the investigation is going on but more arrests coming. That's what the police say George.

HOWELL: Very intensive investigation. At the same time, in the backdrop, Nic, this is a time where people come together to, you know, prepare for Christmas and do shopping. How are people in Geneva responding to all of this?

ROBERTSON: Yes, huge number of tourists in town here. We're outside the U.N. and there are people been here for the last hour or so coming to take photographs, you know, outside the U.N. there's more security at the U.N. but in the center of the town today, you have not just the additional Christmas shoppers, but it's a day of celebration in Geneva. They're celebrating a battle, the last time that Switzerland -- Geneva at least went to war, 1602, over 400 years ago. They have reenactments in the town center. People with, you know, muskets. They're firing off these replica old weapons in the streets, beating drums, playing tunes on traditional, you know, instruments from back in the day.

So, there's a lot of people on the streets here. More than there would be normally. The police took a decision in the last couple of days, despite heightened terror threat, to allow this to go ahead. So, the people here are sort of not reacting with an excessive fear, but in the background despite the celebration that are going on in the streets today bringing more people out than normal, there is a higher level of policing. A lot of it plain clothes policing, George.

HOWELL: CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nick Robertson, live for us in Geneva, Switzerland. Nick, thank you so much for your reporting there.

In southwest Russia, at least 21 people are dead and another 23 injured after a fire broke out at a psychiatric hospital. A hospital employee says there were 140 disabled people in the hospital, including 50 who were bed bound. At least 51 people were rescued unharmed. So far the cause of this fire is unknown.

You are watching CNN NEWSROOM, and still to come this hour, Donald Trump, he faces up to his Ted Cruz problem. New battle lines are being drawn in the Republican race for the White House. We'll have that story, plus we got some more analysis on that newly passed climate change deal for an activist focused on maintaining a livable planet. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

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[04:20:00]

HOWELL: Canadian volunteers and government officials turned out to welcome a second wave of Syrian refugees. They arrived Saturday night in Montreal, the home of Canada's biggest Syrian expat community. Immigration official say many of the refugees were sponsored by churches and other organizations. The first group arrived on Thursday. This is all part of Canada's plan to welcome 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of February.

And south of border here in the United States, let's talk politics. Some may be wondering if Donald Trump's recent anti-Muslim comments are starting to hurt his U.S. presidential hopes. Rival Ted Cruz soared ahead of Mr. Trump in a new Iowa Poll. Des Moines registered Bloomberg politics survey shows Cruz opening up a 10-point lead in the U.S. state that is the first to vote in the presidential primaries. Mr. Cruz and Trump will face off Tuesday in Las Vegas at the final Republican presidential debate. That will be right here on CNN.

The CNN/ORC poll shows the billionaire, Mr. Trump with 33 percent support among likely Republican caucus-goers in Iowa. CNN's Senior Washington Correspondent Jeff Zeleny takes a closer look at the battle lines that are being drawn between the frontrunner and his closest rival.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Trump, still comfortably on top of the Republican field has a new rival nipping at his heels. For the first time, Ted Cruz signaled his plan at a closed-door fundraiser to take on Trump and Ben Carson.

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R-TX) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that gravity will bring both of those campaigns down, and I think the lion's share of their supporters come to us.

ZELENY: A recording of Cruz given to the New York Times offers a behind-the-scenes look at his strategy to try what's eluded other Republicans, taking down Trump.

CRUZ: People that are looking for who is prepared to be a commander in chief. Now that's a question of strength but it's also a question of judgment and I think that is a question that is a challenging question for both of them.

[04:25:06] ZELENY: Cruz has been one of the few Republicans unwilling to tangle with the billionaire front-runner. As Cruz tried to contain the fewer roar (ph) after his private works went public he twitted, "The establishment's only hope, Trump and me in a cage match. Sorry to disappoint, Trump is terrific."

Trump appeared in Iowa he said he'll return fire. "Looks like Ted Cruz is getting ready to attack. I'm leading by so much, he must. I hope so. He will fall like all others. Will be easy." It's a moment Trump's been waiting for.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And he's been so supportive but at some point he's going to have to hit me, right? It's going to be a sad day, but we will hit back, I promise.

ZELENY: The latest skirmish comes as Republicans worry whether they can stop Trump. Party leaders discuss preparing for a contested convention at a private meeting this week in Washington.

Ben Carson said any back-room deals could push he and Trump from the party. In a statement today he said, if this was the beginning of a plan to subvert the will of the voters and replace it with the will of the political elite, I assure you Donald Trump will not be the only one leaving the party. The Republican National Committee said there was no reason for worry.

SEAN SPICER, CHIEF STRATEGIST, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Republican voters will choose the delegates that go to the convention in Cleveland next July. Those people will decide the nominee. That's it, bottom line, plain and simple.

ZELENY: The party is trying to bring order to the chaotic race as other candidates hope to gain traction. Supporters of Ohio governor John Kasich launched a new online effort to put a stake in Trump.

TRUMP: Trump stakes by far the best tasting most flavorful beef you've ever had.

ZELENY: Mocking one of the mogul's old businesses Trump Steaks. Yet Trump remains squarely on top. A new poll in New Hampshire shows Trump is at 27 percent, followed by Chris Christie at 12 and Marco Rubio at 11.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: And that was CNN's Senior Washington Correspondent Jeff Zeleny reporting. And Donald Trump will face CNN's Chief Washington Correspondent and the host State of the Union, Mr. Jake Tapper, that airs later today at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, 2:00 p.m. London, right here on CNN.

At least 12 people were killed and more than 50 injured by an explosion at a busy market. This happened in a mainly Shia area of Pakistan's northwestern region. There has been no claim of responsibility for the blast at this point and it's unclear whether it was a suicide bombing. Pakistan's prime minister condemned the attack and asserted that the country must continue to work to root out terrorism.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, and the draw is complete for Euro 2016. We'll tell you which match ups have soccer fans excited for the tournament.

Plus, a new report has some promising news regarding elephants and the illegal ivory trade. We'll hear from one man who may have had something to do with the plummeting demand for those ivory trinkets. That story as this broadcast continues around the globe at this hour on CNN worldwide.

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HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Very good to have you with us. I'm George Howell.

The headlines we're following this hour.

(HEADLINES)

HOWELL: Let's turn to Emma Ruby-Sachs, she is the Deputy Director of Avaaz, a global civic movement organization to talk more about what happened in Paris, with COP21, and it's good to have you with us. So, you have been working for a long time now on putting pressure on leaders to do more. I'd like to get your thoughts on what we saw that was ratified in Paris.

EMMA RUBY-SACHS, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, AVAAZ: It really feels this morning like we woke up to a turning point in history. I mean, that deal that you just talked about had the pathway to 100 percent clean energy, which is what people were marching around the world for a few days ago. And it's what -- over 3.6 million people signed a large petition for the world leaders. It's been the rallying cry for almost 18 months now. And, that deal really includes the possibility of that for the world's people.

HOWELL: But, you know, some are saying, you know, while this was historic and while it is described as sweeping, that it's too little too late. And we saw activists just outside the Eiffel Tower who demanded more, that this deal include more. What are your thoughts about that? Does it go far enough?

RUBY-SACHS: Right now, this deal is very science-based. It's actually the first science-based climate deal in history, which is amazing. So, a lot of the language especially the language that talks about net-zero emissions by the second half of the century, that's based on a scientific report, and that's a huge leap forward. But, it is just the beginning. Right now we have a process in this agreement that lets governments come back. It actually requires them to come back every five years to get more ambitious, to ratchet up how they're going to address this climate crisis.

And, it was the amount of people that got governments to a place where they were actually going to agree to this stuff that really radical climate policy. It's going to be up to the people on streets to make sure they not only stick these promises but do better every five years from now until we see that beautiful clean future.

HOWELL: But, as far as nations being encouraged to do better, talk to us just about the deal and its reporting structure, and what some say really is a lack of, you know, lack of -- making sure that people are -- these nations are held accountable. [04:35:15] RUBY-SACHS: That's actually really not true in this

agreement. And that was a big fight that was had between the U.S. and China about transparency. And what the deal says is when the government comes back, they have to make a promise about what they're going to do to fix this greenhouse gas problem we have, the poison in the air. And, they have to come back with a better promise the next five years. There's no back sliding.

And more importantly, they have to open their books to the world's governments and show concretely what they've done in the intervening period. That process was one of the key things that people around the world were fighting for. And in fact, something -- the U.S. really led on fighting for as well.

HOWELL: Emma Ruby-Sachs, we appreciate your insight here on what happened there in Paris. And, we will certainly have to see how it plays out as these word leaders now take this deal back to their respective countries to have the deal ratified there. Thank you for your time.

RUBY-SACHS: Thank you.

HOWELL: Another potential environmental victory, a new report by the Save the Elephant organization says that prices for ivory are now plummeting in China. Peter Knight is the head of Wildaid and he spoke to my colleague Natalie Allen earlier about the significance of this drop in the ivory market. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER KNIGHT, WILDAID EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: It's fantastic news for elephants. We've been working for a number of years now to try and reduce the demand for Ivory. Working people like use Yao Ming and Jackie Chan, Li Bingbing, a number of Chinese stars with massive public awareness campaigns backed by the Chinese government and CCTV. But this news of the price drop is the first sort of very firm evidence we've had that things are changing.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Right, CCTV, I read a report, has run (inaudible) 71 times a day. And it just -- looks like after the culture has been using and selling ivory that it's really getting to people. That must feel good for you and all the work that you've been doing.

KNIGHT: Well, the other thing that's happened is that recently, President Xi, and President Obama announced that they would be ending ivory sales in China and in the United States. So, I think it's a combination of public awareness and government action. It's the one- two punch which is what we need to save the elephants.

ALLEN: And, so the next indicator will be, will this spillover into other countries and what are those countries that are still buying ivory.

KNIGHT: Well we know -- I was in Hong Kong recently, and we know the Hong Kong government has changed its stance and is looking at a ban. A 90 percent of the Hong Kong population wants to see a ban on ivory sales. After than, Thailand and Japan I think are key countries still involved in the ivory trade.

ALLEN: Well, you know, this has been an encouraging weekend for climate success and now we have time in the U.S. working together to save the elephants. The questions for the climate success is, will it do enough and the question for this is, is this enough to save the elephants?

KNIGHT: Well we also got good news from Africa I'm hearing Nairobi and Kenya have upped their penalties for ivory poaching. Tanzania has a new president, he's cleaning up on corruption they've arrested people there. So I think, again, it's going to be a combination of everyone working together. We need to reduce the markets but we would also need to up our game in enforcement here in Africa.

ALLEN: So what you're saying is that you believe that's going to happen because with China saying, "we're done with this", that helps the people of Africa protect them as well?

KNIGHT: It is happening, more and more governments here are getting much more active on this issue. And, you know, we had recently the Chinese government supporting Tanzania by providing vehicles for conservation. So, you know, we think (inaudible) and we really think, hopefully we can turn the tide for elephants to make this the year that elephant births actually outnumber elephant deaths. And then I think we're going to turn our attention to the rhinos because they're having a hard time as well right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. And still ahead, hundreds of abandoned dogs in turkey. They're finding out they really are man's best friend. Details up next.

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[04:40:00]

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HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell. Local elections in Saudi Arabia have taken on an added meaning now.

Women have been allowed to cast ballots for the very first time. This move has been described as a step forward for equality in the male dominated kingdom, but others say it is a hollow victory.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANESSA TUCKER, VICE PRESIDENT FOR ANALYSIS, FREEDOM HOUSE: Unfortunately, it's much more of a symbolic victory and I think it's quite unlikely that this will actually mean much in terms of real change for women in Saudi Arabia. Even if women in large numbers are elected to office, we're talking about a consultants of council that's really only advisory in nature. And it's important to keep in mind the much broader political climate in Saudi Arabia which is one of extreme political repression.

Saudi Arabia is one of the top -- the worst scoring countries in freedom in the world which is our annual survey of political rights and civil liberties. And that's in large part because its political life is almost completely nonexistent.

I think it's possible that we'll see small steps forward but given the nature of the bodies that these women would be possibly be elected to, they're not bodies that would have control over policy-related to women in general. They're more -- they're municipal councils that relate to things like roads, parks, civic issues.

So, while those are important questions it's not going to be arena -- an arena in which women can really push for serious policy changes in regard to women in the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: A total of 979 female candidates ran in the election but the campaigning was complicated because they were barred from speaking to male voters.

Now onto Istanbul and the woman who spent the last 12 years rescuing hundreds of dogs specifically Golden Retrievers unable to find homes and new owners. Luckily though, there is a silver lining for some of these Goldens.

Here again, our Senior International and of course Sara Sidner explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: It's play time. First this raucous crowd greets each other in all manner of ways. Then, they turn to the humans.

All these dogs are here because of Yasemin Baban. All these dogs were once abandoned and unwanted on the streets of Istanbul. And you won't believe where they're about to end up.

YASEMIN BABAN, DOG RESCUER: Dogs has no chances. They cannot talk, they cannot beg, they don't steal.

[04:45:04] They just want food and affection.

SIDNER: After seeing the conditions of a shelters 12 years ago in Turkey, she dedicated her life to saving domesticated animals.

BABAN: I left the shelter crying and I once again then cried and then I said, crying is not enough, someone has to do something. Then I started to volunteer in shelters.

SIDNER: She was soon warned of a disturbing trend. The reason you see so many Golden Retrievers here being rescued is because people in Turkey love the puppies, they're really popular. But once they get grown up they end up putting them out either on the streets or in the forest. And that's also why they're good natured, because these were people's pets at one time.

But their sweetness hurts their chances of survival on the streets of Istanbul where tens of thousands of hardcore stray street dogs lived.

AHMET, DOG RESCUER: We vaccinate them. We neuter or spay them. And I would put them a chip which is for their identification of the dog. And we issue their health certificates, their passports.

SIDNER: That's where the story turns in to a very long journey for these Goldens, from Istanbul, Turkey to Atlanta, Georgia, USA. It turns out Americans love their Golden Retrievers and Baban found just the place, Adopt a Golden Atlanta.

BABAN: Americans Golden rescues have lists of the people waiting to adopt dogs. And here we don't find anyone.

SIDNER: So far, Adopt a Golden Atlanta has taken in 123 Golden Retrievers from Istanbul, they call them Turkey dogs. With all the animosity building between east and west, this is one connection that has no bark or bite.

SIDNER: Sara Sidner, CNN, Istanbul.

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HOWELL: So, I'm sure plenty of happy dogs now at Adopt a Golden Atlanta. Good on them.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, and still ahead, a nonprofit in the United States is taking a new approach to youth outreach. How has using bikes to teach life lessons, as NEWSROOM continues.

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[04:50:00]

HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell. The groups are all decided for the Euro 2016 football tournament that slated to began in June in France. And there's at least one match up that's already getting a lot of attention.

CNN's Patrick Snell has more.

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PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORT AND INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For the first time ever, 24 countries will compete at next year's European Football Championships in France.

Now, Saturday's high-profile draw in Paris throwing up a potentially tricky group for two-time defending champion Spain, who will play Turkey, Croatia and the Czech Republic. But in group B, which is interest is well I'm surely peaked with Gareth Bale and his Welsh team meeting England. Welsh are playing in the tournament for the first time ever.

While the first match of tournament will feature the host playing Romania at the Stade de France on June the 10th. Didier Deschamps, they blur, are also grouped with Albania and Switzerland too.

DIDER DESCHAMPS, FRANCE COACH (through translator): From these three adversaries, we know too very well because the last two years, we played against them and they gave us big problems as we weren't able to beat them.

The Swiss we have observed because we had them in our group for the World Cup. So we know them well. We know the Romanians less well but we have watched their qualification, with five victories and five draws. The best defense of all the teams that qualified but only took two goals, but in the end of the day, that says everything and nothing.

SNELL: Conspicuous by his absence in the meantime, was UEFA President, Michel Platini, who's currently serving a FIFA Ethics Committee suspension.

The draw playing out though amid tight security in the aftermath of the recent terror attacks on Paris. A heavy police presence outside the Palais des Congres ahead of proceedings with Euro 16 organizers with this message for the French public.

GIANNI INFANTINO, UEFA GENERAL SECRETARY: I would like to take this opportunity in the name of UEFA to express my solidarity towards all French people during these difficult times. Our thoughts are with all those affected by the attacks of the 13th of November.

SNELL: The tournament lasts for a total of four weeks with the final, all to take place at the Stade de France on July the 10th.

Patrick Snell, CNN.

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HOWELL: At a time when going green has become a worldwide priority, some Italian radio presenters are petitioning for an unlikely candidate for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. That candidate would be the bicycle. Their argument that bikes, unlike cars, they don't cause pollution and they have no collection to the many wars that are fought over oil.

They say each kilometer or each mile bike represents 17 cents that's added to the world's economy. Fittingly, they plan to deliver their completed petition to the Norway Nobel Committee by the, bicycle relay I should say. Pretty impressive.

Well the idea of a bike winning the prestigious prize may seem a little different. There's a nonprofit right here in the City of Atlanta that is using bicycles to help change kid's lives.

Here's CNN's Nick Valencia.

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NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On any given day, you might find Shawn Walton in the heart of Atlanta, teaching his students while riding a bicycle.

SHAWN WALTON, WECYCLE ATLANTA FOUNDER: Man I love it.

VALENCIA: The love he has is for WeCycle, a nonprofit organization he started three years ago.

WALTON: (Inaudible), but it's worth it.

VALENCIA: WeCycle uses bicycles and agriculture to empower low income residents, mostly youth to be productive and healthy citizens within their community. Out of his West End, Atlanta headquarters, Walton and his team of volunteers teach health, economics leadership and sustainability. And along the way, try to impart a work ethic. The goal, chip away at a problem he says his community faces.

[04:55:00] WALTON: Some of these kids are hungry and some of these kids, you know, has some very unhealthy ways that we kind of need to guide them into better ways as well.

VALENCIA: Once a month, four students ranging from ages 10 to 18 are selected to participate in the WeCycle's intensive 40 hours where they're taught bike repair, how to cycle and through yoga, had a focus and build discipline.

An agricultural educator teaches how to build pallet gardens which students say they find intriguing.

UNIDENTIFEID FEMALE: By the spot dirt with dirt like in the ground. I never knew it was made of food and animal poo and stuff.

VALENCIA: At the end of the month, once the full 40 hours are complete, students earn a brand new bicycle leaving them feeling a sense of pride.

Students are not only the ones proud, the community is also proud of Walton and the work WeCycle is doing.

RASHNID NURI, TRULY LIVING WELL CEO: WeCycle is very important because he's able -- Shawn is able to engage the children through the bicycles and get into their heads and teach them other skills, other life lessons.

VALENCIA: Rashid Nuri of Atlanta's Truly Living Well has partnered with WeCycle on a number of community projects. He believes that WeCycle is helping to fill a void within the black community.

NURI: So many of our black youth are being incarcerated. They're not being educated. We're not connected economically. The equity issue is equity is an issue and programs like WeCycle are addressing these from a very fundamental level. VALENCIA: A level Walton says, he plans to take worldwide with future plans to start WeCycle Miami, WeCycle L.A. and hopefully one day, WeCycle Ghana.

Nick Valencia, CNN Atlanta.

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HOWELL: Good stuff there. And we thank you for watching this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell. I'll be right back after the break with more news from around the world.

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