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NEWS STREAM

The Final Assault - ISIS Pushes Back In The Battle For Its Last Enclave As The Top U.S. General In The War Warns Of A Lingering Threat; A Breakthrough In U.S. Border Talks; Refugee Footballer Hakeem Al Araibi Gets A Warm Welcome Home. Aired: 8:00-9a ET

Aired February 12, 2019 - 08:00   ET

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

BEN WEDEMAN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: The morning began with heavy exchange of machine gunfire.

WILL RIPLEY, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN (voice over): The final assault. ISIS pushes back in the battle for its last enclave as the top

U.S. general in the war warns of a lingering threat.

GENERAL JOSEPH VOTEL, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: It doesn't mean the end of the organization.

RIPLEY (voice over): A breakthrough in U.S. border talks.

RICHARD SHELBY, U.S. SENATOR, ALABAMA, REPUBLICAN: We've reached an agreement in principle.

RIPLEY (voice over): But the big question, will Donald Trump agree to it?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're building the wall, anyway.

RIPLEY (voice over): And out of detention.

HAKEEM AL ARAIBI, REFUGEE FROM BAHRAIN: My country destroy it.

RIPLEY (voice over): Refugee footballer Hakeem Al Araibi gets a warm welcome home.

RIPLEY (on camera): Hey, I'm Will Ripley in Hong Kong, in for Kristi Lu Stout on this Tuesday. Welcome to "News Stream" and we begin with ISIS

militants under heavy bombardment by U.S. led coalition war planes despite being cornered and outnumbered.

ISIS is proving that the battle to force them from their final enclave will not be an easy one. A CNN team has been witnessing the intense fighting in

Eastern Syria firsthand. They even had to back off their positions when ISIS launched a major surprise counter attack. Take a look at what senior

international correspondent Ben Wedeman experienced on the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

WEDEMAN: So we have to leave our position now because the morning began with a heavy exchange of machine gunfire followed by loud explosions. We

went up to the roof and started to take incoming rounds, then some sort of explosive device landed just next to the building we were in.

[Gunfire and explosions]

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: Just incredible. Ben and his team have been bringing us this reporting from the front lines in Eastern Syria and Ben is now on safer

ground, thankfully. Ben, you've been doing this for years. I'm curious how this gun battle that you came so close to compares to others that

you've experienced, how it stacks up. But I also want to know, given the fact that ISIS is facing this overwhelming onslaught and they continue

fighting back, how do you see this playing out?

WEDEMAN: I think what is happening is that they took advantage, Will, of the early morning mist which is where they have their -- they're in a much

better position. It's hard for the U.S.-led coalition aircraft and drones to get a clear view of what's going on in the ground.

So what they typically do is use the mist to surround SDF or Syrian Democratic Forces positions and then really just cause a panic within the

forces, and what we saw were some of those troops were are running back in our direction. It was becoming increasingly clear that there was a danger

that our position would be overrun, particularly when that mortar round landed right next to our building. If it had just been a few meters to the

left, it would have landed exactly where we were taking cover while that incoming fire was coming.

Now, we understand that despite yesterday, the ferocity of yesterday's counterattack, that Syrian Democratic Forces were able to push back and

regain the positions they had lost as a result of ISIS' early morning move, but it does underscore the fact that ISIS' fighters who are in this very

little small dot on the map are some of the most battle hardened and experienced.

They have, keep in mind, that for instance, we were speaking with some veterans of the battles Raqqa and Mosul and they said that they were

encountering relatively young and inexperienced fighters.

This time around, it's a whole different situation whereby these people are also the ones who are willing to fight to the death, and in the midst of

all this, you have the problem of the civilians.

Will, for the last 10 ten days, we were told by officials here that there were, perhaps, 1,500 civilians inside. Yesterday alone, I counted 21

trucks leaving the point where they assemble people fleeing from the town. Those trucks were carrying 700 people.

[08:05:10]

WEDEMAN: A spokesmen for the Syrian Democratic Forces was quick to concede. They drastically underestimated the number of civilians left in

there. He says they now believe, there are thousands of people in there and that they are in dire condition because of, of course, the bombardment.

I spoke to one young man who had fled just yesterday morning who said there's no safe place to hide. There's no part of town that is safer than

another. There are no bomb shelters for these people. So they huddle in buildings where they think they're safest, but it appears that there's

nowhere really safe there and also, there's the danger of hunger stalking throughout this town.

Few people have the resource to pay for the food that is available. They're ending up, for instance, eating grain - it's normally fed to

livestock -- Will.

RIPLEY: You know, even for those who have experienced a lot of battles, this has to be absolutely terrifying. From what you have seen, are these

adults as far as the civilians go or could there potentially be families, children still there?

WEDEMAN: There are children. There are women. There are old people still there. Now, there was a lull in the fighting leading up to Saturday

evening's launch of the offensive. and it was hoped that during that time, as many civilians as possible would leave, but what we saw was every day

for the last three weeks, preceding the beginning of the offensive on Saturday night, there were dozens, sometimes a hundred, sometimes 200

people coming out.

But some people are being held as human shields and they have no choice. They cannot leave. And there are others who simply, out of fear, out of --

perhaps they're related to ISIS fighters, they don't want to abandon them, but people are staying there, thousands of them in extreme danger -- Will.

RIPLEY: I mean, we heard and we saw what you experienced. It is unimaginable to think of children going through the same. Ben Wedeman,

thank you for that reporting. Vital reporting from Eastern Syria.

This may be the terror group's last geographical territory. But the top U.S. General overseeing the fight is warning that even if ISIS loses now,

they still remain a dangerous threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOTEL: It doesn't mean the end of the organization and we are going to have to continue to put military pressure on them. The Syrian Democratic

Forces will, and we will help them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: Joining me now, Professor Fawas Gerges who is Chair of the Contemporary Middle East Studies at the London School of Economics and

Political Science, also author of "Making the Arab World." Professor, it is so great to have you here for your perspective.

You just heard Ben Wedeman's reporting from the frontlines. What will it take to stop ISIS from metastasizing once they're squeezed out of this

territory?

FAWAS GERGES, CHAIR OF THE CONTEMPORARY MIDDLE EAST STUDIES AT THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE: Well, it has already mutated

into an insurgent group for the past two years, not just the last few months. ISIS leaders have been preparing for the morning after -- the

morning after the dismantling of the physical territorial caliphate. We are seeing now the break-up of the so-called Islamic State in Syria and

Iraq.

But already, ISIS basically has gone back to its basic roots which is insurgency. We know that thousands of ISIS fighters have melted away with

the civilian populations in devastated areas in Iraq and Syria.

In Iraq, ISIS now wages a low intensity insurgency, targeting security people, targeting civil society leaders on daily basis. My take on it is

that we're going to, ISIS sadly and tragically will be with us for many years, not just one or two years from now after the dismantling of the

physical territorial caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

RIPLEY: I want to play for you these comments from President Trump just last week. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It should be formally announced sometime probably next week that we will have 100% of the

caliphate and we continue to destroy the remnants -- that's all they have, remnants -- but remnants can be very dangerous. You have to remember that.

A remnant can be very dangerous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: That's quite a change. I mean, President Trump said multiple times ISIS had been defeated in Syria. He was even going against his own

experts, so does it seem to you, based on what you're hearing now that the President and his advisers are on the same page?

[08:10:03]

GERGES: No, they are not on the same page. The President does not really listen to American military commanders and the security establishment. In

fact, we know very well there are major tensions and contradictions between President Trump and his generals including the Defense Secretary of State,

I mean, James Mattis who resigned in protest after the U.S. President decided to pull out U.S. forces from Syria.

This is the first time really in American history where an American President does not really listen to the security strategic establishment

and this is very confusing to the American public, not to mention the international community.

So on the one hand, the President says we're going to declare victory. Declare victory over what? Yes, I think we should celebrate the fact that

almost 7.2 million people have been liberated in Iraq and Syria. At a great cost for civilian lives and also for the Iraqis and Syrians.

But let's be very clear, you have thousands, my take on it, you have between 2,000 and 20,000 active ISIS combatants in Iraq and Syria and the

next few years are going to be as difficult as the past four years because ISIS will wage an insurgency, low intensity insurgency in both Iraq and

Syria.

Keep in mind, too, that ISIS has spread beyond Iraq and Syria. It's now a transnational organization -- in Yemen, in Libya and the Sinai Peninsula,

in Egypt, in West Africa, in Afghanistan, in Pakistan -- this remains a very dangerous organization.

Final point, what we need for your own audience, what we need to understand, ISIS or the so-called Islamic State is a symptom of broken

politics in the Arabic-Islamic world. So even if you defeat it militarily, you need to tackle the symptoms that have given rise to ISIS, that is

repression, lack of economic opportunities, extreme poverty, dictatorships, the exclusion of minorities and certain communities and, sadly, President

Trump does not have the vision or the will or the temperament to deal with this complex problem not just in Iraq and Syria, but worldwide.

RIPLEY: And what you just described, obviously, a far more difficult battle than this intense fighting that we're witnessing play out in Eastern

Syria. Professor Fawaz Gerges, thank you so far for joining us from London.

GERGES: Thank you.

RIPLEY: Now to a possible agreement in Washington to try to avoid yet another shutdown of the U.S. government. Negotiators on Capitol Hill say

they have a deal, in principle that includes funding for some new barriers along the border with Mexico. But lawmakers in both Houses of Congress,

well, they have to agree on a border security package and then President Trump has to sign it by Friday to prevent the second government shutdown in

as many months.

So what is the U.S. President willing to accept? That really is the open question and it has remained a wild card hanging over these negotiations.

So let's get straight to Joe Johns at the White House. Joe, I know that, you know, trying to predict what President Trump will do is kind of like

trying to predict the weather. So what's the forecast there?

JOE JOHNS, SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Anybody's guess, quite frankly. Look, Will, what we do know is the President has not weighed in

on this compromise. We also know that he uses Twitter, so we're following his Twitter feed closely to get some type of a clue.

He has a couple choices. One of them, he can certainly reject this which is something some of his allies on the conservative side have suggested.

He can also accept it as part of the solution and then use other strategies, perhaps, including declaring a national emergency in order to

get the rest of what he wants.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SHELBY: We reached an agreement in principle between us.

JOHNS(voice-over): Bipartisan congressional investigators announcing that they've reached a tentative deal to avoid another government shutdown, but

it remains unclear whether President Trump will support the compromise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the White House support this agreement?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We think so. We hope so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS (voice over): A source tells CNN that White House aides are still digesting the details of the agreement. The President telling a crowd in

El Paso last night that he had not yet been fully briefed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Maybe progress has been made, maybe not. But I had a choice. I could have stayed out there and listened or I could have come out to the

people of El Paso in Texas. I chose you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS (voice over): Sources tell CNN that the deal includes nearly $1.4 billion for 55 miles of new barrier in the Rio Grande Valley; funding for

around 40,000 detention beds; and $1.7 billion increase in overall Department of Homeland Security spending.

[08:15:09]

JOHNS (voice over): The funding for the border barrier is significantly less than President Trump's $5.7 billion demand for a wall and only

slightly above the current funding level of $1.3 billion. It's also less than the $1.6 billion the Senate offered last year, which President Trump

rejected, leading to the government shutdown. Democrats appearing to drop their demand for a strict cap on immigrants detained within the United

States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK LEAHY, U.S. SENATOR, VERMONT, DEMOCRAT: There's not a single one of us is going to get every single thing we want, but nobody does. But

we're going to get what is best for the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS (voice over): The details of the bill immediately coming under fire by conservatives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK MEADOWS, CO-CHAIR, FREEDOM CAUCUS (via phone): Candidly, what has been outlined tonight is not a serious attempt at securing our borders.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST, FOX NEWS: One point three billion? That's not -- and not even a wall, a barrier? Any Republican that supports this garbage

compromise, you will have to explain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS (voice over): A White House official says the administration is floating another option: taking the deal, but using the President's

executive powers to divert other Federal funds to build additional barriers, something the President and his supporters have alluded to in

recent days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICK MULVANEY, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: There's pots of money where presidents -- all presidents have access to without a national emergency.

TRUMP: Just so you know, we're building the wall anyway.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

JOHNS: Now, this is being described as an agreement in principle and often the devil is in the details. There's a lot to be done before a bill can be

placed on the floor. Time is running out. Friday is drawing near. The President meets today with his Cabinet and he's expected to meet with the

Governor of New York. Will, back to you.

RIPLEY: And hundreds of thousands of U.S. Federal workers watching this with bated breath. Joe Johns live at the White House, thank you.

Just a few hundred yards from President Trump's campaign-style rally, possible Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke revved up his own march and

rally, slamming the President's call for a border wall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETO O'ROURKE, FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Oh, this is inspiring. This is the border standing up for itself. This is El Paso telling our story. No

one can tell it better than we can -- safe, strong, secured community -- that's who we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: Later, O'Rourke told supporters that El Paso was a safe city not because of its border wall, but in spite of it. He says treating each

other with dignity and respect is the key to security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'ROURKE: We stand for America and we stand against walls. There is no bargain in which we can sacrifice some of our humanity to gain a little

more security. We know that we deserve and we will lose both of them if we do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: Sounds an awful lot like a presidential candidate, but O'Rourke says he will officially announce whether or not he's running for President

by the end of this month.

You're watching "News Stream" and still ahead on this Tuesday, Venezuela's opposition will be rallying nationwide, with a simple message for Nicholas

Maduro, "Let aid in." And Turkey arrests hundreds of people it believes were behind the 2016 failed coup attempt with hundreds more considered

suspects. We're live in Istanbul.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:20:00]

RIPLEY: Turkish state media is reporting that 641 people have been detained in cities across Turkey in relation to the 2016 failed coup

attempt, and an audacious bid to infiltrate the Turkish police force. The arrest, apparently, part of a crackdown against an organization that is

linked to U.S. based leader and cleric, Fethullah Gulen.

Our Jomana Karadsheh joins me now live from Istanbul and Jomana , why is Turkey making these arrests now?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, Will, according to state media, as you mentioned there and Turkish officials, they are saying that this was

a major operation that began early this morning centered around the capital, Ankara, but it also involved simultaneous raids in more than 70

cities across the country.

They were enforcing nearly 1,200 arrest warrants for individuals that Turkey says were linked to the movement of the U.S.-based cleric, Fethullah

Gulen. As you mentioned, Turkey says that he was behind that failed coup attempt in 2016 and this is something that Gulen himself has denied.

Now, when it comes to these individuals, as you mentioned, right now, the number seems to be going up. The latest figures we got is more than 600

have been detained and this is an ongoing operation to capture the rest of these suspects. This specific case, Will, Turkish authorities are saying

is related to a 2010 scandal that had to do with the police exams at the time where questions were leaked for an exam for the inspectors, future

inspectors would take.

Now, it's now clear how many of these individuals they're going after are police officers or former police officers. We understand that some of them

might be still serving in the police force, others who were part of the police force in the past, and this is not the first time that Turkey is

launching such an investigation when it comes to these exams for civil servants and security officers.

The reason behind that is Turkey has long accused the movement of Fethullah Gulen of trying to infiltrate state institutions, they say that they had

infiltrated the police, the judiciary and the other security institutions in an attempt to undermine the Turkish state and in an attempt to try and

create this state within a state, a parallel state. So this is why they are carrying out these arrests right now. This is according to Turkish

officials, but of course, this country, President Erdogan, his government has come under a lot of criticism since that 2016 failed coup attempt by

the international community for what they said is this crackdown that followed where tens of thousands have been detained, more than a hundred

thousand have been expelled from their jobs.

But Turkey rejects the criticism. It says that this is a matter of national security and it seems about two and a half years since that failed

coup attempt. there's no end in sight to that purge -- Will.

RIPLEY: Yes, the crackdown certainly continues. Jomana Karadsheh following it for us in Istanbul, thank you.

Within the next hour, Venezuela's opposition is set to begin nationwide protests to call on embattled President Nicolas Maduro to let humanitarian

aid into the economically crippled country.

Maduro is expected to lead a march of his own in Caracas protesting what he calls imperialist intervention. Opposition leader, Juan Guaido says his

team delivered the first shipment of aid on Monday.

He did say where the supplies came from or how it was delivered, but he did say that 200,000 to 300,000 people could die if more aid is not allowed in.

CNN's Isa Soarez is standing by at the Columbian border town of Cucuta where she has been doing her reporting for nearly a week now, and Stefano

Pozzebon, he is live in Caracas monitoring the situation there.

So Stefano, I am going to go to your first, and I am curious, what makes these protests different from before, particularly the potential role of

the military here?

[08:25:01]

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Of course, Will, we have covered this protest time and time again, at least in --

RIPLEY: All right, we are having some problems with Stefano's live signal there, so Isa, I'm going to ask that same question to you. Given the fact

that the military has essentially been ordered to stop these protesters, what makes this situation different from what we've seen before?

ISA SOAREZ, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, we'll be able to see in roughly an hour or so, Will, just the size of those protests. We're expecting them to

be even bigger. It is expected to be mass protests, but also very positive and very happy protests, what we've seen in the last several weeks. People

taking to the streets to stand next to Guaido and this of course, coming just less than 24 hours from that claim by Guaido that he's received the

first batch of aid, 85,000 nutritional supplies going into one of the poorest areas of Venezuela that will help children and that will help

thousands of pregnant women.

So this is, no doubt, the momentum that he wants in order to keep -- to be credible and to keep the momentum going. He has promised the people who

are following him, Will that the aid will be going into Venezuela any way possible. So he's got a lot riding on this.

So having announced that claim -- with that claim yesterday on Twitter, this will obviously work to his side and work to the many people turning

out, but I've been speaking to people who have been crossing the border who are actually going to be taking part, going back and taking part in those

protests. And people from all walks of life, I met one family, middle class family who had the means to come here, who was able to come here and

buy formula and buy diapers for their children and he said to me, this family with wife and his two kids, he said, "Look, we will be going to

protest. We are going to the protest. It's a happy protest. We want change. We want that aid to come in."

But bear in mind, this is what he said to me -- bear in mind that it is still a very dangerous time for us to be on the streets. Because you turn

around and you don't know if the Jose next to you or the Maria next to you, whether they are militia, whether they are with Maduro's people.

So whilst, you know, they'd be smiling, there will be protests, they will standing with Guaido, it's still a very dangerous time to be protesting on

the streets of Caracas and in fact, in Venezuela. So people wanting the aid -- that message of aid to continue being heard throughout the world,

but the reality is, the aid, at least, is still sitting idle in a warehouse 20 minutes or so from here, Will.

RIPLEY: All right, Isa Soarez, we will be certainly checking back in with you and hopefully, Stefano Pozzebon as well in Caracas in the coming hour

to see how this all unfolds throughout the day. Thank you.

You're watching "News Stream" and still to come on this Tuesday, cheers for a refugee footballer who is now back on Australian soil after spending two

months in a Thai jail.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]

RIPLEY: I'm Will Ripley in Hong Kong and you're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines. CNN is witnessing firsthand the battle to

oust ISIS from its final enclave in Eastern Syria. Our reporting team had to back off its position when the terror group launched a surprise

counterattack. Coalition forces are preparing to launch another major operation to end the battle and Ben Wedeman is reporting there are

civilians and children trapped right in the middle of it all.

U.S. lawmakers say they have reached a deal in principle to avoid another government shutdown at the end of this week after they just got the

government back up and running after the longest shutdown in U.S. history, now, apparently, this new deal includes funding for new barriers on the

U.S.-Mexico border, also a boost in security spending, but if falls far short of what President Trump has been demanding for that border wall that

he promised his supporters. The White House says they are evaluating the proposal.

Local police say at least 17 people are dead after a fire broke out at a hotel in the Indian capital of New Delhi. The Deputy Fire Chief says 35

people were rescued, 19 of them are in the hospital and the fire at this hour is under control.

A new study from Stanford University says North Korea has continued producing nuclear bomb fuel while also engaging in denuclearizing talks

with the United States. Enough fuel perhaps, for up to seven nuclear weapons. But the study also says that Pyongyang's nuclear program probably

poses less of a threat today than it did a year ago. The reason, that 15- month freeze in ballistic, missile and nuclear tests.

Vietnam's Foreign Minister is visiting North Korea right now two weeks before a planned summit in Hanoi with U.S. President Donald Trump and North

Korean Leader Kim Jong-un. He actually tweeted this picture from Pyongyang just a short time ago.

Now, later this week, North and South Korea are expected to announce something that would have been really been unthinkable just two years ago,

a joint bid to cohost the 2032 Summer Olympics. That would mean that some events are held in the south and some events held in the north. It would

be extraordinary, but it would depend on the easing of sanctions over North Korea's nuclear program.

CNN's Paula Hancocks joins me now from Seoul. Hey Paula, what is the significance of this? North and South Korea planning to a launch a joint

bid for the 2032 Olympics and what could those games actually look like?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, Will, we do know that this was announced last year. This is what a North Korean and the South Korean

leader wanted to happen there, announced it after their summit in Pyongyang in September.

So, certainly this is being driven by the two of them. So we learned this week is that South Korea has decided Seoul will be the host city on this

side of the border. We don't know in North Korea at this point. It could be Pyongyang. I mean, that's certainly where most of the infrastructure

is. It could even be Wonsan on the coast. As we know, there has been a lot of investment there.

But what we are seeing here is, it appears an attempt by President Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un to lock in this peace, to lock in the diplomacy for

many years to come. This is the 2032 Olympics we are talking about. Now, President Moon has a five-year term. 2022, he is out of office. He can't

run again, and then you've got the U.S. as well. President Trump, be it 2020 or 2024, he could be out of office, as well.

Kim Jong-un has a much longer time frame that he's looking at. He plan to be in power for life. He doesn't have restrictions of time limits. So

this seems to be an attempt to push this diplomacy to a point that it will be very difficult to unravel it even if things don't go well in the future.

In fact, we've effectively heard President Moon Jae-in say to that effect.

RIPLEY: So Trump and Kim are meeting in Hanoi in just about two weeks. What are they expecting to happen there in Seoul, and what happens if it

doesn't go well? I mean, do the two Koreas just then go it alone?

HANCOCKS: I mean, they could. This is what we've heard from President Moon. He wants to get to the point where he said his main determination is

there's never a second Korean war. But, of course, the one stumbling block you have is the international sanctions. If you don't have the United

States on board, then it's very difficult for North and South Korea to do be able to do very much if they still have these very restrictive

sanctions.

Of course, Singapore was historic. It was the first handshake. It was the first signatures. It was the first statement between the two leaders, but

many officials and experts I have spoken to said there will be a lot less tolerance for very few details this time around. So there is a very

widespread acceptance that that statement in Singapore was extremely vague.

[08:35:08]

HANCOCKS: But there definitely will be a desire to have more concrete details after this summit -- Will.

RIPLEY: Paula Hancocks in Seoul. Thank you. A harrowing deal finally over for Bahraini footballer, Hakeem Al Araibi. He received a hero's

welcome in Australian after spending two months in a Thai jail fighting an extradition request from Bahrain. CNN's Ivan Watson has the triumphant end

of a global campaign to set him free.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

(Cheering and Applause)

IVAN WATSON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN (voice over): A happy homecoming for an athlete and refugee arriving safe on Australian soil.

Hakeem Al Araibi deeply grateful to Australia for helping his escape his native country, Bahrain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL ARAIBI: My country is Australia. I will die in Australia and I love Australia. Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome home, Hakeem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (voice over): The 25-year-old first fled Bahrain several years ago and in 2017, Australia granted him political asylum. But last November,

what was supposed to be his honeymoon in Thailand went terribly wrong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL ARAIBI: Don't send me to Bahrain. Bahrain won't defend me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (voice over): Thai authorities arrested Al Araibi upon arrival in Bangkok and threatened to deport him due to a red notice extradition

request issued through Interpol by Bahrain. Al Araibi's trouble with Bahraini authorities stems from Arab Spring protests in 2011. Protesters,

mostly members of Bahrain's Shia majority, rose up against the country's ruling Sunni minority and authorities cracked down hard on dissent.

Bahrain's Foreign Ministry says Al Araibi fled bail in 2013 and was later convicted in absentia for arson and vandalism charges he has denied. But

Al Araibi's unexpected detention in Thailand last November triggered an international campaign to save him. The effort led by former Australian

national football team captain, Craig Foster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG FOSTER, FORMER AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM CAPTAIN: This wasn't just about an athlete or a footballer, this was very much about a

refugee who is under our protection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (voice over): The Australian government intervened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALLAN MCKINNON, AUSTRALIAN AMBASSADOR-DESIGNATE TO THAILAND: ... we are asking Prime Minister Prayut to allow Hakeem Al Araibi to return to

Australia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (voice over): High level talks between Thai and Bahraini officials on Sunday apparently paved the way for Al Araibi's release.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: We have to give credit to a whole heap of people and organizations who put immense pressure on Bahrain in the end to withdraw their

extradition order.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (voice over): The Kingdom of Bahrain maintains it can still take legal action against Al Araibi. Though now free, the soccer player will

likely think twice before ever again traveling out of Australia. Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

RIPLEY: Up , right here on "News Stream", two letters that you are going to hear more and more in the coming years, AI - artificial intelligence.

And we're going to show you how it's making learning in this classroom in Abu Dhabi more appealing to students while also protecting their privacy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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RIPLEY: Is artificial intelligence the future of education? More classrooms around the world are adopting new technology and there really is

a growing debate -- do the benefits outweigh the risks? Like you know, privacy and increased screen time.

CNN's Matt Rivers now on how a tech company based in the UAE is hoping to ease concerns about AI in the classroom.

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MATT RIVERS, CORRESPONDENT, CNN (voice over): A timeless scene that has been played out in schools around the world for centuries. Young students

enjoying their break between lessons, but back in the classroom of this school in Abu Dhabi, a transformation is happening.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this lesson, you learn to solve equations with rational coefficients.

RIVERS (voice over): Whiteboards, markers and books have been replaced with interactive calendars, digital avatars and laptops.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This solves this equation together.

RIVERS (voice over): Fourteen-year-old Mariam Mohammed is just one of 25,000 students in the UAE and the U.S. being taught through the ALEF

education platform.

MARIAM MOHAMMED, STUDENT: When we were using books, it was like so boring. So it's nice to use new technology and learning in a nontraditional way.

RIVERS (voice over): Founded in Abu Dhabi in 2015, the online program is using technology to disrupt traditional education in the classroom.

Children are encouraged to create their own avatar and through the use of videos, animation, digital content and questions along the way, the ALEF

platform aids learning.

At its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, in a secured control room, analyst use artificial intelligence to make sense of the reams of information coming

in.

GEOFFREY ALPHONSO, CEO, ALEF EDUCATION: So we capture millions of data points on a daily basis. A human could not process that many data points.

RIVERS (voice over): The premise is simple, if a pupil struggles with a concept, the system adapts and presents the lesson again in a form more

tailored to the student. The result is reframing the future of education.

ALPHONSO: Wouldn't it be great if you could look at artificial intelligence and data to drive kids into the right careers, into the right

choices post-secondary education?

RIVERS (voice over): When it comes to adopting AI technology, the United Arab Emirates is one country leading the way, but with artificial

intelligence expected to generate $96 billion towards the economy by 2030, some are worried that this technology comes at a cost with a growing debate

over whether the benefits outweigh increased screen time for children or potential privacy concerns.

ALPHONSO: We don't capture information that is censored essentially to protect the privacy of the student.

RIVERS (voice over): As AI is increasingly applied to education, there is one benefit that cannot be debated.

RAMESH JAGANNATHAN, PROFESSOR, NYU ABU DHABI: One of the problems with the brick and mortar school system is that it doesn't reach people that are out

there in the world. There is a hunger to have access to good quality education, so that AI and technology can only do that.

RIVERS (voice over): Access and opportunity, ALEF hopes that its platform can enable the next generation to receive a 21st Century education,

expanding their scope and helping students like Mariam to reach for the stars. Matt Rivers, CNN.

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RIPLEY: And that is "News Stream" live from Hong Kong. "World Sport" with Amanda Davies, next.

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