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FIFA Scandal Widens; Sepp Blatter Still at Work for Now; Rescue Operations Continue in China; Detailing the Fight Against ISIS; Woman Killed on African Safari; Bruce Jenner's Gender Change. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired June 03, 2015 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:16] ROBYN CURNOW: Hello, and welcome to the International Desk. I'm Robyn Curnow at the CNN Center, and we begin with FIFA where the dust
is far from settled. A day after Sepp Blatter's bombshell announcement that he'll resign as president, the US authorities are pressing forward
with their corruption probe as well. INTERPOL red notices have gone out for two former FIFA officials and four corporate executives accused in the
US investigation. When asked by reporters whether Blatter was part of their probe, the US Attorney General refused to comment on Wednesday.
Well, Blatter was back at work at FIFA headquarters Wednesday morning. The elections to choose his successor as FIFA president won't happen until
December at the earliest. Now, we're covering this story from every angle. CNN's Amanda Davies is in Zurich outside FIFA headquarters. Our Diana
Magnay is in South Africa where officials continue to distance themselves from corruption claims surrounding the 2010 World Cup, and CNN's Samuel
Burke is in
London with how FIFA sponsors are reacting to the latest developments. Right. Let's go to Amanda first in Zurich. Hi there, so the big question
now, is how will these investigations and the whole FIFA crisis impact on the forthcoming World Cups?
AMANDA DAVIES: Yes, Robyn. There are as many questions as there are answers at the moment. This is very much the end of -- beginning of an end
of an era in terms of Sepp Blatter and FIFA, but the start of a new era in terms of reform and the restoration of trust in world football's governing
body. The -- one of the key questions being asked is the future of the World Cups in 2018 and Russia in 2022 in Qatar. Both voted amidst a policy
that has received much criticism and has become the focus of the Swiss investigation here with 10 of the FIFA executive committee members being
questioned about the voting process from that -- from what we know, that investigation is still very, very, much in the early stages. Russia 2018
via the Kremlin have released a statement saying that they are absolutely carrying on as normal, but I have to say that this has given a lot of
people who want to grind an axe with Qatar, the opportunity to speak out and to call for things to be reopened as far as the Qatar 2022
investigation is concerned. One of those is the chairman of the Football Association of England, Greg Dyke. He suggested that the organizers of
Qatar wouldn't be sleeping very easy after Sepp Blatter decided to step down, but the organizers of Qatar have hit back with a very strongly-worded
statement which says, we would urge Mr. Dyke to let the legal process take its course and concentrate on delivery of his promise to build an England
team capable of winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. These are examples of some of the comments that are being made. There are some people invested
in these World Cups taking place around the globe; the sponsors, the football people, the administrators, but what is interesting today, Robyn,
is that, although the new era has begun, actually, it's same old, same old behind us at FIFA HQ. Sepp Blatter arrived as normal this morning. He
held a meeting with the staff here to talk about how he wants to go forward with the next few months, and we understand that he received a standing
ovation.
CURNOW: Okay. Well, then the question is, who is likely to take over from Sepp Blatter?
DAVIES: It's very, very, early stages of that campaigning as well. We know that there's going to be at least four months before the Extraordinary
Congress of FIFA is held, which will be when the new election takes place. We understand that it will be somewhere between December and March next
year. David Ginola who was a former player, one of the candidates to start his campaign this time around and then pull out. He was the first person
to put his hand up to say he's going to stand again. We understand that the camp of Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein, the man who did stand against Sepp
Blatter, surprised many people by gathering 73 votes in that first round of voting to take it into a second round in Friday's election. We understand
that his team are looking at the options.
[10:05:01] Who is in charge of FIFA at the moment? Where does last week's election stand given that Sepp Blatter has stood down just four days after
regaining his post?
But then there are the other contenders, the likes of Michel Platini, the UEFA president. He was popular in some courses in terms of a potential
candidate for the last election. There is a school of thought, though, that the other nations around the world won't want to see another European
in charge, a European who could promote European football to make it an even bigger power as it is at the moment. Instead of plowing the money
that we've seen from Sepp Blatter into the likes of the African Confederations and the smaller nations around the world. The question is,
which could be very, very, crucial, Robyn, is, who will Sepp Blatter endorse as his successor if anybody? Will be a good thing for them? Will
it be a bad thing for them? And that is all yet to play out as these investigations continue.
CURNOW: So many questions. Thanks so much there. Amanda Davies outside FIFA headquarters in Zurich. Now to another angle of this very global
story. South African officials are responding to allegations that bribes were paid to help secure their successful 2010 World Cup bid. According to
the US indictment, $10 million was given to a former FIFA official in the Caribbean who is accused of misusing the funds supposedly meant to help
football programs in that part of the world. South Africa's sports minister says no illicit payments were made.
FIKILE MBALULA: The South African government and the local organizing committee has not paid any bribe to anyone to secure the rights to host the
2010 FIFA World Cup.
CURNOW: Well, Diana Magnay joins us now from Johannesburg. Hi there, Di. The press conference in a way was more interesting for what wasn't said and
who wasn't there from South Africa's World Cup committee.
DIANA MAGNAY: Well, that's true. You have the sports minister there, but he wasn't sports minister when these payments were supposed to have been
made, and the man you would have expected to see there, Danny Jordaan, who was head of the local organizing committee around the time of the bid and
ran South Africa's World Cup bid, canceled at the last minute. His engagements of the new mayor of Port Elizabeth, where he's battling
corruption there, seemingly more important than answering the questions on these very serious charges, and if you look back at that US indictment,
there were two essential charges made around how South Africa went about winning that bid. One of them is about this $10 million payment, and one
of them is about the fact that a SAFA official supposedly, allegedly went to Paris with a briefcase stashed with 10 thousand dollar bills and handed
it over to a relative of Jack Warner in the early 2000's. Now, they didn't even touch on that in the press conference. They said, this is the stuff
of movies. We don't know anything about it. The US authorities need to come to us and explain what on earth this is all about effectively. They
did offer, though, a very comprehensive explanation about this $10-million payment, which came out of the funds which are allocated by FIFA to go to a
host country, which were defined by the sports minister as basically legacy funds, and they said that this was an approved payment. There is a paper
trail to prove it, and it was for the African Diaspora, which was always earmarked to receive legacy payments as part of what was -- wasn't just
South Africa's World Cup, but a broader cup for the African continent, so that was the explanation they gave, and they wanted the US authorities to
come to them with a bit more explanation as to why they see that payment as a bribe, Robyn.
CURNOW: That's Diana Magnay there in Johannesburg. Now to another angle, the corporate angle. Several FIFA sponsors are welcoming Sepp Blatter's
resignation and calling for urgent reform. Our Samuel Burke joins us from London. So, Sam, what can we read between the lines from what the sponsors
are saying?
SAMUEL BURKE: Robyn, what these sponsors are saying and how quickly they're saying it has changed from last week when we called after the
arrest and the allegations were made. Sometimes these companies literally called us back to say that their comment was no comment. Flash forward to
yesterday, the moment Sepp Blatter resigns, we're on the phone, and within a short amount of time, these companies already have a statement. Now,
important to note that almost all the companies welcome his resignation, his planned resignation, I should say, and none of these companies had any
sweet good byes for Blatter the way that we often hear in these corporate good byes. Once again, Visa and Coca-Cola coming out to reiterate their
warning to FIFA; although they're happy with the news, let me show you what Visa said in a statement from one of their spokespeople.
[10:10:06] Quote, this is a significant first step toward rebuilding public trust, but more work lies ahead. There is that warning. Let me
contrast that with what
Hyundai said through a spokesperson. They said the following, and it's a bit different. We remain committed -- that's the key word -- committed to
supporting the fan passion of football around the world. So in spite of everything that's happened, you see that word commitment. They're going to
stick through with it, it looks like, but that could also change. It depends on how FIFA chooses to go forward.
CURNOW: Okay. A lot of pressure there, I think, on the corporate front. Thanks so much. Samuel Burke in London. Thanks. Well, still ahead at the
International Desk, football's great survivor has now walked off the pitch and out of the boardroom. We'll take a look at the legacy Sepp Blatter
will be leaving as FIFA's president, and hoping against hope. The desperate search for survivors after a ship capsizes in China's Yangtze
River. All that and much more here at the International Desk.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CURNOW: That's the sound of heavy artillery fire in Eastern Ukraine. Ukraine's defense minister says pro-Russian separatists tried to advance on
Ukrainian troop positions near the town of Marinka, but he tells the Reuters news agency that Ukrainian forces halted the advance. Observers
say it's the worst fighting the region has experienced in months. Well, rescuers China are struggling to find survivors two days after a cruise
ship capsized in the Yangtze River. I want to show you this animation. It shows the route the Eastern Star was taking when it overturned in the
country's longest river. Now, more than 410 of the more than 450 people onboard are still missing. At last report, 14 survivors had been rescued,
and 26 bodies recovered. Let's get an update from our David McKenzie. He is in Jianli County in China. Hi there, David. We were just hearing that
rescuers were trying to drill holes in the hull. Give us some sense of what's happening there with the rescue operation.
DAVID MCKENZIE: Well, Robyn, the rescue operation is continuing. This hospital behind me there had hoped that there were many more survivors
coming in, but the survivors have really not come in today, and it's a really grim task, though, with some hope left, that they might find someone
perhaps trapped in an air pocket, deep air pocket, deep inside that hull on the Yangtze River. They've expanded the operation, the search operation,
by more than a hundred kilometers down river of the vessel that overturned.
[10:15:01] That indicates to me just how far they're hoping potentially to find survivors and potentially those who have been lost. And, yes, they're
drilling into the hull. They're cutting it open, trying to get divers in. There have been some amazing tales of people getting out, of being --
tapping and calling and even whistling from inside the hull, but it's been very difficult today to get answers and very little hope, in fact, on the
scene, Robyn.
CURNOW: I know that many families have got a lot of questions. There's some anger at the information that authorities are giving them about how
this happened. Do we know -- I mean, I know it was a storm, some severe weather, but how did a storm overturn such a huge ship?
MCKENZIE: Well, that's the question right now is, whether it was a storm or a tornado. According to some officials in China, how could it have
lilted the ship over in such a fast way that the captain and the mechanic got off the ship, and, yet, so many people presumably are still trapped
there? So that is the question. Why wasn't an alarm sounded? Why did the alarm come out from the shore so many hours later? It does seem there was
an extreme event of weather on the scene, but we have spoken to some families here who are coming in now from neighboring cities to try and get
a sense of where their loved ones are. Let's listen to one man.
THE INTERPRETER: I have gone beyond the sadness. I am preparing for the worst while still holding onto hope.
THE INTERPRETER: One thing I want to do the most is to see my mom.
MCKENZIE: Well, certainly, that man, Mr. Woo (ph), his mother and his aunt and his two uncles were on board that vessel, so they're all here trying to
get any sense of what happened, and the anger and sadness is certainly rising, Robyn.
CURNOW: Dave McKenzie, thanks so much. David there outside that hospital in Jianli Province. Thanks for that update. Well, a provincial Iraqi
official tells CNN, ISIS has shut the gates of the Ramadi Dam. That will prevent water flowing to towns east of the city. Now the official says
ISIS is planning to attack once the water level has dropped enough, and is also trying to, quote, kill people with thirst. The fall of Ramadi almost
three weeks ago is why -- is but one recent example of the group's relentless drive. CNN's Jim Sciutto takes us back to when ISIS first
appeared on our radar.
JIM SCIUTTO: When a few thousand lightly-armed ISIS fighters swept through Iraq a year ago, they caught Baghdad, the US, and the world off guard.
Since then, the terror group has grown into an international threat with an alarming capacity for brutality. Executions meant to shock and horrify.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our mass will continue to strike the necks of your people.
SCIUTTO: Spurred into action by ISIS' alarming advance, less than two years after he withdrew all US forces from Iraq, President Obama launched
an ambitious air campaign. Deployed some 3000 US military advisors and trainers and vowed to wipe out the group.
BARACK OBAMA: Our objective is clear. We will degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL.
JOE BIDEN: They should know. We will follow them to the gates of hell.
SCIUTTO: But nine months after the campaign began, ISIS still controls hundreds of square miles of Syria and Iraq. Its map of control and
influence virtually unchanged in the last several months and marked by new ISIS victories in Ramadi and around the crucial Baiji Oil Refinery. All
this, in the face of an international anti-ISIS coalition comprising some 60 nations and Iraqi and Kurdish ground forces numbering in the hundreds of
thousands.
JOHN KERRY: ISIL continues to commit serious, vicious crimes, and it still controls more territory than Al-qaeda ever did.
SCIUTTO: Crucially, ISIS has already achieved the goal contained in its name, establishing an Islamic state. It runs hospital, schools, and a
business empire with an estimated daily income in the millions of dollars, and ISIS fighters and supporters appear to be true believers, devout to the
point that they would sacrifice anything for a terrorist group some compare to a cult.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They believe that are, you know, the true Army of Islam that is coming to save Islam. That also kind of explains their wiles and
their brutalities as well. Anybody who stands in our way, this is what we will do to you.
SCIUTTO: Driven by that intense commitment, ISIS has shown a remarkable ability to innovate.
[10:19:56] To break through Iraqi defenses, it built giant suicide truck bombs on the hulks of US-made and US-supplied armored vehicles. Beyond
Iraq and Syria, ISIS is now expanding its influence with armed affiliates in Libia, Egypt, Yemen, and signs of new support in Afghanistan and
Pakistan, and ISIS has attracted more than 22,000 foreign fighters from a hundred countries, some 4000 of them Westerners including approximately 180
Americans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I were to say that we had it under control, then I would say that I knew of every single individual traveling, though, I
don't, and I don't know every person there, and I don't know everyone coming back, so it's not even close to being under control.
SCIUTTO: Coalition members are holding an urgent meeting in Paris on the fight against ISIS but no urgent change to the strategy, and that is
sparking disappointment from the Iraqi leader Haider Al-Abadi who said they he has heard a lot of talk of support but hasn't seen much on the ground.
Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.
CURNOW: Well, a new CNN and ORC poll shows most people in the US are not happy with President Obama's handling of ISIS. Sixty-three percent
disapprove of his strategy, bringing down his approval rating by eight percentage points since February, but only seven percent of people surveyed
say the situation in Syria and Iraq is the most important issue facing the US. And authorities in the US City of Boston are investigating the police
shooting of a man believed to be radicalized by ISIS. Officers killed Usaama Rahim after he lunged at them with a knife which they later
displayed to the media. There it is there. The 26-year-old was under surveillance as part of a terror investigation. He was approached after
making several threats against police on social media. A second man has been arrested in connection with that case, and he's due to appear in court
on Wednesday. Well, still to come here at the International Desk, using Gaza's Ruins as a means to a better life. How a group of young men are
practicing the street sport known as Parkour, helping and hoping to get out and see the world. And the thrill of seeing wildlife up close can turn
dangerous in an instant. We'll look at both human and animal behavior in safari parks. Stay with us here at CNN. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CURNOW: Welcome back. Now new details on the American tourist what was killed in a lion attack while visiting a safari park in Johannesburg, South
Africa. The victim has now been identified as Katherine Chappell from New York. She was in her 20's. Witnesses say she rolled down a car window and
was taking photographs of a pride of lions when another lioness approached the vehicle from the side and then leapt, biting her in the neck through
the open window. The tour operator who was driving the car survived the attack and remains in hospital. People are specifically warned about
driving in the park with any open windows, but as Gary Tuchman now reports, some tourists just don't follow the rules.
GARY TUCHMAN: A family visiting a safari park in South Africa.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay. Dad, you come into the car. You're going to have to (inaudible).
TUCHMAN: A family about to experience something absolutely stunning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you like keep (inaudible)?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah. But it's not a very good one.
TUCHMAN: Something they never expected.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Holy cow, Cindy (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There you go, Kayle (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just lock --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your door.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- unlocked the door.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my gosh. I didn't know they could do that.
[10:25:12] TUCHMAN: The lion opened the car door. A close call for this family who did, indeed, have their windows closed, as the signs in these
parks mandate, but many ignore the warnings. Watch these children sticking their heads out of the window at the Kruger National Park in South Africa,
an unnecessarily close call. In Tanzania, the tourist think they're in a safe place on top of a Jeep. At least this time, nothing happened to them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There, they're chewing it. They're chewing the (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shhhh, shhhh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Isn't that wild?
TUCHMAN: Back in South Africa, a carload of passengers had their windows closed, but that did not prevent this frightening moment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can -- (inaudible).
TUCHMAN: This lion started attacking the spare tire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible). There is some pulling the car back.
TUCHMAN: And listen to these American tourists.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now they got us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't move, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just kidding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't move. Don't move. Don't move, Eric. Don't move. It's like he's literally.....
TUCHMAN: Not sure whether to step on the gas or not move at all, they watch the lions head to other vehicles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you guys seeing this lion chew on the license plate?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you seeing this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy shit. Oh, my God. Dude, the whole pack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh. Why did you drive forward?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be freaky.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, they pulled the hubcap off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nah-uh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They got the hubcap.
TUCHMAN: Seeing lions in their habitat is a bucket-list ambition for many tourists, but without the proper precautions, that dream could quickly
become a nightmare.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it locked?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you sure?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope so.
TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just locked --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- the wrong one.
CURNOW: Yeah. You don't want to mess with a predator. Still to come, at the International Desk, the most recognized non-athlete in world football
says farewell in the middle of a sweeping corruption scandal. Next on the iDesk, a look at Sepp Blatter's long history with FIFA, and, crucially, the
question, what's next?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CURNOW: Welcome back to the International Desk. I'm Robyn Curnow. Here's a check of the headlines. In China, the desperate search for survivors
continues two days after a cruise ship capsized in the Yangtze River. So far, reports say 14 people have been rescued, 26 bodies recovered. There
were more than 450 people onboard.
[10:30:02] The worst fighting in months is shaking Eastern Ukraine. Ukraine's defense minister says pro-Russian separatists tried to advance on
Ukrainian troop positions near the town of Marinka, but he tells Reuters that Ukrainian forces halted the advance. A Large Hadron Collider in
Switzerland is collecting data again for the first time in more than two years. A particle incinerator was shut down for repairs and maintenance
and now it's running again at -- but at an unprecedented speed. Scientists at the CERN facility are hoping for new break throughs in physics like
answers to the nature of dark matter. INTERPOL red notices have been issued for six people sought by US authorities investigating alleged
corruption at FIFA. Two are former officials at world football's governing body, and the others are corporate executives. Meanwhile, Sepp Blatter is
back at work a day after announcing he'll step down as FIFA president. The US Attorney General refused to comment when asked if Blatter is part of the
US investigation. Well, Sepp Blatter's career with FIFA spanned 40 years. Patrick Snell takes a look now at his career.
PATRICK SNELL: A dramatic about-face for the most powerful man in world football.
THE INTERPRETER: That is why I'm going to put my presidency forward to a special elective congress. The date of which, a new president can be
chosen for the presidency to succeed me.
SNELL: Reelected as FIFA's boss only last Friday and less than a week after the arrest of seven top FIFA officials, Sepp Blatter resigned as the
president of the sports governing body amid a mounting corruption scandal, a stark contrast to last week when delegates lined up to congratulate
Blatter on his fifth election victory, painted as if he were are rock star. A polarizing figure, loved in some parts of the world, reviled in others,
under Blatter's leadership, the organization has been compared to the mafia and a dictatorship. Whatever your point of view, FIFA is an organization
made in Blatter's image. He spent more than half of his life there. In 1975, he was director of development programs. Then from 1981, the general
secretary, and since 1998, he's been the president, winning five consecutive elections standing unopposed in both 2007 and 2011, and in that
time, FIFA has made a fortune from sponsorship, marketing deals, and TV contracts. FIFA boasted revenues of $5.7 billion leading up to and
including the last World Cup with cash reserves of 1.5 billion. But who is the man behind the presidential cloak?
BLATTER: The (inaudible) is very important for me because I think it is the best memo technique training.
SNELL: In 2006, Blatter gave CNN special access to FIFA's opulent new headquarters in Zurich, and he gave us a sense of what mattered most to
him.
BLATTER: What is important for me is to have a clock somewhere in order to know the time. Time is very important in my management style. So this is
something very special. There was always a wish that we should have somewhere a corner where silent [sic] shall prevail, and here it is for
meditation for when I want to be really alone, no noise, and just think about the problems.
SNELL: Apart from the allegations of corruption within FIFA, Blatter has faced other controversy during his tenure. In 2004, he was severely
criticized for his remarks on women's football, saying, let the women play in more feminine clothes. He went on to say they could, for example, have
tighter shorts, and responding to concerns about Qatar's laws on homosexuality, he said gay fans at the 2022 World Cup should refrain from
any sexual activities. Blatter would later apologize for both comments. Despite the missteps, Blatter remained, saying he learned his wily
political skills during his days as an amateur player in his native Switzerland.
BLATTER: I was first a runner, then a scorer, and later on schemer.
SNELL: At FIFA, a leader an a survivor, and by his own admission, a Machiavellian master.
THE INTERPRETER: I repeat, what counts more for me is the FIFA institution and world football.
SNELL: In the end, a crisis caught up with the most powerful man in football that even he couldn't survive. Patrick Snell, CNN.
[10:35:00] CURNOW: And we'll have much more on the downfall of Sepp Blatter and the future of FIFA on World Sport. That's coming up in about
10 minutes' time. Also, my colleagues will have the latest on that clash of tennis titans, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the French quarter
finals, the French Open quarter finals. That match began a little over a half an hour ago, and the score is currently 5-4 in the first set with
Djokovic leading. That's going to be a battle of wills. Well, for the past nine months, people in Gaza have lived in the ruins left by the war
between Hamas and Israel. Chunks of concrete and debris now lay where buildings once stood, and while they wait for reconstruction, some people
are making the most of the situation by turning it into a playground of sorts. Here's Nic Robertson.
NIC ROBERTSON: No room for error. Gaza's Parkour team in training. These goal ruins are sure to punish the swift. Isn't this dangerous?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yeah. Yes, it's dangerous. And (inaudible) interesting. You love it, and you want to play it, and you want to do it.
ROBERTSON: Abdullah, 19 years old, university student, son of a doctor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
ROBERTSON: What did your parents say to you then?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible). Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, like, hey, what you doing?
ROBERTSON: Ten years of Parkour. Nothing stopped him and the others yet. Do you like danger because you grew up in Gaza, or what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I think when I grow up in Gaza, difficult situation. I love dangers and love -- I love to be free.
ROBERTSON: Why not just play football? Be normal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I love danger.
ROBERTSON: It's a death defying sport, demanding courage and strength in equal measure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I think, well, when I do it, if I feel free. I feel more like bears flying in the air, or flying in the sky, because when
a freedom like the -- they're like no days.
ROBERTSON: He says he speaks for the whole 12-man team.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we don't care about fighting. We don't care about no technique, just to care about Parkour.
ROBERTSON: All this began, they say, when Israeli troops pulled out of Gaza in 2005. Since then, they've been running, jumping, tumbling,
somersaulting ever since.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) action.
ROBERTSON: Now, the pressure is on, training notched up, popular Middle East program, Arabs Got Talent, has spotted them. They're shooting an
entry. If they get this right, 10's of millions of Arabs across the region could get to see them potentially opening doors they could otherwise only
dream of, and the dream for Abdullah and the others is simple. Break the boundaries confining their lives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know we are here. We are in Gaza.
ROBERTSON: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will dream on the hope to get out. So the world.
ROBERTSON: To get out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
ROBERTSON: See the world. A dream that for the first time could be within reach, as long, that is, there are no slips. Nic Robertson, CNN, Gaza.
CURNOW: Thanks to Nic and his team for that story, beautifully shot. Well, up next on the iDesk.
CAITLYN JENNER: As soon as the Vanity Fair cover comes out, I'm free.
CURNOW: And perhaps a great deal richer. We'll examine how Caitlyn Jenner's transition will affect her fortunes.
[10:38:37]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:40:20]
CURNOW: Welcome back. Now, Caitlyn Jenner. She's turning heads and possibly redefining or at least making people reconsider the notion of
gender identity. Jenner says this is about reclaiming her life after so many years of living trapped inside the body of a male Olympian known
previously as Bruce Jenner. Now she stands to make a whole lot of money from her very public transition from male to female. Here's Brian Stelter
with the details.
JENNER: I'm me.
BRIAN STELTER: First, there was Diane Sawyer's interview, the highest rated 20/20 episode in 15 years, giving ABC a chance to break news and make
money. Then there was the cover, driving more than six million visitors to vanityfair.com where you have to pay $5 to read the full story. Caitlyn
Jenner is really just beginning to tell her story, and there is another side to this public transformation, just how much money Jenner will make
from it, but Jenner will profit from her new reality show on E! premiering July 26th, maybe the first of many lucrative business deals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She could write a book about the experiences. She could be a motivational speaker, you know, really sought after. There
could be a spin-off of the reality show like there was for Keeping Up with The Kardashians. All of this, you know, can create, you know, millions of
dollars, you know, for Caitlyn Jenner in the upcoming years.
STELTER: As for those who think this is all a publicity stunt, Jenner hears the question and answers it this way. I'm not doing it for money.
I'm doing it to help my soul and help other people, but she adds, if I can make a dollar, I certainly am not stupid. I have house payments and all
that kind of stuff. I will never make an excuse for something like that. Yeah. This is a business. With the Kardashians and the Jenners,
everything is a business. He pays the famous family 10's of millions of dollars to keep those cameras rolling. The channel is not saying how much
Caitlyn will make with this new series, but Verison Media expects ad rates for the show to be four times that of a typical prime time show on E!,
which could mean more cash in Caitlyn Jenner's purse. Brian Stelter, CNN, New York.
CURNOW: Well, that does it for us here at the International Desk. I'm Robyn Curnow. Don't go anywhere, World Sport with Alex Thomas is up next.
10:42:44]
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