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CNN Saturday Morning News
Riot Kills Hundreds at Miss World Pageant
Aired November 23, 2002 - 07:22 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN ANCHOR: And news now from overseas, a pageant turns ugly after protesters kill more than 100 people. Organizers of the Miss World Pageant are moving the context from Nigeria to England after the deadly rioting Friday. The violence spread to the capital of Abuja where the beauty contest was to be hold.
CNN's Jeff Koinange joins us now live by videophone from Abuja with the latest. Hello, Jeff.
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kris.
We are live at Abuja airport here in the nation's capital, and the Miss World contestants are in a hotel room about a half-hour's drive from where we are. We're expecting them here in the coming hours. There's a plane on its way from London, going to come pick them up, take it -- take them to their new destination site, barely two weeks ago before the pageant, as you well know, that decision to move the pageant from Abuja to London was made late last night.
Some people here see it as a victory, most people regret what happened, because this was a chance, Kris, to showcase Nigeria like it's never been showcased before, to put it in a better light to the outside world, unlike what the outside world is used to seeing in Nigeria.
Unfortunately, the events of the last three days have changed all that, and event organizers saw it was, in their words, "in the interests of everyone" to move this pageant from Abuja to London, Kris.
OSBORN: Jeff Koinange, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 23, 2002 - 07:22 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN ANCHOR: And news now from overseas, a pageant turns ugly after protesters kill more than 100 people. Organizers of the Miss World Pageant are moving the context from Nigeria to England after the deadly rioting Friday. The violence spread to the capital of Abuja where the beauty contest was to be hold.
CNN's Jeff Koinange joins us now live by videophone from Abuja with the latest. Hello, Jeff.
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kris.
We are live at Abuja airport here in the nation's capital, and the Miss World contestants are in a hotel room about a half-hour's drive from where we are. We're expecting them here in the coming hours. There's a plane on its way from London, going to come pick them up, take it -- take them to their new destination site, barely two weeks ago before the pageant, as you well know, that decision to move the pageant from Abuja to London was made late last night.
Some people here see it as a victory, most people regret what happened, because this was a chance, Kris, to showcase Nigeria like it's never been showcased before, to put it in a better light to the outside world, unlike what the outside world is used to seeing in Nigeria.
Unfortunately, the events of the last three days have changed all that, and event organizers saw it was, in their words, "in the interests of everyone" to move this pageant from Abuja to London, Kris.
OSBORN: Jeff Koinange, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
