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CNN 10
Middle Eastern Overview; Nobel Peace Prize Winners; Climate Change Summit
Aired December 12, 2011 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, HOST, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Hey, I`m Carl Azuz. Today`s edition of CNN Student News goes out to Smith Station High School and Smith Station Junior High, who visited us at the CNN Center last week. It was great seeing you guys.
This is our last week of shows for 2011. We`re going to go ahead and get started right now.
First up, reports of a deadline for people protesting against their government in Syria. Stop the demonstrations and hand in your weapons by tonight or face bombardment. Now that`s the warning that the Syrian government reportedly gave to protesters in the city of Homs, and it`s according to groups who are opposed to the Syrian government.
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AZUZ (voice-over): People have been protesting in Syria for months. The Syrian government and military have been accused of using violence against these protesters. The protesters say the military has dug trenches around Homs, and that there`s no electricity or water in the city. Syrian officials deny those reports and they haven`t said anything about a Monday deadline.
CNN can`t confirm these reports on either side, because Syria won`t let international reporters inside the country.
Moving to Afghanistan now, where officials are talking about the future of that country`s security. The head of U.S. Special Operations troops in Afghanistan says he supports a plan to increase the number of Afghans who are armed and paid by NATO to protect their own villages. This isn`t police or army, like you see in this training video. We`re talking about local groups, and some of them are already doing this.
Opinions are split about the plan. Supporters say the groups cost less money and can respond faster to threats. Critics are concerned that the groups might turn on their communities or get involved in rivalries with neighboring groups.
Our last stop in this part of the world is in Iran, and it could be the last stop for one vehicle, too.
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AZUZ: Iranian officials say they`re not going to return an unmanned U.S. stealth plane that Iran claims to have shot down recently. Iran says no one sends back spying equipment.
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AZUZ (voice-over): This video shows what could be the drone Iran is talking about. But U.S. officials aren`t even sure that the plane in the video is American. They`re analyzing the footage to see if it`s a real drone plane. American officials have confirmed that a U.S. drone is missing. They said it was part of a CIA mission.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today`s Shoutout goes out to Mr. Dennis` civics classes at Miami Springs Middle School in Miami Springs, Florida.
Oslo is the capital of what country? You know what to do. Is it Denmark, Finland, Norway or Sweden? You`ve got three seconds, go.
Oslo is the capital of Norway. It`s also where a famous award is given out every year. That`s your answer, and that`s your Shoutout.
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AZUZ: That award is the Nobel Peace Prize. This year`s winners were honored at a ceremony in Oslo on Saturday. The three people who shared this year`s award don`t all come from the same country. One of them barely even knows the other two, but they are all working toward the same goal. Jonathan Mann introduces us to this year`s Peace Prize winners.
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JONATHAN MANN (voice-over): A grassroots activist, a head of state.
TAWAKKUL KARMAN, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER: (Speaking foreign language).
MANN (voice-over): . and a symbol of the Arab Spring.
From Liberia in West Africa and Yemen on the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, three women who have risked their lives to transform their nations: Leymah Gbowee, assembling a woman`s movement that had astonishing results, helping end more than a decade of war with little more than protests and prayer; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa`s first elected female head of state, working to bring the benefits of peace to a country that has been pillaged by its leaders and warlords; and Tawakkul Karman, first Arab woman ever to win a Nobel Peace Prize, who took on a dictator and continues the drive for full democracy in Yemen.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The three women who won the Nobel Prize today are all remarkable examples of not only their own determination and spirit, but also a reminder that when we empower women around the world, then everyone is better off.
MANN (voice-over): Women not just demanding women`s rights, but taking on powerful, dangerous men to demand what is right for everyone.
The words of this year`s Nobel citation: It is the Norwegian Nobel Committee`s hope that the prize to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman will help to bring an end to the suppression of women that still occurs in many countries, and to realize the great potential for democracy and peace that women can represent.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See if you can ID me. I`m a satellite, but I`m not a manmade one. I`m home to the Sea of Tranquility, and I have a major effect on tides around the globe. I go through phases every month, like new and full.
I`m the moon, the second brightest thing in the sky.
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AZUZ: Well, it wasn`t too bright for a little while on Saturday night. In fact, the moon seemed to disappear from sight altogether.
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AZUZ (voice-over): That`s what happens during a lunar eclipse. It`s when the Earth is directly between the sun and the moon, and the Earth`s shadow makes the moon disappear. An iReporter caught the entire thing in a time-lapse video from Portland, Oregon -- this is kind of cool.
Experts say the U.S. West Coast had the best view of the eclipse. If you missed it, you don`t have to wait too long for a repeat performance. The next lunar eclipse is scheduled to happen in 2014.
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AZUZ (voice-over): Earlier on Saturday, volunteers worked on a project called "Wreaths Across America." It`s been going on for 20 years. Volunteers get together and lay holiday wreaths on the headstones at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, and in more than 500 other cemeteries around the United States and overseas.
Family members, military veterans, Cub Scout troops, anyone can do this. The organization that coordinates the wreath layings has three goals: remembering the lives that have been lost, honoring the people who are serving in the military right now and teaching young people about the sacrifices made by veterans and their families.
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AZUZ: Representatives from around the world have agreed to keep fighting the challenges of climate change. They reached a deal during a conference in South Africa this week. Some critics say the new agreement won`t do enough to address the issue.
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AZUZ (voice-over): Most of the officials who were at the conference are happy with it. Robyn Curnow fills us in on the details.
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): It started with a plea and a prayer.
ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU: Whether you are rich or poor, this is the only home. And if we destroy this home, we have had it.
GROUP: Climate justice now. Climate justice now. Climate justice now.
CURNOW (voice-over): A weekend at a protest march outside the climate change conference, activists rallied for deals to be signed that would limit carbon emissions to less dangerous levels.
CURNOW: For two weeks now, delegates from nearly 200 countries have been talking about climate change. They haven`t been here on the beach. They`ve been locked up in meeting rooms in the conference hall. And now they`ve come to a decision.
MAITE EMILY NKOANA-MASHABANE, SOUTH AFRICA`S MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION: We have indeed saved tomorrow today. Once.
CURNOW (voice-over): For the first time, the world`s biggest polluters have signed up to a global pact on climate change.
CHRIS HUHNE, MP FOR EASTLEIGH AND SECRETARY OF STATE FOR ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE: First of all, we`re committed to getting a long-term overarching agreement in place by 2015, which will kick in by 2020.
CURNOW (voice-over): Also, the Kyoto Protocol was renewed, which increases certainty for the carbon market and provides incentives for new green technology. And progress was made on creating a green climate fund to channel around $100 billion to vulnerable nations to help them deal with the impact of climate change.
ELLIOT DIRINGER, EVP, CENTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY SOLUTIONS: It was an extraordinarily complex negotiation with a lot of moving parts. Up until the last minute, there was -- there was every reason to think it could well have fallen apart.
So I think the fact that it came together is, in and of itself, a success, even if the outcome doesn`t fully satisfy anybody, and is just an enormous amount of work ahead of us.
CURNOW (voice-over): Activists say the deals aren`t ambitious enough. But after years of failure, many believe there`s now a historic global commitment to tackle climate change -- Robyn Curnow, CNN, Durban, South Africa.
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AZUZ: All right. We`re going to wrap things up with some lighthearted humor today.
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AZUZ (voice-over): This is an awesome display of lights and decorations. It`s hard for the neighbors to compete. So they didn`t. The creators of the Ditto Display say they`re not being sarcastic. They just can`t keep up with the handpainted decorations and holiday music. They say their "ditto" is designed to pay tribute to the neighbors` hard work. Might not have taken as much time.
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AZUZ: . but it`s still a pretty bright idea, and one for which we "did-owe" them some recognition. Ditto -- did owe? Some of you are going to say that was pretty dim but you`re off the hook. That`s going to do it for us today. Enjoy the rest of your Monday, for CNN Student News, I`m Carl Azuz.
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