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Leaders of Nations Gather for G20 Summit; Debate Over Where to Rebury Richard III
Aired September 06, 2013 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Fridays are awesome. Welcome to CNN STUDENT NEWS. My name is Carl Azuz. First up today, we`re taking you to the G20 summit. That`s G20 as in group of 20, 19 countries plus the European Union, whose leaders meet every year. These nations are international powerhouses. They represent almost 90 percent of the world`s gross domestic product, 80 percent of international trade, two-thirds of the world`s population. So when they get together, one of the main things they talk about is how wealthy countries and developing ones can work together to strengthen the world`s economy.
While that`s the focus, other issues are standing on the sidelines, and Jill Dougherty illustrates how with strong international differences concerning Syria`s civil war, there could be a little drama.
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JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The streets of St. Petersburg are decorated with banners for the G20 summit. The theme -- economic growth and jobs.
But the host, Russian President Vladimir Putin, says it`s a good opportunity to discuss Syria. Putin and President Barack Obama could have a chance to speak on the margins of the G20 summit, U.S. officials say, but they are skeptical there will be any meeting of the minds.
Obama is urging Congress to approve military action in Syria. But Russians like Ilya, an I.T. analyst agree, with their president that would be a mistake.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a great tragedy to all the world. I don`t know what can be done here. Everything which I can think about makes things worse. Everything.
DOUGHERTY: Putin wants Obama to provide evidence beyond doubt that the Syrian government used chemical weapons in an attack near Damascus. And Nikolai, a railroad workers, says at the G20, the two presidents should lay their proof on the table.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): So let them sit down and we`ll see who is right. And whose intelligence works better: American or Russian.
DOUGHERTY: The two presidents are divided by more than Syria. NSA leaker Edward Snowden is still in Russia after being granted temporary asylum. Obama has been a vocal opponent of Russia`s anti-gay propaganda law, and is expected to meet with human rights and gay rights activists while here.
It`s gotten personal. Obama saying while their talks can be productive, Putin sometimes looks like the bored kid in the back of the classroom. Putin questioning why Obama, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, would want to launch a military attack against Syria.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time for the shoutout. Which literary work first featured the quote, "a horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!" If you think you know it, then shout it out. Is it "Richard III," "Black Beauty," "Henry V" or "Seabiscuit?" You got 3 seconds. Go.
William Shakespeare penned this line in "Richard III." That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.
AZUZ: "Seabiscuit?" Now the real-life Richard III, on whom Shakespeare`s play was based, had a lot of enemies and a nasty reputation. That might have been why his body was thrown into a shallow grave in the 15th century. But some modern historians say his enemies might have portrayed him as being worse than he really was. That`s part of the reason why some Britons are fighting over where to rebury him. Erin McLaughlin has the details on that.
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ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Every year crowds gather to recreate the Battle of Bosworth, the famous fight that killed King Richard III. Now, over 500 years later, not far from those famed grounds, a battle of a very different sort. The legal fight for the skeletal remains of Richard III.
PETER SOULSBY, MAYOR OF LEICESTER: We want to do him honor, to rebury him properly.
MCLAUGHLIN: On the one side, the picturesque northern city of York, known to historians as one of his favorite cities. And the other, the more industrial midlands city of Leicester, where his body was found.
It was one of the most remarkable archeological discoveries in recent history. The skeleton had all the hallmarks of Richard, the curved spine, the obvious signs of battle trauma, found buried in a shallow, hastily dug grave that in more recent times was unwittingly covered with a carpark. The area has since been completely excavated.
The city of Leicester has plans for a multimillion dollar visitor center and an elaborate tomb in the city`s cathedral.
SOULSBY: Leicester is where he`s been for 500 years, and Leicester is where he deserves to be reburied, with proper ceremony and in a tomb fit for a king.
MCLAUGHLIN: All sounds great, unless you`re from York. In fact, a group saying it`s among Richard`s descendants, called the Plantagenet Alliance, are so upset they have brought a legal case in an effort to stop his burial in Leicester.
PAUL TOY, RICHARD III MUSEUM, YORK: The actual burying place is still up for debate. We`ve sort of installed a sort of a temporary monument here.
MCLAUGHLIN: Paul Toy, though not a Plantagenet himself, is clear where his loyalties lie.
TOY: Finally the chance comes to actually respond to what we know of his wishes, and there`s a very great danger that that will be ignored again.
MCLAUGHLIN: Strangely, when it comes to the final resting place of the last English king to die in battle, his fate rests not on the battlefield, but instead in a courtroom in London.
Erin McLaughlin, CNN, in Leicester and York.
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AZUZ: We`re being watched by a pack of wolves today, and in the case of the CNN STUDENT NEWS roll call, that`s a good thing. Wolf pack is from Loma Vista Community School in San Louis Obispo, California. Go Pack! Galloping over to Lafayette Jefferson High School in Lafayette, Indiana, we find the Bronchos. That`s Bronchos with a c-h, don`t you know? And I may be buff, but I`ve got nothing on the Buffalos of Baker High School in Baker, Louisiana. They`re lending a helping hoof to our roll call.
Tag line of CNN heroes is everyday people changing the world. These are folks who saw a need for something on a small scale, and found a way to help meet it on a big one. The top 10 CNN heroes of 2013 will be announced in October. Today, we`re introducing you to a teenage nominee whose vision is helping other people see.
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YASH GUPTA, YOUNG WONDER: I was only 5 years old when I got my first pair of glasses. When I was a freshman in high school, I broke my glasses. I just couldn`t see anything. And so, I really realized just how much glasses meant to me. Without them, I really couldn`t do anything normally. I started doing some research, and I learned that there are millions of students around the world who need glasses but cannot afford them. I had this problem for one week, but these kids have these problems for their whole lives.
My name is Yash Gupta, and I am trying to help students around the world see better.
Perfect.
I learned that there are millions of glasses that are discarded annually in North America alone. So why not put them to good use?
So when I was 14, I started reaching out to local optometrists, and putting collection boxes in their offices. So when a patient came to get a new pair of glasses, they could drop off their old pairs of glasses.
We work with other organizations, and then they distribute the glasses.
The other way we distribute glasses is by going on clinic trips.
In fact, here are some glasses, we`re going to Tijuana, Mexico today, and we`ll be distributing these to some kids in orphanages.
It`s a personal interaction, and that is what I really love, being able to see the people who we`re actually helping. Watching someone get glasses for the first time, you know, just really inspiring.
To date, we`ve collected and distributed over $425,000 worth of eyeglasses. Which is equivalent to 8,500 pairs. I`m 17 years old, and although many people believe kids can`t make a difference, I have. I think anyone could do that. It`s just about being motivated and going out there and just doing it.
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AZUZ: Teachers, you`ve got to check out our weekly news quiz. Ten questions on topics we covered this week, totally free, great for extra credit, you`re going to love it. Like Fridays. And if your student s know that Greenland is where scientists recently discovered a gouge longer than the Grand Canyon, they`ve already got one question right. Find the other nine at CNNSTUDENTNEWS.COM.
Before we go segments. Sometimes you get world records, sometimes you get potentially world-changing inventions, sometimes you get a cat flipping out at a windshield wiper. Check it out. Sit, stare, groom, attack. What would YouTube be without viral cat videos? I`ll tell you what, catastrophic. It`s a good thing she`s on the dashboard, inside of the actual windshield. Otherwise, this thing would threaten to wipe her off the glass. Either that or catapult her off the car. You can`t call her catatonic, but it begs the question, why would she want to cat-tack a wiper? Just be claws. You know, it`s just one of those fangs. We`re glad recording video is somebody`s pet project, because in this case, it made hiss-tory. We got to dash, but CNN STUDENT NEWS will cat-ch you next Monday. You`ll have a great weekend, meow.
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