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A Brexit Vote is Delayed in Britain; Parts of the U.S. Southeast are Snowed In ; Landmine Removal Renews Access to Christian Holy Sites in the Middle East
Aired December 11, 2018 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: December 11th was supposed to be the day when Britain`s government voted on a plan to separate the country from the
European Union. But the vote has been delayed and that`s the first story we`re explaining today on CNN 10. Thank you for watching.
In 2016, people in the United Kingdom voted 52 percent to 48 percent to lead the European Union. The issue is known as the Brexit, for British
exit from the E.U. But negotiating the terms of that departure is a very complicated process. No country has ever left the E.U. before, even
European officials aren`t completely certain how to make that happen.
But the government of Prime Minister Theresa May did breach a Brexit agreement with the European Union. In all, it`s more than 600 pages long,
it has to be approved by Britain`s parliament to take effect and with some members of the prime minister`s own political party opposing it, as well as
the members of Britain`s other major party, the nation`s leader hit the pause button on the vote the day before it was scheduled.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: If we went ahead and held the vote tomorrow, the deal would be rejected by a significant margin.
We will therefore defer the vote scheduled for tomorrow and not proceed to divide the house at this time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: So, what now? That`s the big question. It appears that too many British lawmakers don`t like the current deal their government has with the
European Union. But an E.U. official says the union will not renegotiate a new deal. To make things even more complicated, the highest court in the
European Union recently ruled that Britain could decide on its own not to leave the E.U. after all. But Prime Minister May`s government says
Britain`s separation is going to happen no matter what, because that`s what Britons voted for.
The hard deadline for the U.K. to leave is set for March 29 of next year. Reaching an agreement before that would make the process much smoother and
eliminate a lot of the uncertainty that European economies face.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:
What U.S. state is also known by the nickname "Old Dominion"?
North Carolina, Virginia, Massachusetts or Kentucky?
"Old Dominion" was purportedly what England`s King Charles II called Virginia because of its initial loyalty to England.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: That`s one of the states that have bombarded by snow since last weekend. The National Weather Service says the area around Richmond,
Virginia`s capital, saw about nine inches of snowfall, and Virginia`s police said there were more than 1,100 car crashes across the state since
Sunday morning.
But it looks like parts of North Carolina were hit even harder when the powerful winter storm blew through the region. As many as 16 inches of
snow were measured in some areas. Others record an entire winter`s worth of snow in one day and winter hasn`t even officially started yet.
Police say more than 670 car crashes were reported as the storm passed over North Carolina. A spokesman for the state`s department of transportation
said he was seriously concerned about every road last night, with ice expected to form as temperatures dropped below freezing. At least two
deaths were blamed in the storm. Hundreds of thousands of people lost electricity across the Carolinas and Virginia, and thousands of flights
were cancelled.
The Holy Land is our next stop on today`s show. Along the Jordan River, which divides the nation of Israel and the West Bank territory from the
nation of Jordan, there are several Christian churches where no one has set foot for decades.
Almost 5,000 landmines surround them. Some of these weapons are visible, many of them aren`t. They`ve lain in quite danger since 1967 when a
ceasefire stopped the fighting in the Middle East`s Six-Day War.
But distrust between Israel and Jordan caused their armies to lay the mines near their border. Now, people from several countries are working together
to remove the mines and make the Christian holy sites safe once again to explore.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Stepping into this church is to step back in time. The sanctuary abandoned over 50 years ago. But step
here last year, and it could be on a landmine.
Israel laid thousands along the border with Jordan after the 1967 war, including seven churches.
(on camera): These bullet holes are just a reminder of the fighting that took place, and while this area has been cleared of landmines, you don`t
have to go far. Maybe 200, 300 meters and you`re in another minefield.
(voice-over): Over the past year, the Israeli government and British NGO Halo have cleared the land around three churches, a testament to the peace
with Jordan that now prevails.
But what makes these churches particularly important lies just upstream, what is believed to be the baptismal site of Jesus, one of the holiest
places in Christianity, nearly 800,000 pilgrims visit every year.
(on camera): How certain are you that you got all the landmines?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Almost 100 percent, though I cannot say 100 percent. But if I can work here, my children can work there, that`s all (INAUDIBLE)
after we have finished the job here.
LEE (voice-over): Roughly 5,000 landmines remained and an unknown amount of unexploded grenades, mortars and other explosives. The work is slow and
painstaking as demonstrated here. They aim to finish by the end of next year.
Another problem, frankly put, landmines move.
(on camera): A recent rainstorm came through here and you can see where the water flowed from the hillside. The only problem is that this is a
landmine field and that water can carry landmines and deposited them in recently cleared areas.
(voice-over): Once completed, these churches hope to turn this moonscape of death back into a garden of life.
Ian Lee, CNN, in the West Bank.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: A little over a month ago, we told you about a unique-looking Mandarin duck that had somehow found its way to New York City Central Park.
These animals are not common in New York or anywhere else in America. And because this one is so easy to spot, with his distinctive markings, he`s
taken in a sort of celebrity status in the city.
Jeanne Moos explores the impact of fame.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He is the duck that all other ducks revolve around. A flaming star, the mandarin duck of Central Park.
Ever since he parked himself here about two months ago, his celebrity has taken flight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s beautiful.
MOOS: Out-of-towners flock to see him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just for the duck, pay $50 to park.
MOOS: New Yorkers can`t believe he`s real.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks fake, honestly. Like, am I being punked?
MOOS: Regulars have given him names.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Mandy. Go ahead.
MOOS: Oh, Mandy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I call him Mandy.
MOOS: Others have dubbed him Mandarin Patinkin, after the actor.
He`s also known as the most eligible bachelor in New York.
Mandarin ducks are native to East Asia, not North America.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s got two leg bands. So, he came from somewhere. He belonged to somebody.
MOOS: The going theory is Mandy escaped from someone`s collection of exotic birds or someone dumped him here. His photo has made it all the way
back to China in "The People`s Daily". He`s on t-shirts. He`s even inspired imitators like Mandarin Dog.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is the talk of the town.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is almost a Picasso painting.
MOOS: Mandy the Duck is catnip for the quackarazzi, photographers who are always training their lenses on him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was trying to get some action shots and I got some of it flying.
MOOS: Urban rangers to keep an eye on him to make sure onlookers are --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Respecting the duck.
MOOS: Sure, over the weeks, his reputation has taken a hit.
STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN, LATE NIGHT HOST: Enchanting mandarin duck in Central Park turned out to be a mallard nipping jerk.
MOOS: We did see him repeatedly chasing other ducks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he looks nasty. He`s like attacking them, that`s not fair.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, the mandarin is just sitting there doing nothing.
MOOS: A case of mistaken identity, or perhaps Mandy is defending himself from underwater sneak attacks like this one.
A birder told "The New York Times" he`s the Kim Kardashian of ducks. We tried to lure him.
Mandy.
With his namesake song.
(MUSIC)
MOOS: But it drove him back into the pond. I guess he wanted to duck Barry Manilow.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Maybe he thinks the whole city just gone Duffy. Maybe he`s become a scrooge with the routine of being watched to getting done old (ph). It`s
easy to see how that could happen and it`s possible he views fame as an Aflac-ation and just wants Huey and Dewey to Loui-eave him alone.
Still, there`s no reason for him to be ugly even if the famed duck lingers.
I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10.
END
