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CNN 10
Unrest In Myanmar; Worldwide Coronavirus Update; Surge Of Migrants At The U.S.-Mexico Border; Smart Glass That Could Change Windows As We Know Them. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired March 16, 2021 - 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: Welcome to CNN 10. My name is Carl Azuz. Hope you`re doing well. This Tuesday we`re taking you back to the southeast
Asian country of Myanmar also known as Burma. The unrest there has not calmed down since a military coup took place last month. Over the weekend,
dozens of people were killed.
Certain factories were set on fire and China got involved in calling for the government to stop the violence. When the military took over last
month, it said there was widespread fraud in an election that was held in November. That election gave an overwhelming victory to Myanmar`s civilian
leader and an opposition party that the military supported didn`t do as well as it had hoped.
On February 1st, the military removed and replaced the civilian government. Since then, protesters have been demanding that civilian rule is brought
back and several other countries have accused the military of violently cracking down on protestors. Activist groups and media organizations say
Burmese security forces killed at least 38 people on Sunday.
Burmese media report that a policeman was killed in a confrontation with the protestors. It was one of the deadliest days since the coup took place.
China shares a border with Myanmar and the Chinese embassy says several factories that China pays for in Myanmar were set on fire during Sunday`s
protests and that Chinese citizens were injured.
It`s not known exactly who did that but Burmese protestors who opposed the military coup have accused China of supporting it. That nation has
previously spoken out against violence directed at Myanmar`s protestors. On Sunday, China called for the Burmese military to stop all acts of violence
and punish those responsible for targeting Chinese factories and civilians. Neither the military nor the protestors in Myanmar are indicating they`ll
stand down.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I`m Melissa Bell in Rome. Just over a year after Italy became the world`s first western democracy to go into lockdown
and more than 100,000 deaths later. More than half the country`s reasons and the vast majority of its population enter on this Monday morning a
strict lockdown with people only allowed to leave their homes for essential reasons.
Seven of at least 8.3 million school children will also be back at home with schools shut and the restriction`s due to last until at least April
5th.
CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I`m Cyril Vanier in London. Ireland and the Netherlands are the latest European member states to pause their roll
out to the AstraZeneca vaccine following reports of blood clots post inoculation, including two deaths last week in Denmark and Austria. More
than a third of EU countries have now fully or partially paused AstraZeneca while acknowledging there is no proof of a connection to the vaccine.
The pharmaceutical giant says it`s data from more than 17 million vaccine recipients shows no increased risk of blood coagulation and the European
Medicines Agency is maintaining it`s green light for AstraZeneca as it reviews the incidents.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I`m Will Ripley in Hong Kong. Fears of a possible fifth wave of COVID-19 have the city taking drastic new steps in
upscale neighborhoods to stop the spread of the virus. Locking down thousands of residents in several apartment buildings here in the heart of
Hong Kong Island, a neighborhood where mostly foreign (inaudible) live.
This latest outbreak traced to a popular fitness center with more than 100 cases tied to that gym so far and hundreds of close contacts in mandatory
isolation including young children. Sparking concern about the mental health of youngsters forced to sit in quarantine for 14 days.
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AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which of these rivers has the shortest link? Yukon, Rio Grande, Volga or Niger. At about 1,900 miles, the Rio Grande is the
shortest river on this list.
The Rio Grande forms a natural border between Mexico and the United States and it`s at that border where there`s been a dramatic increase this year in
the number of people trying to cross into the U.S. American critics call the situation a crisis. The Biden Administration has called it a challenge.
One of the reasons behind the increase is a change in U.S. law.
Under the Trump Administration last year, U.S. border officials were allowed to turn away people who illegally entered America out of concerns
they could bring new cases of coronavirus. Under the Biden Administration this year, children who are caught illegally crossing the border are
allowed to stay in the U.S. while their cases for immigration are reviewed.
There are many reasons why people try to enter America. Violence and poverty in their home countries, problems made worse in Central America by
the coronavirus pandemic, new opportunities in the United States. And while the Biden Administration says it`s trying to develop more helpful programs
for immigrants, critics say the government`s taking too long to get control of the situation at the border.
Meanwhile, U.S. Border Control agents are struggling to process those who are crossing legally and to stop those who are crossing illegally. At the
beginning of the week, there were about 4,200 unaccompanied children in the custody of U.S. Border Control. That`s 1,600 more children there were
during the border crisis in 2019.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the sun sets on the Rio Grande, our boat winds its way through the deep bends of the river that separates Texas from Mexico
near the town of Hidalgo. That`s when we stumble across a group of migrants loading into a raft. Our group eases the tension.
A few men appear to leave the raft full of parents and young children to the U.S. side. The Rio Grande Valley has been ground zero of the latest
surge of migration and here you see the operation unfolding right in front of us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNTRANSLATED)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After the first raft crosses the river, the magnitude of this moment reveals itself. Dozens of migrants emerge and walk down to the
river`s edge. You can see that this is a serious operation. There are dozens of migrants. There are still some above the hills there and it is
quickly moving. A handful of guys move people back and forth on these rafts.
They have life vests for the migrants. It`s a highly organized system. We`ll watch the raft make about six trips back and forth. Scenes like this
are escalating in the Rio Grande Valley. There is the growing perception among migrants in Central America that the Biden Administration is more
welcoming. Even though many are still being turned away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are really, really high numbers. I -- I -- I`ve never seen it this busy in 19 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris Cabrera is with the National Border Patrol Council. The union that represents Border Patrol agents. He warns the
agencies front line field stations like this massive tent facility are being pushed the limit with migrants in custody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re crowded. We -- we`re over crowded. We don`t have anywhere to put people. But we have them in our custody and the system has
bogged down and there`s no place for us to send them because the next level is not open yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a rare view of the field station set up about a month ago by the Border Patrol. The tents are used to handle the initial
field processing for the tens of thousands of migrants apprehended in the Rio Grande Valley. There are bathrooms, first aid care and migrants are
removed from the area by a steady stream of buses.
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AZUZ: I`m not so sure that rescuing a cat from a tree would be the easiest assignment for a firefighter. It would depend on the size and the
"scardiness" of the cat. This one though, recently did its part to help out.
After it reportedly spent 48 hours in the branches, rescuers in London were called. They raised the ladder and they were about to climb up to fetch the
kitty. That`s when kitty rescued itself calmly making its way down the ladder.
10 out of 10. The cat might have been on it`s last "rung" before the rescue. But it didn`t have to be "roped" in or "pullied" down once
firefighters came. Taking it "step by step", the courageous kitty "extensioned" itself of it. "Catchously" "meowing" down to a landing on its
four feet without ever going off the "rails".
Great Falls is the location of today`s shout out. I`m glad that has nothing to do with cat story. Great Falls High School is in Great Falls, South
Carolina. The only place we look for shout out schools is on our You Tube channel. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN.
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