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Connect the World
Two New York Police Officers Killed; Raul Castro, Cuba Will Not Abandon Communism; Will Sony Release The Interview?; Hollywood Backlash Over Sony's Cancellation Of The Interview; Oscar Pistorius Case In Review; Have Researchers Found a Million Mummies?
Aired December 21, 2014 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CILP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was a cold-blooded assassination like we haven't seen before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LYNDA KINKADE, HOST: Killed just for being cops: outrage in New York as two police officers on duty are gunned down by a man who planted seeds of
warning online. This hour, we'll take you to Brooklyn for the latest.
Also ahead, close in geographical terms, but a million miles apart in ideology. We'll examine the rifts that remain between the U.S. and Cuba as
they try to build bridges.
And as 2014 comes to a close, we'll revisit one of the year's most gripping stories. The murder trial of track superstar Oscar Pistorius.
ANNOUNCER: This is the hour we connect the world.
KINKADE: Hello, and welcome. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
The city of New York is responding with both grief and anger over the shooting of two police officers. Police say officers Wenjian Liu and
Rafael Ramos were sitting in their patrol car when a man walked up to them and opened fire. The shooter Ismaaiyl Brinsley was found dead inside a
nearby subway station. Police say he killed himself.
We're now learning more about the shooter and why police believe he targeted the officers. For more on that, here's Alexandra Field.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hundreds of police officers united in grief in the assault of two of their own.
BILL BRATTON, NYPD COMMISSIONER: Today, two of New York's finest were shot and killed with no warning, no provocation. They were quite simply
assassinated.
FIELD: With those words, a visibly shaken New York police commissioner, alongside New York's mayor, talking about the deaths of Officer Raphael
Ramos and Officer Wenjian Liu. Liu, a seven year veteran, married two months ago. Ramos, a two-year veteran turned 40 this month, married with a
13-year-old son. They were killed ambush style Saturday afternoon as they sat in their patrol car on a Brooklyn street.
BRATTON: The suspect was identified as 28-year-old Ismaaiyl Brinsley walked up to the police car. He took a shooting stance on the passenger side and
fired the weapon, his weapon, several times through the front passenger window striking both officers in the head.
Officer Liu and officer Ramos never had the opportunity to draw their weapons. They may never have actually even seen their assailant, their
murderer.
FIELD: Police say officers chased Ismaaiyl Brinsley to a nearby subway station where he reportedly shot himself to death on the train platform. A
semiautomatic handgun was recovered near the body. Brinsley arrived in New York from Baltimore but had a residence near Atlanta and apparently had
connections to Brooklyn.
Police say earlier in the day he shot and seriously wounded a woman believed to be his ex-girlfriend in Baltimore. Police there received
information that Brinsley had made threatening comments about officers on social media sites and they sent a warning to police in New York but that
message came almost at the same time the ambush happened.
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: These officers were shot execution style, particularly despicable act which goes at the very heart of our
society and our democracy when a police officer is murdered, it tears at the foundation of our society.
FIELD: New York police say there is no indication Brinsley was connected to any terrorist group.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's blood on many hands tonight.
FIELD: The deaths two of officers highlighted mounting tensions between police union officials and the mayor whom they accuse of putting officers'
lives at risk with his support for recent protests involving the Eric Garner chokehold death and the police shooting of Michael Brown.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those that incited violence on this street under the guise of protest that tried to tear down what New York City police officers
did every day. We tried to warn. It must not go on. It cannot be tolerated.
That blood on the hands starts on the steps of city hall, in the office of the mayor.
FIELD: And in an apparent show of defiance, police officers gathering at the hospital where the slain officers were taken turn their backs on the
mayor as he entered for Saturday's press conference.
Investigators are continuing to look at the suspect's social media postings, and any postings he may have made which suggested plans to attack
police officers or any outrage over the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown.
As for the family of Michael Brown, they've released a statement condemning the attack and condemning any violence on any police officer. They've also
offered their sympathies and their condolences to the family of both officers -- Lynda.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: And U.S. President Barack Obama tells CNN that the cyber attack on Sony Pictures is an act of cyber vandalism. He blames North Korea for
the breach, but stopped short of calling it an act of war.
The president spoke with our Candy Crowley about Sony's decision to cancel The Interview, a movie about the fictional assassination of North Korean
leader Kim Jong un.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And, you know, had they talked to me directly about this decision, I might have called the movie
theater chains and distributors and asked them what the story was.
But what I was laying out was a principle that I think this country has to abide by. We believe in free speech. We believe in the right of artistic
expression and satire and things that powers that be might not like. And if we set a precedent in which a dictator in another country can disrupt,
through cyber, you know, a company's distribution chain or its products, and, as a consequence, we start censoring ourselves, that's a problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Pyongyang says more cyber attacks against the U.S. may be on the way even though the regime denies involvement in the hack on Sony Pictures.
And as our Will Ripley reports, Washington is now asking China for help.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One of the ways the North Korean regime controls its population is by severely restricting access to outside
influences and that includes the internet. That is why the investigation is now shifting to North Korea's neighbor and benefactor China where there
is widespread internet infrastructure. And so these North Korean agents, members of the secretive Bureau 121 that are trained how to launch these
cyber attacks.
The U.S. law enforcement officials and others believe that they are crossing from North Korea into China and other countries. And they're
launching their attacks from there where they can freely operate. And it also allows the North Korean government the chance to distance itself from
the attackers, because the cyber attack itself isn't coming directly from inside the borders of North Korea.
One senior Obama administration official spoke to CNN and told us, quote, "we have discussed this issue with the Chinese to share information,
express our concerns about this attack and to ask for their cooperation. Both China and the United States have expressed the view that conducting
destructive attacks in cyberspace is outside the norms of appropriate cyber behavior."
There's also a new message for the FBI from the hackers believed to be behind this attack. And you'll note some of the broken English here. It
says, quote, "the result of investigation by FBI is so excellent that you might have seen what we were doing with your own eye. We congratulate you
success. FBI is the best in the world. You will find the gift for FBI at the following address. Enjoy."
All of this coming as a growing number of countries are condemning the actions of the hackers, including Japan and also Australia, which just put
out a statement today saying that they believe that the evidence presented to them by the United States government is credible that indeed North Korea
is behind this devastating cyber attack.
Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: And just a quick note on the movie at the center of this hacking scandal. Sony insists The Interview will see the light of day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID BOIES, SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER: And remember, Sony only delayed this. Sony has been fighting to get this picture distributed. It
will be distributed. How it's going to be distributed, I don't think anybody knows quite yet, but it's going to be distributed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: We'll have more on that story a little later in the program.
The president of Cuba says his country will not abandon Communism despite a thaw in relations with the U.S. But Raul Castro is also thanking U.S.
President Barack Obama to ending a decades long Cold War policy.
The two nations agreed to normalize diplomatic relations this past week.
As a show of good will, Cuba agree to release U.S. aid worker Alan Gross after he spent five years in prison. The U.S. also swapped three Cuban
spies in exchange for a CIA worker who was held for 20 years.
Let's bring in CNN's Rosa Flores now. She joins us now live from Hanava.
And Rosa, the president has offered no immediate concessions to demands to fix Cuba's human rights record, but he did talk about other ways the
country will improve. What can Cubans expect?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, as you know the stakes are really high when it comes to U.S.-Cuban relations. and there will be
winners and losers at the end of the day.
So what did we do? We went out in the streets of Havana and asked regular Cubans to rate their chances.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FLORES: Everybody loves Cuba, says (inaudible), an independent contractor renting this cab from the Cuban government for about $10 a day.
He's not allowed to drive tourists. Most of his time is spent donating services to the state, which means driving less fortunate Cubans for free.
On a good day, he takes home about $10 in profit.
He hopes that if Americans suddenly flocked to Havana, more cabbies like him will be cleared to drive tourists who pay more to get around.
It'd be important for that to happen in order for him to make a better living.
He's not the only person here expecting to see the American dream come into focus.
Lasa Ronandez (ph) says Americans tend to appreciate finer art and higher prices.
Others set to reap the benefits, construction companies giving Havana's battered buildings much needed face lifts, while hotels and restaurants
take care of extra visitors.
Not everybody wins if Americans start flooding plazas like this one. So who is to lose? Well, possibly tourists from Canada and Europe who have
been visiting Cuba freely for a very long time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe the price go up and more tourists come, more service and more business coming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't want to see too many Starbucks and too many McDonalds on each corner. We would like it to be as it is.
FLORES: It's a historic time in Havana, says Jesus Ramos Leova (ph). While there are sure to be winners and losers, if the U.S. embargo is
lifted, he hopes the road leads Cuba to a better tomorrow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FLORES: So who would be the winners in the United States? Well, hear this. I just got off the phone with Louisiana agriculture commissioner
Mike Strain (ph) and he says the Louisiana rice farmers are definitely set to win, because if the U.S. -- if the Cuban embargo is lifted their rice
exports would increase between 15 to 20 percent -- Lynda.
KINKADE: Good news for the farmers. Thanks. Rosa Flores there in Havana, Cuba.
Now still to come this hour, we take a look at one of the defining moments of 2014: the trial of the Bladerunner Oscar Pistorius. That's coming up in
about 10 minutes.
And Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are claiming victory in Iraq after taking back Sinjar from ISIS. We'll get the details on this story from a Kurdish
journalist. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: You're watching CNN and this is Connect the World with me Lynda Kinkade. Welcome back.
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in Iraq say they've taken back a large part of the city of Sinjar and nearby areas from ISIS.
In August, a deadly assault from the terror group caused thousands of minority Yazidis to flee to Sinjar mountain. The Kurdistan region security
council says Peshmerga forces carried out the single biggest military offensive against ISIS on Thursday.
Now ISIS fighters fighters have retreated towards the Syrian border in large numbers.
Kurdish President Masoud Barzani visited the region today. He praised the Peshmerga's efforts saying breaking the siege was an unexpected victory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MASOUD BARZANI, KURDISH PRESIDENT (through translator): Thanks to god, we have opened and controlled all the roads and broken the siege imposed on
Sinjar mountain. Today, thanks to god, we have liberated the whole area. The liberation of the center of Sinjar town was not part of our plans, but
we have managed to take control of a large area of it.
For us, we will not leave any member of the terrorist DAISH (ph) on any area which we can reach. And our brave Peshmerga are ready to teach a
lesson to anyone who dares to attack our people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: And we'll speak to a Kurdish journalist about this in just a moment. Live from CNN Center, this is Connect the World.
Coming up, Kurdish women have been fighting on the front line against ISIS. And women in the UK may soon be allowed into combat in 2015. We'll
speaking to retired army major who does not support that move.
And one of the most watched trials of the year, the case against Oscar Pistorius. We'll take a closer look at that story as one of the defining
moments of 2014.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: You're watching Connect the World live from the CNN Center, welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
Ebola, ISIS, the lost Malaysian plane, Nigeria's missing schoolgirls, these are just some of the stories that define the year for us. The trial of
Oscar Pistorius also grabbed much of our attention. Our Michael Holmes spoke to some of our anchors about this defining moment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One story that created shockwaves right around the world is that of Oscar Pistorius. Sentenced to
five years in prison for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Now Robyn, I mean, we've got to turn for you on this, you covered this story since what 2008 I think you started covering this? And I want to
start at the end, actually, because you were the only person who got to speak to him about what it would be like in prison. I mean, what was that
conversation like?
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERANTIONAL CORREPSONDENT: Well, I actually asked him. I said, you know, you do realize that you're going to have to go to prison.
And he accepted this. This was after the verdict. And I think it was a sense perhaps I'm not going to put words in his mouth, but I mean I think
there was a sense that he wanted to pay for this. I mean, he's christian, he understands that. And I think he looks through that prism.
So, he said he wasn't scared.
HOLMES: Yeah, what strikes me about these cases, and you made this point, people kill their girlfriends every day. Why do we seize on these trials?
It happens every year, there's a couple of huge trials that everyone goes nuts on and it's stuff that happens all the time.
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Valentine's Day, a beautiful model, an athlete, but at the heart of this story -- and I didn't realize that maybe
South Africans and Ameicans had this in common until your reporting, gun violence. You hear about it all the time in America, but I didn't realize
just how much of a problem that we share between South Africans and Americans.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This was a commoner garden murder case, or (inaudible).
CURNOW: Culpable homicide.
QUEST: Right. Unlawful killing. There was nothing extraordinary about the facts...
HOLMES: Except who it was.
QUEST: Except who it was, and my lady: the judge.
CURNOW: I mean, what a woman?
QUEST: My lady. This was a woman you wouldn't like to meet and have an argument with in a restaurant.
HOLMES: Put you in your place.
ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: But I will say to your point -- and, you know, not to disagree, but I do think...
QUEST: Disagree.
SESAY: No, I think the element of Reeva Steenkamp, this young woman who was on the cusp of becoming something else, the promise...
QUEST: No -- that's the same in every murder case.
SESAY: No, no, no. I think we -- the fact that she was stepping into the public spotlight, she was a model, I think all of that was captivating to
a domestic and international audience.
And I will also say at points I felt that we were in danger of forgetting the victim in all of this and making this solely about Oscar.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: And the Pistorius trial is just one of those stories featured in Defining Moments of 2014. The special will air on Christmas Day at 9:00
a.m. Hong Kong time here on CNN.
And we're going to take a short break. Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)]
KINKADE: This is Connect the World. The top stories this hour. New York City police paid a silent tribute to two officers killed in an ambush
Saturday. The officers were shot while sitting inside their patrol car. Police say the gunman killed himself and was found inside a nearby subway
station.
Australian authorities have charged a mother with murder in the deaths of eight children. Police found him in a house in Cairns after coming to the
home of reports of an injured woman. They say seven of the children are hers and the eighth was her niece.
Tunisians are voting for their first freely elected president in (inaudible) election. Beji Caid Essebsi is running against the current
interim leader Moncef Marzouki. Polls are expected to close very soon.
Former employs of Sony Pictures had filed four lawsuits against the company. They say Sony was unprepared for the massive security breach of
its network. The U.S. blames North Korea for the cyber attack. But Pyongyang insists it was not behind the hack on Sony Pictures and claims
the U.S. government was involved in the making of the film.
North Korea is warning of serious consequences if the U.S. retaliates. Kyung Lah has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Just hours after President Obama lands in Hawaii for the Christmas holiday -- the regime lashes out
via its state-run television with all of its usual bluster, the regime slams the U.S. government's investigation of the Sony hack as childish.
That North Korea is being framed. Saying it can prove its innocence without using any torture methods like the American CIA. Those digs come in
response to President Obama. That the evidence points to Pyongyang.
PRES. BARACK OBAMA (D), UNITED STATES: They caused a lot of damage. And we will respond. We will respond proportionally and we'll respond in a place
and time and manner that we choose.
LAH: North Korea directly rebuked the President, saying it is the one who should respond after insults to its supreme leader. But adds it will not
conduct terror against innocent moviegoers, rather target the originators of the insult.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You two are going to be in a room alone with Kim and the CIA would love it if you could take him out.
LAH: The movie and the hack at Sony also got North Korea's bank roller and ally China to respond. In China state-run "Global Times," an editorial
calls the movie vicious mocking of Kim senseless cultural arrogance and China was once a punching bag for Hollywood but now that the Chinese market
sits as a gold mine for U.S. movies, the teasing shifts to impoverished North Korea.
The North Koreans end their fiery rebuttal to President Obama by curiously suggesting that the two countries work together in a mutual investigation
to find the real culprits. North Korea saying if America refuses, there will be serious consequences.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: They cyber attack on Sony Pictures was damaging and sophisticated, perhaps too sophisticated for North Korea according to some
experts. CNN's Brian Todd has more on who else might be behind the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The cyber forensic evidence all points to North Korea, according to the FBI -- the computer code,
algorithms, the IP addresses. But that's not necessarily a clear path to Pyongyang.
SCOTT BORG, U.S. CYBER CONSEQUENCES UNIT: It's all circumstantial evidence that can be faked.
TODD: Scott Borg's cyber security group monitors the skill levels of hackers across the globe. Despite North Korea's efforts to develop a
sophisticated army of hackers, he says, there were elements in the Sony attack that went beyond their skill level.
BORG: The biggest one is that they were able to carry on with activities inside Sony's network for so long without being spotted, moving possibly
terabytes of data without anyone noticing requires a lot of skill. Opening documents all over the place in order to download them and have no one
noticed requires quite a bit of skill.
TODD (on camera): And they just didn't have that even recently?
BORG: That's right. Earlier this year, there was no sign of that level of skill.
TODD (voice-over): Borg believes Kim Jong-Un's regime may have outsourced at least some of the Sony hack. But to whom?
BORG: I think that most likely this was hacking talent that volunteered to help them or criminals that they hired or someone inside of Sony who
provided them with all kinds of inside access.
TODD: U.S. investigators have evidence that hackers stole the computer credentials of a Sony system administrator to get inside access. But could
another government have helped North Korea? One analyst says another U.S. enemy may be involved.
CLAUDIA ROSSETT, FOUNDATION FOR THE DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: There are signs that suggest Iran may indeed have helped because they have worked together
on missile development for many years because Iran has been a major client of North Korea weapons.
TODD: CNN reached out to Iranian officials about that. They didn't respond. The White House maintains North Korea acted alone.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've got no indication that North Korea was acting in conjunction with another country.
TODD: North Korea denies hacking Sony. But if Pyongyang pulled this off without any outside help, it would be the greatest success for their
shadowy hacking group called Bureau 121.
FRANK JANNUZI, THE MANSFIELD FOUNDATION: Frankly North Korea probably doesn't need the help. They've been investing in their own cyber
capabilities for the last four or five years very heavily and they've had a couple of trial runs with attacks on South Korean media and banks.
TODD: One analyst points to a key reason why other governments may not have helped North Korea with the Sony hack. He says most governments
wouldn't be foolish enough to hand any kind of attack tools to North Korea given their erratic behavior.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Sony says the film at the center of the hacking scandal will see the light of day eventually, but the full impact of the incident is still
being played out politically, legally and inside Hollywood. As Paul Vercammen reports, there are fears it may have a lasting chill on the film
industry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gentleman, you are entering into the most dangerous country on Earth
PAUL VERCAMMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sony Entertainment's move to pull The Interview from theaters has touched off fear and loathing in show business.
JON STEWART, HOST, THE DAILY SHOW: That's it? So Kim Jong un gets to decide what movies we make?
VERCAMMEN: George Clooney, son of a news anchor, is one of the most outspoken celebrities on first amendment issues. Clooney's publicist
confirms the actor wrote a petition of support for Sony that he wanted entertainment power brokers to sign.
"We know that to give in to these criminals now will open the door for any group that would threaten freedom of expression, privacy and personal
liberty."
But Deadline Hollywood reports no executive signed the Clooney letter after the Sony hack.
CHRIS ROCK, ACTOR/COMEDIAN: This whole thing is scary, man. Somebody -- you know, your emails and it's your private stuff and I don't -- I mean,
the whole town is scared. Everybody has got to be scared.
VERCAMMEN: But in one decisive moment, Sony banned The Interview from theaters.
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN: I am so disappointed. I wanted to see the movie. I think this is the wrong thing
to do. I hear in the film Meryl Streep is great as Kim Jong un and I said OK if they're not going to -- if they're not going to show The Interview,
that's it no more North Korean movies for me.
VERCAMMEN: Perhaps not for anyone insiders predict a new chilling effect on controversial film subjects. A Steve Carell thriller project set in
North Korea also just got scrapped.
MATT BELLONI, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: You're not going to see villains that have anything to do with that region and could be
perceived as being anti-North Korean or Chinese, even Iran people are saying is off limits.
SETH ROGEN, ACTOR: I wish we had an escape plan.
VERCAMMEN: In Hollywood, there's solidarity for The Interview's Seth Rogen, a bankable showbiz triple threat -- actor, writer, producer.
The Franco-Rogen acting team has delivered to Sony the young male audience and big profits -- Pineapple Express and This is the End cost little to
make and racked in more than $100 million worldwide.
But dollar signs couldn't save this sign, The Interview's billboard is being ripped down at Sunset and Vine, dead cetner of angry, nervous
Hollywood.
Paul Vercammen, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: And you can find all the latest in the cyber attack against Sony Pictures on our website, including an interview with Sony chief executive
Michael Lynton. He spoke with our Fareed Zakaria about postponing the release of the movie, The Interview. Lynton denies the studio caved to
pressure to scrap it. And he left the door open to a future release on the internet.
That's all on CNN.com/international.
Now to the issue of women in military combat. This year we've sen some women fighting in the Peshmerga forces, claiming to be making gains against
ISIS in Syria. On Friday, the British armed forces said it may allow women in military combat in 2016.
But not everyone agrees it's the right move.
For more on the topic, I'm joined by retired Major Judith Webb. Thanks so much for your time today.
Now you're the first woman to command an all-male field squadron in the British army, but you don't support women on the front line. Can you
explain the reasons behind that?
JUDITH WEBB, RETIRED BRITISH ARMY MAJOR: Now it's not the front line. I do support women on the front line. We've had women who have proved
themselves conclusively have been very effective as medics, as bomb disposal officers, my argument is about infantry soldiering, because I feel
that the demands of an infantry soldier, the physical demands are such that we women are never really going to be sufficiently fit to be able to do
this over an extended period of time.
Of course, an occasional woman is going t meet the required standards, but what concerns me is that if we do go ahead with this in the British army
that the standards, the basic standards of fitness require for an infantry soldier will be reduced in order for -- for reasons of gender equality.
KINKADE: And what are those differences? Can you explain those between males and females in that role?
WEBB: Well, I -- the point about it is the British army does a lot of soldiering on foot, as do the Americans, but there are a lot of other
countries, which don't. Their forces are on the whole vehicle bound. And if I give you an example for the fitness standard for a paratrooper,
they're required to lift 40 kilos over a distance of 120 meters and to run 1.5 miles in 9:40. The present standards for women are about half that,
you know. I mean, it's 20 kilos over 30 meters and run 1.5 miles in 14 minutes. So it's a big difference.
And of course there are going to be the occasional women who can meet those. And in fact -- I mean, someone I quote quite frequently is Captain
Casey Patronio (ph) who was a U.S. Marine Corps officer. She was a combat engineer. And she was incredibly fit, definitely up for women in combat.
And I'm not quite sure what this means, it's a very American phrase, but it'll mean a lot to your listeners, she could bench almost 150 pounds and
she scored 292 out of 300 on the Marine physical fitness test.
But what happened was after an extended period of service carrying very heavy loads, she suffered quite severe physical injuries. And they were
gender specific medical conditions which she suffered. And I just feel that this is going to have an affect on the combat effectiveness of our
infantry.
I could be very naughty, so we'll let the Americans try to, you know, over an extended period first before the Brits do.
KINKADE: So what do you say to women who want the chance to make that decision for themselves?
WEBB: Well, there are so many good roles that women can do. And you know there are -- women have been doing very, very effective work on the front
line. And I just feel that once you've opened those doors, the inevitable will happen and that our standards will be reduced -- our upper body
strength is not too strong, and you look at what an infantry soldier has to do, it's not just, you know, stick their head out and fire a weapon, we're
talking about.
I mean, we had the Falklands war, for example, when our soldiers had to yonk (ph) for miles over very difficult terrain carrying very heavy loads.
And what I say is that once you've said that women can do it, then there will be questions asked, well, why haven't we got more women doing it?
Well, because the standards are too high, and therefore the standards will be reduced inevitably to meet the requirements for gender equality.
What's wrong with being different? What's wrong with being different? You know, people accept that, you know, I"m sure Serena Williams, for example,
could give our tennis player Andy Murray a good run for his money on the tennis court, but they don't compete against each other in open
competition, because one is a man and one is a woman. And I just feel that -- you know, there's nothing wrong with accepting, acknowledging,
appreciating our differences and that if there are some roles which are not available and not appropriate for women, why not stick with that?
Hello? Have we lost the link?
KINKADE: All right, Major Judith Webb, we really appreciate your time today. Thanks for joining us.
WEBB: Thank you.
KINKADE: And the team at Connect the World wants to hear from you, Facebook.com/CNNConnecttheWorld. Have your say.
And you can also tweet me @LyndaKinkade.
Now in today's parting shots, we want to take you to Egypt where a team of archaeologists claim to have made a very, very big discovery, Amir Daftari
explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMIR DAFTARI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This ancient mummy maybe one in a million literally. Believed to be an 18-month-old, she was found in a burial
ground in middle Egypt. This, according to the head excavator, an American professor from Brigham Young University.
Here, archaeologists claim that there are an estimated 1 million mummies under the Earth.
But Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities refutes the researcher's prediction, telling CNN, "there is indeed a site that contains many corpses and bodies
wrapped in a thick textile, but these number in the tens of thousands maximum.
The college says nearly 2,000 corpses have been found so far at the Fag el- Gamous site, many dating back to the Roman or Byzantium empires.
Those buried here were ordinary people with no access to the formal mummification methods reserved for pharaohs, but the arid desert climate
dried and preserved their bodies.
Despite the lower social status of the dead, excavators have found some items of value like linen, glass and even a child's tunic. This toddler
appears to be buried with care. She wore two bracelets and an intricate necklace.
This, a cluster burial, maybe a family: two adults and two children.
Possibly a million more mummies to uncover, and with them a million more stories.
Amir Daftari, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: I'm Lynda Kinkade and that was Connect the World. Thanks for watching. Marketplace Middle East is up next. And I'll be back in just
over an hour at the International Desk.
(BREAK)
DEFTERIOS: This week on MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST, a new era for the telecoms industry. The head of Turkcell on the future of mobile
communications.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUREYYA CILIV, CEO, TURKCELL: We have more than 100,000 people apply to Turkcell to work. It's the number one company that young people want to
work for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: Plus, seasonal spending. How shopping and tourism are making for a very merry Christmas.
Welcome to MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST, this week from downtown Dubai. We know that mobile phone usage is surging. You can see it outdoors at notable
venues, but also within the workplace, and the hot area right now, smartphones. And it's less about the voice and more about the data.
Smartphone use in the region has doubled to more than 110 million units, up from 67 million last year. Qatar has the highest percentage of smartphone
penetration at 75 percent. The UAE comes a close second at 73 percent, followed by Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt.
One of the countries tapping into that growth is also one of the region's most populated, and that is Turkey. Straddling the Middle East and Europe,
it offers the dynamics of being both an emerging market and also right near the best of European technology.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEFTERIOS (voice-over): Turkcell is one of the largest mobile operators in the region. Sureyya Ciliv is the group's CEO. After receiving a
scholarship to study computer science at the University of Michigan, Ciliv lived in the United States for 27 years.
In 2007, he was lured away from an executive position at Microsoft to take up the post at Turkcell, the first and only Turkish company listed on the
New York Stock Exchange. Ciliv is credited with architecting Turkcell's transition from a pure mobile operator to a products and services company.
This explains his passion for Turkcell Tech, the product and services development arm of the business where he took me for a tour.
CILIV: Here we are at our control center. This place used to be called Network Control Center, but now it is called Control Center because it also
includes our services and our new products, like Turkcell TV Plus. So, you see, our mobile network, our fixed network. It's being monitored here 24
hours a day.
DEFTERIOS (on camera): With 35 million subscribers, operations in 9 countries, and a 52 percent share of its home market, Turkcell posts some
pretty strong numbers.
CILIV: In 2011, 12, and 13, Turkcell has been one of the fastest-growing telecom groups in Europe for this reason. Because of huge mobile internet
growth and also fiber growth. So, these businesses, several years ago, they had almost zero revenue. Now, they are billion lira businesses.
DEFTERIOS: Give a sense of how much data has grown here in Turkey the last five years, and the rate of growth that you're seeing even in 2014.
CILIV: In the last five years, our data traffic volume has increased by a factor of 200. So, one has become 200. It has grown significantly.
Turkcell's main growth engines has been the mobile data growth, fiber data growth, and also mobile services. So, we invested into these new
businesses starting 7, 8 years ago, and these growth engines have made Turkcell one of the fastest-growing telecom groups in Europe.
DEFTERIOS: This is a population of nearly 80 million consumers. We almost got spoiled by 7, 8, 9 percent growth in Turkey, and now we're in this band
between 3 and 4 percent. How does this translate into revenue for Turkcell? How does it impact the bottom line?
CILIV: I don't feel squeezed. I feel very excited about the opportunities. Maybe I am in Turkcell and I'm in the technology field and
it's a mobile world, but I see tremendous opportunities in mobile health, mobile education, in television.
DEFTERIOS (voice-over): Ciliv says the development of devices is a key component of Turkcell's strategy.
CILIV: The group mobile business is still the most important part of our business, but we have evolved the company from just a GSM company into a
total telecommunications and technology company.
Communication engineers, hardware engineers, industrial engineers.
DEFTERIOS: A team of engineers in this R&D department are behind the group's latest smartphone.
CILIV: In this area, we built this T50, the smartphone for Turkey. And it is very reasonably priced, it has great performance, as you see, Turkcell
T50.
DEFTERIOS (on camera): Why did it work here, do you think? Because the price points were right, but there was a brand trust that allowed you to
come in with your own product?
CILIV: Success comes from when you align, when you do a lot of things right. So, it's not just one thing.
DEFTERIOS (voice-over): Turkcell employs 14,000 people in Turkey alone. Ciliv says the company is popular with millions of Turkish job seekers.
CILIV: We have more than 100,000 people apply to Turkcell to work. It's the number one company where young people want to work for.
DEFTERIOS: Turkcell's latest project is a mobile health device that communicates patients' vital data directly to their doctors. Another of
Ciliv's push to constantly innovate and keep the telecom giant in good financial health.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEFTERIOS: Sureyya Ciliv, once again, of Turkcell in Istanbul. Still to come on MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST, a special look at the world of retail,
shopping superpower. How the Chinese rush towards consumerism is driving growth here and abroad.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEFTERIOS: Welcome back to MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST, this week from Dubai Mall, where more than 75 million consumers passed through last year.
That's more than the Eiffel Tower, Disney World in Florida, and Niagara Falls combined. But this week, we're taking a look in the world of retail
at the rise of the Chinese consumer outside the country. Kristie Lu Stout has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here in one of Hong Kong's famous shopping districts, a global phenomenon is at
play, as the world's most lucrative tourists take to their favorite pastime, shopping.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We traveled to shop. I spent most of the time shopping.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I bought Mew Mew, Adidas, and also gold jewelry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): When I see brand name shops, I'm very happy.
STOUT: Mainland Chinese travelers are now the world's top holiday spenders. The United Nations World Tourism Organization says they racked
up nearly $130 billion in tourism spending in 2013.
RICHARD MCKENZIE, GREATER CHINA DIRECTOR, OC&C STRATEGY: As China gets wealthier and the middle class starts to get wealthier, they're moving into
that band of wealth where they can afford to travel abroad. Shopping is absolutely a key part of it, and culturally, they all want to shop when
they travel.
STOUT: Shopping also appears to be a key driver of where these tourists are going.
MCKENZIE: They do that because they've got access to brands that they haven't got access to here, and there are cheaper prices. And they like
the fact that they can get -- they know they're going to be authentic, where there are always authenticity issues if they buy from mainland China.
STOUT: More growth is expected as Chinese shoppers continue to expand their horizons. A report done by OC&C Strategy says Mainland Chinese
travelers are expected to take more than 200 million trips abroad in the next five years, double the amount of trips in 2014.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEFTERIOS: Everyone, of course, is eager to tap the growth of China, and Dubai is no exception. Having attracted 250,000 visitors last year in
search of sun, sand, and shopping. Now, they can add this British icon to their list of retail destinations as Jim Boulden reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the busiest time of year for luxury retailer Fortnum & Mason, but CEO Ewan
Venters is thinking well beyond this Christmas and this flagship store on London's Piccadilly.
EWAN VENTERS, CEO, FORTNUM & MASON: Throughout our history, Fortnum's has always taken its products to wherever its customers are in the world. So,
we're now starting to identify key locations where people have an appreciation for what Fortnum's is about, and especially the countries and
cities in the world that love tea.
BOULDEN: The biggest expansion outside the UK was to Dubai in March. Add to that a few smaller stores in a London train station and airport.
Fortnum & Mason is feeling bullish about spreading its wings.
VENTERS: We're now in a position where Piccadilly is performing extremely well. Sales went up 14 percent last year. Profitability doubled year on
year.
BOULDEN (on camera): OK.
VENTERS: So, we're in a much more complementary style, and this is our moment. The time is right to take Fortnum's into the world.
BOULDEN (voice-over): Fortnum & Mason has tried expansion before, including to New York City back in 1930.
VENTERS: Well, of course, the 1930s wasn't a great time in America.
(LAUGHTER)
BOULDEN (on camera): Too expensive.
VENTERS: So -- there was a depression going on. But on our focus in shops outside of Piccadilly is very much focused on the five big categories. So,
it's all about teas, about confectionery, about biscuits, preserves, and of course, our iconic hamper, the Fortnum hamper, which most people across the
world know about.
BOULDEN (voice-over): While more expansion is on the cards, there are limits.
VENTERS: I suspect we'll -- you'll see us in one or two of the most incredible airports that are being built in the Middle East. I'm not in
any particular rush to get into China. We're attracting a lot of Chinese visitors when they're here in London. But from my analysis of the market,
there's a lot of luxury retailers in the world going into China and losing a lot of money.
BOULDEN: Fortnum & Mason is, after all, 307 years old. Venters is expanding this British brand at his own pace.
Jim Boulden, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEFTERIOS: Jim Boulden on marketing a bit of British history abroad. And that's all for this edition of CNN MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST, this week from
Dubai. I'm John Defterios, thanks for watching. We'll see you next week.
END
