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Controversial Memo Rocking Washington; Pyeongchang 2018; Calls For President Zuma To Resign; House Intel Committee Expected To Revisit Memo Soon; Europe's Biggest Airline Set To Fly Into Jordan; Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired February 05, 2018 - 10:00   ET

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[10:00:00] LYNDA KINKADE, CONNECT THE WORLD, CNN: .and fearing death in Lebanon Syrian refugees have are frozen to death as they attempt to flee

the war. Next, a look at the harrowing mountain journey.

Also, you may have heard about a controversial memo rocking Washington, but now the Democrats have want you to see their rebuttal to it. A report from

the White House ahead.

And countdown to Pyeongchang as the North and South Koreans are playing on the same team, and the politics that remain both on and off of the ice.

Hello and welcome to "Connect the World." I'm Lynda Kinkade live in Atlanta filling in for Becky Anderson and good to have you with us. First

I want to go to the world stock markets holding trillions of dollars of wealth and right now they are down sharply. Take a look at the dow down

for over 200 points which is almost a percent, and now Friday it dropped by almost 670 points and it is not alone. The world markets are sliding, too.

Japanese stocks are down more than 2 percent on Monday and the European markets are sinking as well.

Now to the battered battlefield of Syria after what has started as a civil war has spiraled into a complex conflict involving regional powers and

world heirs. Russian air strike pummeled rebels in the Idlib province held by the white helmets group. The rescuers who has videos of babies being

rushed out of a hospital that was hit. The U.K. say Syrian Observatory of human rights said that the Russian air strikes intensified on Sunday hours

after one of the jet where is was down and the pilot was killed.

Idlib is controlled by opposition fighters those affiliated with Al Qaeda and Russian says it is targeting terrorists. Meanwhile Turkey is bearing

victims on what it says a fight against terror. And so, seven soldiers were killed in the assault of Kurdish armed groups inside of Syria, and

some of whom the U.S. calls partners in the fight against ISIS. And the Prime Minister had called on the Turkey NATO allies to support the fight

and not to criticize it. CNN international correspondent Ben Wedeman is following this developments from Beirut, joins us now live. Ben there is

so much going on in northern Syria, and take us through the most significant developments.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We can start in Afrin which is the northern part of Aleppo province in which a strip of territory

along the border with Turkey, the Turks, and the Turkish forces who have are been joined by Turkish-backed free Syrian army fighters are battling

with the U.S.-backed YPG Kurdish fighters, and as you said on Saturday seven Kurdish soldiers were killed including five who are in it an armored

vehicle that was hit by a guided missile and perhaps supplied by the United States. So the Turks and the Americans are currently, the relations are at

rock bottom. The Americans have called on the Turkish government to exercise restraint and to avoid civilian casualties, but given the state of

Turkish/American are relations, the appeal has been falling on deaf Turkish ears.

Meanwhile in Idlib province, which is really the last part of the country controlled by anti-regime fighters as opposed to the Kurdish areas are

where we are seeing the Syrians backed by the Russians are launching an offensive, certainly the Russians have really picked up the level of air

bombardment and missile bombardment on Idlib since a SU25 Russian warplane was shot down and the pilot who survived the crash of his plane eventually

killed himself with his own grenade as he was being at attacked by the rebel fighters. According to activist in Idlib province, there have been

more the 100 air strikes there in the last 24 hours alone. So we are seeing a lot of bloodshed, and in addition to that in the eastern Hutton,

which is just east of Damascus we are seeing other the air strikes which we don't know if they are Syrian or Russian, but according to activists, they

have killed around 28 people today as well. And so bloodshed in many parts of Syria today.

KINKADE: Yes a lot of bloodshed, and we can't forget the civilians as you mention, the civilian casualties, and many of them are dying as they are

trying to flee the fighting.

[10:05:00] WEDEMAN: Indeed. Lebanon, which has already host more than already more than a million Syrian refugees is seeing more coming over, but

some of them are not making it.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

WEDEMAN: This man trying to distract his 3-year-old daughter Sadh recovering in the Lebanese hospital. She is all he has left. The rest of

the family, the wife, and 5-year-old daughter froze to the death along with 15 other Syrians while crossing the mountains into Lebanon in a snowstorm

at night. He has been working in Lebanon or for the last 2 1/2 years.

They were dropped off by a car on the Syrian side, says, and they were supposed to walk for half an hour into Lebanon and then picked up by

another car, and it was dark and snowing and the smugglers abandoned them. He shows me on his phone the pictures that he downloaded of his wife as she

was found cradling their daughter, his mother, and his brother's family all frozen to death.

The daughter as just come out of an operation on her frost face, but she does not know that her mother, sister and grandmother are dead. We went

back to the mountain side where they died. They are just a few minutes' walk from a nearest house. And so the snows have now melted, but this is

the spot where the bodies were found. There are still rubber gloves here by those who took the bodies away. This is a valley frequently used by

Syrian trying to sneak into Lebanon, and the deaths here underscore just how desperate they are to reach safe ground.

It is safer in Lebanon, but the life for the nearly 1 million Syrians who fled here is hard, and ever harder in the winter in the makeshift camps.

But the wife is ill, and sickness is one of the perils in the leaky shelter, and vermin another. There is everything here he says, things that

I have never seen before, rats, mice, everything. Mona crossed into Lebanon with her son after her husband went missing five years ago.

We were afraid she recalls, and we with walked for four days over the mountains after paying $700 to smugglers. Some have returned to Syria, but

others continue to come says Mike Bruce of the Norwegian refugee counsel.

MIKE BRUCE, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: Walking across the mountains and taking days in the winter a testament to the fact that Syria is not safe.

Until Syria is safe and there is a lasting peace, people should not go back to Syria.

WEDEMAN: And this cold and wet and bleating existence, the day then Syria is safe again seems an eternity away.

(END VIDEO)

WEDEMAN: So the Syrians here in Lebanon, they are really stuck between a rock and a hard place. Life is difficult here. Going back, they risk

their lives and this report underscore that people coming over can die on the way. Lynda?

KINKADE: A heart breaking report. Thank you, Ben Wedeman with that report.

Well South African President Jacob Zuma is fighting for his political life, and it may be his own African congress party that may lead to his downfall.

Some of those who support Mr. Zuma and some want him out, but into quarters, and he was asked to resign, but he refused. We go to David

McKenzie in Johannesburg with the latest there. And David, does African National Congress have the right to force his resignation, and if so, what

are the issues that it could can raise?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, the African national congress can recall the President at any time. And what it actually

requires is the top 80 members of the Party to vote or to have a consensus to get rid of Jacob Zuma, but as you have seen from the passionate moments

on the street where we were earlier outside of ANC's headquarters, there is a lot of division and fractions within factions within the ANC Party, so

late Sunday, the top six including Cyril Ramaphosa the leader of the party met with Jacob Zuma at his residence in the capital it is believe that they

ask him to resign, but he refused. We got a real ticking clock here on South Africa. On Thursday, the state of the nation address is going top

happened and will it be Jacob Zuma who gives that or will it be someone else? It is rarely coming to the head now, the years of controversy and

scandal that have surrounded Jacob Zuma, and he has survived before, but this is the biggest test yet.

[10:10:14] KINKADE: His biggest test yet, David of course in hi 5 year term it expires next year, and why don't they just allow him to leave then?

MCKENZIE: Well, the perception from many of the analysts is that it would be a blood that the elections of 2019 if Zuma stays on, because he has

created with many of the loyal ANC loyalists, the national congress Party of Nelson Mandela. And because there are so many cases pending against

Jacob Zuma and his allies and even his family in some cases, the ANC would want to move him aside from political sphere, but he is a fighter and

survivor and he is survived much in the scandals of the years that would have downed many, many politician around the world, so we find ourselves in

the situation in South Africa that he is clinging on to power potentially to save him from heading to the court case or prosecution, and many within

the party know that the survival of the Party could depend on him leaving, so you really are coming to the stage of the battle within the ANC that

could get more intense and not less. Lynda?

KINKADE: All right. David McKenzie from Johannesburg. Thank you so much.

Well, also on our radar right now, you are watching, and take a look at this Saudi Arabia's anti-missile system in action. The kingdom claims to

have shot down a missile fired at it by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. That is are where the two sides are at war. The Saudi officials

insist have no damage was done, but the missile was targeting civilians. Meanwhile, the news report claims for the rebels say it was a success in

the test firing.

The European Union chief Brexit negotiator say that there not a minute to lose as the next round of Brexit talks begin. We have Michelle in London

in with the Brexit secretary David Davis and when asked if the U.K. is ruling out being a part of the E.U.'s customs union, and the U.K. spokesman

said that they respect the lines, but the E.U.'s lines must be respected, too.

Hundreds of people marched in the great capital on Sunday against the used of the name of Macedonian, the former Yugoslavia republic. Macedonia

started talks last month to resolve the dispute, the protester say that any deal should not include a name, because there is a Greek region also called

Macedonia.

And now to Washington where the Democrats are intensifying the efforts to release the rebuttal to the controversial memo after Donald Trump and his

allies took a victory lap of sorts over the weekend. The President says that the Republican memo proves that there is no collusion with Russia, and

while the Democrats and some Republicans say that is just not the case. Mr. Trump is now on the offensive just hours before the House Intelligence

Committee is set to meet. In the latest tweet, he manages to attack the top Democrat in the committee, the former FBI Director as well as two

former intel chiefs all in one breath. CNN's Kaitlan Collins has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

ADAM SCHIFF, (D) CALIFORNIA: The interest was not oversite but it was a political hit job other FBI in the service of the President.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee demanding a release of their rebuttal to the

controversial GOP memo alleging FBI surveillance abuse, arguing that the Republican document is incomplete, and full of mischaracterizations.

DEVIN NUNES, REPUBLICAN CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: They have a warrant on somebody in the Trump campaign using opposition research

paid for by the Democratic Party and the Hillary Clinton campaign. That is what this is about.

JIM HIMES, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: What we will learn is that it is not true that this FISA warrant was awarded solely on the basis of the Steele

dossier, and we also learn that the FBI, because they are careful people didn't' mislead the Judge.

COLLINS: The senate minority leader urging the President to support the release of the ranking member Schiff's memo, and saying that blocking the

release will confirm the American people worst fears that the Republican memo was only intended to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller's

investigation. Mr. Trump himself taking a victory lap, insisting that the GOP memo totally vindicates him in the Russian probe, an idea rejected by

multiple Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This has nothing to do with the special counsel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think this is a separate issue.

[10:15:03] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not about the special counsel's investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't believe that President Trump is vindicated in the Russian investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't.

COLLINS: Even Congressman Trey Gowdy defended who helped draft the memo defended the Mueller's investigation.

TREY GOWDY, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: There is a Russian investigation without the dossier, and the dossier has nothing to do with the e meeting

at a Trump tower.

COLLINS: The President's son who is at the center of the fire storm over the June 2016 Trump tower meeting with the Russians promising dirt on the

Clinton, applauding the memo.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a little bit of revenge of it to me, and the family, that if they had not done this, this stuff would not be going on.

COLLINS: The number two Democrats in the Senate warning Republican against using the document to fire the men heading the Russia investigation.

DICK DURBIN, DEMOCRAT: To say that is the end of the investigation and all that President Trump needs to fire Rob Rosenstein or Bob Mueller that could

precipitate a constitutional crisis.

(END VIDEO)

KINKADE: Kaitlan Collins joined us now with more on all of this and now, looking at the President Trump tweet, Kaitlan, he claims he is vindicated,

but if you are so certain that he was in the clear, why wouldn't he allow for the release of the Democrats memo, and what is stopping him? And are

there other memos to be released?

COLLINS: Well, so far we don't know if the President is going to stop the release of the Democratic memo, because it is going to be voted on tonight

by the House Intelligence Committee and then it I going to have five days to come to the White House and the President will decide for five day

whether he is going the block it, and very similar process of what the Republican memo went through last week, but with that memo, the President

said that he is 100 percent would release it before he read it.

The White House is not saying whether they will be releasing this memo, but they will let it go through the process, the President was insistent this

weekend that the memo vindicated him from the Russian investigation, and repeating there is no collusion and no obstruction, but that is certainly

not what is being echoed by the Republicans in capitol hill who really sought to seek to put some distance between the memo and the Russian

investigation, saying the two had nothing to do with each other and the memo certainly does not undermine the special counsel's investigation, a so

it is two conflicting messages going on here, whether from the White House and on Capitol Hill about this memo's.

KINKADE: Yes, very conflicting. And of course on another issue super bowl, President Trump has tweeted his congratulations to the Philadelphia

Eagles. And you can see it there. Congratulations to the Philadelphia eagles on a great super bowl victory, and of course as tradition, they will

be invite to the White House, but some players are saying they will boycott it.

COLLINS: Yes, that is right, the actual safety for the Eagles Malcolm Jenkls is already saying that he will not be attending the White House

visit when the team comes, because they come and have a ceremony with the President, and he makes a few remarks, and invites people to come up, and

the Patriots came last year after they won the super bowl, but at least one eagle's player who will not going to come. And when asked if he had a

message to be sending to the message by not attending the celebratory event he said that he wanted to see changes in the criminal justice system, and

echoing what we have been seeing the protests on the NFL field during the national anthem by players all season and something that the president has

been highly, highly critical of here, Lynda.

KINKADE: Yes, he has. Kaitlan Collins at the White House, thank you so much.

Still to come, it is an issue that is dominating the daily are life for Iranian women for decades, a mandate they cover their heads. Well, now,

are there signs that change might be on the horizon? We will have a live report when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:21:34] KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade and you are watching "Connect the world." We are live from Atlanta for you today, and welcome

to CNN. And also to the world's busiest airport. Europe's largest airline is launching a plane into the air every 45 seconds. As you can see nearly

all of them are flying inside of Europe itself that is changing. Ryan air is branching out once again in to the Middle East, adding 14 new routes

across Europe to Jordan, because of places like this, the ancient City of Petra, the national geographic listed Jordan as one of the places that you

should definitely see this year. Well, let's bring in CNN's John Defterios who joins us now his usual home in Abu Dhabi and he knows a thing or two

about using airlines to put itself on the map. So John talk to us about this deal between Ryan airlines flying into Jordan and why does this make

sense?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, it is interesting, because they put out the latest results which were decent, but they have

some negative news regarding Europe to move into the Middle East in a big way and planted the second flag, if you will in the Middle East. This is

going to be Jordan in a very large way. Lynda, it moved into Israel in 2017, but as you suggested in the lead-in here, let us take a look at the

map again, they will add 10 routes, into the capital Oman and then in the first quarter of 2019, another four into the (inaudible) is the port there

at the northern point of the red sea bordering Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel, and good passageway into the UNESCO heritage site of Petra. The

officials of Jordan think that they are connected enough and they don't reach into the millennials and that is a view shared very much by Ryanair.

Let us take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today's travelers are young, the millennials and looking to travel and to reach to places and experience those places

without really getting much for the frills that are offered through some of the other airlines.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jordan is a wonder of place, but not many people can get here, and we can change that. So certainly, the lack of connection to

Jordan is striking given the preeminence of the world's destination.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEFTERIOS: And Ryanair thinking that the destination is underserved and Jordan is trying to leverage it that national geographic picked it as one

of the top 20 sites to visit in 2018, but Jordan has had a challenge in the last few years being squashed between Syria and Iraq and taking in total

registered an unregistered refugees of some 1.4 million. Having said that, 2016 was rough for Jordan and 2017 looking at the preliminary numbers are

pretty decent up 12.5 percent, and focused here on the graphic of the Jordan trail and some 650 kilometers going from north to south including

the UNESCO heritage site and targeting the millennials along the way in that process.

KINKADE: Of course, John, just down the red sea, Jordan is much with bigger and richer neighbor Saudi Arabia is also making the big move in the

transport, please explain what they are up to.

[10:25:00] DEFTERIOS: Well, there is an area that is living off the oil boom as you know prior to the correction of the las four years, so they

have underinvest, in transport, a hand is changing in a very large way inside of Saudi Arabia. The kingdom as part of the crown prince's vision

2030 plan, he is earmarking $14 billion a year for transport and infrastructure. I caught up with the transport minister in Davos, and

talked to him about why this is important now, and how it fits into the broader 2030 plan with all of the different changes we have seen coming out

of the kingdom in the last two months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

One of the pillars of the vision of 2030 is for the kingdom to be a logistical hub between the three continents, Asia, Europe and Africa and so

we are developing a lot of projects to expand the airports and roads and railways where we need to and more efficiently is to increase the

efficiency of the current investments, and look at the digitization, and increasing the speed of the paperwork to utilize the assets already in the

United Kingdom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I called for 2018 as a kingdom of the Europe clarity, and there is a bold vision, but there are is a crackdown on the corruption

and fits and starts of how fast you can go and the growth slowdown and you have provided a stimulus plan and what can we expect in terms of the

guidance this year?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think you will be seeing some real execution here, and at least in my portfolio. The beautiful new airport that is 30 million

to 40 million passengers per airport, and we have the train between the high speed trail which is coming on soon, and I have heard that you have

visited the station there, and so once that is coming up, we will have the multi modal aspects of transport that we really need in the kingdom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEFTERIOS: Once again, that is (inaudible) a former Aramco official brought in to shake up that ministry, you saw the pictures there. And that

train station is a huge infra infrastructure project taking place inside of Saudi Arabia, as we speak, Lynda, a part of the broader 2030 plan.

KINKADE: Very exciting, and lot to keep your eye on. John Defterios so good to have you with us. Thank you.

DEFTERIOS: Thanks.

KINKADE: Live inside of the CNN center, this is "Connect the World." Coming up one of Britain's best known actors brings a foreign hacking case

against a newspaper. Some reports say it is a lot of money, we will have the latest after the break, plus. The eyes on the world will be on

Pyeongchang this weeks as North and South Korea joins forces for the winter Olympic Games, the latest on the unified squad next.

[10:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: You are watching CNN and this is Connect the World with me, Lynda Kinkade. Welcome back. Well, British actor Hugh

Grant has settled a foreign hacking case with the Mirror Group Newspapers.

Some reports put the damages that he has won in six figures. He says he will donate it to the hacked off campaign, after it was revealed that

British newspapers hacked into the phones of celebrities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUGH GRANT, BRITISH ACTOR: This litigation has made clear that phone hacking and other unlawful information gathering took place on an

industrial scale at the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Mirror and the Sunday People. Here we have a public limited company whose executives concealed

10 years of criminality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, those revelations sparked a huge debate on press ethics and privacy in the U.K. And for now, our Isa Soares is in London covering this

for us.

And do you think Hugh Grant allege that his voicemails were hacked by these British newspapers over a period of ten year. We heard a little bit of

what he had to say outside of court, and what else did he talk about?

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Lynda. He did not hold back and what he said which was rather interesting, he is not the first person of course

to try and settle -- and to settle with the British newspaper over the question of hacking.

But what makes this very different is the fact that he got the group to actually admit to wrongdoing, to concealment and to some of the hacking

activities for a period of ten years.

He called this, Lynda, and he basically said that this was basically gathering -- elicit gathering of information on an industrial scale. And

just to give a sense of really what was ongoing but really interesting in that statement that you just heard a bit.

But it goes further into detail -- what he says in this, I'm just going to read it out to you. It says, a number of its senior employees including

executives, editors and as well as journalists he says, condoned, encouraged or actively turned a blind eye to the widespread culture of

unlawful information gathering at all three of its newspapers.

And then he went on the further to actually say, it was repeated, it was prolonged and really putting people's lives -- innocent people's lives, you

know, at risk, and he said instances over a period of ten years and he said it could have been prevented, and it could have been interrupted.

He goes on the name several people who were editors at the time and that includes Piers Morgan, but he said many of those journalists just got away

with a slap on the wrist, and some large payoffs and share options.

So, really pointing the finger at those -- those big executives, but also really highlighting that the win for him here was the fact that there

wasn't so much that he got a payoff as much as a six-figure sum, Lynda, but it is the fact that he got them to admit to ten years or so of concealment

and of hacking activities, Lynda.

KINKADE: Incredible. Incredible, that went right to the very top. Isa Soares, there. Good to have you on the story, and it is not going to go

away any time soon. Thank you so much.

Well, we are just days away from the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, and while South Korea is billing the games as the Peace Olympics, both

North Korea and the United States are making things political.

North Korea announcing that it will be sending this man as ceremony head of state, Kim Yong-nam. He is one of the highest ranking North Korean ever to

visit the South.

Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has to attend the opening ceremony with the father of Otto Warmbier -- the American student who died

after spending months in a North Korean prison.

[10:35:00] His parents have accused North Korea of torturing their son during detention. CNN's Ivan Watson is in Pyeongchang for us, and he joins

us now live.

Ivan, North Korea's ceremonial head of state leading the delegation to South Korea -- just explain for us who he is and what this means.

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, his name is Kim Yong-nam and he -- one of his titles is that he is the president of the Presidium of the

Supreme People's Assembly. He is a ceremonial head of state.

He is often sending letters other heads of state, and he greeted the Mongolian foreign minister recently, for example, on a visit, and he will

be leading the North Korean delegation here to the opening of the Winter Games which starts in just a few days' time.

Of course, it is not just government officials who are coming here, Lynda, there are also some 22 North Korean athletes whose invitation was secured

in a flurry of last-minute diplomacy, and there is one team in particular that is a bit of an experiment between North and South Korea, that is

supposed to be a symbol of unity.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: Dancing for joy outside a women's ice hockey game, just days before the Winter Olympics. Some supporters delighted about the joint team

from Korea playing what's supposed to be a friendly match against Sweden.

But others not feeling so friendly. Scuffles erupt between police and the small crowd of anti-North Korean demonstrators. They call North Korea's

leader a dog and they ridicule the Winter Games, calling them the Pyongyang, not Pyeongchang Olympics.

A flurry of diplomacy last month resulted in a last-minute decision to create the first-ever joint North and South Korean women's Olympic ice

hockey team.

Playing under a unification flag, they stand for a Korean folk song instead of their country's national anthem. Twenty-three South Korean players

skate alongside 12 North Korean players under the leadership of South Korea's Canadian coach.

The North and South Korean players only had a few days to train together and in the end, Sweden soundly defeated them. Sweden ranked fifth in the

world easily beat the Koreans 3-1.

After the game, North Korean coach and player briefly sat alongside South Korean counterparts to make a short statement about unity.

But then in a surreal twist, the North Koreans walked off stage to avoid answering questions from journalists. The team that's supposed to be a

symbol of unity isn't even allowed to live together.

SARAH MURRAY, COACH OF UNIFIED KOREAN WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY TEAM: North Korea is not going to be staying with us in the same building in the Olympic

village. They have their own building, so all the North Korean athletes will be together.

In an ideal world, yes, we would be in the same building and we would stay together, because we need to do team meetings. We need to be together.

We're one team, so -- but unfortunately, it didn't work out that way, so we're just going to deal with it.

WATSON: Due to a political decision, these athletes and coaches have been given very little time to overcome deep cultural and even linguistic

differences. That doesn't sound like a strategy for winning at the Olympics.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: Lynda, moments after, the North Korean coach and player walked off that stage at that press conference, organizers of the press conference

then announced to the media that a planned photo opportunity of what supposed to be this united Korean team was abruptly canceled, because the

North Koreans had left the stadium, they had left the venue leaving their South Korean counterparts behind.

It is during that conversation that the coach, Sarah Murray went on the say that on of the challenges, and she had nice words to say about to the North

Korean athletes that they were quick learners, for example.

And she did point out another obstacle and that was literally language that the North and South Korean dialects have grown somewhat different over the

last years of separation.

And that certainly the syntax and the lingo of ice hockey, and words for strategy is in place, but that is completely different and that is

something that they're having to overcome it in very short time. Lynda.

KINKADE: They had certainly have a lot of challenges ahead. All right, Ivan Watson, good to have you with us on that story. Thanks so much.

Well, along with sport comes controversy and as always, 15 Russian members will not be allowed to compete in the Winter Games even though a sports

Arbitration Court lifted their lifetime ban.

[10:40:00] The International Olympic Committee turned down a request from 13 athletes and two coaches saying suspicion remains about potential anti-

doping violations. Well, after the decision, Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman, suggested that IOC officials should be tested for doping.

Well, still to come, it's an issue that has dominated daily lives for Iranian women for decades. A mandate that they cover their heads, but now,

are there signs that change might be on the horizon?

And tens of thousands of people taking to the streets of Philadelphia, but they are not protesting, they are celebrating as the city enjoys the first

ever Super Bowl championship.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: You are watching CNN and this is Connect the World with me, Lynda Kinkade, welcome back. Freedom and equality, Iranian women chanting nearly

40 years ago, tens of thousands took to the streets of Tehran weeks after the 1979 Islamic revolution -- all to protest new laws making it mandatory

for them to wear the hijab or the Islamic head covering.

Decades later, the issue persists. In recent weeks, young Iranian women have been holding their own protests, waving their hijabs in public in the

hopes of changing the rule and dozens have been arrested.

On the other side of this issue, powerful conservative clerics, still think women should cover themselves, and now a government research arm has

released a three-year-old report showing that a tough of all Iranian women and men polled lay that the government should have no say in the way women

dress.

And that the hijab is a personal issue. For more on what all of this means for Iranian women, let's bring in our CNN chief international correspondent

Christiane Amanpour who has reported extensively from Iran.

Good to have you with us, Christiane. It is certainly fascinating that the Rouhani government has straight into the middle of this debate by releasing

this report that sound more about half the population believes that wearing a hijab should be a personal matter, having sat on this report for about

three years, so does the release of this now signal a shift in the government stance.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, it is realty fascinating to see, really since the new year, the systematic

sort of publicization and releasing of all sorts of document whether it is Rouhani who release the actual budget figures that launch the first round

of economic protest early January or now, in the wake of these spontaneous protest by the Iranian women to come out and release this one.

[10:45:00] It is really interest. It is really interesting to see what exactly the strategy is and whether Rouhani is trying to just put himself

out there on the record about what he thinks.

And you know, reform has been an attempt in Iran ever since Mohammad Khatami, the president came to power in 1997 and when I interviewed him

back then, I asked him specifically about personal freedoms and about things like the hijab.

And about all these other things that many women, mostly women because most of the women are the ones who are most suppressed in any society, mostly

women were complaining about this being forced and not being a choice.

So this is going on for a long, long time, and to see it now, this report which is to me even stunning to see it release and of those numbers, 49.2

percent is quite a departure.

And it signals assort of an attempt to have a debate within the country, and don't forget, Iranians are very, very conscious that over there in

Saudi Arabia which is long lagged behind Iran.

Whether it is in women's rights, whether in voting rights or whether in the right for women to work and all of the other rights, and now they are

seeing the crown prince of Saudi Arabia trying to give Saudi women more rights and it all really want to be left behind when it comes to women's

rights in the Middle East.

KINKADE: And, Christiane, women have been very active in the Iranian politics. How much sway do they have when it comes to laws affecting

women?

AMANPOUR: Well, you know, that is the big issue. After the revolution, many, many conservative women -- women who came from conservative families,

suddenly, were able to get into the education sphere.

So the percentage of women going to schools, going to high schools, going to universities has leapt since the Iranian revolution of 1979, because

conservative and traditional religious families in Iran suddenly found themselves more comfortable, allowing their girls to go and get educated.

And frankly, to get out of the house in an environment that they thought was Islamically correct. What that has meant is that, you know, the rights

of women have been expanded, and the expectations of women have been expanded but that is in social and political areas.

In the legal area, women have gone backwards since the days of the Shah. They do not have even the same rights that they did, whether it is on

custody issues, whether it's on divorce issues, property issues, inheritance issue, they were never equal under the law, ever.

But it got worse for them after the Islamic revolution. So it is kind of strange because on the one hand, in the legal domain, they have less rights

than they did before the revolution, but in the social domain, they are much more active and a much more powerful.

Whether they are able to change this particular edict remains to be seen. Look, even foreigners, even when I go to Iran as a representative of an

American and international network, I have to wear the hijab.

It is not a matter of choice when we go to Iran, it is matter of law, that we actually have to wear the hijab. And now young women are getting tired

of it, and they are thinking, look, let's have a say.

They are probably watching lot of the royaling, and the women's rights movements that is, you know, marching on in the west, whether it is the

demonstrations, whether it's the Me Too protest, all of that and young women in Iran are very, very plugged in and very educated, and very

sophisticated.

KINKADE: All right, Christiane Amanpour, wonderful to get your perspective on this issue. Great to have you on the show. Thank you.

AMANPOUR: Nice to be with you.

KINKADE: And still to come, the biggest American football game of the year is a record-breaking offensive explosion. And the final result sends one

city into massive celebration. We will have a report of the big game when we come back.

[10:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Champions of the world, baby. Champions of the world! We are number one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: So excited fans there. You are watching CNN and this is Connect the World. I'm Lynda Kinkade, welcome back. As you saw there, very

excited Philadelphia Eagles' fans after their team won the Super Bowl. For more on the game, here is CNN's Hines Ward.

HINES WARD, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Lynda. What a game and probably the best Super Bowl I have ever seen from start to finish. And great

halftime show by Justin Timberlake.

Now, as for the game, the Eagles were pulling out all of the tricks on Sunday night. Nick Foles, the very first player ever to throw and catch a

touchdown in the Super Bowl.

This one, gave Philly a 10-point lead at the halftime. And now the Patriots will come back to take the lead, falls not (Inaudible) by Tom

Brady, fires that earth for the touchdown to give Philly the lead. Now the Eagles' defense doing the rest.

Brandon Graham calls a fumble deep in the fourth quarter that would give Philly the ball back late in the game. Tom Brady -- Philly had the chance

to tied it up, Brady, he is up a hail Mary but no luck.

Eagles knocks it down and will the game, 41-33. The Eagles win their every Superbowl. And after the game, Coy and I, saw the emotions that the Super

Bowl brings out in people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK FOLES, QUARTERBACK, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: Just to be a part of this and to be a part of the Philadelphia Eagles' organization, and TO BE A part

of the first world championship, we are Very blessed. It is unbelievable feeling and I mean, honestly right now, it is all soaking in, and

unbelievable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No team deserved this more than we did -- all of the things that what we fought for, and what this mean to the city that we come

from and we can't wait to bring this back to Philly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wasn't breathing easy until the last second.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't even put it in words, man. I'm 30-years-old and I've got to come up with a new life dream.

TOM BRADY, QUARTERBACK, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: Losing sucks, but that is part of it. You show up and try to win, and sometimes you lose, that is

the way it goes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WARD: Lynda, there is nothing like winning a Super Bowl. It is almost surreal and I remember passing that Lombardi trophy around and kissing it,

it is like your first kiss. It is an unforgettable feeling.

KINKADE: What a wonderful feeling. Hines Ward, thanks so much for that report. Well, after the game, tens of thousands of Eagles fans flooded the

streets of Philadelphia for a party that lasted well into the night.

There were some reports of looting and vandalism, including a car flipped over by the fans, but for the most part, the celebration was peaceful, and

safe.

Well, in our Parting Shots today, commercials. For some of the viewers the Super Bowl is more than a game, but it is a chance to watch the most

expensive and often funniest commercials of the year. Well, the one that might be the hottest and the coolest of the new Super Bowl ads, take a

look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: That is Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage rapping a Busta Rhymes part in hip song, Look at Me Now. He is selling Doritos, Lays,

snacks, and is an all out lip-sync battle with guys. Take a look.

Academy award winning actor and voiceover king Morgan Freeman there. He is rapping to Missy Elliott's, Get Your Freak On, for Mountain Dew ice. Well,

the ad is a rare joint sale pitch from Pepsi which owns both products. In the end, the two actors face-off letting out some fire and ice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:55:00] KINKADE: Well, another ad getting a lot of buzz, totally fooled many TV watchers. At first, it appeared to be a trailer for a second

Crocodile Dundee movie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait, hold up. This isn't a movie?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a tourism ad for Australia?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But listen, I hear you are the best crocodile director...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Australia produced several commercials for the fake Crocodile Dundee sequel, but it was not until the Super Bowl, that the whole theme

was revealed to be an ad campaign and not a movie.

Still some pretty great shots there. I totally recommend it, head to Australia, and we of course, have some good reporting that you can't miss

out on.

So, check on our Facebook age, that's facebook.com/CNNconnect. For all of the news that matters to you out of the Middle East and beyond, you can get

in touch with me on Twitter, you can tweet me @lyndakinkade.

Well, Lynda Kinkade, and that was Connect the World. Thanks so much for watching. My colleague Robyn Curnow will be up next for the International

Desk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END