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Egypt Warns against Israeli Ground Offensive in Rafah; Trump's NATO Remarks Spark Criticism from Allies; 10-Year-Old Zaid Tells How he Fled Home in Gaza; Today is the Last Day Trump can File Emergency Stay Request to Supreme Court; Inside the Competitive World of Lion Dancing. Aired 9- 9:45a ET

Aired February 12, 2024 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:00:00]

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Hello and welcome to "Connect the World". I'm Eleni Giokos in Dubai. Let's get straight to our top story.

Strikes from the sky gunfire on the ground and in minutes, Israeli forces say they rescued two hostages being held by Hamas. Here are those two men

seeing loved ones for the first time in more than four months.

The raid is happening in Rafah, the southernmost tip of Gaza. The Palestinian health ministry says at least 94 people were killed in the

strikes. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is with us from Tel Aviv. Seeing those images Jeremy, of those two hostages reunited with family. Give us a sense of what

you've been hearing.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, that emotional reunion the result of lengthy planning for a complex military operation that was

carried out overnight according to the Israeli military. This operation was carried out using intelligence gathered by the Israeli military

intelligence as well as the Shin Bet Israel's Internal Security Agency, and it was carried out overnight.

We're told that those two men were being held hostage on the second floor of a building in a civilian neighborhood in the southernmost city of Rafah.

Special Forces were told breached that building using an explosive charge at 1.49 a.m. Local Time. One minute later, the Air Force began carrying out

a series of strikes what was described as a wave of strikes by the Israeli military on parts of Rafah, which was essentially serving as a diversion

according to the Israeli military in order to get those hostages out safely.

We're told that they were rushed out under fire from Hamas fighters. They boarded a helicopter and were quickly taken to a hospital on the outskirts

of Tel Aviv. But it's important to also look at the resulting damage from those Israeli strikes. Because clearly, while this was a complex operation,

using special forces to rescue these two hostages, it was not a precise operation that wasn't -- that was just targeted to that one building.

Clearly a wave of very intense strikes was carried out in other parts of Rafah overnight killing at least 94 people according to Gaza's Hamas-

controlled Ministry of Health. It's unclear how many of those are civilians versus how many of those are combatants. But there are reports that at

least two mosques and 14 homes were struck in various areas of Rafah.

And this really just underscores what could potentially happen if the Israeli ground offensive expands to that southernmost city of Rafah, where

we know that 1.4 million people are currently sheltering in a city that normally houses about 300,000 people. So very densely packed and likely to

result in significant collateral damage should that area become a combat zone as the Israeli prime minister is vowing.

But certainly at this hour, some families who are very, very happy here in Israel to have their loved ones back after nearly 130 days in captivity.

GIOKOS: Yeah. All right, Jeremy Diamond, thank you for that update. In the past months, Palestinians have been funneled south to Rafah, a city pressed

against the border with Egypt, now home to more than 1.3 million displaced Palestinians. Cairo is warning of dire consequences if Israel moves forward

with a ground offensive there.

In a statement Sunday, Egypt said that Rafah is the last bastion of safety in Gaza, and that Israel's targeting of the city would be a clear violation

of international law. We've got Nada Bashir joining us now from Cairo. And we know how important Rafah and Rafah border has been since the start of

this war. But what could this latest bombardment this move into Rafah mean for the status of the talks, which of course, are very fragile?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Because we have seen intense diplomatic efforts behind the scenes. What we've also been hearing over the last few days and

weeks is growing concern particularly from regional leaders about what a ground operation in Rafah could mean for civilians and for the situation on

the ground of rule in Gaza.

We are of course hearing now that the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is in Qatar; he is expected to meet with the Emir of Qatar

for discussions on the situation in Gaza. This comes ahead of an expected visit by the CIA Director Bill Burns here in Cairo tomorrow. That's

according to security sources familiar with the matter. The sources telling CNN that we will see Qatar's Prime Minister also in attendance as well as

the Director of Israel's Mossad agency coming into Cairo for those talks.

[09:05:00]

That's again, according to sources speaking to CNN. Of course last week, we did see on Thursday and Friday a visit by a senior Hamas delegation here in

Cairo. So of course, those diplomatic efforts are ongoing. We saw that counter proposal from Hamas with regards to a prolonged truce agreement

that could see the gradual release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners that's already been dismissed by the Israeli prime minister.

He described the deal in his words, as delusional ruling. He said that the Israeli military will continue to perform on the ground in Gaza until a

complete victory, in his words, is achieved until the complete destruction of Hamas is achieved in Gaza. So of course, we are hearing very different

messages. We know of course, that Israel's allies, including the United States have been pushing for more to be done for the protection of

civilians in Gaza.

We've heard from the White House saying that the Biden Administration cannot approve or support a ground operation without a credible and

executable plan for the protection of civilians in Rafah. As you heard from Jeremy's reporting there, some 1.3 million people are concentrated in this

border city. We have Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the weekend speaking to Fox News.

He -- in his words, plenty of room for Palestinians to be evacuated, he has directed the Israeli military to prepare for mass evacuation of civilians.

But the message that we've been hearing from a group from the United Nations is that there is simply nowhere else left for civilians to turn.

And of course, if indeed, we do see a ground operation, this is already there's one has been condemned by the likes of Hamas, by the likes of the

Palestinian authority and also by regional leaders.

And of course, if we do see an increase, the deepening of the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Rafah, in the South of Gaza, if we do see the

continued killing of civilians in Gaza, as a result of this military operation, that could certainly put diplomatic efforts and negotiations on

pause. And of course, there's mounting concern here in Egypt, it has to be said around what this could mean for the security situation on the border,

which of course separates Egypt from Gaza.

We have according to secure sources already have been seeing a falsification that is of Egypt's military preparedness on the border, so

concern on that side as well around the integrity of the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, Eleni?

GIOKOS: Yeah, really important points. You know, and one of the things you mentioned is if they were to be some kind of evacuation out of Rafah where

to go, that is a question. But importantly, Egypt has been hosting a lot of these diplomatic talks, right. We know Hamas leadership have been in and

out throughout the last few months. The Qataris are involved.

You've got lots of intelligence agencies involved as well getting through Egypt. But Egypt now sending this warning and saying there will be dire

consequences. If they were to be a full on ground offensive in Rafah, logistically this would be difficult in terms of getting aid into Gaza. And

it just brings up so many diplomatic questions as well.

BASHIR: Yeah, absolutely. Egypt, of course, with a key play, it has been a long standing key player in any sort of diplomatic negotiations over the

situation facing the Palestinians, not just in this war. But the situation in Rafah is a point of particular concern that brings into question the

security situation for the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing.

They don't want to see a breach of the crossing. They don't want to see any sort of military confrontation on that side of the crossing. And of course,

as you mentioned, Eleni, the Rafah border crossing is a vital gateway for humanitarian aid. Egypt has been integral in coordinating and facilitating

the coordination of aid which is coming in from across the globe, particularly from the region to the el-Arish airbase in North Sinai.

Moving onward, we've seen those cues of trucks in North Sinai waiting to get in and across security theories and to make it through to the Rafah

border crossing. As you know, the amount of aid that is actually getting into Rafah is a fraction of the aid that is -- the humanitarian support

that is needed by so many, particularly those who have been evacuated time and time again, are now living in these sprawling 10 cities in Southern

Gaza, particularly around the Rafah area.

We've heard from the Egyptian presidential office being very clear that they have in their words continued to allow for aid to get in. They have

accused the Israeli government and authorities are facing obstacles in the way of getting aid in. But of course, there will be concerned that if we do

see a ground operation begin. Of course, we have seen airstrikes for weeks.

But if we see a ground operation, that the humanitarian crisis that the human suffering that we will see in Rafah could really bring into question

the situation, the security situation on the Egyptians side. Real concern then of course we've seen that fortification building up the border being

strengthened, but also the security presence by the Egyptians also building up the border.

[09:10:00]

GIOKOS: Nada Bashir, thank you. Always good to see you, much appreciate it. Well, top European officials are blasting Donald Trump's comments about

future U.S. commitments to the NATO alliance if he is reelected President over the weekend. The Republican presidential front runner said he'd

encourage Russia to do quote, whatever the hell they want to any member country that doesn't meet spending guidelines, the EU's foreign policy

chief incredulous over those comments. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEP BORRELL, EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: NATO cannot be a la carte military alliance, cannot be a military ally that works, depending on the humor of

the president of the U.S. on those days. It's not, yes, now yes, tomorrow, no, it depends who are you now? Come on. Let's be serious. Let's be

serious. NATO cannot be an alliance a la carte. It exists or not exists. But I'm not going to spend my time comment, any silly idea that comes to

you in this territorial campaign in the U.S.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: EU Foreign Policy Chief there clearly irritated Melissa to say the least by what Donald Trump has been saying. Melissa Bell is joining us from

London. Also Melissa, this isn't the first time that Donald Trump has been threatening to pull out of NATO not being committed to NATO. But also

saying, you know, basically, Putin can do whatever the hell he wants to countries that don't meet the expanding quota is a pretty big warning.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, we know that Donald Trump's grievances with NATO are long standing. And

have to do with concerns about the spending of NATO members. The percentage of GDP that goes on their military spend. There are 11 of the NATO alliance

members who actually spend that recommended 2 percent. And that's been a long standing grievance of Donald Trump's.

I think what has so alarmed leaders, especially here in Europe; Eleni is the ratcheting up of the rhetoric, the encouraging of Russia to take on a

NATO member that might not pay its dues. I think that takes things to a new level that we simply hadn't heard from Donald Trump before. And of course,

as you heard just Josep Borrell say, they can't be there to react to whatever a candidate has to say on the campaign trail.

But it does tap into very real fears. There are here in Europe about what a second, Donald Trump presidency would mean about where the alliance stands.

Because of course, whilst we've seen this remarkable resolve in unity as a result of the war in Ukraine, there are questions about what happens going

forward. And specifically alarm bells that are being sounded here in Europe, with the very latest, the Danish Foreign Minister who said, look,

the latest intelligence suggests that it could be a NATO member that is provoked by Russia.

And the timeframe being given for that, according to their intelligence is three to five years. So there are very real concerns here on the European

continent about what Russia's intentions, abilities or intent may be over the next few years. And as the Danish Prime Minister said, that was not

NATO's assessment only last year. So things are moving very quickly. Those fears are very real.

And he by the way, Eleni was just the latest European official to sound those alarm bells about what might be happening on the, on that edge, that

flank of NATO are closest to Russia, very real fears amongst those countries. And of course, hearing that rhetoric taps into it very much,

often more so I think Eleni, because fundamentally, what Donald Trump is bringing into question is that mutual defense Article 5 of NATO, it's not,

it's not a legally binding commitment, but it is a pledge, it is a promise.

And it of course, is predicated on the idea that such a pledge to ensure the mutual defense of each member state as though it was one's own country

has a deterrent effect on potential adversaries to bring it into question. And specifically the United States committed to it is, of course the blow

to the very idea of it, the point of it, and the reason for which is function as well as it has, ever since NATO was born in the Second World

War.

So it's very real fears, here in Europe, about those remarks coming just a few months, of course, before an election, where at the moment the polls

suggest that it is not an outrageous suggestion to imagine that he might have a second term, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yeah, exactly. And the stakes are very high, right. I mean, when you think of rhetoric like those coming from Donald Trump, and then what it

would mean for the geopolitical landscape in Europe down the line. But President Putin might be watching on and seeing that this basically, you

know, perhaps would offer him carte blanche to do whatever he feels, he wants to do next on that Eastern flank in Europe. How does that play

politically for him?

[09:15:00]

BELL: There's exactly that other side too Eleni, you're quite right to bring it out. There's what it means what the words mean for the alliance,

but then there's what it signals to potential adversaries of NATO. And I think that is just as alarming. And in fact, I think that's why you heard

very strong words of Jen Stoltenberg, this fairly unflappable head of NATO, usually very mild mannered doesn't respond necessarily very quickly, and

certainly not immediately to comments made on a campaign trail.

But saying very clearly on Sunday in response to those comments, look, this is playing fast and -- with the lives of American and European soldiers out

in the field. And I think that is the point. What does it signal to Moscow about its ability to move ever closer towards whatever country it chooses

to pick a fight with.

And I think that is what has set so many people worried here in Europe. Officials that had long standing concerns about what the ongoing

commitments of NATO countries to Ukraine's fight might be and we know that it's been difficult not just in Brussels, but in Washington these last few

months. But I think this adds an extra level of fear when you consider as well on this side, the difficulty there has been in finding the funding

that Ukraine needs to carry on fighting for its defense.

And on the other is the rebooting of the Russian military industrial complex that the Ukrainian invasion has meant. And very real fears here on

the European continent about things like weapons production, ammunition, artillery and Europe's capabilities of beefing up its production, even when

we know that Russia has been focusing on just that.

GIOKOS: Brilliant analysis as always, Melissa, great to see you Melissa Bell there for us in London. And still to come, President Joe Biden meeting

with Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House today. And they're expected to discuss the Israel Hamas war and what a two state solution

could look like.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: AI is doing a star turn in Dubai where leaders want to bring more emerging nations to the tech party. It is a big push by World Government

Summit, where artificial intelligence has emerged as the centerpiece of this two day gathering. And you've got the heads of Open AI, NVIDIA and

Beyond Limits. To name a few descending on Dubai, not to be outdone, the more traditional issues keeping world leaders up at night also in the

spotlights from sustainability to education and economic stability.

At the summit leaders also focused on the war between Israel and Hamas. The UAE over the weekend expressed alarm over the prospect of an Israeli ground

operation in Rafah and any forced displacement of Palestinians. Earlier my colleague, Becky Addison talked with the UAE Ambassador about a possible

long term solution. And we heard about the difficulties on the ground right now, take a listen.

[09:20:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LANA NUSSEIBEH, UAE AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: We need this international coalition that's helped stabilize the situation that helps

bring about a longer term solution as you asked me for Becky at the outset.

And I think as diplomats, it's our job to always remain focused on that to remain optimistic to keep trying on the corners of what is possible to push

the envelope to get to that long term solution, which is an Israeli and Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security and fully

integrated into our broader region as well. That is what we are working for is the UAE.

SIGRID KAAG, U.N. SENIOR HUMANITARIAN AND RECONSTRUCTION COORDINATOR FOR GAZA: But there's a stretch to what we can ask of humanitarian workers

under which conditions they could still safely reach people. And of course, there is the elephant in the room, the sort of the blockage on UNRWA's

humanitarian ability to deliver given Israel's allegations, and the need, of course for a very proper investigation, which is ongoing.

But if UNRWA cannot deliver, there are airstrikes, there is an increase of attacks civilian population, and I think risks being the ultimate casualty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: We'll have much more from this discussion in the next hour. Now U.S. President Joe Biden will host Jordan's King Abdullah II later today at

the White House. The King is trying to get international support for a ceasefire in Gaza as he meets with Mr. Biden on his tour through several

western capitals. He's also pushing for the protection of civilians and more humanitarian aid in Gaza on a permanent basis. CNN's Arlette Saenz

joins us from the White House. Arlette, what can you tell us about this meeting?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Eleni, President Biden will host King Abdullah of Jordan here at the White House for an Oval

Office meeting a little bit later in the afternoon. This is the first meeting with an Arab leader the president is having here at the White House

since the October 7th attack. And the White House has said that the President and King Abdullah will talk about the situation GOP in Gaza, as

well as efforts to quo, produce an enduring end to the crisis.

King Abdullah has pushed for an immediate ceasefire, which is something that the U.S. so far has resisted a calling for. But it does come, the

meeting comes as there are critical talks underway relating to hostage negotiations, which would have a some type of a pause and fighting along

with additional humanitarian aid, which is something that Abdullah has also been pushing for.

Now the White House, President Biden just yesterday had a 45 minute phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And a senior

administration official said the majority of that call was focused on these hostage negotiations. They said that there are still significant gaps in

the talks but they do believe progress has been made in recent weeks.

That is part of the reason why President Biden is deploying CIA Chief Bill Burns to Egypt tomorrow for critical talks on these hostage negotiations.

It comes as just overnight that the IDF conducted a successful operation to rescue two hostages who were in Rafah. Rafah is an issue that is of

critical importance to the administration with the U.S. saying that they would not support a military operation by the IDF into Rafah unless there

is serious planning in place.

It comes as there are more than a million people in that Southern city of Gaza, many who are displaced there during parts of the war, as it was

conducted over the course of the past few months. And President Biden himself in that phone call with Netanyahu stressed that there should not be

any type of military operation that it should quote, not proceed without a credible and executable plan to ensure the safety and movement of civilians

who are there.

So that is something that the White House is watching quite closely in the coming days. But it does come as some of the rifts between President Biden

and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has started to spill into public view more and more. We've steadily seen some type of criticism

increasing from President Biden in relations to the way that Israel is conducting their campaign. With just last week President Biden telling

reporters that he believes Israel's response in Gaza has been quote, over the top.

GIOKOS: Arlette Saenz, thank you so much. A unique story now, one that you will only see on CNN, it is the story of a young boys escaped from Gaza. In

his own words in Arabic and with illustrations to underscore the horror that he experienced and we shared with you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Zaid. I am 10-years-old. I am from Gaza. It's where I was born. I have witnessed a war of two. I have seen a lot. I got

used to it. The sound of the -- I got used to the land shaking when a missile hits it. I knew what to do and I used to go to my grandma's room,

because it had no windows and I used to sleep there.

[09:25:00]

I lived in Gaza with my dad, my mom and my little brother. But we don't live there anymore. It is the worst war I have ever seen. We had a dog

before the war. The dog's name was Jack. We have to give him away. We miss him.

One time they bombed something near the Red Crescent Hospital. It was so close and the sound was very loud. It was right behind us. I keep thinking

about it all night long. How long the sound was and how much I cried the day cane for us to leave Gaza.

I was so scared in the car. I was yelling because I saw the missiles next to me and the smoke. Now we live in Egypt. I can't sleep at night. I sit

and think about my grandmother and how they are living. I feel like I'm a camera observing their lives. You know I miss all my family in Gaza. I wish

they would come to us. I want to get a small dog so that I don't get scared.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Devastating story put into most beautiful images, a very important message for all of us. Well, still to come, Donald Trump has a lot of legal

matters to attend to today. Any one of them could impact his presidential campaign and we'll take a look at the cases he could be worried about.

We'll be right back, stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back. And let's get you up to speed on some of the stories that are on our radar right now. Pakistan has released official results

from Thursday's highly contentious election. The election commission says independent candidates affiliated with Former Prime Minister Imran Khan's

PTI party secured the most seats in parliament, 102.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's PMLN party came in second with 73 seats. No pass he won a majority meeting it unclear who will be the next

prime minister. Migratory animals are in a shocking state of decline, that's the finding of a landmark.

[09:30:00]

UN agency report out today, it says humans have altered the Earth so much that nearly half of all migratory species are shrinking in population and

one in five are threatened with total extinction. U.S. Defense Secretary Lord Austin is in the critical units of the National Military Hospital. The

Pentagon says he was admitted yesterday for an emergence bladder issue; Austin has transferred his duties to the Deputy Secretary of Defense

Kathleen Hicks.

This is happening after Austin was diagnosed and underwent treatment for prostate cancer back in December. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more on the

likely medical condition.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, typically, especially in the wake of having had prostate surgery, it means that

someone who's unable to empty their bladder, something known as urinary retention, it can be really painful and cause a lot of abdominal pain. But

it can also cause other symptoms in the body as well, people can actually drop their blood pressure, they can have heart rate abnormalities. This was

described as an emergency.

So, you know, in addition to the pain, he may have had some of those other things going on there. Also, just again, the timeline of this, just to

remind you, it was in early December that he was first diagnosed with prostate cancer. And then December 22, when he had the operation probably

scheduled over the holidays, some people do that.

And it sounds like that operation went well. I mean, he was discharged the next day. But it was a couple of weeks later, actually January 1st, not

even two weeks later that he was admitted to the hospital for an infection at that point and a significant hospitalization two weeks at that point.

And now as you point out, he's back in the hospital again. It's described as a bladder sort of issue here.

We don't know specifically what that is. But again, in the context of having had prostate surgery, the possibility that he is developed what is

known as retention, urinary retention. That seems to be the most likely culprit here and that can lead to an emergency.

GIOKOS: Today is going to be a busy day for Donald Trump in terms of his legal cases. There are two very important things that we will be covering

including his alleged mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. And there's also a deadline for Trump to file a stay on his immunity ruling

on federal election, subversion charges.

Today is the last day he can file an emergency stay request to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking them to pause the case. For more on Trump's trials,

let's go to Senior Crime and Justice Reporter Katelyn Polantz is joining us now from Washington, D.C. Caitlin, you're the best person to talk about

this. I mean, I let's start off with the classified documents hearing and what we're expecting on that front first.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTIE REPORTER: Right Eleni, there's a lot of activity in both of these federal criminal cases against Donald

Trump the defendant in them. He's going to be there at the courthouse in Florida, South Florida today for a hearing that's going to take place

entirely behind closed doors. It's a sealed hearing. It's about classified evidence in the case.

And a lot of what's going on in this case, the Mar-a-Lago documents case is about the preparations for trial, the amount of evidence that his attorneys

are able to access because it has to deal with national security records and his handling of them. There's a lot of classified records that the

federal government still wants to protect even from Donald Trump or his co- defendants or their lawyers. So they're working through all of that with the judge behind closed doors.

There's other stuff happening in this case, it's moving towards a bunch of filings we're going to see in the next two weeks where his team is going to

try and get parts of the case tossed or the entire case against him tossed out of court. And so they are just moving towards trial there. That's that

blip that we're seeing today where Donald Trump is entering and exiting that federal courthouse in Florida, but we don't get insight into what

exactly happens in that courtroom.

GIOKOS: So Katelyn today is the deadline for Trump to file Stay on Immunity ruling. What are we expecting there?

POLANTZ: Right. This is the other federal criminal case against Donald Trump in Washington D.C. related to January 6, and his actions after the

2020 election there. Donald Trump has until today to essentially try and keep the case out of the road to trial. He has been having the case pause

because he's appealing questions related to presidential immunity.

And today is the deadline where he has to go to the Supreme Court to try and keep pressing those appeals forward. We're going to be watching to see

how quickly the Supreme Court responds, how quickly the Special Counsel's Office is prosecuting Donald Trump response as well in court filings.

And if the Supreme Court is going to want to hear more appeals on this case, all tell Donald Trump nope, you're done, it's time to go to trial and

handed the case back to the trial level judge in Washington D.C.

[09:35:00]

GIOKOS: Katelyn Polantz, thank you so much. Well ahead in sports, another Super Bowl title for the Kansas City Chiefs, how the Chiefs won, that was a

history making game in the NFL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: You might be familiar with Lion dancing from Lunar New Year celebrations. And you may not know that it's also a competitive sports.

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout gives us an inside look while visiting one of Hong Kong's top teams.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be aligned, you will need agility, power and control.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the Lunar New Year. Lion dances are breaking out all over the world performed to scare away

evil spirits and bring about good fortune. But in many parts of Asia, the ancient art is also a fiercely competitive year round sport. At least three

nights a week, members of Hong Kong's Yun Fook Tong team meet in this parking lot to become fearless Lions.

LEE YUN FOOK, FOUNDER, YUN FOOK TONG: At its core, you need spirit. You need to show great energy. You can't just.

STOUT (voice-over): Routing his hours on practices in Kung Fu, Master Lee has trained some of the city's top lion dancers. They've racked up hundreds

of trophies in the club's 40 year history.

FOOK: -- The plum blossom poles puts the focus on jumping. It's more dangerous. They're jumping, flying more than two meters in the air.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I started jumping, it was hard to break through the fear. I must trust my partner 100 percent because my life is in his hands.

I'm the one always being lifted up high. So I have to believe in him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Originally the traditional sport was male dominated. Now more and more women are joining the sports. And mostly we're doing

competition is of course extremely intense.

[09:40:00]

STOUT (voice-over): Lee estimates there are around 30 professional teams in the city, a clubs are struggling to keep the tradition afloat. Dancers have

to hold full time jobs leaving little time to practice and it isn't easy to find proper training venues. Despite challenges, Lee and others in the

tight knit community continue to teach.

FOOK: The team gets along like a big family. Why do we like lion dance? Because it makes us feel like heroes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: That was CNN's Kristie Lu Stout reporting from Hong Kong. Now to the Super Bowl and we start with singer Usher's halftime performance. It

had fans saying yeah, and the R&B artists thrilled fans by throwing his shirts into the crowd. And he later changed costumes and even roller skated

onto the stage as one of course does.

The eight time Grammy winner was joined by some of the artists he's collaborated with through the years including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, Lil

Jon, H.E.R. and Will I Am. And the Super Bowl lived up to its name on Sunday. The Kansas chiefs won the NFL title for the second straight year

defeating the San Francisco 49ers in overtime. And they are the first repeat champions in almost two decades.

We've got Amanda Davies joining us now. Should we talk about the game the music, Taylor Swift, where the angles were, we're talking about today

Amanda --?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: It had a bit of everything, didn't it? You know, the first ever Super Bowl in Las Vegas. And it had all the glitz

and the glam and the razzmatazz and the show that you would expect with all the superstars flooding into town. There was definitely a lot of excitement

about Taylor Swift wasn't there on the field celebrating with her boyfriend.

Travis Kelce, after he was part of that winning team, but from an NFL footballing perspective, it was really something quite special as you said

no team has won back to back Super Bowls for the last 19 years so the achievement of the Kansas City Chiefs to do this coming back from 10 points

down one point to beat the San Francisco 49ers in overtime with Patrick Mahomes their star quarterback stepping up, despite the way to the pressure

once again.

It really was quite something. And we're going to be going to Las Vegas are getting all the latest in just a couple of minutes as their plans, the

preparations for Wednesday's victory parade are in full swing.

GIOKOS: It's like a sports fairy tale isn't it? Amanda Davies, we'll see you after the break. I'll be back at the "Top of the Hour", stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

END