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South Africa`s Leader Resigns; A Man`s Long Trip Home for Chinese New Year; The Wind Impacts the Pyeongchang Olympics; An Actor Has Time Alone in the Louvre
Aired February 15, 2018 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: For CNN 10, I`m Carl Azuz. It`s good to have you watching this Thursday.
The president of South Africa has resigned. Jacob Zuma made the announcement yesterday in a nationally televised address. He lost support
from his political party, the African National Congress, following a series of corruption scandals tied to his government.
Former President Zuma said he disagreed with his party for demanding his resignation on Tuesday and for calling for a no confidence vote on him on
Wednesday. But he said he would continue to serve the people of South Africa, as well as the African National Congress.
For its part, the party said it only made the decision to recall him after exhaustive discussions on how it would impact the country, the party and
the government. We could find more about former President Zuma and the pressure on him to resign in yesterday`s show. That`s at CNN10.com.
Up next is what`s known as the world`s largest annual human migration. It`s the Chinese New Year, celebrated in many Asian countries as Lunar New
Year. It doesn`t start in the same date every year as far as the Gregorian calendar goes. The lunar New Year, as the name implies, begins with a new
moon specifically the second new moon after the winter solstice.
So, this time, that date is on Friday. It`s the start of the year 4716 in the Chinese calendar, and this one will be known as the year of the dog.
That`s one of 12 animals that rotate every 12 years on the Chinese calendar.
The celebration, especially in China, is huge. It lasts for 15 days, gifts are exchanged, festivals are held, and one of the most important
traditions, families will gather, with some folks traveling hundreds or even thousands of miles to be with their relatives. Because that involves
so many people in China, the world`s most populated country, you can see how the title of world`s largest migration ties into Chinese New Year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To set the scene, we are in an extremely village in southern China. Most of the year, this place is
quiet. But around now, it starts to fill back up. People come home to see family, welcomed with open arms as we were in Mai`s (ph) house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We Chinese have a tradition of family reunion in our hometown. We all return home. You don`t really have
a choice.
RIVERS: So, his entire family will soon arrive for a week`s worth of eating and drinking and reminiscing. He`s got 12 siblings and the extended
family that comes with that, but none can afford to live in the place they grew up.
(on camera): The house is big enough to accommodate the entire family, but the problem is, if you live here, you can`t make any money. So, most of
the family leaves for the bigger cities to try and find work and they usually do. The one time of year they come back to visit is right now,
during Chinese New Year. And that`s why it`s so important.
(voice-over): Hundreds of millions of Chinese people head home this time each year. Planes, trains, cars, all relatively comfortable, but if you
got no money, a rickety motorbike will have to do.
We saw thousands of bikes over two days outside of Guangzhou, riders outfitted for trips that can last for a day or more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): If I have more money, I`ll take a train. This trip is exhausting.
RIVERS: We rode along the route for hours, dotted by rest stops that make the trip a bit easier. Volunteers serve hot meals, run clinics and even
fix bikes.
Yang Hutzai (ph) was about to take off when we met him. So, we rode along on a bike of our own.
(on camera): What`s the hardest part about this trip for you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It`s dangerous, especially during the holidays with so many more trucks and cars on the road. It`s easy to
get into an accident.
RIVERS (voice-over): But it`s the only way to get home, to see his family while making sure his children have a future.
The work is hard, the journey is hard, but the lure of tradition, of family, is strong.
When we left, Yang still had hours to drive before reaching him, a rural village just like the one where Mai Hai Jun (ph) insisted that we stay for
dinner. The table will be more crowded when the rest of the family gets home, reunions set to be repeated all across the country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: News broke yesterday afternoon about a shooting at a high school in Parkland, the city of southeast Florida. Information was still coming in
as we produce this show. There was a lot that was still unknown as of last night. CNN.com will have the latest details on the shooting.
One aspect of the Winter Olympics that`s stealing headlines worldwide isn`t about what the athletes are doing, but what`s affecting many of them, the
weather. We covered the bitter cold last week and the days leading up to the games. One problem now is the wind.
Gusts have been measured as high as 50 miles per hour. That`s a force of a tropical storm. It`s caused several events to be postponed, and in one
competition that was held in windy conditions, the women slope style final, 41 of the 50 runs that were tried ended in either a crash or a rider
deciding not to go through with the trick.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The weather is really starting to become a bit of an issue here at the Pyeongchang Winter
Olympics. Now, it is warmer, but it is incredibly windy. This is the Olympic Park in Gangneung. This is the area where a lot of the skating
events are taking place, which is lucky because they are actually inside.
There are announcements at the moment telling people that they should stay inside, saying it`s actually dangerous for people to be outside. This is
the main superstore here in the Olympic Park and it`s just closed down. They said that it was temporarily closed because of the strong winds.
Now, we`ve seen a number of firefighters around. We`ve seen the police sort of taking away anything that could become airborne, anything that
isn`t really connected to the ground at this point, because there are concerns. You can see a lot of people who are actually ignoring the
warnings, saying that they should actually stay inside.
But, of course, people are being affected by this. It`s not just the athletes that are being affected by these winds. We know a number of the
events have been postponed over recent days, but spectators now as well are being told stay inside.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Gangneung, inside Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia.
In what city would you find the world`s most-visited art museum?
Paris, Amsterdam, Vatican City or New York City?
The most visited art museum is the Louvre Museum and you`d find it in the French capital of Paris.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: So, just how visited is it? Between 7 million and 10 million stroll through the Louvre`s halls every years, marveling at everything from
Mesopotamian artifacts to the Mona Lisa.
A director and actor recently got the chance to see it and reflect on its works all alone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATHIEU KASSOVITZ, ACTOR: The Louvre is one of a kind architecture in the world. It`s the heart of Paris. You have to spend hours in front of one
painting to really -- to let your emotion go.
You will see something that you can really relate and it`s not -- it`s nothing to do with your story, with your personal story. It is deeper than
that, and that`s what art is all about. And being able to visit the Louvre by yourself, it`s one of a kind experience. To be able to enjoy any of
these paintings by yourself, at your own pace, at your own rhythm, there is nothing in between you and the art, and it`s just becomes personal.
Paris is the City of Lights. The city is being through a lot of trauma, but, you know, it`s being like that for years. And actually, what you see
in this museum is most of this trauma. It`s part of what makes a city, what makes a culture. You cannot have culture without drama.
There`s so many amazing paintings all around you that you wonder why this one. She really became famous after she was stolen from this museum. So,
her stardom is not just because of the quality of the paintings, but also the history behind it and the myth that surrounds it.
It`s different. It has a very strong power and feeling to it. To take a step, a step back from your life and look at what other people did is a
moment for reflection.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Ernest Hemingway`s six-toed cats got nothing on Paws. That`s the name of this 3-year-old feline from Minnesota. While most cats have 18
toes in all, Paws has 28. She`s got eight on each front paw and six on each back paw. Maybe they should have named her Toes.
This ties her for the Guinness World Record with another polydactyl cat, and according to her owner, their veterinarian doesn`t even charge extra to
trim the cat`s extra claws.
If they did, she`d probably need a feline of credit. Or maybe an extra claws clause. You`d have to have some extra money in the kitty or scratch
it up from somewhere, just to felinance the fee for the feline`s meow- tenance.
I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10.
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