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At Least 10 Killed in Nicaragua Protests; Recent Terror Attacks in Afghanistan; North Korea Says It`s Suspending Nuclear Program

Aired April 23, 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: A trio of international headlines lead off our show and a new week here on CNN 10. Thank you for taking 10 to watch. I`m

Carl Azuz at the CNN Center.

First place we`re going to is Central America. There have been some violent protests over the past week in Nicaragua and the country`s army

have been deployed to protect Nicaraguan government buildings. The main issue here: the country`s social security system, government money set

aside to help people who may be retired or disabled.

Nicaragua`s system has been paying out more than it`s been taking in. So, to help balance that, the government planned to increase the amount that

working people and companies have to pay in social security and reduced the amount that retirees got from it.

The changes are unpopular. Protests grew and turned violent. At least 10 people have been killed in fighting between protesters and police.

Demonstrators have thrown rocks and set fires in the capital of Managua and police have responded by firing tear gas and rubber bullets.

Human rights groups have accused the government of using real bullets against the demonstrators. We don`t know for sure if that`s true.

The Nicaraguan government said on Friday that it`s starting talks with the protesters. Nicaragua is the second poorest nation in the western

hemisphere, according to the CIA.

From there, we`re taking you to Southern Asia. The war-torn country of Afghanistan has seen a series of terrorist attacks this year. The one

carried out yesterday was one of the most deadly.

It happened at a voter registration center in the Afghan capital of Kabul, where people were participating in local and government elections. A

suicide bomber killed 57 people and wounded more than 100. The ISIS terrorist group said it was responsible. Government officials from all

over the world spoke out against the attack.

The Afghan government promised to help those affected and said the elections would continue and that the terrorists wouldn`t stop the will of

the Afghan people.

Now, we`re moving to Eastern Asia, where North Korea`s leadership looks like it`s making a major policy change. Over the weekend, the communist

country said its quest for nuclear weapons is complete, that it`s shutting down one of its nuclear test sites, that it will work with the

international community to stop nuclear testing worldwide and that a strong socialist economy will become a priority for North Korea.

The U.S. and South Korea say this is a sign of progress, ahead of planned talks between the three nations` leaders. Some analysts say people should

be cautious about this since North Korea probably want something in return and that it can always go back in its word.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Without question, this is a highly significant development and it`s evident by the fact that North

Korea had their most important newscaster, Ri Chun-hee, delivered a special bulletin for the 25 million North Korean citizens who know that when she

comes on television, the news is a big deal. And this news comes on the heels of a very important meeting in Pyongyang with Kim Jong-un and the top

leaders of the workers party of Korea.

And clearly what they`re doing is they`re spelling out the new strategy in North Korea moving forward, saying that they have completed their nuclear

program, therefore, no longer needing nuclear tests or missile tests and instead they plan to focus solely on economic development.

This allows Kim Jong-un to save face for his people, since he`s built up much of his legitimacy over his more than six years in power by the nuclear

force that he has developed. I`ve been to Pyongyang many times. You walked around the city and you`re surrounded by anti-American propaganda,

showing nuclear missiles aimed right towards Washington.

Obviously, this would be a huge cultural shift if North Korea does indeed succeed through this potential historic upcoming talks of negotiating some

sort of a deal to normalize relations with the U.S., sign a peace treaty with South Korea and at least take steps towards the denuclearization of

the Korean Peninsula.

However, the announcement that has been made is largely symbolic at this point. It would be very easy for North Korea to resume missile and nuclear

testing if these talks don`t go well, because as of now, North Korea has not promised to destroy any of their nuclear weapons, or to dismantle the

facilities that manufactured them. Instead, what they are doing though is setting the tone and sending a message to the U.S. and the world that they

are serious, moving into these negotiations, to try to work something out, to change the situation.

Obviously, a lot of analysts believe that the sanctions are playing a role here, also the fact that Kim Jong-un has received a tremendous amount of

international recognition. He has world leaders willing to meet with him now who wouldn`t have considered that just a few short months ago, and he

wants to stay in power for the long term, long after President Trump and President Moon Jae-in of South Korea are out of office and he feels at

least at this point, that pursuing this path towards denuclearization is the right strategy for now. But it`s going to be critical going into these

negotiations that everybody is aware North Korea`s definition of denuclearization might differ very much from the rest of the world.

Can they come to an agreement and can they solve this issue that has eluded nine U.S. presidents and three North Korean leaders up to this point?

I`m Will Ripley, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:

Which of these events was held for the first time in 1930?

Super Bowl, World Cup, World Series, or Winter Olympics?

What`s now the most watched sports event on the planet, the World Cup, was first held in 1930.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Time will tell if Faith Davies, a soccer player at Glenbard East High School at Illinois, will one day play in the World Cup as part of the

U.S. women`s national team. What we know now is that she`s making national news as a positive athlete. These are young people who are making a

difference in their communities, as well as on their team. If you know someone like that, please send us the nomination at

CNN.com/PositiveAthlete.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FAITH DAVIES, POSITIVE ATHLETE: My favorite sport is soccer. I like playing it my whole life and it`s not what I`m going to continue and play

in college.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Faith Davies is both a vocal and lead by example type leader. As a keeper, she never stops talking. She`s talking to her

defenders all the time, directing traffic. She`s the first one to come out and make a big save. And I think her team responds to that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s things out there that`s bigger than yourself. There`s people that need help and she has displayed that probably more than

any student in our program.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The whole thing, it`s just all of it impresses and they know it like at first it came from a push, like why don`t you do this?

Or, why don`t you do that? And I don`t have to say, why don`t you do this anymore?

DAVIES: I volunteered at Parkville (ph) elementary school. I ended up in the kindergarten class usually and just help out whatever they`re doing,

whether it`s like reading, math. And I think the most rewarding part is sometimes they get to struggle with things and it`s like the light in their

eyes when they like finally get something. It`s really cool.

I spoke at freshmen orientation and me and my teammates talked about the volunteer week that we do, here at the school, we`re both involved in this

club called Grow Up. Not everyone has the same opportunities as us, and we`re trying to give them that opportunity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s never too early for these girls to start to realize that, you know, having a voice and being a positive influence for

others helps the gender equality gap in this country.

DAVIES: I really focus on the little things, like an hour, giving an hour of your time, like all these little things add up. And if everyone did

something little, it makes a big impact.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She does all these different things now and it gets other people in love. It`s contagious.

DAVIES: My goal in life is to change the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even in the NFL with the Bears and Vikings, no one remembers my stats, but it was nice 10, 15 years later, that people will

always remember the kind things that I did.

DAVIES: These little things, they make an impact, but I don`t feel like different than anyone else, like, I feel like everyone can do this. It`s

not something especially.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: We`re making a baby announcement today on CNN 10. It`s a boy. Another one.

Of course, Jay and Kateri Schwandt have been here before. The couple from Rockford, Michigan, have 14 children. What`s even more remarkable than

that is that all the kids are boys. What are the chances?

Well, consider that 51 percent of the children born in the U.S. are girls. Jay Schwandt says as crazy as it sounds, he couldn`t even imagine not

having 14 children. But could he have imagined that all of them would be boys? Will they all be Boy Scouts? Do they all read "Boys` Life"?

When they refused to sleep, are they in boycott? Is their favorite fruit the boysenberry? Will they all become boilermakers?

One thing is for sure, it`s boy wonder.

I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10.

END