CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: I`m Carl Azuz. Welcome to CNN STUDENT NEWS. U.S. Congress is backing session and debating the issue of Syria. President Obama has scheduled to make a speech to the American public tonight. Yesterday, Russian officials proposed that Syria hand over control of its chemical weapons to the international community, although U.S. officials said that idea isn`t like that it`ll resolve the issue.
How did we get here? It started back in March of 2011. Some Syrians began protesting against their government. They want a change, and they called for President Bashar al-Assad whom you just saw to leave power. Syrian government responded to the protest with force, eventually the protests and the violence erupted into a civil war as rebel forces armed themselves and fought back. The rebels aren`t just one group, some are former members of the Syrian military, some are civilians. And some are connected to the al Qaeda terrorist organization. Since the fighting started, the United Nations estimates that more than 100,000 Syrians have been killed and more than 2 million have left their country to escape the war.
A major development in Syria`s civil war happened last month outside Damascus where an alleged chemical weapons attack killed more than 1400 people. These weapons have been banned by international organizations and treaties. The Syrian government and the rebel forces each blame the other for using the chemical weapons, but President Obama says there is no doubt that the Syrian government used the chemical weapons. He wants to launch a military strike against Syria as punishment, but he decided he would ask Congress for approval. That`s the debate that`s happening in Washington right now.
Today, we are catching up on Malala Yousafzai. She`s from a part of Pakistan where girls don`t always have access to education. Malala was attacked by the Taliban, Afghanistan`s former rulers after she insisted on going to school and encouraging other girls to go to. Malala got medical treatment in the United Kingdom. She lives there now, and she`s continuing her fight for education rights. Last week, she helped open a new library in England. She gave a speech there saying pens and books are the weapons that defeat terrorism. A few days later, Malala was in the Netherlands. She was there to be honored as the winner of this year`s International Children`s Peace Price. Malala is often associated with girls education rights, but she says that rights should extend to everyone.
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MALALA YOUSAFZAI, CHILDREN`S PRIZE WINNER: My goal is the education of all children around the world. Whether white or black, whether Muslims or Christians, whether boys or girls.
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AZUZ: It` not hard to see why many people consider Malala inspirational. CNN is asking teens ages 13 to 18 what specifically has Malala done to inspire you. Students who were 13 and over, if you tell us in the 300 to 500 word essay, you could win a chance to meet Malala Yousafzai and attend her interview with CNN`s Christian Amanpour in New York. For complete rules, check out the link at cnnstudentnews.com.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See, if you can I.D. me. I`m a country in Northern Europe, I`m on a peninsula between the North and Baltic Seas. I was a setting for Shakespeare`s "Hamlet." My capital city is Copenhagen. I`m Denmark. And I`m home to more than 5.5 million people.
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AZUZ: Hamlet might have thought there was something rotten in Denmark, but his fellow Danes don`t agree. Despite the cold, the lack of sunshine and winter and that whole Shakespearean tragedy thing, Denmark, not Disneyland, has just been named the happiest place on Earth. Columbia University`s Earth Institute recently ranked more than 150 nations, based on a survey done between 2010 and 2012. It asked folks about their expectations for a long healthy life, the freedom to make life choices, having someone to count on. And it found satisfied smiles stretching straight across Northern Europe. Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Netherlands, Sweden, neighbors, in most cases. Happy neighbors. The report`s top five happiest countries on the planet. And while it said that money can`t buy happiness, that`s factored in, too. It might be no coincidence that three of the top five happiest countries are in the world`s top ten when it comes to wealth. The United States came in at number 17, behind places like Canada, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Mexico. But it was well ahead of the bottom five countries, rankings 152 through 156. The African nations of Rwanda, Burundi, Central African Republic, Benin and Togo. That`s where life expectancies are lower, incomes are lower and people are generally less satisfied with their lives, according to the survey.
Ladies and gentlemen, from the flight deck, this is your captain speaking. If you`ve ever flown in a plane, you might have heard that. What if the pilot wasn`t on the flight deck? What if the pilot wasn`t even on the plane? Ayesha Durgahee found out, when she filed this report.
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AYESHA DURGAHEE, PRESTON, UK: The final checks before takeoff. A routine walk around the aircraft by the captain. But this is no ordinary flight. This BAE 146 is equipped with technology to allow it to be controlled from the ground. The BAE systems test plane here in Preston has so far racked up 480 flight hours, and now I`m going to be that first passenger.
The test engineer start the handover briefing to the ground pilot, Bob Freiser.
We`re successfully going to 7,000 feet and now the pilot that in front of the plane about to hand over to the ground control station.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready to take control.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And proceed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have control.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you want control?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Request routine direct (inaudible).
DUNCAN CASEY, TEST ENGINEER, BAE SYSTEMS: (INAUDIBLE) now is responsible for navigating the aircraft around this pre-planned route, and what you can hear with the moment is the discussion with (inaudible) that`s exactly the same discussion the pilots would be having if they were in charge of the steering of the aircraft.
DURGAHEE: These test flights are part of Astria (ph), BAE Systems $94 million program. With increased automation in the cockpit, planes could fly longer and further.
LAMBERT DOPPING-HEPENSTAL, DIRECTOR, ASTRAEA PROGRAMME: I think it`s probably the next major step in the aviation, it`s a bit like introducing the jet engine. It`s not going to replace manned aircraft, I don`t think as passengers we will do that. Because you want somebody in -- responsible for the aircraft on board the aircraft in any case.
DURGAHEE: The technology to bring the flight deck onto the ground could first be adopted for cargo flights and for aircraft during hazardous emergencies such as wildfires. The Aerospace Knowledge Transfer Network estimates that the global market for unmanned aircraft based services could generate $400 billion a year.
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AZUZ: CNN STUDENT NEWS Roll Call. Wait to get your school mentioned on our show. Who made the herald call today? Let`s go to the map. First up, Wichita, Kansas. That`s where the Mavericks from Maize South High School are checking out CNN STUDENT NEWS. In Ackworth (ph), Georgia, the Allatoona High Buccaneers are allatooning in. And we round up the roll in Ravenswood, West Virginia, home of the Red Devils from Ravenswood High School.
Best advice someone gave me was probably do unto others. Treat people the way you want to be treated. It`s simple, but straightforward, and it works. And we asked some high school junior and seniors about the best advice they ever got. They told us for today`s viewfinder segment.
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ROMA PARIKH, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: It`s a little cliche, but the whole thing about when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
MYKEL SKINNER, HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR: Don`t let anyone be the boss of you! You know, you`re the boss of yourself! You can make your own decisions, don`t let anyone make it for you for sure. And, you know, do what -- do what makes you happy.
MARILYN PRIMOVIC, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: Is to never give up and to just follow the path that God set up for me and to just pursue it.
ROSHIN KOOPLICAT, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: Be yourself, if you try to copy, there is -- it`s not going to work out.
NICK MUSEY, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: Probably, to never burn any bridges. Because, you know, you never know who you`re going to meet, when you`re going to meet them again.
AMAYA CARR, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: It sounds cliche, but find yourself and follow your dreams. It took me a while to realize what I really wanted to do and who am I really was, and once I figured that out, life became easier.
GARLAND JONES, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: Relax. Best advise will be relax. And enjoy the ride.
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AZUZ: Some people are secretive in their attempt to world record. Others are happy to show you how the sausage gets made. Especially when the sausage is the world record. This is all linked to a grocery store in Minnesota that has a reputation for bratwurst, when it`s set out to make the world`s biggest and needed to meat expectations, and it did. At 152 feet long. You never saw such a thing before. They`d beat their old world record by 100 feet just in case. I mean for better or worst, they really brought it. You could say it was the best of times because it was the worst of times, and now we`re going to be out of time. We`ll meet you again tomorrow for more CNN STUDENT NEWS. Bye now.