CNN news 2014-03-03 加文本

cnn news 2014-03-03

CARL AZUZ, cnn ANCHOR: Happy to have you watching cnn STUDENT NEWS. I`m Carl Azuz. We`ve got a lot of ground to cover today, starting in Afghanistan. The U.S. has more than 33,000 troops there, supporting the military mission that began in 2001. Many of those troops will be coming home this year. The question is, will some stay to train Afghan troops and help them fight terrorists? The U.S. wants Afghan president Hamid Karzai to sign an agreement about this. Because he hasn`t, President Obama is threatening to pull all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by the end of December.

BARBARA STARR, cnn CORRESPONDENT: Why this is happening? It`s because the U.S. says it`s really running out of patience with Karzai. He`s indicated he won`t sign that security agreement that would be the legal framework for troops to stay there after the end of 2014. With no agreement, U.S. troops would have to go. They can`t get him to sign, so President Obama publicly now saying plan for a full troop withdrawal.

AZUZ: A government official from Pakistan says that would be a mistake. He says, without some U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the country would have a civil war.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time for "The Shoutout." What`s the only South American country whose official language is Portuguese? If you think you know it, shout it out!

Is it Argentina, Portugal, Brazil or Guyana? There are several world nations whose official language is Portuguese. But the only one in South America is Brazil. That`s your answer and that`s your "Shoutout."

AZUZ: Favela is a Portuguese word dating back to the 1940s. It translates to shantytown, or slum. An event coming soon to Brazil could bring a lot of money to some of Rio de Janeiro favelas. The FIFA World Cup, the biggest and most watched sporting event on the planet takes off on June 12. It will play out in Brazil over a month, and as the supply goes down for places where can stay, demand goes up as do prices and opportunities.

SHASTA DARLINGTON, cnn CORRESPONDENT: Some of the best views in Rio from some of the cheapest rooms in town. World Cup fans, take note: Rio de Janeiro`s one infamous shantytowns or favelas have opened their doors to tourists. Dutch backpacker Michael Blommers says it`s the only way to go.

MICHAEL BLOMMERS, BACKPACKER: If they want to see the World Cup, want to see some football matches and - experience a true Brazilian life, they should really come to a favela and just check this out.

DARLINGTON: As the hostels along the beach, which usually go for around $40 will cost as much as $400 a night. Many hotels will charge over $1,000. But a bunk here at Alto Vigigal (ph) will cost just $65. Four times the normal price, but still, a bargain.

(on camera): Cheapest price around, actually.

(voice over): Still, in many ways, visitors really do have to slum it. Garbage piles up along the roads, electricity, water and sewage services are spotty at best. And transportation precarious. And then, there is security. Just a few years ago, Rio`s favelas were controlled by drug lords. Police have since stormed many of them, so called pacification. Driving out armed gangs in an effort to make it relatively safe for residents and visitors.

With all these tourists coming up here now, people have opened up shops in their own homes. This guy right down here is selling handy crafts and then right up here, there is a new tapioca sandwich shop, which I have to say, sounds pretty good to me. Let`s go try it.

"People are opening up little hotels, because demand keeps growing," he says. Indeed, upstairs his cousin has built a one bedroom that she`s going to rent for $500 during the World Cup. In other favelas the pacification efforts have had mixed success. In Hosigna (ph), Maria Clara Du Santos, says she could hear the recent shootouts from her terrace.

She rents rooms in her bright yellow house to foreign tourists. And she says safety depends on knowing where and where not to go.

That hasn`t stopped visitors in search of a more authentic experience and, of course, the great views.