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Nobel Peace Prize 2011; Afghanistan: 10 Years of War; U.S. Added 103,000 Jobs in September; Desmond Tutu Celebrates 80th Birthday

Aired October 7, 2011 - 08:00:00   ET

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


KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: Welcome to NEWS STREAM, where news and technology meet.

I'm Kristie Lu Stout, in Hong Kong.

And we begin with the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to three women for their work in advancing women's rights.

And as we celebrate this year's winners, we also look back at the last Nobel Peace laureate, Liu Xiaboa.

And 10 years after the start of the war in Afghanistan, we hear about the toll the war is taking on soldiers.

Now, three distinguished women share this year's Nobel Peace Prize, and they likely never have met, but they are working toward the same goal.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman are being honored for their work to advance women's rights.

Now, Ms. Johnson Sirleaf, she is currently president of Liberia. She took office in 2006 as Africa's first democratically-elected female head of state. And Ms. Johnson Sirleaf has worked to strengthen the position of women and promote development in her war-torn country.

Leymah Gbowee, she is also from Liberia, and she is the founder and executive director of Women Peace and Security Network Africa. The Nobel Committee says she helped bring an end to Liberia's long war by mobilizing women across ethnic and religious divides.

And you also have Tawakkul Karman. Now, she is a peace activist in Yemen, and the journalist has led demonstrations demanding freedom of speech. She also has been a prominent voice in anti-government protests since 2007, urging Yemen's president to step down. And some activists say that her award represents a prize for all Arab women who have played a role in the region's uprisings.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has only awarded 12 other women with the peace prize.

And Jonathan Mann joins us now from CNN Center.

And Jon, how surprised were you by this decision?

JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, I was completely surprised, to be honest. Around the world, a whole lot of journalists try and handicap this as if it were a horse race, and we tend to get it wrong. We got it absolutely wrong this year. But what's more interesting, probably, is that the laureates themselves were surprised.

We spoke a short time ago with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. She said she didn't know. And Tawakkul Karman, in fact, said she had no idea she had even been nominated. She received the news, in fact, still out at a demonstration in Sanaa, still doing the kinds of things that got her the prize. And here's a portion of what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAWAKKUL KARMAN, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE: I was very, very, very happy because -- not because of me. Because the (INAUDIBLE), people and (INAUDIBLE) in Yemen. This is victory for Yemen, for Yemeni people (INAUDIBLE). So all our (INAUDIBLE) that we will create (INAUDIBLE) and civilian (INAUDIBLE).

This is a victory for youth, for women in Yemen, in Arab countries. This is a victory for youth in Tunisia, in Libya, in Egypt, in Syria, for all people thinking and dreaming for freedom and dignity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANN: A message for the Arab Spring, but still, Kristie, a surprise to us all.

STOUT: And how does the Nobel Committee draw a link between three women's rights activists and the spread of peace around the world?

MANN: That's what's so remarkable about this year's prizes, is these are not women who were struggling for the right to vote in a peaceful, industrial democracy. These are women who are pushing for women's rights in the context of wrenching social change of a different kind.

In Liberia, a 14-year, 15-year civil war that women, as you mentioned, women organized and were instrumental in forcing male leaders to end. So, women's rights in the context of war. In the case of Yemen, women's rights in the context of a struggle against dictatorship.

So, that's the link, not just women's right on their own, but women's rights when something even bigger than that is also at stake.

STOUT: Now, you spoke to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf about her award right after the news broke. And what in that conversation struck you the most?

MANN: Well, what struck me seemed like a little bit of generous hyperbole. She said she was accepting the award on behalf of the people of Liberia, but she said that women really were responsible for the end to the war in Liberia.

Not many of us are students of African history, but in this case, you know, you could look into it and it's true. Women organized. The two women who were laureates this year were among the women who organized, who did everything from declare a sex strike, as flippant as that sounds, to issuing curses against the men who were waging war.

They literally forced the then head of state to attend peace talks. They sought out and found the rebel leaders who were fighting against him.

So she said women are responsible for the peace in Liberia. It struck me at the time, but the truth is, they are.

STOUT: Now, this year's trio of winners, they are in such contrast to last year's winners. So what kind of thinking goes into selecting the winner of the peace prize?

MANN: Well, generally, the five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee who meet and decide these things try not only to recognize the work of deserving people, but also make a larger point. And this year, in fact, the chairman of the committee said in advance, these aren't going to be household names, necessarily, but this is going to be something important.

The Nobels have been criticized because, going back decades, they reflect some of the maybe sexist prejudices of their era, and they haven't recognized women as frequently as they've recognized men. So people though it was overdue.

And so this is a statement by the Nobel Committee that even with the other things that are going on, even in cases of war and peace, freedom, democracy and dictatorship, women's rights is a crucial struggle. And I think that really was their thinking. They wanted to make a point about a larger process, bigger even than tumultuous change like the Arab Spring.

STOUT: All right. Jonathan Mann, than you very much for that context and insight.

Now, let's get more on the response to this year's Nobel Peace Prize. And we have David McKenzie in Nairobi, Kenya, Mohammed Jamjoom in Dubai.

And first to David.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee, what -- can you tell us more about what they have done for peace in Liberia? And have you been able to canvas any reaction to the announcement from there?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, they are both instrumental in the peace in Libera, a war-racked country that suffered not one, but two civil wars. And, in fact, the second civil war that particularly Leymah Gbowee was instrumental in ending.

She got together, as Jonathan was saying, with women across religious lines. And they basically prayed for peace. They wore white T-shirts, they canvassed the men in the countries to stop their fighting. And they went so far as to force the peace process in neighboring Ghana along.

And really, they paved the way for Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to come in as president of Liberia, the first female African president that we have seen in a democratically-elected state. So, certainly, they are instrumental in the peace in Liberia.

The other thing is what the reaction is. Well, Liberians are in a very tense election period right now. Elections on Monday, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will be facing a stiff competitor.

So, you know, the reactions might be based more on politics, but as time goes on I'm sure there will be a great deal of pride in Liberia, and West Africa in general, and also the African continent.

STOUT: Yes, this Nobel Peace Prize announcement, very timely, given the election calendar there in Liberia.

Let's go to Mohammed next in Dubai.

Mohammed, can you tell us about the role Tawakkul Karman has played in promoting women's rights in Yemen?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, it's hard to describe just how influential Tawakkul Karman has been towards women's rights, fighting for women's rights, and also including women in the anti- government demonstration movement in Yemen. Tawakkul Karman was one of the first people, one of the first faces really tied to the anti-government demonstration, to the revolution, the uprising in Yemen, when it started at the end of January this past year.

I can tell you that when I was in Yemen in February, when the anti- government demonstration movement was really taking root, and more and more people were starting to come out into the streets of the capital and other cities of Yemen, I was speaking to male officials, opposition officials, who, at that point, were still afraid of openly being too critical of the president. They were calling for reforms, but they weren't yet really calling on President Saleh to step down.

They were amazed at Tawakkul and how fearless she was. Tawakkul was even in prison for a couple of days in late January because of the offenses she had caused, because she had been so vocal in criticizing the government. She was released, but her detention spurred thousands more demonstrators, and especially women, to come out into the streets.

Tawakkul doesn't just work for women's rights in Yemen. She also is a fierce proponent to protect journalists in Yemen. She is somebody who is always speaking out for the cause of human rights in Yemen, a very respected figure there.

She can be polarizing. There are those that are against her. She's received threats in the past, her and her family. But she has mobilized women there, especially in this Arab Spring moment, by the thousands to take to the streets, demand greater rights, and call for the president there to step down.

So, really, an immeasurable influence she's had on the movement there in Yemen for women's rights, for anti-government demonstrators, for journalists' rights, and for human rights -- Kristie.

STOUT: Yes, she is just so fearless. And she's, what, a 33-year-old young mother? An incredible woman.

Now, let's go back to David in Nairobi now.

And David, both Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee, they have helped establish and maintain piece in Liberia. But just how fragile is it? You mentioned the election earlier on. Could there be violence after this election that's coming up?

MCKENZIE: Well, I mean, Liberia certainly has a history of violence, but also, it has, obviously --

STOUT: OK. Unfortunately, we just lost David McKenzie there. Unfortunately. He was joining us live in Nairobi.

Let's go back to Mohammed Jamjoom.

Hopefully, Mohammed, you're still there, you're still with us?

JAMJOOM: Yes, Kristie.

STOUT: OK, good.

I wanted to ask you about Tawakkul Karman. She was also a leader in the Arab Spring revolt. You talked about that earlier.

So, could this prize also be a way for the Nobel Peace Prize Committee to indirectly reward or acknowledge the Arab Spring movement?

JAMJOOM: That's a very good question, Kristie. And all the activists that I'm speaking with in Yemen right now are saying that they believe this is international recognition and validation for their peaceful revolution.

I've spoken to female rights activists there this morning since the announcement came out. I've spoken to other activists and other officials.

They see this as a way for the international community, a very legitimate body, to recognize their demands. And they say this is really necessary, because this is a movement that's been going on for nine months, that there's a lot of people that are still coming out day after day, and that they feel demoralized. They feel that international attention has turned away from their movement.

The president, President Ali Abdullah Saleh, has come back to Yemen. He's ensconced himself there in the palace once more. They feel fatigued from what they've been going through and all the challenges they've been facing, and they think this is something that is really going to rally the masses once more and get them out onto the streets to continue their cause for change, for freedom, for democracy in Yemen.

Tawakkul Karman right now is in Change Square once more. She's out there with thousands of demonstrators. Last I heard, they were planning another march.

So, even today, after this award is given, she wants to lead the faithful of that movement to try to call for more rights, to try to call for that government to change, and to make sure that people are demanding their rights. So, it's very significant, what's going on, and everybody I'm speaking with in Yemen says that they do believe this is validation for their cause and their movement, and they believe it's long in coming and well deserved -- Kristie.

STOUT: Yes, a validation also energizes their movement as well.

Mohammed Jamjoom, joining us live from Dubai.

Thank you very much indeed.

And our apologies for that lost connection to Nairobi, to our David McKenzie there.

Now, here on the touch screen is a look at some recent winners of the Nobel Peace Prize. And as you can see, some are familiar faces, others are not.

Now, the former president of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari, he was honored in 2008. And there are also two U.S. presidents and one vice president shown here: Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter, and Al Gore, who won, along with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Now, Mohammed ElBaradei is considered a leading candidate for Egypt's top office, and he was awarded the peace prize in 2005 while he was with the U.N.'s nuclear agency.

And notably, if you look at the screen here, there are only two women.

In 2003, Shirin Ebadi became the first Iranian to win the Nobel Peace Prize. And Wangari Maathai won the following year, the first woman from Africa to receive the honor.

And as you know, Maathai, she passed away last month. And we'll be looking at her legacy and show you how her effort to say Kenya's forests also changed the lives of thousands of women.

Plus, absent from the Nobel stage, but not forgotten. Last year's peace prize laureate remains in a Chinese prison. Is hope for his freedom fading?

And the often silent stress of a long-lasting war. U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan speak out about what they have lost and gained.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Welcome back.

A decade of war. Now, 10 years ago today, then-U.S. President George W. Bush announced the first air strikes in what would become the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On my orders, the United States military has begun strikes against al Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Operating Enduring Freedom began in the shadow of 9/11. And 10 years on, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is dead and the Taliban regime has been overthrown from power, but threatens to re-surge.

The Afghan War anniversary is expected to pass quietly at the White House. U.S. President Obama began a planned drawdown of U.S. forces in Afghanistan in July.

And more than 1,700 U.S. troops have lost their lives in the Afghanistan War.

Our Nick Paton Walsh is in Kabul, and he joins us now live.

And Nick, after 10 years of fighting, how close are the U.S. and NATO to reaching their goals?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It seems to be, to be honest, far off, although those goals are changing.

What we've heard though from American soldiers who have experienced this 10 years of war -- toss in Iraq as well on top of that, leaving many of them, I think it's fair to say, emotionally exhausted. And we got a first-hand glimpse of the emotional impact of this decade of war when we went to Bagram Air Base, not far from Kabul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (voice-over): It began when they landed in Bagram, and here it goes on.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed --

WALSH: Ten years of jet fuel, faith, and now fatigue. Here, you can see what it takes to carry on through this decade's wars.

Lieutenant Colonel Eric Albertson is chaplain to thousands, but in his several months here, affected by the very few.

LT. COL. ERIC ALBERTSON, U.S. ARMY: A number of our soldiers are around their third, fourth, or, in some cases, their fifth tour. There is a fatigue factor -- emotionally drained, physically tired. We've had instances where soldiers have taken their own lives here, and that's tragic. We've had about six or seven since I've been here.

When someone takes their own life, there's almost a sense of, you know, you've reached out to me for everything else. Why didn't you reach out to me for this?

WALSH: The ripples of a suicide reach far. Master Sergeant Guadaloupe Stratman is in this war so her three sons won't be. Her three tours, marred by the recent loss of a friend in Iraq.

MASTER SGT. GUADALOUPE STRATMAN, U.S. ARMY: It was actually she overdosed. And, like, she was younger than me, so I thought she had a lot to live for. I don't know why it happened. I wasn't necessarily talking with her frequently at that time, but it hurt me a lot.

And how? Because I knew her. I knew what some of her dreams were, and now she didn't get to live those dreams. It's like it ended.

WALSH: This was a dirt road a decade ago. Now it's home to one in nine of America's troops in Afghanistan.

(on camera): When the Americans landed here 10 years go, it was on this Russian-made runway. And now they've been here nearly a year longer than the Soviets.

(voice-over): The cost to the Soviets, huge. The total cost to America, still unknown. Although signs of sadness and change are everywhere, the prison here now gone, it's Afghan prisoners elsewhere. Soon, troops will leave for good, but will carry away with them the scars of here and Iraq.

LT. COL. JAMES DAVELL, U.S. ARMY: What I do every year is I call the family, either the spouse or the parents of the individual that has been associated with me, that was lost in combat. And then I also call a very close friend of mine that was injured, severely injured, on the day that that occurred. Like I said, I make three calls a year -- actually, four. I'm sorry, four calls a year to family members.

I wouldn't say it makes me feel good or bad. I just think it's something that I need to do.

WALSH: The closing stages of a war longer than anything America has ever coped with before.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH: You know, what is remarkable when you speak to these soldiers is, through this emotional exhaustion, this decade of conflict, there is still a great positivity and enthusiasm for the task ahead here, although recognition, I think, that domestic support for the conflict, and you might even say comprehension as to why America is still here, is ebbing fast -- Kristie.

STOUT: Yes, without a doubt, their military service there has changed them.

You've also been talking to Afghan civilians about life under the Taliban, about that U.S.-led invasion, about 10 years of war. What are they telling you?

WALSH: Well, Afghans here are tired of conflict, frankly. For them, it's not 10 years, it's 30. I mean, they remember the Russian invasion, the Soviet occupation lasting an exceptionally long time.

I think really an important point we heard yesterday though is from the former commander of NATO forces here, General Stanley McChrystal, who gave a perspective, really, as to where he, frankly, one of the most candid generals to serve here, sees the state of this kind of campaign. He said he believed they're about 50 percent of the way towards their goals, that they had been "frighteningly simplistic" in their approach when they began being in Afghanistan. And I think when a decade of war has passed, to have some of the most experienced and informed people who have served here and led this campaign make statements like that, it gives you a real idea of exactly what will be achieved when in the years ahead, America slowly draws down its level of troops to significantly less than they are now -- Kristie.

STOUT: Nick Paton Walsh, joining us live from Kabul.

Thank you very much for that.

Now, ahead on NEWS STREAM, we will continue our look at recent Nobel Peace Prize winners and find out how Wangari Maathai's crusade to save Kenya's forest from extinction may also have saved many of her countrywomen from poverty and powerlessness.

Plus, paying the price for speaking out. Liu Xiaboa remains in a Chinese prison one year after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, but another controversial prize is sparking division in China.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.

Now this year's Nobel Peace Prize is being shared by three women, two Liberia, and one from Yemen. The announcement was made in Oslo earlier today. The Norwegian Nobel committee said Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, peace activist Leymah Gbowee, and Yemen's Tawakkul Karman are being honored for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women.

Now it is the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan just four weeks after the 9/11 attacks in 2001 the first bomb started falling on Kabul and other Afghan cities. Now the aim was to destroy the Taliban who had refused to hand over al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. The Taliban were quickly toppled, but insurgents continue to battle coalition forces.

Now authorities in New Zealand say that they may have a maritime disaster on their hands. A (inaudible) container ship struck a reef off the countries north island on Wednesday creating a five kilometer long oil slick that has already killed sea birds. Now officials say the ship is in danger of breaking apart.

And the United States has just released its all important monthly jobs report. It shows that 103,000 jobs were added to the economy in September. Now that compares to zero the previous month. And the unemployment rate remains unchanged at 9.1 percent, which was widely expected.

Now three women share one of the most prestigious awards in the world, the Nobel Peace Prize, another woman also trailblazed a path to peace. Now Kenya's Wangari Maathai, she died last month. As David McKenzie reports, Africa's first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize sought to root out repression and poverty while saving Kenya's forests.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: To the end, Wangari Maathai seemed happiest in Kenya's forest, she called trees her green friends, and was the founder of the Green Belt Movement. Planting trees was her life's work.

WANGARI MAATHAI, GREEN BELT MOVEMENT FOUNDER: We started in 1975. 30 years on, we have planted more than 30 million trees and counting.

MCKENZIE: Her challenges and achievements started much earlier. In her autobiography Unbowed she wrote about her first difficult steps.

MAATHAI: Do you know how to read and write? Yes. I told him that I could not. I'm not even sure I knew what writing was.

MCKENZIE: Not only did she learn to read, she later received a scholarship to study in America. She became the first east African woman to get a PhD.

But returning home, Maathai witnessed the wholesale destruction of Kenya's forests and she wanted to save them.

MAATHAI: It started as an organization to plant trees. But gradually it became a movement that helps people to see the linkage between the environment and many of the other problems that they face.

MCKENZIE: This is the site of one of Wangari Maathai's greatest victories. Powerful politicians wanted to tear down this forest to make way for luxury condos, but Maathai said no. She said she'd rather be buried in this place. She always believed in the power of the people even if it came at great personal risk. She was vilified, beaten up, and arrested for her activism.

MAATHAI: We are going to shed blood because of our land. We will. We are used to that. Our forefathers shed blood for our land.

MCKENZIE: Mangari Maathai remained unbowed.

MAATHAI: I always like to look for the silver lining and hold on to that silver lining and say I must get over this hurdle. And if you can do that when you get on the other side you feel oh my god hurrah (ph). And you feel strong about the fact that you didn't give up.

MCKENZIE: Years of struggle finally paid off. In 2002, she became a member of parliament in the newly democratic Kenya. And in 2004, her greatest honor, a Nobel Peace Prize for her conservation work. Maathai dedicated it to the plight of women. It was validation aboard, and more importantly at home, opening a door for a new generation of Africa's women.

With Wangari Maathai's passing, the world of conservation has lost a brave and loud voice, but her legacy, some 30 million trees and a powerful movement, will be felt for generation.

David McKenzie, CNN, Nairobi Kenya.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Now one former Peace Prize recipient is celebrating a big day. South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu turns 80 today. Robyn Curnow is following all the festivities from Cape Town and joins us now live. And Robyn, how is Desmond Tutu celebrating his birthday today?

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're on a wine farm just outside (inaudible) a beautiful day here in South Africa. It's a perfect day, in fact, for a picnic. And that's what is happening in this building behind me where Archbishop Desmond Tutu is celebrating his birthday with family, with friends, with colleagues. And all of them are paying tribute to a man known as a rebel rouser for peace.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Archbiship Desmond Tutu is called the people's priest, a man whose infectious optimism continues to sustain many. Tutu's laugh and his humanity are his greatest assets said his daughter Mpho whose also a priest.

REV. MPHO TUTU, DAUGHTER: You don't have to be (inaudible) handsome. You don't have to change the world. You can be a small priest with a big nose and a goofy laugh and a warm and effusive manner. And yeah, if he can did it, why can't we?

CURNOW: The first black head of the Anglican Church in South Africa, Desmond Tutu's political significance in leading the country to democracy cannot be overstated. He was essentially the interim leader of the anti- apartheid struggle during the 1980s, a point he believes is lost on the ruling AMC, the liberation movement that won power in 1994.

DESMOND TUTU, ARCHBISHIP EMERITUS: The AMC does reckon that others are (inaudible) players, that they are the ones who are responsible -- well, they would not share. I mean, for most of the time they were either on Robin Island or they were in exile and that is how things panned out.

CURNOW: He was not a politician, but he used the pulpit, his moral authority, and after 1984 the weight of the Nobel Peace Prize to lobby international sanctions against the racist regime. At the same time, he and other church leaders were trying to deal with a violent internal uprising that saw Tutu put himself between angry black youth and the white security forces time and time again.

Later, he chaired South Africa's truth and reconciliation commission, which was pure Tutu, based on a simple premise forgiveness granted in exchange for the truth no matter how upsetting.

As he turns 80, many friends are coming to Cape Town to celebrate not just Tutu's birthday, but the visionary leadership shown by the small South African cleric.

M. TUTU: Yeah, I love Bob Geldoff's (ph) description of him as the smallest giant he had ever met.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: And, you know it's just that laugh Kristie, that chuckle, that giggle, you share it before you see him. And it's just wonderful to be around that.

STOUT: Yeah, I love hearing his laugh. And I love how you describe him as a rabble rouser for peace.

Now Robyn, how Desmond Tutu told you the different the Nobel Peace Prize has made to his life?

CURNOW: You know what, he was given the Peace Prize in 1984 during some of the darkest days in South Africa. And just remember as I touched on in that piece, you know the AMC, most of the liberation leaders were in jail, it was the church leaders who were literally trying to take the struggle to the streets, to protect people. And the Nobel Prize gave Tutu and the church protection. And in particular it actually maybe saved his life, because a lot of people have said, and he's also said that it gave him protection, because the apartheid authorities knew they couldn't assassinate him once he had the global recognition of the Peace Prize.

And you know, that's not sort of an exaggeration, I mean they had tried to assassinate some of the other church leaders. So on that level it was absolutely crucial.

On another level he joked. He said he had said the same things before he got the Peace Prize, after he got the Peace Prize he was like an oracle.

But either way I mean I think it definitely helped build up his international reputation. But he's always said that he accepted that Peace Prize on behalf of ordinary South Africans. And he said it again a few days ago. So it is a very humbling thing for him. But also for him, he said it's not mine, it's everybody's out there.

STOUT: All right. Robyn Curnow joining us live from Cape Town. Many thanks indeed for that. Enjoy the party there.

Now last year's Nobel Peace Prize laureate, he famously could not attend his award ceremony because he was and remains behind bars. Now China's Liu Xiaobo is serving 11 years for helping to draft a manifesto urging political change. And Eunice Yoon reports his Nobel Prize sparked fury and a competing prize in China. But now there's discord over that as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EUNICE YOON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A year ago when Chinese dissident Liu Xiabo won the Nobel Peace Prize, Beijing was outraged seeing the award as a celebration of a man who they deemed a criminal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is in isolation in a prison...

YOON: He was famously represented at the Nobel ceremony by an empty chair. In an 11th hour counter offensive a group of Chinese patriots launched their own version of the Nobel Award called the Confucius peace prize named after China's greatest philosopher.

The award was seen as a joke. The winner, a Taiwanese politician, never accepted it.

But that hasn't deterred the Chinese from trying again this year. In fact, some people here are so eager to challenge the Nobel Peace Prize that there have been three competing movements to establish a Chinese award.

The original patriots, after nominating peace loving candidates like Vladimir Putin, were shoved aside in favor of a second government-backed group creatively calling their prize The Confucius Prize for World Peace.

And now Liu Haofeng, one of the organizers of the original Confucius prize has started yet a third effort which he calls the Harmony Prize.

LIU HAOFENG, ACADEMY OF WORLD HARMONY (through translator): There are different opinions among us that can not be compromised or settled so we just split up.

YOON: So much for harmony.

Meanwhile, the real Nobel Peace Prize winner, Liu Xiaobo, remains in prison serving an 11 years sentence. His wife is under house arrest in Beijing.

And life for activists and other government critics in China is the most repressed its been in over a decade in the wake of the Arab Spring. Human rights campaigners say that as long as Liu is in prison, China's efforts to present itself as a promoter of peace will face skepticism. No matter how many prizes organizers here choose to give out.

Eunice Yoon, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Now ahead on News Stream, breaking down those U.S. jobs numbers. The September jobs report, it came above expectations. And we'll find out how that will affect the markets next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Welcome back.

Now some positive news for the U.S. economy. The all important monthly jobs report is out. And it is much better than expected. It shows 103,000 jobs were added to the economy in September. Now estimates were for a little more than half that. And it is definitely an improvement from August when no jobs were added.

Now the unemployment rate, however, is staying steady at 9.1 percent. And that's in line with analyst expectations.

And for more on the latest U.S. jobs numbers Carter Evans joins us live from the NASDAQ in New York. And Carter, give us your gauge on market reaction to the jobs report?

CARTER EVANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was pretty instantaneous, Kristie, futures turned right around. Dow futures were down about 30, 40 points the whole morning. Now Dow futures are up about 130 points.

You see, here's the thing -- I mean, we've just had month after month after bad news when it comes to the jobs picture, so I think that this was unexpected by a lot of people. They expected another kind of ho-hum disappointing report. You'll remember in August the jobs report showed then that zero jobs were added to the economy. Well that number was revised up a lot now showing the August also added 57,000 jobs. The July number was also revised upward.

Now here's the thing, as far as these 103,000 jobs being added in September, a lot of those jobs are striking telecommunications workers in this country going back to work. So that's something to keep in mind, there. But the positive news from the private sector also shows that the private sector added 137,000 jobs.

These are not the numbers that we need to be seen to really make a dent in the unemployment rate just yet, but it's very encouraging, because we've been getting some pretty grim statistics for the last several weeks or so -- Kristie.

STOUT: Yeah, the private sector is adding jobs. This is a very rosy report. But I can't help but scratch my head a little bit, here, because we've been reporting a lot about the financial market turmoil and the debt crisis in both the U.S. and in Europe. So how did the U.S. economy manage to had 100,000 jobs? And will this be a sign -- a trend of more job growth to come?

EVANS: You know, a lot of these jobs were added in the small business sector. And it's been said time and time again by many people small businesses are going to fuel job growth in this country. The news has been really, really bad for the last couple of weeks, so I hear what you're saying there.

I think a lot of what's been going on and a lot of the volatility in the market, of course, is caused by what's going on over in Europe, but also the uncertainty here in the U.S. and negative feelings. I think this is going to give the market, at least today, a much needed dose of optimism.

STOUT: All right. Carter Evans joining us live from New York. Thank you very much indeed for that.

Now, in the wake of the death of Steve Jobs, people from all industries are coming to realize how much they rely on Apple products. But did you know that the iPad is a vital tool for some in the U.S. military? We'll tell you more next.

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STOUT: Welcome back.

Now it has been two days since the passing of Steve Jobs. And while the world mourns the loss of an innovator, his presence is still very much felt, notably through the many Apple products that we've come to rely on. As Barbara Starr reports, even the U.S. military says it depends heavily on Apple technology.

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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Not only does the commander-in-chief use an iPad, but his top military adviser, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says his iPad is indispensable.

I'm noticing the red sticker.

GEN. MARTIN DEMPSEY: Sure.

STARR: Secret.

DEMPSEY: Yeah.

STARR: So this is an iPad that contains some of this nation's most critical day-to-day military secrets.

DEMPSEY: Well, I don't want to over dramatize it, but it does -- it does have information on it that certainly you wouldn't want anyone else to have access to.

It's not wireless yet. We're not to the point where we can have these things -- we can have secret information sitting in a cloud for the chairman. But they will load it up, send it to the House, and it'll have the daily brief, it'll have the intel brief. It'll have, you know, a walk around the world. It'll answer my what we call commander's critical information requirements.

STARR: General Martin Dempsey says his iPad is not only crucial for him, but it's the kind of technology the entire military now depends on.

DEMPSEY: And what I'm interested in, by the way, is you know we have -- one of the lessons we've learned over the last 10 years of war is the extent to which, you know, we've pushed capability to the edge, to empower that -- that junior leader at the edge of all of this with the information he needs to understand what's going on.

STARR: The military does have to be careful, due to worries about viruses and worms most devices must be used in a standalone mode, they cannot be directly connected to military computer networks.

DEMPSEY: This is probably the tactical outpost of the future, because the power, the generated power and the data management power of these devices in the future, and I'm looking out to about 2020 or such, that wherever the commander is, if he and his staff have these devices, this can be your tactical operation center.

Every bit of information you need at some point will be available to you.

STARR: But even pilots flying over Afghanistan and Libya used commercial maps loaded onto their iPads when flying combat missions.

Apple, of course, isn't the only company with this kind of technology, but in one sign of the military's high regard for the company, last year a number of senior army officers went to the company headquarters in California to see how Steve Jobs and Apple made it all happen.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: And if you logged on to a social media site in the 36 hours, chances are you've seen this image. It is a tribute to Steve Jobs created by a graphic design student Jonathan Mak Long (ph) here in Hong Kong. And it could prove to be a turning point in the teenager's life. Now his design, featuring Steve Jobs' silhouette incorporated into the bite of a white Apple logo, this has become an internet sensation. It has clocked out almost 1,200 comments on his tumbler blog, spawn a flood of memorabilia. It's even led to a job offer.

And in Twitter terms, endorsements, they don't get much bigger than this. Jonathan's design is being used as Ashton Kutcher's Twitter profile pic. And let's keep in mind, the actor has almost 8 million followers.

And as for Jonathan, he's pretty overwhelmed by the response. This is his latest post on his Tumbler. And it reads, "you don't get to 180,000 nodes without feeling slightly insane."

And that is News Stream, but the news continues at CNN. World Business Today is next.

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