Studet News 2012.03.16.docVIP

(Student News) -- March 16, 2012THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.***CARL AZUZ, HOST, CNN STUDENT NEWS: It is Friday. That is always awesome. I`m Carl Azuz. This is CNN Student News. We`re ready to take flight with 10 minutes of commercial-free headlines starting in three, two, one --(MUSIC PLAYING)AZUZ: One full year -- that is how long the crisis in Syria has been going on. Opposition groups blame the violence on Syria`s government. Syrian officials say armed terrorists are responsible for the fighting.(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)AZUZ (voice-over): What we know is that all of this started with protests, like the ones you see in these YouTube videos. The Syrians were speaking out against their government, calling for the change. The conflict has had a significant impact on how Syria is viewed by some other countries.(END VIDEO CLIP)AZUZ: And that has had an impact on Syria`s economy. John Defterios looks at the shift that some investors have made over the past 12 months.(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): A little over a year ago, investing in Syria seemed like a good idea. The country had avoided the worst of the global economic crisis. The private sector was opening up. A virtually untapped domestic consumer market offered real opportunities and foreign direct investment was on the rise.But a year on, and street protests against the rule of Bashar al-Assad have led to a bloody military crackdown with thousands losing their lives. International sanctions have left the Syrian economy in tatters. Trade and investment flows are all but frozen, especially from within the region.Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have been two of the largest investors in Syria. Before the turmoil, both countries viewed Syria as a hot market for property and construction. But now those countries appear to be limiting or, in some cases, completely stopping their projects. The state-owned Qatari Di