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NEWS STREAM

David Cameron's Response to Rioting; Accusation's Over NATO Bombing Campaign in Libya; Pressure on Syria; Reporting from a Somali Refugee Camp

Aired August 10, 2011 - 08:00:00   ET

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


ANNA COREN, HOST: Welcome to NEWS STREAM, where news and technology meet.

Hello. I'm Anna Coren, in Hong Kong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: There are pockets in our society that are not just broken but, frankly, sick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: The British prime minister lashes out at looters after a fourth night of violence across the country.

Accusations fly in Libya. We go inside a town where the government says civilians were killed by a major NATO strike.

And can you believe that for a short period of time Apple was the most valuable company in the world?

Well, parts of the U.K. have just endured rioting for a fourth straight night, but a huge police presence on the streets of the capital ensured a relatively quiet night there. Well, this was the scene in Enfield, in north London, not far from the site of the first riots in Tottenham. An additional 10,000 police officers patrolled the city's streets Tuesday night, bringing the number to 16,000. In London alone, at least 770 people have been arrested since the violence began on Saturday.

Prime Minister David Cameron and his crisis response committee has held at least two meetings to discuss ways to bring the chaos under control.

With more on that, we cross to our Phil Black, outside Scotland Yard.

Phil, the prime minister says police have all the resources they need to combat these rioters, but after four nights of rioting, doesn't this come just a little late?

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is certainly the perception he's fighting against, Anna. But David Cameron says the fight back is now on.

There were some disturbances in other U.K. cities, but as you say, a relatively calm night in London. And David says that's because of a new, more robust policing response -- more officers on the streets, 16,000 in all, and more arrests, 750 and climbing. And he says that's going to continue and that the police will get all of the resources they need.

One of the questions that has been asked by many British people in recent days is, why is this all happening? Well, today, the prime minister offered his theory. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMERON: There are pockets of our society that are not just broken but, frankly, sick. When we see children as young as 12 and 13 looting and laughing, when we see the disgusting sight of an injured young man while people pretending to help him while they are robbing him, it is clear there are things that are badly wrong in our society.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACK: David Cameron talked about a lack of personal responsibility in some elements of society, and he's determined, he says, to give the police all they need. As part of that, he says they are authorized to use baton rounds, or rubber bullets, as they're also known, although he says that police so far believe they're not necessary. And interestingly, he has authorized the use of a water cannon, which he says can be here on the streets within 24 hours.

That is new, because it is a piece that has never been used on mainland U.K. before. It has been used in Northern Ireland, but traditionally police in Britain don't like to use it -- Anna.

COREN: Phil, for many of us I guess watching overseas, you can't help but be appalled that this is happening to London, to Britain, to such an important country. What does the prime minister say to criticism that the government and police were slow to act?

BLACK: Well, that is very much what he's fighting against. When he rushed back from holiday, he already had the image, if you like, as a national leader that was perhaps spending too long on vacation before making the choice to return. And then when he arrived, the overwhelming perception among the public that there were not enough police, and when they did see the police, they were not doing enough actively to break up the rioters, to get in there, to stop them, to arrest them from vandalizing, destroying and stealing.

So that is why we're getting all that tough talk now in recent days. That is why he has authorized so many police. It's a big increase, more than double than what it was the night before. And he says it is why he has authorized them, empowered them to get out there and be far more proactive in actually breaking up the riots -- Anna.

COREN: Phil Black, in London, outside Scotland Yard.

Thank you very much for that.

Well, it's not all doom and gloom in London. Community spirit is alive and well.

Hundreds of residents are taking to the streets, armed not with Molotov cocktails and baseball bats, but brooms. After days of riots, they're sweeping away debris, boarding up shop windows, and trying to bring a bit of pride back to their neighborhoods.

Among those carrying out their cleanup was London mayor Boris Johnson, although it would be fair to say he received a mixed reception, with many critical he did not cut a vacation short sooner.

Well, some of the worst rioting on Tuesday was scene in the midlands, particularly in Britain's so-called second city, Birmingham. Well, CNN iReporter Salaal Hasan gives us a tour of part of the city.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALAAL HASAN, IREPORTER: If you look over here at the orange store, there's been people who have broken the windows, and they've just been going crazy everywhere. There's police everywhere. There's helicopters and everything everywhere.

Just a few minutes before, a couple of people ran into the store, took out some stuff, and just went crazy. Apparently, it's just gone berserk, bizarre over here.

The police have just formed a line over here, if you can see. And it's going pretty bizarre. Unbelievable to be happening in Birmingham, in England especially.

You can see everyone has just taken whatever they can find and ran out. While I'm walking in the street, I can hear helicopters above me, all around. I can hear at least 10 of them. It sounds like I'm in Beirut or some -- I don't know, some Middle Eastern conflict. I don't know.

And I have never witnessed this in the U.K. I could have never imagined this.

If you look over there, one person just got mugged. And they just stole his things and ran away.

It's going crazy. Someone just got mugged right in front of me, and four people came wearing hats, and they attacked him, stole his belongings and ran away.

I'm rushing home now because it doesn't seem very safe over here. Going crazy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Extraordinary, isn't it?

Well, after days of rioting and destruction, tensions are understandably high. Police are not only trying to control rioters, they also have to calm furious residents who have seen their neighborhoods trashed.

Atika Shubert has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was a relatively quiet night in London. Sixteen thousand cops on the street, with only sporadic looting in isolated areas.

Prime Minister Cameron said a fightback was under way. That does appear what is happening.

Basically, we've seen communities across London banding together, forming night watches, in some cases, guarding their shops and homes. In north London, we had a situation where local residents and volunteers gathered on the main street, but they were so angry, that it verged on mob violence. And riot police were actually called in not to face off against looters, but to actually calm residents down and try and ease those tensions.

Now, police are saying -- asking people not to take the law into their own hands, that it does not help to have any sort of vigilante activity. Instead, they're asking people to basically help by identifying any looters that they have seen, if they have any CCTV video, or other videos or photos that they've taken. Maybe they can be used as evidence to charge any of the people that were involved in the looting.

In the meantime, we've seen on social media people organizing to clean up some of the worst-hit areas. A lot of volunteer groups have gotten together to try and help some of those businesses that have been hardest hit.

But for a lot of people, they'll be asking whether or not the violence can be kept away, whether or not the police are going to be effective in the days to come.

Atika Shubert, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Well, ahead on NEWS STREAM, more pressure on Syria. U.S. officials tell CNN that Washington may soon turn up the heat on Syria's president, but will it make a difference?

Plus, accusations are flying over dozens of recent civilian deaths in Libya. And the Gadhafi regime is pointing the finger at NATO.

And the big Apple. The U.S. tech giant enjoys a brief moment at the top as the world's most valuable company.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: Well, accusations are flying over a series of NATO air strikes near the Libyan city of Zliten. The Gadhafi government says Monday's bombing campaign killed 85 civilians.

Ivan Watson is there, where many of the dead were laid to rest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These are scenes of grief and anger for the mass funeral of some of the people who were killed in an air strike south of the contested Libyan city of Zliten Monday night. We have a number of coffins that are gathered here, people chanting, denouncing NATO, blaming it for the air strikes.

We were brought by the government of Tripoli to the scene of the attack, at least three or four houses that had been demolished by some kind of missiles from the sky. And they're next to the wreckage, some of which was still smoking.

The representative, the spokesman for Gadhafi's government, called this the scene of a massacre.

MUSA IBRAHIM, LIBYAN GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: Eighty-five Libyan civilians, including 33 children, 20 men, 52 women, and still counting, were massacred last night in an intensive air raid by NATO on the town of Najir (ph).

WATSON: They were later taken to a hospital, where we saw at least one woman who had lost a leg as a result of the air strike.

We were also shown a morgue where there were the bodies of at least 25 people. Many of them appeared to be men. There were some women and children included among those corpses.

Now, we've contacted NATO, and NATO's spokesmen have responded to the allegations of civilian casualties, saying, "Former farm buildings were being used as a staging point for pro-Gadhafi forces to coordinate attacks against the people of Libya. We do not have evidence of civilian casualties. Military casualties, including mercenaries, are likely to have been the nature of the target."

The Gadhafi officials on the ground, many of the survivors of this incident, are insisting there were no military personnel present at those five houses that were hit. Impossible for us, from this perspective, to confirm whether or not 85 people were in fact killed, but it does appear that at least some women and children were among those hurt in this deadly strike.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Zliten, Libya.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Well, in Syria, we're hearing more reports of suffering at the hands of President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Activists say explosions and heavy gunfire were heard around the city of Deir Ezzor on Wednesday, and communications have been cut near the capital, Damascus.

Well, now Washington may be preparing to take a stronger stand by demanding President al-Assad step down from power. U.S. government sources tell CNN the announcement could take place in the coming days after talks with the U.N. Security Council.

Well, so far, the Syrian government has been little deterred by condemnation from the international community, so will demands from the U.S. make any difference?

Arwa Damon is following events closely from Beirut, in Lebanon.

Arwa, will this make any difference whatsoever?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anna, if we look at how the Syrian regime has been reacting to these types of statements, especially when it comes to those coming out of America, the answer to that would be no. When the U.S. initially said that the Syrian president has lost his legitimacy to lead, that resulted in a very harsh backlash by the Syrian government, saying that America had absolutely no place to make that determination whatsoever. What we are seeing though is this mounting international and regional pressure, although at this point, there's absolutely no indication whatsoever that the government is going to back down from this military track that it appears intent on sticking to.

Regionally speaking, we have the Kuwaiti, Bahraini and Saudi ambassadors being recalled, those very harsh words that we heard from the Saudi King, saying that there is no justification to the bloodshed, that this military machine had to stop. We also have that recent visit from the Turkish foreign minister that was meant to be delivering a firm message.

Turkey, effectively saying that the next few days would be critical in terms of whether or not Syria would implement actions, reforms that would bring about an end to the bloodshed. But the Syrian regime appearing to remain incredibly defiant. According to the state-run Syrian Arab news agency, President Assad told the Turkish foreign minister that Syria would not veer off of this campaign of going after, targeting these armed terrorist gangs that it has been blaming for the violence.

What the international community at this point is dealing with is a regime that, for decades, has built up and, to a certain degree, fully entrenched the very institutions that would allow it to stay into power. So while there is an increase and harsh rhetoric from Europe, from America, from even regional leaders, this is not likely to begin to put the kind of pressure on the Assad regime, that is going to see those institutions that allow it to stay in power to begin to crumble.

COREN: Arwa, we know that the focus of this brutal crackdown is on Deir Ezzor. What are you hearing from your sources on the ground?

DAMON: Yes. What an activist and a resident of Deir Ezzor has been telling us is that gunfire, explosions were heard this morning. The military, according to these reports, continuing on its campaign of raiding the homes of known opposition figures.

According to a number of individuals, they are destroying homes. If people are not present, they are detaining family members as well.

That, not just happening in Deir Ezzor, but there's also the ongoing campaign in Hama, further to the west, and also reports of military offensives in the northwest of the country and around Damascus, in the suburbs there. Also, security forces detaining people, carrying out raids.

So, most certainly, it seems that despite all of this international condemnation that we have been talking about, it seems to have absolutely no intention to alter its current course of action. Bearing in mind, too, that for the first time since the Assad regime came into power, it is being threatened in such a way. And so it is literally fighting for its very existence.

It is also a government that is aware that, despite this harsh rhetoric, regionally speaking, especially very few leaders are going to want to take any sort of unilateral economic action. For example, regionally, there are no calls for the Syrian president to step down. And at this point, military action is not an option that is on the table.

Add to that the fact that Assad has and continues to have a very strong relationship with Iran, a regional power broker. So, all of these factors put together do, to a certain degree, allow the government to stay in a fairly, relatively speaking, powerful position.

COREN: Arwa Damon, in Beirut, Lebanon.

Thank you for that update.

Well, a suspected U.S. drone strike in Pakistan has left 20 people dead. That is according to Pakistani intelligence officials.

Two missiles were fired on a hideout for pro-Taliban militants in North Waziristan, located along Pakistan's volatile border with Afghanistan. The officials say the militants belonged to the Haqqani network, which is accused of planning attacks on the U.S. and NATO forces inside Afghanistan.

And in Mexico, U.S. intelligence is playing a more active role in the war on drugs. Well, late last week, "The New York Times" reported that CIA agents are working side by side with their Mexican counterparts inside Mexico.

Well, CNN's Rafael Romo has details on the new strategy and how it's being received.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Are CIA agents and retired military personnel secretly working in Mexico? After "The New York Times" published an article saying that American operatives are posted at a military base in northern Mexico, the Mexican government felt pressure to respond.

In a statement, the Mexican government admits that there is cooperation, but doesn't confirm or deny American presence at military bases. "We have developed spaces for analysis, evaluation, and exchange of intelligence information," the statement says, adding that, "Foreign personnel in Mexico don't carry out operations, nor do they carry weapons."

Opposition leaders say it's important to remember that Mexican law prohibits operations by foreign police or military personnel on Mexican soil.

ARTURO SANTANA ALFARO, MEXICAN OPPOSITION CONGRESSMAN (through translator): I believe that it's important to sign cooperation agreements, but there has to be restrictions. There has to be clear rules in how we carry out these agreements, and I don't think that has been the case. It appears to me "The New York Times" has revealed a reality that we already suspected.

ROMO: A top Mexican official said in July that the arrest of a reputed mercenary for the Juarez cartel was made thanks to the exchange of information between the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Mexican Federal Police. Top officials on both sides of the border say Mexico and the United States have to work together against drug cartels and organized crime.

ARTURO SARUKHAN, MEXICAN AMB. TO U.S.: As most things in life, you need to tango. And that as Mexico seeks to shut down the flow of drugs coming into the United States from Mexico, we need the support of the United States to shut down the flow of weapons and cash.

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Obviously, our demand for drugs is what motivates these drug gangs. I mean, if they didn't think they were going to make a bunch of money across the border, they'd go into another line of work. And so we do share responsibility for the security challenges facing the Mexican people.

ROMO (on camera): The relationship between Mexico and the United States in terms of law enforcement hasn't always been easy. Earlier this year, Mexico protested forcefully after it was discovered that federal officials in the U.S. had allowed traffickers to buy high-caliber weapons to be shipped to traffickers in Mexico, part of a plan to build a wide-ranging conspiracy case. Some of those guns were used in crimes on Mexican soil.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Well, coming up on NEWS STREAM, famine and fighting have forced hundreds of thousands of Somalis from their homes, but their prospects in neighboring Kenya can be just as bleak.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: Well, Apple is the world's most valuable technology company, but for a brief moment on Tuesday, it became the world's most valuable company, period. Well, Apple's market cap overtook Exxon's in a volatile trading day in the U.S. before edging back to number two at the close.

Only $2 billion now stands between a company that makes gadgets like the iPod and iPhone, and a company that produces oil, the commodity that powers the world. Well, even though they're worth virtually the same amount, this is a mismatch in almost every other way.

Just look at where the two stand on Fortune's list of the world's largest corporations. Apple comes in at number 111. Exxon is number 3. And to demonstrate just how far Apple has come, well, let me tell you a little story.

Back in 1997, Michael Dell was asked what he would do if he were running Apple. Well the Dell CEO replied back then, in 1997, that he would shut down and give the money back to shareholders.

Well, now, almost 14 years later, Apple seems to be having the last laugh. Just take a look at this. Now Apple is worth 12.7 Dells. Fancy that.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

COREN: Well, the markets have been on a wild ride the past few sessions, plunging and surging so often, that it almost makes your head spin. And as our Jeanne Moos reports, it's sparking a wide range of reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Better check your wallet. You may feel poorer as the Dow went down, down, downer. But hold on.

On Tuesday, the roller-coaster headed back up. A rough ride for the parody E-Trade baby created by CollegeHumor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, God, it's dropped 400 points. This is not happening, dear Lord!

MOOS: And though the market rallied Tuesday, it's hard not to panic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sell, sell, sell, sell!

MOOS: The whole world seems out of control.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More market mayhem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: London is burning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rioting, arson, looting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Famine in east Africa.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Panic mode.

MOOS (on camera): It's enough to make you want to crawl back under the covers.

(voice-over) And even when the market goes back up and there's good news, they give it a bad name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could this be a what they call a "rip your face off" rally.

MOOS: A "rip your face off" rally does not involve Jim Carrey. It's defined as a market advance with extreme intensity, so much so that it takes facial skin and hair with it.

And speaking of faces, trader body language inspired a Web site called the "Brokers with Hands on Their Faces Blog."

People like Rush Limbaugh like to coin names when the market tanks.

RUSH LIMBAUGH, TALK RADIO SHOW HOST: Obama-geddon, that's what we have witnessed since Friday. Barack-alypse now.

MOOS: CNBC's Jim Cramer had his own name for a market caught up in emotion.

JIM CRAMER, CNBC: Well, I'm calling this a Bee Gees market, because it's just emotion that's taken me over.

BEE GEES, MUSICIANS (singing): It's just emotion that's taken me over

MOOS: Talk about emotion taking over. Blurry photos circulated on Twitter showing a plane buzzing the offices of Standard & Poor's, towing a banner reading "Thanks for the downgrade. you should all be fired."

"Fortune" magazine reports it was paid for by an angry Midwestern broker.

BLITZER: Wall Street spending and another day in what's being described as freak-out mode.

MOOS: Even comedians took cover from the carnage.

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, COMEDY CENTRAL'S "THE COLBERT REPORT": I'm just down here looking for my emergency hobo satchel. OK Just remember, folks. Just remember -- just remember, over the long term stocks always increase in value.

MOOS: Hey, everybody's chicken. When the market goes down over 600 points one day and up over 400 the next, even the parody E-Trade baby gets queasy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I'm going to be (EXPLETIVE DELETED) sick.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to jump out the window now.

MOOS: -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Well, coming up on NEWS STREAM, struggle in Somalia. Extreme droughts and famine continue to send many refugees across the border. We'll have a live report from a camp in Kenya.

And Ai Weiwei finds his voice. We'll tell you what the famed Chinese artist and dissident is saying on Twitter now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: Welcome back. I'm Anna Coren, in Hong Kong.

You're watching NEWS STREAM, and these are your world headlines.

Well, the South Korean defense ministry says its navy has returned warning shots after three shells fired from North Korea landed in the sea year Yangpyeong Island. No casualties were reported in the exchange of fire.

Well, U.S. government sources tell CNN Washington is poised to demand that Syria president Bashar al-Assad say an announcement could take place in the coming days after talks with the UN security council. Well, council members will discuss the crisis in Syria on Wednesday.

British Prime Minister David Cameron says a fight back is underway against rioters who have gone on the rampage in several British cities. Violence flared in Birmingham. Police say three people died in a traffic collision. Well, they're treating the deaths as a murder investigation, but it is unclear if they are linked to the rioting.

Well, Somalia is reaching out to the insurgence its been fighting for five years. The transitional government is offering a general amnesty to al-Shabbab members as long as they surrender and promise to renounce violence. Well, the decision made by the cabinet comes days after the insurgent group retreated from the capital of Mogadishu.

Well, the fighting has compounded a greater crisis facing Somalis and that would be famine. Both are forcing people to flee across the border to Kenya. And that's where you'll find our David McKenzie who joins us from the town of Dadaab.

David, give us the latest where you are.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest from Dadaab, which is a large refugee camp, in fact the largest in the world, more than 400,000 people here, Anna, crammed into the space. You would think, though, if you look around that space wouldn't necessarily be a problem. This is a flat region and there is bush surrounding this refugee camp. And political fighting as it were between the UN and the Kenyan government is creating problems.

And as thousands come in each week because of the famine in Somalia, this area is taking the strain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE: Refugees gathering to find space in a shelter. A couple of temporary tent offices holding the key to Dadaab's newest tent city. Ifo extension is only a week old, but already home to 15,000 Somali refugees who put their faith in Kenya.

Abdukhader and his sister Zaina (ph) have been living with relatives. And Abdukhader needs a hand to find their tent, because he's almost totally blind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll find somebody to help them get the water from the nearest (inaudible).

MCKENZIE: They've waited for this tent for two years, but they say anything is better than going back to Somalia.

ABDUKHADER ISMAIL, SOMALI REFUGEE (through translator): We've been here a long time. We've only got a bit of food with our ration card, but we didn't get any other help from anywhere. We've had no place to sleep and no shelter.

MCKENZIE: With the massive backlog, the UN refugee agency is relocating on a first come, first serve basis.

But the people moving here haven't just arrived.

HENOCK OCHALLA, DADAAB EMERGENCY OFFICER: (inaudible) arrived 9 months ago, October last year. And they've been living on the access of the (inaudible). Now they're moving them into (inaudible). This is where they will now be located (inaudible).

MCKENZIE: But more than 1,000 refugees arrive here every day. And they can't keep up.

There's a brand new camp just on the other side of that road, but the people living here cannot access them. These are the new arrivals, they say there's little sanitation and not much access to water here. And also this is a ticking clock, because there are clouds overhead. The rains will be coming soon. And this will be flooded.

The rains could come in a matter of weeks, piling one crisis on top of another. One thing the aid agencies don't have here is time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE: Well, time is also what these people here don't have. They feel that they should be the first ones to get settled into tent cities as it were, because they have the least support. People have been here for 9 months, 2 years, even have sanitation, they have water. There is a water pump behind us. It's been coming in all day helping get water to the people.

But even here people are really struggling with their situation and their need to move into some kind of more permanent (inaudible) before the rains come. And looking at the sky that could be in a matter of weeks and if not days.

COREN: It's a frightening thought, David. And it's so hard to believe that people have been living in these conditions, as you say, for such a long time. How many other tent cities are there like the one behind you?

MCKENZIE: Well, Dadaab is actually a series of refugee camps. As I said before, you know, if you took it as a town or a city it would be considered one of the biggest cities in Kenya. But of course it's not an actual town, because it's full of refugees. Refugees here need a special pass to leave Dadaab if they want to go to Nairobi or Mombasa. Many of them who arrived much earlier came on the refugee resettlement program, there are people who are born in this camp.

The issues of refugees in this region is a long-term and chronic problem. The insecurity and the lack of a government in Somalia which has lasted more than two decades means that people who stream out of the country really have to struggle in this kind of, you know, twilight zone existence. They're trying to get a nation -- trying to get citizenship in other countries. They also waiting to see if Somalia will stabilize.

One thing to look at also is this is not just a problem of Somalia, this drought has hit northern Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, eastern Ethiopia and other parts of this region. And basically the people who are in this region are struggling on a daily basis. They pass through this. They have cattle and camels. And in the successive droughts, because of climate change, they've lost the majority of their animals and they are struggling to kind of get back onto some kind of survival mode.

You know, as the head of UNICEF put it to me a few weeks ago, it's not just lives that are at stakes, it's also a way of life -- Anna.

COREN: So many challenges facing these people. David McKenzie in Dadaab, Kenya. Thank you very much for that update.

Well, obviously Somali children are among those making the long, difficult journey to Kenya. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at the toll this crisis is taking on them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: In the middle of a famine the sickest of the sick come here like Ahmed (ph). He's 6 years old and he's just spent 10 days walking under the east Africa sun. His tiny prone body robbed of nutrition for too long. His doctor can only hope he arrived in time.

What happens to a child like this if you weren't here, if he wasn't at this facility?

DR. HUMPHREY MUSYOKA, INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE: This child probably in a few weeks or so we'll have lost this child.

GUPTA: You would lose this child?

MUSYOKA: We would lose this child.

GUPTA: And when the doctor talks about death by starvation I can tell you it's neither quick nor it's painless. When you come to a place like this you see it just about everywhere. You can hear it sometimes as well. You can also smell it. It's in the air. It's this acrid sweetness that is a reflection of the body literally starting to digest itself.

Little kids like Ahmed (ph) simply stop growing. They become stunted in time. And the tools to save him are basic, it's not like they have much choice, but they do work.

I want to show you something else that I think is very important here. And this is what doctors use, a simple measuring device to try and determine if a kid needs acute medical care. You can tell if a kid is malnourished simply by using this.

This is Aion (ph). She's 8 months old. You simply take this. You put it around her arm about 10 centimeters down from her shoulder and you measure, just measure this. And if the number comes back below 11 that means the kid is in real trouble. In Aion's (ph) case, you can see here, the number is actually about 9.5. That's part of the reason she's getting these feedings through an NG tube into her nose.

Ahmed's (ph) was 10.5. One in five kids will not survive with a reading that low.

It's grim duty for Dr. Musyoka, the only doctor caring for all these children.

I have three kids, you have a 5 year old, how do you do it? I mean (inaudible) these kids who are suffering so much?

MUSYOKA: It's difficult, especially since the kind of suffering they're going through and (inaudible) on kids. But what keeps you going is that you have to come back and do something for them for them to survive.

GUPTA: Ahmed (ph) was one of the estimated 600,000 kids on the brink of death by starvation. But today that may have changed. Ahmed (ph) may have been saved. He made it here just in time.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Dadaab, Kenya.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Well, to find out how you can help the 12 million victims in the horn of Africa, young and old, just go to CNN.com/impact.

Well, we certainly had some heavy rain here in Hong Kong today, but it's nothing compared to this. One man in Florida takes advantage of the flooding. And our Mari Ramos will have the complete global forecast. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: Well, Ai Weiwei is tweeting again. The Chinese dissident, detained on April 3, was released in June but has until August 6 avoided posting on Twitter. Well, he resumed in defiance of his bail conditions. He's posts were innocuous, informing followers that he was eating and that he was gaining weight.

But then the playful tweets ended. Well, in a series of posts, he took swipes at his captors, calling for support for those who detained him.

On Tuesday afternoon he issued a call to action. "If you don't speak out for Wang Lihong and don't speak out for Ruan Yungei, you are not only a person who doesn't stand up for justice and fairness, you don't have any self respect."

Well, Ai has confirmed to CNN that he wrote the tweet saying a bird needs to flutter its wings to see if it can fly.

Well, we certainly had a lot of rain here in Hong Kong, but there are other parts of Asia that were also being hit. Our Mari Ramos has all the details. Hello, Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Anna. Good to see you.

Well, you know what, you had about, what, some 80 millimeters of rain in Hong Kong in the last 24 hours? That's pretty significant. And there could be more downtown as we head through the overnight hours and through the rest of today.

Let's go ahead and -- tomorrow -- let's go ahead and take a look at the satellite image.

What we have over here, a lot of moisture coming in. Most of the action has actually shifted northward in the last few hours, but you could still get some heavy -- locally heavy rain along these areas here farther to the south.

Notice back over here, though, that is going to be the areas to watch now for the potential for flooding and mudslides. And you've had a lot of heavy rain in the last couple of days also across the Korean peninsula. Tonight, you're getting a little bit of a break, but I'm afraid that a lot of that rainfall will return tomorrow.

Scattered rain showers as we head across the Philippines and then back over into Southeast Asia again.

And of course I know you see that right here on our satellite image. And we can't ignore it. That is the newest potential weather system, tropical cyclone, that is forming. It appears, for now, that this storm, even though it is expected to develop, may actually take a track that will take it away from Japan over the next few days. So that's a little bit of good news there. It will be moving into cooler waters. And we'll monitor it as this tropical depression continues to move along here.

But for now, it does appear it will stay away from mainland Japan. So a little bit of a relief there after that scare that we had last week, of course, with Muifa.

Let's go ahead and take a look over here at the forecast. So those rain showers I was telling you about as we head back toward the Korean peninsula and back over toward east Asia will continue and that moderate to heavy rain, locally heavy rain that could still cause flooding and mudslides is still a concern over the next 24 hours.

Also talking about heavy rain across portions of the UK. Notice back over here we're still dealing with some very heavy rainfall. And we could see the potential for flooding here as well, particularly in the northern half of the region. Also some heavy rain moving across Ireland.

I want to switch gears and take you to the other side of the world, to the U.S., where lately the word has been drought and heat. Well, sometimes you get relief from the heat. And sometimes it's not so good. Take a look.

Let's go ahead and look at the first piece of video. This one coming to us from Nebraska. Look at the size of the hail here. The severe thunderstorms popped up across Midwestern portion of the U.S. Tennis ball sized hail, that's pretty incredible. But of course then the calm after the storm.

And another place I want to take you, too, let's head south to Texas. Look at this guy. Actually, this is Florida, excuse me. This is an area that also has been suffering from drought. This guy said, you know what, we're getting some rain I'm going to go ahead and enjoy it. You know what happens in Florida? It's that warm tropical rain shower that comes along. And he just want to relax. And I guess float down the street.

OK, let's go ahead, head back to you, Anna.

COREN: I think he's got the right idea. You just don't want to come across any alligators.

RAMOS: Oh, yeah. I know.

COREN: All right, Mari. Good to see you. And thank you for sharing that.

Well, let's not return to our top story, the violence that's spread across the UK. Well, there may have been an uneasy calm in London, but cities in the north and center of the country experienced yet more violence and looting on Tuesday.

Well, this was the scene in Birmingham about 160 kilometers north of London. There were further outbreaks of violence across middle England.

Well, this was the scene in Liverpool as residents woke up this morning. Police shut down areas of the city overnight as they battled large groups of people who they said were intent on causing trouble.

The situation in Manchester, this is what it looks like. Rioters once again smashed shop windows and simply helped themselves to goods inside. Now police fought running battles with rioters. They couldn't prevent a library and supermarket being set alight.

Well, as we said a little earlier, David Cameron called a meeting of his emergency crisis response committee known as COBRA in a bid bring an end to days of violence.

Well, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers Sir Hugh Orde was there. And he now joins us.

So Hugh, great to have you with us.

The prime minister says that you now have the resources to fight these rioters, but it does come a bit late, doesn't it?

SIR HUGH ORDE, PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF CHIEF POLICE OFFICERS: Well, we have substantial resources deployed. My job is to make sure my colleagues on the front line have the resources they need. We are fulfilling those requests for assistance. And we will continue to do them.

What you're now seeing are very robust policing tactics, very large numbers of people being arrested. And we're now going through the courts and being convicted in a very clear message if you want to take part in this activity you'll be going to prison for a very long time.

COREN: You had 16,000 officers on the streets of London last night, but many of them were borrowed from other cities that were no doubt experiencing their own problems. I mean, this strategy is not sustainable. How do you plan to cope moving forward?

ORDE: Well, I have every intention of sustaining it. There will be 16,000 officers on the streets of London again tonight. And more officers in Manchester, Birmingham, and (inaudible) as you identified. We can do this, because there are huge parts of the United Kingdom where there is no disorder whatsoever. We already put a very peaceful society. What we're seeing at the moment is what I would call a very worrying blip, but a blip nonetheless.

The overwhelming majority of people in London, for example, of 8 million people, the vast majority are law abiding and peaceful citizens. We are dealing with a small group who cause a lot of trouble, you're absolutely right. We will deal with that. We will lock them up. And we will return to normal very quickly. It's my professional judgment.

COREN: Before the riots, the government had planned to severely cut the numbers of police. This is part of their austerity measures. Surely you must have been delivering a different message to the prime minister today.

ORDE: Well, we are -- what I've told the prime minister is I will continue to make sure we police the streets with the resources we've got. As you know, as you are in experiencing in America, there are substantial issues around public sector spending and the police service, sadly, has to take part of those cuts.

What we're focusing on is making sure we are as efficient as we can be and minimizing the impact of those cuts on the front line. And what we're seeing at the moment as a recent report has shown, we are achieving that. And the front line is being protected, but other ancillary jobs we do sadly will have to stop. But there's some hard choices to be made, but make them we will.

COREN: So for most of us in the international community watching these pictures day after day, four nights of violence in the UK. It is quite staggering to think this is happening in London, in the United Kingdom.

What do you say to criticism that police were slow to react?

ORDE: Well, the first night that the trouble took place, we had over 6,000 officers on the streets in London. It sadly wasn't enough, because this thing evolved very quickly indeed. The response to that was simply massive. We put an extra 10,000 out the next day.

Sadly, I don't have foresight, so we have to deal with these things as they unfold. Our job is to make sure we respond very quickly to those changes. And I think we have achieved that. And the prime minister is very confident, and indeed complimentary of the robust policing tactics now being deployed.

But we police with a largely unarmed police service I think many countries find almost impossible to understand. We police with the consent of the vast majority of the public. And work and life is going on as normal in the vast majority of the geography of the United Kingdom, most places are very peaceful indeed. We have a small number of hot spots. That what we're focusing our resources on.

COREN: But sir, this is a city that certainly, you know, parts of it were experiencing lawlessness. Just listening to some of the shop owners, you know, of five generation business up in flames in a matter of 45 minutes. I mean, people watching their homes, their businesses destroyed and police can only stand back and watch. You -- this London, I should say, is hosting the Olympics this time next year. How will you prevent these things from erupting again?

ORDE: I'm absolutely confident that London will deliver a quite outstanding Olympic games. The police service of the whole country is very animated about this. And we've been practicing. Indeed we're rehearsing only this Saturday to make sure we can deal with all the contingencies that needed to host the London Olympic Games.

Let's be very clear on one thing, let's not over egg this. The awful pictures of that one shop that has played around the world every day of the week. It actually happened on Monday. You can be forgiven for thinking it happened only last night, because of the repetitive nature of news broadcasting and the absence, quite frankly, of similar pictures already. But the pictures you're seeing today live time are far less series than the ones we saw on Monday.

The situation is being got under control. The communities have mobilized. And the communities will deliver a safe Olympic Games too. They will not tolerate this behavior. They are out there already sweeping up, cleaning up, and showing their absolute disgust for this behavior. And that will continue.

I can assure you the Olympic Games is very safe in our hands.

COREN: Sir, you speak of communities coming together and cleaning up after all this violence. I guess, and it's very understandable, that people have become vigilantes, you know, as it were. People wanting to defend their homes, wanting to defend their businesses. Are these people causing more problems for you?

ORDE: No, they're not. You're seeing a large number of people coming out on the streets to show their support for the police officers. Indeed I was speaking to some officers today in the center of London who are on -- from another force area who were reported as they deployed last night to keep situations under control. There is great support from British policing and the public are right behind what we are doing. They want the bad guys arrested. They want to courts to lock them up.

That is what is happening. And again, the meeting this morning with the prime minister, the secretary of state for justice confirmed that the courts are working 24 hours a day to make sure justice is not only effective, but it is very quick.

COREN: Well, we certainly hope that things come together for you very quickly there in the United Kingdom. Sir Hugh Orde, the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers. We certainly appreciate you joining us on News Stream.

ORDE: Thank you.

What we need is your Nebraska hail storm.

COREN: A Nebraska hail storm. Yes, that's exactly right.

ORDE: That would help.

COREN: Or a few more of those water cannons. Yeah, tell people to head on indoors.

Sir Hugh, good to have you with us. Thank you.

Well, this year's final golf major is about to tee off in Atlanta. Just ahead, we'll see what it takes to get a golf course ready for the world's best players.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COREN: Well, we are 24 hours away from the start of the final golf major of the season. The PGA Championship tees off on Thursday in Atlanta, Georgia. CNN's Rob Marciano shows us how they're keeping the course picture perfect.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORREPSONDENT: As the sun rises over the Atlanta Athletic Club an armada of finely tuned machines trim the grass to a precise height.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, see that's perfect. That's all we need right there.

MARCIANO: Ken Magnum supervises the operation.

Throwing balls in the air. What are you working on?

KEN MAGNUM, ATLANTA ATHLETIC CLUB: Well, you want to see how the ball lands. What we'd like to do is have the ball go down about halfway, which means there will be just enough grass between the club and the ball that you can't spin it, that it won't stop on the green.

MARCIANO: The greens are fast and firm.

How do you get these greens to the perfect firmness?

KASEY KAUFF, ATLANTA ATHLETIC CLUB: Basically I just test it every day. And I have a moisture meter, which I can check the moisture in the green and slowly take that moisture down with hand water.

MARCIANO: This has gotten really scientific.

KAUFF: It's very scientific now. We're not Karl Speckler from Caddyshack anymore. We're scientists with grass.

BILL MURRAY, ACTOR: This is a hybrid. This is a cross of blue grass -- Kentucky blue grass, fedderbet bench (ph), and Nordic California sensimilla.

MARCIANO: Definitely not Caddyshack.

MAGNUM: You've got the diamond zoygia, and you've got Tifton tin common Bermuda.

MARCIANO: In the rough, on the fairways, and the greens, it's a grass combo never before used in a major championship.

KERRY HAIGH, PGA MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CHAMPIONSHIPS: The cultured dwarf (ph) Bermuda that we now have on the greens strives in this heat. Even though it can be as hot as it wants to be we can get the greens to a good championship speed.

MARCIANO: So how do you get a green to championship speed?

MAGNUM: It takes a lot of work: there's top dressing, there's grooming, there's brushing, there's fertility, there's growth regulation, mowing, a lot of different things.

MARCIANO: And you have to keep it green.

MAGNUM: Yeah, oh yeah, it's got to be green too.

MARCIANO: And getting that perfect shade of green is helped with instruments like these, measuring the water that evaporates out of the grass.

MAGNUM: So every irrigation cycle is affected by the data that comes in from the weather station.

MARCIANO: Water out, water in. Game on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, that's true baby.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Nice work. Rob Marciano reporting there. The PGA tees off on Thursday.

Well, that is News Stream, but the news certainly continues here at CNN. World Business Today is coming up next.

END