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Deadly Clashes in Cairo; Sirte Under Siege; Archbishop of Canterbury Travels to Zimbabwe; Niger Qualifies For African Cup of Nations; Paul McCartney Marries Nancy Shevell

Aired October 09, 2011 - 08:00   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 in Egypt, where military might and pro-Coptic Christian protesters have clashed. The country's prime minister has likened it to a time just before the recent revolution.

Plus, dirty and desolate. One of Gadhafi's former palaces in Sirte is left abandoned as fighters for Libya's new leadership push further into the city.

And European leaders scramble to strengthen the bloc's financial center as a multinational banks is being broken up and bailed out.

And we begin with a new explosion of unrest and bloodshed in Egypt. The country's cabinet has called an emergency meeting and the prime minister is appealing for calm after army troops clashed with Coptic Christian demonstrators.

Now, just look and listen to the violence as it ignited overnight on Sunday.

The sounds of gunfire there echoing through the streets of Cairo. And you can see flames from torched cars shooting into the night's sky. And there are conflicting accounts of casualties, but Egypt's Health Ministry spokesman says that 23 people were killed and more than 180 others were injured.

The demonstrators, they were protesting last month's burning of a Coptic church in southern Egypt when the violence flared. Now, the Cops, they are the largest groups of Christians in the Middle East and North Africa, but they're just a small fraction of Egypt's population, just about nine percent. And they base their thinking, their theology on the teachings of the Apostle Mark.

And some protesters say that they were attacked by thugs with swords and clubs. Other witnesses say soldiers opened fire. But an Interior Ministry spokesman blames the demonstrators, insisting that some of them fired on army troops.

Now, let's get the latest now from Ben Wedeman in Cairo.

And Ben, a military spokesman says that protesters fired at the army, but what are the protesters telling you?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're outside the Coptic hospital where a lot of the bodies of those who were killed last night are being held. And certainly the account that we're hearing from the people who were at the demonstration is somewhat different. They said it was a peaceful march that was headed toward the center of town, but as they approached Maspido (ph), the area where the state television is, that rocks were thrown at them and they were attacked by some people in civilian clothing with sticks and other -- machetes.

Now, obviously, the army is giving a somewhat different version. They're claiming that one of the military vehicles was attacked, arms were stolen from that vehicle, and that they were turned upon the soldiers themselves.

It's really difficult to get a clear idea what exactly happened, but the result is the same. There's a lot of anger. There is a real palpable tension in Cairo as a result of this. The government has imposed a 2:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. curfew in the middle of the city.

We've seen the stock market here falling within minutes of opening five percent. Certainly there is a feeling that this is by far the most serious case of sectarian violence in Egypt since the fall of Hosni Mubarak.

Having said that, outside the hospital we did see Muslim women consoling Coptic women for the death of their relatives. So there are Muslims who are expressing their condolences to the families of the dead and criticizing the government for its handling of this issue -- Kristie.

STOUT: Yes, there's so much anger out there, and varying accounts of what is happening, and there are claims that the clashes were initiated by the military as a distraction and to potentially postpone elections.

Ben, is there any truth to that?

WEDEMAN: It's really difficult to say. Certainly in a charged, emotional situation like this, that sort of accusation will be made. But at the same time, it must be said that there is real criticism of the military for not moving faster in getting the political house in order, in really changing their tactics.

Many of their tactics seem identical to the tactics of the previous regime. So there's a lot of anger among Muslims, as well as Christians, at the inability of the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces, the de facto new rulers of Egypt, to really get the situation under control.

STOUT: An emergency meeting has been called for today, but as you mentioned, it seems that the interim government is just struggling to keep control of this situation. So will there be more clashes to come?

WEDEMAN: It's difficult to say. There's a very good possibility, certainly given the level of emotions at the moment. I would not rule it out.

The pattern, however, over the last few months is there have been outbreaks of sectarian violence, and political leaders of all stripes have scrambled to try to tamp down the situation, to calm people down. But certainly given the gravity and the death toll after Sunday's violence, there's a worry that they're going to be struggling, the peacemakers are going to be struggling just to keep things under control -- Kristie.

STOUT: Ben Wedeman, joining us live from Cairo.

Thank you very much for that.

Now, it is a far cry from the scenes of peace we saw back in February. Do you remember when the protesters in Tahrir Square raised crosses and Qurans? Coptic Christians and Muslims often came together in their effort to oust President Hosni Mubarak.

And there was also this moving scene. It was when Coptic Christians stood watch while Muslim protesters knelt in prayer. But that unity apparently did not last.

And we are seeing many messages of support for Egypt's Coptic Christians on Twitter. For example, this one is referring to a statement of sympathy from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. Nareman Ahmed, he tweets this: "Strangers offer condolences and neighbors kill us."

Then we have this from BookTeam Egypt. They tweet, "Without its diversity, Egypt is lost. Protect each other."

And finally, Noele King tweets this: "Coptic man in Cairo tells me his life was saved twice tonight by Muslim friends. More of that please."

To Libya now, where revolutionary forces say that they're on the verge of taking control of Moammar Gadhafi's hometown. There were fierce clashes in Sirte on Sunday. That includes heavy fighting at this hospital pro-Gadhafi troops had been using as a base.

After the battle, the National Transitional Council said its forces had managed to clear the hospital and capture 17 fighters. And the battle for Sirte has left a number of buildings in ruins.

When Moammar Gadhafi and his family used to live here part time, it was described as being quite lavish. And now, with NTC military sources the fall of Sirte is imminent, many people are packing up and leaving.

Now, the battle for Sirte has raged for weeks, and with Gadhafi loyalists putting up stiff resistance. And the NTC says once it captures Sirte, it will declare all of the country liberated.

Our Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson is following the story. He joins me now live from Tripoli.

And Nic, how close are we to an NTC takeover of Sirte?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's still not there yet, Kristie. And I think perhaps capturing 17 Gadhafi loyalists at the hospital gives an indication of the fight that remains for the National Transitional Council fighters.

That hospital where those Gadhafi loyalists have been holding out has been preventing the former rebel fighters, if you will, the National Transitional Council fighters, from advancing in that particular area. And what we see now is that it was just a handful of Gadhafi loyalists, 17, that were holding them back at that front.

They've also now taken control -- the rebel fighters have taken control of a confront (ph) complex and a university where they were facing a sort of similar holdout. But the fact that so few Gadhafi loyalists were holding out for so long, essentially, over the past three weeks gives an indication that even if there are just still a small number inside Sirte, this battle could go on for quite some more time.

And one of the reasons for that is that the loyalists there, unlike in other places, are not running away. They're fighting. They know their target. They've got the military equipment to hit those sort of targets where they know exactly how to fire those weapons on those targets from where they are.

So they're very well prepared, and they're not giving up easily. So I think the National Transitional Council, although they say this will happen soon, it's really -- to us, it's not clear how soon that's going to be -- Kristie.

STOUT: And Nic, who among Gadhafi's inner circle are believed to be there hiding out in Sirte?

ROBERTSON: Well, one of his sons, Mutassim, is believed to have been there at one point, at least according to the National Transitional Council. However, we've heard rumors like this before, and we've been offered no proof that he's actually there.

It would be perhaps strange for one of Gadhafi's family members to wait in Sirte. It seems that, really, they are surrounded. And ultimately, the city will fall and, therefore, they will either be killed or captured.

So perhaps the reality is that there are none of them there, that they fled. Nevertheless, the counter-argument is the loyalists are fighting really hard for this town -- it's Gadhafi's former hometown -- and maybe there are family members there. But there's no hard evidence we've seen or been shown that can say if there are any family members there.

And we heard from the U.S. Department of Defense spokesman a few days ago. He said they're convinced that Gadhafi is not directing the battle himself, which would really imply that he, for sure, is not in Sirte, because if he was, then he would be directing the fight there.

So I think that, perhaps, is what we're most clear on at the moment -- Kristie.

STOUT: And Nic, what is the status of Bani Walid, which, like Sirte, is still under the control of pro-Gadhafi forces?

ROBERTSON: Well, it seems to be a similar situation in Bani Walid, where the Gadhafi loyalists have decided that they're going to hold out there and they're not going to give ground easily. I mean, Sirte and Bani Walid really stand out now, compared to all the other places where there were loyalists who basically ran away in the advance of the rebels coming towards them.

And in Bani Walid, just yesterday, we heard claims from rebels commanders that they had taken ground, and now we're hearing that they lost some of that ground again today. So it's a push and shove, and it does seem to be that they're going to hold out.

However, the chairman of the National Transitional Council, Abdul Jalil, has said clearly that he's been told and he expects Bani Walid and Sirte to fall by the end of the week. That's what he's hearing from his commanders.

Their optimism perhaps is optimism rather than based on past performance, which has been gained losses and very slow movement towards victory.

STOUT: Our Nic Robertson, joining us live from Tripoli.

Thank you very much for that.

Now, tensions are also boiling over in Syria, where there have been months of deadly protests against the al-Assad regime. And opposition activists say at least 31 people, including civilians and security forces, died in clashes across the country this weekend.

Now, CNN is unable to confirm that. But Syria's government has a message for world powers, and that message: they risk retaliation if they recognize a newly formed Syrian opposition council based in Turkey.

Syria's foreign minister also responded to attacks over the weekend on some Syrian embassies in Europe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALID AL-MOALLEM, SYRIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): I will speak frankly. If European countries do not abide by their international agreements and the protection of our embassies, we will treat them in the same manner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: And Syria's tough talk comes as the European Union's 27 foreign ministers, they meet in Luxembourg today. And topping the agenda, the violence in Syria, the future of a post-Gadhafi Libya, unrest in volatile Yemen, as well as developments in Tunisia. And among other things, the ministers are expected to consider new measures against Damascus to pressure the al-Assad regime to end its crackdown on opposition supporters.

"Recapitalizion," that was the word in Berlin on Sunday as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy met to discuss Europe's sovereign debt crisis. Now, they say that they're working on a plan to strengthen banks, but will not release details until later this month. And that comes as Belgium, Luxembourg and France agreed to bail out struggling Franco-Belgian bank Dexia.

Now, the plan was just approved by the bank earlier today, and we will have more on the latest efforts to save Europe's lenders coming right up.

Plus, it may lack focus, but it's not short of support. The Occupy Wall Street movement, it's gaining momentum in the U.S. And we'll tell you which cities are taking part right now.

And a sticky situation off the coast of New Zealand. An oil leak is putting both beachgoers and wildlife at risk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Welcome back.

And you're looking at a video rundown of all the stories we're covering for you today on NEWS STREAM.

And now I want to show you a developing situation. It's off the coast of New Zealand.

Now, oil from this cargo ship, the Rena, has been leaking since Wednesday. An estimated 20 to 30 tons of heavy fuel has escaped. Now, that is less than 10,000 gallons. It has now started washing up on shore, and these sticky tar balls on one of New Zealand's most popular beaches.

Let's give you a better sense of where all this is happening.

It's off the coast of New Zealand's North Island, about 22 kilometers from Taruranga and some of the country's largest port. And the harbor is also a popular holiday destination.

Now, the Rena hit this reef in the Bay of Plenty, and New Zealand's prime minister says investigations are under way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KEY, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: (INAUDIBLE) a well-documented reef and calm waters in the middle of the night at 17 knots. So somebody needs to tell us what's happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: John Key there.

Now, the area is a nature lover's paradise, and cleanup crews are standing by to protect the beaches. The oil is toxic, and people have been told to stay away from the water.

And rescue teams are also tending to afflicted animals. Nine birds have been cared for at a wildlife center.

And this penguin, this one right here, and others are all doing fine right now. That's according to the agency in charge. But residents have reported finding dead birds on beaches, and one expert explains the problems they face.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From tip to toe, they are covered in black, sticky gunk, matting up all their feathers, right down to the skin. They've ingested in and they started to get anemic, which is part of the toxic effect of the oil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Now, any amount of oil spilled is an environmental problem. However, the Rena is not an oil tanker. The cargo ship is carrying about 1,700 tons of fuel. That would be one of New Zealand's worst oil spills if it spills, but it is not on the scale of disasters like the Exxon Valdez.

And crews, they are working to empty the fuel. And this process should take around two days. But the bad weather, it has forced them to suspend the effort.

(WEATHER REPORT)

STOUT: Still ahead here on NEWS STREAM, the Archbishop of Canterbury tries to heal a rift in the Anglican church in Zimbabwe. And we'll tell you why he thinks meeting Robert Mugabe could ultimately help his cause.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you are back watching NEWS STREAM.

And the Archbishop of Canterbury is in Zimbabwe, where he is hoping to meet with President Robert Mugabe as early as today. Archbishop Rowan Williams has traveled to the southern African country to try to unify its Anglican Church amid deep political divisions.

And for the latest, Nkepile Mabuse joins us live from CNN Johannesburg.

And Nkepile, if this meeting happens, what will come out of it?

NKEPILE MABUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, we still all are waiting to hear from the president of Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe, whether he will meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury. Of course, it is the archbishop that asked for this meeting, obviously wanting to discuss the deep divisions within his church that he says have been caused by divisions in the country along political lines.

He says that his congregation has been persecuted by a faction of the Anglican Church that is allied to President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF Party. And he is going to hold a press conference afterwards -- this is the archbishop -- if this meeting does happen. But, of course, we're all waiting to hear whether the president will meet the archbishop.

Let's just take a look at a little bit of background on that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MABUSE (voice-over): The most senior leader of the Anglican Church is getting a close-up view of Zimbabwe's divisive and often violent politicos. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, who is visiting the country's capital, says the Anglican congregation is being intimidated by a breakaway faction of the church aligned with President Robert Mugabe.

Despite the risk of being labeled traitors, more than 15,000 church members came to hear him speak. Evicted from church buildings by Mugabe supporters, they gathered at a sports stadium in the capital to hear the archbishop's message of solidarity.

ROWAN WILLIAMS, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY: In your faith and endurance, you have kept your eyes on that open door when the doors of your own churches have been shut against you. You have discovered that it is not the building that makes the true church, but the spiritual foundations on which your lives are built.

MABUSE: Williams has requested a meeting with Mugabe to discuss what he believes is state-sponsored persecution of his church members.

WILLIAMS: And as we, together, give thanks to the open doors that God puts before us, we may even find the strength to say to our enemies and persecutors, the door is open for you. Accept what God offers. Turn away from the death-dealing folly of violence.

MABUSE: President Mugabe's office has said if he does meet Williams on Monday, Mugabe would want to question the church's silence on Western sanctions against his regime imposed following violent elections in 2002.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MABUSE: Of course, Kristie, the archbishop is focusing on his congregation and on Anglicans. But, you know, the divisions within Zimbabwe, political divisions, affect every single person in that country. Just at that meeting yesterday, where the archbishop delivered a sermon to more than 15,000 people, people were still afraid to speak on camera about how they feel about the current situation.

People in Zimbabwe are still living in fear. We still get reports of opposition members and people who are perceived to supporting the opposition being beaten and being jailed and being intimidated and harassed. And this is a country that's supposed to hold elections next year, Kristie. And if this environment prevails, there definitely cannot be a free and fair poll in Zimbabwe -- Kristie.

STOUT: Nkepile Mabuse, joining us live.

Thank you very much for that.

Now, opposition leaders in Cameroon are alleging fraud in Sunday's presidential election. They say some people voted twice. And observers say the turnout, it was extremely low, as voters choose among a record 23 candidates.

And the incumbent, President Paul Biya, is widely expected to win another term. He has been in office for 29 years.

And the Mo Ibrahim Prize for good governance Africa has just made another one of the continent's former presidents some $5 million richer.

Now the announcement took place in London just a short time ago, awarding the prize to former Cape Verde President Pedro Verona Pires. Organizers of the award praised him for turning his small island nation into a model of democracy and prosperity.

Now past winners include former presidents from Botswana and Mozambique.

Now ahead here on News Stream, EuroZone anxiety, but are Germany and France within reach of a solution to the debt crisis?

And backlash against the big banks. Now protests, they are spreading across the U.S. But is Wall Street even listening?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Egypt's health ministry says 23 people are dead and 180 injured following clashes between Coptic Christians and army forces. Now you're looking at pictures -- let's see if we can bring it up for you in a moment, but just a moment ago we were looking at live pictures of a Coptic church in Cairo where prayers are being held for those who died.

Now the fighting, you're looking at a taped version of that, broke out after cops took to the streets of Cairo to protest the burning of a church in the south of the country last month. And Egypt's prime minister has appealed for calm.

Meanwhile, the violence in Syria is continuing to rise with dozens reported killed in the latest clashes. Now activists say Syrian security forces were involved in heavy shooting in Homs. And they were using tanks and guns. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 31 people died in clashes in several cities on Sunday. It says 17 of them were members of the army or security forces.

And deteriorating weather in New Zealand is hampering efforts to remove oil from a ship after it struck a reef off the country's North Island. Around 30 tons of fuel have already leaked from the cargo vessel called Rena which ran aground last Wednesday. Now rescue teams are also working to save marine animals that may have been affected by the spill.

And the struggling Franco-Belgian lender Dexia has approved a bailout by Belgium, Luxembourg and France. It is the bank's second bailout in three years. Now details of the rescue package are still be finalized, but so far we do know that Belgium plans to nationalize its unit of the bank for around $5.4 billion.

And while Belgium, Luxembourg, and France are throwing Dexia a life- line, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy were also discussing how to prop up European banks. In a meeting in Berlin on Sunday, they agreed to pursue recapitalization of Europe's banks. Now they say they're working on a plan and will release details later this month.

Now Fred Pleitgen, he's been following developments from Berlin. He joins us now live. And Fred, how close are we to a deal?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, both the French president and Angela Merkel have both said that they're absolutely on the same page as far as recapitalizing banks is concerned. And of course the capital stock with European banks is a big concern at this point in time, especially looking forward to possible hair cuts that banks are going to have to take on their bond that they gave to Greece.

So very difficult situation there.

And it's especially French banks who are apparently very much exposed to the Greek debt. And who have a lot of stake in all of that. And that's one of the reasons why these two leaders seem to be somewhat at odds before this meeting took place.

French President Nicolas Sarcozy wanted the banks to be able to have the ESFS, this financial stability facility much sooner than Angela Merkel wanted the banks to be able to do that. Basically her plan was to say the banks need to try to generate capital of their own. If they can't do that, as Dexia was obviously not able to, if they can't do that, they can go to their national government and only as a last resort could they go to the ESFS.

Now in this meeting yesterday they told journalists that they were now on the same page, what exactly that means they didn't say -- Kristie.

STOUT: Now Fred, the world markets, they want details. But just how much detail are Sarkozy and Merkel giving? Do we know how the deal would work or how much money they would commit to it?

PLEITGEN: Well, that was the whole thing. And that's -- none of the points did they really offer any detail as to what exactly they wanted to do, neither on recapitalization, or on many of the other issues.

The only thing that the French president said is that there was going to be some grand scheme that they would put forward before the G20 summit which is set to take place on the 3rd and 4th of November of this year. And they said that it would be ready by then. They said that they were basically in agreement on all the major points.

I wanted to just listen in really quickly to what Nicolas Sarkozy had to say exactly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLAS SARKOZY, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): The chancellor and I have agreed to find a lasting solution and now it's not time to go into details of all the questions that remain to be answered. We just want to say that we agree on the principles. And there will be as well as other (inaudible), including European council.

These meetings which will take place, but know France and Germany on all the subjects have perfectly common positions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: So essentially what he's saying is we have a master plan, but we can't tell you at this point in time what exactly that master plan is. However, analysts here in Berlin, of course elsewhere in the EuroZone think that there are going to be long-term as well as short-term things that these two leaders, and in fact the entire EuroZone are going to do. One of them, of course, pertains to recapitalization of banks. That's something that we talked about earlier.

The other thing is what they are going to do in regards to Greece, whether they're going to let Greece default, whether they're going to make banks and other lenders take a hair cut, or what exactly this -- is going to be there.

But then there are also going to be long-term things that they're going to have to talk about and try and put in place. And some of them could even mean that they would make changes to European treaties to make it easier for the European Union to crack down on European governments that are not keeping their financial house in order, that are taking up too much debt.

That certainly seems like more of a long-term thing. However, at this point in time, they've given themselves three weeks to come up with this major plan and wait to see whether or not they're actually able to do that. And then we also have to see whether or not that is actually going to be enough to calm down the markets. Certainly so far neither Merkel nor Sarkozy have been able to do that, at least in the long-term -- Kristie.

STOUT: Yeah, the markets are just waiting to hear some sort of concrete detail. We're not getting it just yet.

Frederik Pleitgen joining us live from Berlin. Thank you very much for that, Fred.

And while leaders in Europe, they continue to work out solutions to the EuroZone debt crisis, people in the U.S. are growing more impatient with the state of their economy. The occupy Wall Street movement, it's been gaining momentum over the past few weeks. And the city of Atlanta, Georgia was the latest to take part this part weekend. Now many protesters, they camped out overnight, a sign of solidarity with thousands of other Americans across the country who say they are tired of corporate greed and social inequality.

Now support for Occupy Wall Street, it spread north to the nation's capital as well with protests occupying much of Washington over the weekend.

Now around 100 people gathered outside the White House. And there are reports of one man being arrested after throwing his shoe at a police officer.

Now other demonstrators, they marched on the Mall and around the Smithsonian Museum.

But some of the biggest Occupy Wall Street protests have taken place in New York. And Susan Candiotti asks supporters why this movement resonates with them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eating a bowl of cereal after sleeping under the stars, this retiree and her teenage grandson took a bus from Detroit to camp out with Occupy Wall Street.

Show me where you -- what this is like. You have this tarp?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is home.

CANDIOTTI: For a week, choosing to sleep on the ground under a blue tarp, manly with young people, in a public park.

Why was it important for you to come here and bring your grandson?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I felt the need to show support for the movement. The politicians apparently don't understand what people need.

HESHI GOREWITZ, BUSINESS PROFESSOR: Hi, how we doing?

CANDIOTTI: Heshi Gorewitz isn't sleeping over with protesters.

GOREWITZ: You're camping out here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

GOREWITZ: Thank you, guys. You're doing a great service. You're generation, my generation, everybody. Keep it up, man.

CANDIOTTI: The community college business professor who also founded an upstate farm co-op is just spending the day. He likes the mix of young and old, employed and unemployed, trying to build a consensus.

GOREWITZ: It's happier, it's bigger, it's more sophisticated, it's more real, it's more powerful than I ever could have imagined it. The 99 percenters, it really is. Let's not focus on what divides us, let's focus on what unites us, that's the way we can bring about change.

HEATHER GAUTNEY, FORHAM UNIVERSITY: I see this movement as a movement of movements.

CANDIOTTI: Fordham University Sociologist Heather Gauntey says movements like Occupy Wall Street don't really need a leader.

GAUTNEY: I think it's really about grass roots democracy. I think it's about people trying to create a way of expressing themselves politically, because they feel that the electoral channels are closed to them.

CANDIOTTI: Change for a teacher, change for a retired grandmother worried about her grandson's future, all looking for signs that someone is listening.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Now health authorities at Fukushima, Japan have begun testing the thyroids of thousands of children to see if they show signs of radiation exposure. Now the test comes seven months after tsunami and earthquake damage. The Fukushima Daiichi plant setting off a nuclear crisis which has not yet been resolved. And many parents in the area have called for the tests after a medical survey turned up certain hormone abnormalities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Impact on children will be known not now, but only after five years or so. I am worried what will happen then.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I feel a little relieved now, but they are still young, I am worried for their future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: On Friday, U.S. authorities updated a travel alert for citizens who are in Japan. It warned them to avoid areas near the plant's stricken reactors.

And rumors that Jiang Zemin had died have been put to rest, and pictures like these are the proof. The former Chinese president was shown on state TV making his first public appearance in months. 85 year old took part in ceremonies in Beijing that marked the 100th anniversary of the revolution that ended China's long imperial history. And his appearance has led to speculation that he could play a role in a brewing leadership power struggle.

Still ahead on News Stream, who can resist cute baby animals? But sometimes it takes some high tech help to get endangered species to let's say couple up in captivity. We'll explain after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Welcome back.

And it's time for a look at sport. And Tiger Woods, he showed some improvement in his golf game over the weekend, but he certainly did not relish one moment on Sunday. Let's go to Pedro Pinto in London for an explanation -- Pedro.

PEDRO PINTO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kristie. I can tell you there was no relish on a hot dog that was thrown at Tiger Woods by a spectator in the final round of the Frys.com Open in California.

Let us show you what exactly happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tiger! Tiger!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PINTO: Now you hear the spectator shouting out Tiger's name before hurling a hot dog at the former world number one. The bun stopped short of the fringe, while the sausage rolled onto the green. Neither came close to hitting Tiger.

The man, whose identity was not revealed by police, was hand-cuffed and arrested for a misdemeanor and also for disturbing the peace a very strange episode which left Woods confused, but not concerned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, GOLFER: Some guy just came running on the green and he had a hot dog and -- I don't know how he tried to throw it, but I was kind of focusing my putt when he started yelling. Next thing I know he was -- he laid on the ground and looked like he wanted to be arrested, really, because he laid on the ground, put his hand behind his back and turned his head.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PINTO: We've got an update from the Major League Baseball playoffs for you. Game two of the American League Championship Series was postponed because of rain, while in the National League the Brewers drew first blood in their series against the Cardinals.

Milwaukee beat St. Louis in a roller coaster contest. Ryan Braun put the home side in the lead in the bottom of the first inning with a two run home run. That made it 2-1.

It didn't take long for the Cards to respond, though. In the top of the 4th, David Freese at the bat with two men on and he smacked the shot into the right field bleachers to give his side a 5-2 advantage.

In the bottom of the 5th, the Brewers take control. Braun again doing some damage with his bat. A ground rule double to right scoring two runs. Then it's the big slugger, Prince Fielder coming up and smashing a pitch deep to right field for a two run homer.

They weren't done yet. Yuniesky Betancourt also went deep, another two run shot, putting Milwaukee up 8-5. They would hold on to win 9-6 to take game one of the best of seven series.

All right on to a strange football story. South Africa suffered the embarrassment of celebrating qualification for the African Cup of Nations when in fact they got the rules wrong and were eliminated from the finals of the competition. Bafana Bafana thought they had won Group G on Sunday when they finished with the same points as Niger, because they had a superior goal difference, but the tiebreaker was in fact head to head. And that meant it was Niger who instead finished top.

It was the small central African nation's first ever qualification for the competition known as CAN. And the team got a heroes welcome back home even though they lost to Egypt in Cairo on Sunday, they still finished ahead of South Africa on that head-to-head tiebreaker I told you about.

By the way, South Africa have lodged an appeal with the Confederation of African Football, challenging their qualification rules. For now, though, it's Niger celebrating an historic achievement.

That's a quick look at the sports headlines for now. Kristie, back to you.

STOUT: Love the fan reaction there in Niger. Pedro, thank you.

Now at Singapore Zoo, animal experts have found that patients, research and cutting edge technology are key to helping to protect endangered species. And all three are being used to breed some of the world's most vulnerable creatures.

Liz Niesloss introduces us to some of the animals whose lives are being transformed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIZ NEISLOSS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Meet Nela Otama (ph), an Asian elephant born in the Singapore Zoo. Nine months ago, his birth was captured on the zoo's cameras. He's grown into a strong, cheeky baby, here curious about our camera. His handlers say he's a lot like his dad, a valuable wild bull elephant.

DR. ABRAHAM MATHEW, SINGAPORE ZOO: Basically the advantage of having a wild bull is just to have a different genetic line, because what has happened over the years in a lot of areas of (inaudible) have elephants, they have had this number of elephants -- they're excited -- I'm talking about their breeding -- anyway.

NEISLOSS: But breeding elephants is not easy. It's difficult to house the ready to mate male, a powerful animal with a dangerous aggression, and the reproductive span of the female is believed to be shorter in captivity than in the wild.

Here, the keepers encouraged contact between the bars.

MATHEW: They actually have these bar separating the bull and her. And the bull showed a lot of interest in her and she showed a lot of interest in him, and therefore after that they actually mix them together. And then natural mating occurred.

NEISLOSS: No reptile romance yet among these rhino lizards. In captivity, sometimes mating needs high-tech assistance. For much larger lizards like the Komodo Dragon, facing an aggressive male may be deadly for the smaller female. So the zoo makes sure she is at peak fertility before pairing. Performing an ultra sound on the female required conditioning to relax the patient.

So what are we looking at?

MATHEW: OK, basically what we're looking at is the follicles of the developing follicles. So what we want to do is we want to determine when it's a good time for us to actually mix the female with the male.

NEISLOSS: The goal is to replace the zoo's captive population. They say they've successful bred nearly 90 percent of their animals. But captive breeding may also be key to the recovery of endangered animals in the wild.

SUBASH CHANDRAN, SINGAPORE ZOO: It's very important work that we are doing. I mean, we all know that, you know, species are declining or being removed from the wild at a very alarming rate. And zoos play a very important role as depositories of many of these wild species.

NEISLOSS: Species like the clouded leopard whose habitat is threatened. These babies are the first born here in the Singapore Zoo. Clouded leopards are extremely difficult to breed, because they are solitary animals. Here, introducing this female and her mate at a younger age helped to reduce aggression.

But not all are so difficult to mate. This is the zoo's newest orangutan, the 39th to be born here so far. They're also not shy, part of draws more than a million-a-half visitors to this zoo each year.

The cute babies help sell a conservation message. And breeding more of them could help save some vanishing species.

Liz Neisloss, CNN, Singapore.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: And still to come here on News Stream, third time lucky for former Beatle Paul McCartney.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Welcome back.

Now the Beatles once sang all you need is love. And there was plenty of it for Paul McCartney as he tied the knot for the third time. Now the legend exchanged vows with the New York heiress Nancy Shevelle in London on Sunday. And CNN's Erin McLaughlin was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERANTIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was a day steeped in history for the former Beatle. He and his wife Nancy emerged from the Marlyebone Town Hall wearing ear to ear grins and simple formal attire designed by his daughter Stella. It is the same place where McCarthney married his beloved first wife Linda in 1969. And a venue in stark contrast to the lavish Irish castle where he married Heather Mills in 2002. That marriage ending in a bitter divorce just six years later.

On the guest list, famed broadcaster Barbara Walters, second cousin and close friend of the bride, and former Beatle Ringo Starr, a crowd favorite.

To the hundreds of well wishers that line the streets, Paul and Nancy a perfect match.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been very low key, which is appropriate I think for the circumstances, but he's -- he's had a rough time in the past. And I think he's really has found true happiness and true love and wish him absolutely nothing but the best.

MCLAUGHLIN: Lifelong Beatles fan Chiara Amato sat outside the registry for nine days hoping to catch a glimpse of the couple.

CHIARA AMATO, MCCARTNEY FAN: It was so hard to get (inaudible). And I saw him smiling, for me was -- this is what I wanted. Just a smile. And he gave it to me. So I'm really happy.

MCLAUGHLIN: Following the ceremony, a short drive around the corner.

Well, guests have already arrived for Paul and Nancy's reception here in London tonight taking place at Paul McCartney's house. He's lived here since the 1960s. It's the place where both he and John Lennon wrote some of the Beatles best music. So perhaps a fitting location for tonight's celebration given that today would have been John Lennon's 71st birthday.

Erin McLaughlin, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

END