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NEWS STREAM

Turkey Quake Search Effort; Change for Italy; A Closer Look at Greece's Incoming Interim Prime Minister; Thailand To Expect Higher Than Average Tides Today; Tiger Woods Leads Australian Open

Aired November 11, 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 Turkey, where the search for survivors is growing more desperate in a region hit by two major quakes in the last three weeks.

Also ahead, a package of austerity measures in Italy takes its first step for an approval.

And rare video from inside a terror group in Nigeria responsible for a wave of deadly attacks.

In Turkey, rescue crews are braving snow and cold as they search for survivors of Wednesday's earthquake. The government says 30 people have been pulled to safety, but dozens more are still trapped in the ruins of collapsed buildings.

The death toll now stands at 19. A total of 25 buildings collapsed, but 22 of them were empty after the damage from an earlier quake that devastated the same region just last month.

And for the very latest, CNN's Ivan Watson is in the town of Van. He joins us now live.

And Ivan, it is starting to snow there, so how is that affecting the rescue operation?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's freezing, dirty, hard work, Kristie. This region has been hit by two major earthquakes in less than three weeks. And what you're seeing right now are the rescue efforts from Wednesday's night earthquake, which, as you mentioned, the death toll has grown to 19, more than 500 people killed in that previous one. Several of the people they're looking for are journalists from the Turkish press corps from the DHA news agency, and it's very difficult work that these people are doing here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON (voice-over): A dramatic escape seconds before an entire building collapses. The earth just won't stop shaking in eastern Turkey.

Security camera footage shows Wednesday night's 5.6 magnitude earthquake knocking out electricity in the eastern city of Van, and sending three men racing into the street just seconds before the Bayram Hotel came suddenly tumbling down.

(on camera): This is all that's left of what was a five-story building, a pancaked pile of rubble that's now the scene of a dramatic rescue operation that's working around the clock.

(voice-over): Fortunately, rescue workers and heavy equipment were close by to help. They flooded the area after a much more powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake slammed the Van region barely three weeks ago, killing more than 500 people.

On Wednesday, some of these rescue workers became victims of the latest quake. Emergency workers pulled this Japanese volunteer from the rubble.

MIYUKI KONNAI, SURVIVOR (through translator): And I tried to open my eyes, but I could not because of lots of dust getting into my eyes. When I finally managed to open my left eye slowly, there was a ray of light I could see in what I thought was complete darkness. That light gave me relief and gave me hope to live. That was the light from the computer I was using.

WATSON: Miyuki Konnai escaped. One of her fellow Japanese volunteers died from his injuries.

Amid stories of tragedy and hope, there's also anger. Residents confronted Turkish officials on Thursday, demanding resignations. Riot police charged the crowd just yards away from collapsed buildings.

In the days ahead, there will be more questions about government enforcement of building codes and pressure to resettle hundreds of thousands of people made homeless. But for now, Turkey's earthquake survivors are just looking for a warm place to sleep. Most of them clearly too scared to step into their own homes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: Now this is very important, Kristie. Van is a city of about a million residents. Much of it is like a ghost town today, and the people are terrified to go back into their homes.

And we've gone through exploring through the city. They're living in tents, freezing temperatures. There are snow flurries (INAUDIBLE) haven't gotten from the nearly devastating earthquake. I've seen them build temporary shelters out of tarpaulins that they purchased out of Styrofoam and plywood.

These are families with children that are facing -- you know, saying that winter hasn't even really kicked in yet. Those who have the resources have left the region to stay with relatives in safer places. Others, some of them are actually staying in the ruins in the severely damaged buildings that they lived in before, and they're at risk of more aftershocks, of becoming victims of further aftershocks here.

It really is quite large amounts of aid that have been rushed to this area -- Kristie.

STOUT: So much uncertainty. Very harsh conditions there at the quake zone.

Ivan Watson, joining us live from Van, in eastern Turkey.

Thank you very much for that update.

Now, some big changes are coming to Italy. Senators have passed budget reforms intended to bring the country back from the brink. An overwhelming majority voted in favor of the austerity measures. They'll be sent to the lower house next.

A special session has been called for Saturday. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is due to step down once the reform package clears parliament.

CNN Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance joins us live in Rome.

And Matthew, will the measures be approved by Saturday, this weekend? And what's next? How will Italy's new government take shape?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as soon as those measures are approved by the lower house -- and we're expecting that pretty early tomorrow -- that open the door for Silvio Berlusconi, the current prime minister of Italy, to make good on his commitment to step down. That would in turn trigger the Italian president to announce a new government. The expectation is that will be headed by a prominent economist, someone called Mario Monti, who's an academic here, a former EU commissioner.

He's being widely seen as the successor to Silvio Berlusconi, and the man who Italians and who the international markets will have a lot more faith in the ability of him to deliver Italy from the brink of economic collapse, because, remember, this isn't just about Italy's economy. It's not just a political and economic crisis here.

This has become the center of attention, because the markets, the European Union, much of the world is looking at what happens in Italy to decide whether the European Union, whether the eurozone currency is going to survivor or not, because if Italy defaults, if Italy doesn't make its economy get back on track, then there simply aren't the resources, it seems, in the European Union at this point to stop Italy from falling off the precipice, from defaulting on its $2.6 trillion of debt. And if that happens, it would be the collapse of the eurozone.

So, a lot of focus now on what the Italians do over the next couple of days, but more so on what they do over the next several months to institute the economic reforms that are needed to bring Italy back from the brink -- Kristie.

STOUT: A lot of attention now on Mario Monti, but what about Silvio Berlusconi? After dominating Italian politics for so long, what is next for him?

CHANCE: Well, I mean, opinion differs about this issue. I think it's clear that Silvio Berlusconi wants to take on some kind of role, he still sees himself as very influential in the country. Even after he steps down, he'll still be the leader of a very important political party in the country. But I think there's also a sense that Italians, the Italian government, Italian people really want to move on as quickly as possible from Silvio Berlusconi.

Remember, he was a figure who was deeply polarizing, is still deeply polarizing inside Italy. It really became very personal between him and the international markets as well.

He was seen as somebody who could not deliver the austerity measures that Italy needs to keep its economy or get its economy back on track. I think there's going to be a lot of reluctance amongst Italian lawmakers, amongst the Italian people to see Silvio Berlusconi, dogged by so many legal and sex scandals, remember, back in the frame in terms of a leadership position any time soon -- Kristie.

STOUT: Matthew Chance, live in Rome.

Thank you very much for that.

Now, in about one hour, we expect Lucas Papademos to be sworn in as the interim prime minister of Greece. The ceremony will take place at the country's presidential mansion, and Mr. Papademos is expected to announce the exact makeup of his cabinet. The national unity government is meant to lead the country to early elections.

Mr. Papademos has pledged to ratify the EU debt deal. He also says he will do what is necessary to secure the next installment of a previous bailout loan.

Now, Mr. Papademos, he comes with a resume and connections that could help Greece regain its financial footing.

Diana Magnay gives us a closer look at the country's next prime minister.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a job for the brave, a heavy responsibility for a man unused to politics.

LUCAS PAPADEMOS, GREEK PRIME MINISTER-DESIGNATE (through translator): The mandate is big and the responsibility I take on is even bigger. I am not a politician. In fact, I have dedicated the biggest part of my life to the exercise of economic policy both in Greece and in Europe. The Greek economy continues to face huge problems, despite the immense efforts which are being made for its fiscal recovery and the improvement of its competitiveness.

MAGNAY: Lucas Papademos knows those problems well. He was governor of Greece's Central Bank from 1994 to 2002, in charge of monetary policy when Greece entered the eurozone 10 years ago. After that, a vice president of the European Central Bank, an adviser to outgoing Prime Minister George Papandreou through two difficult years.

He seemed confident but clear on one point, that Greece needs unity to see it through the months ahead.

PAPADEMOS (through translator): Greece is at a critical crossroads. The choices we have to make, the course we will chose will be of profound importance to the welfare of the Greek people. Now, the course won't be easy, but I am certain we will solve our problems, and we will solve them more quickly if there is unity, consensus and understanding.

MAGNAY: It took four days of intense political wrangling to reach this point. Greeks on the street seemed relieved the deal was done and ready to give him at least the benefit of the doubt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's going to give us the opportunity to get rid of this misery we're living right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's not a magician, but I feel a little bit optimistic. But politicians tend to disappoint us.

MAGNAY: Now the hard work begins. He may be leading a coalition government, but there are still bitter divisions in the parliament and bitter anger on the street. This demonstration, just hours after the announcement, a reminder of that.

(on camera): Greece is now locked into a deal with European lenders that demands the new government introduce tougher austerity measures even than the ones already pushed through. Mr. Papademos' room for maneuver is limited. He must hope that he can carry the people with him as he tries to set the country back on course.

Diana Magnay, CNN, Athens.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: You're watching NEWS STREAM. And still ahead, exclusive footage of the Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram. We expose the story behind this grainy video and tell you about fears the group's campaign of terror could cross borders.

And undercover in Spain. The CNN Freedom Project follows a covert investigation into forced prostitution.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Opposition groups in Syria say nine people have been killed in Friday protests. This week, demonstrators are demanding that the Arab League freeze Syria's membership.

Now, you'll recall the league brokered a peace deal with President Bashar al-Assad's government. And despite the peace deal, the bloodshed has yet to stop. Activists say security forces killed at least 38 people on Thursday. Six children were reported among the dead.

And in Yemen, medics say government forces have shelled the southwestern city of Taiz. The attack killed 10 people and injured 32 others. And clashes have intensified in recent days as protesters demand the ouster of Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Anti-government marches are said to be taking place in 14 of the country's 21 provinces.

And now we want to turn to Nigeria, where an Islamic militant group is spreading terror. Now, Boko Haram is behind a wave of suicide attacks, bombings and assaults in the northeastern part of the country.

As Christian Purefoy tells us, the threat could spread.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIAN PUREFOY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This grainy video of armed men in balaclavas is exclusive footage of Nigeria's Islamic militant group Boko Haram. It's not known when it was filmed, but despite the poor quality of the video, this is one of the world's most deadly terrorist groups. And yet, perhaps most frightening is that very little is known about them.

SHEHU SANI, CIVIL RIGHTS CONGRESS: There is so much fear and apprehension. And there's no doubt about the insurgency is creating a feeling of failure on the side of the seat (ph) and the government to protect his own citizens.

PUREFOY: In August, Boko Haram carried out one of the deadliest attacks against the U.N. in its history after a suicide bomber killed 24 people in an attack on the U.N. headquarters in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. And this weekend, Boko Haram attacked a remote northern town with guns and explosives, killing over 100 people.

Shehu Sani is one of the few people to have stood in the same room for direct peace talks with Boko Haram. Talks currently at an impasse as the violence continues.

SANI: They are in this principally to establish an Islamic state which they (ph) know as a guiding principle.

PUREFOY (on camera): What are they doing it for? What are these young men blowing themselves up for?

SANI: The organization is -- appeals to many people in the hundreds of thousands because of their strong opposition to the corruption and bad governance and irresponsibility of leadership in Nigeria over the years.

PUREFOY (voice-over): Violence exploded across northern Nigeria after national elections in April were considered by many in the north to have been rigged. The Nigerian government has deployed the military across the north, and say the security situation is under control. But until now, suicide bombers were almost unheard of in Africa. And with almost weekly attacks in Boko Haram's base in the northeast city of Maiduguri, Sani says the threat may be come international.

(on camera): No solution?

SANI: But if there is no solution to this, then it becomes a concern. The virus that is now here will spread to other countries in West Africa, and perhaps up to central Africa.

PUREFOY (voice-over): For now, Nigerians can only wait for the next attack.

Christian Purefoy, CNN, Lagos, Nigeria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Ahead on NEWS STREAM, CNN goes undercover with human trafficking investigators in Spain. We'll show you how they busted a huge forced prostitution ring.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: In our series "Freedom Project: Undercover," this week we've seen the fight against human trafficking through the eyes of the investigators. And we were given unprecedented access to an investigation into forced prostitution among Chinese immigrants in the Catalonia region of Spain.

And our Martin Savidge gives us a look at another prostitution case cracked by the human trafficking unit. And this one has an unusual twist.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This raid is the result of an eight-month investigation into a case that took many unexpected turns for the human trafficking unit in Catalonia, Spain. In this bust, 15 members of two Nigerian groups were arrested for what detectives say was the forced prostitution of more than 40 women. What was different in this case was the way the Nigerian cells were said to operate compared to other groups who bring women into the country for the same purpose.

Sub-Inspector Xavier Cortes is the head of the undercover human trafficking unit. He says the accused traffickers target women in certain areas in Nigeria, promise them honest work, and even get approval from their families to bring them to Spain.

XAVIER CORTES, SUB-INSPECTOR, MOSSOS D'ESQUADRA (through translator): These women were captured by a series of individuals whose function is to locate young women with serious economic problems. They make them an attractive offer of a new and approved life with a job as a hairdresser, which they would normally do, and then they say they'll provide transportation under (ph) location here in exchange for a minimal amount of money. They claim they are helping populations of these localities.

SAVIDGE: In fact, Cortes says what the traffickers claim is a little amount of money turns into a lot, up to $70,000. That's more than twice what other groups charge to bring women from as far away as China.

The only way to pay off such a high debt is through the very lucrative work of prostitution.

CORTES (through translator): We were able to determine that some of these women, after they were identified as practicing prostitution in the center of Barcelona all day, for the night, were moved to a brothel on the border with France. And there, they continued prostituting themselves during the night. We are talking 18 or 20 hours of sexual activity in a day.

SAVIDGE: If any of the women were brave enough to fight back, Cortes says they were savagely beaten. And it wasn't just the women who were in danger.

CORTES (through translator): There is an element of oppression that is even more influential in breaking the will of the woman, and that's the possibility of aggression to the family, that they could suffer because of her decision not to engage in prostitution.

SAVIDGE: Investigators say the Nigerians in Barcelona kept in touch with Nigerians back home who would kidnap the women's children or even kill members of their families if there was any defiance. In fact, the case came to the attention of the human trafficking unit after a woman believed a threat against her family had been carried out when she received the news that her mother had died.

CORTES (through translator): In this case, there hasn't been a direct link established to inform us that there was a death caused by a homicide. But evidently, the coincidence of time between the threat and this death made this woman stop the link (ph) that had been risked in her security.

SAVIDGE: The woman had been in the group's control for years and had never gone to police before because of yet another powerful force the Nigerians employed. Investigators say before the women ever left Nigeria, they went through a religious ceremony, making oaths to a voodoo priest. In the ceremony, the women swear not to go to police and report how they came to Spain. And if they break that oath, pain and suffering will come to them.

CORTES (through translator): And actually, when you talk with them, you learn that even when they are subjected to a process of exploitation that's extremely serious and have lived in circumstances very, very, very extreme, they continue maintaining it because the religious convictions call them to maintain it.

SAVIDGE: And yet, the human trafficking unit would get one more surprise out of this group, a show of humanity amid the violence. The unit learned that once the women paid out their debt, they were free to go. Just one more oddity in this case of ever-unfolding twists and turns.

For the CNN Freedom Project, I'm Martin Savidge.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Now, ahead on NEWS STREAM, the battle to keep central Bangkok dry. It faces another major test. And flood-weary residents seek shelter away from the water.

Plus, it was the "Oops" heard around the world. Now U.S. Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry is in damage control mode, and he is poking fun at himself.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout, in Hong Kong.

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

Now, Italy's senate has passed a package of austerity measures aimed at saving the country's ailing economy. The measures still have to win approval in the lower house. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says he will resign once that happens.

Greece's new prime minister is scheduled to be sworn in, in less than an hour from now. Lucas Papademos says the country is at a critical crossroads. The former European Central Bank vice president is promising to commit Greece to the terms of the eurozone's bailout plan, which means tough austerity measures will continue in return for emergency loans.

And 30 people have now been pulled alive from the rubble in earthquake hit Turkey. Dozens of buildings collapsed in the eastern city of Van. And the quake struck on Wednesday. The death toll has reached 19.

And Thailand's worst flooding in half a century has thousands of families living in limbo. The Thai government has set up more than 1,700 shelters across the country, a number that perhaps does not give you the full picture because many people are choosing to set up camp just about anywhere. And as Liz Neisloss reports some places are safer than others.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIZ NEISLOSS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In these once empty cement forms a neighborhood has grown. They are prefabricated shells meant for building Bangkok's elevated skyway. But in this massive flood they're called homes. The company that owns these forms told the people they can stay. And is also letting them tap into electricity. So there's light and TV and pampered dogs.

Most of the people here are from the same flood ravaged community a short boat ride away. Some floated their most prized possessions to their temporary home.

Six year old Phai (ph) is content with her dry space. She and her family were flooded out of a shelter and then another home before moving here.

Next door in this hive of cement shells Jao (ph) and her family of five.

"I own a small shop. And when it started to flood I moved all my goods to my house," she says. "Then a few days later my house got flooded. And when the water was up to my neck, we moved here."

Jao (ph) takes us to see her nearby home. We float down a river that was once a walkway. It looks like her birds are safe. And some of the furniture is drying out. But the water levels are still high. Since the flood, she says snakes and a crocodile were spotted nearby.

There's no work, no money coming in. Each day they wade out to wait for food donations. But often, they say, nothing comes.

"There's a group of volunteers who come from Bangkok University once a day to give us food," she says. "And sometimes local officials bring us dry food and water."

These people have chosen to stay here rather than a government shelter because they have more space and they can keep an eye on their valuables. But more importantly, they say, they are in their community so that in this chaos there's the comfort of familiar faces.

Nearby schools have been closed for more than a month. In this place, flood waters are a playground. Parents say they're worried about the dirty water, but have given up trying to keep the children out.

As the waters recede people will start to drift home. Some expect to stay in this cement world for a few more weeks. Jao (ph) says they take life day by day, there's no other choice.

Liz Neisloss, CNN, Pathum Thani, Thailand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: And this weekend there in Thailand the threat of higher than normal tides return. Let's get the details with Mari Ramos. She joins us from the world weather center -- Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Hey Kristie, that was amazing to see how people are living there in the flood waters. It's really just an eye opening report there that we had there from Liz.

The problem with the tides is that when the tides get higher it slows down the flow of the water coming down into the Gulf of Thailand. Basically it's like if you have a bath tub full of water and you cover the drain with half of your hand the water is not going to drain as quickly right. Well that's pretty much what's happening here. So you could experience when you have these higher tide levels that we're expecting this Saturday, they're expected to be the highest ones so far -- not higher than last month, but so far in these last few weeks that will slow down the flow, the draining out of the Chao Praya (ph) River and you should see higher flood levels in Bangkok.

So not expected to be as bad as last time, but we'll have to see what happens because everything is so touch and go still across the region.

So overall these are the local times where the tide will be the highest. Watch out for that. And then about half a meter higher than average than you would normally expect during a regular high tide.

The reason for that is, we're in the full moon. So whenever you have the near moon and the full moon a couple of days after you tend to see the higher tides. And this is normal. They happen twice a day. And it's what we can expect in these areas.

So whenever we have these higher tides, these spring tides, we really need to watch carefully what's going to happen to that water draining out of the Chao Praya (ph) River.

Let's go ahead and move on to another part of the world. I want to update you on the situation in Australia. So you had extremes of weather here. In some cases some of the wettest days, in some cases some of the hottest days of the year. Well, over the last couple of days we've had some of the hottest days so far this spring for you across New South Wales, including Sydney. We still have some rain showers, nothing like what you saw earlier today.

Check out -- take a look at these pictures. Yeah, some of (inaudible) tornadoes, or funnel clouds at least, that were moving through there. The winds were howling in excess of 100 kilometers per hour catching people by surprise in many cases.

You can see right over here how quickly the skies went from bright to just unbearable. Nobody could see where they were going. There were roofs that were torn, there trees that came down, power lines that came down. But the severe weather warnings have since expired.

We are expecting much milder conditions as we head through the next few days. What a mess there.

Come back over to the weather map. This area of high pressure will bring you some coastal rain showers we think, but overall you should be staying dry. And also some rain expected in the south island of New Zealand.

Another one of our top stories is the situation in Turkey, have some pictures to show you from that area as well, Kristie. And the rescue continues. We heard from that region just a little while ago at the top of the show. And it's very cold. We saw Ivan Watson bundled up, just another example of how cold conditions can really be here.

Right now the temperature in Van is 4 degrees above freezing. Very quickly, once the sun begins going down we're going to see that temperature plummet to below freezing, probably around minus 3 degrees Celsius. Snow flurries will be coming down, a good mix of -- a bad I should say -- of rain and maybe some snow coming in across those areas, actually all across northern Turkey, including other areas affected by that quake last week and the one, of course, last month.

Back to you.

STOUT: Yeah, the weather there very alarming. Mari Ramos, thank you for giving us the update there. Take care.

Now it is being called the Meltdown in Michigan. U.S. presidential hopeful Rick Perry's now infamous brain freeze during the GOP debate on Wednesday. And Jim Acosta tells us about his unique recovery strategy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK PERRY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Commerce, Education, and the -- what's the third one there -- let's see.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It could be gone in 53 seconds for Rick Perry, the time it took the Texas governor to butcher his own talking point on which three departments of the government he would cut was a slow motion brain wreck.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you can't name the third one?

PERRY: The third agency of government I would do away with -- Education, the...

RON PAUL, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Commerce.

PERRY: Commerce -- and let's see. I can't. The third one I can't, sorry. Oops.

ACOSTA: As soon as the debate was over Perry knew he was in trouble. He marched right into the post debate spin room to put out the flames.

PERRY: Yeah, I stepped in it, man. Yeah, it was embarrassing. Of course it was.

ACOSTA: But rival strategists and GOP operatives in the room were already writing Perry's obituary, comparing it to Howard Dean's infamous campaign ending scream of 2004 ranking the debate performance among the very worst in TV history.

JAMES STOCKDALE, ROSS PEROT'S VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Who am I? Why am I here?

ACOSTA: Right there with Admiral James Stockdale in 1992 and Dan Quayle in '88.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.

LARRY SABATO, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, CENTER FOR POLITICS: This was a Chernobyl style meltdown. This wasn't a tiny little gaffe, this will live forever in the reel of debate moments that changed politics.

ACOSTA: Perry trying to laugh off the gaffe asking on his web site which department do you want to forget about the most? And he had a few one-liners ready to go for the morning talk shows.

PERRY: Look, we've got a debater in chief right now. And you've got to ask yourself how that's working out for America.

ACOSTA: But on the online prediction web site Intrade, Perry's odds of winning the GOP nomination plummeted 50 percent. Hundreds of thousands of people had watched the meltdown on YouTube. And on Twitter the hashtag oops was dubbed the new fail.

Perry's flub also gave cover to Herman Cain still reeling from allegations of sexual harrassment, Cain had a gaffe of his own at the debate when he called former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Princess Nancy.

HERMAN CAIN, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I apologize for calling her Princess Pelosi.

ACOSTA: And it was a new opening for other contenders who are vying to become the Tea Party alternative to Mitt Romeny.

RICK SANTORUM, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm hopeful that people will see that we are the alternative to -- as a consistent conservative...

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Jim Acosta reporting there.

Now the night after his gaffe Governor Perry, he appeared on the American TV program the Late Show with David Letterman. And he poked fun at his debate performance, delivering the program's top 10 list.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: Hey listen, you try concentrating with Mitt Romney smiling at you. That is one handsome dude.

Yeah, I had a Five Hour energy drink six hours before the debate.

I wanted to help take the heat off my buddy Herman Cain.

DAVID LETTERMAN, LATE NIGHT: And the number one Rick Perry excuse.

PERRY: I just learned Justin Bieber is my father.

LETTERMAN: Oh my god.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Now Rick Perry, he wasn't the only candidate who got roasted by comedians after Wednesday's Republican debate. The Daily Show's Jon Stewart took aim at Herman Cain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, THE DAILY SHOW: Chief Romney rival in the polls Herman Cain, guy is in the middle of a scandal involving his treatment of women. Watch him lay down this turd discussing the highest ranking female official this country has ever had.

CAIN: The legislation is already been written. We didn't hear about it in the previous congress, because Princess Nancy sent it to committee and it stayed there.

STEWART: There is an age above which most women do not wish to be referred to as princess. And I believe that age if 5. There's only three times you should ever use that term: with an actual female member of the royal family, a new Maltese puppy you got, and -- oh, what's the third.

Michele Bachmann? Nobody has seen her since she won the Ames Iowa Straw Poll and stated that the HPV vaccine can do irreparable harm. Turns out she was right. And her campaign is proof.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Now another man who has been the butt of jokes may be on the verge of a career turnaround. Tiger Woods is on top of the leader board at the Australian Open as he chases his first tournament victory in almost two years. And Don Riddell will have a complete sports update next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: One of Twitter's top personalities is taking a step back from his computer. Actor Ashton Kutcher who has more than 8 million followers felt the fury of the internet after tweeting in defense of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno. We'd show you the offending tweet but Kutcher deleted it.

He said he did not know about the school's child rape scandal and wrote, "I feel awful about this error. It won't happen again."

Now Kutcher will turn over management of his account to media professionals. Now he was an early adopter of the microblogging site and the first person to reach 1 million followers. And on this blog Kutcher says up until today I posted virtually every one of my tweets on my own, but clearly the platform has become too big to be managed by a single individual.

Now is Tiger Woods finally back to his best? Don Riddell is keeping his eye on the former number one's form -- Don.

DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Thanks very much, Kristie. You know it's almost exactly two years since Tiger Woods last won a golf tournament. And let's be honest, he's had a pretty forgettable 24 months since. But he says his game is improving. And there was strong evidence of that in Sydney today as he moved to the top of the leader board at the Australian Open.

Tiger hasn't had too many chances to look down from the top of the leader board since his fall from grace began at the end of 2009, but he was assured today, birding his first hole, the chance to go five under par. And he was nine under at the turn. His fifth birdie at the day coming at the par 3 18.

Tiger has recovered from injury and has rebuilt his swing. And it looks to be serving him well, although there were a couple of boogies on the way home today. Another two birdies ensured that he remained on nine under for a one stroke leader after two rounds. It's the first time he's lead a tournament at the end of the day since last December.

Now police has found the vehicle used to kidnap the Major League baseball player Wilson Ramos in Venezuela. There is still now word from the people who snatched the Washington Nationals catcher from his family home on Wednesday. According to investigators, two armed men burst into the house, seized Ramos, and drove off in an orange van. On Thursday that van was found abandoned near the Ramos home in northern Venezuela.

This is the first time a professional baseball player has been kidnapped in Venezuela, although relatives of players have been taken before.

Within the next few hours, the athletics governing body, the IAAF will announce where the world championships will be held in 2017. And the choices are either London or Doha. Their decision will be fascinating, because the bids are so different. And a successful Doha campaign could signal a trend towards staging major events in wealthy emerging markets.

Having already secured the right to host the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the capital Doha is hoping to win the biggest athletics event outside the Olympics. In an attempt to sweeten the deal, they've offered to pay the whole prize fund for the event, some $8 million.

The searing desert temperatures may influence the decision, but organizers are looking at ways to air condition the Khalifa Stadium (ph).

Alternatively, London could stage the games. London's bid team are playing up their heritage, experience, culture and temperate climate. London is, of course, hosting the Olympic games next year in 2012. The announcement, Kristie, will be made in Monaco later this afternoon.

We'll that for you in World Sport.

STOUT: All right. Good stuff. Take care, Don.

Now today's date is easy to remember. It is the 11th day of the 11th month, of year 2011. And just ahead here on News Stream we will look at an online media campaign that is recording the day's events on film for future generations.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, my name is Raphael Anoosh (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is George (ph) from (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Asantos Jenga (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Antonin (ph). And I am participating in One Day on Earth from Venezuela.

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STOUT: And they are just some of the participants in this huge media creation project One Day on Earth to mark November 11, 2011, or 11/11/11. And people from all walks of life living in almost every country in the world will be using their cameras today to record the human experience over a 24 hour period. And the first event, it took place last year on 10/10/10. And the shared footage captured by filmmakers, students, and charities on that date is now being made into a feature film.

Let's take a look.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You fight as though you were standing outside the universe looking in. We're not just a speck here. We're not even a speck in a speck, OK. We're a speck in a speck in a speck.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 7,000 actions of our brothers and sisters from around the globe on the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet's history make a significant difference.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One community trying to exist apart from all of the communities is not in any way acknowledging the entirety of existence and how it depends, everything depends on everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All this, thousands and thousands of different minds and different views and different pasts interconnected.

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STOUT: Each of the submissions to the One Day on Earth event last year went to make up this, it's a geotag video archive. And this map, it gives the idea of how many people took part and where they filmed their experiences. You just click on any of the dots. You can watch the footage. And it all showcases the diversity of life that happens in just one day.

Now here are a few of our favorites. We'll start here in Kosovo. You can see a bride, she has painted her face with traditional designs to ward off bad luck.

Now One Day on Earth co-founder Brandon Litman explains more.

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BRANDON LITMAN, ONE DAY ON EARTH CO-FOUNDER: And amazing organization called Kosovo 2.0 filmed several different things that had extreme cultural importance to their community. From what I understand there is only one woman left in this village that does this kind of dressing for a wedding. And she has done hundreds of them. And now from what I understand they are flying in and training make-up artists to learn the custom so it lasts on as an intangible part of the cultural heritage.

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STOUT: Incredible custom.

And of course we couldn't help but show you the sites of life from here in Hong Kong. Now this is a timelapse of Aberdine Typhoon Shelter (ph). It's on the south of Hong Kong Island. It was filmed between 12 midnight and 7 pm. And you can see the boats crisscrossing the water, trucks delivering their cargo.

And if you need real proof of the scope of this project, there's video from the ends of the earth to show you. In fact, this video was shot at the South Pole and temperatures hovering around minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Now Dana Rubis (ph) assigned this feature of the footage has spent almost five years at the South Pole at the time this film was made.

Now if you want to take part in the project, you've got to get your camera quickly. All the footage has to be recorded today. You can find out more by checking out OneDayonEarth.org.

Now of course there are other ways to celebrate this once in a century date of 11/11/11. And if you are a fan of This is Spinal Tap it might be a good date to play the movie soundtrack and to pump up the volume to the magic number 11.

Now if you haven't seen the movie, it's all in honor of Nigel Tufnell, the lead guitarist in the film.

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CHRISTOPHER GUEST, ACTOR: If you can see, you know, the numbers all go to 11. Look, right across the board. 11, 11, 11...

ROB REINER, DIRECTOR: Most of the amps go up to 10.

GUEST: Exactly.

REINER: Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder?

GUEST: Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not 10. You see most blokes are going to be playing at 10. You're on 10 here all the way up, all the way up, all the way up. You're on 10 on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?

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STOUT: Now the movement to make the day Nigel Tufnel Day is generating a lot of noise online. This Facebook community page has cranked up more than 2,500 fans. So Nigel, an icon of NODA innovation, we thank you.

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

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