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Syria's Deadly Crackdown; Displaced Iraqis Living in Squalid Camps; Vladimir Putin's New Challenger; Three Arrested In Pakistan For Running Dungeon; High Winds Sweep Across UK, Northern Europe

Aired December 13, 2011 - 00:08   ET

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


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

I'm Kristie Lu Stout, in Hong Kong.

And we begin with more violence in Syria. As the U.N. human rights chief says, the government should be investigating for crimes against humanity.

Also, physicists could be set to announce that they have found the God Particle, a tiny object that could change our understanding of the way the world works.

And a new view of the aftermath of Japan's deadly tsunami through Google Street View.

Syrian opposition activists say at least 11 people have been killed so far on Tuesday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says government forces fired indiscriminately on villages near Idlib. A day earlier, the United Nations said more than 5,000 protesters have been killed since March.

And the U.N. human rights chief also voiced concerns that a new crackdown may be imminent in Homs. Activists have said that they were given a Monday night deadline to stop their protests, and the situation there right now remains unclear.

Syria's U.N. ambassador called the allegations incredible and accused the high commissioner of misleading public opinion. The U.N. has not been allowed inside Syria and is making assessments from video footage and witness interviews. Also, journalists have not been given free access to the country.

Rima Maktabi is monitoring developments from CNN Abu Dhabi. She joins us now.

And Rima, the latest U.N. numbers suggest that the killing is on the rise in Syria. So what is happening today, right now, in Homs?

RIMA MAKTABI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you said, the Syrian Observatory is talking about 11 people killed. And by the end of this day, we're going to hear that the death toll has even risen more just as we get reports from the Syrian opposition and also human rights groups that most of them are based out of Syria.

If we look closely at the U.N. numbers, we see that these numbers talk about 200 people killed in the past 10 days only. This is a huge number. But the opposition is saying that the death toll for the past nine months in Syria is even higher. They're talking about 10,000 people killed.

Now, no one is on the ground and no one can know what's really happening. And the Syrian government's line probably could be summed up with what the ambassador to the U.N. said and return to what the U.N. is saying regarding the casualties.

This is what Bashar Jaafari said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASHAR JAAFARI, SYRIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: They are spreading all kinds of disinformation and they are misleading everybody through the media and through the heavyweights in the Security Council just in order to distort the image of Syria, to mislead the public opinion, to present allegations and --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MAKTABI: So, misleading the public opinion (AUDIO GAP) from the Syrian government, and no one is allowed into the country to report about what's happening really.

STOUT: Rima, international leaders, they've been ramping up the pressure on Damascus to end the violence. We heard from the U.N. human rights chief, who said that the government should be investigated for crimes against humanity. But will that pressure at the end of the day amount to anything?

MAKTABI: I hear a high level of frustration among opposition in Syria and out of Syria. We hear that -- certain lines like, "The world doesn't care about Syria. There are so many casualties, people dead."

They talk about rape, they talk about crimes against humanity, and yet they think the international community is not doing enough. Even the Arab League is too slow to take steps, and the steps taken by the Arab League are only sanctions that will only affect the people.

So, when you talk to the Syrian opposition, they want more, they want a certain apparatus or a certain plan to protect the civilians on the ground in Syria. This is the key thing and this is what everyone is pushing for. However, reality is that, on a daily basis, we get these YouTube videos on social media showing more blood, showing casualties, showing people being killed, and this is the key thing, the violence.

STOUT: And that's our only glimpse inside the country so far.

Rima Maktabi, joining us live from Abu Dhabi.

Thank you so much for that update.

Now, in addition to the thousands killed, many protesters have been wounded. They're often afraid of going to government-run hospitals.

Jim Clancy shows us how an underground network is saving their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a hospital in Lebanon, volunteer Syrian doctors wrap fresh bandages over this man's leg, shattered by a bullet during street demonstrations in his village six weeks ago. His treatment and that of scores more like him is often only possible because the bleeding was stopped at a makeshift field hospital in Syria before he was evacuated outside the country.

"If it weren't for the emergency care I got," another patient here told CNN, "I would have bled to death."

Wounded Syrian demonstrators fear arrest, torture and death if they seek treatment at state-run hospitals. Instead, they rely on the clinics that have been set up in private homes in Syria.

"For me, like everyone, all those who help all the people of Homs are heroes. Every man with the courage to say we want freedom is a hero." This young Syrian businessman we'll call Mohammed is a hero to many. He has asked not to be identified because he fears reprisals. Having fled Homs just a month and a half ago, he understands the dire humanitarian situation in the city.

"Conditions are really bad," he says. "There are shortages of food, medicine, fuel and heating gas. There's no electricity. But medical aid is the most crucial," he stresses, "because the wounded can't get help and there's no solution on the horizon."

(on camera): Trying to meet those humanitarian needs isn't easy, particularly when it comes to medical supplies. This is just an apartment bedroom outside of Syria that has become a center for shipping medical supplies into Homs.

(voice-over): Mohammed and other refugees have developed an underground network that stretches across the Middle East. Blood bags, syringes, antibiotics and more are gathered up to be smuggled across the border into Syria on donkeys or motorbikes. Ultimately, they will be distributed to any of 40 or 50 constantly moving aid stations inside Homs.

There's no shortage of doctors, nurses and medical students risking their lives to help, but without equipment like x-ray machines, a reliable blood supply, and more, Syrian demonstrators are dying of wounds that would otherwise be non-life-threatening.

"The injured cannot survive this," says Mohammed. "At the end, they are going to die. Yes, there are makeshift hospitals, but they're trying to storm them and break the equipment."

The wounded are grateful for the underground medical network, but bitter the world at large only looks on at their plight. Said one, "If we wait for the Arab League, we'll all be dead."

Jim Clancy, CNN, Tripoli.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Tunisia has taken another step toward democratic rule. Earlier this Tuesday, the country's transitional parliament swore in opposition veteran Moncef Marzouki as the country's new president. The parliament elected Mr. Marzouki on Monday. (INAUDIBLE) for the Republic Party came in second in October's elections.

Talks and tributes. The U.S. and Iraq declared the end of the eight-year war on Monday, as American troops prepare to complete their withdrawal from the country.

U.S. President Barack Obama met Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at the White House, and both leaders pledged a new chapter in their relationship and reflected on the path ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're taking all of our troops out of Iraq. We will not have any bases inside of Iraq. We will have a strong diplomatic presence inside of Iraq.

NOURI AL-MALIKI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Today we meet in Washington after we have completed the first stage of a constructed cooperation in which we also thank you and appreciate you for your commitment to everything that you have committed yourself to. And anyone who observes the nature of the relationship between the two countries will say that the relationship will not end with the departure of the last American soldier.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: For many Iraqis, this brave new era seems like a distant dream. Up to two million people are displaced in Iraq, forced to flee the violence at their doorsteps. And more than 1,000 now live at an abandoned military base, and Michael Holmes went to meet them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are a persistent stain on the new Iraq and a fettered legacy of the war here, squalid camps for those who fled Iraq's violence and haven't gone back home.

JAMHURRIYYA MUSA, DISPLACED IRAQI (through translator): I don't sleep at night. Ever since my husband died, I don't sleep. I wake up at 4:00 a.m. I pray and keep checking on my children.

HOLMES: The lives of those children changed forever in 2004, when masked men came to their neighborhood and starting shooting. The family fled, and ever since this has been home.

MUSA (through translator): What do I do? I'm a widow with children and I live here. I have no one.

HOLMES: This place is home to 1,200 men, women and children -- lots of children -- living in appalling conditions on the grounds of what was a Saddam Hussein military base on the outskirts of Baghdad. It is a terrible existence.

"How should we feel?" says Mahmoud Mutasha (ph). "We have nowhere to go."

Mahmoud also fled sectarian violence in his hometown. Today, his family of 10 struggles just to survive. Ten-year-old daughter Tabarat (ph) holds her baby sister Iya (ph) and dreams.

"I want to read and write like other children," she tells me. "I want to be a nurse." With no school near enough to go to, it's likely to remain a dream only.

Numbers vary, but the best estimate is there are between 1.2 million and nearly 2 million Iraqis internally displaced. Outside the country, another 1.5 million to 2 million people who got out of Iraq altogether.

(on camera): Now, several hundred thousand Iraqis have returned home in recent years, and that's a positive thing, to be sure. But, of course, the ongoing tragedy is those who have not and feel they cannot go back despite this being the alternative. And there are dozens and dozens of places just like this all over Iraq.

(voice-over): Though the residents of this place disagree, the Iraqi government says it's doing its best.

JUDGE ASHGAR AL-MUSAWI, SR. DEPUTY MINISTER OF DISPLACED AND MIGRANTS (through translator): The ministry's plans are not just to achieve a return, but to integrate these families and help them restore their normal life.

HOLMES: People here say with security still their biggest fear, that's a case of promises, promises.

"The government isn't taking care of these people," says Musan al-Raqadi (ph), a community spokesman. "They just come and make promises they don't fulfil. There will be no future for these people unless that changes."

For people like Jamhurriyya Musa, until going home isn't akin to risking your life, this is home.

Michael Holmes, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: And now to a developing story out of Belgium. Reports say at least one person has been killed and 10 others hurt by a series of explosions in the city of Liege. The dead man reportedly through explosions toward a bus stop and was killed when they went off. Witnesses say they heard four blasts.

We'll bring you more details as we get them.

Still ahead here on NEWS STREAM, getting in the game. The billionaire owner of a U.S. basketball team says he plans to run against Vladimir Putin for the Russian presidency.

Plus, rewriting physics. We'll tell you why some of the questions you might have failed in science class may have been the wrong questions to begin with.

And finders, keepers. The U.S. asks Iran to return one of its drone aircraft, but Iran calls it a gift.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, one of the world's richest men says he will take on Vladimir Putin for the Russian presidency. Mikhail Prokhorov made the announcement on Monday, just after some of the largest anti-government protests Russia has ever seen.

Now, Prokhorov has some political experience, but he's best known for being a savvy business investor. And one of those investments includes the U.S. professional basketball team the New Jersey Nets, which he owns.

CNN's Phil Black is following developments from Moscow, and earlier he told us that some people are already questioning the motives behind Prokhorov's bid.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's a great deal of speculation about just what his incentives may be. Throwing his hat into the ring is a fascinating development in this imminent presidential race, but why is he doing it? A couple of competing theories.

He is a man who has dabbled in politics before, who has been seen to be close to the Kremlin, but someone who has also blamed the Kremlin on his previous political failure. And there is a theory that says perhaps he is doing this to jump on the bandwagon to run with all the popular discontents, particularly among the dissatisfied middle class, those who have really been taking to the streets in big, surprising numbers over the last week or so.

But other opposition leaders here are far more cynical. They say he is a Kremlin stooge, someone who is doing this not just in cooperation with the Kremlin, but under the orders of the Kremlin, in order to present a credible, significant name to run against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, as he seeks the presidency again next year. But they believe ultimately his goal is simply to draw votes away from the organized opposition here, that he will still ultimately be the loser to Vladimir Putin on the day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Now, Mikhail Prokhorov is one of Russia's super-rich citizens, or oligarchs. A self-made multibillionaire, "Forbes" magazine puts his fortune at $18 billion, and his wealth comes from running large gold and nickel mining companies. But he's perhaps better known internationally as majority owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team. And when Prokhorov bought the Nets, he joked with journalists, "America, I come in peace," and he had told "The New York Times" that he had studied Sarah Palin for tips on what not to do on camera.

Now, a keen sports fan, Prokhorov, he seems the perfect fit for a basketball team. Here he is. He's training with the Nets. And you'll notice that he's not exactly dwarfed by the professional players. Now, Prokhorov, he stands at over two meters tall, which earned him the nickname "Giraffe" when he was a boy.

And when he is not working, as you can see here, he has some pretty mean jet ski moves. This YouTube video shows him jumping the waves in the Maldives.

Now, a particle that would unlock several mysteries of the universe. And coming up next, we'll take a closer look at what's got physicists around the world chattering.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STOUT: Getting into the holiday spirit here in Hong Kong, you're back watching NEWS STREAM.

Now, has the Large Hadron Collider unlocked a mystery of the universe? Right now scientists at CERN are giving an update on something they call the Higgs boson. You may have heard it referred as the "God Particle," and finding it would confirm a fundamental theory of physics that explains why particles have mass.

Now, our basic understanding of the world around us assumes that this theory is true, but no one has ever seen the Higgs boson. And so, we can't be really sure that it exists.

So let's bring in Atika Shubert from London.

And Atika, has the God Particle been found?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the most honest answer is, we're not sure yet. But so far, signs are good. They have just started the press conference -- actually the seminar in which the scientists are getting together to talk about the results and their findings over the last year.

Now, what's really exciting and interesting about this is that, in fact, it's two separate groups of scientists that have been working in two different parts of the Large Hadron Collider, watching these particle collisions taking place and then sifting through these masses of information, trying to find that Higgs boson particle. Now, both of them have been doing their work independently, so this is the first time they've actually come together to compare their results.

So they'll get an idea today of where the Higgs boson, if it exists, where it might be. However, they won't be able to exactly pinpoint that until much later, when they've actually been able to compare all their calculations and go through it together.

STOUT: And why is this so significant? Why is it crucial for scientists to find and better understand the Higgs boson?

SHUBERT: Well, this is like that -- as one scientist explained it to me, this is the missing jigsaw piece, that last piece of the puzzle that physicists have been looking for, for decades. And it basically is, as you point out, what gives matter its mass.

It's what allows the solar system, the planets and us to exist. And the Higgs boson particle has always been theorized, but it's never been seen, never been proved. And this is why physicists feel it is incredibly important to find that missing puzzle link. And remember, this Large Hadron Collider, which costs tens of millions of dollars, this is what it was built for, basically to find the Higgs boson particle and prove that it exists.

STOUT: Now, over the years we've heard a lot about smashing particles there at the collider, but exactly how have scientists there at CERN been hunting and looking for the Higgs boson?

SHUBERT: Well, what they know, they have something called the standard theory, and this basically -- they know most of that theory. But the one part they're missing is the Higgs boson particle. So what they have done is they have run proton beams in these huge circles that run under Switzerland, France, and also to Italy. And basically, they collide these proton beams together.

And by doing so, they smash these proton beams apart to see what's inside. All these tiny subatomic particles go flying off, and what they do is they try and sift through what they already know. And they say, OK, we know all about that. What we're looking for is what we don't know.

And so looking for little blips of mass that may indicate whether or not the Higgs boson is there. So it's a lot of painstaking work that takes an incredible amount of time, and this is why all the scientists at CERN are so excited.

STOUT: Well, if we get an answer, if news breaks from this seminar under way in CERN, we'll be sure to bring you back up here on CNN.

Atika Shubert, thank you so much.

And coming up next here on NEWS STREAM, finders, keepers. Iran says it has the right to control a U.S. drone shot down in its territory, but America wants the plane back.

And a trail of destruction, the new virtual view of Japan's tsunami-ravaged areas. The pictures, ahead on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now details are still coming in, but we have reports from Belgium that say at least two people have been killed and around 15 others injured in an attack in the city of Liege. Local news agency Belga (ph) says at least two attackers threw stun grenades across a busy square in the city center and then opened fire. Belgium media that one of the dead was one of the attackers.

Now Syria is rejected the United Nation's estimate that more than 5,000 anti-government protesters have been killed since March. Now the UN's human rights chief says more than 300 of the dead were children. The Syrian government denies allegations that it is targeting civilians.

Now Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov says he will challenge Vladimir Putin to become the country's next president. Prokhorov owns the New Jersey Nets basketball team and briefly led a right-wing party earlier this year. His announcement comes as thousands of Russians have been protesting alleged fraud in recent parliamentary elections.

The Palestinian flag was raised at UNESCO headquarters in Paris today, the ceremony that marked a controversial entry in the organization. UNESCO voted in October to admit Palestine as a full member even though it has not achieved statehood nor full membership in the United Nations. United States and Israel were angered by the move and Washington stopped its contributions to funding for UNESCO.

And Canada is pulling out of the Kyoto accord on climate change. Environment minister Peter Kent says the goals of Kyoto were unworkable because the United States and China have yet to sign on. The announcement comes a day after international negotiators in Durban agreed to extend the expiring treaty.

Now police in Pakistan are questioning three people who were working at an Islamic school after a raid on Monday found dozens of students held captive there. Reza Sayah has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Just an awful scene in the southern port city of Karachi, nearly 70 individuals, many of them teenagers, locked up, chained up, placed behind bars living in dreadful conditions. Police say they found the captives in a facility they described as part madrasa, or religious school, and part drug rehabilitation center. They say they're still investigating to figure out what this place was and why these individuals were living in these conditions.

Police raiding the place after a tip. The raid taking place during the overnight hours, a frightening situation, especially for some of these young captives who were crying as the operation was taking place, but certainly after it was over many of them celebrating their freedom.

In talking to Pakistani TV, many of the captives acknowledged that they were sent there by their families because they were recovering drug addicts. A government official telling CNN that during the overnight hours, these captors were locked up and made to wake up early in the morning, made to work. There were times that they were beaten sometime during the morning hours. They were also involved in some sort of religious study.

Three people in custody. According to government officials the individuals apparently worked here. Police still looking for the cleric who ran the place.

Because of Pakistan's poor education system there are thousands of madrasas, or religious schools, that are not registered, not monitored by the government. Sometimes there's militant activity in these facilities. But police say there is no sign that any militant activity was taking place in this particular facility.

Reza Sayah, CNN, Islamabad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now should finders be keepers? Iran says that this U.S. drone that was captured in Iranian territory is now its property and has the right to control what happens to the plane. But U.S. president Barack Obama has asked Iran to give it back. And the U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta says it is unclear whether capturing it will be helpful to Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEON PANETTA, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Our request for the return of the drone is -- is an appropriate request. And that -- that they give it back to us. I don't expect that that will happen, but I think it's important to make that request. And I'm not -- you know, it's a little difficult to know just frankly how much they're going to be able to get from, you know, from having obtained those parts. I don't know the condition of those parts. I don't know exactly what state they're in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now the U.S. also uses drones to patrol its own borders. But now local authorities are deploying the aircraft to track down criminal suspects in U.S. cities. Casey Wian tells us why some critics say that police are going too far.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Customs and Border Protection uses eight unmanned military aircraft to patrol the United States borders with Mexico and Canada as well as the southern coastline looking for drug and immigrant smugglers. It also deploys the drones to help local authorities manage natural disasters like these floods in North Dakota. But what's been largely unknown before a Los Angeles Times report over the weekend is that local police have been using the drones to conduct surveillance flights and arrest criminal suspects.

It happened recently in North Dakota where a local sheriff arrested members of a family involved in a dispute over cattle and in an alleged confrontation with sheriff's deputies.

Former California congresswoman Jane Harman served on the House homeland security intelligence subcommittee and says the drones could allow police to violate constitutional protections against unreasonable searches.

JANE HARMAN, FRM. U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN: This is mission creep. I think it is beyond the mandate that congress gave the border patrol to use drones along our border. Now we're talking about drones being used over American cities or in rural areas over the homes of law abiding Americans potentially.

WIAN: Harman says congress needs to debate the appropriateness for drones being deployed for domestic surveillance which she says was never discussed.

However a Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman cites eight sections of U.S. law that give it the authority to use drones in support of local police. The agency also says the sensors and cameras used by the drones are similar to those used by its fixed wing aircraft and helicopters which have been supporting local law enforcement for years. The main difference, the drones can stay airborne for up to 20 hours.

Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now months after an earthquake and tsunami devastated parts of Japan's coast we are getting a new view of the aftermath from Google Street View. Now take a look at this street in the town in Hatori (ph), this is before the disaster, and it looks like an ordinary small town street in Japan. And here is what it looks like now, just empty space everywhere with only a handful of buildings still standing.

Now let's look at the difference once again. Now this is a street in Omangowa (ph). And you can see shops, you can see cars. And then things are completely missing in this photograph taken after the disaster. And it is a striking way of showing the destruction caused by the disaster using a web site known more as a navigational tool than anything else.

So we asked Google why they chose to do this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN TOKUSEI, GOOGLE SPOKESMAN: The whole mission about us is making organizing information, making it accessible and useful to everyone in the world. When the disaster struck we took the first action by taking a satellite area used to actually capture what's happening on the ground from the above. But as we actually understood the areas better, as we established communication with people on the ground there, there are a lot of voices coming from all avenues that act in community, villages, of course journalism that this experience is hard to capture on a single shot of a camera.

A lot of people knew about street view technology from regular, normal usage. And they came to us by asking us, hey, this is a way to capture the experience, it's a way to capture the true state of the damage and archive it and serve it to the higher world so people will understand the extent of the damage too. We can actually archive it and serve it to the other people free -- permanently record it so that people can learn from it and not forget the experience we had to go through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now the web site hosting these images is called Build the Memory. Google says it's a way of remembering what these towns used to look like before disaster struck.

Now worker strikes, corruption scandals and a rush to secure shanty towns: we look at the obstacles Brazil is facing as the country prepares to host the 2014 World Cup when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now in two-and-a-half years from now Brazil will host the world's biggest football tournament. But preparations to showcase the so-called beautiful game have been haphazard. Now Shasta Darlington reports on the troubles in Rio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rio de Janeiro's special forces roll in on armored personnel carriers on the hunt for drug dealers in shanty towns that cling to hills across the city, not exactly the image Brazil wants as it prepares for the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic games two years later.

The police invasion of so-called favelas is just one of many battles authorities are fighting as they rush to get stadiums, airports, and roads ready and safe.

FIFA has repeatedly warned Brazil simply isn't working fast enough for the 2014 football extravaganza. Maracana Stadium (ph) here in Rio de Janeiro is Brazil's most emblematic. And yet if you look right here behind me you can see there's a gaping whole where we should be seeing sand. And this stadium has to be ready a year earlier in time for the 2013 FIFA Confederation's Cup.

The latest obstacle, a corruption scandal that forced Brazil's sports minister to step down amid allegations of hefty kickbacks. His replacement, a respected politician, is undaunted.

"We have absolute confidence, absolute certainty," he says, "that Brazil will have all of the conditions, the equipment, principally the stadiums, built for the Cup."

He says the 12 stadiums in 12 different cities will be ready on time.

Brazil officially planned to spend $13 billion on the Cup, making it the most expensive in history. But works are already over budget.

Brazilians are generally optimistic.

"It'll probably all come together last minute," says this man, "but it'll come together."

There's plenty of work ahead. Brazil is fighting FIFA to offer cheap tickets for students, indigenous groups and the elderly.

"40 million people here live in poverty," he says, "and it just isn't possible for Brazil to host this big, global football party if these people don't have access."

FIFA, on the other hand, wants alcohol served in the stadiums, which is currently illegal.

In Brazil, football is called the beautiful game. But it's police efforts to secure shanty towns that's grabbed the world's attention. Organizers want to make sure that's not how the 2014 World Cup is remembered.

Shasta Darlington, CNN, Rio de Janeiro.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Well that World Cup is a few years away, but on Monday there was a big match in England that altered the race for this season's Premier League title. Pedro Pinto is in London with more -- Pedro.

PEDRO PINTO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey Kristie. Premier League leaders Manchester City lost their first domestic game of the season to Chelsea who have now boosted their title hopes here in England. 2-1 was the score at Stamford Bridge. The visitors actually took the lead in the second minute through Mario Balotelli, however, Raul Meireles equalized for Chelsea. And after City had been reduced to 10 men Frank Lampard came off the bench. He scored from the spot to give the Blues a crucial win at the Bridge.

The Londoners moved up to third place in the standings. Man City are still top, but they only have a two point lead over rivals Manchester United.

One of England's best rugby players of all time retired from the international game on Monday. Johnny Wilkinson, the man who scored his country's world cup winning drop goal in the 2003 final, announced that he would not play for the national team again. The 32 year old made his international debut back in 1998 as an 18-year-old.

He bows out as his nation's all-time leading point scorer. His aggregate of 1,246 international points is second only in the world to New Zealand's Dan Carter. And during his star studded international career during which he won 91 caps for England he played in four World Cups. For good measure, he scored a record 36 drop goals among his many other impressive numbers.

Wilkinson will continue to play for his French club Toulon. Those who share the England dressing room with the Fly Hops (ph) say he was one of a kind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLIVE WOODWARD, FRM. ENGLAND RUGBY COACH: I think we all look back on Johnny's career and just regard ourselves extremely lucky whether we were players or coaches to be around him when he was at his very, very best. And he was just always, just a great, great part of the team. He was the ultimate team player.

You know, when you look to see what he did individually, how he took his own game to a whole new level, you know, I think he inspired a whole group of players, but also a whole (inaudible) rugby -- world rugby. I think he took to a whole new level.

(END VDIEO CLIP)

PINTO: Onto news from the United States. We won't get to see NHL superstar Sidney Crosby on the ice any time soon. The Pittsburgh Penguin center has been sidelined indefinitely after suffering more concussion symptoms recently. The Canadian phenom has played only eight games since returning from the 10 month playoff after a concussion. And he'll now miss more action.

The 24-year-old center revealed on Monday that he suffered concussion symptoms following the 3-1 loss to Boston last week. During the game he collided with a teammate, but did not appear to his head -- this is the incident here.

Crosby said he is going to wait until he is 100 percent before coming back for good.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNEY CROSBY, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS CENTER: Not bad. You know, it's not something that you know how people are watching, but that being said I've got to make sure with these sort of things that, you know, I'm careful and, you know, aware of making sure that I'm 100 percent before I come back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there time that you will be returning?

CROSBY: No. No. There's no time table, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PINTO: We do hope to see him back on the ice soon.

That's a quick look at the sports headlines for this hour. Kristie, back to you in Hong Kong.

LU STOUT: Pedro, thank you.

Now Britain is being battered by strong wind and rain. And the storms could cause travel problems. We'll check the forecast straight ahead.

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LU STOUT: Welcome back to News Stream.

We have tropical depressions near the Philippines. Let's get the latest on the situation with Jenny Harrison. Long time, no see. She joins us now from the world weather center. Hey there, Jenny.

JENNY HARRISON, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kristie. Very nice to see you.

Yes, I don't have particularly good news when it comes to your region, although I have to say these two tropical depressions are actually at either side of the Philippines. And the first, number 26, is just sort of amongst all this cloud, you can see. And it's been working its way across the South China Sea for the last couple of days.

So the winds haven't made it to tropical storm strength. And it doesn't look as if it will. So it's just going to stay offshore. But of course it's getting closer to Vietnam, so we are seeing some rain showers. And they will work their way, eventually, across into southern areas. But not particularly heavy rain. We don't expect to see big accumulations. So hopefully there shouldn't be any great concerns here for any sort of flooding.

So that's number 26.

This, however, is tropical depression 27. Now this does look as if in the next few hours it could indeed become a tropical storm. Those winds at the moment just below tropical storm strength. Remember 65 kilometers from hour, sustained winds, that is when it is considered a tropical storm. And you can see that in fact once it becomes a tropical storm within the next 24 hours, we then are expecting to see some fairly noticeable increase in the strength of this storm. At the moment is is heading towards southern sections of the Philippines. So we'll keep a very close eye on the progress of that storm.

Meanwhile, the storms across the northwest of Europe, Britain in particular -- this is week three now of these storms. They've been heading across the Atlantic. You can see the low, the center of the low out past the northwest coast of Scotland. All this sort of speckled cloud, that's bringing the showers, some wintry showers in there as well.

These are current wind speeds. Now these are the sustained winds. We've got sustained winds of nearly 60 kilometers an hour to Glasgow, Belfast, close to it in Plymouth. And that does mean, of course, the sustained winds (inaudible) sort of strength we're looking at so gusts probably at around 80 or more kilometers an hour. And even not the highest elevations. And those winds will spread across into northern France, particularly.

But in the last few hours, look at some of these wind gusts. Now the Cairngorns -- this is obviously the top of the Cairngorns, so it's 1,200 meters, 150 kilometers an hour, those winds. But it is also very cold. It's a cold wind. And it's making the temperature there feel like minus 19 degrees Celsius.

And then Shannon across in Ireland, of course a very busy commuter center, 112 kilometers an hour the strongest winds there. And the same across the Channel on the north coast of France in Le Havre.

So I would image at this point we will be seeing some cancellations when it comes to ferries.

The airports are slightly different. I'll come on to that. But this has what's been going on. We've had the jet stream across the UK. It's much lower than normal. So it's been actually pushing these storms across that region with that high pressure to the south, that is what making these areas of low pressure extremely strong. As they move out of the way they're moving swiftly, but look at this, there's another one waiting in the wings. This heading in likely later on Thursday.

Let's have a look now at conditions elsewhere.

(inaudible) across the UK, but also across northern France into the low country of central and western Germany. And to say those winds are cold as well as strong, so it feels like minus 5 up into Glasgow right now.

This is what it's been looking like in the last 12 hours, more snow to the highlands, but also you'll notice quite a lot of sleet and snow even to lower elevations across central regions of the UK. And again very heavy rain with that turning to snow across more central areas of Europe.

So this is the wind forecast for the next 48 hours. The darker the color the stronger those winds. The UK is really been taking the brunt of this, because of the position of that jet stream and look at some of these numbers. These are sustained winds in the next 48 hours. So again we've got 75 kilometers an hour, at one point around 80 kilometers an hour.

And as I say, once the storm heads through Wednesday should be a much better day. But as we go through Tuesday, do be prepared for some fairly lengthy delays at all those airports, particularly across the northwest. So Glasgow, look at that, an hour-and-a-half is quite possible. And also Copenhagen as those storms come across.

This is the forecast. There's more rain, there's more snow in the forecast despite the fact that system is clearing away. And again you can see its fairly widespread across into Europe. And temperatures are not too bad, despite all that, 8 in Paris. And the same in Berlin -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Jenny Harrison, thank you for that.

Now let's return now to the developing news out of Belgium. The police, they are hunting for a man suspected of helping carry out a grenade attack in the city of Liege. A spokeswoman for the local governor says at least one person was killed, several others were injured in this attack. Belgium media say one of the dead was one of the attackers. At least two attackers reportedly threw stun grenades across a busy square in the city center and then opened fire.

And that is News Stream, but before we go we have one more update for you. Scientists say that they have found signs of Higgs Boson, the so- called God particle, but they've stopped short of saying that they've actually found it, only signs of it. Now the Higgs Boson again is key to our understanding of how the world works and is a key part of most physical models but until now, only a theoretical part of it.

We'll have much more on this story in the hours ahead here on CNN. World Business Today is next.

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