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Massive Blackouts Leave 600 Million Without Power In India; Saudi Judo Athlete Will Be Allowed To Compete; Recap Of Monday's Olympic Action; Uganda President Urges Citizens To Avoid Contact; Mitt Romney Visits Poland
Aired July 31, 2012 - 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: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet. And we begin in India where hundreds of millions of people are suffering a massive power outage for a second day in a row.
Plus, this young Chinese swimmer should be celebrating her record breaking performance, instead she's fighting back against some who suggest her accomplishments may be too good to be true.
And the jury for a billion dollar tech trial has been seated. Now Samsung and Apple are set to make their opening statements.
In India, some 600 million people are in the dark right now after a massive blackout swept across half the country. Now today's power outage, it follows a huge blackout on Monday that affected about half as many people. Now power grids for India's northern and eastern regions went down earlier today. And the collapse shut off electricity in sweltering heat and brought hundreds of trains to a halt. And there are reports that hundreds of miners are also trapped underground.
And to put all this into perspective, the number of people affected by today's power outage in India is double the entire population of the United States.
Now officials say that they are working to get the grids back up and running as fast as they can. Mallika Kapur is in Mumbai. And she joins us now on the line.
And Mallika, tell us more about how this blackout is being felt across India/
MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this blackout has had a crippling effect on India. You know, it is the second major power outage we've had in 48 hours.
Yesterday we had power outage that affected about 300 million people, that was mainly confined to the north half of the country. Today, another power outage affecting 300 to 400 more people. We're talking about 600 million people, more than half of the entire country's population.
There are people are stuck. They're stuck in trains, they're stuck on the roads, they're stuck in their offices. You know the whole country has virtually come to a halt in northern and in eastern India.
The big question, of course, is how did this happen? Why did this happen? What went wrong? The prime minister is saying he is actually not getting one particular reason, but he is saying it comes down to a demand and supply situation and perhaps some states have consumed more power than their allotted share, that they've simply overdrawn power. And this is not that surprising. We are in the peak of the summer season. The monsoons have been delayed. Farmers need water for their agricultural needs. And they've been using more power in some states to make sure that they can run their field and continue their farming.
It's so hot that people have been using air conditioners more throughout the country. And all this just adds up to people consuming more and more power, and over drawing power from the grid, causing the outage.
LU STOUT: So over drawn power is the culprit here.
Mallika, what's being done about it? And when will power be restored?
KAPUR: Well, officials have a press conference just about an hour ago local time. It's now 5:30 pm local time. And they had guaranteed the public that power will be back by about 7:00 pm local time. So another hour, hour-and-a-half to go.
You know, power has started coming back in certain parts. I know certain parts of New Delhi, power is back on. In Calcutta, power is back on. It went off there for a short while, but it is back on.
So it seems that people are -- authorities are working hard at restoring power. And it is coming back. And life is slowly limping back to a state of normalcy in some parts of India.
LU STOUT: So this is affecting, you mentioned, New Delhi, Calcutta, obviously not affecting Mumbai as you are able to broadcast out to us live.
India is no stranger to blackouts, but just how common are power cuts there?
KAPUR: You know you're right, India is no stranger to blackouts, but you know we haven't seen something on such a scale before, 600 million people. This is affecting 19, 20 states. We've never seen something on such a massive scale before.
But yet power is a problem. You know, the Indian economy has grown in recent years, so has India's massive demand for energy. And India does face an energy shortfall, there's just no doubt about it. And people here are used to power cuts.
The situation, to be honest, has improved a lot in recent years. But, you know, power cuts are common. And in Delhi, you can have power going off for half an hour or an hour on a daily basis, but honestly we have never seen something on such a massive scale before.
LU STOUT: Yeah, the scale and the scope of this blackout is just mind boggling isn't it? Mallika Kapur joining us live from Mumbai. Thank you.
And all this is happening as India swelters in humid conditions. Let's go to Jenny Harrison now at the CNN international weather center with more on that -- Jenny.
JENNY HARRISON, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Kristie, as you say -- Mallika of course was saying as well that the lack of monsoon rains really seem to have been playing a part, possibly, over the last couple of days. These are temperatures right now across northern India in particular with the heat -- with the humidity factored into it. It's called the heat index. So it feels like 31 in New Delhi, 34 Celsius in Jaipur, and thankfully as we know, Mallika have got the power there, because again outdoors it feels like 34 degrees Celsius in Mumbai.
Now the lack of Monsoon rains is two-fold. First of all, it has been hotter than we would generally see, because when the rains come through they are of some cooling nature. They don't really reduce the temperature a huge amount, but it certainly feels a lot better for people to actually deal with on a daily basis. But you can see again in the last few hours, hardly any rain activity or even a cloud across the northwest. And at the same time, because of the severe lack of monsoon rains so far this year, it seems that farmers have been using power to draw on any water sources they can find.
This shows you, of course, again in just the last week there's that big hole appearing. This is the average, the red line. We like to see the green coming up to there at least. The last day, things have actually been a little bit better. But across the entire country you can see that all these areas in red still deficient. And out towards the northwest, the rains have just barely made any headway at all. And so across the entire country 22 percent below the average. Now this is the same as we experienced in 2009. And that was the year that they actually said it was a drought in terms of the monsoon.
75 percent of the monsoon rains -- of the rain throughout the year in India, come from these monsoon rains, that is how dependent they are on them. There is some rain in the forecast, but again nothing out towards the west -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: All right, Jenny, thank you very much indeed for that update. Jenny Harrison there.
Now to London now where a total of 15 gold medals are on offer on day four of the Olympics. And even though we're only a few days into the games, several new Olympic records have already been set. And two of those belong to Ye Shiwen who is back in action today.
Now she was the star of the women's 200 and 400 meter individual medleys. And at one stage, swam faster than any of the male competitors.
Now China is leading the gold medal count after Monday's competition in London. They currently have nine golds. But there has been speculation from some that Yi's performances may be too good to be true. Now in an interview with Britain's guardian newspaper, the head of the World Swimming Association said historically every time the sport has seen a performance considered, quote, unbelievable, doping has later been uncovered. Now Yi has never failed a drugs test. And she has hit back telling reporters this, quote, "my achievements derive from diligence and hard work. I will never use drugs." And she added this, quote, "Chinese athletes are clean."
And there's been a huge show of support for Yi on the Chinese microblogging site Sino Weibo. One user said this, "Ye Shiwen, you did well. I support you."
Some fans were more frank. For example, one post read, quote, "the foreigners are all jealous. If the results show no doping, you have to apologize."
And another one put it even bluntly, saying, quote, "you British wouldn't be able to get a gold medal even if you were on drugs."
Now China's anti-doping chief has given his support to Ye Shiwen. According to state media he says "it is unfair to point fingers at China when no one questioned, for example, Michael Phelp's eight gold medals in Beijing in 2008."
Now Jaime Florcruz is in Beijing. He's got more reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAIME FLORCRUZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Controversy rages over the sensational Olympic win by the 16-year-old Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen after she shaved over one second off the world record in the 400 meter individual relay. Some say it's incredibly fast, insanely fast, impossible even, especially because she swam faster than the men's champion in the final 50 meters.
Critics insinuate she may be using performance enhancing drugs, accusations which have enraged many people in China. Some say critics are simply envious, others ask why is it fabulous news if a Michael Phelps or some other swimming sensation pull off superhuman feats and grab multiple golds and it's cheating if it's a Chinese swimmer?
China's anti-doping chief says Chinese athletes have undergone nearly 100 drug tests in London, aside from the separate tests conducted by sports federations. And no one has tested positive.
To some, Ye Shiwen may have come from nowhere, but not to Chinese journalists who have been tracking her career.
JIANG YI, EDITOR, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED CHINESE (through translator): We have been following her since two years ago when she won a gold medal at the Asian games. We did a cover story on her. Back then she was only 14, but she was already Asia's swimming champion. She was also the winner at last year's world championships. So it's not strange that she could win a gold medal in the Olympics.
FLORCRUZ: Ye Shiwen, Jiang Yi says, is a typical Chinese teenager.
YI (through translator): She's no different from other 17 year old girls, very shy like many other Chinese teenagers she likes to tweet on China's microblogging sites and shop online.
FLORCRUZ: Yi herself says she's not a cheat. And all Chinese athletes are clean. She attributes her success to hard work and improved swimming skills.
Jaime Florcruz, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And we'll have much more from the Olympics later.
Also coming up here on News Stream, fierce fighting across Syria with no end to the violence in sight.
And tracking a killer virus. Ugandan authorities try to find anyone who came into contact with patients infected with Ebola.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back.
And you are looking at the visual rundown of all the stories in the show. And so far we've told you about the huge blackout gripping half of India. A little later we'll have more on the London Olympics, but now let's turn to Syria where civil war is raging.
Now there are flashpoint across the country. The opposition says that areas around the capital Damascus and the city of Homs came under heavy shelling on Tuesday. There are also fierce clashes between government troops and rebel fighters in Aleppo. And the fighting has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee the northern city since Friday. Now according to activists who remain, several neighborhoods are without electricity and phone service. Many residents are fearful of the regime's plans.
Now Mohammed Jamjoom is monitoring the violence from Abu Dhabi. He joins us now live. Mohammed, we've got these renewed clashes in Aleppo. What's the latest?
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kristie, just a short while ago we received word from a Syrian observatory for human rights that rebels in Aleppo had launched an attack against two police stations in the Solhanin (ph) neighborhood and also in the Bab el-Nadr (ph) neighborhood in Aleppo. And that they have successfully seized those buildings. And that in the process, at least 40 security officers were killed when those two police stations were attacked and seized by the rebels.
But also today, we're getting reports from opposition activists in Aleppo that the fierce clashes continue, especially in and around the neighborhood, that key neighborhood of Salahadin (ph) which is close to the center of the city.
Now it's still unclear as to who exactly controls this neighborhood. We've been hearing from the last couple of days, Syrian state TV keeps flashing banners saying that Syrian security forces have retaken that neighborhood, that they have cleared that neighborhood from armed terrorist groups. But the Free Syrian Army members we've been saying with say that is not true. They say they still control those neighborhoods, that they have been able to successfully repel attacks from the advancing regime soldiers that are trying to take that neighborhood, to wrest control of that neighborhood and other neighborhoods from them -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: Now very fluid situation of who has the upper hand there.
Now outside Aleppo, Mohammed, Syrian rebels, they are going after border crossings, they are going after key roadways, but how much ground are they gaining?
JAMJOOM: Well, according to the rebels and what we've seen it looks like they are gaining more ground and more territory in northern Syria. Now yesterday the rebels were able to seize an army outpost in the northern outskirts of Aleppo. After that, they were able to take tanks from that outpost. They are now using those tanks to attack an airbase in another portion of Syria north of Aleppo, trying to gain ground.
They are trying to take more control of this highway that leads from northern Syria from Aleppo to the Turkish border, because that is a key supply route.
The rebels are saying they're taking more ground. They are confiscating more weapons, more artillery. It is significant, because the more ground that they start controlling in northern Syria, the more supplies they will be able to get in and more reinforcements they will be able to get in as well to fight the regime soldiers -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: That's right, more arms, more weapons for the rebels.
Now yesterday you reported that 200,000 people have fled the fighting in Aleppo just over the last few days. Is there any update on the refugees? Where are they now?
JAMJOOM: Well, the UNHCR is talking about just how dire the situation is. Now a couple of thousand refugees from Aleppo have been able to make it to Turkey these past few days to cross the border and go into Turkey. But there are a lot of refugees, according to the UNHCR, that have not been able to successfully flee Aleppo. Many of them haven't been able to make it to Turkey because they encounter snipers, they encounter road blocks. They encounter road blocks. They encounter checkpoints on their way trying to get to the Turkish border.
But there are still refugees, people that are fleeing their homes, families that are trapped inside Aleppo, many of them huddling in public buildings, in schools, in abandoned government buildings because they are afraid of the shelling that is going on there, because they are afraid of the violence.
Meanwhile, I've spoken to activists in Aleppo as recently as last night that we're seeing the humanitarian situation there getting just worse. It's not just fuel shortages: electricity has been cut off to certain neighborhoods, no internet access. They say they can't get word out to their loved ones. They are saying there are bread shortages and flour shortages as well. They feel that they are being punished by the regime and that there are a lot of people there that are hungry and they are very concerned about this worsening humanitarian crisis that's going on in that city, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yeah, desperate situation there. Mohammed Jamjoom reporting for us. Thank you.
Now the rebels fighting in Aleppo are already making use of tanks and ammunition they seized after capturing a military base just north of the city. Now fighters attacked the outpost from three sides for hours until finally pushing through. And Ivan Watson reported from the scene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The fires are still smoldering after Sunday night's rebel attack on a large Syrian army base next to the main highway between Aleppo and the Turkish border to the north. And look at the results of this attack, an armored personnel carrier blown open.
And just take a look at how ferocious this assault was, the turret -- the turret was blown off the vehicle something like 20 yards away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Wow, incredible views there.
Now the international community is keeping a close eye on the turmoil there in Syria. And up next, the U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta discusses a post al-Assad Syria after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you are back watching News Stream. Now first the UK, then Israel, and finally Poland. White House hopeful Mitt Romney is wrapping up his three nation foreign tour. The U.S. Republican presidential candidate spoke in Warsaw just a short time ago and he called Poland a symbol of economic liberty and democracy and a staunch ally of the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Our nation's belong to the great fellowship of democracies. We speak the same language of freedom and justice. We uphold the right of every person to live in peace.
I believe it's critical to stand by those who have stood by America. Solidarity was a great movement that freed a nation. And it's with solidarity that America and Poland face the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: And Romney hoped to end his foreign tour in Poland on a positive note after some headline making diplomatic stumbles in the UK and Israel. Now U.S. political correspondent Jim Acosta has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mitt Romney picked Poland for the last stop of his overseas trip to highlight an economy that is roaring ahead of much of Europe. And on the streets of the picturesque city of Gdansk, at least one person returned the praise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love (inaudible) president of United States.
ACOSTA: The campaign's image of the day was Romney's meeting with the former leader of Poland's solidarity movement Lech Walesa, the country's biggest anti-communism icon gushed over Romney and seemed to take a dig at President Obama.
LECH WALESA, FRM. PRESIDENT OF POLAND (through translator): Poland and many other countries will certainly do their best to help the U.S. restore its leadership position.
ACOSTA: Romney landed in Poland after a two day trip to Israel aimed at willing Jewish-American voters. His stop at the most sacred site of the Jewish faith, Jerusalem's Western Wall, resonated with Benjamin Weinrib (ph) an American orthodox Jew living in Israel.
Does that help win your vote?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. That definitely helps win my vote.
ACOSTA: But Palestinian leaders are not as pleased. They are fuming over comments Romney made at a fundraiser, comparing the Israeli and Palestinian economies. Romney told his donors, "and as I come here and look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things."
A spokesman for Palestinian leaders called Romney's comments racist, adding, "it seems to me this man lacks information, knowledge, vision, and understanding of this region and its people."
The Romney campaign complained that comments were being grossly mischaracterized.
But Romney hits the same theme in his book "No Apologies." And back in April made a similar comparison between Israelis and Egyptians.
ROMNEY: Why is Israel such a powerhouse economically and Egypt so far away? And then I read a book by a former professor. It was called "The Wealth and Poverty of Nations." And after about 500 pages of analysis, he says roughly these words. He said if you can learn anything at all from the history of the economic development of the world it's this, culture makes all the difference.
ACOSTA: It was yet another distraction for a campaign that wants American voters to focus on Romney as a potential leader of the free world.
CROWD: Obama! Obama!
ACOSTA: But escaping the campaign is never easy, even in Poland, where some fans of the current man in the White House chanted Obama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Jim Acosta there.
And while Romney wraps up his overseas trip, U.S. President Barack Obama's defense chief is in Egypt where he heads on to Israel. Now the U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is holding talks with newly elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in Cairo. He's also meeting with Egypt's powerful military chief.
And Panetta began his week long trip to the region in Tunisia. And that is where he spoke exclusively with CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. And as Barbara reports, the U.S. defense secretary did not hold back on his views on the Syrian conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: As he paid his respects to American troops killed in North Africa in World War II, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also faced up to the limits of U.S. military power in this region especially as the violence in Syria grows.
LEON PANETTA, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The problem is that it's -- it's near impossible to act unilaterally in that part of the world. It's got to be a multilateral international effort to be able to go after it. Why? Because a lot depends on once Assad comes down, what is that country going to look like? Who can develop the kind of transition that is so important to ensuring that that country holds together. And that frankly has to be an international effort.
STARR: For the first time, Panetta is talking in detail about how to keep a security structure in place in Syria when Assad is ousted or leaves.
PANETTA: And the best way to preserve that kind of stability is to maintain as much of the military, the police as you can, along with the security forces and hope that they will transition to a democratic form of government. That's the key.
STARR: It's nearly 10 years since violence erupted in Iraq after the U.S. disbanded what remained of Saddam Hussein's army. The memory haunts the Pentagon.
PANETTA: It's very important that we don't make the same mistakes we made in Iraq. And that particularly when it comes to things like the chemical sites.
STARR: He says it's crucial to keep Syrian troops at the sites to guard against the nightmare of al Qaeda or Hezbollah getting inside and obtaining weapons of mass destruction. And the defense secretary hinted, the U.S. has an ongoing operation to keep the stockpiles out of harm's way.
Operational bases -- you spoke of our operations there, meaning Syria. So did the U.S. government, other government agencies like your former agency, have operations in Syria to help assure the security of the chemical weapons?
PANETTA: Well, again I'm not going to comment on specific operations, only to tell you that we are taking every step possible to make sure that those chemical sites are secured.
STARR: Panetta had a final word of advice for Bashar al-Assad.
PANETTA: I would say if you want to be able to protect yourself and your family you better get the hell out now.
STARR: Is his life in danger?
PANETTA: Oh, I don't think there's any question.
STARR: But for the Obama administration, the Syria strategy still relies on a diplomatic solution and pressuring the Russians to help get Bashar al-Assad out of power. The only question, perhaps, is whether Assad feels that pressure.
Barbara Starr, CNN, Tunis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now still to come here on News Stream, tracking down a deadly virus: an outbreak of Ebola has gripped Uganda. How officials are rushing to contain it. That just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.
A second crippling blackout has hit India in as many days. Half of the country is without power. Railway services, including the Delhi metro, stopped running. And some hospitals in the north and east are on backup generators.
Now pitched battles between government forces and rebel fighters are being reported Tuesday in several suburbs of Syria's biggest city Aleppo. A day earlier, rebels captured an army outpost seizing tanks and weapons. Opposition activists say at least 85 people were killed across Syria on Monday.
A 16 year old Chinese swimmer who has set a new Olympic record is hitting back at doubts about her performance. Ye Shiwen, who at one stage swam faster than any of the male competitors, strongly denies any allegations of doping.
Now China is leading the gold medal count after Monday's competition in London with nine golds. And that was not the only drama at the aquatic center on Monday. And for more highlights from the games, plus a look at day four's events, Zain Verjee joins us now live from Olympic Park in London -- Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kristie. There was some stunning performances by some young women swimmers on Monday. Let me just give you an idea of what happened. American Missy Franklin won a gold medal in the 100 meter backstroke final. It was an amazing race. And actually it was her first bid for an individual medal at the Olympic games. She swam 58.33 with an incredible finishing kick here on Monday night.
And teenager Ruta Mellutyte won Lithuania's first ever Olympic gold in the pool. She beat her rival by just .08 of a second in the 100 meter breaststroke. She's only 15 years old. And she's the youngest Olympic swim champion in 40 years.
She actually goes to the same school as the home country's favorite Tom Daley. He competed in one of Monday's most highly anticipated contests: the men's 10 meter synchronized diving. But Daley and his teammate Peter Waterfield just missed out on a medal. They finished fourth.
Tuesday is day four of the competition. And the action at the aquatic center again tops the must watch list. First up, Kristie, is going to be the final of the men's 200 meter butterfly. American Michael Phelps will be looking for his first gold of these games, a medal of any color would actually be his 18th, tying him as the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time.
A little bit later on, 16 year old sensation Ye Shiwen of China swims for her second gold medal. She's raised a lot of eyebrows after improving her personal best by over five seconds.
Then to close out the night, the much anticipated men's 4x200 freestyle relay. But before any swimming medals are given out over at the Greenwich Arena, the final of the women's team gynmastics, USA, Russia, China, Romania, Kristie, all favorites for the podium there. China actually came out on top in the men's team gymnastics event on Monday. That makes a third Olympic gold now in the last four attempts.
Japan looked set to sin silver until three time world champion Kohei Uchimura on the final event blew his dismount on the pummel horse. Upon seeing the scores, Britain celebrated as they looked to finish with silver, but Japan filed an appeal. Then what happened, the judges initially ruled Uchimura missed the handstand element on the dismount. And then they took a closer review and then they decided to just give him the credit. So what that ruling meant was that Japan were awarded the silver with Team GB ending up with the bronze.
Sporting rules about hijabs, the headscarves worn by Muslim women, have also been a real point of controversy at the London games, but a young Saudi woman will now compete after a decision to let her wear her headscarf. Here's Nic Robertson with that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDNET: It looks like this potential public relations disaster for Saudi Arabia and the International Olympic Committee has been headed off. The Saudi athlete, a 16 year old female judo sportswoman will be able to compete in her Judo competition on Friday wearing her hijab, the headscarf.
According to a spokesman for the Saudi National Olympic Committee following a meeting with the International Judo Federation, the International Olympic Committee and the Saudi National Olympic Committee, she will be allowed to go ahead and compete. There does appear to be a compromise on the type of headscarf that she can wear. We don't have those details yet. But initially there had been a ruling by the president of the International Judo Federation saying that if she wore a hijab, this headscarf, then potentially that was a safety issue and that she wouldn't be able to compete.
She'd signed an agreement with the Saudi Olympic Committee saying that she wouldn't compete unless she could wear this garment, proper Islamic dress as it has been termed, but that disaster for the Olympic committee for the Saudi team as well has now been averted and she will be competing, we understand according to the Saudi spokesperson, she will be competing on Friday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: So this is a big deal, Kristie. This was grabbing the headlines for the last few days. But she is going to be able to compete on Friday. The International Olympic Committee had asked the Saudi authorities please let your female athletes compete. And they had said only if she was able to wear the hijab. But crisis finally averted. And she is going to be able to compete in judo -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: You know it's great to hear this. You know she was given the chance to compete at the Olympics and now she definitely is going to get a chance to do it there. I hope she does well. Zain Verjee live from our Olympic venue. Thank you for the update there.
Now the United Nations is sending a team to flood hit areas of North Korea to assess the damage after days of heavy rain. Now North Korean state media reports widespread flooding that has left at least 88 people dead and nearly 63,000 people homeless nationwide. And there are growing concerns about extensive damage to farmland across North Korea which already struggles with food shortages. And before the flooding, humanitarian groups operating inside the country reported severe malnourishment on a large scale.
Now let's get more now on the conditions there in North Korea. Jenny Harrison joins us once again from the world weather center -- Jenny.
HARRISON: Yes, Kristie. The good news I think at least in the next few days is actually we should get a bit of a break from the recent torrential downpours across that region. You can see across Asia, of course we've got the two systems to the south I'll talk about, the typhoon, the tropical storm, and then it looks like in the last few hours there has been quite a bit of rain headed towards North Korean. However, a lot of this is literally just cloud. And much of the rain is actually going to stay to the west. But as you can see in just the last 48 hours, 411 millimeters of rain. Here we got 166. All of that, as I say, in just the last couple of days.
But, the good news is, apart from a scattering of showers, the really heavy rain just manages to fizzle out as it heads up into northeastern areas of China and the accumulation is barely anything at all. So finally, as I say, some better weather news across the area.
And then if we head to the south we've got Saola and we also have Damrey. And of course the first one in Saola is actually a Typhoon. Now the forecast track, it has shifted a bit. It is pretty much to the north, so it is not expected to make landfall in Taiwan. However, this is going to continue to strengthen. And you can see the forecast path at the moment has it making landfall in eastern China. But it is the rain which is going to be the main concern here.
The winds, of course, also very, very strong, causing all sorts of problems in the sea, but also that east and north coast of Taiwan. And most of the heavy rain in the last few days is actually been further to the south in the Philippines. But now again we're getting a break there, but the system will really begin its impact on Taiwan. And look at the amount of rain we could be seeing. Northern areas could pick about a meter of rain over the next couple of days. We're looking at widespread flooding. And of course always a danger of mudslides and landslides.
We're going to keep a very close eye on this and the other storm system further to the north.
Let's have a look now at conditions elsewhere.
Well, we've had a wet start, of course, on what is it Tuesday, across the UK. And then a bit of a break. And guess what, the rain is once again headed in. In fact, already beginning to make its presence known in London, fairly quick these showers. It could get a little bit heavy at times, but they are fast moving. The temperature is 19 degrees in London. It has been fairly bleak off the coast there this morning, though it was actually of course the sailing taking place. One of the boats that I saw certainly capsized.
This is the forecast over the next couple of days. We go through the rest of Tuesday, more showers and rain. And then later on Wednesday we should finally get a bit of a clearer actual weather pattern. Certainly we've got more rain over the next few days. Wednesday should perhaps be the driest day overall. Plenty of (inaudible) on Thursday.
When it comes to the outlook, Kristie, over the next couple of weeks for the Olympics, Olympic outlook, you want lots of white days, there's only two in the offing. But so we're going to keep an eye on that as well.
LU STOUT: Well, it's a typical London forecast for the London Olympics. No big surprise this year.
HARRISON: People are used to it, exactly. Not that bad.
LU STOUT: Exactly. That's right. Jenny Harrison there, thank you. Take care.
Now let's go to Africa next where the president of Uganda is calling on residents to be cautious, telling them to avoid even shaking hands. And the warning, it comes after an outbreak of the Ebola virus killed at least 14 people there this month. And health officials are now trying to track down anyone who came in contact with infected patients.
David McKenzie has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNAITONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are at least four more suspected cases of the Ebola virus in Uganda, according to health officials speaking to CNN. Those cases have materialized both in the capital Kampala and also in the west of the country in Kibali (ph) where the outbreak is believed to have originated.
But first, health officials didn't recognize that this was the dreaded communicable disease. Several weeks went by and at least one family -- many members of that family were killed -- and about 14 are believed to have died already from the Ebola outbreak.
Now because of the delay in recognizing this virus, there are fears that this has spread into other villages round Kibali (ph) as well as possibly across the border into Congo.
The Center for Disease Control is mobilizing a team into the area to stamp out this outbreak. The president of Uganda Yoweri Museveni has gone on public television to warn people of making physical contact.
YOWERI MUSEVENI, PRESIDENT UGANDA: So I appeal to you to be vigilant, avoid shaking of hands, do no take on moving someone who has died from symptoms which look like Ebola, instead call the hospital to do it, and avoid promiscuity, because this sickness can also go through sex.
MCKENZIE: Local media is reporting that the bus routes to and from Kibali (ph) are much quieter than usual, that people are being checked for any symptoms.
The CDC says they have several days, in fact the next two weeks, to really put a huge effort into stamping out this outbreak.
David McKenzie, CNN, Nairobi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now let's take a closer look at the Ebola virus. Now it is transmitted by direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids or secretions of infected people. Humans have also been known to contract it through the handling of infected animals.
Now patients experience fever, weakness, muscle pain, headache, followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and impaired kidney and liver function. And in some cases, Ebola also causes both internal and external bleeding.
And there is currently no cure, no vaccine available for Ebola. And patients are treated with IV fluids to prevent dehydration.
Now you're watching News Stream. And coming up next, tenacity and confidence, these are two traits our next two leading women say that they needed to get to the top. We look inside the lives of Monique Lhuillier and Kristen Skogen-Lund. It's coming up next on News Stream.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Now welcome back.
And in this week's Leading Women series, we have two women at the top of their game. Monique Lhullier is the reigning fashion designer dressing many of Hollywood's finest, and Kristen Skogen-Lund is the executive vise president of Telenor, that's one of Norway's largest companies.
Now Felicia Taylor and Becky Anderson give us a glimpse into their careers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MONIQUE LHUILLIER, FASHION DESIGNER: So, right now, I'm doing fittings on my pre-fall collection.
All right, Michelle, let's have you walk for us.
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fashion designer Monique Lhuillier has been building her business for more than a decade.
LHUILLIER: I start the process by sketching out the designs, but for me the magic happens when I have it on the model's body, and then when I see the fabrics move and the way it drapes on the body.
We should tack this in the center back so it doesn't -- get lost.
The magic also begins when I work with beautiful fabric. That's where the inspiration starts. So, I'll view lots of fabrics, and I'll be like, these are speaking to me, and then that will start the color pallet.
Pretty. Hands in the pocket. Yes. Good height. Perfection.
TAYLOR: Lhuillier was inspired to create beautiful gowns right out of design school.
LHUILLIER: So beautiful.
TAYLOR: It started when she couldn't find the right wedding dress for her own nuptials. Her husband, Tom, a business major, became her company's CEO, and together they grew a small line of wedding dresses into a successful design house.
But that success meant sacrifice along the way.
LHUILLIER: What I realized when we were starting out company, when we were building our company, is that you have to give up everything personally in the very beginning, because it's all about the business. There's no balance at that point. It's all about work.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD (singing): La la la! Elmo's World!
TOM BUGBEE, MONIQUE LHUILLIER'S HUSBAND: Elmo's World!
LHUILLIER: Tom and I have been married for 17 years, and we didn't start our family until our 11th year of being married. It's because we really gave up everything to start this.
TAYLOR: Lhuillier not only designs for well-known personalities. She also has a more affordable line that is sold in department stores. Lhuillier also has created a line of china, crystal ware, and home fragrances.
A little confidence in what she was building gave her the tool to persevere.
LHUILLIER: It takes a lot of tenacity in the beginning, and really -- a beautiful product will shine in the end. And so, you just have to stick it through and believe in yourself.
ANDERSON (voice-over): I'm Becky Anderson. Having confidence is a central theme for Kristin Skogen Lund. She's held many executive level positions in international companies such as Unilever and Coca-Cola.
And before she became executive vice president of Telenor, she was the first female managing director of a major media company in Norway. But Lund admits it took her some time to feel comfortable in the role of boss.
KRISTIN SKOGEN LUND, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, TELENOR: When I started to work for Coca-Cola and I had two guys working for me and I was the marketing director and they were marketing managers, and when I first met them, I was really shocked, because they were so tall. They were like 6 feet 4 tall, and I -- and I thought it was very absurd that I should be the boss of someone who was that tall.
(LAUGHTER)
LUND: I've gotten more used to bossing now, you can say that.
ANDERSON: For Lund, believing in oneself is crucial, and when she gives inspirational talks, she points out why certainty is crucial to good business.
LUND: I try to focus on this thing about your own confidence and security, that you just do yourself such a big favor by allowing yourself to gain confidence and to focus nine times out of ten on your strengths.
I really believe that insecurity is the root cause of a lot of bad management and a lot of bad behavior. It's not because the people are bad, it's just because they're not secure.
ANDERSON: Despite all of her success, Lund tries to remain grounded, even admitting one of the biggest obstacles she's faced since she started out in the business world: insecurity.
LUND: Well, I guess I didn't realize how good I was. And I certainly wasn't comfortable with it. I didn't want to stick out. I was afraid that others would dislike me. I was -- I still am, actually -- afraid that people will accuse me of thinking I'm something special. I really don't want to have that attached to me, and I really don't want to be perceived that way. I still worry about that.
I really believe in optimizing what you do at the moment, and then possibilities will occur, and you just need to be open-minded to those possibilities when they come to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: For more on our Leading Women, check out our website at CNN.com/leadingwomen.
Now coming up next here on News Stream, who copied whom? It's the case of Apple versus Samsung. And the two tech giants are squaring off in court. The blockbuster legal battle is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: All right. Opening statements are due to begin at the U.S. jury trial into the Apple-Samsung patent war. It follows well over a year of legal disputes around the world. But what does it essentially come down to?
Well, take a look at this. This is what Samsung smartphone looked like before the launch of the iPhone. And then compare it to the newer Galaxy Nexus models. As you can see the large touchscreen, it bears a resemblance to Apple's iconic phone.
But appearances can be deceptive. Now Samsung's case is based on underlying technologies. As far as they are concerned, the iPhone would not exist as we know it without their input. And the case had huge consequences. Now if Samsung loses, they face a possible ban on Galaxy smartphone and tablets in the U.S. If they win, they could potentially get royalties from Apple.
Now Samsung and Apple still work together as Samsung provides chips for the iPhone, but that is unlikely to soften any blows from this trial. Dan Simon has more on the case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A jury has now been seated in the patent war showdown between Apple and Samsung. Seven men and three women are on this jury. Opening statements going to take place tomorrow morning. Apple is going to allege that Samsung violated some of its crucial patents. It's going to argue that it essentially created knockoffs of its most popular products the iPhone and the iPad. Samsung counter suing Apple saying it's Apple that infringed on some of its important technology. Expect the trial to last about four weeks.
Now the two sides, Apple and Samsung, sat down before the trial to try to reach some kind of settlement, but obviously those conversations broke down.
Now today, potential jurors were asked about possible conflicts of interest. They were asked questions about for example whether or not they owned any Apple stock or any of them or any of their family members work at some of the big technology companies in Silicon Valley. Again, this trial expected to last four weeks. Expect to hear testimony from top executives and top engineers from both companies.
Dan Simon, CNN, San Jose, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now Twitter has brought Olympic athletes and their fans closer than ever before, sometimes too close. Now British police have arrested a 17 year old man over Twitter messages sent to British Olympic diver Tom Daley. Now on Monday, Daley retweeted a message he'd received after failing to win a medal which said he let his dad down. Now Daley's father died last year. And police say the teenagers being questioned on suspicion of malicious communications.
Now Daley is not the first Olympic athlete to get into a Twitter spat. A Swiss footballer was expelled from the Olympics on Monday for tweeting an insulting message after his team lost to South Korea.
And last week, a Greek triple jumper was thrown off the national team for a racist comment about African immigrants in Greece.
Now this is what you are directed to when you are looking for journalist Guy Adams on Twitter. His account has been suspended after he criticized an American TV network's coverage of the London Olympics on the microblogging site. Now Adams had used Twitter to encourage others to email an NBC executive's email address about the network's decision to delay airing the game's opening ceremony.
Now Twitter's terms have used forbid posting other people's personal information. But in a letter to Twitter published in the Independent Adams maintains that he posted a corporate email address not a private one. And Adams, he also says that according to an NBC spokesman it was Twitter, not NBC who initiated the complaint against his tweet. Now he's now asking for the account to be unsuspended, please.
But let's circle back to what the Independent journalist was complaining about to begin with. NBC is delaying some of its coverage of the London Olympics by six-and-a-half hours to air it in prime time hours.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF JARVIS, BUZZMACHINE.COM: I can understand the old time business rationale for that, but in the internet it's out-moded. For one thing, we can all talk about these things on Twitter. And Twitter becomes a giant spoiler machine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: So let's say you take one of the most talked about upsets of the Olympics so far, Michael Phelps' loss to rival Ryan Lochte in the 400 individual medley. Now the race, it was trending on Twitter, front page news on all the most popular sports website and NBC even streamed the content online. But many American viewers didn't get to watch it on television until long after it was all over.
And that all comes down to cold, hard cash. Prime time is where NBC makes its money. The network paid $4.4 billion to air the Olympics through the 2020 games. It makes that up in ad revenue. It's charging $725,000 for a single 30 second spot. So for NBC, a six hour plus delay is just good business, even if some viewers feel that they're the ones who end up paying for it.
And that is News Stream, but the news continues at CNN. World Business Today is next.
END
