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New Blog Names, Shames Bad Puppies; Alawites, Sunnis In Lebanon Blame Each Other For Violence; Hurricane Isaac Threatens GOP Convention; 11 Year Old Pakistani Girl Still In Custody On Blasphemy Charges

Aired August 23, 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 Syria where government forces are said to be pounding Damascus to drive out the opposition.

Also ahead, a nation in mourning: South Africa remembers the striking workers killed at a platinum mine.

In the U.S., a gather political storm, how the approach of Tropical Storm Isaac could impact a major political convention.

And a deadly motorsport, the craze that is sweeping Saudi Arabia.

Now the sounds of shelling and gunfire are ringing out again in Syria. And the death toll in the country's relentless civil war continues to climb. Opposition activists say at least 73 people have been killed across Syria today. More than 40 of the deaths are in Damascus.

Now the opposition says army helicopter gunships and tanks have been pounding neighborhoods in the capital and its suburbs to drive rebel fighters out. And the surging unrest is also sparking international warnings. The U.S. and Britain are cautioning the Syria regime against any use of chemical weapons. And there are also growing fears for neighboring Lebanon.

Now a top UN official says that the situation in Lebanon is becoming more precarious by the day as Syria's civil war drags on. Now he is urging a clampdown on arms smuggling across the border, but Jim Clancy reports the deadly violence has already spilled over into Lebanon's second biggest city.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRRESPONDENT: The echo of gunshots riddled Lebanon. Gunmen in the Sunni neighborhood of Tripoli who support the Free Syrian Army exchanged fire with Alawite Muslims who support Bashar al-Assad.

While Syria refugees do shelter in these neighborhoods, it's the Alawite and Sunni Muslims who live here who are fueling a mirror image of the war across the border in Syria.

ARINE HASSAN, ALAWITE ATTORNEY (through translator): Both parties think that this matter in Tripoli presents the actual battle going on in Syria. And somehow can be decisive for events there, can influence the outcome.

CLANCY: Assef Nasser, an Alawite and former Lebanese diplomat, says political parties are behind the unrest.

ASSEF NASSER, FORMER LEBANESE DIPLOMAT: There are no issues between Alawites and Sunnis interpreting, but there is a hidden agenda, an attempt to create problems.

CLANCY: Across the border in Syria the real fight goes on. Alawites view this situation there with deep concern. 90 percent say the Assad regime protecting them. If it falls, they will suffer the consequences. The Free Syrian Army hasn't eased any fears.

HASSAN (through translator): We thought that the revolution in Syria was going to be effective, but the opposition made three mistakes. Arming people in Syria, seeking international intervention, and raising sectarian messages such as Alawite to the grave and Christians to Beirut. Although the slogan was raised only once, it affected Alawites and Christians alike.

CLANCY: Both of these voices of the Alawite community agree the news media is working against them.

NASSER (through translator): The media always attributes certain qualities to the Alawite community and links it to the Syrian regime and that's not the case. The Alawite religion is a social entity, a sect, and has nothing to do with politics. The Alawite now are not judged fairly. As the situation gets worse in the Middle East, it starts having a negative consequence on the Alawite that is immoral and unacceptable.

CLANCY: The Alawites of Syria are not the Assads, that is the message they want heard, but they fear at this point it may be too late for the world to know that the Alawites have no one representing them in Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: And Jim Clancy joins us now from the Lebanese capital of Beirut. And Jim, are the guns still firing today in Tripoli in Northern Lebanon?

CLANCY: Well, the Lebanese army has deployed on Syria Street, aptly named. It divides the two sides, but that hasn't stopped the gunfire from taking another life this day. A sniper shot a victim. The police were reporting one is now dead.

It's a very, very shaky truce. We're told, Kristie, that the Sunni side has run out of ammunition and that's part of the reason why this truce is even holding as well as it has been over the past 24 hours. Back to you.

LU STOUT: And meanwhile, what's the latest from inside Damascus where the violence is just escalating?

CLANCY: Nothing there but bad news. The toll, now I'm told, is up to 90. We know that that's going to rise. This is really taking place in the suburbs. You can imagine how embarrassing it is for the regime, what a symbol of a loss of control to have rebels in suburbs, even, of the capital fighting on the streets of the capital. And therefore it is striking back, and striking back hard using helicopter gunships, war planes in some places to try to pound the rebels into submission, to push them out so it can reclaim control there and say that it does control its own capital.

But as this death toll rising, you can imagine that the toll of the wounded is also soaring as well. And their fate is not a pleasant one right now.

A lot of people worry, too, who have fled the capital, fled these areas of fighting. There have been international calls to try to get them more assistance, to get more donations. The real problem is getting food aid into these people, getting assistance, humanitarian assistance into them, because there are no safe corridors, there are no safe havens, and frankly they can't get those supplies in.

LU STOUT: That's right, how can they get access to the areas that need it the most.

You just detailed the situation in Damascus, what is happening in Aleppo. We know that Amnesty International, they have released this report saying that civilians there are suffering, in their words, horrific violence. What's happening in Syria's largest city?

CLANCY: What's happening in Aleppo is really part of what's happening all across the country and that is you have two sides that are locked in this battle to the death. The government is using increasingly heavy arms, 500 pound bombs dropped by jets that can pulverize a building, those are claiming civilian casualties. They're also claiming casualties because they're going after purely civilian targets and this is something that was pointed out in that Amnesty International report.

You know, what you drop a bomb on a bread line, there's no military purpose for that, it's just driving the civilians into submissions.

On the other hand, the Free Syrian Army also charged -- you know the evidence is out there on social media, they have posted it, executing members of the so-called ghost, the Shabiha militia that fights on behalf of the Assad regime, summary executions there, also Amnesty International notes, a war crime Kristie.

LU STOUT: And Jim, before we let you go, a lot of international last week on the diplomatic front. We have the British prime minister, he is now backing the U.S. president's warning to Syria on chemical weapons and moving them. Will that do anything? Will that change anything on the ground?

CLANCY: Well, you expect to see move of that, I think Kristie. You know, you had Britain coming out today, Mr. Obama coming out just a few days ago and saying it. I would expect other western leaders are going to add their voices to this chorus. They are trying to underscore the point, number one they don't want to see these weapons used, but just as important, perhaps, they're telling the regime and its supporters in Moscow and Beijing that they consider this to be a red line. They don't want those kinds of weapons even moved into the hands of people that they don't want to have them.

Read into that Hezbollah, Iranian backed, right here in Lebanon. The U.S. government, Washington, trying to reassure ally Israel that it is not going to stand idly by if chemical weapons were transferred into the hands of someone, some group that is openly and constantly threatening the state of Israel, one of its strongest allies in the region -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right. Jim Clancy reporting for us live from Beirut, thank you, Jim.

And as the violence worsens in Syria and threatening neighboring Lebanon, western powers are warning of increasingly a dire humanitarian situation. The UN humanitarian chief, Valerie Amos, she visited Damascus last week. And she says Syria's civil war has uprooted an estimated 2.5 million civilians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIE AMOS, UN EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR: This conflict has taken on a particularly brutal and violent character. We have all seen distressing images on our television screen. And it is the ordinary women, men, and children who are caught in the midst of it. I repeat my call to all those engaged in the conflict to respect civilians and abide by international humanitarian law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now let's leave the crisis in Syria now and turn to the situation in South Africa where a memorial has been held for miners killed in the past couple of weeks. Now grieving families, mine workers, and government officials turned out to pay their respects. The service, it was held near the Marikana platinum mine. Now this is where 34 miners were shot dead by police last week as they demonstrated for higher wages.

Now police say that they were forced to act in self-defense as the miners were armed with machetes. Now there are signs of labor discontent could be spreading. Now workers at more platinum mine companies have now joined the call for higher wages.

South African President Jacob Zuma has vowed to launch an investigation into the shooting incident. Nkepile Mabuse was at the memorial service and she filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NKEPILE MABUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORREPSONDENT: We've witnessed some heart wrenching scenes at this memorial service for the 34 miners that were gunned down by the police last week Thursday, not very far from where we're standing right now. Wives and mothers crying uncontrollably, people feinting, overcome by emotion.

We also saw a group of people protesting, saying that they will stand firm. They are not going to go back to work until they get the $1,500 U.S. dollars a month that they're demanding. Unfortunately for South Africa, this unrest here, has spread to other neighboring mines. We know of at least two mines where miners have made some of their demands to the ones made by the London platinum mine workers.

How South Africa resolves this issue is going to impact on the mining industry going forward. And I think many are very worried about investors looking in. This is not looking like a good investment climate. The government and the unions and the mining companies very much aware that a workable solution needs to be found to this crisis.

Nkepile Mabuse, CNN, Marikana, South Africa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Emotional scenes at the Marikana mine earlier today.

Coming up next, preparations gather pace as this force of nature churns its way west. Now there are concerns that this strengthening storm could force the Republican National Convention to close its doors.

And an 11 year old girl remains in police custody in Pakistan a week after allegedly burning pages of the Koran. Reza Sayah takes you inside her neighborhood.

Plus, an extreme form of drag racing that is fast becoming a dangerous past time in Saudi Arabia, we've got the details coming up on News Stream.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now in the United States, the Republican National Convention could be affected by the force of Mother Nature. Now Tropical Storm Isaac is churning through the Caribbean. now forecasters predict that it will strengthen and say that it could strike Florida where the Republican Convention is set to start on Monday.

Now Brian Todd reports that Tampa is preparing for the worst.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was only about eight weeks ago in Tampa. Bay Shore Boulevard, a main drag under water. This was no hurricane, but Tropical Storm Debbie, which delivered significant flooding to downtown Tampa just a few blocks from the Tampa Bay Times Forum where the Republican National Convention will be held.

If Tropical Storm Isaac turns into a hurricane as projected, Tampa could find itself in its crosshairs in the coming days.

BRIAN LAMARRE, U.S. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGIST: With a category one storm, that could come our way, the hurricane category one, anywhere from three to six feet of flooding could impact this area.

TODD: Brian LaMarre, chief meteorologist with the National Weather Service's branch in Tampa says that city is right at sea level in some place, just about it in others.

Tampa's mayor says if the storm comes that way, public safety trumps politics.

BOB BUCKHORN, TAMPA, FLORIDA MAYOR: If we had to make that decision to cancel or to postpone or to move the convention we will do that knowing full well that my obligation and the city's obligation is to move people out of harm's way.

TODD: It would be the second straight Republican convention affected by a big storm.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually all of the program tonight has been canceled.

TODD: In 2008, much of the first night of the GOP convention was tossed out. That event was in St. Paul, nowhere near the storm zone. But officials didn't like the optics of opening a glitzy event while Hurricane Gustav raged down in Louisiana.

A worst case scenario for Tampa, according to LaMarre and other experts, that a strong hurricane around category three strength comes ashore right around here just north of Tampa. Now because hurricanes churn in a counterclockwise motion in the northern hemisphere, they say that that could drive water from the Gulf of Mexico up Tampa Bay, trap the water in Tampa Bay, flood this area near Tampa, in downtown Tampa near the convention center. Then it would push water over this way making this area, St. Petersburg, into an island.

That has happened, but not for more than 90 years. In October 1921, a category three hurricane slammed right into that point north of Tampa. Back then, this region was a lot less populated. Isaac is not projected to be that strong and may not even hit Tampa, but if it does, LaMarre says, storm surge is the number one killer.

LAMARRE: A lot of people live and work right along the water. And so a lot of people make -- need to make sure that they get out in time before the hurricane comes their way.

TODD: Tampa officials insist they're ready with solid evacuation routes planned. But a challenge around the convention will be the 50,000 or so added people in the downtown Tampa area, most from out of town. So getting them evacuated may be problematic.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now at the moment Tropical Storm Isaac is taking aim at Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Let's get the very latest now on the storm with Mari Ramos. She joins us now -- Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kristie, yeah. You know, it's pretty interesting to hear this talk about the possibility of this storm impacting Florida. And a lot of the computer models are now kind of aiming that way as well, but of course the islands in the Caribbean are in the path of the storm right now. So we're going to ahead and go through all of these things.

Let's go ahead and start first of all with the computer models. I want to show you, you know, this is what forecasters use to try to predict where these storms are going. You use what the computer is saying with your own knowledge you kind of put all of this together. It's kind of like what the National Hurricane Center does.

And look, their track is going to be the one that you're going to see in red. But you're going to see different little lines that are going to pop up. And you an see that all of them pretty much are in agreement here that this is going to head in the general direction of Florida, but first it has to pass through the island of Hispaniola and possibly through Cuba, maybe affecting the Bahamas and then of course Florida after that.

It's still too early to tell how intense the storm might be once it gets there. Some of the critical time periods are right now when the storm is south Puerto Rico, it continues possibly to intensify somewhat. By the time it gets to just south of the Dominican Republic by this time tomorrow. And then the next day we could be looking at the potential of a hurricane forming in this general area before it makes landfall here on the island of Hispaniola, which would have of course include the country of Haiti, impoverished, and still reeling from the earthquake, just what, almost two years go.

Then it moves through Cuba. After that, there's a wide margin of error from the east coast of Florida all the way into the central portion of the Gulf of Mexico, so that's very important.

There are the hurricane warnings right now and watches. You can see them all along this area in red. That's going to be the most important areas to watch right now. And also for the potential of flooding along the Virgin Islands and all the way back to the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

I want to end with this picture right here, Kristie. This is an orphan in a temporary shelter in Port au Prince in Haiti. I just read a report from the UN yesterday and they said that there are 421,000 people in temporary shelters still since the earthquake. And that is a huge concern. We talked about the Republican National Convention, how they moved 50,000 visitors. How do you move half a million people? It's really a huge concern.

Back to you.

LU STOUT;: Yeah, a huge concern. A heartbreaking photograph. And we have this huge storm coming their way.

And Mari, meanwhile, you're looking at another storm, this one in Asia. All eyes here on Typhoon Tambin. And it has a very strange path. What can you tell us?

RAMOS: It does have a very strange path in the sense that it has slowed down significantly. We should have been talking about this storm probably somewhere near Hong Kong by now, but it has slowed down significantly. And it's still of the east coast of Taiwan, pretty much in the same spot where it was yesterday.

Yesterday we began to see some of those outer bands starting to pull in here across Taiwan. We see a little bit more of that today. It has intensified, though, and that's important. Winds close to 200 kilometers per hour over that -- near that center of circulation. You can see the clouds kind of spreading all across this area.

The concern over Taiwan is going to be not only the very strong winds, but also the amount of rain that we can get.

We get a similar typography, even much more pronounced here in Taiwan than it is over the island of Hispaniola in the Dominican Republic and Haiti where you have an area where not only of course you're talking about coastal inundation from the waves. This is a much stronger storm than the one we're seeing in the Caribbean, but you have all of these mountain ranges. And then very steep terrain. And so many high risk areas that that is why you are seeing so many evacuations ongoing, even right now as we head into Taiwan.

The roads have been closed in many cases, people have been moved away from these river valleys, these areas that are so vulnerable to not only flooding, but also to the risk of mudslides which is -- has been historically the main killer in Taiwan when you have these large tropical cyclones move through. Once the storm starts finally making its way toward Taiwan, we think it should actually cross this southern half of Taiwan mainly, that's where the center should be. And then possibly move back out here into the South China Sea. After that, it's too early to tell where the storm will go.

Back to you.

LU STOUT: Yeah, too early to tell, but that was an incredible visualization of the topography of Taiwan you showed us just then. You get a sense of the elevation and of course the danger for mudslides and landslides.

Mari Ramos reporting. Thank you.

Now you're watching News Stream. And still ahead, her uncle confessed to throwing her down a well. The so-called honor murder shocked the West Bank, but more than one year on has anything really changed?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Live from Hong Kong you are back watching News Stream.

And all this week CNN is airing a special series of reports on honor murder, the killing of a family member, usually a young woman, accused of bringing dishonor to her family. and today, we look at the death of a promising student at Hebron University, her uncle confessed to throwing her down a well and a killing that sparked outrage.

But more than a year on, has anything really changed? Diana Magnay reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Aya Baradiya was buried in May last year, her funeral attended by hundreds of Palestinians from Hebron and the villages around. They came to mourn and show their outrage at the unspeakable way in which this spirited young student's life was taken from her.

She died after being thrown down this well by her uncle. In a chilling interview to Palestine TV, showing no signs of remorse, he confessed how, with the help of two colleagues, he'd left her there, bound and beaten, but still alive.

IQAB BARADIYA, CONFESSED TO HONOR KILLING (through translator): We kidnapped her and took a car up 205 and parked the car by the well, threw the girl inside the well, and then left.

MAGNAY: Her remains were discovered by a shepherd more than a year later. The uncle told police he'd killed her to protect the family honor, saying she had engaged in improper sexual relations, although they found no evidence to back up those claims.

The case sparked such an outcry that Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas promised a crackdown on so-called honor killings. Aya's confessed killer is still awaiting trial. But critics charge not much has changed.

MAGNAY (on camera): Crimes committed in the name of family honor no longer command any special leniency under Palestinian law, but in Ramadan alone, three women were killed by family members. This is a society where many men still believe that violence against women can be justified.

MAGNAY (voice-over): Maha Abu-Dayyeh runs a women's center for counseling and legal aid in the West Bank.

MAHA ABU-DAYYEH, WOMEN'S CENTER FOR LEGAL AID AND COUNSELING: The articles that judges base their judgments on are two articles, 99 -- 98 and 99, which allows for mitigating circumstances for a crime committed in a moment of anger.

MAGNAY (on camera): So, honor is no excuse anymore, but anger is.?

ABU-DAYYEH: Anger is, right.

MAGNAY (voice-over): Crimes of passion dealt with differently in a place where passions run high, where the violence of years of inter- fighting and the stress of occupation can manifest itself in ugly ways, even at home. The government's position is that it's doing what it can.?

RABIHA DIAB, PALESTINIAN MINISTER FOR WOMEN'S AFFAIRS (through translator): The issue is not the laws only. Laws are important, but what is more important and should be paired to the laws is empowerment, raising awareness about rights and practice. Because these are hundreds of years of customs and traditions and a prevalent culture that gave the man the right to be the master, and she is the follower.

MAGNAY: Aya's case threw light on those traditions, but 11 women have died already this year at the hands of their relatives, 7 in Gaza, 4 in the West Bank. And those are just the deaths that have been reported. Many more may never come to light.

Diana Magnay, CNN, Ramallah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)?

LU STOUT: An 11 year old girl arrested for allegedly burning pages of the Koran. Now Reza Sayah takes you to her neighborhood in Pakistan's capital where some fear a religious backlash.

And the need for speed: you won't believe what young people are doing to have fun in Saudi Arabia. Is drifting just plain dangerous? That's coming up net on News Stream.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Now opposition activists say heavy fighting is raging in Damascus. They say at least 57 people have been killed in the Syrian capital today as the military tries to drive out rebel fighters. Thursday's death toll nationwide is already at 90 and it is expected to rise. Syria's civil war drags on. The U.S. and Britain are warning President Bashar al-Assad's regime against any use of chemical weapons.

A service was held near a platinum mine in South Africa today to mourn dozens of striking miners killed last week in clashes with police. Now 34 minters died when police opened fire on a protest last week. Police say they acted in self-defense against miners who were armed with machetes. South African President Jacob Zuma has pledged a full investigation.

Now Tropical Storm Isaac is churning over the Caribbean Sea and it could soon become a hurricane. It's current track could lead it to the coast of Florida, threatening Monday's opening of the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande are meeting today to discuss Greece's request for extra time to fulfill its bailout conditions. The Greek prime minister is hoping that international creditors will let him spread out painful economic reforms.

Now Antonis Samaras will meet Ms. Merkel on Friday, Mr. Hollande on Saturday.

And if you want to know what happened during the mission that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, a U.S. publisher says it is releasing a first-hand account of the raid written by a Navy SEAL under a pen name. The release date, September 11th.

Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon with more. And Barbara, is this book the real deal?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONENT: Well, right now it appears so, Kristie. We -- I've talked to a number of officials who say they have every reason to believe so, that the SEAL, his pen name will be Mark Owen, that is not his real name, appears to be the real deal. He is working with a writer that is well known to the U.S. military, who is respected by them.

Here's the problem, he did not submit the book for any sort of classification review to see -- to give the military a chance to see if there was an inadvertent disclosure of classified information in the book, so they want to get their hands on it. They want to see.

All the indications are the writer has told the Pentagon that they've taken all of the precautions. They don't believe there's classified information in there. But look they want to -- they want to have a look at it and see exactly what's in there.

The publisher is saying that the book will talk about this man's experiences in the raid, being involved with the helicopter that went down that night, the call that was made back to headquarters that bin Laden was dead. All indications are this will be the first time there is a firsthand account by a SEAL who was actually there that night, Kristie.

LU STOUT: You know, it sounds like this book took the Pentagon by surprise. Have you been able to gauge reaction in the special ops community to the book? Are they concerned about the added publicity about the possible security breaches here?

STARR: Well, as you say besides the potential for security breaches, is there anything in there that goes to the very specific tactics or procedures that the SEALs used that night? That would be a problem.

But besides that, this comes after just mounting publicity for Navy SEALs, for special ops ever since the raid last year. There have been movies, there's going to be more movies, books, publicity tours, website, former Navy SEALs getting involved very publicly in political activity here in the United States.

You know, some of this has always gone on. There's always been war movies, but this time there is concern that maybe it's all just getting to be a bit much. The risk of classified information being disclosed. And what about the guys who are still out there on the line working essentially very covertly. Their identity is not revealed, not making very much money at these military jobs that they have. Are they getting discouraged by seeing others get out of the military and then cash in -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: That's right, selling their story.

And as you mentioned, so much has already been revealed about the bin Laden raid in books, in movies. I know when this book will come out, September 11. You're going to be scouring its pages. But do you think it will offer up anything new given the amount of information that's already out there?

STARR: Well, if the authors, if the SEAL and the author he is working with, are living up to what appears to be their promise not to disclose classified information, perhaps nothing very technical will be revealed, though you know there's so much out there you can put bits and pieces together and come up with conclusions and assessments that you might not otherwise get.

What may be most interesting is to have this Navy SEAL talk, if he does in the book, about exactly how it felt. Landing in the bin Laden compound, making your way into the house where you had every reason to believe he was there, making your way up the stairs. We have not heard from the men who were there.

But I have to tell you, I mean, it will be interesting how much he says because even that theoretically is classified by the military, the entire mission was a classified operation. So people will be looking at this very closely to see what he does reveal.

LU STOUT: Yeah, it's going to be a page turner for many reasons.

Barbara Starr joining us live from the Pentagon, thank you.

Now a legal case in Pakistan is sparking international concern. And it's focusing a spotlight on the country's strict anti-blasphemy laws. An 11 year old Christian girl remains in police custody after she was arrested a week ago for allegedly burning pages of the Koran. Now defaming Islam is illegal in Pakistan, and potentially punishable by death.

Reza Sayah visited the girl's neighborhood where Christians are uneasy about a potential backlash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAYAH: This is the neighborhood on the outskirts of Islamabad where some people, according to police, accuse the young girl Rumsha (ph), the Christian Pakistani of burning and destroying pages of the Koran. This is where residents say her family lived. Police say she fled, and that seems to be the case. The door is locked and all you see in there are some buckets and slippers and some pots and pans.

There's a lot of conflicting reports exactly what happened last week. So we came here to find out.

This is Malik Safir (ph). He lives next to Rumsha's (ph) home. He says he didn't see Rumsha (ph) burning any pages of the Koran, but he did see a young man taking away Rumsha (ph) with what appeared to be pieces of paper.

This is a shop owner here. And he's telling us Rumsha (ph) came to his snack shop often. And he describes her as a healthy, innocent 10 or 11 year old.

This is 36 year old Salim Mukhtar (ph), one of the hundreds of Christians living in this community. And he says things have been relatively calm. He hasn't been threatened, but he's concerned, he's concerned that something may happen tomorrow or the day after. So he's saying he's half packed his stuff and he's going to move out.

What if she didn't do it?

As we're talking to more and more neighbors here, we're getting information that's adding to the confusion. These are some Muslim women who live right next door to the home Rumsha (ph) lived in and they say she wasn't a quote, unquote "good girl." They say she dressed provocatively. And they seem to be pleased that she's been detained.

In talking to people, nobody seems to know exactly what happened, nobody seems to have actually seen this young girl burn the Koran.

A few minutes away from where this alleged incident took place, we found Pakistan's interior minister Rehman Malik at a police ceremony. We asked him to update us on where the case stands.

REHMAN MALIK, PAKISTANI INTERIOR MINISTER: I'm looking into the matter personally. And in (inaudible) I resolve it properly with -- and I'll ensure that no injustice is done.

SAYAH: Are you concerned that if she's released the investigation shows she didn't do anything wrong there's going to be a backlash from...

MALIK: Well, the protection is a responsibility of the state. And we'll show this.

SAYAH: Are you concerned that that's going to happen?

MALIK: No. What I can assure you that there will be no injustice for the girl. And if she's...

SAYAH: Why is she in jail? There's no -- there's very few countries where you have a juvenile in jail. Why is she in jail?

MALIK: No, let me tell you, sir, she has been sent on a judicial remand by the court, not...

SAYAH: But she's still in a jail.

MALIK: She is safely with police officials, in the jail.

SAYAH: Obviously a lot of people in Pakistan and outside of Pakistan eager to see how this matter is resolved. The interior minister seemed to suggest that he believes that this matter is going to be resolved peacefully. What that means remains to be seen.

Reza Sayah, CNN, Islamabad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: It's good to have a Reza Sayah fixed on that story.

You're watching News Stream. And still ahead fast cars and street racing, sounds like a recipe for disaster. We'll tell you why many in Saudi Arabia are taking up this dangerous and deadly hobby.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back to News Stream.

And you're looking at a visual rundown of all the stories on the show today. Now we have covered the surging violence in Damascus. We've shown you how a shocking murder has spurred calls for laws protecting women in the West Bank. And now I want to introduce you to a popular and controversial new sport among young people in Saudi Arabia.

Now fueled by perhaps boredom and a desire to break the rules, many are turning to drifting. It's an extreme form of drag racing, but as Mohammed Jamjoom found out, it's fast becoming a deadly past time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORREPSONDENT: In the Saudi desert the thrill seekers gather. Cars skid and spin. It's called drifting, and it originated in Japan before seeping into the mainstream in films like 2006's the Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

Drifting, reckless and often dangerous, was celebrated this year by hip hop star MIA in the video for her song Bad Girls filmed in Morocco.

(MUSIC)

JAMJOOM: In Saudi Arabia where many forms of public entertainment are banned, it's a rare outlet for young men, their exploits captured on countless amateur videos.

Most of the time the streets are empty, but sometimes the drivers weave maniacally through traffic, here narrowly missing a school bus.

Joy riders also careen out of control, crashing in horrific fashion. In this video at least two passengers are ejected as the vehicle rolls over. It's not known if they survived.

In June, Saudi daily newspaper El Waffen (ph) reported that a man who had hit and killed two onlookers while drifted had been sentenced to death by beheading, a sign that the authorities are beginning to clamp down on this high risk adrenaline rush.

Drifting has also been gaining in popularity here in the UAE, but in the past few years some drivers have begun to promote it as a sport saying it can be done in a much safer way.

AHMED AL-AMERI, TOYOTA EMIRATES DRIFTING TEAM: Here we go.

JAMJOOM: Ahmed al-Ameri is the United Arab Emirates 2011-2012 drift champion.

This doesn't get old for you, you love this.

AL-AMERI: I like. My life always, I like -- I like to be sideways.

JAMJOOM: el-Ameri learned the technique in Japan and now competes as part of the Toyota Emirates drifting team. He takes me around the track a few times.

AL-AMERI: What you are looking for to do it in the public street, maybe some of our families members on that street, maybe you can kill them, for what? For nothing? For a few seconds of enjoyment? Come and enjoy here for hours.

JAMJOOM: Drifting can be done safely, he says, with the right precautions.

AL-AMERI: How to set up the car, how you can make your car safety cars when you're drifting: the roll cage, seats, suits, helmet.

JAMJOOM: But for some young men, restless and bored, drifting with rules may not be enough. Being beyond the law, showing off and cheating death is what gives them the high octane thrill.

Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now although Chelsea are Europe's reigning club football champions, they only finished six in England's Premier League last season. Alex Thomas is in London to tell us why they are showing signs of doing better this time -- Alex.

ALEX THOMAS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kristie, Chelsea manager Roberto DiMatteo has warned his players that they need to do better defensively if they want to continue their strong start to the new English football season.

Up against newly promoted Premier League side Reading on Wednesday night, the European champions took the lead with a Frank Lampard penalty, but then conceded two goals to trail at halftime.

The Blues got a lucky break in the second half when match officials failed to spot that Fernando Torres was offside when he grabbed the equalizer. Chelsea going on to win 4-2.

So a victory in their first home game of the season. Branislav Ivanovich, the man with the late goal to put a gloss on the score line for Di Matteo's men. Chelsea have now scored eight goals in their opening three matches, but have let in five. That's the first big test of Barcelona's new coach Tito Vilanova. And it's against the man who famously poked him in the eye during this very fixture last season.

Like 2011, Thursday night's Spanish Super Cup first leg is also a Classico, the phrase used to describe games between fierce rivals Barca and Real Madrid. The Catalan team now to Pep Guardiola's former assistant coach started the season well, beating Real Sociadad in La Liga at the weekend. Villanova will let Alex Song (ph) decide if he wants to make his debut after joining them from Arsenal this week.

Real boss Jose Mourinho is focusing on bigger prizes this season.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TITO VILANOVA, BARCELONA MANAGER (through translator): I don't think any team is better than any other team right now. I don't think that any of the teams are on top at the start of the season. Normally teams are on top at the end of the season when they're really playing for titles in April or May, that is when teams are on top not now at the start of the season. I think we're all at a similar level. We both have players at Euro 2012s. And we both have the same days off to rest and prepare. And I really don't see a difference.

JOSE MOURINHO, REAL MADRID MANAGER: Important is, because a match between rivals is always important even in a summer tournament. But the Super Cup is the less important competition of the four leg during the season. And I believe there is no relation between the winner and what is going to happen in the whole season.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS: While Real Madrid versus Barcelona is one of the biggest rivalries in football. Could golf's biggest rivalry become Tiger versus Rory? The pair have been grouped together for the first time in an official PGA Tour event at this week's Barclay's tournament in New York which tees off today. After winning the second major title of his career at the US PGA championship earlier this month, McIlroy is being compared to Woods even more frequently than before. And the two golfers could go head to head several times between now and the end of the season. Tiger may well face Rory at the Ryder Cup as well as tournaments in Turkey and China.

Three of the four men who have been dominating men's tennis will again be the players to beat at the final grand slam tournament of the season the U.S. Open. And that won't be affected by the seedings which have put Roger Federer in the top spot. The world number one looking or his sixth victory in New York. Second seed Novak Djokovic is the defending Champion, and the number three seed Andy Murray will be strongly tipped after his Olympic success at Wimbledon earlier this month.

Remember Rafael Nadal is out because of injury.

In the women's single's, Australian Open champion and world number one Victoria Azarenka is the top seed, while Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska in the other half of the draw as the second seed. Mari Sharapova, Serena Williams, and Petra Kvitova complete the top five.

The draw takes place later today. And you can hear from Venus Williams in the next World Sport in just over three hours time.

For now, back to you in Hong Kong, Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right. Alex Thomas there thank you.

Now Curiosity is leaving its mark on Mars. NASA's rover has driven on the Red Planet for the very first time. It traveled about six meters from its landing spot. And the rover's lead driver says everything went well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT HEVERLY, LEAD ROVER DRIVER: The key things about the drive today were that we were able to do one full revolution of the drive actuators in the four direction. We were able to turn and see that the initial measurement unit telling the rover how its heading is changing is working properly. And were able to back up another full revolution of the drive actuators.

So we were able to see motor currents. We were able to get the data and everything looks perfectly nominal.

So we're very excited to have this kind of milestone behind us. We see that the system is performing very well. And we're in a great place to do some science.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now let's take a closer look at Curiosity's imprint on Mars. Its wheels are actually writing out a message in Morse code. The pattern of dots and dashes, it looks like this. It spells out JPL, or Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Of course, they created Curiosity.

Now he is man's best friend, but dogs, and especially puppies, can wreck havoc around the house. Up next, we'll tell you about dog shaming. It's a blog where you can confess all of your doggy sins.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Welcome back.

Now any dog lover will tell you it's hard to stay mad at a face like that, but when man's best friend misbehaves, some people have found a funny way to get even. Now it is a blog that names and shames pups that poop on the carpet, eat the garbage or drink out of the toilet. Jeanne Moos shows us the best of these bad dogs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Humans aren't so appealing when they get shamed for bad behavior. But when a dog confesses, "I hid meat in the couch," there's no hiding the cute factor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He looks guilty.

MOOS: Here at the blog "Dogshaming," doggy sins ranging from sex -- "I hump every stuffed toy I find" -- to gluttony are celebrated. "I eat the trash." The grosser the cuter: "I ate baby poop." Owners pose their pets behind shaming signs, often with evidence included in the photo. Sometimes they send a tag team of transgressors: "I puked in our crate"; "I ate it."

"I pooped by the elliptical machine"; "I ate a Herman Melville novel." "There are even murder confession: "We killed a mockingbird."

Sure, some say, "Aww, poor dogs" and complain of dogploitation. "

(on camera) Some people think this is mean to the dogs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, it isn't. No, if you take it with a grain of salt. I mean, look at that little thing.

MOOS (voice-over): Dog owners and dog walkers in Central Park had their share of shame-worthy stories. Take Kona (ph). He has a habit of jumping into dirty fountains.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I took him to the Hudson River last week, and he started swimming to Jersey.

MOOS: She had to practically drag Kona (ph) out. Barking is a particular "Dogshaming" topic: "I bark at doorbells on TV, but we've never had a doorbell." "I have beautiful eyes, and I bark at any stranger who looks into them. Ruff."

One of the most common misbehaviors seems to be eating underwear: "I am an underwear-eating jerk," accompanied by the chewed-up boxer briefs to prove it. It's not eating but drinking that gets Daphne and Augustus in trouble at the toilet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She uses her nose. She pries the seat up. She lifts it. He comes up behind her, and they start drinking from the toilet bowl.

MOOS: As with humans, sex leads many dogs astray: "I humped a blind cocker spaniel's face." "I like to hump this cat." But Romeo here has a different source of shame. Some dogs are scared of thunder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's [SIC] scared of his own (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Whenever he does, he literally leaps up from wherever he is and then searches around.

MOOS (on camera): Actually, Romeo is a two-sign dog.

(voice-over) He doesn't just like to watch his owner in the bedroom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was licking my feet. They were hanging off the bed as I was...

MOOS: Who's giving who a tongue-lashing.

Jeanne Moos, CNN...

(on camera) I see why they call you Romeo.

(voice-over) ... New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)?

LU STOUT: Now some people might call dog shaming genius or totally ridic. Now both words are new additions to the Oxford dictionaries online. Of course genius and some others on the list are not exactly new words, instead they have a new usage or meaning. For example, Inbox as a verb meaning to send a private message or email. And then there's the other definition of ripped, not the fashionable way to wear jeans, but rather the reason some people spend so much time at the gym, obviously it means muscular.

Now one new word sure to stir debate is this one. It is the exclamation used to represent laughter, especially manic, such as that uttered by a villainous character in a cartoon or comic strip.

Now the Oxford dictionary's research team acknowledges that the number of hahas is highly subjective.

And finally, photobomb gets recognized as a legitimate term, but sometimes a picture is worth 1,000 words, so let us bring you this definition this way.

And you will remember the squirrel that ruined this couple's vacation picture that is a classic photobomb.

And that is NEWS STREAM, but the news continues at CNN. World business today is next.

END