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Flooding Havoc across Asia; Amnesty International Documents Killings by Police in Rio; MH370 Search Expands; Aviation Experts Meet ahead of Debris Analysis; California Wildfires; First Republican Presidential Debate on Thursday; Syrian Refugees Pay Smugglers to Escape to Europe; Abandoned Baby Rescued. Aired 10-11 ET

Aired August 04, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN HOST: Hi, there, and welcome to the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Robyn Curnow at the CNN Center.

Now we begin in South Asia, where widespread flooding has forced thousands of people out of their homes and caused dozens of deaths across

several countries.

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CURNOW (voice-over): Myanmar is just one place reaching out to the world for help to cope with the overwhelming disaster. Officials there say

they've asked for assistance to provide food and shelter.

In China -- take a look at this -- a road suddenly gives way, falling into a river with cars still parked on top. Chinese officials were quoted

saying this was the heaviest rainstorm in this area in years.

And parts of India have been inundated as well. The death toll there nearly 180 people killed in the heavy rain and floods. Some 10 million

people affected in all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: We'll get the very latest on the situation in India. Our New Delhi bureau chief Ravi Agrawal joins us now.

What more can you tell us?

RAVI AGRAWAL, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: Hi, Robyn. The situation here is quite grim. India is being lashed by rains on two fronts

essentially. One is the eastern front, the eastern side of India, which was hit by Cyclone Komen over the weekend and that's hit Myanmar,

Bangladesh and the eastern coast of India.

Now in those parts of India, the states of West Bengal and Odisha are the worst affected, where dozens of people have been killed by accidents

related to the flooding. So in West Bengal, for example, dams have been overflowing, which has unleashed torrents of floods towards people's homes,

washing away people's livelihoods. Bridges have been broken. Homes have collapsed and mud homes especially.

And that's on the eastern coast. On the western coast, which has not been impacted by the cyclone but has still had very heavy monsoon rainfall.

So the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan have also seen about 100-plus deaths in the last few weeks. And that's from heavy rains that have, again,

caused flooding, landslides and homes to collapse.

CURNOW: Rain doesn't kill people. Bad infrastructure does. That's really a long-term problem in this region, isn't it?

AGRAWAL: Yes, it is, Robyn. If the same rainfall and the same cyclone would have hit Europe or the United States, you would not have seen

anywhere near the number of lives lost that we're seeing in India.

When we spoke to India's disaster relief fund, they told us that every year about 1,600 people lose their lives in accidents related to flooding.

So this is not unusual nor are the monsoons or cyclones hitting India unusual. All of this happens year after year. What we're seeing now,

while it is incredibly tragic -- 178 lives lost and that death toll is going to rise -- it is a -- it does happen most years around about this

time. And it is a longer-term infrastructural problem, bad roads, weakly designed bridges, homes that are built out of shoddy materials.

These things, when they crumble, people die.

CURNOW: Indeed. And also, let's talk about the victims and particularly in remote areas. Are rescue crews getting to them? Do we

really know the full extent of this?

AGRAWAL: Well, India is quite well equipped to deal with this. It may be lacking in infrastructure. It may struggle to fix the

infrastructure over time. But it actually has a very strong army, one of the biggest armies in the world. It has a very skilled national disaster

relief force. That force has helped India on numerous occasions. It's come to people's aid. It has also helped Nepal recently, when it had its

devastating earthquake.

So thousands of relief camps have been set up, especially in the eastern parts of India in remote Bengal and Odisha. Food has been

distributed; first aid has been distributed. So the government says it has it under control. But it really does need those rains to stop.

CURNOW: OK. Thanks for that update. We're going to leave it at that. Thanks so much, Ravi.

Well, take a look at what the region can expect after all of this flooding. Let's go to Chad Myers. I mean, what's the forecast,

particularly in the coming days and weeks?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The forecast for the cyclone that Ravi was talking about has moved off to the west. That's great news. But the

monsoonal rain coming in because of the wind will certainly not stop for many, many more weeks.

There's the cyclone and there it was just a couple of days ago, centered over Bangladesh. So Bangladesh, Myanmar, really picked up heavy,

heavy rainfall. Then it moved into the eastern sections of India as he was talking about.

[10:05:00]

MYERS: And it's now slid far enough off to the west that the areas here that had been hit so hard are drying out. So there's no more rain to

come but when I show you the numbers, Robyn, I think your jaw will drop because we're talking 1.2 meters of rain just in seven days. And no place

on Earth can do anything with that type of rainfall here.

At Chittorgarh (ph) right here, I mean, this area here at Chittorgarh (ph), Bangladesh and Myanmar, I don't even think we have numbers. We don't

even have the scope of what the devastation there looked like from that cyclone as it moved in.

Now it's moving away. But there's still going to be that very heavy rain coming in along the west coast because of the wind, because of the

monsoonal wind.

One more thing we're looking at, too, a couple other lows, one here moving away -- that's the one we've talked about -- but another one back

out to the west into Southeast Asia, making very, very heavy rainfall for Vietnam, for parts of China as well.

And if that's not enough, there is a supertyphoon in the water now, still coming, still coming toward Taiwan. Here's our supertyphoon, 260

kph. It has left Guam here and is now moved off to the west. There's Taiwan, there's China, there's Taipei. You get the idea where this is

going as a supertyphoon. It is going to lose a little intensity; at least that's the forecast. But still, 215 kph and then making landfall somewhere

around 175 kph. That is still a major event for this area. Now it could move to right and that's why this cone is here or it could move to the

left. But right inside that cone is Taiwan, right in the bull's eye -- Robyn.

CURNOW: OK. Not great news. So keep us updated. Thanks so much, Chad Myers.

To Rio now, where the 2016 Summer Olympics open one year from tomorrow. But a rights group is criticizing violence by Brazilian police.

Amnesty International says more than 50 percent of all killings in the city were at the hands of law enforcement authorities. The group has documented

more than 8,000 police killings in Rio state over the past 10 years. There were more than 5,000 in the city of Rio itself. The report says Brazil has

one of the world's highest homicide rates with 56,000 people killed in 2012 alone. Almost 80 percent of those victims were black and half of those

killed were under the age of 30.

Now the secretary of public security for Rio state criticized the report. He says police killings have gone down in communities where drug

gangs are no longer in control. He said, quote, "I consider it reckless and unfair to publish the study of these cases at a time when the levels of

criminality are falling in Rio."

Well, crime and police killings are just some of the problems the city is grappling with. Here's Shasta Darlington in Rio to join us.

Hi, there. What more can you tell us about this very damning report from Amnesty?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Robyn, it obviously came out at a very delicate time, just a year before the Olympics kick off. And I

should mentioned, first of all, that it does not come as a surprise to Brazilians or to people here in Rio. This cycle of violence is really

well-known. They're obviously trying to highlight that, accusing the police of not only unnecessary but illegal use of force that has resulted

in the deaths of more than 5,000 people here in the city of Rio at the hands of the police in the last decade.

So it is a very real problem. People will tell you, on the one hand, there is the issue of the drug gangs in these so-called favelas, these

precarious communities. But the police have also gotten out of control. They don't know how to measure the use of their force.

We've talked to mothers in these favelas, who tell us they won't let their sons take night jobs because they're afraid they won't come home.

And it's not because they're afraid of the drug gangs; they're afraid of the police.

And on the other hand, as you mentioned, the Rio state government says that this is unfair and reckless, that, in fact, crime and violence have

dropped since they sent police and troops into many of these so-called favelas, starting back in 2007, that they've wrested control from the drug

gangs in many of them. They've set up a permanent police presence.

They say that in these specific communities, the numbers of people who've died as a result of police intervention has actually dropped 85

percent. Critics, of course, will argue, well, the attitudes are the same; police treat residents in favelas like criminals. And then you've got to

also provide jobs and education if we're really going to turn things around.

And this is an issue that isn't going to go away. Violence in Rio de Janeiro is a very real problem -- Robyn.

CURNOW: So what does all this mean for the Olympics? Because it's not just crime. There are other challenges that have also been

highlighted.

DARLINGTON: Exactly. And I should also mention, most of this violence between the residents of these favelas and the police takes place

pretty far from the touristy sites. Now I can't say the same about some of the other issues. Right now there's also been a lot of focus on --

[10:10:00]

DARLINGTON: -- raw sewage which is clogging some of the Olympic venues right here in the heart of Rio, where all of the tourists will be

going, showing that athletes could actually face some serious health risks if they row in some of these waters, if they swim in these waters, if they

sail in these waters. And now both the state and the city officials are admitting they won't meet cleanup targets.

So this is going to be another big issue they're going to be hammered on. Will rowers and sailors possibly get sick? Could they even get

hepatitis A? That's one of the illnesses that a new study discovered in the water, something that they'll be hammered by over the next year and

that I'm sure we'll be coming back to for you -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Absolutely. Shasta Darlington there in Rio, thanks for your update.

Now crews are finally gaining some steps forward against a huge wildfire burning in the western U.S. Ahead on the INTERNATIONAL DESK,

we'll go to Northern California for an update.

Plus searchers scan the Reunion Island coast for more plane debris as a barnacle-encrusted wing piece is prepared to be checked for a link to

MH370.

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CURNOW: Welcome back. I'm Robyn Curnow.

Now aviation experts are gathered in Southern France as they get ready to determine if debris from a Boeing 777 belongs to Malaysia Airlines

Flight 370. Officials from Boeing and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board are meeting near Toulouse. That's where the wing piece known

as a flaperon is sitting inside this lab.

Analysis of the part will start on Wednesday. Meanwhile crews on Reunion and other islands in the (INAUDIBLE) have been combing shorelines

for more debris.

Our Erin McLaughlin ventured out on a boat with a team of searchers, who are looking for other clues that could help the investigation.

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ERIC MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They look official and they want to help. This crew of five is normally focused on sea rescues, such as

boats in distress or diving accidents. But ever since the flaperon washed up on the shores of Reunion Island, they've been on the lookout for

anything that resembles a plane.

MCLAUGHLIN (voice-over): Like all the boats out looking, it's a small vessel with basic equipment. No high technology here. Just radios and

word of mouth.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody knows everybody in this island, more or less. All the people are related to the sea. They know each other.

And I know that the minute that somebody will see something, we'll know it.

MCLAUGHLIN (voice-over): Researchers are all volunteers. They're electricians, scientists, retirees. This is what they do for fun after

work. They say the ocean is their passion and they want to help in the search for MH370 that has now come to their shore.

[10:15:00]

MCLAUGHLIN (voice-over): Just over that way is the beach where they found the flaperon. The people on this island feel a connection to MH370.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They do because everybody was so shocked by the way this plane disappeared without any explanation. It's a rare case.

MCLAUGHLIN (voice-over): These patrols are scheduled just as they say, the sea is on its own timetable.

Today there's no signs of a plane, no signs of MH370. These volunteers say they'll remain vigilant in the days and weeks ahead -- Erin

McLaughlin, CNN, Reunion Island.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Thanks to Erin for that report.

Let's turn back to France to find out how investigators will proceed when they begin looking at that wing component. Our Saima Mohsin joins us

now from near Toulouse.

Hi, there. Now this is going to be a slow, pretty careful examination.

What's the priority here?

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The priority, Robyn, has to be to conclusively attach this flaperon that was delivered here under lock and

key in a steel container with a police escort, is a part of MH370. We know that they have managed to confirm over the weekend that it is from a 777

aircraft. But they don't definitively know that it is from MH370. And all the statements we are receiving, whether it be from Malaysian authorities,

French authorities, Australian, is that they do not want to get this wrong. The families have already reminded them they want 100 percent certainty.

And of course, Australia's Martin Dolan (ph), who's leading the search, has said that they want a direct link, Robyn, between the flaperon and MH370.

Otherwise, it would be a process of elimination.

Now last night in a meeting at the Paris prosecutor's office in the capital of France, the Malaysian authorities, the NTSB, French authorities

met to discuss how they want to move forward, what kind of test they want to do. And crucially they have agreed that they will not only look at

international aviation regulations for this investigation but they will also do this by the book under judicial investigation.

And that is, Robyn, because there is also a manslaughter case brought by some of the family members should this have been anything related to a

hijacking or terrorism -- Robyn.

CURNOW: OK. So there's a lot of lot of answers needed.

But what kind of clues that this component give?

What are they going to be looking for here?

MOHSIN: It really depends on, Robyn, which experts you speak to. A lot hold a lot of hope and say a lot can be gleaned from this. Others say,

look, let's not get our hopes too high and that is the devil is in the details. But we will know when they open that box -- and by the way, they

cannot open that box until everyone, all the bodies involved in this investigation, are assembled together. They'll do that Wednesday

afternoon. What are they hoping to do? Well, they'll run, we understand, standard operating procedures, like sonograms, x-rays, piece by piece,

pulling that piece apart, the flaperon apart, to try and find stuff out.

Now we know that it has barnacles growing on it, marine life. That should tell investigators just how long it's been in the sea, so perhaps

they can trace back the time to is that the time when MH370 disappeared?

The tears along the edges of the flaperon, that may well be able to tell them -- or any other damage -- the direction in which the flaperon was

when it was removed or detached from the plane. They may even be able to tell did it come out in the air, in the sky or did it come off when it hit

the sea? And of course, because we are looking at a manslaughter case related to hijacking or terrorism, was there an explosion on board? Will

they be able to see any residue or result of that or an impact of that? Less likely, of course, for there to be some kind of residue, given the

length of time it's been in the sea. But they are going to be looking for all of these things that -- and as I say, it's the process of elimination

as well as definitive verification -- Robyn.

CURNOW: And of course, all of that so important for the families who are still waiting.

Saima Mohsin in Toulouse, appreciate it. Thank you.

Now ahead on the IDESK, dying on Europe's doorstep, migrants across the Central Mediterranean by the thousands seeking a better life. But the

risks they take are deadly and the cost is getting higher.

And Donald Trump is still leading the pack going into the Republican debate on Thursday. It's the first time the U.S. presidential candidates

will face off. But will Trump drown out the other voices on the podium?

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[10:20:00]

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CURNOW: Welcome back.

Thousands of firefighters are spending another day on the front lines against a huge wildfire in Northern California. The blaze known as the

Rocky fire grew slightly overnight. It's one of almost 2 dozen wildfires burning across the state fed by summer heat, wind and plenty of drought-

related, drought-created dry brush fueling it.

Our Paul Vercammen joins us now from Northern California.

Hi, there, Paul. This is a huge area, isn't it?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, it's massive. And the concentration of the fires has been in Northern California, Robyn. But

they're sounding somewhat of an optimistic tone this morning and that's because they've got some favorable weather. The temperature is down. The

winds, as you can tell, are not whipping behind me. And you have elevated humidity. So they've done a better job on this and we expect that we're

going to hear much larger containment numbers and finally get a sense that they've got a pretty good grip on this fire -- Robyn.

CURNOW: What can be expected in the coming days? There's been also a huge turnout of firefighters. There really is, do you think, a sense that

this is under control or could the conditions spark more fires again?

VERCAMMEN: The conditions are favorable right now. What's been just bedeviling firefighters is in the afternoon the wind starts to whip up and

it changes direction. And that's really an issue, because you think you've got it under control in one area and the all of a sudden it shifts to the

next.

But to sort of control their own destiny, if you look behind me, you can see these blackened hillsides. They went in with what they call torch

mix. It's a mixture of gasoline and diesel. And they set this whole area ablaze, cutting off the inferno and building a massive containment line

here. This is the eastern flank of the fire.

So while they haven't updated the numbers, we are positive the containment is much better as they burn this whole stretch out. And, of

course, the idea is this fire can't burn what's already burnt. And they did a pretty great job of choreographing this.

So they controlled their own destiny, if you will, in that manner -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Massive operation. Thanks so much, Paul Vercammen, there in Northern California. Thank you.

Well, American voters will get their first opportunity to see the Republican presidential candidates face off when FOX News hosts the first

candidates' debate in Cleveland, Ohio, on Thursday. Right now the CNN poll of polls shows billionaire Donald Trump still leading the Republican field

with 21 percent. He's followed by former Florida governor Jeb Bush with 13 percent and Scott Walker with 12 percent and Ben Carson and Ted Cruz tied

at 6 percent. The polls -- polled averages surveyed conducted by CBS News, Bloomberg Politics and other media outlets released in the last 24 hours.

Trump's run for the nomination has already overshadowed the other candidates.

So will Thursday be any different? Our Sara Murray joins me now from Washington with a debate preview.

I mean, Donald Trump, he's leading the pack but he's bombastic, unpredictable, polarizing even within his own party. That's a real

distraction for the other candidates, isn't it?

SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's sort of shown up and sucked all of the oxygen out of the room for the other candidates. And we've seen a

lot of their numbers suffer in the wake of that.

I think the question is what will we see on the debate stage on Thursday when Donald Trump has been talking about it recently.

[10:25:00]

MURRAY: He's been sounding kind of kindler and gentler, saying he wants to be nice to his candidates, the other candidates. He wants to talk

about the issue. He's not going to directly attack anyone.

So it'll be interesting to see if he does come out and is a little bit more demure than the Donald Trump that we've gotten used to seeing lately.

CURNOW: Do you really think so? Do you think there is a chance of him being demure? Because all the other candidates, they say they're

preparing. They're trying to rehearse; whereas The Donald says he's going to wing it, which could make for good TV, that's for sure.

MURPHY: Yes, I definitely think that there will be a lot of people tuning in to see exactly what The Donald does. I think it's an open

question to see how he reacts to other candidates. I talked to a number of these other campaigns and they tell me their goal is not to go onstage and

fight with Donald Trump. They want to introduce their candidate to the American public. They want to sort of explain their candidates' records to

voters who might not know them as well. They don't want to get into a fight onstage with Donald Trump because the risk of that is that you lose

and that's embarrassing.

CURNOW: And why are these TV debates so important? I mean, particularly the fact that this election is only next year.

Why do they matter?

MURPHY: I know. It's amazing. We're paying so much attention to something that's so far from the election date. But I think the reason

that they're so important this time around is because we don't have the events that usually help winnow the field. So the Iowa straw poll didn't

happen this year. Usually people run out of money and they have to drop out of the race.

But now that we have these new money in politics rules, people can get a couple billionaires to start a super PAC and bankroll them for a long

period of time.

So I think the debates could be a bigger factor in determining who could catch fire and who might be forced to drop out for lack of support

when we don't have these other mechanisms.

CURNOW: What's the main message the Republicans want to get across? Is it about attacking Obama or Clinton? What are they going to try and

focus on besides Donald Trump?

MURPHY: Well, I think the broad thing that they want to do is they want to further weaken Hillary Clinton. Every Republican on that stage has

been looking at the recent polls that say voters are increasingly think that she's not trustworthy, not totally honest, not in tune with their

concerns. So I think that we'll see a lot of Republicans hammer her on that.

The other thing they want to do is they want to get their talking points out there. They want to differentiate themselves from the other

folks on the stage and it's sort of difficult for them to do that on policy, right, because they're all Republicans.

So we'll see Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, talk about how they're a fresh face. We'll see Rand Paul talk about how he's a different kind of

Republican. Ben Carson kind of brings his own flavor to the race, not being a lifetime politician. So I think we're going to see a lot of that

as well.

CURNOW: Anyway, I think it's going to be an interesting piece of theater -- Sara Murray in Washington, thanks so much.

MURPHY: Yes, thanks.

CURNOW: Well, still ahead, the Mediterranean is becoming a death trap for migrants. We're examining the crisis in depth as a leading

organization releases some grim new statistics.

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[10:30:00]

CURNOW: Welcome to the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Robyn Curnow. Here's a check of the headlines.

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CURNOW (voice-over): India has deployed its army and disaster relief teams to distribute aid to flood victims across the country. The Indian

home ministry says 10 million people have been affected by days of heavy rain and flooding. At least 178 people have died.

Pakistan has executed a man convicted of killing a child when he was a teenager, despite claims he confessed under torture. Shafqat Hussain was

arrested in 2004 and tried as an adult. Human rights groups say his lawyer failed to provide evidence he was a juvenile. In Pakistan, the death

penalty is illegal for anyone who commitments a crime under age.

The International Organization for Migration says more than 2,000 migrants have died so far this year crossing the Mediterranean to Europe.

Statistics show the Central Mediterranean route is becoming the most dangerous. Influx of migrants from Africa and the Middle East is

overwhelming resources in Italy and Greece.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: So why do migrants take such incredibly desperate risks to reach Europe? Our Arwa Damon met a Syrian who made the dangerous journey

to Greece in this exclusive report on the migrant crisis. It's part of a series we'll bring you all week here on the IDESK.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Twenty-three-year-old Yomas Pasha (ph), a Syrian media activist, is wanted by the Syrian regime and ISIS.

Like tens of thousands of others, his journey began on a beach.

YOMAS PASHA (PH), SYRIAN MEDIA ACTIVIST: When you cross the sea, you know, some bodies, they really even weren't wearing life jackets. So they

don't know how to swim.

DAMON (voice-over): The transit from here costs $900 per person. The smugglers gave them a boat, pointed to a Greek island and asked, who wants

to be captain?

PASHA (PH): My friend was the captain.

DAMON: Had your friend driven a boat before?

PASHA (PH): No. The smugglers say to us, you know how to drive a bicycle or a motorcycle? It's the same.

DAMON: Were you scared in the boat?

PASHA (PH): The boat starts, I don't know, going. (INAUDIBLE) so it was so scary.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: We'll talk more about this. I'm joined from Brussels by Eugenio Ambrosi. He's the regional director of the International

Organization for Migration.

These new numbers you've put out are horrifying but not surprising because there really has been an overwhelming flow of people trying to get

to Europe this year.

EUGENIO AMBROSI, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION: Yes. The number of people that are trying to get to Europe

this year has increased as compared to last years and the years before. I think it is important, though, to put also a little bit in context, this

number, because while there is an increase of arrival in Europe, this number are still a relatively low compared to the number that other

countries in other region are witnessing in terms of influx of refugee.

What is arriving in Europe is about 10 percent of what is presently hosted in Turkey, for example. And at the same time, the European Union

and the 28 country in the region should have the resources and the mechanism to face and handle this challenge in the appropriate way.

Having said that, it's true that the Mediterranean is and has been now for some time one of the deadliest route for migrants and one of the route

where the most migrants find their death instead of the future that they're looking for.

CURNOW: We know that. We've been seeing the pictures. We've been hearing these stories. The European authorities have been trying to do

something. And even though you say the number of migrants is small compared to Turkey or Jordan, for example, the Europeans seem to be

struggling to come up with some sort of coherent policy to deal with this.

AMBROSI: Well, I think there are efforts that are being made. Also in terms of saving lives in the Mediterranean, the situation is gradually

being brought a bit more under control, even if the number of deaths are still appalling.

With the latest operation run by Frontex and that was decided about a month and a half ago by the council of the union, search and rescue

operation have intensified in the Mediterranean; many more people are rescued and brought to safety, to shore and mainly in Italy.

So there are improvements in that regards.

[10:35:00]

AMBROSI: It is true, though, that the 28 country member of the European Union still are having difficulties in finding a commonly agreed

approach to handle the flow that is coming into Europe. And the response is still fragmented among the different countries that are hit mainly by

the arrival -- Greece and Italy in the forefront, but also other country like Germany and Sweden and France.

So there is definitely the need for the European Union to (INAUDIBLE) a better shared way of responding to the challenges posed by this migratory

flow because the situation is not going to change or improve anytime soon. We are surrounded by a country at war. We are surrounded by humanitarian

crisis. We are surrounded by countries that are experiencing extreme poverty.

So the driver that push people to move and try to find an alternative elsewhere are still there, will still be there for some time and the

response needs to be a little bit more on the long term and not on the -- only on the immediate response to an emergency or a perceived emergency.

CURNOW: Excellent point there. Thank you so much, Eugenio Ambrosi, from the International Organization for Migration. Thanks for joining us

on the IDESK.

CURNOW: Now cries heard in a public restroom in China led police to find this, a tiny infant, alive, against the odds. We're live in Beijing

with this stunning story of survival.

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CURNOW: Lots of people around the world are following this next story.

A newborn baby found in a public toilet drain just after she was born -- now she was pulled out alive after people heard her crying. Let's get

the latest on this from Beijing.

Our Will Ripley is there.

Hi, Will, this just -- any parent, this tugs at your heart. It's awful, isn't it?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Robyn, it tugs at everybody's heart. This little girl, she is just days old but already a

true survivor. Police, as you said, found her wedged face down in a toilet drain. There were just minutes perhaps before she could have run out of

air. She was wedged in a very dangerous position. At first they thought they might try to take the toilet apart. They realized they just didn't

have time. So the officer reached down and took a risk.

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RIPLEY (voice-over): No child should come into the world like this.

Pulled from a public toilet by a Beijing police officer, neighbors called when they heard the newborn crying, wrapped in a blanket, she's

safe. Her mother, gone.

"I think it's brutal for a mother to do this," says Sumongwo (ph), who cleans the toilets. He says a young woman walked out alone, just minutes

before neighbors heard the crying.

"She was acting normally," he says.

Thousands of people live in this hutong, one of countless back alleys in the Chinese capital. Nobody recognized the woman, who left before

police arrived.

RIPLEY: When the breeze blows through these narrow back alleys, especially on hot summer days like this, it carries --

[10:40:00]

RIPLEY: -- with it the stench from the single public restroom that pretty much everyone here shares.

And when you step inside, it really hits you, the smell, the heat is that much more intense. And you look at these holes in the ground and

think, this is where a little girl, a baby, came into the world.

RIPLEY (voice-over): A migrant construction worker from Eastern China heard his neighbors calling for help.

He followed police into the toilet, pulled out his phone and started recording. He asked us not to show his face.

"I feel so torn and sad," he says. "Words can't describe it. How could something like this happen?"

Parents abandon thousands of babies each year in China, children left in trash bins, toilets are the rare worst cases.

In 2013, rescuers saved another newborn, a boy found alive inside a toilet pipe. His 22-year-old single mother told police it was an accident

and she was embarrassed. The boy survived. Others have not.

The Chinese government set up what they call baby hatches for parents to leave unwanted children, but they're so overwhelmed, workers have to

turn many parents away. Experts say nearly all abandoned children have disabilities or medical conditions, most end up in orphanages. Parents who

can't afford health care may feel they have no other choice.

RIPLEY: Can you ever forget seeing something like that?

"I'll remember it for the rest of my life," he says.

Police are still looking for this newborn's mother, a woman who left her baby alone, helpless, flushed down the toilet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: That little girl is in stable condition at hospital, Robyn, but she expected to be OK and police continue looking for her mother.

CURNOW: OK. Will Ripley, thank you for that devastating report. Appreciate you joining us on the IDESK. Thanks.

Well, that does it for us here. I'm Robyn Curnow and I'll be back in a little more than an hour for another edition of the INTERNATIONAL DESK.

In the meantime, I'm going to hand you over to Alex Thomas and the "WORLD SPORT" team with the latest on Manchester United's attempts to sign

Welsh wunderkind Gareth Bale.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

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