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NEWS STREAM
Kurdish Forces Continue Offensive Again Mosul Dam; Independent Autopsy Of Ferguson Teen To Be Released Today; Ferguson Protests Become Violence Again; Floods Displace Millions In India; Raiders Loot Ebola Treatment Facility In Liberia; Roger Federer, Serena Williams Win Cincinnati Open; Anti-Occupy Central Protest Organizer Accused of Importing Mainland Chinese
Aired August 18, 2014 - 8:00 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.
Now police fire tear gas, protesters throw Molotov cocktails, a small town in the U.S. continues to be a battleground after the shooting of an
unarmed teenager.
We're at the front line of a battle for control of a dam in the north of Iraq.
And also ahead, a rare sight on the streets of Hong Kong. We'll speak to the organizer of a pro-government rally.
The National Guard is being called up in Ferguson, Missouri after Sunday marks some of the fiercest clashes yet between police and
protesters. Tear Gas filled the streets overnight.
And amid the chaos, authorities say at least two people were shot, but not by police. Now a citywide curfew was lifted just a few hours ago. And
we'll be going there live later in the hour.
Now the unrest in Ferguson started after a police officer shot and killed an unarmed teenager a week ago. Now George Howell has been tracking
developments on the ground and he filed this report a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)??
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Peaceful protests turned into chaos overnight, leaving two people wounded by civilian gunfire
according to police. Officers in riot gear firing smoke and teargas canisters into crowds ahead of the midnight curfew after police say some
protesters turned violent.
Children and families were seen among the crowd, at times protesters were turning teargas canisters toward police and others trying to recover
from the gas fired into the crowds. ??
CAPT. RON JOHNSON, MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL: The situation first started to deteriorate with a shooting of a civilian. We quickly responded
with additional officers to reach the victim and got them to a safe position. That was followed by shots being fired on officers, a number of
Molotov cocktails being hurled, and then the looting. HOWELL: But protesters say otherwise.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were peaceful. This is unacceptable and this is not the law.
HOWELL: Violence erupting as a preliminary autopsy report done by the family's own pathologist, Dr. Michael Baden, reveals Brown were shot at
least six times, twice in the head, and four times in the arm, Baden adding that all of the bullets entered from the front, contradicting some
eyewitness accounts that Brown was shot in the back.
Also in the report, no trace of gunpowder residue found on the 18- year-old clothing, which suggests Brown was shot from a distance, not up
close. Dr. Baden says until he can examine the clothing himself, we won't know for sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God bless his soul. Police shot this boy outside my apartment.
HOWELL: This exclusive video obtained by CNN shows an up-close look at the aftermath from that day. Officer Darren Wilson accused of shutting the
teen appears to be to the right. Earlier on Sunday, his parents grieving before a crowded church at the Justice for Michael Brown rally.
TY PRUITT, COUSIN OF MICHAEL BROWN: Michael Brown was not just some young black boy. He was a human being. He was not an animal, but that's how
he was killed.
HOWELL: The service was meant to honor their son and to demand justice.
BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR BROWN FAMILY: They want to know that they will have their day in court, that the killer of their child will be held
accountable to the full extent of the law.
(END VIDEOTAPE)?
LU STOUT: Now that was George Howell reporting.
More now on that independent autopsy of Michael Brown.
Now his family requested it after last week's autopsy by local authorities failed to deliver specifics. And now, the U.S. Attorney
General Eric Holder has approved a third autopsy to be carried out by a federal medical examiner.
Now to London now where WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange says he will soon leave the Ecuadoran embassy. He's been living there since 2012 to
avoid extradition to Sweden. Now Assange did not say exactly when he might come out, but a WikiLeaks spokesperson tells CNN his departure is not
imminent.
Now Atika Shubert has covered this story extensively for CNN. She joins us now live outside the embassy in London. And Atika, first of all,
these confusing statements we've been getting from Julian Assange and from his spokesman about a possible departure from that embassy behind you, what
have you learned?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there was a rumor mill going around this morning saying that Assange may turn himself
in for health reasons. That does not appear to be the case.
In the press conference he had with Ecuador's foreign minister, he said he may leave soon, but he didn't give any further details than that.
And when I spoke to Kristinn Hrafnsson, who is WikiLeaks spokesperson, he says that Julian Assange's departure was not imminent, but that there was
the possibility of a new legal challenge that they might try -- may try and challenge the British extradition law on this. And if something were to
come of that, then it could mean that Julian Assange, if the conditions were right, would leave the embassy. But there was no indication that that
would happen any time soon, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Atika, what do we know about Julian Assange's health and whether he needs to leave the Ecuadoran embassy for some sort of a
treatment?
SHUBERT: Well, it doesn't look like he's having any serious health problems, but as you can imagine being coped up inside this embassy for two
years with very little access to sunlight, getting -- having only a treadmill for exercise, isn't going to do any good for anyone's health.
To give you an indication of what it's like living inside, that's the embassy behind me there, but it's really only about nine rooms. And he's
confined to one room there. Maybe if he's lucky, he can get out into the ambassador's office, which has a balcony and some sunshine, but that's
really about it.
So it's clearly taking a toll on him. In the press conference, he was rambling. He seems very tired and weary. He remains defiant, but it's
pretty clear that this is having a significant affect on him.
LU STOUT: And remind us, Atika, if Julian Assange leaves the Ecuadoran embassy behind you, what would happen to him next?
SHUBERT: Well, as you can see, there are still police stationed there. And they're 24 hours a day. Britain says that if he leaves the
embassy, they will immediately arrest him and he will be extradited to Sweden where he faces questions for allegations of sexual assault there by
two women. Those are allegations that were made four years ago.
And two years ago, Julian Assange decided to claim asylum here at the embassy, because he says he fears that he could be extradited to the U.S.
where there is a grand jury investigation ongoing into the activities of WikiLeaks.
But it's all sort of becomes this diplomatic and legal standoff. And ultimately, what's it's meant is that Julian Assange has, by his own
accord, put himself into a sort of -- imprisoned himself, if you will, inside the Ecuadoran embassy.
LU STOUT: And if two years being holed up and stuck inside the Ecuadoran embassy has really taken a toll on the health of Julian Assange,
and if he does need medical treatment, could Assange argue that he can't be extradited due to a medical condition?
SHUBERT: I think that's an extremely remote possibility. And at this point, the British government maintains that he will be extradited frankly
no matter what.
And at the moment it seems that even though his health is not doing well, it hasn't deteriorated to a point where he would have to, for
example, be immediately evacuated to a hospital. But these are always possibilities that could come up in the future, we just don't know at this
point.
But what's clear is that the British police are still stationed outside of the embassy 24 hours a day ready to arrest and extradite him if
he should come out.
LU STOUT: All right, CNN's Atika Shubert live at the scene there in London. Thank you so much for joining us.
You're watching News Stream. And still to come, Kurdish fighters charge ahead in northern Iraq under U.S. cover as they try to recapture a
strategic battleground from ISIS militants.
Also ahead, an Ebola treatment facility in Liberia's capital was stormed over the weekend. We'll have more on the fear that's taken hold
of many people there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back. You're watching News Stream. You are looking at a visual version of all the stories we've got in the show today.
We'll go back to the unrest and a small town in Missouri in just a few minutes. And later on, I'll be speaking to the organizer of a pro-
government rally in Hong Kong, but now to Iraq.
Now an intense battle is raging at Mosul dam in northern Iraq.
Now the Kurdish officer heading the ground offensive against ISIS militants says his men are three kilometers from their target. He hopes
they will regain full control of the site today with help from a U.S. air patrol.
Now the dam is an important asset for both sides. It is Iraq's largest hydroelectric dam and it powers much of the country.
Now Kurdish forces claim some success on the evening, but the battle is not over yet.
Now CNN's Anna Coren has been embedded with Kurdish special forces. But first, let's go to Nick Paton Walsh who joins us near Mosul dam.
And Nick, from your vantage point, what are you able to see of this battle to take back the dam?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORREPSONDENT: Kristie, it is a rare vantage point here. You can't hear it in my microphone, but I can
hear, as I have for the past half hour since we got to the constant roar of jet fighters in the skies above us.
Now, they are responsible, we think, for what continue to appear along the horizon behind me. I'm going to step out of the way so our cameraman
Mark Fitz (ph) can get a better view of what we're seeing there.
Now there is one black plume of smoke that has been there for a time since we arrived here, but since admittedly joined by other plumes of
smoke, we're obviously what could be airstrikes or other forms of heavy weaponry hit there.
I'm going to give you some context, the geography here, this is the lake, which everyone is so concerned about that is held back by the Mosul
dam itself.
Now you can't see, of course, the full expanse of the dam here, because that falls away on the other side of the lake, but you can see that
flat line is effectively where it holds the water back.
Now to the left-hand side, that, we understand, is territory, which the Kurdish pesh merga have taken. The black plume of smoke not quite
marking the front line, but suggesting, roughly, how far they have got.
To the right of that, we understand, is areas which are still held by ISIS.
But you can see here, the scale of the water involved, and that's exactly why people are so troubled by this.
I'm going to step back towards the camera now, Kristie. We've been driving around the villages near here for the past hour or so seeing towns
that have been emptied out of people. In the past, I've been up a monastery in the hills in which some Christian families are simply hiding
in a building that was build about 1,700 years ago.
This is a deeply anciently tribal area with many minorities trying to eke out survival during this crisis.
But as you can just see, Kristie, from the scale of the black smoke, we see it is constant, a new one cropping up every couple of minutes or so,
quite clearly a tense battle going on -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: And the daunting challenge here is to fight, to take back the dam, without damaging the structure. Tell us what would happen if
there was some sort of damage to that facility?
WALSH: It is a remote possibility -- it feeds into the general notion that ISIS is so apocalyptic, really, it would seek to damage something like
this and therefore unleash the hundreds of thousands of metric tons of water that would fall onto Mosul and Baghdad as a result.
Now of course many say that would effectively destroy so many of the areas that they consider sacred, that they want to form part of the
backbone of their caliphate that they've declared here.
But as you can see here, so much of that heavy weaponry is landing close to that infrastructure.
Of course, these are laser-guided munitions, many of them. What, in fact, American airstrikes. We've heard the plans and seen them, it seems,
hitting targets far way around from the dam, so it's never quite clear what's responsible for those fire in the distance.
But, yes, this is obviously pitch fighting -- I just heard what seemed to be a thud in the distance there -- this is pitch fighting clearly over a
very complex, fragile piece of infrastructure and fighting that is far from over.
Of course, everybody would hope an operation like this over something so fragile would last a matter of hours. But here we are, we're talking
days now, and fears growing, of course, exactly what state any liberated dam will be in, Kristie.
LU STOUT: All right, Nick Paton Walsh joining us live form Mosul dam there in northern Iraq. Thank you very much, indeed for that.
Now as we could see in that report with the black plume of smoke rising behind Nick Paton Walsh from that vantage point where he was
reporting from, the fighting was still raging near Mosul dam.
Anna Coren has been embedded with the pesh merga, the Kurdish who are battling ISIS militants to take back the facility. She filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Black smoke billows on the horizon as heavy artillery and rockets pummel the enemy line. Pesh merga
special forces waging an extensive ground operation against ISIS as fighter jets and predator drones patrolled the skies.
Their mission: to take back Mosul dam, captured by militants early this month -- a critical piece of hydro electric infrastructure that if
sabotaged could let loose a wall of water that would flood the cities of Mosul and Baghdad and everything in between, killing countless lives.
Commander Mansur Barzani, son of the Kurdish president, is in charge of the special forces and this operation.
CMDR. MANSUR BARZANI, PESHMERGA SPECIAL FORCES: We believe our Peshmerga can take back because this is something very, very dangerous.
It's very dangerous (inaudible)
COREN: As the offensive continues, ISIS eventually retreats but in their wake leave IEDs and land mines, scattered on the road, across the
fields and inside buildings.
(on camera): The Pesh merga finally allowed us to travel to the area that they attacked a few hours ago. We can still see smoke rising from the
buildings. Now, we have been told that we're not allowed out of the vehicle because of the risk of land mines planted by ISIS.
(voice-over): But once we arrived at the area, hundreds of Peshmerga gather, ready for the next offensive.
Some showing off their achievements on the battle.
(on camera): They are showing photos of ISIS militants they killed earlier today.
(voice-over): But within minutes -- another explosion. Well, this is where the battle was staged earlier today against the ISIS militants. We're
about 15 kilometers as the crow flies to Mosul dam, and these soldiers were on their way there in this convoy when it was hit by an IED attack a short
time ago.
The injured officers have been taken back to base. We later learned one of the soldiers died. As they begin to credit the next offensive
position, closer to their target, an American Humvee seized by ISIS sits in ruins on a dusty plains. The result of U.S. airstrike are giving these
long-term warriors the reassurance they need to take the fight to ISIS aggressively on the battleground.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And Anna Coren joins us now live from the Mosul dam.
And Anna, you've been out on the front lines all day. What have you seen around you?
COREN: At base with the pesh merga special forces -- and as you can see over my shoulder, the black smoke, that is Mosul dam and that is where
the fighting is continuing. I Just got word from the commander of the special forces that they are now clearing small pockets of resistance on
the site of the dam, so it would appear that pesh merga forces are taking over that facility, pushing out the ISIS militants who have been there now
for weeks.
Of course, when they lost that major piece of infrastructure that provides power for both Mosul and Baghdad, it was a major blow for Iraq and
obviously for the Kurds, but now they seem to be making huge gains.
We were with them yesterday. We saw our report of how they just pummeled those enemy lines and that's what they did all day.
We were with them a little bit earlier and there was incoming rounds from ISIS militants in Mosul. You have to remember that the dam is quite
different to where Mosul City is. Mosul City, as we know, was taken over by ISIS back in June. And they are fiercely holding on to that.
From where we were, several kilometers down the road -- probably 10, 15 kilometers from where we are, much closer to the dam, there is fierce
fighting continuing.
We were actually hoping to get all of the way to the dam, but it looks like for now, Kristie, we just have to stay here due to safety concerns.
LU STOUT: And a point of discussion brought up earlier with our colleague Nick Paton Walsh if -- and you've mentioned this -- if there is
any damage to that dam it would lead to catastrophic flooding. Is there a concern among the pesh merga forces you've been embedded with that the
militants may try to sabotage the dam?
COREN: Look, I put that question to them yesterday. And the commander said he would not put anything past ISIS, that they are prepared
for the worst-case scenario.
Speak to independent U.S. civil engineers, you know, if they were to open the flood gates, blow it up, a 30 meter wall of water would hit Mosul.
You're talking about a city of millions of people. That tidal wave, the tsunami would then carry through collecting all the town, cities in between
and then on to Baghdad where he predicts a five meter wall of water would then hit that city.
So, really, it would be catastrophic. People are concerned as to what ISIS will do, but it would seem from what we are hearing that the pesh
merga forces are on the ground, they ware taking control, and they are clearing out those small pockets of resistance as we speak.
LU STOUT: Is that Mosul dam behind you a key piece of infrastructure there for electricity, irrigation, flood protection as well. Anna Coren
joining us live from the site, thank you very much indeed for your reporting.
Now, a health care center treating Ebola patients was attacked and looted in Liberia, just striking a blow to containment efforts there and
sending patients fleeing in fear. We have that story ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you are back watching News Stream.
Now the last major tennis tournament of the year, the U.S. Open, gets underway one week from today. And two of those sports' biggest stars show
this weekend why they are among the favorites for success at Flushing Meadows.
Now World Sport's Alex Thomas is here. He's got more -- Alex.
ALEX THOMAS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Kristie, Roger Federer and Serena Williams both turning back the clock, really. Federer has won
the Cincinnati Masters five times. And even though he's the oldest player in the world's top 25 in the men's game currently, he hasn't lost his
touch. And on Sunday, he was facing Spain's David Ferrer for a shot at the sixth Cincinnati title.
And Federer took first blood in this one, capturing the break of serve and then holding on to it with some classic serve and volley tennis.
Ferrer's backhand pass going wide as the Swiss former world number one takes that opening set six games to three.
The second set was almost a no contest in Ferrer's favor, actually. He raced out to a 4-0 lead and won it 6-1.
Order was then restored in the third set. The 17-time grand slam champion Federer pulling away to an early lead and never letting go. He'd
eventually win on a challenged call taking the set and the match 6-3, 1-6, 6-2, his sixth Cincinnati Masters title.
That's hard to imagine for all her success around the world, Serena Williams had never won there, but she can now add that rather unusual
looking trophy to her collection. The world number one playing a resurgent Ana Ivanovic in the women's final on Sunday. And Serena up against it
initially. Ivanovic hitting some really good shots to take a 4-1 lead.
Serena struggling recently. She'd eventually get her gam together and stage the fight back.
Ivanovic really sort of crumbled under the pressure. She's well aware of when Serena Williams dominates the women's game.
And the younger Williams sister took the second set, had an answer for everything, finishing it off with a serve to win 6-4, 6-1.
And we also expect to hear something about Rafa Nadal's U.S. Open plans either today or on Tuesday from his publicist. Juan Martin Del Potro
is already officially withdrawn from next week's U.S. Open due to recovering from wrist surgery. Del Potro, if you remember, beat Federer to
win the U.S. Open title back in 2009.
That's it for now. More in World Sport a little bit later on, Krisite.
LU STOUT: Alex Thomas there, thank you.
And still to come, we'll take you back to Ferguson, Missouri for the latest on the violent clashes there. The governor is now calling in the
national guard to help restore order.
Also ahead, the Ebola outbreak in Liberia took an unexpected turn over the weaken, further complicated efforts to contain the disease. We'll tell
you more after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.
Now the governor of Missouri has signed an executive order to deploy the national guard after Sunday protests in Ferguson turned violent. This
comes more than a week after Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, was fatally shot by a police officer.
Now a spokesman from WikiLeaks tells CNN that Julian Assange will leave the Ecuadoran embassy in London when conditions are right, but adds
that his departure is, quote, not imminent. At the news conference earlier, the WikiLeaks founder said he would leave the embassy soon, but
not for the reason you might think. Now he fled there two years ago to avoid extradition to Sweden in a rape investigation.
Kurdish forces appear to be on the verge of regaining control of Iraq's Mosul dam. They've been fighting a fierce battle against ISIS
militants who took over the dam earlier this month. Now the commander of the special forces says that they are now clearing pockets of resistance
around the dam.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov says diplomatic talks on Ukraine made some progress over the weekend. Now the foreign ministers of
Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine made on Sunday to discuss the crisis. Among the topics, humanitarian aid for people affected by the fighting the
military and pro-Russian separatists.
Now let's return to our top story now, the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri. Fierce clashes between police and protesters have gotten so out
of hand that the governor has decided to deploy the national guard.
Now George Howell is there. He joins us now live. And George, first, last night was a terrible night of violence despite the curfew. What was
the trigger? What did you see?
HOWELL: Kristie, indeed it was a terrible night. Before we get to those questions with answers, I want you to take a look at this, because I
think it's poignant.
You see people here that are just cleaning the streets, trying to reclaim their community. And when you think about it, that really is
representative of the people who live here. What we've seen in the last few nights, though, is a different group. It starts with protesters,
people who come out to protest peacefully, that's one group. There's also a group who comes in -- they come in to create chaos, to loot, and that's
where we're seeing these clashes with police.
Your question was, well, what sparked it. Police say that they heard gunshots in the crowd. Two people were shot.
Also the protesters got too close, pushed up too close to the police command center, that that was staged out here. Then police took action.
You see the line of police moving down the street methodically, systematically, using tear gas, using rubber bullets, using gas canisters,
smoke canisters rather, to clear the streets.
There are criticisms that police have been too heavy handed. And when in fact when you look at these images it does seem like a police state.
But it is important to point out, Kristie, again, putting all this into context, we're talking about -- about a one square mile area here on a very
long street. This is the center point of all the violence, the clashes that we've seen.
Police, in many ways, feel that they're damned if they do and damned if they don't when it comes to clearing the streets. And protesters,
again, feel that police need to take a more sensitive approach.
So, that's what's playing out here night after night after night.
LU STOUT: And George I have to say thank you, thank you so much for showing us that poignant moment behind you -- I wonder if it's still going
on -- of residents there in Ferguson, Missouri picking up the pieces after last night's terrible night of violent clashes. I know that our viewers on
CNN International all around the world have been watching what's been taking place in Ferguson with shock and disbelief, looking at the violence,
the smoke bombs, the tear gas being used.
How is the community there trying to make sense of what happened? And how many people share the sentiment of those people behind you who are
picking up the pieces and trying to heal after what has happened in Ferguson?
HOWELL: It seems like the majority, quite honestly. The majority of people who come out want to come out to protest peacefully. They believe
that an injustice happened here. This African-American teenager who was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer, they want answers in that
case. But again it is a smaller group that comes into that larger group.
And, you know, when someone breaks into a store then it just creates chaos. When -- as police said last night, when someone takes a Molotov
cocktail and throws it back at officers, that incites a response from police.
So, again, it's these two different groups who don't want to seem to budge, don't want to seem to give any ground.
Now that the national guard is stepping in, Kristie, it's really anyone's guess as to how this plays out overnight.
LU STOUT: Well, here's hoping that order and normalcy will return to Ferguson, Missouri.
George Howell, reporting live. Thank you so much for that.
Now a health ministry official in Gaza says that the number of Palestinians killed in the latest Israeli offensive is now more than 2,000.
He says some of the wounded have been succumbing to their injuries, while others have died as a result of unexploded ordinance.
Now the current cease-fire between Israel and Hamas is due to expire in just a matter of hours. And the two sides are talking through Egyptian
intermediaries. But a lasting deal is looking elusive.
Now one issue that's been on the table in Cairo is fishing rights. Now Gaza's fishermen, they pull more garbage out of the sea than fish, and
that's because they're only allowed to fish right of the polluted coast.
Fred Pleitgen reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: When Gaza's fishermen pull in their nets these days their catch is abysmal: a few very small fish
and a of garbage.
The first order of business for Captain Wanir Abu Riyallah (ph) and his men, separating plastic bags and bottles from the fish.
"As you can see, we have to select the good ones," he says. "What can we do? We just want money to live and fuel is very expensive."
When we went out off the coast of Gaza, we saw only small boats working the sea, some even using paddles to get around.
"There is no fish in this place," he says. "But if we could go out further to the west things would be much better."
The UN says Gaza's fishermen have lost more than 230 tons of fish since the beginning of the recent hostilities between Hamas and Israel.
Israel only allows the fishermen to work in a designated area, and increasing that fishing zone to 12 miles is a key Palestinian demand in the
cease-fire negotiations.
We're less than a mile off the Gaza coast. And right now the fishermen here don't dare go out any further than this. But they say that if the
fishing zone were increased to 12 miles they would catch a lot more fish, and a lot bigger fish, and would vastly improve their economic situation.
Bigger trawlers aren't going out at all for the time being. The fishermen say some of their boats have come under fire from the Israeli
navy. Israel says it fired warning shots when boats breached the exclusion zone.
So, for many working in Gaza's fishing industry, it's back to rods and reels while raw sewage is pumped into the water just a few yards away.
"Anything closer than six miles to the shore has very sandy ground and it's bad for fishing," says the head of Gaza's fishermen's union. "if you
go out more than six miles the ground is rocky and it's the best for fishing."
The few cases that come off the boats nowadays are auctioned off immediately. 300 sheckels, about $85 per case, an outrageously high price
for low quality fish, leaving Gaza's fishermen hoping that negotiations for peace will also factor in their need to make a living.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Gaza.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And turning now to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. And we want to focus for a moment on the situation in Liberia where it seems
some people's fears have given rise to violence.
Now this past weekend in Monrovia, unknown assailants attacked a health care facility treating Ebola patients.
Now some of the patients fled as the attackers made off with mattresses and equipment. Now there are concerns that could make the
outbreak worse.
Police spokesman says the attackers did not want Ebola patients quarantined there. He says everybody is afraid.
Now CNN's Nima Elbagir is following the story for us from Nairobi. She joins us now live. And Nima, why was an Ebola health care facility
targeted in this attack?
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the sad reality, Kristie, is that one of the main issues, one of the main challenges that
those fighting this outbreak are trying to overcome is the lack of a health care infrastructure and the Westpoint Township in Monrovia, this is one of
the success stories, this is an area that has shown a real spike in reported Ebola cases and they were able to put together a clinic for
testing, to put together a clinic to try and combat the outbreak in that specific area, and it seems to have only cranked up the atmosphere of
paranoia and fear there.
Many of those crowds, we were told by police were (inaudible) there is no Ebola here.
The bigger concern is not only has this really much needed health care facility been dismantled, much of the testing facility has gone, but 29
suspected Ebola patients are now back out in the community.
And we were listening to the WHO, to the World Health Organization. And a lot of the challenges that they say is aggravating the problem
amongst them were the key issues that they pinpointed is this backdrop of spiraling fear, Kristie. And you really see this in incidents like that.
It is affecting not only the health care workers who are trying to reach these patients, but it's also affecting the reporting of the cases. We're
hearing a lot anecdotally about secret burials, people too afraid to go back in the community once they have been cured. And it really is making
an extraordinarily difficult environment much, much worse -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: Very alarming development there. A number of Ebola patients have fled and we don't know where they are. Nima Elbagir
reporting for us. Thank you, Nima.
You're watching News Stream. And still to come in the program, pro- government supporters in Hong Kong, they gathered for a huge rally, but it turns out a number of them were not actually from the city. Find out what
the organizer had to say about this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back.
Now tens of thousands of people here in Hong Kong took to the streets on Sunday. You could call it a protest against a protest. Now they are
opposed to Occupy Center, a pro-democracy movement planning a sit-in unless the Chinese government allows Hong Kong people to nominate and vote for its
next leader.
Now right now, the plan is for Hong Kong to vote for its next leader from a list of candidates and picked by Beijing. But Sunday's protesters
reject Occupy Centrals plans for a sit-in. They want to work with Beijing for political reform.
I spoke to Robert Chow, the organizer of Sunday's march. And I started by asking him what his movement managed to achieve.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERT CHOW, MARCH ORGANIZER: I think what happened was we had 1.5 million signatures out of Hong Kong, which has got a population of 7
million, which is a lot. And yesterday, a quarter of a million people came out in walks, in presenting a flower to our (inaudible) of peace
(inaudible).
So I think overall turnout means that Hong Kong people love peace and they're not afraid to let people know that they desire peace and democracy.
LU STOUT: I think the Hong Kong police estimate of the turnout was a little bit less than the number that you said. Nevertheless, you were able
to mobilize tens of thousands of people onto the streets of Hong Kong on a very hot, sweltering day.
Now were you able to mobilize so many people?
CHOW: I think it was useful. We have already got 1.5 million signatures already. So it's a question of asking these people to come up
to show their face, because a lot of people, you know, cast doubts on their identity whether they are real people or not, whether they have actually go
and sign or not. So I think people get a little bit worked up when they're accused of not being real persons.
So when the occasion arises and they say, yeah, we'll come out.
LU STOUT: Now some number of observers pointed out that they saw people who seemed new to Hong Kong who were speaking Mandarin, not local
Cantonese. Were Mainland Chinese brought to Hong Kong just to participate in your movement's protest yesterday?
CHOW: Yeah, I'm not surprised of that. In fact, we have a large contingent of mainlanders who are waiting to come to Hong Kong as
residents. They've already got everything approved, but they, you know, they're waiting to come here.
LU STOUT: So, they're not Hong Kong residents, yet.
CHOW: They're not Hong Kong residents yet, but there are a lot of Hong Kong residents, you know, who married a Hong Kong resident, but they
stay in Xiangjin (ph), for example. And they want to show (inaudible) so they can come. I mean, you know, we're not going to stop them.
LU STOUT: How large is that group?
CHOW: I don't think it's really a lot. If you go through the people and you look at them, then you say quite a lot of them come from
(inaudible), but -- and new territories. But half the population lives in New Territories. So they are of more mature group, that I admit.
So I think, you know, overall speaking these are the addouts of Hong Kong, the matured addouts of Hong Kong who are coming out.
LU STOUT: And how many Hong Kong companies and businesses told and ordered their staffers and employees to take part in your protest?
CHOW: No. Nobody can order a staff go and walk under the sun for three hours. I mean, would you be ordered? You know, would you abide by
such an order? Nobody does. Hong Kong has got 3 percent unemployment rate. If a boss tells the staff to do something he does not desire, you
know, you just quit and join another company.
LU STOUT: There were a number of people holding Chinese flags, not the Hong Kong Bohemia flag, but the Chinese flag. Why is that?
CHOW: Because Hong Kong is part of China. So if there's a large (inaudible) and someone waves the -- you know, if he waves a Union Jack
then you can say, well, that's odd. But if he waves the stars and stripes, you know, that's understandable.
I would be surprised that, if you know, do a march in your own country that you won't be waving your own flag.
LU STOUT: The anti-Occupy Central movement, you're not against democracy, you're against civil disobedience as your means to democracy.
So you want talks, you want negotiation with Beijing. Is that right?
CHOW: Yes. Yes.
LU STOUT: But can that happen when Beijing has stated what it wants, that it wants a leader for Hong Kong that is patriotic? How can you
negotiate with someone who already has a stated opinion?
CHOW: Tell me, which country would openly say I want an unpatriotic person to be the next president. Is that acceptable? I mean, all
countries would say the first and foremost criteria you've got to be a patriot. You swear on the bible and say you uphold the constitution of the
United States. So in Hong Kong, you uphold the basic law, that's the same thing.
In Hong Kong, you know, you are a patriot because you are Chinese. There's nothing strange about it.
LU STOUT: Will democracy take root in Hong Kong.
CHOW: I think so. I think so. I mean, but us all democracy movements, it will have to go through some hurdles. I think we're in the
middle of a hurdle now. If we cross that hurdle, then come 2017 we will have universal suffrage.
Now, but that is not the end of it, that is an ongoing process. And we hope one day in the future we'll get it better than what we are going to
get in 2017.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Robert Chow speaking to me earlier.
Now CNN also spoke to Beni Thai (ph), the organizer of Occupy Center. And Thai (ph) says he respects the view of Sunday's protesters and that he,
too, would like to cancel Occupy Central, but only if elections to decide Hong Kong's next leader are held at an international standard.
You're watching News Stream. And up next, India's forgotten ancient game, Kabaddi, dusts itself off and enters the big leagues. We'll bring
you the details after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Welcome back.
Time now for your global weather forecast with the latest on the flooding in India. Mari Ramos has that. She joins us now -- Mari.
MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, this is going to be one of our major stories in the days to come. The flooding across parts of
India has been really, really bad. And there's more to come, because it's not the rain that is falling now that's much of a concern, but the rain
that's already fallen.
And there is water as far as the eye can see in many cases. This is one picture just to illustrate what's going on. Here you see one person --
this is one out of millions, by the way, millions of people that are stranded and affected by the water here, the high water levels. And there
you see a little patch of land where they're able to keep their animals still.
So very serious situation for people in this area.
Let's go ahead and role the video, because I want to show you a couple of different things.
This is farther to the north. You see the terrain here much different. High mountains. This is near the northeastern portion of India
near Nepal. And what you have here is very high mountains. It rains very heavily in the mountains. And the rivers just get overwhelmed with the
amount of water that is coming down.
This is upstream, can you imagine what it's going to look like downstream where all of these rivers eventually get to flatter land and
they just flood everything because there's nothing really to contain these huge waterways.
Let's look at the next piece video, because there you can see it a little bit more. These are areas that are completely flooded. In India
alone, over 50 people have been killed and that's just this weekend alone. In Nepal, more than 100 people were killed because of the high water in
these areas.
There are parts of eastern India that have had just in the month of August over half a meter of rainfall. And that is close to their monthly
average. So almost as much rain as they get the entire month happening in the first two weeks of the year.
People like this that you see right there, those people are the ones left stranded. There are hundreds and hundreds of villages across India
that have been affected by this.
If you come back over to the weather map, let me show you the areas that we're talking about. All of these areas that have been highlighted
here -- in Uttar Pradesh, for example, here they've had to open up the Barajas (ph), or the dams, and release some of the water. And as that
happens, areas that normally wouldn't get flooded are being inundated. And they are leaving more people, even, affected.
In the mountains here to the north, those are the areas that are most affected, because of the landslides that have been in this region. Nepal
has also had significant damage. Bijar, once we get into the flatlands that I was talking about, a high agricultural area, we're seeing thousands
of square kilometers that have been affected here -- crops decimated, and this is going to take a long time for people to recover from that.
And farther south in Odisha, there we've seen more than 460 villages that have been affected and more than 3 million people affected by
flooding. In those villages, people are completely cut off.
Remember that we were talking earlier this month -- this is the picture from July. And you can see these area here in Odisha that were dry
back in July. And this is what it looked like at the beginning of August. Look at all of these areas of water in here.
This is a picture we showed you last week. And it's pretty significant, Kristie, when you see so much flooding.
There is still rain in the forecast, but remember it's not so much the rain that's falling now, but rain that's already fallen and flowing into
these river banks and overflowing, I should say, across many, many areas.
Back to you.
LU STOUT: All right, Mari Ramos there. Thank you.
Now, let's step over here and introduce you to something called Kabaddi. It's a mud rollicking combination of wrestling and tag. It's
always been a favorite pastime across India, but over the last few years it's definitely lost out to cricket fever. Now, after a glitzy makeover,
this ancient game is ready to enter the sporting spotlight.
Mallika Kapur has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN INTENATIONAL CORRESPONDNET: This is how kabaddi used to be played. This is what it looks like now.
The ancient Indian indigenous sport has had a complete makeover. And thanks to a newly launched pro kabaddi league it's back in the spotlight.
CHARO SHARMA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, MASHAI SPORTS: There's got to be something special about the sport, which we in India, being the mecca of
the sport, having somehow -- can I use the word ignoring? And I said we've got to do something about it.
KAPUR: The pro kabaddi league works long the lines of India's highly successful cricket league. There are eight franchises, matches are
televised live on prime time. There's glitz and glamour in the stadiums and celebrity team owners.
ABHISHEK BACHCHAN, OWNER, JAIPUR PINK PANTHERS: These athletes are like panthers when they play kabaddi. They really are.
KAPUR: Bringing a lot of excitement to the sport is the owner of the Jaipur Pink Panthers team, India actor Abu Sheik Bachin (ph). He says he
used to play kabaddi as a child. Now he wants to do his bit to bring India's heritage sport back into the limelight.
BACHCHAN: My first challenge was how do you make the sport cool? The whole perception of kabaddi is, you know, please.
KAPUR: He says that's a misconception.
BACHCHAN: Everybody thinks of kabaddi still as a very rural, basic aggressive sport, which is (inaudible) you play on the grass or in the mud,
when actually see how international kabaddis play today, it's exhilarating.
KAPUR: So, how is it played? I asked one of the sport's most celebrated players to explain.
He says, "there are seven members on one team. They send a raider to the other side where he must tag as many people as he can without being
caught. All this, in 30 seconds while holding his breath and chanting kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi then entire time.
Ready, steady, go.
Kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi.
I didn't last long, just long enough for me to decide some things are best left to the professionals.
Now India's urban youth get to decide whether to tune into these matches every night and whether kabaddi really become cool.
Mallika Kapur, CNN, Mumbai.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And that is News Stream. But the news continues at CNN. World Business Today is next.
END
