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Price Gouging in Lebanon's War Zones; Hezbollah Rockets Land Near Hadera
Aired August 04, 2006 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's straight to the newsroom. Fredricka Whitfield has details on two breaking stories right now -- Fred?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A couple things we're working on, one out of Israel, the other out of Cuba.
First to the story in Israel, where several rockets apparently have hit the town of Hadera, which is a coastal town just north of Haditha. It's sort of the mid-way point between Haifa and Tel Aviv, if you look at it on the map there.
But what we're hearing are these several rockets have hit Hadera. What's significant about this is this hit would represent, perhaps, the deepest south hit into Israel from these rockets presumably being fired from Hezbollah.
Now the other story out of Cuba that we continue to follow, possibly refuting any rumors that the rule of Fidel Castro might be over. Well, now the Cuban health minister is reporting that Fidel Castro, quote, "will be back with us soon." We still haven't seen his brother, Raul, who has been given temporary presidency leadership while Fidel Castro is being hospitalized or aided medically.
But perhaps now we're learning that's sort of by design, that we perhaps will never see Raul as the temporary president, and that that country is awaiting for Fidel Castro to get better so that he will be the first one that we see.
All right, Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Fred.
Citizens who refuse to live in fear are being credited to help round up two men and ending a 15-month-old nightmare. The police chief of Phoenix, Arizona, says that these men are, without a doubt, quote, "the serial shooters." They were arrested early this morning in an apartment complex early in the suburban area.
This is one of them, Dale S. Hausner. Police say that and Samuel John Dieteman have been booked on numerous counts of murder and aggravated assault. The serial shooter is blamed for 36 shootings since May of last year. Six people were killed, 18 others wounded. Most of the victims were either walking or just riding their bikes, the shots fired from a passing car.
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MAYOR PHIL GORDON, PHOENIX, ARIZONA: These are the two monsters we've been hunting and, as I promised you and my colleagues promised you, we're not yet finished. I said last week that we had turned the tables on these criminals. That the hunters had become the hunted, and that Phoenix is a city on the offensive. No one should question that today.
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PHILLIPS: The mayor and police emphasize they still have work to do, though. They're still looking for this man, described as the baseline killer or the rapist. He's blamed for nearly two dozen crimes including robbery, rape and eight killings.
Well, delivering relief in a war zone. What it's truly like on the frontlines of the humanitarian effort under way in southern Lebanon. We're live in Beirut right after this break.
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PHILLIPS: Let's go straight to the newsroom. Fredricka Whitfield with more details on a developing story. A lot going on today -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: A lot indeed.
This in Israel, 50 miles south of the Lebanese border. Several reports of several Hezbollah rockets hitting the town of Hadera, which is a coastal town there on the map there of Israel, just somewhere between -- kind of the midway point between Haifa and Tel Aviv. No reports of casualties being reported right now, nor do we know how many missiles or rockets may have attacked that area of Hadera, just that it has happened just within the past few minutes.
And, of course, when we get any more information about any potential casualties there and the damage caused from those missile or those rocket attacks, we'll be able to bring those to you -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Fred, thanks.
Well, the U.N.'s World Food Program called off a planned convoy to Tyre today, saying air strikes made it impossible for drivers to reach the assembly point. Supplies are getting tight in the Lebanese port city and prices are soaring.
CNN's Karl Penhaul is there it tell us about -- it's amazing to even hear -- the price gouging -- Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Kyra. There are still an estimated 20,000 people here in the city of Tyre. And in the past few days, many have received humanitarian aid for free. But others are having to pay for their food, for their water and for their gasoline, and the war profiteers are out and the prices are being gouged.
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KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When there's blood on the streets, there's profits to be made.
Butrali Naif (ph) is one of those cashing in. He's hiked the wartime price of a pound of beef to $5.50, almost 40 percent higher than the pre-war cost.
Israeli warplanes bomb the highways around Tyre every day. Just keeping his store stocked has become a matter of life and death.
"I have to drive a long way to get to the farm to buy meat, and it's very dangerous," he says.
Demand for Naif's meat is high despite the price. Everything has gone up; gas and all kinds of food.
"The day the bombing started, prices rocketed," she tells me.
It's gas prices that have seen the biggest spike. Halid Nassah (ph) drives a taxi.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before, 20 liter.
PENHAUL (on camera): Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twenty-two thousand, Lebanon.
PENHAUL: OK, so about $15.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now -- now...
PENHAUL: Now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In dollar, $100.
PENHAUL (voice-over): That means a single gallon costs anything from $10 to $20. But even at that price, Nassah says, he might have to drive up to 160 miles just to find fuel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe somebody tell me Tripoli. Now only Tripoli open. Who is going there?
PENHAUL (on camera): How many kilometers from here to Tripoli?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three hundred.
PENHAUL: And Beirut, no?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Beirut, no. Maybe...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only in the north!
PENHAUL (voice-over): Those sky-high gas costs are fueling price rises down at Tyre's vegetable market. Most of the produce is being brought in from miles away. The price of tomatoes has doubled to almost 40 cents a pound. Eggs, too, are up 100 percent. There's no work for now, so many are running out of money to pay for food, whatever the price.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After the money we finish, it's a big problem. Because the bank here, all of banking, closed.
PENHAUL: But the hot topic among buyers is the fighting, not food prices. Even among housewives like these who only have enough money to buy vegetables, not meat.
"We will resist, resist, and resist until we have victory. God bless Hezbollah. Tell Israel we're here, ready and waiting," she says.
At current prices, shoppers may have to ration their food, but their wartime spirit seems strong.
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PENHAUL: Now, I should say the humanitarian aid had been coming through in convoys into Tyre over the last few days, but again, fresh Israeli airstrikes on some of the key infrastructure on the roads and bridges leading south from Beirut to Tyre, and if that continues to happen, there could be more shortages of food and the prices could rise even higher, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Karl Penhaul, thanks so much. As you heard Karl say, what obstacles families are facing in Lebanon right now, what it's truly like on the frontlines of the humanitarian effort. I'm going to speak to the spokeswoman for Mercy Corps, coming up next.
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PHILLIPS: Well, the humanitarian crisis grows as the Mideast conflict deepens. Getting help to those who need it the most isn't really easy. Danger abounds for both refugees and the relief workers trying to help them.
Cassandra Nelson is with the aid group Mercy Corps. We have been talking to her on a regular basis. She joins us, once again, from Beirut. Cassandra, great to see you again. What has been the biggest challenge since we last talked a few days ago?
CASSANDRA NELSON, MERCY CORPS: Well, the challenge of access still remains there. If anything it's getting greater and greater. The needs are becoming greater for these people who are caught behind battle lines. As the days go on, the resources that they have in their villages dwindle and dwindle and they really have very little left and security still is not allowing easy movement to reach these people.
PHILLIPS: Now, before you were requesting permission from the IDF to go into dangerous areas, right? Are you still doing that? NELSON: Yes, Mercy Corps is taking convoys into the south. We were in Marjayoun before. We are not seeking permission from the Israelis. We are notifying them of our movements and of our itineraries, but we're not seeking permission. So we have gone forward, even without assurances of safety.
PHILLIPS: Now the IDF says that it's been involved in the coordination of help and aid. Have you seen that Cassandra? And do you think it's been effective and would it be safer to join forces with the IDF if, indeed, that's happening?
NELSON: Well, I mean, in terms of any kind of a coordination, we haven't seen really very much of that. As I said, we are able to notify them. There is sort of a phone line that's set up for us to notify them of our movements, but we have not received any positive response back in terms of assurances for our safety.
We have chosen to go forward. We do our own security reconnaissance and carefully analyze the situation before we go, but we've not felt that there is any assurances or assistance from the Israelis in terms of getting aid down to southern Lebanon.
PHILLIPS: Interesting, because we did get a quote from the IDF that actually says that "we're treating each request case by case," talking about aid and talking about help. "The ones that are not too dangerous, well, we are coordinating. We try to coordinate all of them. We prefer to get the requests one day at a time so then we can speak with the military commander and the Air Force and try to coordinate with them."
So it makes it appear that they're making a large attempt to help, but you haven't really seen that?
NELSON: Well, now, we will be doing another convoy down there in a couple days, so we'll start that process again of notification that we go through and we'll see how it goes. I mean, that sounds like great news. I hope it does turn out to be the case. But on our last mission, which was a few days back, that was not the case.
PHILLIPS: Interesting. So how do you do your own reconnaissance? How do you know, as an aid worker, what is safe and what isn't safe? I mean, you don't have the capabilities like the military.
NELSON: That's true. We rely on on-the-ground information. In our last convoy when we went down to Marjayoun, we had, actually, friends who were journalists that had come down about 12 hours before we were going. They gave us a full report on the road situation, on if there was shelling and airstrikes and when they were occurring and where they were occurring in the area. So we had, you know, constant communications with them.
We also were in constant communication with the mayor of the town that we were going down to see and numerous other residents there that know the security situation, that sort of know the pattern of the shelling and the airstrikes. So, again, through constant information coming from a variety of sources, we were able to evaluate it.
And we always go -- we head out knowing that at some point we may have to turn back, if that's necessary. We certainly are not going to unnecessarily jeopardize the lives of our staff, but we do feel that the situation is dire and we really need to move supplies down there and have to get down there, and we have to take some risks, but we take very educated risks and we do our best to mitigate them at all costs.
PHILLIPS: Well, you can tell by just the pictures of the women and children that you're reaching them and they're very happy to see you. Cassandra Nelson, appreciate it. And if you want to help Cassandra and get more information on how to help, you can call Mercy Corps toll-free or contact them on the Internet at the address that you see right there on your.
Coming up on LIVE FROM ...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's crazy but it's worth it. He's getting a statement made, and we need something done bad. This is getting to be ridiculous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Gas for a $1.22? That's the story behind the lines.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Let's go straight to the newsroom. Fredricka Whitfield with details on the developing story -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Israel now living out one of its greatest fears, that now Hezbollah rockets have hit pretty far south into that country. This marking now the furthest south during this three-week conflict, the town of Hadera.
Now, we've got live pictures now coming in, the result of two or three rocket attacks hitting the town of Hadera, which is about 50 miles south of the Lebanese border, but just 25 miles north of Tel Aviv, the capital of Israel.
No reports from the Israeli Defense Forces as of yet of any casualties. And we apologize for the freezing of these pictures, but these are live pictures streaming in. And when we're able to get some clarity, we'll be able to bring them back you. No reports of casualties as yet.
But you could see what appeared to be some emergency workers in that shot right just before it froze up. They're on the scene in Hadera now, where two or three Hezbollah rockets reportedly have hit that area.
More information when we get it -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, appreciate it, Fred, thanks.
Possibly the cheapest gasoline in the country this week, $1.22 a gallon in Biscoe, North Carolina. The limited offer, fueled by a congressional race, had them lined up by the hundreds.
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BRENDA THOMAS, BUYING GAS FOR $1.22/GALLON: It's crazy, but it's worth it. He's getting a statement made, and we need something done bad. This is getting to be ridiculous.
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PHILLIPS: Well, the Democratic candidate behind this, Larry Kissell. He says the price reflects the price of gas in 1998. That's when his Republican opponent, Congressman Robin Hayes took office. Beats another election year barbecue.
Well, if you think it's hot and crowded where you live, take a look at this. If you're wondering what this weekend has in store for you, this, believe it or not, is in China. A beach in China. We're told it's in a northern Chinese resort of Quindao. An estimated 200,000 people flocked to be seaside as the temperatures just soared.
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PHILLIPS: Thanks, Reynolds.
A stark contrast. Pictures tell the tale of Beirut before war and now. Some context to the conflict captured in photographs, when LIVE FROM continues.
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