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Your World Today

Inmate on the Loose in Laurel, Maryland; Fire at Royal Marsden Hospital in London; Pakistani Government Gets Outside Help in Tracking Down Assassins; Kenya Violence

Aired January 02, 2008 - 12:00   ET

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

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
GREG SHIPLEY, MARYLAND STATE POLICE: Anybody else?

QUESTION: Is it standard for officers to have guns in the hospital?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's standard, maximum security inmates. There are two correctional officers assigned. One is armed, the other is not. The one that is armed is in constant visual contact with the inmate.

QUESTION: Is this a routine (OFF-MIKE) prisoners coming for medical attention?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, each institution has its procedures set up with a hospital closeby when we need to ship somebody out.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're still investigating that.

I'm sorry?

QUESTION: Did he have two guns or three guns? Did he get the other security guard's gun?

SHIPLEY: The inmate initially had two guns, taken from two different correctional officers. During his trip down the stairwell, he apparently laid one of the guns down to open a door, so we have recovered one gun. We believe at this time he is armed with at least one handgun.

Correctional officers carry .38 caliber revolvers. And we believe that's the weapon he had when he left the hospital. We don't know if he's obtained any additional since he left.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

SHIPLEY: No.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: Greg Shipley, he's with the Maryland State Police Department, describing the events as they unfolded in Laurel, Maryland, a hospital there where an inmate managed to overpower not one but several, it sounds like, guards, taking two guns, leaving one behind. And then carjacking a '93 Toyota blue Camry, shooting the driver of that vehicle, a 51-year-old who's said to be in good condition at the hospital. But the inmate who has escaped, 45-year-old inmate Kelvin Polk, on the loose, assumed to be armed and driving a dark blue '93 Toyota Camry.

This is obviously a story that we'll continue to cover throughout the afternoon.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right.

Much more straight ahead in the "NEWSROOM" as it picks up at the 1:00 Eastern hour.

Right now, time for more of YOUR WORLD TODAY.

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MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: ... destroyed by this fire. It's on the top floor, and the whole roof has been destroyed. So, every patient in the hospital has had to be evacuated to other hospitals around London. That's put major pressure on other hospitals. And other roads are being closed, putting a lot of pressure on the congestion here in the capital of the U.K.

The chief executive of the hospital came and spoke to us a little earlier and said thankfully no one has been hurt.

We hope to hear that a little later in the program, but she said about 79 inpatients have been moved to other hospitals. They do need very high levels of care, so there is some concern that they won't get the care they need in other hospitals, but reassurance so far that that has been the case.

Also, a lot of concern from other patients due to come here, not just from U.K., but around Europe. They have been told to have a look at the Web site. All the latest information will be there. But this is a big setback for cancer research because this is one of the leading research centers in the U.K. and the world, and there is concern also about the damage done to the very specialists' equipment that they have in the hospital behind me.

But so far, no injuries. And that's good news. And people are being distributed to other patients -- to other hospitals, rather, around London.

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: All right.

Max Foster reporting live there from in front of the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, where a fire broke out just a few hours ago.

Thankfully, no injuries, but it seems like a lot of damage to the building.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A lot of damage. Forty thousand patients a year. It's going to have a big impact. GORANI: All right. One country was thrown into chaos right before a key election. The other, right after.

CLANCY: They're on different continents, but both playing a crucial role in regional stability. So, the West is watching with deep concern.

GORANI: We'll get to the worsening ethnic violence in Kenya in just a moment.

CLANCY: First, though, let's check out several major developments right now in this report from Pakistan.

President Musharraf -- Pervez Musharraf saying terrorists are the ones to blame for Benazir Bhutto's assassination, and perhaps in response to a lack of trust and credibility on the government's side. After all, there's been four different versions now to how that assassination of Benazir Bhutto took place.

He says he's going to -- to get outside help to try to track down who is responsible. Scotland Yard, in particular.

President Musharraf addressed the nation as authorities began planning for a revised election day. They say the rioting that followed Bhutto's killing made holding elections as originally scheduled virtually impossible.

All of this being followed by our own Matthew Chance in Islamabad.

Matthew, what is the real message coming from the government right now?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there was a national address within the last hour or so from President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan. He went out on to the national airwaves to, first of all, offer his condolences and pay tribute to Benazir Bhutto, offer his condolences to her family, her supporters. He said he understood their sadness and their anger after she was "martyred," in his words, by terrorists in Pakistan.

He also said the need was very important to get to the bottom of what actually happened to her, to the assassinated former prime minister. And because of that, he said he had requested assistance from British detectives from Scotland Yard to come to Pakistan as soon as possible to help with the investigation.

Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTANI PRESIDENT (through translator): I would like to find out what exactly happened, and I want to bring the facts in front of the nation. So far, whatever the confusion is, we need to solve that confusion. And I would like to ask all the people, media, private channels and foreign media to not -- not to compound this confusion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: Well, President Musharraf also said that in the aftermath of the killing of Benazir Bhutto, it was a time in the country for reconciliation, not for confrontation. That attempting to allay the -- the anger, if you will, of the main opposition parties for the delay in the parliamentary election date which was announced today.

It was meant to take place on January the 8th. It's been delayed to February the 18th, and there's been reaction from the former party of the assassinated former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, from her widower, Asif Ali Zardari.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASIF ALI ZARDARI, BENAZIR BHUTTO'S WIDOWER (through translator): Today Pakistan society has decided that we will consult all likeminded political parties. And we condemn the postponement of the election. But we will go to the election at all the costs and will not let them run away with the election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: So, the head of the Pakistan Peoples Party, the successor for Benazir Bhutto, saying that the Pakistan Peoples Party will take part in the elections. There was a warning though from President Musharraf. He said because of all the violence since her killing last week, he had taken the decision to deploy the army, particularly in the south of the country, in Sindh province. And he said anybody breaking the law during this election period will be dealt with an iron fist -- Jim.

CLANCY: Matthew Chance there giving the latest on the situation in Pakistan.

Matthew, thank you -- Hala.

GORANI: Let's take you to another part of the world, on another continent. A disputed presidential election has unleashed tensions in one of Africa's most stable countries, but this is what happened after the election results were announced.

At least 300 people have been killed in days of clashes in Kenya. Some 70,000 have fled their homes amid violence breaking down largely along tribal lines there.

The unrest began Sunday, when President Mwai Kibaki was sworn in for another term. Now, President Kibaki's government accuses the rival party of unleashing genocide.

The challenger in this election, Raila Odinga, says the poll was rigged. His supporters blamed the violence on Mr. Kibaki. They say he provoked citizens by stealing the votes, according to them. The capital, Nairobi, was largely deserted today, but the opposition is calling for a mass rally on Thursday.

CLANCY: Now, Kenya's 36 million-plus people are made up of more than 40 different tribes with various cultural traditions and languages. he majority Kikuyu tribe, to which President Mwai Kibaki belongs, makes up about 22 percent of that population. Opposition candidate Raila Odinga belongs to the third largest, the Luo. It makes up 13 percent.

The two tribes have long existed in an uneasy rivalry, with other groups now affiliated with one side or the other in a political rivalry that is quickly turning ethnic.

GORANI: The rest of the world is looking on with concern. This was a once stable country, and Harry Smith has more on the violence which is pushing Kenya to the brink of chaos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRY SMITH, REPORTER, ITV NEWS (voice over): Sporadic violence continues across Kenya as the death toll mounts by the hour. Thousands took to streets of Nairobi today as rioters set fire to houses and shops.

PETER KIMATHI, NAIROBI RESIDENT: (INAUDIBLE) very fast. They (INAUDIBLE) the places. You can see they're about to (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many people have been killed?

KIMATHI: Well, we understand there's (INAUDIBLE) people.

SMITH: In suburbs like this, poverty is widespread. People struggle to save what little they had. Others simply gave up and fled the fighting with the few belongings they could carry.

The latest pictures from the towns of the Rift Valley show the remnants of burnt-out houses and cars. It was here in the town of Eldoret yesterday that dozens of people, many women and children, died when rioters set fire to a church they were sheltering in.

Today, many people were being evacuated by helicopter as the area slides into chaos.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We leave with hope. We leave them in fear. The word I hear more than any other word in the town of Urege (ph) is "Rwanda". They feel that fear of tribe turning against tribe, and of the consequences that would happen if that comes.

SMITH: In many areas, families are struggling to find food because shops have been looted.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't have food. People have not opened their shops, so we don't have food (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The markets are closed down. A lot of shops have been looted. And the petrol stations have also run out of fuel. SMITH: Kenya's disputed president has called for talks with opposition leaders to try to calm the situation, but they have refused to meet him, saying he must first resign.

Harry Smith, ITV News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, as we mentioned, the world is looking on with concern.

Let's get U.S. reaction to the volatile situation in both Kenya and in Pakistan.

We turn now to CNN's Kathleen Koch. She joins us live from the White House.

Let's start with Kenya, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, the White House, obviously, is, as you said, very concerned, has been monitoring the situation very closely. Press Secretary Dana Perino this morning is saying -- pointing out that -- how Kenya was one of the most stable nations in East Africa, and she said, "It's hard for us to comprehend here how this could have gone so wrong."

Perino reacted to that terrible tragedy, the deaths of the dozens of people who sought refuge in the church, only to have it burned down around them, saying it was "a terrible tragedy." Of course, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has spoken out on this issue in joint statements with Britain's foreign secretary, calling for a cessation of violence followed by what they are calling a "intensive political and legal process" to try to build unity and a peaceful future for Kenya -- Hala.

GORANI: Well, Kathleen, probably a lot more important strategically to the United States is Pakistan. What is the White House saying about the investigation into Benazir Bhutto's assassination?

KOCH: Well, you know, the White House has been very, very careful here not to appear at this sensitive time to be meddling in Pakistani politics. So while it has said from the start that it is ready to offer any help if it is requested, it has not been requested.

And the White House is applauding Musharraf's decision to ask Scotland Yard to step in. Perino saying, "We welcome Pakistan's decision to consult the U.K. for its expertise in investigations. It's very important that a transparent and comprehensive investigation move ahead quickly."

Now, another point, as to the delay in the elections, the Bush administration is saying basically what's important is that a date certain has been set and that the Pakistani government move forward on that date. Regarding the concerns that the elections might not be free and fair, Perino said, "We have no indication that they won't be," but we'll continue to monitor it -- Hala.

GORANI: All right. Kathleen Koch, live at the White House.

Thanks very much.

KOCH: You bet.

CLANCY: Well, the countdown is on in Iowa.

GORANI: Coming up on YOUR WORLD TODAY, candidates are out in force trying to sway undecided caucus-goers. We'll have the latest from the campaign trail.

CLANCY: Later, a mission to free three hostages held in Colombia apparently has failed. Who's to blame? Well, it depends on who you ask.

GORANI: And France starts a new year by banning smoking in public buildings. How are the French coping? We'll find out.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Welcome back to CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.

CLANCY: That's right. A special welcome, too, to our U.S. viewers that are joining us this hour.

Well, it is go time in Iowa. The whole world is watching the elections. Many people feel that, well, they have a stake in this as well.

Candidates are scurrying across the state looking for those last- minute voters ahead of Thursday's caucuses. Polls now indicating both the Republican and Democratic races are extremely tight. In other words, it could go either way for any of the candidates. The turnout said to be crucial to the overall outcome.

Dana Bash is there reporting on how Republicans are rallying their supporters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): These are the frenzied steps of a campaign in search of every last vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Matt with the Mitt Romney campaign. How you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. Good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good. I'm just here to remind you about the caucuses.

BASH: Door to door through snow, at headquarters by phone. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We also wanted to remind you of your caucus location.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know of anyone you can bring with you, friends or family?

BASH: Only about 100,000 Iowa Republicans actually caucus, so every vote really does count.

GENTRY COLLINS, ROMNEY CAMPAIGN: What we're doing now is we're trying to make sure that all of the supporters know how to caucus, know when to caucus, know where to caucus.

BASH: Mitt Romney's well-funded organization is now going back to every probable voter.

(on camera): How many voters are in your database?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hopefully enough.

BASH: What's enough?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, one more than the next guy.

BASH (voice over): That other guy, Mike Huckabee, is still feverishly signing up supporters at events.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You (ph) going to call them and remind them to come and show up?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The reason for my call is to see if Governor Huckabee can count on your vote and support in the Iowa caucus on January 3rd.

BASH: Huckabee's campaign is working the phones, too, but relying heavily on home-schoolers and evangelicals to rally friends, even first-time caucus-goers.

TROY KNIGHT, EVANGELICAL HUCKABEE SUPPORTER: So I have been involved a lot more politically in the last year than I have in the past.

BASH: But for all the hard work, the X factor is this...

BRENDA SAMBURG, UNDECIDED VOTER: I just don't feel really passionate about any one candidate.

BASH: Nearly half of GOP voters are undecided.

(on camera): Do you think you might just walk in to your caucus location on Thursday night and just decide then?

SAMBURG: It's possible. It's possible. It's also possible that I just won't go to the caucus.

BASH (voice over): Still, each call could help. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You will vote for Huckabee? All right. Thank you for your time, sir.

All right. I got a "Yes."

BASH: Dana Bash, CNN, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, the race could not be any closer among the Democrats in Iowa. Hillary Clinton is battling it out with Barack Obama, and John Edwards is running a strong third. The latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll gives Clinton the edge, but a "Des Moines Register" poll puts Obama in the lead.

CNN's Jessica Yellin is following the candidates on the campaign trail in Iowa and filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The final push is on. The democratic contenders are crisscrossing the state trying to motivate their supporters and turn out the state's many undecideds. Right now, the three leading Democrats are offering very similar agendas -- health care reform, a fix to the housing crisis, bringing an end to the war in Iraq -- but they're offering different visions of how they get that done.

John Edwards has been on a 36-hour barnstorming tour of Iowa, selling his message that he's more willing to fight the status quo, that he will truly stand up for the little guy.

Senator Clinton tells her audiences that she has the longest track record of actually getting things done. She knows how to work the system and can actually make good on the promises she's made on the campaign trail.

And Barack Obama tells his audiences, well, he's the freshest, he's the newest to Washington, and not tainted by past fights. So he can bring together red and blue America and make Americans work together again.

One influential "Des Moines Register" poll actually says that Barack Obama's message is connecting with Independents and that many of them are energized to come out and support Obama, but other polls show that Senator Clinton's message is connecting more or that John Edwards and all three of them are actually in a dead heat. It really depends which poll you look at, which campaign you talk to.

But we know that Senator Clinton is trying to reach first-time caucus-goers and especially older women. Barack Obama, some of the younger folks. And John Edwards, he wants those regulars, folks who have turned out come rain or shine every four years for these caucuses.

All three campaigns launching the largest get-out-the-vote effort this state has ever seen, and they're predicting an unprecedented turnout caucus night.

Jessica Yellin, CNN, Des Moines, Iowa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: And of course, stay with CNN for extensive coverage of the Iowa caucuses. As the results roll in, CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Lou Dobbs, Soledad O'Brien will have all the numbers as they come in. That's Friday at 01:00 GMT, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time for our viewers in the United States.

(NEWSBREAK)

(BUSINESS REPORT)

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Stephanie Elam up there in New York.

Stephanie, thank you very much for that.

Hala.

HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We're going to go to Todd Benjamin in London for more on the potential impact of this oil, NYMEX crude hitting $100 a barrel.

Now, Todd, what's interesting is that oil is not factored in to GDP growth as much as it was say 10, 20, 30 years ago when there was the first oil shock in the '70s. So are people very concerned or is this just going to have a small ripple effect?

TODD BENJAMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, I think people are genuinely concerned. They're concerned for a couple reasons. First of all, what you touched on when it broke $100 a barrel briefly is, you know, what's the impact going to be on a consumer at a time when there are already worries about the U.S. economy and housing being in a crunch there, the subprime crisis.

Now on top of that you have very expensive oil, which means people are taking more of the money they have in terms of their disposable income and they're using it to buy gasoline instead of buying things in the stores. And, of course, this comes at a very fragile time for the U.S. economy. So that's one concern.

Another concern is actually the inflationary impact. And that's another concern. So we'll have more on this in a moment, but first we're going to a break.

Hala.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Hello, everyone, and welcome back. Wherever you are tuning in from around the globe, whether it's in Africa, Asia or right here in the United States, you're tuned to YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy. GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani. Here are some of the top stories we're following for you.

Well, as we've been reporting, the price of oil hit a new milestone a few moments ago, $100 a barrel.

CLANCY: Now that's up more than $2 a barrel just today. Now we have been looking at this flirting with the $100 mark for some time now. Right now, there's a crisis in the oil-producing region of Nigeria, supply problems, getting oil out of Mexico. There's a lot of factors that are at work here. But the result is . . .

GORANI: Well, across the globe, those energy costs have continued to soar and that might shake the confidence of consumers and raise fears that inflation will continue to cause problems in some part of the world.

Also in the headlines, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf says Scotland Yard will help investigate Benazir Bhutto's assassination. Controversy over how Bhutto died has led critics to accuse the government of a coverup.

Meantime, authorities say the rioting that followed Bhutto's killing has forced them to postpone elections. They've pushed back the date to February 18th. Opposition parties condemned the delay but say they will take part.

CLANCY: Candidates are fanning out across Iowa right now in an effort to rally their supporters ahead of Thursday's caucuses in the state. Recent polls suggest both the Republican and Democratic races are extremely tight, with large numbers of voters undecided who will get their ballot.

GORANI: Also, the U.S. and U.K. are urging political leaders in Kenya to find a diplomatic end to the ongoing violence. Hundreds have died. Tens of thousands have been displaced since Sunday's disputed presidential election.

CLANCY: All right. Next guest has some firsthand experience of the chaos that's gripping Kenya right now. Jayne Samuel worked for Village Volunteers coming out of Seattle, which partners with various development programs in Africa. She has just returned. She was working along Lake Victoria, where she was out on a project for sustained development. It was in a remote village two hours outside of Kisumu.

But you had planned -- you wanted to be on a plane at least home by January the 1st. And what happened when you tried to get into Kisumu and to your hotel?

JAYNE SAMUEL, AFRICA VOLUNTEER: When we drove into Kisumu the morning of the 29th, that's when the rioting started to break out. And we were faced with burning roadblocks and were blocked from going into the city and sent to the Kisumu Airport to find out what was going on. And so we could not get into the city. We could not drive in on the main road at all. CLANCY: Well, we're showing some of the videotape that as a CNN I-Reporter, some videotaped that you have shared with everyone around the world. And it's pretty incredible. What did you have to do when you were trying to get to that hotel then?

SAMUEL: Well, we literally pulled over to a local gas station and the business owner there was known in the community and he is an ODM supporters. So we paid him to drive us into the city. He was able to get through and around the roadblocks. He knew the people and they pretty much left us alone as long as we were with him. So we left the car that we were with and the other people and they turned around and went back to the village. And two of us drove in to the city with him and we went to the hotel that we stayed at for the next two nights.

CLANCY: Well now I'm assuming -- where was this video shot that shows the people running down the street in protests? And let's make clear to people, what you're saying is in Kisumu, you had people that supported the opposition candidate that lost to the election. That's why they took to the streets, saying that that was unfair. But is this outside your hotel?

SAMUEL: Well, first of all, that was shot on the 29th, which was prior to the official announcement being made. So they were taking to the streets -- they had heard that there may be some corruption in the elections and they were upset in the delay in the announcement. So that video was actually shot prior to the actual announcement. And, yes, that video was shot from my hotel room looking down at the street.

CLANCY: But then you wanted to get out. You have to go to the airport in Kisumu. And, I mean, nobody wants to take you. They're afraid?

SAMUEL: Correct. The entire city was pretty much on lockdown. People stayed home. There was no transportation whatsoever in the city. The only vehicles that went were the riot patrol and some of the police. All the gas stations were closed. There was no food. All the stores were closed and there's no way to access banks.

So what I did on the morning of the 31st, because I knew that there were no flights on the 1st because it's a national holiday anyways and I was scheduled to fly out on the 31st, I went down to the front of the hotel and I hailed a riot patrol car and I got in the back of that and they got me to the airport.

CLANCY: All right. So you get to the airport. You're onboard a police riot vehicle.

SAMUEL: Correct.

CLANCY: But your troubles aren't over yet, are they?

SAMUEL: Not quite. At the airport, it was a little bit crazy. Now the Kisumu Airport is very small. I was scheduled on a night flight out on East African Airlines and they arranged for me to get on an earlier flight, but it turned out that no flights went on East African because the pilots could not get to the planes in Nairobi to actually fly the planes to Kisumu.

I spoke with the U.S. embassy and they told me they had spoken with the police chief in Kisumu and that a jet link plane was scheduled to land in Kisumu at 1:30 and would have approximately 70 seats on it. So that did happen in the early afternoon. There was probably about 200 people at the airport. So it was a bit of another riot to try and get a seat on that.

I had met somebody at the airport and he and I kind of partnered together. He spoke the language. He's Kenyan. And I had some cash, because you had to buy everything with cash. And we managed to get two seats on that plane.

We had to bribe the flight attendant in order to do so. And we got on that plane and were able to get out of Kisumu. Hopefully the plane circled around and got the rest of the people out. I don't know the answer to that. So I was very fortunate to get on that plane. And I ended up in Nairobi.

CLANCY: What a drama, Jayne. I mean, you were there as a visitor. You were there as a -- you know, working basically as an aide worker on some projects. But, you know, before we go and leave everybody with this impression, I mean certainly you were through -- you saw a lot of the chaos. But, overall, Kenya, the country and the people, what do you have to say about that?

SAMUEL: Overall, Kenya, the country and the people are beautiful. The people want peace. They've never seen anything like this. And it is just hurting them as much as it's hurting everybody involved. And I wish peace for everyone and I hope everybody who's at risk can get out and that the violence stops.

CLANCY: All right. Jayne Samuels, an I-Reporter there with a firsthand account of what it's like to be traveling inside Kenya right now. Some very difficult times. Some very smart moves, too, jumping in the back of that police van to get to the airport. Thanks for being with us.

SAMUEL: Thank you.

CLANCY: Thanks for your images.

GORANI: All right. Well, our viewers in Kenya are telling us what they see happening in the country. These pictures come to us from Dan Shmeltzer (ph) in Kisumu. Dan says the main street, you can see it there on your screen, has been empty, but people are now, just now starting to venture out and look for food. He tells us there is only one supermarket open in the town and many shops have been looted. Dan says he thinks much of the damage is being done by people exploiting the political situation.

Well, if you have photos or video of the situation in Kenya and can safely do it, send us an i-Report. Find out how by going to cnn.com/i-report. You're with CNN. We'll be right back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: You see it there in the graphic and the animation. You're with YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International. And this is something that really concerns the entire world.

CLANCY: Oil hitting $100 a barrel briefly before dropping back. But we're just still pennies away from that price. And this is a lot of money. As investors are looking on, the world is looking on, this is going to affect everyone, every economy right around the world.

Now, is it much different from $95 a barrel? There is a psychological input here.

GORANI: All right. And what brought us to this point? Well, you can blame tension in the Middle East. You can blame issues in the Gulf of Mexico. You can also blame concern coming from other quarters. We're going to look into this deeply, but what really matters is what impact this will have on consumer confidence because economies, like the United States, rely so much on consumer spending. If this causes inflation, consumer spending will go down, and there you have the real fear that there might be a recession in America and that will impact the entire world.

CLANCY: That's right. It affects the investors, but, you know what, Hala, it's also going to affect the politicians because they are going to -- this is -- as it affects different economies, the politicians, you know, right around the world are going to have to come up with economic solutions. If they're in China, they've got to look at what's going to be the impact on that red hot growth that you see there. And in India, growth that really depends, depends quite a bit, on the price of oil. And even if in the United States.

GORANI: Sure.

CLANCY: I mean all the candidates are going to be challenged.

GORANI: And, Jim, of course, also what's important is the geostrategic impact because these countries that are against the United States politically -- I'm talking about Iran and Venezuela -- these are two countries that have been really raking in the cash over the last year with oil prices close to $100 a barrel. Look at this. You see it on the board there. NYMEX crude for February delivery, $99.39 a barrel.

CLANCY: All right. And it's, you know, as we say, earlier today, topped $100 a barrel for the first time in history. We touched there briefly, Hala, on what's driving it higher. There's so many different factors. Today you have the violence in Nigeria. You have the supply problem in Mexico. But, you know, driving it long-term -- and we have seen a huge rise up in the price of oil -- driving it long term is demand and a lot of that demand coming from China. Here's our John Vause to give us a closer look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Never before have so many cars crowded China's roads and never before has this country used so much oil. Second only to the United States, China consumes 7.6 million barrels a day. Half of that imported. And demand is growing.

JAMES BROCK, CAMBRIDGE ENERGY RESEARCH: They can afford to buy the oil. They have the cash. They have the wherewithal. They will by the oil.

VAUSE: And they'll buy it wherever they can find it. In places like Venezuela, Iran, and especially Africa.

JOHN GHAZVINIAN, "THE SCRAMBLE OF AFRICA'S OIL": Their approach basically consists in throwing around a lot of money and a lot of infrastructure projects and a lot of incentives for governments at the government-to-government level in exchange for lucrative oil contracts.

VAUSE: And by doing just that, China is locking in long-term deals in hot spots like Sudan, Chad, Angola and Algeria. And some of that crude will end up here, at one of two new mega refineries being built by Petro China, the world's biggest company by market valuation.

"By the end of next year, the first stage of construction will be finished," says this local official, "and will then process crude mostly from Africa and Sudan."

Experts believe one of the biggest factors driving up prices, investors who are speculating just how much oil China's economy is going to need in the future.

BROCK: The underlying price of oil should be somewhere around $65. That's what the supply and demand really dictates. So your difference between the 65, 70 and 100 is speculation.

VAUSE: It's a pretty safe bet as China's economy grows, so, too, will its thirst for oil.

As the Chinese get richer, they're expected to consume more oil. They'll drive more cars. They'll take more flights. And analysts say that means that Americans, Japanese and Europeans who right now consume way more than the world average will have to learn to live with less.

John Vause, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: A lot more ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY as we continue to monitor the price of NYMEX crude as it hit $100 a barrel for the first time in history.

But ahead on YOUR WORLD TODAY, we're going to switch gears. Cold turkey in Parisian cafes. And we don't mean the meat kind. CLANCY: No, we certainly don't, especially not smoked turkey. The French smoking ban now in effect. It's left some Parisian cafe goers, well, should we say breathless? We'll have their story when we return.

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CLANCY: All right. There are some stories that come out to us that are just truly incredible video. But it might be upsetting to some of you. If you don't like a bull fight, scenes from a bull fight, you may not like this. This is a bull fight where it can be honestly said the bull is the winner.

GORANI: Right. It seems like the bull came out on top. Look at this. It's not easy to watch. Here it is. Oh. A bull fighter in Colombia losing his fight with a ferocious bull. Let's take a look.

CLANCY: Now his name is Luis Cordero (ph) and he was gored in the face, the neck, the legs, the abdomen, all in this fight. And you can see there the fans there reach down and they're pulling him out of the ring. There's a lot of drinking that goes along around this new year's annual event.

GORANI: Now I understand that killing the bull in Colombia is actually illegal, so apparently this bull wasn't killed after that. The bull fighter who was gored is recovering in hospital right now. The man known as Al Kali Man (ph), his name, says it's not that big a deal. He says he's been gored more than 50 times over the past four years.

CLANCY: But sitting in that hospital bed, he might be thinking of a new year's resolution like, let's find a new career path.

GORANI: Like don't cross paths with bulls. Right.

Well, if there's one city synonymous with smoking, it would have to be Paris.

CLANCY: I think we can all picture a starving artist or a solvent (ph) intellectual, cigarette dangling from their hands, perched at a French cafe, all part of the culture, not for years, but for decades and decades.

GORANI: Until now. The long-awaited, much-dreaded French smoking ban went into effect in earnest today. It actually got a day grace because of the new year's celebration. How are Parisians coping? Jim Bittermann found out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): In the recent film, "Paris Je T'Aime", a thoroughly modern French woman, who's trying to quit smoking, collapses before she can get help from her doctor. Luckily, romance ensues and attempting to quit does not prove fatal. But some here might say otherwise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's impossible to be drinking without smoking.

BITTERMANN: After years of debating a smoking ban, months of restrictions on smoking being phased in, and a reprieve for New Year's Day, France's bars and restaurants finally went smoke-free Wednesday. But the minister of health celebrated by having lunch at a smokeless restaurant and predicting the 14 million of her countrymen who smoke, more than one-fifth of the country, will survive the smoking ban.

Of course, the law does present problems. The cafe called Le Fumoir, that's smoking lounge in English, has gone non-smoking. The manager says no name change is in the offing, but he is giving away all the establishments 1,000 ashtrays as souvenirs.

DOMINIQUE MARCHASON, MANAGER, LE FUMOIR: At the first, may be the first two, three months will be difficult. But after (INAUDIBLE), people will forget.

BITTERMANN: Then, of course, there's the image problem. This week's "Figaro" magazine showed how lame those iconic photos of famous people puffing would appear if you were to substitute a flower for a smoke. And what about institutions founded on smoking, like the country's hundreds of hooka (ph) houses? And one of the more famous, the water pipes have gone into storage, but only temporarily, since a special smoking room is being prepared which will be in compliance with the law.

KAIS BOUZIDI, MONTECRISTO RESTAURANT: And people will just come, take what they have to take, and smoke it with even employees will not be able to go in there. It will be used as a self-service system.

BITTERMANN: One bar here held a special evening to bid adieu to tobacco. And it's true. Now that smoking is banned in all public buildings, including bars and restaurants, it could become a thing of the past. But should anyone grow nostalgic for the good old days of lighting up, should school children need to learn about their nation's rich smoking heritage, in this land of 4,000 museums, it seems only natural that one is dedicated to smoking.

Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Al right. Well there . . .

GORANI: Speaking of smoke . . .

CLANCY: End of smoking yes, speaking of the smoke, you're gong to see all the way to southern Chile. You can't believe it. Take a look at this. Hundreds of people have been fleeing their homes now.

GORANI: Right. One hundred and fifty tourists and forest rangers from a national park have also been evacuated. And, look, that volcano is angry.

CLANCY: Yes. We're going to have much more on this story coming up in the hours ahead. But for right now, that is it for YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy.

GORANI: And if you're in Paris, you're smoke-free and that's a good thing. I'm Hala Gorani. And this is CNN. Stay with us.

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