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what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> hello, and welcome to the bbc. >> i'm in london. the headlines. major civil unrest hits london for the third day. fires are burning and there's widespread riots and looting across the capital. the prime minister holding emergency talks. >> the fear in people's house. decent people. who have done nothing to anyone. and the fear in them. >> trouble on the world stock market. the share prices continue to slide. the dow with its biggest fall since 2008. it is 9:00 a.m. here in

singapore. >> it's 2:00 a.m. here in london, broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world, welcome to "newsday." >> a very warm welcome to you. a little later on, we'll be back in singapore about the developing financial story. we begin this hour with a special edition of "newsday," focusing on a third day of rioting that has spread to several parts of london. fires have been burning in many buildings and roads and shops have been looted. the latest trouble started in hackney. violence has fled outside the capital in birmingham, liverpool, and also some minor

reports of scuffles break out in manchester as well. the british prime minister david cameron is cutting short his holiday and flying home to attend a special cabinet meeting at 9:00 a.m. on tuesday morning. this is live coming to us. shocking scenes there unfolding as we see a huge blaze where firefighters are struggling to contain the area. we're just going to try and get confirmation of what we are looking at in terms of what actually is alight there in terms of the building. but there is in buckinghamshire. we don't know the circumstances surrounding this blaze, but this to me clearly appears to

be the largest blaze so far that has unfolded within the last three days of the disturbances that have been taking place. we understand that it could in fact be a supermarket depot that is alight there, a major supermarket, industrial unit perhaps in parts. we are working very hard to get confirmation on that for you. but these are live pictures coming to us. i can now confirm that it is a supermarket that is currently alight with some 750 people that actually work in that supermarket unit there. it's unclear at this stage as ho how much of what we have been seeing in the capital and

in other parts of the u.k. is linked to this blaze that has taken place. just a correction for you, this is a depot, like a head office, if you will, for the supermarket, not a supermarket itself. it is a distribution center for the chain. we are moving a little bit away with our helicopter, away from those pictures, but we have also seen problems occurring also where we have seen fires ablaze there and also most recently, in ealing as well. just to bring you a line of breaking news that's coming into us, this is from bristol. police are now reporting damage to shops and cars. bins have apparently been set on fire in several areas, including the city center in bristol, the main shopping

areas, stokeskroft, and offices are now working to keep people out of the city center, urging them to go home. most of the damage was caused by small groups moving around the city center in bristol. police reporting that it thought those small groups numbering some 150. i should say it is 2:00 a.m. here in the u.k. and clearly, the fire services, police forces in a number of areas, not just now, confined to the capital, but in other areas of the u.k., working to contain the disturbances that have taken place. if you are just joining us, just to update you, there have been disturbances reported in liverpool city center and surrounding areas there with some 300 people causing

buildings to be set alight, damages to local businesses in liverpool city center. also in birmingham, west midland police have made at least 100 arrests in city center and surrounding areas as well. some hundred, if not 200 or 300 people reported there in the city center causing disturbances. also some information coming out of manchester that minor scuffles have been taking place in manchester. it does seem that birmingham and bristol are where these are focused at the moment. but this scene live in buckingham show where a supermarket distribution center is alight there, as you can see . the distribution center linked to the supermarket chain.

we understand that some 750 people work at the distribution center, which is called the wall tham point distribution center there. we're just trying to get a clear idea of the square footage there. but firefighters having a tremendous job to try and contain the scene there in waltham abbey. if you're wondering what has been happening in the capital, well, it has been quite hard to keep up to date with the developing movements of the squirmishes that have been taking place. i say squirmishes. some largest protests and demonstrations. also looting and violence that have taken place pretty much across the capital from point north to southeast to west. one of the scenes we've been concentrating on within the last few hours has been in the

south of london. we understand that within the last hour, it's quieting down there. to get the very latest, we can cross live to our reporter will grant. will, has it quieted down? >> it has quieted down. in fact, things were so far under control that i've actually moved to another area in the city, another hot point, which you've already referred to, which is ealing. ealing currently i arrived in the aftermath of hours worth of looting. you can probably hear the sirens approaching behind me. there are large numbers of police here now. about 10 different trucks of police vehicles coming through as well as fire trucks. there is a police car in which i'm standing in front of at the moment. there's been serious looting and fires.

the other side of that, which also includes major shops, major businesses, and bars, restaurants, this kind of thing. we can't get beyond the police to see, because it does appear to still be an unfolding situation. >> thank you very much for that. will grant there there. speaking about the situation in ealing in the west of the capital. we understand that west ealing has been the scene of some active looting. a electrical palace store has been looted also. we have some pictures earlier of ealing, of a number of buildings that have been set alight. i think we might be able to show you that. possibly some pictures. we will try to bring you that as well. but just to reiterate what has happened within the last 10 minutes or so, there is a major

unit ablaze in essex, in fact. it is a distribution point for the supermarket chain seanceburies. this is the scene there live in waltham abbey. a huge fire ablaze as the firefighters are trying to tackle that. that in essex some half an hour away from the east side of london, if you are heading that way. the sansebury distribution point, it is called waltham point, employs some 750 people there. so that, the scene of activity in terms of the situation unfolding with firefighters trying to keep that under control there.

it's been replicated in other areas of the capital where the fires are reported in the west, and still again in the south where will grant was speaking to us some moments ago. but also, other part of the u.k. also experiencing disturbances as we speak. we will keep you updated with that. we've got a correspondent in birmingham we want to speak to in the next five minutes or so. but i believe we can cross live to ealing and speak to a freelance cameraman. john firington, who is in the area. now taking refuge in a local restaurant. tell us what you're seeing at the moment. >> i came out to the ealing station around midnight and i was working on another project, and there was a sport shop just next to the station, which has been -- and people were just going inside helping themselves.

i was behind some members of the public and somebody saw me with a camera. he ran over. i put my camera away. there's people still walking in to the store helping themselves. there's reports of bombs about 10, 15 minutes ago, people walking by with petrol bombs. i've taken refuge in a restaurant. the owners are outside with weapons. the people will be heading back down here soon. >> a correction. we understand that it is the sony distribution center that is ablaze in waltham point, not the sanesbury distribution center. it's the sony distribution center. that is very much the focus of activity in terms of a large-scale blaze that has erupted in essex.

we will go back to those pictures and get you some more information there. but john, thank you for staying with us. just describe to us in turms how many people do you still are on the streets where you are? >> it has quieted down in this part of ealing. seems to be groups of half a dozen walking by every few minutes. seems they're just looking for trouble. going back to the owners outside the restaurants. they're doing all they can to protect the place that they need to do. i've seen cars driving by with the windows smashed and drivers looking quite fearful. those people walking by every few minutes. apparently waiting for big crowds to come by quite soon. >> thank you very much for that update. you're watching "bbc world news." stay with us. more coverage coming up. the disturbances taking place in parts of the u.k.

we are going to stay with the situation that is unfolding in london. it is a quickly moving picture with lots of information coming in to us. fires have broken out in essex at a sony distribution center. on monday, some of the worst rioting took place in hackney. the m.p. of hackney said they must bring the situation under control. >> it's appalling what's happened. who would invest? who will create jobs? it's really appalling. we urge these young people to come home. >> diane abbott, the m.p. for hackney.

the bbc political correspondent gave us more details about what's been happening. >> certainly rare for a prime minister to call off his summer break. and it's not something that david cameron did lightly. partly because it can engender a sense of crisis rather than dispel it if a prime minister rushes back. effs saying there was no need for him to come home because he was keeping a close contact with his cabinet colleagues. though tonight, the prime minister said he was witnessing what he saw was clearly a deteriorating situation and decided to fly back. won't get much sleep. he'll arrive here overnight. tomorrow evening, the cobra committee. tonight, boras johnson returning tomorrow, the leader of the opposition. i think after three days of rioting, the politicians are now trying to show some type of control here.

>> i am rico in singapore. >> i'm in london. the headlines for you this hour, arsonists and lootists have struck several hours of london for a third consecutive day. violence has spread to other cities, including liverpool and birmingham. >> stock prices continue to fall amid fears of a double dip recession in the u.s. and economic woes in europe. u.s. president barack obama has said he hopes the downgrading of the u.s. credit rating will give congress a renewed sense of urgency to tackle the debt crisis. mr. obama has been saying that the u.s. will always be a aaa country regardless of standard

and poor's assessment. but the stock market clearly did not share mr. obama's optimism. share prices in new york and around the world suffering heavy loss, and those losses are continuing in asia. the selloff is accelerating. monday, a 4% fall. currently, japan down by 4%. south korea plunging by 6%. those fettering debt problems on both sides of the atlantic. also pushing the japanese yen higher versus the dollar. all prices are also slumping. $2 per barrel in nation trade to its lowest level since november. the only winner so far in the market, gold, now at a new record high of 1,727 per ounce. for more now on the markets, we're joined in our studios in singapore by the chief

economist at a.h.f. thank you for joining us. a lot of panic and fear in the market. how do you contain this? >> i think that what we're seeing is a reaction by investors to the downgrading of the outlook for the u.s. economic growth rate. not just the s&p downgrade, but just weaker numbers that we've seen in the u.s. and concerns about the government spending cuts that are going to be coming. >> investors are looking for direction, particularly from ben bernanke and the federal reserve when they meet later today, and of course, the crucial economic numbers from china, particularly inflation. >> i think the china story is still a positive, and certainly in asia, that's a kind of fire roll against this. and the japan rebound that will happen due to reconstruction will also help in asia. but i think if we come to the global outlook, the problems in the u.s. and europe, clearly this is weighing very heavily on markets, and the fear that we're seeing right now i think

will continue for some time and will continue to support yen, swiss franc, and gold. i don't think we'll get an immediate reallocation. we have seen reaction from the u.s. and europe. i think the e.c.b. has already been quite successful overnight in bringing down the bond yields in spain and italy. so this is exactly the kind of intervention that was needed to try to stabilize the risk in europe. i think now we need to see if the fed also shifts its position somewhat on whether we need a qe3 down the road to help the outlook in the u.s. as well. >> on the flip side, we're seeing price continuing to fall. oil at levels not seen since november. crude at $79.

could this basically pressure some of the banks to hold off on the interest rates raising policy and maybe even cut interest rates to boost their respective economies? >> i think in asia where the inflation pressures have been greatest, this certainly means that a lot of the pressures of raising interest rates are going to be coming off the table, because central banks will see that falling commodity prices, especially for oil, meaning the risks of inflation are less in asia. but in terms of the growth outlook, they're obviously much more worried now of the transmission effects from u.s. and europe. and so certainly, i think in the near term, it means that most central banks will probably stay on hold. but certainly, if the situation deteriorates in terms of u.s. growth and european growth, then the focus will shift towards using monetary policy and also governments in asia would have lee way to undertake fiscal stimulus in the worst

case scenario that transmission effects start to deteriorate. >> the fears of the double dip recession in the u.s. economy, you also have the financial turmoil in the euro zone. basically, could be a major head ache for asia's economic growth prospects this year and into 2012. >> i think there's no doubts when we look at the asia economic outlook that the situation in u.s. and europe is worse than where it was expected earlier in the year. we had a huge downgrade in u.s. economic numbers for the first half of the year. made people realize that actually the u.s. recovery is very fragile. we still expect moderate economic growth this year. i would say moderate to weak economic growth, but still positive growth in both the u.s. and europe this year. but clearly, in the case of asia, the risks are the negative transmission effects through trade and investment.

but the big positive kind of fire roll for asia is the chinese fwrip is strong and japan will have a big rebound into next year due to reconstruction. >> thank you so much for your prospective on the asian economies and markets. back to you with more on the riots in the u.k. >> thank you very much. this has been a very busy few hours, few days. because for a third consecutive day, violence has gripped the capital here in london, but it has also more significantly spread to other parts of the u.k. to liverpool, birmingham, and bristol, let's get the very latest from birmingham and our reporter who is there. now some 100 arrests have been made. >> that's right. it's been quite a surreal night here in birmingham. things have calmed down a lot now, but we've had lawlessness and looting of the type that i've never seen. in fact, one american tourist across the pond that we spoke

to earlier said i live in new york, i've seen some crazy things, but what i've seen tonight is beyond crazy. and that sort of sums it up really. the strategy is just to hold back and let people go into shops. they've smashed windows with axes, with paving slabs. when i say windows, i'm talk about big high street names. supermarkets, you name it, mobile phone shops in particular. they smash their way in and took whatever they wanted and just came out with boxes under their arms. scenes that you wouldn't think you would see on the streets here in britain. they're hoping to catch them on tv. we can confirm now that we were hearing earlier that the reports of a police station being set fire to, that's not been confirmed. that's not true. but there are several cars alight in that part of the city.

that is an ongoing situation there. certainly, things have calmed down somewhat. but birmingham will be paying the price for this looting and lawlessness when it wakes up first thing in the morning. >> thank you very much for that update. i want to cross live to liverpool and speak to stephanie power. we understand that some 300 people there have been involved in disturbances that have concentrated on the city center in liverpool. what more can you tell us? >> well, it all seemed to start off about two miles outside of the city center. i went out earlier on this evening and there were a group of about 200 young people waiting for a riot really. the police were driving up and down the main road. and then it just kind of was like nothing was going to happen, and then after that, it sort of seemed to go quiet and

then it picked up again, and the group of people started moving into town and they've been setting fire to cars on the way into town. but where they've been, you know, it's kind of almost as if there's nobody there, apart from the smell of burning and the burnt out car. i think they're heading into the city center now. >> oh, stephanie. we'll have to leave it there, but thank you very much for that update. clearly, liverpool and birmingham also experiencing scenes of violence and disorder there. just a word about bristol to update you. police are saying copycat rioters have rampaged through bristol with police chiefs warning of volatile scenes in the city center. it's reported that some 150 young rioters were causing destruction. people have been warned to stay clear of the city center. plenty more to come on these disturbances also affecting the

capital. you are watching "bbc news." stay with us. >> check international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide rake of companies. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.