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and now "bbc world news." >> hello and welcome to bbc. i am rick in singapore. >> i enemy -- am in london. headlines. in london the third day of looting across the capitol. this spread to birmingham and liverpool. calling for emergency talks on tuesday. >> the fear of decent people who have done nothing to anyone. and the fear in them. >> on the world's stock market, the prices in asia fall sharply again. the dow dropping with the biggest and 5.5 to close. it's 11 a.m. here in singapore.

>> welcome to news day. >> british police are urging people to stay off the streets to allow them to deal with the rioting that is continuing to spread across london and parts of the u.k. reaching all parts of the capital, from hackney in the east, to camden in the north. 332 people have been arrested over the past three days. and since the first time since trouble began on saturday, violence is spreading outside to liverpool. david cameron is cutting short his holiday and flying in on

tuesday morning. and we are assessing the damage, and you started in south london and then the west. tell us what you saw in the south. >> the south was very chaotic, when we got there, there were several armed groups armed with bats and so on. and making their way into many shops in that area. this business district in the south. particularly focusing on mobile telephone shops and supermarkets and going in and out. there was a police presence but far outnumbered by the numbers of men and women on the streets. all of them wearing hoods over their heads to disguise their

identity. while we were there, one of the shops was set on fire that quickly went into flames. and that's when it turned ugly. great numbers of police arrived. and proper battles between the youth and the police. and things got quite out of control. >> we have some london fire brigade mentioning the situation. and they said that eight fire engines and 45 fighters were at the scene. and most of the ground and the building you mentioned was a light there. and we also understand that disturbances similar to that you saw. >> that's right, by the time i got to elin. it was an arriving of the aftermath but there were serious concerns in the west as well. and understand there are arrests

in many areas. and a lot of residential streets had all the cars damaged. businesses and restaurants, even beaut parlors were broken into. anything was attacked. and not only cars on the residential cars but burned out cars and reports of serious fires in elan. and the evidence of fire engines trying to tackle the fires and police reinforcements arriving in serious numbers. it was again the end part of the chaotic scenes that clearly happened. >> significantly, and you mentioned when we spoke an hour ago you said that the police numbers have grown significantly. >> yes, it seem there is an attempt to push back what rest

of these groups on the street. >> does that mean that in clampton and then reacting? >> i think they were acting when they are out of control. they thought they had it in control and not until it spireled out of control. and pushed people out. and whether that is an issue in the capitol and the country, we will have to see. the approach i have seen is to go in with large numbers to stop areas in those areas. whether they live there or not. and saw police quite forceful with groups and forcing them back. and keeping that ring of steel,

that attempt to keep accord in place as best they can until they can get the fires under control. >> and the official line from the police to stay away from the town centers and the capitol. thank you, very much for that. there is also been a major fire that has been taking place at a huge depot in northeast london. >> that's right, i am here. and i am a few hundred yards away from the distribution center. they have the fire under control but there is a huge plume of smoke and if it was day time it would be seen from large parts of london. the distribution center is about 17 meters long. it's a big

building. you can just about make up the wording of sony. but the building has collapsed on itself. and to give you a view of this, it's far north infield, just off the m-25 motor way. >> well, a local from elin, a son who works adjacent to that sony distribution center and described her experience. >> i had a phone call from my son who works at the hotel. and saying he was not sure how they would get out, the sony distribution center had exploded in a huge fire ball. i could see the smoke from my house, and smell it. and i said, stay where you are, i don't know if there are enough police and ambulances and fire.

and will come and get you, and he said ok. i drove down, and got stopped at the end of the road. there was a small police car there, and i said, i is come to get my son. and he said what hotel. and i said there was a hotel past this massive inferno. and they didn't realize. and they said i couldn't go down there. but to contact my son and come to the end of the road. most people stayed there because the heat was absolutely intense. and i could feel it on my face. >> eve, in terms of times. when did you first understand this building was alight? >> i think it was after 12, after midnight. my son would say exactly, he was there and saw them running out. because they heard glass

smashing and he went outside and saw them running out with the sony equipment. and the last one, said, what are you looking at and punched him in the face and put down a petro can and said they wouldn't burn it down. but then there was a huge explosion. the heat was unbelievable. from the edge of the road where i was made to stop. and then the fire engine turned up. i am not sure what happened to all the people that were in the hotel. my son and he's manager and evaciated them away from the fire, and i don't know if there is enough transport to get there. i would have been happy to collect as many as i could, but for safety reasons the police wouldn't allow me. >> is your son with you now? >> yes. >> is it possible to speak to him, is he able to talk to us?

>> yes, thank you very much. >> thank you, eve, and her son works in the hotel just next to the distribution center. hello, i didn't catch your names but welcome to bbc news. >> tommy. >> tell us what you have seen. >> i came from work where we heard a smash on the sony center. and had a look to investigate, and i saw the door smashed in and a group of 20 lads came out with wiis and consoles and stuff like that. and as they run out and because they saw me, one punched me and ran off. >> you were assaulted as the looters were trying to get away from the building? >> that's it, as i was standing there watching them run away. he punched me and they left. and i went back to work and told

everyone what was going on. and then after that, the whole building was ablazed. >> tommy, your mum told us of the heat in the area. and it must have been a surreal experience for you. >> yeah, in the premises it's 200 yards from the center. and we could see it straight away as it went up. we made sure that all the guests in the hotel were out safely and the customers were away from the fire. >> tommy, about the police in the area, did you see a lot of police officers there at the time? >> we hoped they would get there in time. yes, there are a lot of people down the road. they got off the roads. whether or not they caught the people that caused this, i am

not entirely sure. >> in terms of evacuation were guests able to get out of the hotel safely? >> yeah, the fire alarm was set off and people got out. a couple of people drove away in their cars. and the majority were in the back and are safe. i am not sure if anyone is working in the sony center at the time. hopefully not, most people don't work there in the evening. >> tommy, do you live there yourself? >> yes, i do. >> how did you feel seeing this happen on your door step? >> i am actually angry. actually angry. what is going to result? it's not going to help anything, is it. >> what do you think it's about? >> i am not entirely sure, i think it's people seeing an opportunity to take free things.

>> that was tommy thompson speaking to us earlier. he was working at the hotel adjacent to the sony distribution center. and we have pictures in the last hour. and this shows the extent of what he was describing to us. the aftermath and the looting taking place. and you see police officers in attendance and fire engines. and that's summing up the situation we have seen, burned up cars and buildings set by the looters, and those intent on causing disturbances across the capitol. but that's the scene east of the capitol. you are watching bbc news. >> and you are watching today live from bbc in singapore.

and we have violence erupting in london on the third day in a row. >> and the stock markets around the world share concerns about european debt. more on the violence and that has engulfed the capitol. and this began in north london on saturday evening and has spread to other parts of london and to cities in other parts as well. saying that youth masked are setting fire to cars and buildings. the police have asked that people stay off the streets and those using sites to enflame could assist serious charges. on monday there was trouble in hackney and the parents of those

who are looting must help bring the situation under control. >> it's important what is happening, these people are trashing. who will invest in this? and who will create jobs. i will calling on families to urge these young people to come home. the looting has to stop. >> they are monitoring this political response. >> it's rare for a prime minister to call off his summer break. and it's not something that david cameron did lightly. and because it can engender this than dispel it. and saying that there was no reason for him to come home. but tonight the prime minister was witnessing a deteriorating situation. and is going to fly back, and tomorrow morning he will chair a meeting with cobra, and also

johnson returning to london tomorrow, and this leader cutting short his day. after three days of rioting, the politicians are trying to show some kind of control here. >> and this is newsday on the bbc. >> i am in london, good to have you with us. reminder of the headlines, looters have struck several areas of london for the third consecutive day. violence spreading to other cities including liverpool and london. prime minister to return in the next day. >> asian stock markets have dropped sharply, and the economic woes of europe.

u.s. president barack obama said that he hoped that the downgrading of the rating will give congress the right to address this debt crisis. mr. obama said america will always be aaa economy but those around the world suffering heavy losses. around the world stocks continue to sell off, tokyo down more than 4.4%, hong kong, plunging 7.5%. festering the problems on both sides of the atlantic, pushing the japanese yeng higher against the u.s. dollar.

for the oil market, prices are dropping with crude $76 a barrel. and crude at $99 a barrel. breaking below the psychological barrier of $100 per barrel. the only winner so far today is gold. it continues to surge to record highs every hour. now trading at $1,736 per ounce. regional markets are not only watching the markets but also china's data. it rose 6.5% in july. and this puts the center back in a bind as it tries to keep prices in a check without bounding down an economy threating overseas. and beijing believes their economy is overheating and wants

to see more economic growth. their primary is tackling rising inflation that they feel can trigger unrest. we have more. >> you can feel the heat of china's economy here. every week they send customers. it's a sign of the country's growing wealth but business is getting tougher. >> my costs have gone up 40% compared to a year ago. i need to pay the staff more. taxes have increased, everything is going up. >> the restaurants food prices are also rising. the cost of pork, the country's favorite meat is soaring. it's up almost 40 percent since the start of the year. >> pig feet is no more expensive says this farmer. but because of growing demands

my profits are actually up. as china is becoming richer, it's consuming more of everything. >> the cost of inflation is passed on to the customers. people have less money in their pockets here. >> the middle classes may have to tighten their belts. most will get by. but millions of chinese are living on the margins. inflation hits them harder. >> inflation is putting a lot of pressure on us. our money is worth less and less. we have no buying power. >> in a country where many scrape by there are anger over rising costs. some are simply being left behind. >> that's the latest on the market downturn in asia and the economic developments in china. and back to you on more of the

rise in the u.k. >> thank you, the violence has spread beyond london to other cities including liverpool. our reporter is in the district was city. and peter, we understand that 300 people have been involved in these disturbances taking place there. >> hello, yes, i am out by the barrier in liverpool. and have witnessed very violent things. and this has a history of violence, and has tried hard over the years to shed image. we have not seen 300 people but incidents are isolated but together there could be that number. i have been to a shop that is looted and kids as young as 10 with bottles of alcohol.

and i have been to other areas, and we are being pulled out by security teams. some very aggressive things here in liverpool tonight and a lot of very worried people. >> peter, you mentioned the looting there. we are looking at picture that is have come to us in the last few hours of the cars being burned out as well. similar to those situations in london but on a more concentrated scale. >> we are looking at two or three areas at the moment. but there are quite a number of burned out cars on the straight and one on top of the road. >> ok, we appreciate that update. peter in a district of liverpool with an update. but the situation has always spread to bristol and to birmingham. and we have the latest details.

>> they have been extremely busy over the course of the last few hours. it started here at 7 o'clock local time and has gone throughout the night. it started in the heart of the city, in the commercial capitol part of the world. people looting right in front of you. the police unable to do a lot because they go off to other areas to contain. and the looters return and keep doing what they want to do. and carrying out electronic goods and raiding banks. the police were successful at moving everyone out of the center. but by that time disturbances popped up and hamsburg has had disturbances since the 80s. and when we went there there

were burning and cars on fire. and there a police station was set on fire. and police were there in force with dogs. but it seems where they move, the people creating these disturbances seem to move around them. one thing i did speak to a shop keeper in hansworth and they are asking people to come out and protect the businesses. because the police can't cope with all of this. >> what is the feeling in the community, when they see things like this unfolding. you mentioned the protest in birmingham, it has that history, hasn't it? >> it has, one man said earlier, i have seen this before, i can't believe this is happening again. if the police can't cope, why don't they send in the army.

so people have memories of this, and some people feel there is a lot of anger in the city. particularly in impoverished areas where the young people don't have opportunities. and saying there feels like there is anger and they are using the excuse to steal things. >> you are watching newsday in bbc. in singapore. >> and i am in london for the third consecutive night riots in the capitol and other parts of the u.k. this is the most significant image we have brought you in the last hours, the large display in the east of the capitol in the sony distribution center set on fire by looters in the area. they are battling to tackle that

fire with firefighters on the scene. you are watching newsday, good to have you with us. thanks for watching. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding for this presentation is 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 expertise to work for a wide range of companies, from small

businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?