[Nguyen:] Take a look at this. The face of famine in Niger, ahead we will tell you how you can help those in such desperate need. Welcome back everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen.
[Harris:] And I'm Tony Harris. That story coming up shortly, first here's what's happening in the news. Astronauts aboard space shuttle Discovery will spend an extra day in space. NASA says that will give them time to help clean out the International Space Station and transfer supplies. The crew is now set to return August 8. NASA determined yesterday the shuttle is safe to fly home. The Uzbekistan government says the U.S. will have to leave a key military base used in the war on terror. The base is used for missions in and out of neighboring Afghanistan. The U.S. had previously criticized Uzbekistan for its human rights record. The suspect arrested in Rome in connection with the failed London bombings is talking. Italian media reporter told authorities the ringleader of the botched attacks is already in custody in London and he reportedly said anger over the war in Iraq motivated the attacks. A second brother of the Rome suspect has been arrested. A former Soviet republic is evicting the U.S. from an air base that's played a big war on the role on terror. Uzbekistan says Washington has six months to vacate the K2 Airfield which was a hub for mission ion in and out of neighboring Afghanistan. Earlier this month, Russia and China led the calls for U.S. withdrawal from the central Asian country. Let's go now to the White House and CNN's Elaine Quijano with the latest on the story. Elaine, good morning.
[Elaine Quijano, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning to you, Tony. That's right, there are less than a thousand U.S. troops at that base in Uzbekistan, but as you pointed out, it is located in a very prime spot to help the U.S. as it carries out operations in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. Now, the forces there are mostly involved in refueling and cargo supply, but a State Department official confirms the Uzbek government sent a diplomatic note recently to the U.S. embassy in Tashkent to end the agreement for use of the K2 or Karshi-Khanabad air base. Now, the forces have 180 days to leave and while it is a blow to the U.S. military, one official says the U.S. was not at all surprised by this move, they'd been expecting this and had moved some operations out of Uzbekistan ahead of the actual decision. The official also saying that K2 is not helpful, but not essential. Now, this news comes against a backdrop of tensions between the U.S. and Uzbekistan and illustrates some of the complexities the Bush administration is facing in carrying out the war on terror. As the president has promoted freedom and democracy, the U.S. has at the same time criticized Uzbekistan's human rights record even as the administration has relied on Uzbekistan's cooperation with the use of the airfield. Specifically, was there great concern in May when Uzbek government forces fired on civilians after anti-government protests, according to human rights, monitors and more recently reports about a dispute over what to do with refugees. Now, though, planning is underway to withdraw the rest of the U.S. troops and equipment from Uzbekistan to comply with that eviction Tony.
[Harris:] So Elaine, what are the other options for the U.S. military now?
[Quijano:] Well certainly, there are other countries in the central Asian region which the U.S. can look to and in fact, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited the region recently. He did not make Uzbekistan one of his stop, but two other countries, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, two critical countries now more important than ever. The U.S. Receiving assurances, according to Secretary Rumsfeld, that it can continue to use the bases there Tony.
[Harris:] White House correspondent, Elaine Quijano. Elaine, thank you. And stay tuned to CNN day and night about reliable news about your security.
[Nguyen:] Though it is a familiar story, it is just as disturbing every time you hear it, a famine crisis in Africa, thousands dying with thousands of others trying to save them. Currently the focus is on Niger where more than a million could die if they do not receive food and if they don't get it fast. Aid is pouring in from many nations, but how much and how soon? My next guest is the director of the emergency group CARE, Ahu Ahu Adoji, did I say it right?
[Ahuma Adodoadji, Director, Care:] Ahuma.
[Nguyen:] Ahuma.
[Adodoadji:] Adodoadji.
[Nguyen:] And we appreciate you being with us today. Now first of all, we see the pictures, but tell us, how bad is the situation in Niger?
[Adodoadji:] It's just quite bad. Currently our estimate is that 2.5 million, roughly, are those who have challenges of food and security, but of those about 874,000 face a critical need and another 800,000 face a moderate need and about 150,000 children are exposed to potential starvation conditions if we don't move rapidly to help.
[Nguyen:] What is causing this? Is it the drought? Is it the lack of food? What are all of the combinations that play into this?
[Adodoadji:] I think it's a combination of several factors. First of all, Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world and has got problems of chronic poverty and the lack of resources to address that on a sustained basis. It's a contributing factor. The recent locust infestation, plus the drought, all of those come in together have created this problem. And also it's been anticipated by the fact that in spite of warning bells from the humanitarian community, the response from the donor community was, at best, very slow and unfortunately within the U.S., our government has cut down on resources to emergency food and care. Now the agencies are urging our government to put more resources into emergency food, but also to put resources into the long-term food programs which address you on the underlying causes of poverty so that we can increase the food security within Niger.
[Nguyen:] You bring up such a good point here. You have over 20 years experience in relief operations. You probably know these statistics first hand, but let me just read them to you, 81 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty. That is less than a dollar a day, 41 percent are without access to drinking water. The life expectancy at birth is just 45 percent. With all of these cries for help out there, why is it that the world isn't responding as rapidly? Because when the U.N. put out this cry for help it was only going to cost about a dollar per person to give them the food necessary to put them back on their feet. Because it went unanswered, it's now cost $80 per person. Why is the world so slow to help?
[Adodoadji:] It's unfortunate that we tend to wait for the TV images before we respond and we, in the humanitarian community, are saying that that's the wrong way to address the situation. That...
[Nguyen:] So you're saying people, unless they see dying babies on television are really not prompted to do something about this?
[Adodoadji:] Unfortunately, that appears to be the case, but our government who know the situation, we've been present with the U.S. government and the congress, that are saying, based upon our experience in the ground, we know if you put more resources into addressing the underlying causes of food and security, you in fact help to avert the situation developing to such crisis situations.
[Nguyen:] So is the aid starting to come in? Give us an update on what is happening right now.
[Adodoadji:] The aid is beginning to come in. The food pipeline when we say, the food pipeline, we mean food in stock, food on the market, and food on the way is quite challenging. It is not fully there yet, but there is enough to purchase some food and move to address the situation quickly. In fact, CARE works in most of the areas seriously affected and already we've set up several centers in some of the critical areas. We've already purchased food from the market to address those and we also are expecting resources from the World Food Program, from the U.S. government to address the current crisis.
[Nguyen:] Now, that is the current crisis...
[Adodoadji:] Yes.
[Nguyen:] But, quickly Ahuma, what about the long-term issues here? How can they sustain themselves?
[Adodoadji:] Well, CARE already has had programs in the country which has been addressing some of the nutritional issues from a long- term basis. We're involved in microfinance, we're involved in sort of improving the nutritional practices of communities and so on. Those are some of the strategies to address the problem long-term and we continue to need resources to address it. So we say the global community should respond to Niger, both immediate and immediate short term to address the emergency, but on the long term to provide resource, significant resources to address the long term needs. That's what solved the problem.
[Nguyen:] That's critical just as critical.
[Adodoadji:] Yes.
[Nguyen:] Ahuma Adodoadji.
[Adodoadji:] You got it.
[Nguyen:] I got it. CARE International. Thank you so much.
[Adodoadji:] You're welcome, Betty.
[Nguyen:] So how can you help? You can start by logging on to this Web site, right here on your screen, www.planusa.org Tony.
[Harris:] Astronauts on the shuttle Discovery get an extra day of work. We'll find out why. CNN's Miles O'Brien talks to the Discovery crew, next.