Public Fury in Iraqi Oil Hub; Scallop Wars between England and France Over
WATT: Leaders from Russia, Turkey and Iran will meet in Tehran, Friday, to discuss the ominous situation in Idlib Province, Syria's last rebel stronghold. This Summit, probably, the last hope for avoiding a humanitarian catastrophe. Syrian state media and an activist group said that air strikes, Wednesday, targeted the western and southern edges of Idlib, and a government defensive to retake the province is believed to be imminent. The U.N. says about three million civilians live in Idlib. And public anger in Iraq's southern oil hub is turning deadly. Activists say that Iraqi forces fired tear gas and live ammunition at demonstrators in a third day of protests in Basra. Then, Wedeman reports from the growing fury over apparent government neglect and corruption.</s>BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The southern Iraqi city of Basra is in revolt. Its residents fed up with crumbling infrastructure, high unemployment, contaminated drinking water that had sent hundreds to hospital and prolonged electricity cuts in a city that swelters in the summer. The protests also spurred on by anger endemic corruption and official incompetence. So far this week, security forces have killed at least six protesters, dozens of others, including police, have been injured. The discontent here is even more intense since many of the troops that helped defeat ISIS, came from southern Iraq.</s>FADHIL QUSAY, PROTESTER (through translator): Is this the way they reward the people of Basra? Demands protester, by attacking with live ammunition?</s>WEDEMAN: Basra should be one of Iraq's wealthiest cities. It sits atop much of the country's oil wealth. But little of that wealth has been felt by the residents of this, Iraq's third largest city. The caretaker government in Baghdad, already paralyzed, since an inconclusive election more than four months ago, has promised to address Basra's problems. But so far, only promises have reached the city. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has called for an immediate investigation into the killing of protesters, but he's also blaming the unrest on unnamed troublemakers.</s>HAIDER AL-ABADI, PRIME MINISTER OF IRAQ (through translator): There are parties that are pouring oil on the fire, who are setting people against the security forces to jeopardize Basra's security, a body told reporters in Baghdad, Tuesday. Basra's many woes are fuel enough, for this fire. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Beirut.</s>WATT: And finally, the scallop wars appear to be over. A compromise between French and British fishermen fighting over the shellfish was announced, Wednesday. The dispute came to a head last week off the Normandy coast when French and British boats rammed each other. The French can fish legally for scallops only seven months a year, and they accused the U.K. of unfair competition because the British boats can harvest the meaty mollusks all year long. The new agreement restricts scallop fishing to certain sized vessels, and apparently, other details will be hammered out on Friday. Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles, I'm Nick Watt. "WORLD SPORT" starts after the break.