Riots

LONDON — Britain will not let a "culture of fear" take over its streets, Prime Minister David Cameron insisted Wednesday, saying police have drawn up contingency plans to use water cannon if necessary to remove rioters from the streets.

LONDON -- British Prime Minister David Cameron recalled Parliament from its summer recess Tuesday and nearly tripled the number of police on the streets after three days of rioting in London blossomed into a full-blown political crisis.

Cameron described the scenes of burning buildings and smashed windows in London and several other British cities as "sickening," but refrained from more extreme measures such as calling in the military to help beleaguered police restore order.

LONDON -- Residents surveyed shattered streets and arrested more suspects Monday after riots and looting erupted in an impoverished London neighborhood and hopscotched across the city that hosts next summer's Olympic Games.

The unrest was sparked by a police shooting, but some blamed unemployment, insensitive policing and opportunistic looting for the worst violence the city has seen in years. Police and politicians insisted the disorder was the work of a criminal minority and not a sign of social tensions or security lapses ahead of the 2012 Games.

Though the gunfire and protests of Egypt are happening more than 6,500 miles away, the effects may be felt on the wheat fields of Idaho and Washington.

Sam White, the chief operating officer of Pacific Northwest Farmers Cooperative, said changes in the Egyptian government could result in anti-American sentiment, which would stop wheat imports from traveling to Egyptian ports. As one of the largest grain exporting areas in the nation, this would cut off many local farmers from buyers.

CAIRO -- EgyptAir's staff scuffled with frantic passengers, food supplies were dwindling, flight information was nonexistent -- and some policemen even demanded substantial bribes before allowing foreigners to board their planes.

Cairo Airport was in complete disarray, overwhelmed with over 18,000 passengers who flocked to the facility ahead of the 3 p.m. curfew, airport officials said Tuesday. Tourists detailed of a litany of woes, as dozens of planes arrived from all over the world to handle the surging exodus of foreigners and Egyptians amid growing anti-government protests in Cairo.

The United States ordered nonessential U.S. government personnel and their families to leave Egypt and Germany expanded its travel warning to the entire country, including the Red Sea resort towns.