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Watching World Markets Following A Slump Before Christmas, A Slight Asian Recovery On This Boxing Day, But What's Ahead For The U.S., Indonesia Tsunami Threat, Floods Are Hammering Relief Efforts As The Government Takes Technical Steps They Hope Will Help Make People Stay Safe; Back To Whaling, Resuming To A Highly Controversial Commercial Hunting In 2019 Drawing International Criticism. Aired: 8-9a ET

Aired December 26, 2018 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


WILL RIPLEY, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: I'm Will Ripley live in Hong Kong. Welcome to "News Stream." Watching world markets following

a slump before Christmas, a slight Asian recovery on this Boxing Day, but what's ahead for the U.S.? Indonesia tsunami threat, floods are hammering

relief efforts as the government takes technical steps they hope will help make people stay safe. And back to whaling, and we'll resume highly

controversial commercial hunting in 2019 drawing international criticism.

Right now, we're just over an hour away from the opening bell on Wall Street following the worst Christmas Eve declines ever. The markets

haven't seen a December this bad since way back in 1931 during the Great Depression. Here is what investors were watching Monday as the Dow

plummet, it just kept going and going.

But if you take a look at the U.S. futures right now, you can see the red is turning to green. Perhaps, the markets could be turning around as they

did slightly in Asia where the Nikkei finished up 171 points, a gain of less than 1%. Of course, that's after that huge 5% plunge on Christmas Day

that dragged the Japanese index into a bear market.

Two of CNN's top business experts are here to help you make sense of all of this market turmoil, CNN's business editor at large, Richard Quest joins me

now from London and our chief business correspondent, Christine Romans is live in New York. It's great to have you both here on "News Stream" and

Christine, I want to go to you first because President Trump, you know, he was so quick to take credit when the markets hit record highs in October,

but now he's looking for other people to blame. So who is in his cross hairs?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT, CNN: I mean, this is why Presidents don't cheer lead the stock market because they know as soon as

there is the whiff of a recession or some kind of a market hiccup, they'll get blamed for it, right?

Look, he is blaming the Federal Reserve. He is saying the Fed is raising interest rates too quickly in this country and that is the only thing

wrong, that's what he said this weekend and he has doubled and tripled down on that the Fed raising interest rates is the only thing wrong, but there's

a lot out there.

There's worries about his trade war. There is worries of slowing growth around the world. Look at the oil market. The oil market is telling you

that there's maybe going to be less demand next year and this feeling that after ten years of a bull market and a resounding economic expansion in the

U.S., Will, that at some point, you're not going to have such robust growth and stock market gains and a lot of folks think 2018 was the peak and next

year will be harder to achieve that.

RIPLEY: Richard, a growing number of investment strategists are saying that they think the U.S. economy is not just weakening, but could actually

go into recession in 2019. Do you agree?

RICHARD QUEST, BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE, CNN: Those that are claiming recession at the back end of '19, early 2020, they are still the outliers.

The majority of main stream economists say that the economy will slow down from 3.35% to 4% to 1.5% to 2%. Now, if the economy gets as low as 1%

growth, Will, there's very little -- it won't feel very good in a country that has already enjoyed fast growth and lower unemployment.

If you suddenly slow to 1% or 1.5%, you're going to notice it. It is going to feel sluggish. You may even have the first signs of job layoffs. This

market at the moment -- well, the market is clearly down and I think what you're seeing today, those gains, they are tepid at best in the premarket.

And what they are looking for, there are a few people in the market, it is this holiday week, this strange time between Christmas and the New Year.

My guess is, it will hold its water and stay where it is, providing, as I can hear Christine in my ear who is about to jump in to finish my sentence,

it will continue, it will tread water until the end of the year providing, Christine --

ROMANS: Providing the President doesn't tweet about the Fed?

RIPLEY: See, I don't have to do anything here. We have you two, the power players through all of this. But, Christine, it's so confusing for people.

You have President Trump on one hand saying now is a great time to buy. Stocks are low, but then you have the former Fed Chairman in the U.S., Alan

Greenspan telling CNN last week that investors should run for cover. So who should people listen to?

ROMANS: Look, the President has famously said before he was President that he doesn't really get into the stock market. That's not his thing, he's a

real estate guy, right?

[08:05:06]

ROMANS: So the President is not an expert on the stock market. We know that. We also know that the Fed Chief, I mean, the Fed Chief in 1996 I

think, gave his famous irrational exuberance speech saying the market was a bubble and it ran up for three more years after that.

So I don't think anybody should be trading their personal stock on the words of Donald Trump or the words of Alan Greenspan. I do think that we

are in a period here of peak earnings. It is a strong economy. Companies are making a boat load of money. Unemployment is very low. The U.S. is

the star on the world stage here in terms of the strongest economy, I think. But the feeling right now is that 2018 was the best and 2019 can't

compete.

I think that the only -- the only caveat here is, is all of this overdone? Is all of this too much? This was a garden variety correction that got too

big and too bad and maybe you see a bounce back earlier in the year. I'm not calling for that, but that would be I think, the most likely kind of

wrinkle here that you see a bounce back because it was just such an ugly end of the year.

RIPLEY: So the bottom line, Christine, don't listen to either one of them, right? Richard, go ahead.

QUEST: Will -- Christine is right, markets are not -- markets, over time are priced to perfection, but at any given moment, they are not as precise

as a Swiss clock. So what we have seen was tis ramparting up to all-time highs, and then a few little teeters, and now, it's gone ramparting down

the other way.

And over time, it will edge, which is why the important advice always remains, look to the long-term, so if you're my age, you're starting to

think about safer investments than if you're your age, Will Ripley, when you can take a bit more of a risk.

RIPLEY: All right, I trust both of you so I will take that advice and I hope our viewers do, as well. Thank you very much for being here.

Christine Romans in New York, Richard Quest in London.

As the search continues for Indonesian tsunami survivors, authorities are vowing to immediately upgrade their early warning system. Saturday's

disaster killed at least 430 people. It was triggered when a volcano caused an underwater landslide. Now, authorities admit that a sensor near

that volcano wasn't working.

In fact, much of the system had fallen into disrepair for some six years. So now, there is a frantic search underway and of course, all of this is

happening on the anniversary of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, a tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people in more than a dozen countries, and

Indonesia bore the brunt of that. More than 120,000 dead in Indonesia alone.

We know that just a few seconds can mean the difference between life and death during in a tsunami. So let's go to our senior international

correspondent, Ivan Watson who has been on this story all well. He is joining me live here in Hong Kong.

Ivan, we have been talking so much in recent days about Indonesia's tsunami early warning system, the failures, the fact that it fell into disrepair

for so many years. But the Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, he is saying that this tsunami was actually beyond Indonesia's current ability to

predict. So what is the government doing to change that?

IVN WATSON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Okay, well, let's look at the origins of this tsunami. It was believed to be a volcanic

eruption on this volcanic island called Anak Krakatau on Saturday which led to the deadly wall of water that caused so much death and destruction.

So look at these images that the Indonesian authorities released, satellite images of that island before and after the eruption. The Indonesian

authorities say about 150 acres of the island disappeared -- well, it didn't disappear, it slid into the sea and at a time of a high tide and a

full moon, it helped create that deadly tsunami.

The Indonesian authorities say that their sensors are geared up for earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.0 or more and that the tremors created by

this volcanic eruption were less than that. They say they are re-jiggering them to make them more sensitive. They also say that they are testing now

this kind of siren system to help alert communities. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[Siren wailing ].

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Their early warning system is deep water buoys that have been in place around Indonesia since the 2004 tsunami that you mentioned. It's the

14th anniversary of that terrible natural disaster that killed more than 200,000 people not only in Indonesia, but all across Southeast Asia. A

number of donor countries gave Indonesia, helped out for it to establish these deep water buoys.

[08:10:02]

WATSON: But unfortunately, we learned that many of them have fallen into disrepair since as early as 2012 and they weren't even functioning when

Indonesia faced another deadly tsunami just last September that resulted in -- as a result of an earthquake and killed around 2,000 people.

Well, Joko Widodo said that has to get fixed. They have to put in a system there. It's going to be tough, though. Not only was the previous system

not maintained, but you still have the challenge of more than 17,000 islands in an area that's earthquake prone and also home to more than 125

active volcanos -- Will.

RIPLEY: And on top of that, people vandalizing that network of buoys. Perhaps they will now understand that that type of equipment can save lives

and if it's not working, lives are lost. And speaking of that, there is still is grim search happening. There's dozens of people still missing and

we've seen these pictures, people picking up piece by piece of the destroyed homes and buildings, are they finding any survivors at this

point?

WATSON: You know, we unfortunately haven't heard stories of miraculous rescues now, some four days after the tsunami. In fact, the recovery

effort has been hampered by things like rainfall and flooding along one river in the tsunami stricken zone. And also warnings from the authorities

for people to stay back some 500 meters to even a kilometer away from the coastline in places that were hit by the tsunami again, for fear that there

could be another tsunami.

The volcano that erupted in the first place, it's still erupting. Our teams on the ground have heard that ominous rumble in the distance of Anak

Krakatau which is about 25 miles away from the coastlines that got hit.

So this is still a very difficult situation, again, in a country that is no stranger, tragically, to these deadly natural disasters.

RIPLEY: And that notorious volcano still erupting at this hour. CNN senior international correspondent, Ivan Watson joining me live here in

Hong Kong, thank you.

If you would like to find ways to help the victims of this tsunami, just go to our website, cnn.com/impact.

You're watching "News Stream", and up next, Turkey sending more troops to the Syrian border, bracing for a possible operation in Eastern Syria.

We'll get the view from Istanbul.

Fourteen minutes past 9:00 on this Boxing Day, you're watching "News Stream" live from Hong Kong. ISIS is claiming responsibility for a deadly

attack on Libya's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.

[08:15:06]

RIPLEY: ISIS is claiming responsibility for a deadly attack on Libya's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday. Three workers were killed and more than a

dozen others wounded when ISIS fighters carrying machine guns and wearing suicide belts stormed into the building in Tripoli -- all three of the

gunmen were killed according to the U.N. backed Government of National Accord. ISIS has been active in Libya since the overthrow of Muammar

Gaddafi in 2011.

It is the fifth day of the partial government shutdown in the U.S. and there is no sign of it ending any time soon. At the White House, Tuesday,

President Trump said the government will not reopen until Congress approves funding for his border wall, and once again, he blamed the shutdown on

Democrats for not green lighting the $5 billion he has demanded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I can't tell you whether the government is going to be open. I can tell you it is not going to be open

until we have a wall, a fence, whatever they'd like to call it. I'll call it whatever they want, but it's all the same thing -- it's a barrier from

people pouring into our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: Meantime, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say they are making policy changes, this after the death of a second migrant child

in U.S. government custody this month.

An 8-year-old boy, Guatemalan, he died on Monday, less than a week after he arrived in the U.S. with his father. I want to check in with CNN's Nick

Valencia who is on the ground in El Paso, Texas, that's right along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Nick, this boy's father, like so many others, for so many years brought him to the U.S. in search of a better life. How did this happen?

NICK VALENCIA, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, that is something that I think we all need to understand is these migrants, when you talk to them, Will, I

know you have in your reporting in the past, they're fleeing what they feel is certain death. They're willing to put their children through a

treacherous trek north through Mexico, and many times, in many instances through cartel-run territory for a chance at a better life.

And then expect that when they get to the United States that they will at the very least be safe and taken care of. And this now, we are dealing

with another death in Customs and Border Protection custody of a child from Guatemala. You remember, it was just three weeks ago that Jakelin Call

Maquin was -- died in Border Patrol custody. She was laid to rest in a very touching ceremony yesterday in her native country of Guatemala.

But this time, it happened to an eight-year-old boy, and as we understand the details released from the Customs and Border Protection in a statement

yesterday, this young boy, eight years old with his father had come to the United States on December 18th, was apprehended in the field, taken into

custody and just essentially shuffled from processing center to processing center.

At one point, he was in an overcrowded facility, he had to move somewhere else, and it was on Monday, according to the statement from CBP that one of

their agents noted that this child was sick and was not doing well.

He was transferred to the hospital where he was diagnosed initially with a common cold, but it was later that the medical staff there saw that he had

a fever, he was kept for an hour or longer under observation, but he was allowed to leave. It was hours later, though however, that his condition

significantly deteriorated. He was nauseous. He was vomiting. He eventually lost consciousness and did not regain consciousness. He died on

his second trip back to the hospital on Christmas Eve here in the United States.

There is absolute outrage among the critics of the Customs and Border Protection. How could this happen again in less than three weeks? And of

course, the country of Guatemala, their government, they wants answers. They don't understand how another one of thei9r citizens has died.

They've asked for the medical records of this young boy and as we understand it, have interviewed the father to what they say is to try to

get his version of the facts, but just an incredible tragedy, just simply put, but especially when you consider the timing of this on Christmas Eve

here in the United States, Will.

RIPLEY: And that is just what makes it even more heartbreaking, but simply no excuse for children who come to the United States to die in this way.

Nick Valencia in El Paso, Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border, thank you.

VALENCIA: Thanks, Will.

RIPLEY: Less than a week after President Trump decided to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, Russia and the Syrian regime are reinforcing their own

troops close to the Kurdish held town of Manbij. It's a strategically important city in Northern Syria and it is also a potential flash point.

Now, the Russians are putting out a new statement actually just within the last few hours saying that areas vacated by the U.S. should be handed over

to the Syrian regime. For more on all of this, we go to Istanbul and CNN senior producer, Gul Tuysuz.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

GUL TUYSUZ, SENIOR PRODUCER, CNN: Will, that strategic down of Manbij on the west of the Euphrates River in Syria is where we're seeing some

movement over the last couple of days. Basically, yesterday you had Syrian regime forces as well as their backers, the Russian forces going in to

reinforce a position that they have on the outskirts of the city in a place called Urema.

Some 40 pickup trucks were seen going into the area according to Turkish reports as well as vehicles carrying military personnel and military

equipment.

[08:20:06]

TUYSUZ: So there is movement on the Syrian regime front when it comes to that strategic town. On the other hand, you have Turkey proxies on the

ground, the Free Syrian Army moving their position right up along the front line between Manbij and the Turkish controlled areas in the Euphrates

shield zone.

So we're seeing movement there on that end. At the same time, Turkish military equipment is also amassing on Turkey's border with Syria. So

after the decision by U.S. President Donald Trump announcing his decision that U.S. troops would be leaving Syria, we're starting to see the ripple

effects and that decision, of course, was made about ten days ago. It was a surprise for many and really created the fear that there could be a power

vacuum once the U.S. leaves.

Of course, the U.S. troops were there on the ground in the fight against ISIS, and their main partners on the ground have been the Kurdish fighting

forces and those Kurdish fighters are viewed by the U.S. NATO ally, Turkey as being an extension of a terror group.

Turkey has been very vocal over the last few weeks saying that they do plan on going into Syria in an effort to expel those Kurdish fighters away, but

after a phone call between the U.S. President and his Turkish counterpart, there is now an agreement that Turkey is going to be taking on a much

bigger role in the fight against ISIS and, of course, in a chaotic battlefield like Syria, Turkey has beaten off quite a bit here.

They are basically saying that they are going to be fighting both those Kurds that they view to be an extension of the terrorist group as well as

ISIS. How effective will they be? We're just going to be watching to see how that plays out -- Will.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

RIPLEY: So much uncertainty in a very volatile region. Gul Tuysuz with a view from Istanbul, and I want to take you a little more about this

statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry. The statement saying that the territory is vacated by the American troops in Syria should pass on to the

Syrian regime.

A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said in a statement that it was obvious the Syrian government should take control of the U.S. held areas, but they have

no information on discussions between Washington and Damascus on that matter.

Protesters in Northern China gathered outside the courthouse for the trial of a high profile human rights lawyer who was arrested more than three

weeks ago accused of subverting state power. CNN producer, Steven Jiang reports from Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

STEVEN JIANG, PRODUCER, CNN: The closely watched trial of prominent human rights lawyer, Wang Quanzhang ended quickly on Wednesday after a day-long

hearing in the northern city of Tianjin. Mr. Wang is facing charges of subversion of state power, a serious crime that carry a maximum sentence of

life imprisonment.

But the court wouldn't allow a public hearing because of quote-unquote "state secrets" involved. Mr. Wang's case has been under an international

spotlight because he was taken into custody in the summer of 2015 amid a nationwide crackdown on human rights defenders.

The authorities detained more than 200 human rights lawyers and activists within a few days at the time. Mr. Wang has been languishing behind bars

ever since. His whereabouts unknown for a long time, his trial has been repeatedly delayed and his wife not allowed to see him for over three

years.

Before his arrest, Mr. Wang was known to defend sensitive cases involving Christians, as well as members of the banned Falun Gung Spiritual Movement.

For many, his case really has come to illustrate the fast worsening human rights situation in China under President Xi Jinping who has greatly

tightened his grip over all aspects of society. That is why Mr. Wang's case has attracted a lot of attention from Western governments and media

alike.

But on Wednesday, foreign reporters and diplomats were barred from getting anywhere near the court in Tianjin with the authorities locking down a

large area surrounding the courthouse. A few supporters and activists who managed to get there were quickly silenced and taken away. While Mr.

Wang's, wife, Li Wenzu was placed under effective house arrest in Beijing with state security agents preventing her from even leaving her home, let

alone going to Tianjin to attend the trial.

Probably anticipating this scenario, Miss Li actually last week, shaved her head to protest the government's treatment of her and her husband because

the word "hairless" sounds similar to the word lawless in Chinese. And lawlessness according to her just about summed up the entire government

case against her husband. Steven Jiang, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

RIPLEY: To South Korea now where we're seeing a bit of a cultural shift going on as reflected in this image of the South Korean President Moon Jae-

in. We're talking about perceptions and ideas about dogs and how they're changing. CNN's Paula Hancocks tells us fewer people are thinking of dogs

as food and more and more man's best friend.

[08:25:04]

PAULA HANCOCKS, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: This is Angum, a three-year-old poodle who is here for her monthly spa. An hour and a half of pampering,

trimming, relaxing. Part of a fast growing business here in South Korea as pet ownership soars.

An industry worth $1.4 billion in 2014 is set to quadruple by 2020. South Korea is becoming a nation of dog lovers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AHN DA-SOM, ANGUM'S OWNER: She's just like me. I take shower every day. And I brush my hair every day. So I want her to have a same condition. I

want her to have a good skin condition as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: The second such spa build by the same owner, he's already planning the third.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIAN HWANG, CEO, BIANCOLTALIA: I want it to be some place where dogs can, like, really enjoy a nice atmosphere with nice people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: This has become a really big business here in South Korea. You have doggy day care, dog cafes and of course, the grooming and the spa, and

this more than anything else, really shows how attitudes towards dogs are changing here.

This man has helped President Moon Jae-in who had adopted a dog from a rescue sanctuary last year, a move widely seen as a message against the

country's dog meat industry. And a gift of two dogs from North Korea's Kim Jong-un after their third summit. The pups that were subsequently born and

known across the country as the peace puppies.

Animal rights groups fighting to end the dog meat trade in South Korea won a number of landmark victories recently. The county's largest slaughter

house was closed down by authorities in November, a sight where hundreds of thousands of dogs were killed every year by electrocution.

According to Humane Society International, HSI also works with farmers who want to move away from the dog industry, providing financial support. Nara

Kim says there is no doubt that as dog ownership increases, tolerance for the dog meat trade is falling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARA KIM, HUMANE SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL: Once they have pet dogs, they can gets more understanding, better understanding and they get more interest

about animal welfare.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA HANCOCKS: A survey by Gallup Korea conducted in June 2018 shows that 70% of South Koreans say they will not eat dog meat in the future. That's

a jump from 44% just three years ago. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

RIPLEY: You're watching "News Stream" live from Hong Kong and we are going to shift our focus to Japan. That nation says it will resume controversial

commercial whaling beginning next year. The reason for this decision and the intense international criticism Japan is now facing.

I am Will Ripley live in Hong Kong, you're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines.

Wall Street opens in an hour and could we see attempts to dig out of the December doldrums? Perhaps. If you look at the U.S. futures, all of them

pointing slightly in a positive direction tepidly at the moment.

Meanwhile, Tokyo's Nikkei finished up 171 points on Boxing Day, that's a gain of less than 1% after it plummeted 5% the day before. The Shanghai

Composite lost a quarter of 1%. Most European markets are closed today.

Rescue crews are desperately searching for survivors from Saturday's deadly tsunami in Indonesia, but they are really running out of time. At least

430 people now confirmed dead and more than 20,000 people are displaced. The government says it will immediately adjust ocean sensors for earlier

detection of tremors from the Anak Krakatau volcano that they believe to have caused the tsunami.

Japan has decided to resume commercial whale hunting in its territorial waters in 2019 and also to withdraw from the International Whaling

Commission. The decision is drawing international criticism especially from conservationists and some governments as well. Japan says it will

cease whaling activities in the Antarctic Ocean.

Joining me now here in Hong Kong is CNN digital producer Emiko Jozuka who has been following the story. Emiko, talk to me about Japan's efforts,

their failed attempts to try to get this commercial whaling ban lifted? Why were they doing that?

EMIKO JOZUKA, DIGITAL PRODUCER, CNN: So the Japanese government have always said that whaling is part of country's ancient traditions and that

fishermen had been doing it for centuries. I mean, this has meant that the government has pushed really hard over the last 30 years to have commercial

whaling resumed again.

RIPLEY: But is whale meat really that popular in Japan anymore?

JOZUKA: It's interesting you say that because since the 60s, consumption of whale meat has been in decline. It used to be a popular sort of school

children's meal in the post World War II era as it was seen as a source of protein, but in recent sort of decades and years, only the older

generations reach out and eat it as a sort of nostalgic delicacy.

But I think for the most part, youngsters really aren't that interested in eating it all the time.

RIPLEY: So is it worth all of the criticism that Japan is getting when you are talking about a relatively small industry and a small group of people

or are there bigger forces behind this?

JOZUKA: I think for the political class in Japan, it's -- you know, whaling is really very symbolic for them and they see it as sort of

integral to Japan's tradition, ancient traditions and fishing communities.

And for the most part, it is true. There are small coastal communities who have been whale hunting for centuries. But in a large part, I mean, whale

meat was only industrialized following World War II, when the Japanese were in need of a source of protein and MacArthur wanted the industry

industrialized.

RIPLEY: And obviously, times have changed and Japan is now a dramatically more prosperous country. These scientific expeditions that are now being

halted, were they truly scientific or were they a cover for commercial whaling, especially these missions down to the Antarctic as was alleged by

activists in Australia and elsewhere?

JOZUKA: So in 1986, the International Whaling Commission sort of passed a moratorium that banned commercial whaling, but Japan has always used a

loophole within the moratorium to pursue whaling legally. It alleges that they are for scientific purposes, but as you said, there are many

conservation groups and anti-whaling nations that alleged that this is not for scientific purposes, but really just veiling Japan's reasons for

whaling.

RIPLEY: So what happens now in terms of the timeline and are there concerns that the whale population especially in Japan's territorial waters

could really be in danger?

JOZUKA: So japan now wants to resume whaling next July -- commercial operations, and they allege that this will be of the so-called whale

populations with healthy numbers. So for now, we can't be sure if how much of an impact commercial whaling operations will have on these so-called

healthy populations, but it is true that this move is still drawing a lot of criticism from conservationist groups.

RIPLEY: And certainly, they will be watching how this unfolds very closely. CNN digital producer, Emiko Jozuka joining me here in Hong Kong.

Thank you.

This is such a highly charged issue and I think it's worth a deeper discussion. So joining me now is Mark Simmons, senior marine scientist at

Humane Society International joining us via Skype from the Isle of Wight in the U.K.

Hey, Mark, we should point out it's not just Japan. Norway and Iceland are also openly defying this ban on commercial whaling. Is there any case to

be made for this so-called sustainable whaling in your view?

[08:35:06]

MARK SIMMONS, SENIOR MARINE SCIENTIST, HUMANE SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL: Hi, Will, that was a great introduction by the way from Emiko, that was very

clear and very good. I agreed with I think pretty much everything she said, and in the case of the other whaling nations, they are within the

IWC. And so to some extent, they are following the rules and regulations of the IWC.

This declaration by Japan, which had to be made right about now by the rules of the Whaling Commission and to -- they had to say something by the

first of January. This statement puts them in a very different place to those two other countries. It puts them outside of the Whaling Commission

completely, and in fact, activities going on out on the high seas, which are outside of international law can be termed pirate, not in a lovely

fantasy sort of Johnny Depp sort of way, but lawless, outside of the order of law is where Japan is now going.

RIPLEY: Are you encouraged at all by the fact that Japan says it will stop these controversial Antarctic whaling expeditions that it claimed were

scientific and now only hunt for whales in their own waters?

SIMMONS: Yes, thank you for that, that's a great question, because yes we are encouraged, I think everybody is very pleased that Japan for the first

time since World War II pretty much, it will take one year they paused, will be out of the Southern Ocean, which is such a special place, highly,

highly protected.

And so Japan's activities there have been much very much protested about. However, of course, we are concerned and I think we'll see more protests

from nations as they return back to work after the holidays. We are very concerned about Japan stepping outside of the Whaling Commission which is

the appropriate international body.

RIPLEY: This is obviously a very emotional topic for a lot of people. I mean, I remember as a child, I went whale watching a number of times with

my parents. People are fascinated by whales. How much does emotion factor into some people's vehement opposition to whale hunting and do you feel

that the whaling industry is getting a fair shake?

SIMMONS: Yes, I mean, it's quite clear that people do feel strongly about the whales. People do feel strongly about many animals, I don't think it's

necessarily a bad thing to like them, admire them, recognize them as the large intelligent and sentient fantastic animals that they are, so that

probably does play a part.

But the whole idea of making it sustainable is much more complicated. Let me just give you one small example, so Japan is going to apparently retreat

to its own waters, but there the Minke whales, which are not just one species, but two and probably more, the Minke whales in Japan's waters

include a genetically distinct stock called the called the J stock which we know is in danger. There's just a few hundred individuals remain, so it's

very, very difficult for them to make an argument for any sustainable take of that particular species in the North Pacific.

RIPLEY: Mark Simmons joining us from the Isle of Wight and I am sure, we will be talking more about this. This is an issue that seems to keep

coming up especially in Japan. Thank you for your time.

SIMMONS: Thank you, Will.

RIPLEY: You're watching "News Stream" and much more ahead after a quick break. Stay with us. We are live from Hong Kong.

You can now add Thailand to the list of the countries that have approved the use of medical marijuana. Thailand actually, the first in Southeast

Asia to do so.

[08:40:02]

RIPLEY: The region is known for its hard line stance on drugs and very harsh penalties for drug crimes. Thailand's interim Parliament voted to

make the change, recreational use of cannabis remains illegal.

Right now, in the heart of Budapest, this Parliament building overlooking the River Danube in Hungary and it is one of the finest examples of gothic

and renaissance revival architecture in the world today.

CNN's Neil Curry takes us on a tour of this UNESCO world heritage site.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

NEIL CURRY, SENIOR PRODUCER, CNN: It took around a thousand people 17 years to complete the Budapest Parliament. Their endeavors resulted in a

magnificent political palace, the third largest Parliament building in the world with almost 700 rooms and 20 kilometers of stairs, also recognized as

a world heritage site, there's no bigger building in the whole of Hungary.

ILDIKO JAMBOR, PARLIAMENT TOUR GUIDE: I am Ildiko Jambor, I am an official tour guide here in the Hungarian Parliament and I will take you on a very

exclusive tour. Please come with me.

We are entering now the Dome Hall which is the structural center of the building and also the place where we have four original coronation symbols

of Hungary exhibited. They are always guarded by the guards of the crown. They are soldiers. They form part of a very special use of the Hungarian

Army and at night, they stay here, too.

It is really rare to get into the Hungarian Prime Minister's meeting room. Well, I have been here only twice, to be honest and when I visited the

room, this was his seat. We have just arrived to the Chamber of our Parliament where the members do have their sessions. Currently, we have

199 members and they work here in this room.

It is a unique masterpiece. Actually, I believe that this is the nicest building we have in the whole country.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

RIPLEY: Wherever you are we are in the world, if you have sent or received Christmas gifts from Amazon this year, guess what? You've been part of a

record breaking season. Amazon says the customers shopped at record levels across every department with more items ordered worldwide than ever before.

So how many are we talking about? Well, Amazon says millions and millions, but the exact number for some reason didn't go in their press release.

We'll keep trying to find out, but among the items, more than 50% came from small and medium sized businesses.

And that is "News Stream" on this Boxing Day. I'm Will Ripley. You can connect with me anytime @WillRipleyCNN, and don't go anywhere, "World

Sport" is next.

(SPORTS)

[09:00:00]

END