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A CNN exclusive from inside Yemen - Weaponry Made In The U.S. And Lost In The Fog Of War; Catholic History Being Made Right Now As Pope Francis Becomes The First Pontiff To Set Foot On The Arabian Peninsula; Enter The Year Of The Pig, Lunar New Year Celebrations Abound As Hong Kong Gets More Boar Than It Asks For. Aired: 8:00-9a ET

Aired February 5, 2019 - 08:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIMA ELBAGIR, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: So they're now firing on us. I can hear some - I can hear a mortar.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST, "News Stream" (voice over): A CNN exclusive from inside Yemen.

ELBAGIR: It's like a graveyard of American military hardware.

LU STOUT: Our Nima Elbagir makes a shocking discovery. Weaponry made in the U.S. and lost in the fog of war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECKY ANDERSON, ANCHOR, CNN: Catholic history being made right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT (voice over): A mass and a message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the Middle East, we really can live in peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT (voice over): Pope Francis becomes the first pontiff to set foot on the Arabian Peninsula.

And enter the Year of the Pig. Lunar New Year celebrations abound as Hong Kong gets more boar than it asks for.

LU STOUT (on camera): I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, and welcome to "News Stream." We begin with a story that you will see only on CNN. U.S.

lawmakers are renewing their efforts to pass a war powers resolution through Congress and attempt to end the American military support for the

Saudi-led coalition in Yemen as U.S. government grapples with its entanglement in Yemen's civil war.

CNN's Nima Elbagir has been following the trail of U.S. weaponry and the devastation these weapons have left behind. After CNN presented its

findings, a U.S. defense official told CNN exclusively that an investigation into violations of U.S. arms agreements by coalitions

partners is ongoing. This is Nima's exclusive report "Made in America, lost in Yemen."

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ELBAGIR (voice over): Shells of millions of dollars' worth of abandon American armored vehicles litter the road. Welcome to Yemen, where

weaponry made in America is sold, stolen and abandoned and making its way into the wrong hands.

We're here to follow the trail of those weapons and the chaos they've left behind. Our journey starts at the Hudaydah frontlines where a ceasefire

was recently signed.

Climbing up a defensive berm for a better look, the Houthi position, we're told, is only around 200 to 300 meters away.

ELBAGIR (on camera): There is movement there on the horizon. Did you hear that? Scottie, get down. There another shot. It's coming from over

there. They want to take us to the actual position. They want to show us the ceasefire violations.

All right, so they're now firing on us. You can hear it. I can hear a mortar. There's incoming. It's getting heavier and we're told we have to

leave, even as we're driving away. Even now, you can hear that it's getting much, much heavier.

ELBAGIR (voice over): The influx of weaponry is prolonging the conflict. On our way back from the frontline, we spot what we've come in search of.

ELBAGIR (on camera): It's absolutely incredible. We're driving past and it's like a graveyard of American military hardware. And this is not under

the control of coalition forces. This is in the command of militias.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): Which is expressly forbidden by the arms sales agreement with the U.S. On the outside of these mine-resistant armored

vehicles -- MRAPs -- there are even stickers proudly proclaiming them as property of Alwiyat al Amalqa, a militia allied to the coalition.

We zero in on the serial numbers, tracing them back to U.S. manufacturer, Navistar, the largest provider of armored vehicles for the U.S. Army.

We're told to stop filming, but we are able to find another vehicle. This one even has the export sticker from Beaumont, Texas to Abu Dhabi in the

United Arab Emirates.

As we arrive back in town we pass yet another militia-held MRAP. Everywhere we look, it seems, it's made in the USA.

Yemen is split between warring factions. U.S.-backed and Saudi-led in the countries south; Iranian-backed Houthi militias in the north. We can't

cross the frontlines to go north. But the MRAPs have, captured by Iran's allies, the Houthis.

To the backdrop of chants of "Death to America" this U.S. MRAP was broadcast on a Houthi-backed channel with Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the

deputy leader sitting behind the wheel.

[08:05:10]

ELBAGIR (voice over): CNN was able to obtain the serial number from one of the Houthi-held MRAPs and verify that it was part of $2.5 billion 2014 U.S.

sale to the UAE, a coalition partner.

So why does it matter? Because these very MRAPs and others like them have already, we're told, fallen into the hands of Iranian intelligence.

In an audio interview with a member of a secret Houthi unit -- the preventative security force -- CNN was told some U.S. military technology

has already been transferred to Iran.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iranian intelligence are assessing U.S. military technology very closely. There isn't a single American weapon that they

don't try to find out its details, what it's made of, how it works.

ELBAGIR (voice over): Advanced improvised explosive devices with Iranian components are now mass-produced by Houthi forces on a scale only

previously achieved by ISIS. And the U.S.' first line offense against IEDs, the MRAP, has been compromised.

The Houthi leadership denied to CNN the existence of the preventative security forces. CNN has also reached out to Iran for comment, but

received no response. Regardless, at the very least, these high- profile captures of American hardware make them safer and harder to fight.

Our next stop is the mountain city of Taiz where we're told an al Qaeda- linked militia is in possession of American weaponry. In these images obtained by CNN, you see the Abu Abbas militia, founded by an al Qaeda

funder, Abu Abbas, currently on the U.S. terror list proudly patrolling the streets of Taiz in U.S. MRAPs.

If that wasn't unsettling enough, Taiz, we learned, is also awash with weaponry. Arms markets are illegal in Yemen, but that hasn't stopped them

from operating.

Using undercover cameras, we are able to film arms sellers hidden amid women's clothing shops. He doesn't today, but we're told we can put in a

special order for an American assault rifle. Sellers like these are driving a black market for high-tech American weapons, sustaining the

conflict and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

CNN was told by coalition sources that a deadlier U.S. weapons system, the TOW missile, was airdropped in 2015 by Saudi Arabia to Yemeni fighters - an

airdrop that was proudly proclaimed across Saudi-backed media channels.

So where were they used and by whom? We try to find out.

ELBAGIR (on camera): Here, yes. Can you hear me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I'm trying to lose the other guys, though.

ELBAGIR: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay, that will do you. Thank you.

ELBAGIR (on camera): Okay. We've been told that we can't go ahead with the interviews that we had preplanned. This local government is under the

aegis of the coalition and they are completely blocking any of our access or any of our ability to do any work.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): The intimidation continued throughout that day and into the night. Ultimately, we're chased out of town. But we still want

to find out what happened to the TOWs.

So we asked the U.S. Department of Defense whether they knew what happened to the U.S. anti-tank missiles. They say that despite Saudi TV coverage,

they weren't even aware of the claim that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia used TOW anti-tank missiles in Yemen in October 2015. After CNN presented its

findings to the DoD, it says it has now launched an investigation.

The Saudi-led coalition has not responded to calls for comment. But a senior UAE official denied to CNN that they were in violation of the arms

sales agreement, saying, "The Giants Brigade are part of Yemeni forces that fight the Houthis on the ground and are under our direct supervision."

The U.S. DoD statement to CNN added, "They did not authorize any transfer of MRAPs or any military hardware from Saudi Arabia or the UAE to third

parties."

So far, we've focused on the weapons fueling the war here, but the seemingly endless conflict they sustain has also sparked a manmade

catastrophe. Just a short distance from the frontlines, the human toll comes into full view.

ELBAGIR (on camera): This is Vashaen (ph) and she is so malnourished that she can't actually walk. Her mother has to carry her everywhere.

[08:10:07]

ELBAGIR (on camera): There are 200 cases of malnutrition like Vashaen just in this one village.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): The local clinic had to shut down, so when word that the doctor is here gets around, parents come out into the street to meet

her.

Roula is 14 months old, but looks far smaller. After the doctor finishes her checkup, her father takes us deeper into the village to meet other

families.

ELBAGIR (on camera): This is Rehab. She's two years old and she is so severely malnourished that her chest has begun to cave in. But,

incredibly, this is actually Rehab after she started getting better. The doctor said that they've been able to get her to keep some of the nutrition

in and they're actually hopeful now.

ELBAGIR (voice-over): That hope, though, depends on peace and what we've seen here doesn't give much hope of a lasting one.

How easy it is to get your hands on high-tech U.S. weapons. How a swamp of uneasy alliances has led to sensitive U.S. weaponry ending up in both

Iranian and al Qaeda-linked hands. How America's allies are making Americans less safe.

Wherever and with whomever the weapons end up, the war goes on and ultimately, it's the people here who, as ever, bear the brunt.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LU STOUT: The U.S. weapons manufacturer, Navistar did not respond to CNN's request for comment. These U.S. arms sales are legally processed and

sanctioned by the U.S. government. The recipients of U.S.-origin defense equipment like Saudi Arabia and the UEA are legally obligated to obtain

authorization from the U.S. government prior to transferring the equipment to any third party. That authorization was never obtained, according to

the U.S. Department of Defense.

CNN's Nima Elbagir joins us now live from London with more on this exclusive story. and Nima, thank you for bringing this reporting to us.

After you made this shocking discovery, you presented your findings to the U.S. Department of Defense. Is it going to lead to any change in tracking

or accountability?

ELBAGIR: Well, the DoD told us they will be launching an investigation into the findings we presented them with, with regards to the TOW anti-tank

missiles, but they also acknowledged exclusively to CNN that they already have an investigation in process into coalition violations.

And that's very telling especially as we are coming up to the deadline by which the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo needs to certify, to

recertify to Congress as to the conduct of the coalition with the war in Yemen not just with regards to their responsibilities to keep down civilian

casualties, but also with regards to their adherence to things like arms sales agreements with the U.S.

And so this has come at a very uncomfortable time for the coalition. We wait to see what Mike Pompeo's findings will be, but it is going to be

quite hard, given that U.S. lawmakers are agitating to try and pass this war powers resolution given what we have shown in our reporting for him to

able to say that they are not in violation of those arms sales agreements with the United States.

LU STOUT: Nima, your reporting has launched an investigation. We thank you and your team for this very, very important report. May it lead to

accountability and change. Nima Elbagir reporting live from London. Thank you.

CNN's exclusive report is already sparking reaction from U.S. lawmakers. Democratic senator Chris Murphy tweeted this, quote, "Bombshell report.

The beautiful military equipment that Trump sold Saudi Arabia and the UAE is now in the hands of al Qaeda-aligned militias. One group drives U.S.

armored vehicles now. This is what happens when you flood a war zone with more weapons."

You're watching "News Stream" and still ahead, Pope Francis celebrates mass for the first time in the birthplace of Islam. More on his message of hope

and how his visit to the Arabian Peninsula made history.

Also ahead, U.S. President Donald Trump gets ready to address Congress for the first time since Democrats took control of the House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:15:00]

LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back, this is "News Stream." Now, U.S. President Donald Trump has a very big night ahead. He

is set to deliver his first State of the Union speech before a divided Congress now that Democrats control the House.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi will sit over his shoulder after their drawn out battle over the government shutdown. The speech comes at a critical time

with another potential shut down looming over funding for the border wall and amid the ongoing Mueller investigation.

Administration officials say the theme is what they call choosing greatness. They say about half of Mr. Trump's speech will be focused on

foreign policy. Let's get more now from Joe Johns at the White House and Joe, you know the themes, you know the guests who will be there for the

State of the Union. What are the sort of messages that the President will deliver?

JOE JOHNS, SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, you had it right there at the top. We do know the President is going to talk about foreign

policy, a variety of hot spots around the world. We expect him, we're told by aides, to talk about Venezuela which is one of the hot spots that the

United States government has expressed a particular interest in on the domestic side. He's going to talk about some of the common themes you

would expect, including immigration, healthcare, some of the other favorites.

But one of the things we'll really be watching for is the President's tone. Of course, we do know we've come off of this big government shutdown, the

longest government shutdown in American history.

There are sore feelings and if you will, a toxic atmosphere on Capitol Hill. So the question is how does the President bridge that? We're told

there is going to be a unifying theme in parts of the speech. Of course, that's challenging because over the last two or three days or so, the

President has twice, at least, referred to Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, the Democratic Speaker of the House as bad for America essentially

because she won't give him his wall on the southern border that he wants.

And Nancy Pelosi, by the way, as is tradition will be seated directly behind the President of the United States as he gives that speech in the

House Chamber tonight -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yes, and the optics there are going to be pretty powerful when America sees that live. And the wall, do you think this speech is going to

help President get funding, get what he wants, his border wall?

JOHNS: In a word, talking to sources on Capitol Hill and here at the White House, that is unlikely. As you know, a Conference Committee of Democrats

and Republicans on Capitol Hill is working to try to come up with some type of a Homeland Security spending bill that will avert a possible government

shutdown around February 15th.

The President himself as said he doesn't believe they're going to come up with anything he can sign. So the question is whether the President is

going to send any signals tonight about what he'll do next and whether that might include, for example, an emergency declaration allowing him the power

to use money from different sources to build his wall that would launch, in all likelihood, a court battle and even possibly on Capitol Hill, a vote on

a resolution of disapproval which likely would pass the House of Representatives, unknown the fate in the Senate, but we know some

Republicans, even, have been sending the word to the President don't make this move -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: Joe Johns reporting live from the White House, thank you for the preview. Take care.

[08:20:03]

LU STOUT: Our special coverage of the President's State of the Union address and the Democratic response by Stacey Abrams that begins 8:00 p.m.

Eastern Time. That is 9:00 in the morning in Hong Kong, 1:00 a.m. in London.

What a difference a year makes. Now, during Tuesday night's State of the Union address, President Trump is expected to strike a completely different

tone on North Korea than he did last year.

One year ago, he talked about the major threat posed by the regime and bringing maximum pressure on North Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But no regime has oppressed its own citizens more totally, more brutally, than the cruel dictatorship

in North Korea.

We need only look at the depraved character of the North Korean regime to understand the nature of the nuclear threat it could pose to America and to

our allies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Mr. Trump even invited a North Korean defector to attend his speech. He said his guest was run over by a train and endured torture at

the hands of North Korean authorities calling him, quote, "A witness to the ominous nature of the regime."

But the picture has changed. Last June, of course, President Trump and Kim Jong-un, they held that summit in Singapore and now a second summit is on

the horizon and Mr. Trump has been continuously talking about those letters from the dictator.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: A letter was given to me by Kim Jong-un and that letter was a very nice letter.

It looks like we'll have a second summit quite soon and you know Kim Jon-un wrote a letter, a beautiful letter.

I just got a great letter from Kim Jong-un and those few people that I have shown this letter to, they've never written letters like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: But the big question remains, will the U.S. actually get a commitment from North Korea on denuclearization.

Now to the Arabian Peninsula where we have been following a historic convergence of faiths, cultures and languages. Pope Francis became the

first Roman Catholic Pontiff to celebrate mass there, the birthplace of Islam. Some 135,000 people gathered at this outdoor stadium in Abu Dhabi.

The Pope says the UAE is a model for peaceful coexistence between different cultures. Prayers were offered in several different languages, including

Tagalog and French. John Defterios spoke with some of those who attended, he joins us now from CNN Abu Dhabi, and John, this was a historic event.

You were there. What was it like?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR, CNN: Well, Kristie, in fact, we were there from the wee hours of the morning. It was amazing when we got

there at 5:00 a.m. long time, there were thousands of people already carving out their space in the outside of the stadium.

In the last hour, we've had an update on the numbers. There was 50,000 now estimated inside and 125,000 outside, so for a total of 170,000. So

there's much bigger turnout than expected. This was very important for the UAE because they marked 2019 as the year of tolerance.

Pope Francis went further in his homily today saying this should be the year of peace throughout the Middle East and North Africa, and I spoke to

parishioners literally like the United Nations of parishioners from India, the Philippines, the Lebanese, Palestinians, Britons that were all here.

People who have resided in the country anywhere from four to 15 years and they all said the message from the Pope actually struck them really

strongly because he talked about peace and peace starting within the family and your own personal life. They were also touched over the last two days

seeing the Grand Imam coming from Egypt and having meetings with Pope Frances, and the two -- the Muslim community and the Christian community

seeing eye to eye where to go in the future.

Interesting fact though for a poll that was out earlier in the week, if you polled those in Europe, from Germany to France example, 45% to over 50% saw

Islam as a threat to Christianity and their society. They polled people here in the region, Saudi Arabia saw Christianity 25% as a threat to their

society and here in the UAE, only 13%.

So in the UAE, they're much more welcoming to what's taking place in the dialogue between Christianity and Islam at this stage and this was indeed,

Kristie, a historic event right across the day. No doubt about it.

LU STOUT: Right. The visit had a strong interface theme, but looming in the background, the conflict in Yemen, we know the UAE is part of the

Saudi-led coalition against the rebels. There is an ongoing humanitarian crisis there and Pope Francis, he addressed that, didn't he?

DEFTERIOS: It certainly did not slide off the agenda. I'm glad you brought it up. First and foremost, Pope Francis was elegant in the sense

that he put it in his statement before leaving the Vatican, suggesting something that really, again, resonated with the parishioners I spoke to.

[08:25:09]

DEFTERIOS: We have to listen to the cries of the women and children of Yemen because of the suffering. He didn't say it publicly in any of his

pronouncements today or at the meetings in the interfaith dialogue that you're talking about. But I am certain that behind the scenes when he met

with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi who is leading that coalition and the ruler of Dubai who is also the Prime Minister of the UAE, it was on the

agenda, no doubt about it.

And, in fact, this doesn't square. You can't have the year of tolerance and have a war in your region involved in such an aggressive coalition.

That's the feedback I did get from the parishioners today. The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs has been leading the response to the Pope on that

front suggested, let's call this a year where we have solutions when it comes to Yemen.

We have an agreement, both sides have to agree, but let's have peace by the end of 2019 was the message clearly coming from the UAE.

LU STOUT: A noble goal. John Defterios reporting live for us, thank you. Now, meanwhile, rights groups, they are urging Muslim nations and E.U.

states to take the lead in seeking U.N. help on Uyghurs. Campaigners including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are calling for a UN

investigation into what they call China's forced indoctrination of some one million Uyghurs in its far western province of Xinjiang.

The executive director of Human Rights Watch says this, quote, "The abuse in Xinjiang today is so severe that it cries out for international action."

Beijing said that it would welcome UN officials if they avoided, quote, "interfering in domestic matters," but has also repeatedly denied

accusations of ethnic cleansing over its so called de-radicalization camps.

A new study is revealing dire consequences for the Himalayan region. It has found that rising temperatures could melt away at least one-third of

the ice in the Himalayas by the end of the century and what is an optimistic scenario, assuming the most ambitious climate change targets are

met, but if the goals are not achieved, two-thirds of the Himalaya's colossal glaciers could vanish.

The glaciers have been thinning since the 1970s and report says that there has been an accelerating rate of retreat since then. Now, we spoke to the

coeditor of the Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment earlier and she says the consequences of inaction are devastating.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADITI MUKHERJI, HINDU KUSH HIMALAYA ASSESSMENT: What's happening is, even assuming that the world is able to limit its global warming within the 1.5

degree which, I mean, we all know is increasingly uncertain with the kind of geopolitics that is playing out. Even then, we would be losing around

one-third of the Himalayan glaciers.

Immediate impacts would be increase in disasters such as glacial lake outbursts, floods which would affect mountain community and then the other

next level of impact would be changes in the river flows.

Glaciers have always been part of this landscape and it is extremely likely that our children and our grandchildren would just read about glaciers in

their books and not really be able to see them anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Wow. Hard to imagine something like that, but that's what she says there and it could very well be true. This stunning mountain range

that runs across eight countries, including India and China, and the water from its glaciers contributes to the food, water and energy needs of nearly

two billion people. You're watching "News Stream" and still to come, flames race through an apartment building in Paris with deadly

consequences. Why authorities suspect there could be foul play.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]

LU STOUT: I'm Kristi Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines. Pope Francis is on his way back to the

Vatican after celebrating the first ever Papal Mass on the Arabian Peninsula. He made an appeal for peace in front of a crowd of 170,000

people in and around the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Moscow is weighing in on the ongoing crisis in Venezuela. State media reports that Russia's Foreign Minister says it could only be resolved if

the country's embattled President and the opposition sit down and talk to each other. Sergey Lavrov wants Venezuela to avoid regime change which he

says would be brought about by the west.

Police in the Australian city of Townsville have discovered the bodies of two men killed in flooding. The coastal city in Queensland is largely

under water and there is no sign that the rain will let up anytime soon. Hundreds are in shelters and some 20,000 homes are at risk.

At least ten people are dead after a fire broke out in an eight-story apartment building in Paris overnight. Dozens are injured, including

several firefighters. A woman who lives in the building has been taken into custody. CNN's Melissa Bell is in Paris. She joins us now with more

on this story. And Melissa, at least ten people dead, dozens injured, a woman taken into custody. What happened and why?

MELISSA BELL, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, these were the extraordinary pictures, these extraordinary -- this extraordinary fire that was set

ablaze, we believe, just after 1:00 a.m. Now, these pictures, which were very dramatic. This is a fire, Kristie that raged for five hours. It took

250 firemen and women to bring it under control, 50 people were rescued.

And you can see in that building that it is the very top floors where the fire is raging most fiercely, some dramatic rescue pictures from over the

course of the night. Six of those wounded, of course, were firemen. This was a very delicate operation. There were fears throughout that some of

those upper floors might collapse.

That was brought under control in the early hours of the morning. But as you say, a 40-year-old woman who we know was known to have psychological

problems was arrested from the street outside even as that blaze was raging. What we understand from a number of eyewitnesses, a number of

those who were there in the building and survived, some sort of altercation broke out over the course of the night, they say, opposing some of the

residents and this woman who was playing too much noise making too much noise, playing loud music.

And it was then at is1:00 a.m. that the fire was announced and that the firemen were called to the scene of what we knew know was a crime scene,

Kristie.

LU STOUT: Horrific event. Melissa Bell reporting live for us from Paris. Melissa, thank you.

And now to a shocking revelation from actor Liam Neeson who says he once contemplated racist revenge. Neeson tells a British newspaper, "The

Independent" that years ago, he took to the streets with the heavy stick as a weapon after learning that a loved one had been raped. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIAM NEESON, AMERICAN ACTOR: I asked, did you know who he was? No. What color were they? She said it was a black person. I've gone up and down

area with a cosh hoping I would be approached by somebody. I'm ashamed to say that and I did it for maybe a week hoping some black bastard would come

out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know, so that I could kill him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: The 66-year-old actor now says he is ashamed of his horrible behavior. He added that growing up around violence in Northern Ireland

taught him revenge is never a solution. Neeson gave the interview to promote his new film, it's called "Cold Pursuit" in which he plays a father

who is seeking the a revenge after the death of his son.

[15:35:10]

LU STOUT: Now, millions are marking and celebrating the Lunar New Year and welcoming the Year of the Pig, but here in Hong Kong, it seems 2019 really

is the Year of the Wild Boar. Just ahead, why the beasts are wandering the streets and what the city plans to do about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: It is an annual tradition here in Hong Kong, the big Lunar New Year parade. Live pictures on your screen as the dancing, the fan dancing,

the guy in the pig suit also in the mix all underway happening right now as we mark the Lunar New Year and it is the Year of the Pig.

But it is not just any pig. According to the Chinese calendar, 2019 is the year of the Earth Pig. Now the pig, it was the last animal sign in the 12-

year cycle. It's often considered a very auspicious year, signifying wealth, fortune, and all that stuff.

But as the celebrations abound, Hong Kong is wary of the wild ones as the city gets more boar than it asks for.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

LU STOUT (voice over): Why did the pigs cross the road? Well, to look for food in urban areas of Hong Kong and that's a problem. Wild pigs or boars

have been spotted munching at barbecue pits, snacking on leftovers and digging into rubbish.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (Through a translator): I've seen people feed them over the past year. There have been more posters telling people not to

feed the wild boars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT (voice over): The animals are native to the region and usually hidden away in country parks. But they are gaining in numbers and in

confidence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONI WONG, WILD BOAR CONCERN GROUP (Through a translator): Most of the Hong Kong wild boars at this point have already lost their fear of humans.

Lots of people are giving them food to eat which causes them to lose their natural feeding instincts and rely on humans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT (voice over): It is a potentially dangerous situation for both people and animals as they turn up in places they're not supposed to be.

As sightings of wild pigs in Hong Kong have more than doubled in the last five years, the government's Conservation Department recently started a

capture and contraception campaign.

They may not normally be aggressive animals, but after a number of attacks on humans in the last year, there were calls for more drastic action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY YOUNG, HONG KONG CENTRAL AND WESTERN DISTRICT COUNCILO: I think we need to revisit what used to be done before which were selectively shooting

pigs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT (voice over): As Hong Kong enters the Year of the Pig, residents are on the lookout for the wild ones. The last thing they want to see,

more piggish behavior.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LU STOUT: Thankfully, no wild boar sightings here at the annual Lunar New Year parade here in Hong Kong. Live pictures on the big wall behind me.

Today is the parade and on Wednesday, day two of the Lunar New Year celebrations, the Hong Kong Harbor is going to light up even more than

usual. We're going to bring you the fireworks tomorrow as they happen live right here on "News Stream."

Now across the Middle East, futuristic buildings and huge skyscrapers dominate the skyline. But in Doha, they are redefining the rules of urban

development and embracing Arab heritage and design. Here is "Iconic Qatar."

[15:40:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): For decades across the Middle East, break neck development has resulted in a skyline dominated by high-rises. Vast

steel and glass structures with a race to build the tallest, the biggest and the boldest. But in the tiny state of Qatar, they are rethinking and

redefining urban development.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FATIMA FAWZY, DESIGN MANAGER, MSHEIREB PROPERTIES: I always dreamed to change the architecture practice in Qatar and, as a single architect, you

can't do this by yourself and here we are, my wish and my dream came true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Msheireb downtown is one of the largest regeneration projects in the world and one of the single biggest

construction projects in the Middle East. The site is vast, covering 75 acres, the size of 43 football pitches.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAWZY: We are at Al Kahraba Street, the environment of the street is the way it used to be since 1960s. When you look at the street itself, you

could see how the building can make a shade for the pedestrians. This is a demand of today, but it's also the way it used to be.

The alignment of the street is north-south, which is taking the breathing of the wind coming all the way from the north, so it cools the place, it

cools the people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): More than a hundred buildings have been constructed on this $5.5 billion project. Each building, embracing customs

and traditions from the past.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARK WILLIAMS, MARKETING DIRECTOR, MSHEIREB PROPERTIES: We have museums. We have three major hotels. We have a school and we also have a shopping

area, a galleria. All the city streets will have their own retail and food and beverage. So as you walk through the city, you have all aspects of a

pure mixed use development.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Cars and delivery trucks have been driven six floors underground, creating one of the world's largest interconnected

car parks with 10,000 parking spaces and miles and miles of service delivery tunnels.

High above, thousands of solar panels help power this smart city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAMS: It's the smartest and most sustainable city district in the world, 75% of our hot water generated here is solar panels and we're

capturing all of the condensation from the air-conditioning units so you can use it for your drinking water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): The development is already redefining Qatar's approach to architecture and its embrace of Arab heritage and

design.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAWZY: With Msheireb, you have a living example of modern, beautiful architectures, something rooted in the past. It's going the change how

people look at architectures in Qatar.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LU STOUT: And that is "News Stream." I'm Kristi Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere, "World Sport" with Amanda Davies is next.

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