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Iraqi Troops Fight To Take Back Fallujah; President Obama Talks Human Rights in Vietnam; Mexican Government Taking Steps to Preserve Totoaba, Vaquita; Louis van Gaal Officially Out As Manager of Manchester United; Trump, Clinton Attacks Heat Up; Inside China's Largest Telecom Company. Aired 8:00a-9:00a ET

Aired May 24, 2016 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:27] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to News Stream.

Now, Iraqi troops fight to take back Fallujah, trying to drive ISIS out of a city just west of

Baghdad.

President Obama talks human rights in Vietnam, and calls for a peaceful resolution to

tensions in the South China Sea.

And an endangered fish prized in Hong Kong for its bladder. We talk to conservationists about how to save the totoaba.

In Iraq, just an hour's drive from the capital Baghdad, an intense battle is being waged.

Iraqi troops are fighting to retake Fallujah, one of two major Iraqi cities still under ISIS control.

The army has been preparing for this for months. It has choked off supply routes into the city and U.S. warplanes have been pounding ISIS

targets, but there are fears that civilians are being caught in the crossfire.

The UN says that dozens of families have left in the past few days, but thousands more are believed to still be trapped, and many are starving.

Now, those who live in Fallujah are no strangers to fighting. Two major battles took place

there during the Iraq war in 2004. U.S. forces swept through the city hunting down jihadists door

to door.

Now, they were some of the bloodiest battles American troops had fought in Iraq, and the mission succeeded in clearing out insurgents, but

Fallujah was left in ruins. It took years to rebuild.

But in 2014 it fell once again to extremists, this time ISIS. Now, the terrorists have done whatever they can to keep Iraqi troops away. At

one point, they flooded villages by opening the gates of a dam.

And even now, as Iraqi forces are closing in, activists say that ISIS is barring civilians from

leaving.

Now, for more on the battle for Fallujah let's bring in CNN's Ben Wedeman. He has been reported -- he has reported extensively from Iraq.

He joins us live now from Rome. And, Ben, with the offensive now fully under way, there is tremendous concern about the fate of the civilians in

Fallujah. What do we know?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know is that according to the United Nations, there are as many 10,000 families,

the number perhaps 70,000 civilians still stuck inside Fallujah.

Now, before the war it had a population of about 300,000, And, of course, the city has been surrounded by Iraqi forces for months now who

have been trying to cut off supplies to the city, to ISIS, but, of course, effectively to the civilian inhabitants of the city as well. And so

they've already been suffering from shortages of clean water, food and medicine. And now, of

course, the city is going to be a full-blown battle zone.

And ISIS has had two-and-a-half years to prepare for this battle. It took over the city in January

2014. And as we've seen in other urban areas in Iraq and Tikrit and Baiji (ph) and Ramadi and elsewhere, where ISIS has been in control, they've put

a lot of time and resources into building tunnels, boobytraps and other ways to make it very difficult for any sort of offensive Iraqi force to

move in.

And with, of course, as many as 70,000 people in the middle of that, it's almost, unfortunately, inevitable that there are going to be civilian

casualties. The Iraqi government has urged people to leave the city, but ISIS apparently isn't letting that happen.

Those who can't leave have been advised by the Iraqi government to raise a white flag over their

homes -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: This is going to be a deadly battle. As you point out, Fallujah has been under ISIS

control more than two years. It is one of the last two remaining ISIS strongholds in Iraq.

Will Iraqi forces succeed here in retaking the city? How long could this operation take?

WEDEMAN: It's fairly clear, Kristie, that they will eventually be able to retake the city. They've had trouble along the way when it comes

to regaining territory from ISIS, but if you look at Tikrit, which is a city north of Baghdad, Saddam Hussein's home town, Baiji to the north of

Tikrit, Ramadi, also in Anbar Province, last week Rutba (ph) which is on the road between Baghdad and Jordan, all of those cities have been retaken.

But it takes a lot of time.

As I said, ISIS, they are masters at IEDs and other boobytraps. So it's really hard going, and

even after, for instance, it was late December when the Iraqi government announced that they had been able to liberate Ramadi, the other major city

in Anbar Province, from ISIS, but it was for weeks afterwards that there was sporadic fighting, ambush of Iraqi army forces.

So it's difficult. It takes time. And, of course, ISIS if nothing else, has proved to be very effective, albeit brutal foe -- Kristie.

[08:06:04] LU STOUT: As ISIS is under pressure with this operation underway in Fallujah, there is a lot of concern about the safety and

security of civilians in the Iraqi capital. What's your thinking now about the fate and future of Baghdad?

WEDEMAN: Well, one of the reasons why the Iraqi government has decided to push this offensive on Fallujah as opposed to, for instance,

Mosul, is that they believe that many of the car bombs that have plagued the Iraqi capital for months, in fact, years, are being assembled in

Fallujah. And in recent weeks as many as 200 people in Baghdad have been killed in these car bombs. So they're hoping that by eliminating ISIS in

Fallujah, they will be able to eliminate that threat.

But at the same time, there's a whole other dimension, as there always is in Iraq, to the situation, and that is the political unrest in the Iraqi

capital. We've seen twice in the last few weeks where thousands of supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shiite cleric, have entered the once was

the secure Green Zone where the Iraqi parliament and the prime minister's office are located, occupy those buildings. They're calling for an end to

corruption within the government.

So, the government may feel at the same time it has to show that it's strong by pushing this offensive in Fallujah -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: All right, Ben Wedeman reporting for us live. Thank you, Ben.

And now to the race to the White House. New polls showing Donald Trump gaining ground on Hillary Clinton in a potential U.S. presidential

matchup.

Now, the first from NBC News and The Wall Street Journal has Trump three points behind Clinton. Another poll, this one from The Washington

Post and ABC News shows Trump ahead by two points.

Now, the average of the two polls puts the candidates in a statistical deadheat.

Our Phil Mattingly joins us from CNN New York for more. And, Phil, the attacks between Clinton and Trump are escalating in a big way.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, no question about it, Kristie. They are only increasing and only going to escalate even more in

the weeks and months ahead. And part of the reason is those polls you cited. There is a recognition inside both of these campaigns that with the

high negatives both candidates share, attacking is the only way to win.

But it's also worth noting, now is the time to define your opponent. That's kind of tradition in politics and it's very clear Hillary Clinton

and Donald Trump both subscribing to that theory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, 2016 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are going to unify the Democratic Party and stop Donald Trump.

MATTINGLY: Hillary Clinton taking a new line of attack against Donald Trump, her campaign painting Trump as a greedy billionaire in a new ad.

DONALD TRUMP, 2016 REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I sort of hope that happens, because then people like me would go in and buy.

MATTINGLY: Harkening back to Trump's controversial comments before the 2008 housing market collapse.

TRUMP: If there is a bubble burst, as they call it, you know, you could make a lot of money.

MATTINGLY: Clinton swiping at the presumptive nominee on multiple fronts before a union crowd Monday, issuing a warning about Trump's four

bankruptcies surrounding his casino holdings.

CLINTON: He could bankrupt America like he's bankrupted his companies.

MATTINGLY: And sticking with another tried and true assault, Trump's temperament.

CLINTON: the last thing we need is a bully in the pulpit.

MATTINGLY: All as the billionaire continues to hound Bill Clinton's past infidelity, sending one of his top advisers to swipe at Hillary

Clinton.

ED BROOKOVER, DONALD TRUMP SENIOR ADVISER: She overregulates, she overtaxes, she overpromises and doesn't deliver.

MATTINGLY: The hostility spreading with both candidates, facing record high negatives in the most recent polls, but Trump is getting new

support from Capitol Hill in the form of Tennessee Senator Bob Corker.

[08:10:03] SEN. BOB CORKER, (R) TENNESSEE: His approach to foreign policy is something I want to hear more about. I heard more about it

today, and I appreciated that.

MATTINGLY: Though Corker is still downplaying talk that he may be high on Trump's VP list.

CORKER: I'm not angling for any job, I think the best way to not end up in a position like those is to angle for it. But I have no indication

whatsoever that I would even be considered.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: So, Kristie, the intrigue over who will be Donald Trump's running mate, that's going to continue likely until July at Republican

National Convention.

But it is important to point out with Hillary Clinton Donald Trump both on the campaign trail

today, those attacks are only going to escalate in the days, weeks and months ahead.

LU STOUT: And, Phil, the attacks getting so ugly. I've heard that both candidates are getting record high negatives in recent polling.

So, I mean, what are voters thinking now? What's their approach here as election day approaches? Will they vote for a given candidate or will

they make a protest vote against a given candidate?

MATTINGLY: It's early and it's important to note that it's early on these polls and they can shift. But at the moment, it's the latter,

Kristie. More voters, I think more than 50 percent both supporting Hillary Clinton and supporting Donald Trump are voting against somebody, not for

that particular candidate.

And that's just something you don't traditionally see in politics. It shows how polarizing not

just these two candidates are, Kristie, but how polarized the political system is on the whole.

No longer are you searching out the candidate that talks about what you care about or that provides hope for you, now it's making sure the

candidate you don't like doesn't get into office, Kristie.

LU STOUT: The protest vote, as it were.

Phil Mattingly reporting for us. Thank you.

And you can get an inside look at America's remarkable race for the White House. You can check out our new program. It's called State of the

Race with Kate Bolduan. It's happening weeknights, 7:30 p.m. in London, Tuesday to Friday at 2:30 p.m. in Hong Kong happening right here, of

course, on CNN.

Now, the U.S. president is on a historic visit to Vietnam as the former enemies now strengthen ties. He landed a short time ago in Ho Chi

Minh City, arriving from Hanoi and paid his respects at the famed Jade Pagoda, a Taoist temple.

Now, a day ago, Mr. Obama announced that the U.S. is ending its ban on selling weapons to Vietnam. He also called for a peaceful resolution to

disputes in the South China Sea.

Now, Mr. Obama has been dismissing suggestions that renewing ties with Vietnam is meant to counter China, but it appears the move could rustle

feathers in Beijing.

Now, right here on the front cover of today's China Daily a, quote, Chinese analyst is saying that the U.S. is indeed, quote, "charting a clear

course aimed at containing China."

Now, CNN's an Alexandra Field joins me now with more from Ho Chi Minh City. Alexandra, there in Vietnam, President Obama this day he's been

bringing up sensitive topics like human rights and freedom of speech. How has that been received there?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Kristie, We can't understate the significance and the importance of the fact that President

Obama is talking about what you call these controversial issues while he is here in Vietnam, but what's equally significant is the fact that his

remarks from Hanoi this morning, which were made in front of about 2000 people, including business leaders, government leaders and students were

also broadcast live on local television in Vietnam which means that people across this country were listening in as the president of the United States

addressed head-on the issue of human rights.

This is something that a lot of people were expecting him to take on during his time here, frankly, and that is because human rights groups have

closely watched and scrutinized the human rights record in this country pointing to issues like the jailing of dissidents and stalled political

reforms.

You did hear the president really use a large portion of his speech in Hanoi this morning to talk about that issue, talking about universal values

that are shared, and shared values between Vietnam and the U.S.

He said, look, Vietnam is a sovereign nation. No country can impose its will on Vietnam, but he returned to this idea of shared values saying

that freedom of assembly, freedom of speech are values that are shared between the U.S. and Vietnam and he said that it was freedom of thought

which fuels innovation, which creates job growth which boosts the economy.

And we know that the explicit and stated purpose of this trip, Kristie, is largely about increasing and drumming up economic cooperation

between these two countries as well as security cooperation.

LU STOUT: Yeah, absolutely. Trade will be the focus there for the U.S. president in Ho Chi Minh City. We know that President Obama wants to

boost support for his TPP, Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal which has been struggling on Capitol Hill.

What's the outlook on that topic, on the TPP and on trade with Vietnam?

FIELD: Yeah, look, he's making the case certainly for the TPP, taking every opportunity he has

to continue to make the case for it and touting what he believes are the benefits to Vietnam.

So we heard him when he arrived here in Ho Chi Minh City today. He went to something called Dreamplex (ph), which is a place that fosters

entrepreneurs and start-ups. And he talked to them about how the TPP would increase economic opportunities for entrepreneurs coming out of Vietnam.

He also talked earlier in Hanoi today about how he believes the TPP would improve human rights by improving labor conditions in this country and

contributing to a higher wage.

So he is using these opportunities to tout what he believes are the benefits of the TPP not just to

Vietnam but to the 12 nations that would be involved in this pact, and that is despite, or maybe because of, the opposition that he has run into in

Washington, where this has stalled out. The president has expressed confidence that he will get TPP through. He wants it to be a part of his

legacy, but the flip side of that, Kristie, we know is that the presidential candidates running for election in the U.S., Hillary Clinton

and Donald Trump, have both rejected this idea of the TPP.

So, important for him while he's here on the ground to really sell this agreement, Kristie.

[11:16:00] LU STOUT: Absolutely.

Alexandra Field reporting from the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, thank you so much, Alex, and take care.

Now, rescuers are searching for two Indian climbers who are missing on Mount Everest. This comes after a deadly week on the world's highest peak.

Since Thursday, four other climbers died in as many days. One person plunged to death

while attempting to fix a route for future climbers, while two others suffered complications from altitude sickness and one had a heart attack on

his way back from a climb.

Now, these tragedies come as Mount Everest opens for the first time in two years after back-to-back disasters. Danger has long been part of the

allure of climbing the world's highest peak. More than 250 mountaineers have died since the first official ascent back in 1953. But year after

year, hundreds still attempt the perilous climb.

Now part of what makes the ascent so treacherous here, at more than 8,800 meters, the air is so thin the oxygen level is a third of what's

available at sea level. Now, the peak is even with the cruising altitude of a plane making it difficult to breathe.

The winds are also fierce, the weather unpredictable, the terrain deadly. And temperatures at the summit can dip lower than minus 30

degrees.

You're watching News Stream. Still ahead in the program, Bill Cosby is in court. The comedian is preparing for a pretrial hearing for indecent

assault, which may bring him face to face with one of his accusers.

Also ahead, a change at the top for the world's most famous football club. The question is, who will replace Louis van Gaal as manager of

Manchester United?

And lifting the lid on a lucrative black market in China, how the high-priced demand more

this fish product is killing off an already endangered species.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:20:02] LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watching News

Stream. Now, in just over an hour from now comedian Bill Cosby could come face to face with one of his accusers in court.

A pretrial hearing is set to begin in the indecent assault case against him and Cosby is required to be there. But it's unclear whether

the woman he's accused of drugs and sexually exalting will attend. The U.S. judge will decide whether there's enough evidence to take the case to

trial.

More than 50 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct. He has denied these accusations.

Now, Manchester United may be close to finding a new manager. The English Premier League club sacked Louis van Gaal, after two seasons at Old

Trafford and now we're hearing the team may be working on a deal with a replacement.

Now, World Sport's Amanda Davies joins me now live from CNN London. And Amanda, who will stepping in to be the new manager of Man U?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Kristie, it ssems it's not a very well-kept secret. We think it's probably more than when, not if, Jose

Mourinho will join Manchester United as their new manager.

We understand his representatives are in the UK. They flew in on Tuesday to begin the serious discussions, should we say, with the

Manchester United hierarchy after they officially announced late on Monday that they had parted company with Louis van Gaal.

It has been rumored of course for some 48 hours before that, since just after United won that piece of silverware, the FA Cup at Wembley

Stadium on Saturday after that victory over Crystal Palace when there was that very uncomfortable news conference which saw Louis van Gaal having to

answer questions whether or not he'd been sacked when he seemingly knew absolutely nothing about it.

There was a statement finally released by Manchester United with the executive vice chairman Ed Woodward thanking van Gaal for his, quote,

"great professionalism and dignity" saying another statement will be made in due course about the identity of the new manager. We very much expect

that to be the former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. The decisions are ongoing.

Also discussions about what it means for Ryan Giggs, the former assistant manager under Louis

van Gaal, who was expected to take over from van Gaal as manager at the end of next season. We understand he has been offered a role with Manchester

United, but whether it's a role under Jose Mourinho that he will accept, we wait to hear.

LU STOUT: So we are waiting confirmation about the Special One, but ahead of that, Amanda, what is the feeling inside the club? Do they feel

that sacking their Dutch coach, their dutch manager, was the right move to get them that's going to get them winning again?

DAVIES: I think the feeling was that United, that there had to be a change. They'd somewhat been pushed into a corner, not only because of

Manchester City down the road hiring the fantastic coach that is Pep Guardiola, the former Barcelona boss, former Bayern Munich boss, who United

themselves were coveting. Butt once he decided to go to City, their great rivals, and then when

United failed to qualify for the Champions League next season, combined with what had been a

real dissatisfaction with the style of play at Old Trafford this term. There were more backwards passes by Manchester United this season than any

other team in the league. Their lowest goal scoring tally across the board since 1990, and though a feeling amongst the players that

the style was boring.

The former legendary goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel described the play as boring. Paul Scholes also also others spoke out about it.

They feel that United need to do something different. Jose Mourinho made no secret of the fact that he wanted to go to Old Trafford, after

leaving that post at Chelsea.

He had been noted, you might remember, as being a potential successor to Alex Ferguson when he retired three years ago. But the feeling then was

that he was maybe too big for the club. So much is about Jose Mourinho, not about the football team that he is involved with, that often the

headlines get carried away around him, and not the team.

There is still a section of people at Manchester United in the board room who hold those reservations still, but the feeling is that something

had to change. Jose Mourinho at least in the short-term has a proven track record of bringing in trophies. He's won the

Champions League, he's won three Premier League titles, La Liga and Serie A. And though he

might not hold the values that Manchester United traditionally have held so dearly in terms of developing the youth system, bringing players through,

playing and attacking flowing style of football, at least he's something different to what they have at the moment.

[08:25:10] LU STOUT: Yeah, and a lot of hope about whether he could turn around fortunes at Man U. Amanda Davies reporting for take care.

Now the Chinese smartphone maker Huawei is now firmly placed as the number three smartphone maker in the world behind only Samsung and Apple.

Andrew Stevens goes inside Huawei's headquarters in Shenzhen for this closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A new day starts on the Huawei campus. A small army of caterers stand ready to serve breakfast in what would be the first of literally tens of thousands of meals over

this day to a workforce at the heart of China's booming tech industry.

CNN has been given rare access to the headquarters of China's first truly international tech

company, Huawei, a global telecoms equipment and consumer products giant. And this is their hub, their HQ and campus in China's southern city of

Shenzhen, a sprawling two square kilometers of modern steel and glass and perfectly manicured greenery.

The campus is the closest thing China has to its own Silicon Valley.

Nearly 60,000 people work here, average age: 33. People like Xiang Jitian (ph), or Leopold as he calls himself in English. He's a chipset

designer, a graduate of the prestigious Peking University and has been at Huawei for two years.

Why did you want to come and work at Huawei?

LEOPOLD XIANG, CHIPSET DESIGN ENGINEER, HUAWEI: Very interesting technology. A fast growing company. I want be to an authority in my

profession.

STEVENS: Keeping talent like Leopold is key for tech companies across the world and China is no exception. Huawei takes on about 10,000 new

graduates, paying about two to three times more than the average graduate salary. It's also taken a leap out of Silicon Valley's playbook on softer

incentives. The 3,200 apartments on campus are subsidized. Leopold pays about $160 a month. It's spartan, but practical.

There's also a sports club on campus, which has its own basketball league, badminton court, gym and multiple swimming pools. But what's

striking here is that for a campus of 60,000 people that so few people outside the office during work hours, none of the more free-wheeling

corporate culture that pervades the real Silicon Valley.

But there is food and lots of it. There's certainly no shortage of selection when it comes to

feeding the thousands of people every day. You can get Thai, Korean, Japanese, Indian, Halal and, of course, Chinese.

And when in China, but unlike many of the Silicon Valley companies, here you have to pay for your food. In fact, staff pay for just about

everything here -- no free food or medical checkups, no free massages or haircuts as offered by Google.

But for people like Leopold, it's the job that really matters. He says as long as he's solving problems and creating new projects, he's

happy.

Do you, Leopold, have any interest in working for an American company, for a Silicon Valley company?

XIANG: I think. If the position is the same and they, if my -- if the company I was worked for now can perform a platform for me, I would not

choose to change.

STEVENS: You would not choose to change?

XIANG: Yeah. I think it's good. And I think I'm growing up.

STEVENS: And that's exactly what companies like Huawei want to hear.

Andrew Stevens, CNN, Shenzhen, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And after the break, we go straight to Egypt where

forensic investigators are working to find out what brought down EgyptAir flight 804. Now five days on, are we closer to an answer?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:32:47] LU STOUT: A morgue in Cairo is now the staging ground for remains believed to be from EgyptAir flight 804. An official from the

morgue tells CNN it is too early to tell whether an explosion led to the crash.

And families have been arriving at the morgue to give DNA samples in an effort to identify the victims.

And after five days, there is still no firm theory on what went wrong. The search remains under way for the plane's black boxes.

And for the latest on the investigation, our international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joins me now from Alexandria.

Nic, I understand that there is new and conflicting information about final moments of the

plane. What's the latest on that?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Egyptian authorities have said from their radar readings of the last minute of the

plane's travel, they were not aware that it -- the plane maneuvered in the way described by the Greek air traffic control.

Greek air traffic control, of course, described the last seconds where the plane pitches to the left, 90 degrees then pitches to the right 360

degrees then rapidly descends many thousands of feet.

Egyptian air authorities say they are not seeing this same twisting in the air in the last moments, but, of course, as we know from U.S. experts

that have analyzed this information as well, they have said that merely what the Greek authorities may have seen may have been the plane breaking

up, and that's what they picked up on radar.

Meanwhile, as you say, that the morgue in Cairo, very important work is being done now to identify the remains of passengers and crew brought

ashore, that have been recovered so far. What we're told by officials at the morgue is that 15 bags containing human remains have been handed to

them.

39 families so far have given DNA samples to help in the DNA analysis, but most importantly,

has this evidence that the morgue now has in its hands, has that provided any insights yet into what happened on board the aircraft? And they say

they have found no evidence so far of any explosions. However, they say that to do those type of tests is going to take more time, to test for

explosive residue, is going to take more time and is certainly a process that will be compounded by the fact that these pieces were recovered from

the sea that will make it harder to make those tests.

Also, they tell us that they have now retrieved 18 pieces of debris from the sea, Kristie.

All right, Nic Robertson there with the latest on the search. Thank you.

Now, rare marine life facing extinction because of demand from China. Now, next we look at how these dried fish bladders are spelling doom for

already endangered species.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LU STOUT: Now here in Hong Kong if you walk through the district of Shangwan (ph) you'd be sure to see this: containers, jars, drums all full

of dried fish products, a Chinese delicacy.

But there is such a tremendous appetite for one particular organ it's created a black market.

Now, this is the bladder of the totoaba, it's a fish which only exists in the Gulf of California. It's also endangered and therefore illegal to

sell in Hong Kong.

But when CNN went undercover posing as Chinese tourists, what we found was alarming.

Now, the vendor you see here on this video told our team that he could get his hand on totoaba bladder to, quote, make more beautiful for an

estimated cost of $100,000.

And there's an even uglier side to this illegal trade, another creature is being killed as poachers hunt the totoaba. The vaquita is a

small dolphin-like mammal, it's getting caught in fishing nets where they are drowned. It is now on the verge of extinction.

Now, the World Wildlife Fund has been fighting to save these critically endangered species. And Omar Vidal is the fund's director-

general in Mexico. He joins me now by Skype.

Omar, thank you for joining us.

We know that the demand for the totoaba bladder has now put the vaquita, the world's smallest porpoise under threat. How close is the

vaquita to extinction?

OMAR VIDAL, DIRECTOR GENERAL, WWF MEXICO: Hi, Kristie. Actually it's very close. It's on the brink of extinction. We have lost 40 percent of

the population over the last year.

The international recovery team supported by the Mexican government reports that last year that we have about 97 vaquitas. And just two weeks

ago, the last census has indicated that they are only around 60 animals left.

LU STOUT: The vaquita is critically endangered. You've been appealing to the Mexican government to stop illegal fishing inside its

territory. Is the government listening to you?

VIDAL: Well, last year the government, the federal government, launched a very bold and ambitious strategy, which is comprises of banning

net fisheries over two years, compensated the fishermen with $70 million, and also it's (inaudible) the use of fishing to allow fishermen to make a

living.

Unfortunately after a year, things have not worked as planned. So, we are closely working with

the Mexican government. We are coordinating with them. We're working with the fishermen.

And obviously this is very important, because this species is the smallest of all whales, dolphins and porpoises, and also it is the most

endangered of the 128 marine mammals in the world. If this Mexican species, some people say, it is similar to the panda, because of the

colorations around the eyes and the mouth.

[08:40:11] LU STOUT: And tell us us what's at stake here. When the totoaba is gone, when

the vaquita porpoise is gone, what will happen?

VIDAL: Well, that is one of the major issues here. The vaquita has attracted attention from the national and international community, the

Mexican government and so somehow has been kind of a garden of the mental health of the upper Gulf of California. So once the

vaquita is gone, I'm afraid that the environmental protections, the support for that region for the fishermen will evaporate and you

will actually lose the totoaba, sharks and other endangered species. and so it is very important to consider the people living there. You have

families there. There are fishermen there, and I think we can save the vaquita. I think we can offer an alternative to the fishermen for the

long-term.

LU STOUT: And do you think the fishing communities of Mexico can offer a ray of hope? Are they being educated about these beautiful

animals? And are they changing their practices by using safe fishing gear?

VIDAL: Well, one thing that we have to be clear here is nobody wants to kill vaquitas. The fishermen are not going to fish to kill vaquitas.

They like this animal. They feel proud of them, but unfortunately when they use these gill nets, being illegal for totoaba or other kind of gill

nets who are extreme, vaquitas are entangled.

So the point here is we need to give urgently an alternative to the fishermen to make a

living and this is why we have been working over the last year with the Mexican government.

Unfortunately, we are losing precious time, and we need to act more aggressively now in

terms of enforcement and in terms it of given alternative options to the local fishermen.

LU STOUT: All right. Omar Vidal, thank you so much for joining us and thank you to you

and your team for fighting to protect these animals. Take care.

VIDAL: Thank you very much.

LU STOUT: And finally here on News Stream, celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain he has had plenty of memorable meals. We know that. But this one

you've probably seen and it's definitely unforgettable. He managed to grab dinner with the U.S. President Barack Obama who is on that diplomatic

visit to Vietnam. And Bourdain, he posted his picture on Istagram showing the two of them eating at a restaurant in Hanoi, noodles and beer a total

of $6.

Bourdain says he picked up the tab.

Now, their meeting it will be featured in an upcoming episode of Bourdain's program Parts Unknown. It will be happening in September right

here on CNN.

And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere. World Sport with Alex Thomas is next.

END