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Anti-U.S. Base Activists Win Crucial Vote in Okinawa; French Authorities Arrest Man Accused of Planning Attacks During Euro 2016; The Dangerous Flight from Fallujah; Remembering Muhammad Ali. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired June 06, 2016 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:01:05] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to News Stream.
Now, assault rifles, grenade launchers, explosives, all headed for France. Two people arrested in Ukraine accused of planning terror attacks during
Euro 2016.
And escape from Fallujah: those who fled the atrocities of ISIS begin to tell us their stories.
And just how much of a threat is North Korea? The South's defense minister speaks exclusively to CNN and shares his view on what new weapons the south
needs.
The security service of Ukraine says it has made two arrests. A Frenchman and an accomplice who are planning attacks in France during the Euro 2016
football championship. They say they plan to blow up bridges, a mosque and a synagogue. Undercover agents have given the Frenchmen a cache of
weapons, including explosives.
Now, plans for heavy security at the tournament in place for some time and the arrest came after the French president said the threat of an attack is
very real.
Now, Jim Bittermann joins me now live from Paris with more. And Jim, these arrests are a chilling reminder of what officials are up against. Tell us
more about this terror plot that was foiled here.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN INERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's absolutely a reality check for the French officials, although they're not saying very
much about it. It's all coming from -- most of it, anyway, is coming from the Ukrainian Secret Service, which released photos and video of his French
subject who has been identified by reports as a 25-year-old Frenchman from the town of -- near the town of Annecy (ph) in Eastern France.
And he apparently purchased these weapons in the Ukraine, that the Ukrainians were apparently watching him for some time, some months and
thought he was maybe involved in arms trade. They were -- in kind of a sting operation, actually furnished him with some of the weapons that he
then was caught with as he was crossing the border between the Ukraine and Poland.
Of course, if he'd made it into Poland he would have been within the Schengen zone, so he would have been able to freely transit borders with
those weapons without too much monitoring at all.
So, whether or not he had these various sites in mind himself or whether he was just buying his weapons on behalf of someone else is a story that
they'll probably want to know more about.
But one of the things that indicates to people here, observers here, that, in fact, this may not be a terror cell as such, but rather just an arms
dealer -- arms dealer is bad enough-- is the fact that the prosecutor involved is a local prosecutor, not the terrorism prosecutor in Paris --
Kristie.
LU STOUT: Understood. But in light of these arrests there are major security concerns. What kind of security should we expect to see in place
for the Euro 2016 tournament?
BITTERMANN: well, we certainly have been hearing a lot about it from French officials. And in fact, just as this news was breaking here this
morning from Ukraine, in fact, the head of the French policing agency, here in Paris, was saying that they had mobilized large numbers of security
agents to do the job during the Euro 2016 tournament -- 90,000 security agents in all across the country, both private and public security agents
will be on the ground keeping track of things. That sounds like a large number, but when you spread it out among the ten stadiums that have to be
protected -- the fan zones, the hotels for the teams, the practice grounds and that, the 90,000 number doesn't sound so much at all, but it is going
to be a real concern.
The officials have been saying -- or doing everything they can to guarantee security. People who are coming here for the games are likely to see
multiple layers of security as particularly at the fan zones where they'll be screened twice as they go in, at least twice as they go in, and
security, roaming security, inside the fan zones and inside the stadiums. They've mobilized their SWAT teams around the stadiums.
So it would be very tight security. But as they're saying here, 100 percent precaution does not
mean zero risk -- Kristie?
[08:05:35] LU STOUT: All right, Jim Bitterman reporting live from Paris. Thank you, Jim.
Now, Iraqi ground forces and militia loyal to Iraq are pushing in on the key city of Fallujah this hour. But as the military bears down on that
ISIS stronghold, the terror group is fighting back by targeting the town's residents.
The Norwegian refugee council operating in Iraq says as many as 50,000 residents are trapped
in the center of Fallujah. And for those who try to escape, it says they're being shot by the militants.
Now, Ben Wedeman has been speaking with some of the people who managed to escape the embattled city. He joins me now.
And, again, you know, Ben, you've been talking to the families who managed to escape ISIS. What have they didn't telling you?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they've been telling us sort of how they escaped. And in every single case it was really cut --
hit and miss in terms of just being able to get away from ISIS, eventually to the Iraqi forces who have transported them to camps around Fallujah and
also on the outskirts of Baghdad. But everyone you speak to clearly shows this -- signs of being shell shocked all over.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: These children made it out of Fallujah but what they saw, though, stays with them.
Around 350 families from villages around the ISIS stronghold have found safety but not much else, in this dusty camp in Abu Ghraib on the outskirts
of Baghdad. They managed to escape from ISIS, barely. Thelmaly (ph) know the militants were rounding up civilians so he and his family hid in their
home with the door open.
"When ISIS came," he says, "they thought the house was empty. Other families didn't do that, ISIS took them away or killed them in their
homes.
As the battle approached, his village, Talib Ferhan (ph) recalls ISIS told everyone to move to the center of Fallujah to act as human shields.
"It was an order," he says. "If you refused, they'd shoot you on the spot."
His family and three others managed to hide in the marshes for four days, until ISIS retreated.
Huma Khalid (hh), she afraid to give her real name, escaped the town of Saqlawiyah, until this weekend, under ISIS control, but her husband and two
sons, like most men and teenage boys from the area around Fallujah, are being held by Iraqi intelligence for
interrogation under suspicion of ISIS sympathies.
10-year-old Muhammad Arnad (ph) lies awake in a tent almost motionless, his chest and abdomen a mass of festering, bleeding, third-degree burns caused
by an accidental kerosene fire before his family fled their home.
He couldn't be treated during the fighting. And here his father, Nejim (ph), doesn't have the money to take him to hospital in Baghdad for the
treatment Muhammad so desperately needs.
The people here have lost their homes, their livelihoods, all their worldly with possessions, a fate all too common in this desolated land.
The United Nations high commissioner for refugees estimates that around 12,000 people have fled Fallujah and the area around it, but when you look
at the big picture in Iraq, that's just a drop in the bucket. The UN estimates that 3.3 million people have been displaced in
Iraq.
Stuck in limbo, they wait for the battle to end, to some day go back to their homes, or what's left of them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: And, Kristie, that battle is ongoing. And there's no indication at this point how much longer it's going to take for the Iraqi forces to
retake Fallujah. And when we went around the French, the town Saqlawiya, which the Iraqis had taken over just a few days ago, we saw many
of the houses were already destroyed -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: Now, the future is so unconcern for so many Iraqis. Ben Wedeman reporting live for us from Baghdad. Thank you.
The offensive against ISIS is also making gains in Syria. An activist group says Syrian forces backed by Russian warplanes have moved into Raqqa
Province. Now, separately U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab militia, they cut off a key supply route to the city of Raqqa, the militants de facto
capital.
A U.S. aircraft carrier recently moved to the Mediterranean to be closer to targets in Syria and Iraq and our senior international correspondent
Fred Pleitgen went onboard that vessel. he joins us now live from the Greek island of Crete.
And Fred, you've been onboard a very busy flight deck. What have you seen?
PLEITGEN: You're absolutely right, Kristie. It certainly was very busy onboard that aircraft carrier. Really, we could see F-18 Hornets take off
from the carrier deck every couple of minutes. There were some pauses in between, but it certainly was very high intensity operations as we can see
in places like Rebenes (ph) around Fallujah, but also in various places in Syria as the battle against ISIS is heating up there.
The planes from those -- from that aircraft carrier flying a lot more missions than they had been in the past.
Now, the U.S.'s Harry Truman was in the Persian Gulf for the longest time of its deployment, but it's now been moved into this region here, into the
Mediterranean for faster access, especially to targets in syria.
Here's what we saw when onboard.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (voice-over): High intensity operations on the USS Harry Truman. Jets taking off every few minutes to hit ISIS, now from a better position
than before. The Truman just moved from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea, much closer to Syria. We spoke to F-18 pilots flying one
of the first strike missions.
LIEUTENANT "PANUS" PILOT "FIGHTING" 103 (ph): It was a close air support mission. So we don't know the targets prior to taking off. There did happen
to be a few targets. We struck those targets.
PLEITGEN: The U.S. says its air strikes are having a major effect as allied forces on the ground continue to win back territory from the extremists in
places like Fallujah and Iraq and in northern Syria. American jets not only hitting ISIS positions on the front lines, but also supply lines and cash
warehouses.
(on camera): The U.S. has drastically stepped up its bombing of ISIS targets both in Iran and Syria. And the Harry Truman plays an important
role in that stepped up campaign. Now that it's here in the Mediterranean, its jets are even closer to many of the targets they need to hit.
(voice-over): The increased operational tempo and the move from the Gulf to the Mediterranean put a strain on the Truman's crew. The carrier's tour
extended by a full month. But the admiral tells me his men and women are still going strong.
REAR ADMIRAL BRET BATCHELDER, COMMANDER, CARRIER STRIKE GROUP 8: It's a graphic illustration of the flexibility that's inherent with the naval
forces. You know, we can -- we can operate anywhere we want to in the world. As it happens on this deployment, our priority has been the support
of Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria.
PLEITGEN: U.S. commanders believe the coming weeks will be critical in the fight against ISIS, now that the group seems to be losing its grip on some
of its major strongholds, gains the Truman's pilots help pave the way for.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have definitely degraded them and we have destroyed them in many different places all throughout Iraq and Syria. So I feel like
we've made a large impact.
PLEITGEN: ISIS may be weakened, but some of the most intense fighting against the group probably still lies ahead and so do many more combat
missions for this carrier's jets.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: So, Kristie, you saw some of the high-intensity operations there on that aircraft carrier, and, of course, one of the things that brings
with it, when so many bombs are dropped, of course, the risk of civilian casualties. And something that the pilots on
that aircraft carrier are aware of, saying in are rules of engagements and their vetting for targets is meant
to minimize the risk of civilian casualties.
One of the other things they do is they try to use smaller bombs when they go on their runs, 500-pound bombs instead of 1,000-pound bombs to try and
make the targeted area as small as possible and yet as powerful as possible as they need to take their targets out. But certainly they are very much
aware of the risks that are faced by the people who are there on the ground.
Of course, being held essentially hostage by ISIS -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yeah, aware of the risks involved as the pressure mounts against ISIS. Fred Pleitgen reporting live for us from the Greek island of Crete.
Thank you, Fred.
Now, an American journalist and an interpreter have been killed in Afghanistan. They were with an Afghan army unit near Marzia (ph) when
their convoy came under fire on Sunday.
David Gilkey, seen here on the right, was a veteran photographer for the U.S.-based national public radio. Now, the other man, Zabihullah Tamanna
was an Afghan freelancer also working for NPR.
You're watching News Stream. And still to come on the program, an exclusive interview with South Korea's defense chief. What he thinks about
Kim Jong-un and the nuclear threat from the north.
Also ahead, remembering the remarkable life and career of Muhammad Ali. We'll have a live report from the boxing legend's hometown.
And we are just one day away from the final big contest in the U.S. presidential race. Why this is turning out to be a make or break moment
for Bernie Sanders.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:17:32] HAYES: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, you're back watches News Stream.
Now, the world is mourning a man who many consider a hero: Muhammad Ali. The three-time world heavyweight boxing champion died Friday at the age of
74. His family was with him in his final hours. His daughter, Hana Ali, spoke with CNN about her father.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANA ALI, MUHAMMAD ALI'S DAUGHTER: I said this many times, and I'm not kidding, he was his biggest fan, but at the same time, he was so humble.
He really was a contradiction. He was a beautiful contradiction, you know? He loved -- he knew his importance, he understood his importance in the
world and his impact. He was first to tell everybody he was the greatest. But at the same time, his humility, he would ask -- you know, do people
still remember me? And I'm like, are you kidding me, daddy? Do, they still know me, do they still talk about me? Are you kidding me, dad?
The world will never forget you. They'll always remember you. They'll always love you. They'll always talk about you. You're the greatest like
in so many different ways. You're a hero. We love you. You're amazing.
I think that -- because -- with the way the world is today people are famous just for being famous. And not to take anything away from people,
but I think my father is just one of those people that you -- that is worthy of I think the recognition and the extent that they're getting it to
him for so many different reasons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAYES: Such touching insight there.
Let's get more now from Muhammad Ali's hometown. Our Ryan Young joins me live from Louisville.
And Ryan, this week how will his hometown say good-bye to Muhammad Ali?
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, actually I just was struck by the joy in
her voice as she was talking about her father, that is the one thing that we've noticed over and over again as we talked to people here in his
hometown. They really love the stories of Muhammad Ali. You have to just start with the first one about how he started boxing. The fact that he was
a 12-year-old. Someone stole his bike, and he said, I want to whoop the person who stole my bike, so he told that to the police officer. That
police officer happened to be a boxing coach and the rest is history.
But obviously, he won a lot of bouts outside the ring with all that he put on the line to serve
people, and if you look behind me you can see here at his center, all of the flowers that people have brought out here. We saw the front page of
the paper where it says "The Greatest."
That's what people have been focusing on: his act outside the ring. And you see so many peach touched by what he did, not only in this community,
but around the world. And just in the last five minutes or so we learned that two major foreign dignitaries will be coming to his memorial service.
We learned that the Turkish president and King Abdullah of Jordan will also be here on Friday as they try to pay tribute to this great American man.
HAYES: Ryan, have you had a chance to read some of the tributes, some of the cards that have been laid there to remember Muhammad Ali just to get a
glimpse into why people love him so? As you mentioned just then, you know, Ali was not just a boxer, and a beautiful one at that, he was -- he was
much more than that. What as it about him that made him such a figure of adoration?
[08:20:32] YOUNG: That's a fantastic question. You look back at some of that video. And it's one of the great things about this. To read some of
the quotes, I mean, he was ahead of his time -- you know, float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. That's one of the things you see over and
over again. We've seen kids shadow boxing.
His birth home just opened up last week for people to tour it and now there lines there as people are going through that birth home to get a piece to
touch that. And if you think about the small American city here in Louisville, the idea that it's been put on the map by Muhammad Ali -- all
the quotes, and if you read through CNN.com you can see some of the quotes over the years, you can see this man just had quite a legacy. And if think
about it, he battled Parkinson's for 30 years. So, you can see just the heart of the champion that he was.
LU STOUT: Right. Yeah, and joining us live from Louisville, Kentucky, thank you so much for your reporting. Take care.
Now, turning now to the Korean peninsula. South Korea's defense minister spoke exclusively with CNN in his first interview with foreign media. And
he told our Paula Hancocks about his concern over the north's nuclear weapons program and why he thinks a U.S. missile defense system is vital
for his country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAN MINKOO, SOUTH KOREAN DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): the whole world knows about North Korea's missile capabilities ranging from short to
mid-range to long-range and some they are still developing. South Korea only has the capacity to intercept a missile at its terminal phase. So we
have limitations.
If FAD (ph) is deployed to U.S. forces in Korea, our capability will be dramatically enhanced. There are definite military benefits to this.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now, Kim Jong-un has increased the intensity of testing this year. The tests have been fast
and furious. Are you concerned at the speed of these tests considering even failures -- Kim Jong-un will learn something from them.
MINKOO (through translator): If you look at his father, Kim Jong-il, during his 18 year reign there were about 18 missile tests. During Kim
Jong-un's four year reign, there were 25 tests. He'll also conducted nuclear tests.
We assess Kim Jong-un is still in the process of establishing his leadership and influence.
HANCOCKS: Many experts, officials say he seems much more unpredictable than his father, Kim Jong-il?
MINKOO (through translator): Kim Kong-un was just 27 when he came to power, with very little time to prepare. Add to that, he is very young, he
lacks experience and has a rash and impulsive character. We are very concerned.
HANCOCKS: Now, Kim Jong-un claims that his country has miniaturized a nuclear weapon. Do you believe that? Do you think they have managed this?
MINKOO (through translator): Some time has passed since North Korea's first nuclear test. We assess their miniaturization capability has
advanced to a great degree, but we do not have solid evidence that they have actually achieved it.
HANCOCKS: So, at this point, do you believe they would be able to put a nuclear warhead on to a missile?
MINKOO (through translator): At this point, our assessment is we don't believe they can.
HANCOCKS: Would they be able to deliver a nuclear weapon in some way even if it wasn't a conventional missile?
MINKOO (through translator): We have not confirmed this yet, but if they continue to progress with the miniaturization technology, we think it may
be possible to deliver it in other ways such as an artillery shell or in the form of a nuclear mine.
HANCOCKS: For Kim Jong-un, being a nuclear power is one of the most important things to his leadership, it's part of the state ideology. Are
sanctions enough to try and convince a man like Kim Jong-un to willingly give up his nuclear weapons?
MINKOO (through translator): South Korea, the U.S. and other countries will never acknowledge a nuclear North Korea. Therefore, we have to
continue this action and keep pressuring to make denuclearization possible.
HANCOCKS: But do you truly believe denuclearization will be peaceful?
MINKOO (through translator): We have to work to ensure it is peaceful.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: The South Korea defense minister there.
Now, on the Japanese island of Okinawa, a victory for locals petitioning for fewer American troops. Now, U.S. sailors there are now confined to
their bases and banned from drinking alcohol. And the restrictions come as elections over the weekend give new momentum to Okinawa politicians who are
opposing a new U.S. military base there.
Will Ripley has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This highway, the latest flash point between
Okinawans and American troops, a 21-year-old navy sailor arrested Sunday accused of driving the wrong way, drunk, injuring to people.
"She was screaming, throwing garbage from the car window. It was scary," says this man who saw it happen.
Minor damage to the sailor's car, a major embarrassment to the U.S. navy at a time the military faces questions about its ability to control American
troops in Japan. Just like she did at this meeting last month, U.S. ambassador Caroline Kennedy apologized over the weekend to Japan's foreign
minister. And on Monday the navy announced all U.S. sailors in Jpapan are banned from drinking
alcohol and confined to their bases indefinitely.
For decades, claims of rape, violence and even noise involving U.S. troops have inflamed Okinawans. Last month, police arrested civilian U.S. base
worker accused of dumping the body of an Okinawa women, who police say was stabbed. That case led to this response from President Obama during his
trip to the G7 last month.
[08:25:51] BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I extended my sincerest condolences and deepest regrets.
RIPLEY: But many locals say they're tired of apologies. Their small island houses, half
of the 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan. American bases take up a fifth of Okinawan land. In elections on Sunday, a resounding victory for local
politicians trying to block a new U.S. military base.
Is what's happening in Okinawa right now putting the U.S./Japan alliance at risk?
KEITH HENRY, ASIA STRATEGY: No, I don't think it puts it at risk, but it does put -- certainly it does put strains on it.
RIPLEY: Longtime Asia strategist Asia strategist Keith Henry says Okinawans have long felt
frustrated by the actions of some U.S. troops. The scene of some of the fiercest fighting of World War II, Okinawa today is a vital base of
operations as the U.S. and Japan.
HENRY: The U.S. and Japan have traditionally been able to manage this very difficult relationship for the benefit of both countries. And I feel
strongly that they'll continue to do so.
RIPLEY: The U.S. military emphasizes the good conduct of the vast majority of troops, and
promises new training to prevent the kind of behavior that has rocked Okinawa's delicate balance once
again.
Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: You're watching News Stream. And still to come, the painful reality faced by babies born to mothers infected by Zika and the struggles
their parents are going through.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
[08:30:56] LU STOUT: Less than two months away from the summer Olympic Games, Brazil is grappling with a long list of challenges, among them, the
Zika outbreak. Now health experts have warned athletes and visitors about the danger, but for some Brazilian families, the damage has already been
done.
Nick Paton Walsh visited some of the babies and their parents who are experiencing the devastating impact of the virus and he joins us now live
from Rio.
Nick, the children of Zika, these are the infants born with microcephaly. What kind of support are they and their parents getting?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are some, but I think that you'll see in this report here, the parents themselves complain of the sheer volumes of problems, the different types of doctors
they need to seek help from. In fact, they can spend entire days not at work pursuing -- trying to get money to support their children, but
simply taking care of the job of looking after these children whose problems seem to grow as they
develop.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH (voice-over): Born into a struggle that grows as they age. This clinic is where the disease of Zika is cruelest in Brazil. Even with what
happens when babies with Microcephaly grow and so do their problems.
Unable to tell us the pains, agonies they may or may not be feeling, or what we can do to help.
VERONICA SANTOS, MOTHER OF BABY WITH MICROCEPHALY (through translation): It was when he was born and faced the other people in the hospital. Their
expressions, seeing and accepting the difference, for me, that was the hardest phase.
WALSH (on camera): As the world works out how quickly it could spread here at ground zero, there's different problems of working, as these babies grow
older, quite what the disease means for their development.
(voice-over): Artur cannot eat. Doctors say his brain can't switch between swallowing and breathing properly so he's fed by a drip and stunted in
growth. The size of a 3-month-old, but he is now 8 months. They're testing the hearing, seeing if he turns his head to look. A little to the right, to
the left, nothing.
This is how it goes here. Every minute, discoveries that alter the child's future.
Victoria was abandoned by her natural mother at birth, adopted by Kelly a month ago.
KELLY OLIVERA, ADOPTIVE MOTHER OF BABY WITH MICROCEPHALY (through translation): When we saw her, we fell in love with her. I didn't want to
know what she had. She is my daughter.
WALSH: And today may change her life. She's having her eyes stimulated, being fitted for glasses to find out if she can see at all. It's hard to
tell what she sees, if the bright lights became real shapes.
With Lajandra (ph), it's more palpable. Her first sight. But still, her arms stiffen straight, her underdeveloped brain telling them to do so.
They talk here of prejudice, of days ferrying children between specialists doctors, of being fired from work because of that, of a lack of state money
to pull them through.
This is the world that Zika brings, and here and globally it is only beginning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH: Still, doctors know so little, really, about the spread of that disease. The WHO doubling the amount of time they think people should
prevent themselves from having unprotected sex if they think they're at risk from the Zika virus just last week.
And as the Olympics near here. We're under two months away now, that sense of uncertainty
about really the kind of risk Zika poses to future health and the health potentially of unborn children weighing on the minds of athletes who number
by number here seem to be growing and expressing their concerns about what that could do to them competing here and of course, weighing also on the
minds of the many tourists Brazil hope will come here for the games -- Kristie.
[08:35:26] LU STOUT: Yeah. In the meantime, so touching to see these parents so dedicated to
the treatment and care of their infants.
Nick Paton Walsh reporting for us live from Rio. Thank you, Nick.
Now, here is a disturbing story out of India. Police have arrested five people in an organ harvesting scheme. Now, the suspects were allegedly
trading human kidneys out of prestigious private hospital in New Delhi.
Now, Sumnima Udas is following the story. She joins us now live from New Delhi. And Sumnima, again, this was not some sort of underground scheme,
this was happening at one of the most high-profile private hospitals there in the city. Tell us what
happened.
SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kristie. It could be trafficking, but here is nothing new in this country, but the fact
that it's happening in this hospital, the one behind me, Apollo (ph), one of the country biggest and most prominent that has certainly got a lot of
people here talking.
What happened is investigators have arrested five people, including three middle men and two people they say are associated with this hospital.
They were part of this larger trafficking ring that used to lure people from villages, from villages, from poorer sections of society, bring them
to Delhi, lure them for, in this case, for something like $4,500 to $6,000, to give up their organs.
Now, the hospital is denying any wrongdoing in this case saying that they will cooperate with
the investigators. They're also insisting that those two hospital officials, those two employees, were not directly employed by the
hospital, in fact, were just working as secretarial staff to some doctors and they also said that the hospital, too, is in fact a victim of this very
well-orchestrated kidney trafficking scam -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yes. This was a well-orchestrated and thriving operation here. How do traffickers in India acquire and get ahold of human kidneys?
UDAS: Well what they do is target the most vulnerable sections of society so the poor and the most uneducated. There are two ways, if you need a
kidney, to acquire those kidneys: one is through a family member, and the second is to wait for someone to die, a brain-dead person.
Now, the last (inaudible) is a very complicated process. It's a huge waiting list, according to
most organizations and 200,000 people who need a kidney in India every single year, and only 3 percent, 2 percent to 3 percent of the demand is
actually met.
So, what happens is, these middle men, these traffickers, go out to the villages, they try to recruit people from poor sections of society. Many
times they dupe them as well. And, again, bring them to cities like Delhi. They forge documents to make them seem like they are actually relatives of
the recipients and then the operation is conducted.
Now, there's a very high level committee -- this is mandated by the government, that every single kidney operation is overseen by a committee,
which includes government officials, now, hospital officials and also doctors.
Now, in this case, the investigators are now saying -- are looking into whether higher up people were also involved in this case -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: All right, Sumnima Udas reporting live from just outside the hospital where this
human organ trafficking ring was uncovered there in New Delhi. Thank you, Sumnima.
You're watching News Stream. And still ahead in the program, Hillary Clinton and Bernie
Sanders, they make their final push ahead of Tuesday's presidential contests.
We'll break down what's at stake.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:40:42] LU STOUT: Welcome back.
Now tomorrow, six states will hold presidential contests including California. It holds the biggest Democratic prize of them all.
Hillary Clinton is hoping a victory there will put her over the top to become her party's presidential candidate. But her rival, Bernie Sanders,
has other plans.
Chris Frates reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hillary Clinton's win in Puerto Rico over the
weekend puts her on the cusp of an historic nomination.
HILLARY CLINTON, 2016 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to finish strong here in California. It means -- it means the world to me.
FRATES: Now just a few delegates shy of hitting that magic number and becoming the first ever female presidential nominee, Clinton is looking
until Tuesday's final round of Democratic primaries to seal the deal.
CLINTON: On Tuesday, I will have decisively won the popular vote, and I will have decisively won the pledged delegate majority. You can't get much
more than that out of a primary season.
FRATES: Cclinton telling CNN's Jake Tapper that after Tuesday's contest, she's pushing for party unity.
CLINTON: I expect Senator Sanders to do the same, and that we will come together and be prepared to go to the convention in a unified way.
FRATES: But Clinton's rival, Bernie Sanders, argues that Clinton's superdelegates shouldn't be counted just yet.
BERNIE SANDERS, 2016 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary Clinton will not have the requisite number of pledged delegates to win the
democratic nomination at the end of the nominating process. The Democratic National Convention will be a contested convention.
FRATES: Vowing to take his campaign all the way to the convention, he's banking on delegate-rich California to give him momentum.
Sanders even elevating his attacks on Clinton Sunday saying the foreign government donations to the Clinton Foundation are a conflict of interest.
SANDERS: If you ask me about the Clinton Foundation, do I have a problem when a sitting secretary of state and a foundation run by her husband
collects many millions of dollars from foreign governments, governments which are dictatorships. Do I have a problem with that? Yeah, I do.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think it creates a an appearance of conflict of interest?
SANDERS: Yeah, I do. I do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And that was Chris Frates reporting.
CNN will bring you extensive coverage of the California vote, including the results, the speeches and in-depth analysis happening all day Tuesday right
here on CNN.
And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere. World Sport is next.
END