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NEWS STREAM
Indian Prime Minister to Address Indian Diaspora At Wembley Stadium; Gili Islands' Plane To Restore Fragile Coral Reef; U.S. Drone Strike Targets Jihadi John; Myanmar's Pro-Democracy NLD Party Wins Majority; YouTube Launches Music Streaming App. Aired 8:00a-9:00a ET
Aired November 13, 2015 - 8:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:33] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to News Stream.
Now, U.S. airstrike takes aim at the masked man in those ISIS execution videos and officials are confident Jihadi John is dead.
Plus, Kurdish forces raise their flag over Sinjar, celebrating their victory over ISIS militants. Is this the start of a turning tide?
And it's official, Myanmar's pro-democracy party wins a the majority in parliament, but the celebrations are subtle. We'll explain why.
The Pentagon says U.S. forces targeted the infamous ISIS terrorist known as Jihadi John in a drone strike in Raqqa, Syria. Now, the masked
man whose real name is Mohammed Emwazi appeared videos of the beheadings of ISIS hostages.
CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Pentagon confirming U.S. Special Operations forces launched a drone strike targeting
the masked ISIS executioner known as Jihadi John. A U.S. official says after tracking him for days, authorities are confident the drone strike
killed the Kuwaiti-born British citizen identified as Mohammed Emwazi. But still, they are awaiting final confirmation.
LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It certainly is a symbolic victory for the United States, the coalition and our partners. And
it does bring closure to those families.
STARR: The U.S. official says authorities knew it was Emwazi when they took the shot. Another U.S. official tells CNN Emwazi was in a vehicle at
the time of the strike near Raqqah, ISIS's de facto capital in Syria.
Emwazi appeared in a series of horrific ISIS beheading videos, documenting the murder of several American, Britain and Japanese hostages.
He was often seen wielding a knife, only his eyes and hands exposed, taunting U.S. and British leaders.
MOHAMMED "JIHADI JOHN" EMWAZI, ISIS SPOKESMAN: We'll continue to strike the necks of our people.
STARR: This morning, the U.K. government saying Britain was working hand in glove with America over the Jihadi John drone strike.
DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This was an act of self- defense. It was the right thing to do.
PLEITGEN: Emwazi, who is in his mid-20s, grew up in London and graduated with a degree in computer programming before becoming
radicalized.
CAMERON: Is this strike was successful -- and we still await confirmation of that -- it will be a strike at the heart of ISIL.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And that was Barbara Starr reporting.
Now investigators in Lebanon are working to verify a claim that ISIS was behind twin suicide bombings in the capital. At least 43 people were
killed and more than 200 wounded when the blast hit a Beirut stronghold of the Shiite
militia group Hezbollah.
Now, three of the attackers were killed, but authorities say at least one would-be bomber is in custody.
Now, let's head straight to Lebanon now for the latest. Senior international correspondent Clarissa Ward joins me live from Beirut.
And Clarissa, it is a day of national mourning there in Lebanon. Describe the reaction there.
CLARISSA WARD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kristie.
Well, we're here at the scene of where the second suicide bomber detonated
his explosive vest. Just moments ago we saw a funeral procession here, people marching with the body of one of those who was killed in yesterday's
attack.
We know that 43 people were killed, more than 200 injured. And ISIS has claimed responsibility. They say they struck this area because it is a
Shiite Muslim neighborhood. And you'll see behind me if you can see, there's a lot of yellow flags. Those flags are the flag of Hezbollah. And
Hezbollah inside Syria is fighting with the regime with Bashar al-Assad. So, ISIS has said that they will vow to continue striking Shiite targets.
But I should add we've been walking around inside the area where the blast
struck. there is glass, blood. The smell is putrid. The twisted wreckage of some of the cars and motorcycles that were damaged in the blast. And
people here really feel a sense of desperation and also, of course, of anger.
Lebanon is no stranger to sectarian violence, but it had been relatively quiet for the last year-and-a-half. And now there's a sense
that we may see a return of these types of attacks targeting civilian institutions along sectarian
lines -- Kristie.
[08:05:22] LU STOUT: A lot of fear and anger there on the back of these bombings claimed by ISIS. And Clarissa, the general state of ISIS,
ISIS is claiming to be behind those bombings in Beirut as well as the Metrojet disaster in the Sinai, but also ISIS is under pressure with Jihadi
John being targeted and Operation Free Sinjar now being declared a success.
Is ISIS losing traction?
WARD: Well, if you listen to the narrative that ISIS is trying to spin, they're very much on the offensive. That's why they're taking on
soft targets like this one, not a difficult place realistically to attack, a civilian area. People will have been milling around buying their
groceries, getting ready for the evening meal. But a sort of attack like this really sows the seeds of chaos and desperation and draws upon existing
sectarian divisions within Lebanon that exist already.
So essentially ISIS choosing, favoring these sort of softer targets that will allow them to create a big splash, that allow them to sow and
deepen those seeds of division.
But certainly fair to say that many arguing that between existing Kurdish offensives going on inside Syria and Iraq and other action against
ISIS that we've seen across the region, that they're now actually on the back foot.
LU STOUT: All right. Clarissa Ward reporting on ISIS and those horrific bomb blasts there in Beirut. Many thanks indeed for your
reporting, Clarissa.
Now, the leader of the Iraqi Kurds says that Peshmerga forces have liberated Sinjar from ISIS. Now, Kurdish fighters, aided by coalition air
power, say that the militants are now on the run from the northern Iraqi town.
Now, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has been following the Kurdish operation from the front lines. He joins us now.
And Nick, is it true? Has ISIS been defeated in Sinjar?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not defeated entirely, no, but they have been pushed out for as far as we can see about
an hour ago from very much most of the town of Sinjar behind me here.
Now, you may just see some black smoke on the horizon, another explosion in just the last ten minutes, a sign really of how volatile it
still is in there.
In fact, when we went down there, not only are the streets littered with roadside bombs, mines in various different places -- some of the
buildings mined -- and the town leveled almost by the sheer amount of destruction that's been wrought upon it by airstrikes and suicide bombers.
There was also at one point it seemed an ISIS sniper somewhere in that town.
A bullet went over our heads and that of the Peshmerga we were with. They responded with a fair degree of pandemonium. a lot of gunfire back and
we saw later one of their number being brought out injured, they actually said maybe two or three of their number have been injured by that sniper.
So, clearly not entirely under their control. And it seems ISIS had a lot of time to prepare for the eventuality of the Kurds taking control. In
fact, one Swedish volunteer we spoke to -- said his name was Tony -- he's fighting alongside the Peshmerga out of his own choice against ISIS. He
said that in fact there was a tunnel network under the city in some areas. And at one point, a lot of barrels
loaded with explosives set alongside a wire. So to some degree, a death trap,
really there very far from civilians returning to it.
But the symbolic nature of this swift victory, it has been very fast, really, just over 24 hours since they first started moving against the
town. It's now pretty much under their control. That may be herald a new era of momentum, perhaps, for the Peshmerga and the coalition -- we can
hear them now in the skies -- the jets that have enabled this victory.
In fact, Master Bezani (ph) himself said they hope that this victory in Sinjar may ease the liberation of another city in their sights, Mosul,
in Iraq up the road there. The road now, which the coalition and the Peshmerga wanted to seize and cut off, that's very much the case still --
Kristie.
LU STOUT: OK. So, there's still ISIS elements in Sinjar, but ISIS is on the
run after this declared victory. Nick Paton Walsh reporting live from Sinjar, thank you, Nick.
Now, the Euro bloc is giving African nations some $2 billion to try to contain the flood of migrants heading to the shores of Europe. But tens of
thousands from elsewhere continue to make this perilous Mediterranean crossing. And we follow another emotional landing.
Also ahead, after decades of military rule in Myanmar, political history is made by the opposition led Aung San Suu Kyi. A live report on
the country's landmark election.
India's prime minister is to soon address tens of thousands of supporters in the UK, but not everyone is giving Narendra Modi a warm
welcome. He's also being met by protests. We've got the details ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:12:-5] LU STOUT: Welcome back. It is an historic movement for Myanmar's move toward democracy. The election committee has announced Aung
San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy has won a majority in parliament, beating out the
military back party in a landslide victory.
Now the win comes on the fifth anniversary of Suu Kyi's release from 15 years of house arrest.
Now President Thein Sein has agreed to meet with Suu Kyi over the results. Let's go straight to Saima Mohsin who has been watching
developments for us from Bangkok. And again, Saima, five years ago, she was released from house arrest. Today her party has swept to victory.
Walk us through the significance of this moment.
SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We know Aung San Sue Kyi is a world renowned Nobel Peace Prize-winner. People have liken her to
Nelson Mandela, a political prisoner, as you say, imprisoned in her own home under house arrest after the last election, Kristie, 25 years ago when
the military didn't accept the results, swept her aside, put her under house arrest. She has been five years out of house arrest on the campaign
trail.
A very pragmatic politician. Her detractors will say that she simply didn't stand and represent everyone in Myanmar, not least of course the 1
million Rohingya Muslims that weren't allowed to vote in this election alongside a lot of ethnic -- other ethnic minorities that have been
disenfranchised in Myanmar, but a pragmatic politician with phenomenal tunnel vision. This day was her day of destiny and it's incredibly
important not just for her, her party, but for the people in Myanmar, which is why we saw people coming out in their droves this week,
coming out in the early hours.
A lot of the people that CNN spoke to saying that, you know, we have come not just for ourselves because we've been waiting for this day for 25
years; but for our children, for the future of Myanmar -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: Victory for Aung San Suu Kyi and her opposition party. Saima Mohsin reporting live for us. Thank you very much indeed, Saima.
Now, violence against religious minorities is escalating in Indonesia. Just last month, Islamic radicals burned down a Christian Church, one of
hundreds of attacks during the past few years.
Paula Newton reports many Indonesians say they have little faith that the government can stop it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tolerance, respect, and peaceful co-existence among many faiths, it is the Indonesian ideal,
embodied here as the Muslim faithful walk past Jakarta's Catholic Cathedral to Isiclal (ph), the city's main mosque.
The place opened to the public in 1978 across from the older cathedral to promote religious harmony in the world's most populist Muslim country, a
harmony that seems increasingly under threat.
Islamic radicals attacked a village burning down its church in the province of Aceh in mid-October, one of the most violent incidents in a
simmering dispute over what hard-line Muslims say are illegal churches built without permits or permission.
[08:15:14] BISHOP ELSON LANGGA, ACEH SINGKUL PROTESTANT CHURCH (through translator): When the churches were seized, people felt like the
world crumbled and there was nothing for them. They were crying. How can they watch a
church they built themselves get destroyed.
NEWTON: Human Rights Watch estimates there have been more than a thousand attacks against places of worship in the last decade, not just
churches but Buddhist and Hindu temples and mosques, some of the most violent attacks have been against the Amadiyah (ph), a Muslim sect deemed
deviant by many Muslims.
And in July in the predominately Christian province of Tapwa (ph), a mob attacked a mosque where many Muslims were celebrating the end of
Ramadan.
The government has been quick to condemn the violence. After the incident in Aceh, president Joko Widodo tweeted "stop violence in Aceh
Sinku. Any act of violence, whatever the reasons behind it, not to mention if it is related to religion and faith will kill diversity."
But human rights activists say legal protection for religious minorities are unenforcement in many parts of the country.
At issue the government's ability to control radical religious groups, including those in the Muslim faith. A new law to protect religious
minorities is being debated, but some say it will fail to bring religious peace.
ANDREAS HARSONA, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH INDONESIA: History has shown that the more they come and make regulations on religious freedom, the more
discriminatory it will be, because they're put under pressure by the militants, the more hard liners to be more and more hardlining.
So, what the government should do is to revoke all these discriminatory regulations.
NEWTON: a position contested by government advocates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With regulation, we can solve the problem. Without any regulation, without regulation, they cannot solve the problem.
NEWTON: A problem that is worsening as religious freedom is challenged in places like Aceh.
LANGGA (through translator): The truth is that I have no hope. There is no hope because the government likes to use word but no action that goes
down to the ground. And all authorities on the ground say, yes, sir, yes, sir, but
they don't do anything.
NEWTON: Still Bishop Elson says he and others will do what they have always done, pray to god that religious tolerance will soon be the only
acceptable way of life in Indonesia.
Paula Newton, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Now, the International Athletics Association of Athletics Federation is too decide in a few hours whether to ban Russia from
competition over the use of drugs.
Now, the World Anti-Doping Agency has accused Russia of state sponsored doping. Russia President Vladimir Putin has called for an
independent investigation and ordered officials to crack down on any wrongdoing.
Our World Sport has more on the Russia doping scandal about 30 minutes from now.
Now, the former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson and the BBC news network, they
are being sued for racial discrimination, that's according to lawyers for the BBC.
Now producer at the receiving end of a physical and verbal incident with Clarkson earlier this year. Now a closed door hearing was held at a
London employment tribunal earlier on Friday. The BBC tells us that they will be responding to the claim.
After the break, we look at human trafficking in Mexico, and the woman who con fronted the man who dragged her into prostitution.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:22:29] LU STOUT: The CNN Freedom Project is committed to fighting slavery, but it can take many forms, and one is forced prostitution.
Rafael Romo introduces us to a victim who was finally able to confront the man who trafficked her from Mexico to the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's an apocalyptic scene: young men dressed as pimps, whipping each other in a show of strength and dominance.
But for this 23-year-old Patricia Gonzalez, seeing this video of the Mardi Gras festival in the small Mexican village of Tenazingo (ph), it's a
reminder of her time in hell.
What does Tananzingo (ph) mean to you?
PATRICIA GONZALEZ, FORCED INTO PROSTITUTION (through translator): Evil. Evil. And I think that people without heart. I think.
ROMO: In 2008, Gonzalez was forced into prostitution by a network of human traffickers based in Tenanzingo (ph).
GONZALEZ (through translator): I was there for a month and a half.
ROMO: Patricia says many of those involved in this celebration come from powerful families who enrich themselves by exploiting women and girls
in Mexico and the United States.
Usually it starts with pimps in training trolling shopping districts and local fairs looking for shy or vulnerable girls. Patricia's trafficker
approached her in a park near her home.
Once seduced, the young men will propose and take her to Tenanzingo (ph) to live with his family.
Girls like Patricia think they found true love, instead it is prostitution.
Many are taken to the filthy alleys of Mexico City's La Merced (ph) marketplace, often the proving ground before being moved to the U.S.
GONZALEZ (through translator): When the first customer, the first man approached me to ask how much I charged, I remember all I could do was look
at him and cry.
ROMO: The first day Patricia said she had more than 40 customers. Her traffickers took all the money.
GONZALEZ (through translator): I remember they said fresh meat has arrived.
ROMO: How many girls did you manage to have working for you at the same time?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): About eight or ten.
ROMO: This is the man who trafficked Patricia.
When you were doing this, when you right in the middle of it, what did the girls mean to you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They mean income, they mean merchandise.
ROMO: Gustavo, who agreed to be interviewed provided we not use his real name, is serving a 10-year sentence for the trafficking of minors and
forced prostitution in Mexico. He wanted to meet with Patricia because, he says, his time in prison has made him realize the pain he caused her and
his other victims.
Why did you do it, she asked.
[08:25:21] UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I was blind by my ambition, because I wanted to have power no matter the means or how, no
matter the harm I was causing you or other people.
I'm aware of all the harm that I caused you, but I know that I can remedy that or try to remedy that somehow, not erase it. But I can prevent
that many other girls don't fall into the same trap or fall into the hands of a trafficker that will exploit them like it happened to you with me.
GONZALEZ (through translator): I forgive you but that didn't mean I've forgotten everything you did. It allows me to be at peace with
myself.
I think that this is a very important part of the process to say I've overcome the harm he caused. I don't see myself as a victim anymore. I
have overcome that.
ROMO: Despite the obvious divide that remains, both Gustavo (ph) and Patricia agree what has taken place for generations in Tananzingo (ph) and
elsewhere cannot be allowed to continue.
Rafael Romo, CNN, Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Wow, it's incredible how she was able to forgive her trafficker. Now you can find more reports on Mexico's sex trafficking
capital at CNN.com/freedom. You can also join our fight against modern-day slavery. CNN has launched a campaign it's called Flight of Freedom. And
we want you to do this, you make this symbol of the paper airplane. You write a pledge on it and then you tag your friends on social media and you
nominate them to do the same.
And we could feature your planes and your pledges on CNN, just use the hashtag #flytoFreedom.
Now India's so-called rock star prime minister is set to get a British royal treatment. Coming up on News Stream, we'll tell you what's ahead in
Narendra Modi's UK visit.
Also ahead, we've got competition for Spotify and Apple, YouTube aims for your ears with its latest app.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:30:47] LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching News Stream. And these are your world headlines.
British Prime Minister David Cameron says the U.s. airstrike on ISIS terrorist Jihadi John was an act of self-defense because he posed a threat
to the world. The Pentagon says U.S. forces targeted the ISIS front man whose real name is Mohammed Emwazi in a drone strike in Raqqa, Syria. But
officials have not yet confirmed his death.
The leader of Iraqi Kurds has declared victory in the fight against ISIS militants in Sinjar. It is just the second day of Operation Free
Sinjar. Now 7,500 Peshmerga fighters backed by coalition air power have largely cleared ISIS from the northern Iraqi town.
Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy has won a majority in Myanmar's parliament. It givens them enough seats to choose the next
president. The historic vote is seen as a test of the military's acceptance of democracy. It was the first truly held election in 25 years.
Now let's turn to Europe where a record number of migrants have arrived by sea this year. The UN says more than 800,000 have crossed the
Mediterranean. That's four times those who arrived in all of last year.
Now CNN's Arwa Damon is on the Greek island of Lesbos where she witnessed an emotional migrant landing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On Wednesday, at least 18 people, including children, died in these waters trying to get to the
island of Lesbos and Turkey is just in the distance. It's about a two-hour boat ride
away. And one of the main reasons why people keep dying in these water is because the smugglers continue to cram them into these barely sea-worthy
rubber dinghies. You see one of them right there that arrived here earlier in the day. It among some of the other arrivals that we did witness.
When people do finally get here, they are so relieved but also seem to be shocked that they were able to make it. In some instances, children
briefly separated from their parents. Everyone receiving immediate medical attention, much of it carried out by volunteers. On this particular line
of coast on this beach you have a group of Greek lifeguards. They are professionals who have taken time off from their work, from their studies
and have come here wanting to help out.
You do have other aid organizations as well.
And to give you a visual idea of the sheer scale of what we're dealing with here, this pile of life jackets is a fraction, and I mean a fraction
of what you will find right along the coastline and the various different landing points on this island.
Frontex putting shocking numbers out there saying that in the first ten months of 2015, 540,000 people made the trip, mind you, just from
Turkey to Greece and that is 13 times the number of people that made the same journey in the same time frame in 2014.
The Malta conference very much focusing on Africa with pledges of at least $1.8 million to try to deal with migration and the human smuggling
rings there. That's a different set of problems than what people are facing here because the vast majority who are arriving on the shores are
fleeing from wars, the war zones of Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Lesbos, Greece.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: Another powerful report on this ever-evolving human crisis there.
Now, the Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi is at Buckingham Palace this hour meeting with the queen. Now he is in the middle of a three-day
visit in the UK. Let's go to CNN's Phil Black at Wembley Stadium in London. And Phil, Mr. Modi is set to speak in front of tens of thousands
of supporters there, but have there been protests as well?
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not here, Kristie.
So you're right. The Indian prime minister will come here after enjoying lunch with the queen to Wembley Stadium where you see there's a
big crowd streaming in here already. And they're all in a pretty good mood.
There's going to be 60,000 people here today, which is extraordinary when you think about it. The event, the venue, the number of people, these
are things that you normally associate with professional sporting teams or rock stars, perhaps popes, but not visiting prime ministers.
But this is the crowd that he is drawing. The event has largely been organized by India's local community here in the UK. There are about 1.5
million people of Indian ethnicity here. The people that are coming here are very
excited to welcome the prime minister. There's going to be entertainment, cultural shows,
and then at around 5:00, he will be introduced by the British prime minister.
The British Prime Minister David Cameron essentially is going to be the warmup act, and then the Indian prime minister will take the stage, a
man that is famed for his oratory and this crowd is very excited to be here today to be listening to it.
You mentioned the protests. There have been protests here, because he's accused of leaving behind a country that is increasingly intolerant
toward religious minorities, notably non-Hindus, especially Muslims and intellectuals and artists in the country have also complain that the space
for dissenting thought and argument is also closing rapidly. And that so far has been the legacy of his 18 months or so in power.
Over the course of his visit here, he has denied all of that, insisted that India remains a tolerant country.
And he has certainly been enjoying very much the red carpet treatment. And that is set to continue on what I think is pretty much an unprecedented
scale for a visiting dignitary here in London, Kristie.
LU STOUT: All right, Phil Black reporting live outside Wembley Stadium where in just a few hours Narendra Modi is due to give a rock star-
like address.
Many thanks indeed for that update, Phil.
Now, for people who like to use YouTube as a music streaming service there is a new app for you, YouTube just launched its dedicated music app
YouTube Music. It's aimed at streamlining your music experience.
YouTube has over 30 million songs in its catalog and around 20 million fan covers and indy artist. And the new app, it sorts all that into
popular or trending songs.
Now YouTube tries to distinguish its new app from its parent company's Google Play Music, instead of making your own playlist the app gives you a
daily mix list of your music and new songs it wants you to discover.
The app is free but YouTube is pushing its paid subscription service, YouTube Red, by offering features like ad-free music and also offline
playlists.
You're watching News Stream. And after the break, the latest installment in our special on the road series in Indonesia. We'll look at
the Gili Islands from 20 meters below the surface of its pristine waters.
Now CNN is on the road in Indonesia and Paula Newton continues her journey on the Gili Islands, diving beneath the surface to see a coral reef
so rich in diversity, it both sustains and threatens the island's survival.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: With Dafa Rob's (ph) help, we set out to explore the unique allure of the Gilis.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you don't have coral reef, then the whole planet will be in a great danger.
NEWTON: The coral reef. We dive beneath the waters surrounding the Gili to see what sustains these islands but also what threatens their
survival.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without the coral reef, small islands disappear because the waves will just devastate everything and then we wouldn't be
able to breathe.
[08:40:05] NEWTON: Environmental experts estimate nearly a quarter of the coral reefs around the world are already damaged beyond repair. Most
of the others are threatened by overfishing, pollution, rampant tourism, erosion and climate change. The Gili are far from immune.
On the Gilis, they are passionate about what can be made on the island solution: biorock structures, coral reef replicas that with time can
regenerate marine life around the islands.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a baby.
NEWTON: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We deployed it one-and-a-half years ago, right.
NEWTON: Yeah.
Delfine (ph) and the Gili Ecotrust have teamed with visual artist Tagu Osenrick (oh) to design bio rock.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do we work? Well, the artist make the structure and I put the electricity on.
NEWTON: When electrodes with low voltage direct current are submerged, the electro reactions cause minerals already present in the sea
to build up. A wide range of marine life usually follows. As well, stray or loose living corals from nearby damaged reefs are transplanted onto the
bio rock.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At first I'm trying to get the inspiration from the coral. We hope the coral is growing fast because bio rocks makes it
eight times faster than naturally.
NEWTON: Even more astounding, considering the bio rock structures are made
from recycled materials, they are carefully designed to become art installations. It is environmental artistry at work beneath the seas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to do something. I'm not a decorator. I don't like just doing -- make a painting and put in your wall. But do
something, which is also important which is possibly for, for the environment also for the community.
My dream is how can I as an artist doing something for my mother earth.
NEWTON: Within moments of setting foot on the Gilis, you realize this place is a dream on Earth. Keeping it that way will take not just passion
but ingenuity.
Paula Newton, CNN, Gili Trawangan (ph), Indonesia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout. But don't go anywhere, World Sport with Christina Macfarlane is next.
END
