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Talks Underway on Resettling Refugees; Thousands Cross from Greece into Macedonia; Abbott Loses Australia Leadership Vote; Mexican Tourists Killed in Egyptian Attack; Anti-U.S. Sentiment in Tehran after Nuclear Deal; County Clerk Returns to Work Amid Controversy; Prime Minister Cameron Visits Syrian Refugees in Lebanon; Hungary Completing Border Fence; Second U.S. Republican Presidential Debate Nears. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired September 14, 2015 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN HOST: Welcome to the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Paula Newton at CNN Center.
First, there are major developments happening today in the refugee crisis gripping Europe.
E.U. justice and interior ministers are meeting in Brussels right now. They're talking about proposed mandatory quotas, a controversial topic.
The European Commission president wants E.U. member states to take in 160,000 refugees who are currently now in Italy, Greece and Hungary. The
flow of migrants has become so immense that Germany expects to take in a million asylum seekers this year alone.
Germany, Austria are putting border controls back in place. Austria is also mobilizing its army to help overstretched police.
Now for the latest, we want to go first to our Hala Gorani, who's monitoring events in Brussels.
Hala, I understand that you have had a chance to speak to the ministers.
What did they tell you about their positions on those quotas?
HALA GORANI, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You have a group of countries, namely Central European countries, that are firmly opposed to the idea of
mandatory quotas and others like Germany, like Italy, whose foreign minister I spoke to just a couple of days ago, who believe that the
refugees and the migrants need to be distributed fairly and equitably throughout the region.
So you do have a big divide here. This is the first of many meetings that the interior and justice minister level going on behind me here in
Brussels on trying to bridge that gap, trying to find a compromise but really the two positions between these two groups are quite far apart
still, Paula, because I spoke first to the Slovakian interior minister and he said, look, we're opposed to the idea of quotas, not just because we're
opposed to the idea that Brussels should tell us that we should take people in, that perhaps we're not ready or can't afford to take in but also they
believe that this is not a solution that works.
They believe these Central European countries, including Hungary as well, that external border controls need to be strengthened and, for
instance, that Greece needs to manage the influx of migrants in a way that is in accordance with E.U. laws. That is according to the Slovakian
interior minister.
So behind me here, it doesn't appear as though there's going to be some sort of agreement on day one. This is the first, as I mentioned, of
many important meetings in the coming weeks on how to distribute these 160,000 migrants and refugees across the continent -- Paula.
NEWTON: There's really two issues here, Hala. If we turn to one of the key issues, some of the countries who do not want to take any kind of a
quota say that imposing these quotas is wrong. They have been saying that what they fear is the more open Europe's doors become, the more they will
invite tens of thousands of more people, they claim perhaps people who are not legitimately claiming refugee status, that they're going to invite that
kind of inflow.
GORANI: Yes. And it's exactly what the interior minister of Slovakia just told me a few minutes ago. We'll start with 160,000 and then it'll be
300,000 and then it will be more.
That is the position of a certain number of countries in Europe, Central European countries namely.
Others, as I mentioned, Germany -- and I think you mentioned it as well at the top of this hour -- are saying they might take up to a million
asylum seekers in their country this year. So you can see there that this is a Europe-wide problem but there is no Europe-wide solution right now.
Countries are piecemeal, one by one, very individually applying their own solutions and right now, as of now, the idea that somehow they'll come
up with a harmonized approach seems rather far away.
But in parallel, you also have Germany, the most generous country in terms of overall numbers, even Germany saying we are saturated, temporarily
strengthening its border controls with Austria and suspending at least temporarily the idea of a passport-free zone in Europe.
So this is truly a continental crisis -- Paula.
NEWTON: Yes, continental crisis and yet no continental solution on the horizon.
Hala, we'll continue to follow the breaking news there in Brussels. We expect a press conference in the next few hours.
Meantime, Hungary's prime minister says he welcomes Germany's decision to crack down on the flow of migrants coming into Germany from Austria.
Now in turn, Austria is putting in temporary controls at its border with Hungary and we go straight to our CNN international correspondent,
senior international correspondent Atika Shubert, who's in Munich, Germany, which took in more than 10,000 refugees in the past weekend alone trying to
deal with this burden has been
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-- quite a problem.
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ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- that came in just yesterday. But amazingly, they managed to stop the flow for now. So what they have
done instead is basically try and put some border controls on the border with Austria to sort of stem the flow.
And what that means is they're going on to trains now, stopping them when they get to the border, asking for identity checks, passports.
Anyone who has a Syrian or Iraqi ID will then be processed and registered as a refugee. But anyone who doesn't have any ID may well be
turned around and this is also the same thing that's happening on the highway patrols as well.
So what it's doing is really slowing down the flow of refugees. It isn't stopping it altogether. Germany says they're continuing to take
refugees and this is why they say they need other countries in Europe to also share the burden.
As you mentioned earlier, they're willing to take up to a million now refugees but they do need to -- the rest of the countries to also share in
this burden as well as well as to find legal routes to get here.
Some of the biggest problems come there is no legal way for refugees to reach the countries they want to get to and this is why we've seen so
many taking such dangerous routes -- Paula.
NEWTON: Yes.
Our Atika Shubert there live from Munich. She also continues to follow developments there.
Now for many of the refugees coming to Europe, their journey begins in war-torn Syria and winds through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia,
Hungary, Austria and Germany. Now some continue on then to Denmark and Sweden.
Now, it's a dangerous trip but thousands continue to attempt it. CNN's senior international correspondent Ivan Watson is at the border
between Greece and Macedonia, both countries struggling still to cope with the huge numbers of migrants.
Ivan, the first question is, what is happening to the flows there?
And are people getting information about the kind of border controls that may now be in place in Austria and Germany?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They sure are. And we're watching a group of migrants and refugees who have just been
allowed through, across basically the barbed wire divide that separates Greece from Macedonia.
And they're staggered in groups so that there's not an overwhelming rush here, there's coordination between the Greek and the Macedonian border
authorities to ensure that people kind of move through.
Now, in one 24-hour period this weekend, Paula, some 6,800 people crossed through this informal crossing. And you can see there's another
group of migrants and refugees now being led forward here.
Now, there's a United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees tent that these people will walk to in about 400 meters, where they'll get a bit of a
briefing and then there's a transit center where they are given documents that the Macedonian government authorizes them about 72 hours to stay in
the country.
They could theoretically apply for asylum but all but 49 of the more than 70,000 people who have passed through this way in the last two, three
months, they have chosen, the Macedonian government says, to move on to the next country on this very improvised migrant trail, and that is Serbia.
So this is a process that is working, in part, because both the Greeks and the Macedonian government have come to the conclusion that they will
just allow this stream of humanity to push through as they want to go to Central Europe. That seems to be the policy that is in place right now --
Paula.
NEWTON: In terms of the numbers, though, Ivan, I mean, there is anecdotal evidence that people in Syria and Iraq and, of course, people in
those refugee camps are saying to themselves, look, the weather is only going to get worse. Europe may decide to close its doors.
Are you hearing that many more tens of thousands are saying, look, the time is now. We need to take our chances and move through to Europe?
WATSON: The majority of the people I have spoken with made that dangerous journey across the Aegean Sea from the Turkish coast to Greek
islands within the last couple of days. So these people have chosen to pay smugglers large amounts of cash, we're talking $1,300 U.S. roughly per
person to get on board those boats and, of course, that led to tragedy on Sunday, with a boat overturning off of a Greek island and some 34 people
drowning, including 15 children, four of them infants.
But the people that I'm talking to, the majority are Syrian refugees, but many of them have left from Syria, from government controlled parts of
Syria, within the last week and a half. And they have embarked on this journey.
What I'm seeing increasingly in the last 24 hours are Iraqis, people who've come from Baghdad --
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WATSON: -- in the last couple of days. So, and also, encountering Afghans, for instance, I met one Afghan family; they had been living in
Athens, the Greek capital, for months and then they chose now to make this journey.
And when I asked the father -- and he had a little child, 2 years old -- when I asked him, where are you planning to go?
The father said, "I don't know."
Quite simply, he joined in this flow of humanity and is trying to find the next best place to land in and most of the people we talked to want to
go to Germany and Sweden.
NEWTON: Yes. Ivan, I appreciate your perspective on this. You've been coverage this for several years and it seems that what is happening
now in Europe has been a game-changer for many people who have been desperate for many, many years.
And, again, we see really it all unfolding right there behind you. Appreciate it, Ivan.
Now to Australia, where Tony Abbott is out as prime minister. The ruling Liberal Party ousted Abbott and elected Malcolm Turnbull to be the
next prime minister by a vote of 54-44.
Turnbull is Abbott's former communications minister. He says Australia needs a different style of leadership.
CNN's Asia Pacific editor Andrew Stevens joins me now from Hong Kong with more.
I mean, Andrew, you have warned me that Australian politics can be treacherous. This was downright Shakespearean in nature.
Why this kind of drama right there, ousting the prime minister, ousted by his own party.
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, brutal, wasn't it? It moved so quickly. Less than five hours, Paula, between getting an indication
that the prime minister was going to face a leadership challenge to the prime minister leaving parliamentary headquarters in Canberra, not talking
to reporters.
He left as a former prime minister. Malcolm Turnbull is the new leader of the Australian political landscape.
It was shocking in its suddenness but, behind the scenes, analysts are saying that Turnbull had been planning for some time and basically building
up his base, building up enough numbers so he could actually make that leadership challenge. It began -- if you think about it -- back in
February, when Tony Abbott faced a no confidence vote which he did win but it certainly weakened the position.
Also, weakening his position has been a very poor showing in the opinion polls, not just for months but for more than a year now. April
2014 was the last time he was ahead of the opposition in the opinion polls.
He's been seen as a divisive character as well. So there was a lot of factors working against Tony Abbott, including the economy was weakening as
well. There is an election which has to be held by the end of next year so the Liberal Party strategic thinking here, Paula, is that they get Malcolm
Turnbull in; he is seen as a much more popular figure in the Australian electorate. They get his feet under the table. He shows Australians what
he is capable of and as we heard from Malcolm Turnbull in his speech after that vote, it's much more inclusive and it's much more collaborative, this
new government. Listen to what he said.
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MALCOLM TURNBULL, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER-ELECT: A traditional, thoroughly traditional cabinet government that ensures that we make
decisions in a collaborative manner. The prime minister of Australia is not a president. The prime minister is the first among equals and that --
you can see the partnership between me and Julie, the partnership with our colleagues.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEVENS: So, this stage, it's much more a change of style rather than a change of substance. Malcolm Turnbull calls it a change of culture
rather than style. He's saying, though, that he's not going to call an early election. There are elections that have to be held, as I said, by
the end of next year. He says at this stage at least he'll ride it out until then -- Paula.
NEWTON: Yes, he certainly wants people to get over this kind of ugliness in the first place. We'll continue to follow the developments
there in Australia. Andrew Stevens there from Hong Kong. Appreciate it.
Ahead on the INTERNATIONAL DESK, why Egypt says its security forces fired on a tour group, killing a dozen people. The latest as Mexico
demands an investigation.
Plus, why some Iranians say the recent nuclear agreement won't help long-term relations between their country and the U.S.
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NEWTON: Survivors of an attack on a tour group in Egypt's Western Desert are describing the moments they were fired on, saying it involved a
potential airstrike. At least two Mexican nationals are among the dozen people killed. Mexico's president is now demanding a thorough
investigation. Our Ian Lee joins me now live from Cairo.
Ian, you know, what was laid out in this press conference was extraordinary. You're there, in a tour group, and, all of a sudden, they
describe helicopters, at least one airplane trying to take them out, essentially.
IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And we're really trying to piece together exactly what happened, Paula. We are hearing conflicting
narratives from the Egyptian government as well.
What we are being told is that these tourists were deep into the desert at the same time the Egyptian army and police were taking part in an
operation against militants and smugglers.
Now what we're being told is there was confusion about who these tourists were. They were misidentified as potential militants or
smugglers. And that is when the strike took place.
Now, the Egyptian ministry of tourism has said that these tourists should not have been in this area that they did not have the permits to be
there.
But what we're hearing from friends and family members and colleagues of these tourists, of the tourist operator, saying that they actually did
have permits to be in that area, that they had every right to be there. They actually showed us a paper that they said was the actual permit for
them to be in that area and that will be something that the Egyptian government is looking into.
But what it is, it is a bad image, creates a bad image for Egypt, one that is trying to tell people that it's safe to come back here.
We were at the hospital. The prime minister and the minister of tourism visited those people who were in the hospital. What we're being
told right now is seven Mexicans are in the hospital being treated for light injuries, anything from cuts to burns. And those burns would
coincide with the reports that this was an actual airstrike that hit them - - Paula.
NEWTON: Incredible just to hear that word, airstrike, when you're talking about tourists who were supposed to be through the desert.
Ian, I want to ask you, just step back from this for a moment. There's an absolutely insidious insurgency going on in that area. Egypt
had a hard time coming to grips with that.
I mean, at what point are people there saying, look, the Egyptian government is struggling here to really control what is going on in the
area?
LEE: It's interesting because you do hear conflicting things from the Egyptian government. On one part, they'll tell you that -- and very
rightfully so -- that they're facing a deadly terrorist organization, ISIS, that's killed hundreds of police officers and soldiers and killed civilians
as well.
But on the same time, the ministry of foreign affairs spokesman likes to say that this fighting is only confined to the northern part of Sinai,
just the --
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LEE: -- northeastern corner of the peninsula.
But in the last month, last month that we had a Croatian man who was beheaded -- kidnapped and then beheaded in the same area where these
tourists were killed and so Egypt really is struggling. Up until recently, it did seem like it was in Northern Sinai but the Western Desert has become
volatile.
It shares a long border with Libya, a lot of weapons have been smuggled from Libya into Egypt from that corridor.
Also, ISIS in Libya has been able to operate up into that border and until recently it seems like they have been able to operate across borders
into Egypt. So it has become a more dangerous area.
NEWTON: Yes. Absolutely. You're right to bring up the story of that Croatian victim, because that certainly was a game-changer as well. Our
Ian lee there in Cairo, continuing to follow those developments.
Turning now to the Iran nuclear deal and there is no shortage of American distrust. A new CNN/ORC poll shows almost half of those
questioned would have preferred Congress to reject the agreement and for some Iranians the distrust, no surprise here, is mutual. Frederick
Pleitgen has more from Tehran.
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FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If anyone thought Iran's supreme leader would hold back with fiery rhetoric
after the nuclear agreement, think again. His anti-American and anti- Israeli views are plastered all over Tehran these days.
This one says, "America will be under Iran's shoes."
And this one, "God willing, in 25 years, there will be no such thing as a Zionist regime."
Khamenei also blasted the U.S. and Israel in a speech just as Congress was set to vote on the nuclear agreement, showing that, even with
the deal, distrust towards America remains strong, says Mohammad Marandi of Tehran University.
MOHAMMAD MARANDI, HEAD OF NORTH AMERICAN STUDIES, TEHRAN UNIVERSITY: The Iranians are not interested in having further talks with the United
States because here they feel that the United States has to show that it is serious at the negotiating table. It has to show itself as being serious
at the implementation stage.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): But there is another possible explanation for the tough talk. Iran's conservative clergy and its powerful military are
the supreme leader's strongest supporters. Both groups have been highly critical of the nuclear agreement.
PLEITGEN: Many conservatives feel that Iran gave up too much in return for sanctions relief and they want reassurances there will be no
further negotiations with the West any time soon.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): A majority of Iranians do favor the agreement. And many we spoke to say they want better relations with America but also
demand respect.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iran is not like some other countries. Iranian people are proud of their history. We have a strong history. So we are
strong. We are powerful. We don't let America abuse us.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): "Both sides should make compromises," this woman says.
"They should build on what they have in common instead of talking about their differences."
For the first time since the Islamic Revolution, authorities removed the U.S. seal from the former embassy in Tehran and replaced it with a
stone full of words cursing America, a sign that, even after successful talks over the nuclear issue, normal relations between Iran and the U.S.
still seem a long way off -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: This is IDESK. Ahead, authorities expand their investigation of corruption in FIFA. The latest on world football's governing body.
And also ahead the U.S. county clerk who refused to hand out marriage licenses to same-sex couples, she's back to work and she wants the state to
find a solution to accommodate her religious beliefs.
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NEWTON: In the U.S. state of Kentucky the showdown continues between a devout Christian county clerk and same-sex couples seeking marriage
licenses.
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NEWTON (voice-over): Kim Davis returned to work today after being jailed for five days for refusing to follow the law. She says she will not
issue licenses that go against her religious beliefs.
KIM DAVIS, ROWAN COUNTY, KENTUCKY, CLERK: I have thought and prayed very hard about what to do. The decisions I have made in this case and the
decisions I will continue to make in this case are mine and mine alone.
I don't want to have this conflict. I don't want to be in the spotlight. And I certainly don't want to be a whipping post. I am no
hero. I'm just a person who's been transformed by the grace of God and who wants to work, be with my family.
I just want to serve my neighbors quietly without violating my conscience. And so, this morning I am forced to fashion a remedy that
reconciles my conscience with Judge Benning's orders.
NEWTON (voice-over): I cannot tell you how complicated this whole story has become. You are looking at live pictures outside the county
clerk's office. We'll wait to see what happens today as we do have word that couples are still trying to be issued those licenses.
Davis says she will allow her deputies to issue licenses without her name in the title but this is the key thing. It's unclear if that would
invalidate the licenses. And that is what the state and quite frankly the entire country there is trying to deal with.
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NEWTON: Now, turning to the Swiss attorney general, who says investigators have obtained more evidence in the probe in FIFA.
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NEWTON (voice-over): Michael Lauber held a press conference with U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch in Zurich a short time ago. He says
officials have seized more financial assets as well as property in the Swiss Alps. The U.S. is also conducting its own corruption probe.
Lynch says that investigation has expanded and she expects to bring additional charges. But Lauber made clear the Swiss probe will take time
to complete.
MICHAEL LAUBER, SWISS ATTORNEY GENERAL: By its nature, this investigation will take much more than the legendary 90 minutes.
However, let me assure you that we are well aware of the public's interest in this investigation and have clearly prioritized based on the
interests at stake. But clearly, we are not even near the halftime break.
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NEWTON: And we'll have much more on the FIFA corruption scandal on "WORLD SPORT," coming up in about 20 minutes, a very interesting press
conference there. And you will be interested to hear what Loretta Lynch said.
Now Britain's prime minister visits Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Coming up, David Cameron defends the U.K.'s migrant response by focusing
on those most affected by war.
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NEWTON: Welcome to the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Paula Newton and here are the headlines.
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NEWTON (voice-over): European Union ministers are holding an emergency meeting in Brussels right now on the flood of migrants and
refugees streaming into Europe.
Now, they're discussing proposed mandatory refugee quotas for E.U. member states and it could be a tough sell. Ministers of Slovakia and the
Czech Republic say flatly quotas won't work.
Tony Abbott is out as Australian prime minister, after losing a leadership challenge Monday. His former communications minister, Malcolm
Turnbull, won the Liberal Party vote 54-44 and will become Australia's next prime minister. Now, Turnbull said a change was needed for the sake of the
party and the country.
Survivors of an attack on a tour group in Egypt's Western Desert describe the moments they were fired upon, saying it involved a potential
airstrike. At least two Mexican nationals are among the dozen people killed. Mexico's president is demanding Egypt conduct a thorough
investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Prime Minister David Cameron is now in Jordan for talks on the Syrian refugee crisis. He flew in after visiting refugees in a camp in
Lebanon and now the U.K. promising to take in some 20,000 people, who have fled the fighting, but only from camps in the region. Our Nick Paton Walsh
joins us now from Beirut.
You know, Nick his visit really serves as a counterpoint to everything going on in Europe right now. Britain taken two very different opinions.
One is we'll take in a small number of refugees from these camps, where we can really identify them, understand why they are refugees and if they
qualify.
But key to this is saying that the problem lies in both Syria and Iraq and that's where the problem needs to be solved.
I'm curious as to how all of that is received in the region after four years of very, very little progress.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Well, the extraordinary burden in Lebanon here has put the country on its -- no
surprise to anyone in the region at all; one in four people you meet here will be a Syrian refugee.
They're running out of food vouchers in Jordan, where David Cameron has just landed. But his highly, I think, staged trip around the region
here is in sharp contrast to the government's pretty harshly anti-immigrant position they had before the images of Aylan Kurdi dominated newspapers,
even the often right-wing "Sun" newspaper, quite conservative, quite anti- immigration, in the U.K. put that on the front and demanded action.
Then David Cameron, the government turned face and said, OK, we'll take 20,000 in.
But the trip here is aimed at selling the U.K.'s message on this and to some degree they have a point in that the more vulnerable people who
need help are the ones who are in the camps here and do not have the resources, the cash to pay smugglers to get them to Europe.
They're the ones that they say David Cameron met some of today, some of the 20,000, who will find themselves in the U.K.
The U.K. has appointed an undersecretary of state to harmonize the treatment they get by interior ministry, all the different agencies that
have to work to resettle them there. And he's promised today 29 million pounds, about $45 million, here in Lebanon to be spent on food vouchers for
a quarter of a million refugees here, David Cameron saying they're amongst the biggest donors to the aid issue here in the region.
Most aid agencies accept you won't solve the problem of Syria's displaced by allowing them to all move to Europe. Europe doesn't have an
endless appetite for what even Germany accepts could be a million migrants and refugees that they have to resettle.
The solution comes from fixing the war in Syria, housing those displaced nearby so they can eventually return back and rebuild the
country. But the fundamental problem David Cameron faces now is that the appetite for assistance here in the region is enormous. They're running
out of money to give food to the most needy in Jordan where he is now, and that food was simply a --
[10:35:00]
WALSH: -- $13.5 voucher for a month. A huge catastrophe brewing down there. The U.K. has a very different approach to Germany and David
Cameron is here, very much selling that to the region -- Paula.
NEWTON: Our Nick Paton Walsh there, appreciate that update.
Now Syrian refugees desperate to flee their country have made the treacherous journey to freedom by swimming across the Aegean Sea. CNN has
the story of two men who swam nearly 8 kilometers from the coast of Turkey to the islands of Greece.
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HESHAM MODAMANI, SYRIAN REFUGEE (from captions): I am Hesham Modamani. I am 24 years old. I am from Syria.
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MODAMANI (from captions): I met someone called Feras and he asked me, "Are you going to Europe seeking asylum there?"
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MODAMANI (from captions): He told me, "What do you think about going swimming from Turkey to Greece?"
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MODAMANI (from captions): We searched on the GPS and we found the coast and the Greek island and in the middle of the sea there is two
islands without people.
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MODAMANI (from captions): I was really scared because it was very dark and the water very cold. I'm thinking that this is my last moment in
life, I am going to die now.
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MODAMANI (from captions): When we reached the first island in the middle of the sea, it was just too small, filled with birds. They started
rotating over us. They thought we were dead bodies. So I got scared of it.
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MODAMANI (from captions): Between these two islands, the sea changed. It became very hard. I couldn't see my friend.
The second island, it was just like a wall. It was a rock. We have no choice except continue swimming until we reach the Greek island. Now I
am losing hope. It was very difficult.
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MODAMANI (from captions): All was hard, all was tough. When I saw a ship coming so I switch on the laser and they see us. We were happy that
we just made it. It was the most crazy thing I have ever done in my life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: What an incredible story there. And we continue to stay on top of the migrant crisis in Europe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON (voice-over): We want to show you now live pictures and this is Hungary, now finishing the last patch of that border fence that they say
will help them control the numbers of migrants coming to their borders. Hungary has threatened at this point in time that they would stop the flow
of migrants now trekking through Europe. They expected the fence to be sometime this week.
And now you see there that approaching 5:00 pm local time on the Hungarian-Serbian border, that fence is now close to finished. It'll be
interesting to see -- and Hungary has been fairly blunt about this, saying that they hope that what it does is warn people not to come through their
borders, that they will not be given passage through their country.
Again, all of this very controversial as meetings go on at this moment in Brussels, trying to figure out what to do about the migrants and how to
divide the tens of thousands now streaming through Europe.
We'll continue to bring you the latest live now from Hungary and Brussels and Munich and stay with CNN. We'll be back with more in just a
moment.
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NEWTON: Now CNN is about to cast a big spotlight on the U.S. Republican presidential candidates. We're hosting the second debate of the
2016 primary season this Wednesday, now it's all taking place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library near Los Angeles.
Our Jake Tapper will be the moderator. And he gives us an inside look at the remarkable venue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: The debate may still be days away but it is all systems go here at the Ronald Reagan Library.
TAPPER: This is it, this stage where all the magic is going to happen on Wednesday night at Ronald Reagan Museum and Library. You can see and
hear workers getting the stage ready. Normally, this floor doesn't even exist here. We're all getting prepared for what could be a momentous
evening in presidential politics.
TAPPER (voice-over): The Republican candidates will have this as their backdrop, Air Force One.
MELISSA GILLER, CHIEF MANAGING OFFICER, REAGAN PRESIDENTIAL FOUNDATION: This is the plane that flew President Reagan for all eight
years of his administration.
TAPPER (voice-over): It's one of many impressive pieces of presidential memorabilia on display here at the Reagan Library. Library's
spokesperson Melissa Giller says Air Force One was always fully stocked.
TAPPER: Was there anything on there that was particular to President Reagan?
GILLER: There sure was. He loved chocolate cake. So aboard every single flight there was a chocolate cake in the back alley, not just
because he loved it but just in case someone went up to him and whispered at some point in time, President Reagan, did you know it's Jake's birthday?
The cake could come out and they could sing "Happy Birthday."
TAPPER (voice-over): More than 350,000 people each year visit the library to experience the spectacular Simi Valley setting and pay their
respects to our 40th president. He was laid here to rest in his beloved California, facing westward so he can forever look out towards the Pacific.
TAPPER: This is real?
GILLER: A real piece of the Berlin Wall, came down in 1991. Ronald Reagan was here in '94 when we received the piece.
TAPPER (voice-over): Inside the museum an exact replica of Reagan's Oval Office, complete with a jar of jelly beans or Jelly Bellies that he
always kept at hand.
TAPPER: And it was a way that he --
GILLER: He gave up smoking.
TAPPER: -- gave up smoking.
GILLER: Yes.
TAPPER: And so whenever he had a --
GILLER: He had -- he had jelly beans -- Jelly Bellies everywhere.
TAPPER (voice-over): The plane, the Oval, trappings of the very office the candidates will be battling to reach Wednesday night. I'm Jake
Tapper for CNN in Simi Valley, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now the U.S. Republican presidential candidates face off in back-to-back debates. Watch live on Wednesday, starting at 11:00 pm in
London, midnight in Berlin. And you can see the whole broadcast again at 8:00 pm on Thursday London time, that's 9:00 pm in central Europe.
That's only on CNN.
And that does it for us here at the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Paula Newton. But don't go anywhere. "WORLD SPORT" with Amanda Davies is
straight ahead.
END
