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Taliban Claims Pakistan Air Force Base Attack; Migrants Overwhelm Croatian Border; Spain Welcomes Refugee Tripped by Camerawoman; U.S. Fed Keeps Rates Unchanged at Near Zero; Greeks Go to the Polls Again; Fast Cars Infuriate Los Angeles Residents; Aired 12- 1:00a ET
Aired September 18, 2015 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:24] LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: This just in. The Taliban claimed responsibility for an attack on a Pakistani air force base.
Also ahead, desperate refugees turn to Croatia in search for a new gateway into Europe and now Croatia has closed its borders with Serbia.
Also ahead, a diplomat in the Vatican. A CNN report reveals the crucial role Pope Francis had in the renewal of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the U.S.
Hello. I'm Lynda Kinkade. And this is CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks for joining us.
We begin with this story out of Pakistan. Just into CNN, Taliban forces are claiming responsibility for an attack on an air force base in the northwest of the country. An army spokesman said at least six of the attackers have been killed.
The situation is still ongoing. The Army reports explosions and gunfire. Ambulances are lined up outside the base and all hospitals in the city of Peshawar are on standby to receive casualties.
CNN's Sophia Saifi is in Islamabad and joins us now on the line.
Sophia, just tell us what is the latest.
SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Lynda, what we have at the moment is, as you said, six of the militants have been killed. There were a total of seven, according to a statement by the ministry. So one is still missing. So what we have at the moment is this massive air base, which is about 10 acres wide. It's on the outskirts of the city of Peshawar and there's a certain clear-up operation ongoing in that area.
You can hear explosions from within which is possibly like a bomb clearance unit. They are making sure that it's all safe. They are on the lookout for that one militant that's on the run. There is a state of emergency throughout the city. The helicopters flying overhead. So it's quite a big attack on the military in Pakistan for this year at least -- Lynda. KINKADE: And this area, of course, Peshawar, was the scene of a
brutal attack last year which left about 145 dead, most of them children. What's the significance of this air base?
SAIFI: Well, the significance of this air base mainly is that it's in the city of Peshawar where, as we said, the massacre took place last December where -- you know, which was the largest attack in previous years on Pakistani military outpost which where all children of the army officials. The fact that it's an air base, you have a military operation ongoing in the north of Pakistan which is mainly airstrikes in the area. So the fact that air bases are being attacked could be a reaction to those airstrikes that have been taking place in the north of Pakistan and north of Waziristan.
Also we also have the claim of responsibility with the Taliban releasing a statement that they are behind this attack with more details to follow. This has been a very quiet year for militants in Pakistan as a result of that attack of that base in Peshawar where you have really amped up security, you've got lots of operations taking place both in the north as well as in the south which is in the city of Karachi. So the fact that this has happened today and, you know, 10 months after the attack in Peshawar is a major development in the ongoing war against citizens in Pakistan -- Lynda.
KINKADE: OK. Sophia Saifi, thank you very much for that update. We will come back to you when there's some more developments there.
To the migrant crisis now and another country is closing its borders to the thousands of migrants desperate to get to Germany. A day after opening then Croatia has banned traffic at seven border crossing with Serbia. More than 11,000 migrants poured into Croatia in just 24 hours. And the country said it can't handle any more people.
After reaching Croatia, migrants are expected to head into Slovenia. But it's not clear how well that route will work. Slovenia's prime minister says his country will protect the European Union's borders.
Austria and Germany have now called for an emergency EU meeting next week. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and French President Francois Hollande met to discuss the crisis on Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTEO RENZI, ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER (Through Translator): Europe was created to knock down walls, not to build them.
FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, FRENCH PRESIDENT (Through Translator): We expect at the next European meeting three decisions to be made. The first is to create some hot spot centers where the new frontier happen to be and the new borders are in Italy, and Greece and Hungary. The second decision is that people who arrive in Turkey should be able to stay there to work and wait that the situation in Syria may improve.
[00:05:04] The third decision is to make sure that these people don't escape controls and that we're able to send back those who don't have prerequisites to stay. (END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Hungary has banned all border crossings from Serbia for at least 30 days. On Wednesday police, they used tear gas and water cannons on migrants who tried to break through a gate. This is what led to the influx into Croatia.
Most of the migrants are fleeing conflict and terrorism in Middle Eastern countries. They say there is no option to turn back now. Thousands have been waiting at the Croatian border hoping buses will take them to the capital.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are waiting from this morning from 9:00 to right now. We're waiting for the bus. Unfortunately there was six buses and there's no more buses today. So the guy told us that maybe tomorrow buses will become again, the buses, and carry the people to the center of the town.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Our Ivan Watson has been in the middle of all it at the Serbian-Croatian border and he filed this report a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These are scenes that Croatia probably did not anticipate when they opened their border on Wednesday. Chaos here at a train depot, very close to the border here in Croatia, as the sheer mass of migrants and refugees desperate to push through are heaving against lines of riot police. It's hot here, you can see the perspiration on people's faces, and they're trying to push their children through, one by one, past the police who are having to try to hold back the masses of people on the other side.
And come take a look over here, crowds gathered behind fences here, passing their children over the fence. Clearly the Croatian authorities overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of people who crossed. More than 5,000 people in the first 24 hours. There are buses waiting to take people to administrative centers where they can apply for asylum in the capital Croatia and other cities as well.
But for now, this is a situation that has rapidly grown out of control. Again, just a little bit more than 24 hours after Croatia announced that the migrants and refugees would be welcomed to enter this Balkan country.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Tovarnik, Croatia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Now you may remember the video of a camera woman tripping a Syrian refugee a week ago. He was running with his 8-year-old son in his arms in a field near Hungary's border. We're happy to report to you that Osama and his son have been given a new home and a new life. Paula Newton has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was the trip seen around the world. A Syrian refugee running with a child in his arms tripped by a camerawoman while fleeing police near the Hungarian border. The video caused an international outrage and the Hungarian camerawoman was fired.
Now that same refugee father received a much different welcome in Spain on Thursday. Osama Abdul Mohsen and his two sons were greeted with applause at this Madrid train station. The 52-year-old Mohsen was overwhelmed.
OSAMA ABDUL MOHSEN, SYRIAN REFUGEE: I love you. I love Madrid. I love Espana, all Espana. Thank you for all. This very, very important for my life. I am here with you, thank you very much.
NEWTON: It turns out Mohsen is a football coach who managed one of Syria's top teams until the country's civil war forced him to flee to Turkey. When the president of a school for coaches in Spain heard Mohsen's story, he arranged for Mohsen to travel to Madrid and offered him a job.
MIGUEL ANGEL GALN, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF FOOTBALL COACHES (Through Translator): The fact that he is a football coach in Syria and we are the National School of Football Coaches Leagues to Solidarity because we are colleagues. So we said, how are we going to support these people?
NEWTON: The school is also providing Mohsen with an apartment, language training, and schools for his children. Mohsen's wife and the rest of his family, who are still in Turkey, are expected to come to Spain next week. And the family will be guests at Real Madrid's next match. A remarkable turn of events for Mohsen, from being tripped in a field in Hungary, to starting a whole new life in Spain, all of it in little more than one week.
Paula Newton, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: And we have much more coverage of the migrant crisis on our Web site. For more photos and stories on the impact this is having on migrant children, just head to CNN.com/international. And if you'd like to help the refugees and migrants you can go to CNN.com/impact.
[00:10:06] The power remains out for tens of thousands of people in Chile after a deadly earthquake struck off the country's coastline on Wednesday. At least 11 people died and more than 170 homes were destroyed. The 8.3 magnitude quake triggered tsunami warnings along the western South American coast and all across the Pacific as far away as Japan. A wave of almost five meters in height hit the north of the capital. Chilean president Michelle Bachelet credited efficient disaster
planning for preventing a more serious tragedy. Some one million people evacuated coastal regions, thanks to almost immediate government warnings. Chile is highly prone to earthquakes.
Ahead of his visit to Cuba and the U.S. Pope Francis answered questions from students in both countries on Thursday. When asked what makes a good leader, Francis said good leaders nurture future leaders and if they don't, they are worthless dictators.
The Pope is credited for being the chief advocate for renewing diplomatic ties between Washington and Havana.
And we're getting new insight into the secret dealings that made that deal happen. CNN's Patrick Oppmann spoke exclusively with one of the men who saw it all.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to thank His Holiness, Pope Francis, whose moral example shows us the importance of pursuing the world as it should be.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On the day of the breakthrough in relations between Cuba and the United States, President Raul Castro and Barack Obama both paid homage to Pope Francis for his role in the landmark agreement.
Not mentioned was this man, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, the Pope's eyes and ears in Havana, who was at the center of parts of the secret diplomacy.
In an exclusive interview with CNN, Ortega revealed that at the Pope's first meeting with President Obama, Francis lobbied to change U.S. policy towards Cuba. Obama surprised the Pope by agreeing with him.
"The president's response was very clear," he says. "That these measures were all made before his birth, and that he wished to change them. This encourages the pope and he made the important argument that would benefit the Cuban people who had suffered under these measures."
The cardinal said the church was not directly involved in the negotiations, but acted as a back channel to keep lines of communication open between the Cold War adversaries and push for an agreement.
(On camera): One of those back channels, Ortega says, was how to arrange a prisoner swap between the two countries. Cuba wanted to exchange jailed State Department contractor Allen Gross for three of their captured intelligence agents. The United States wanted a better deal.
(Voice-over): The cardinal thought he knew how to break the deadlock. He had received a letter from a man he had prayed with while ministering the inmates in Cuban prison. His name was Rolando Sarraff, a Cuban intelligence official condemned to a lengthy prison sentence for his spying for the CIA.
"He wrote me a letter as someone who could be exchanged," Ortega says. "It was something separate from the Pope's contribution. He wrote saying he could be traded."
At secret meetings at the Vatican and in Canada where sources involved in the negotiations say Cuba was represented by this man, Colonel Alejandro Castro, Raul Castro's son. The prisoner swap was struck. After the trade, U.S. officials called Sarraff, one of the most valuable spies the Americans ever had in Cuba.
Having helped broker ties with the U.S.'s long-strained relations between the church and state in Cuba are also improving.
"The desire that Raul Castro expressed towards the U.S. was that we can live with our differences," he says. "But in a civilized manner that's a desire that the church has also expressed to the government. The church is not the enemy." A message of reconciliation and new beginnings that Pope Francis will bring with him when he arrives in Cuba.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Sepp Blatter, top deputy of FIFA, is suspended until further notice. Secretary General Jerome Valcke has been linked to an alleged black market ticket selling scam from last year's World Cup. Valcke's lawyer calls the accusations fabricated and outrageous. The 54-year- old Frenchman has served for eight years as second in command at world's football governing -- football's governing body. FIFA asked its ethics committee to investigate those claims.
Still to come at CNN NEWSROOM, Hillary Clinton sits down for an exclusive interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. Up next, what she has to say about concerns her private e-mail server may have been hacked while she was secretary of state.
Plus we're looking at Jeb Bush's claim that Donald Trump tried to give him a load of money to bring casino gambling to Florida.
[00:15:06]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. Nearly 23 million Americans tuned in to CNN and many more across the world for the primetime U.S. Republican presidential debate. That makes it the most watched program in CNN's history. Many analysts say Carly Fiorina was the breakout star of the evening and Donald Trump didn't quite dominate like he did in the first debate.
One thing all the candidates focused on was the Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am not accepting any money from anybody. Nobody has control of me other than the people of this country. I'm going to do the right thing.
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You got -- according to what you said on one of the talk shows, you got Hillary Clinton to go to your wedding because you gave her money.
TRUMP: That's true. That's true.
BUSH: Maybe it works for Hillary Clinton.
TRUMP: I was -- excuse me, Jeb.
BUSH: It doesn't work for anybody on the stage.
TRUMP: Jeb. Jeb, I was a businessman. I get along with Clinton, I get along with everybody. That was my job to get along with people. I didn't want --
BUSH: But the simple fact is --
TRUMP: Excuse me, one second.
BUSH: No.
TRUMP: I didn't want -- Jeb.
BUSH: The simple fact is, Donald, you could not take --
TRUMP: OK. More energy tonight. I like that.
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let's ask Hillary Clinton. She believes in the systemic murder of children in the womb to preserve their body parts data in a way that maximizes their value for sale for profit. It is disgusting and the American people need to hear it. We shouldn't be fighting with each other. She's the real opponent, she's the real problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Hillary Clinton defended her support of Planned Parenthood in an exclusive interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. She says the organization provides important services like breast cancer screenings and HIV testing but doesn't spend any federal money on abortion services. Clinton was also asked if there was any danger of hackers gaining access to Clinton's private e-mail server when she was secretary of state. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's no evidence of that. And again, this is -- you know, this is overheated rhetoric, baseless charges, trying to somehow gain of footing in the debate and in the primary and it really doesn't deserve any comment. WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: It took you a long time
to say you're sorry about what happened, the mistakes you made in organizing that server to begin with. Why did it take so long?
CLINTON: Well, you know, I was trying to explain what had happened. And obviously it was clear that I should have used two different e- mail accounts. And I've said that that was a mistake. I'm sorry. I've taken responsibility, but I've also, for more than a year now, been asking to testify before the congressional committee that is investigating the situation in Benghazi. They would not let me appear.
Finally, and I'm very happy about this, I will be appearing toward the end of October and I will look forward to answering all their questions. I'm trying to be as transparent as possible. That's why people are reading the contents of the e-mails that are being released. It's why I've turned over my server, it's why I will testify.
BLITZER: You've dismissed Donald Trump's campaign as entertainment, suggested in part it's not really serious but the top Republican candidate right now, Donald Trump, for that matter, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, they are all political outsiders and your main Democratic opponent, Senator Bernie Sanders, he's pulling ahead in some of these polls in New Hampshire and Iowa. He's running as an outsider as well.
So how do you deal with that? Why is Bernie Sanders, for example, ahead of you in these polls in New Hampshire and Iowa right now?
CLINTON: Well, I've said for a long time, polls are going to go up, they're going to go down. I'm very confident and very comfortable about our strategy. I feel that our campaign in Iowa, New Hampshire, all the early states, and now we're moving on to the states that come after are really coming together well. I'm excited by the level and intensity of the support that I have.
So I always thought this would be a competitive election. I'm looking forward to it. This is an important job. This is the most important job, not only in our country but in the world. And people have to fight hard, they have to make their case and they have to earn the votes of the American voters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: CNN's Wolf Blitzer with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton there. At the end of the interview, Wolf asked if she would be a better president than her husband Bill Clinton. She wouldn't exactly answer that. She said, "I'm not running for my husband's third term."
Donald Trump is facing criticism for his non-response to a question from a voter in New Hampshire. A man at Thursday night's rally in Rochester asked what Trump would do about the, quote, "Muslim problem in the U.S.," saying you know, our current president is one. What Trump could say was well, we'll be looking at that and a lot of other things. Flooding rains have spanned across three continents this week.
Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us for more on all of this. Which continents are we talking about?
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We're talking Europe, we're talking Africa and we're talking Asia. And this has spanned across the globe. It's been a common theme this week, aside from the earthquake and tsunami that we discussed yesterday at this time. It's the flooding rains and it has been very unfortunate for a lot of people.
And I'm going to take you across the globe, Lynda, and everybody watching at home. So here it is. This is one of the maps that we typically look at here in the weather department. This is a satellite spanning the entire globe. That red line of course being the equator. But I want to point out a few different things here because this is key to understanding the weather of the world. But we'll give you a 30-second update.
The equatorial region, this is an area called the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone. It shifts depending on the seasons. But this is an area where storms move from east to west. You can see some of those thunderstorms across Central Africa moving in that particular direction. We get that flair-up of thunderstorms. But to the north and to the south, we're talking northern and southern hemisphere now across Europe, United States, South Africa are into Southern Africa. Those are called mid-latitude cyclones.
The difference, they move from west to east and they're associated with low pressures and cold fronts. Now these series of thunderstorms across the equatorial regions and the mid-latitude cyclones have led to the three flooding rain events across three different continents.
[00:25:05] We'll start in Thailand. Take a look at this footage coming out of the region. We have had some impressive rainfall totals in the Pattaya Region. This is just outside of Bangkok. They normally receive 217 millimeters of rainfall in the entire month of September. Just in the 48-hour period they received 198 millimeters. That is not the only location. Sierra Leone, over Western Africa. This particular region has been hit extremely hard with flooding rains in the capital of Sierra Leone. Freetown. Unfortunately there have had many households and livelihoods just impacted by this.
Take a look at this profound picture of water spilling out of somebody's home because of landslides and mudslides. Excessive rainfall. Really impacting this particular location. And you can see cars, entire vehicles, swept away down streets.
Now as we take you into the northern hemisphere, this is Europe, Scandinavia, particularly the Norway region. Flooding rains impacting this region, as well. Look at this just inundating this bridge. Some impressive visuals. Rainfall exceeding their monthly averages across that region, as well. And you can see just how much rain they've received in Norway. 108 millimeters since Monday. Remember it only takes 150 millimeters to sweep somebody off their feet. Rushing water upwards of a half a meter to sweep an entire vehicle down a roadway for instance. So those three flooding events, something we're going to monitor and keep on top of as the night progresses.
KINKADE: Excellent. Keep us up to day. Thanks, Derek.
VAN DAM: Thanks, Lynda.
KINKADE: Well, still to come in CNN NEWSROOM, the U.S. Federal Reserve makes a key decision that leaves investors wondering what will happen next.
Also ahead, Greeks prepare to go to the polls yet again and yet again the economic fate of the country is at stake. An election preview when we come back.
VAN DEREK: Good day, I'm CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam with a quick look at your Friday forecast across the United States. Great day to be in the big apple. 30 degrees and sunny. Holding on to those last bits of summer while we can. However, as we move towards the Midwest, we have the possibility of stronger thunderstorms from Chicago to Kansas city, Wichita as well as Grand Rapids, Michigan. Showers and thunderstorms, strong winds, perhaps some large hail possible.
Still hot across the U.S. state of Texas, look at Dallas 37 and sunny and beautiful, as always across the California coast from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Here's the disturbance moving across the Midwest bringing the possibility of stronger storms from Missouri to Kansas, as well as Illinois.
New York City, the big apple 30 degrees today. Cooling off somewhat into Saturday and Sunday with a few peeks of cloud cover overhead. Look at Monday, comfortable, 23. Almost autumn like for that part of the world.
What about the Central America region? We have sunshine forecast this Friday for Belize City. Kingston, Jamaica, lower 30s, showers and thunderstorms forecast from the Bahamas and into southern Florida. In fact you can see an area of low pressure that will continue to bring several millimeters of rainfall across that area. The possibility of flooding exists from Tampa into Orlando and hot weather for much of Central Brazil.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:30:29] KINKADE: You're watching with CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Lynda Kinkade. And here are the headlines this hour.
The Pakistani army says it has killed at least six militants who attacked an air force base near the city of Peshawar. The spokesman says it's the largest assault of military personnel this year. The Taliban is claiming responsibility for that attack.
After more than 11,000 people poured into Croatia, the country has closed seven of its road links to Serbia until further notice. Migrants started heading there on Wednesday after Hungary sealed off its border. European Union leaders hope to figure out a plan next week to deal with the crisis. Pope Francis says leaders who don't guide young people to lead are
just worthless dictators. Days ahead of his visit to Cuba and the U.S. Pope Francis answered questions from students from both countries. Pope Francis begins his tour to U.S. on Saturday.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is holding key interest rate steady for now, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said. Concerns about the global economic slowdown, slow U.S. inflation and volatile stock markets led to the decision. Rates have been near zero since the debts of the financial crisis in December 2008.
Despite that decision, the majority of Fed committee members believe there will be a rate hike before the year's end. Janet Yellen told us more about that decision to keep the rates unchanged. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANET YELLEN, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: In light of the heightened uncertainties abroad and a slightly softer expected path for inflation, the committee judged it appropriate to wait for more evidence including some further improvement in the local market to bolster its confidence that inflation will rise to 2 percent in the medium term.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: The Federal Reserve Committee has two remaining meetings this year when it could possibly raise rates.
Let's turn now to CNN's Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong. He is gauging how markets there are responding to news about the U.S. Fed's decision.
Andrew, this could have been the first rate rise in the U.S. in nearly a decade. It didn't happen. Not a great surprise. So how did the markets react?
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ASIA PACIFIC EDITOR: Yes, you have to go back to 2006 to see the last interest rate rise. I think the best way to describe their reaction is confusion, Lynda. It's just not clear, still, what the state of the global economy is, what the state of the U.S. economy is, even though Janet Yellen was clearly saying that there has been a slowdown in the global economic outlook, led of course by China. A rather abrupt slow down in China. What the impact of that is going to be on the U.S. economy the Fed prefers to wait and see rather than pulling the trigger on interest rates at the moment.
And if you see how the Dow reacted overnight to the news, it was up and down as traders tried to digest the news and make a sense of what it meant for stocks. And take a look at the Asian markets, as well. You see there, the Dow finishing down about 4/10 of 1 percent. And if you look at the Asian markets today, the -- well, they're up at the moment but they've been in and out of positive territory. See the Nikkei now down by nearly 1.5 percent.
So, Lynda, there is still this sense of confusion. Where are we? And what happens next? Because when the Fed does pull the trigger on interest rates, it will just be the beginning. And that starts the interest rates cycle, just like what people are saying, where you get back to a normal situation. But as yet we are still in these abnormal times where interest rates are virtually zero.
KINKADE: That's right. And as you mentioned, the Fed no doubt worried about the global outlook, particularly China's slow down, Japan's growth stalling, and even Australia, the commodities boom is no longer. What sort of impact did the Fed decision have on the currencies there?
STEVENS: Well, the Fed has been having an impact on the currencies for a long time, all related to interest rates. You need to go back to the temper of -- the taper tantrum, as it was known. That was when the then Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke started easing back on that QE, that massive stimulus, which was all aimed at leading up to the first interest rate cut. And that is when emerging market currencies started reacting to expectations of a rate rise. And if you look at what the emerging market currencies have done since that decision by Bernanke, that was back in May of 2013, you can see there have been massive falls for a lot of those key emerging market currencies.
Look at the real in Brazil, down 87 percent against the U.S. dollar. The Rupiah down 50 percent because the expectation is when rates go up in the U.S. a lot of money will switch into more attractive assets out of these emerging market economies. In fact Brazil is now in recession.
[00:35:17] o it's already a work in process how the interest rates or interest rate expectations are hurting these emerging markets. When they actually do raise rates it's probably going to have the impact of deepening those losses.
KINKADE: That's true. And it may happen later this year. But a lot of analysts are saying it's more likely next year. So we'll just have to wait and see.
Andrew Stevens in Hong Kong, thank you very much.
STEVENS: Thank you.
KINKADE: On Sunday Greeks will go to the polls again for yet another general election. Polls show the contest between Greece's two main parties is too close to call.
CNN's Isa Soares looks ahead to this election and what it might mean for the struggling country's bailout.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the fifth time in three years Greeks are being asked to go to the ballot box. Their political choices have changed little in that time. With the latest polls showing leftist Syriza and Conservative New Democracy neck-and-neck. But they know it's all too playful. The Economic crisis in Greece have dominated the headlines this
summer.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The Eurozone has offered a new bailout.
SOARES: With protesters on the streets, closed banks, a country on the brink of economic collapse. And a political union under threat. They're all hard to forget.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But we never see concrete proposals of reforms.
SOARES: After American bailout talks --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone can say that we have a Greek-ment.
SOARES: Brussels expects Greece to stick to the conditions of its bailout. However, investors are not so convinced asking could this election lead to a breakdown in the bailout deal and then reignite the debt crisis?
(On camera): Still, there's plenty to worry about. Greece's economy remains in a fragile state. Capital controls are still in place. Its industrial base has shrunk and unemployment has been hovering around 25 percent. That in fact has not budged that much. The economy, however, has grown by almost 1 percent between April and June. And consumer spending has increased, as have exports. Still economists are warning the economy could soon go into reverse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The budget has continued to deteriorate. People aren't paying taxes. People are uncertain about what's going to happen after the election. But mostly there have been no economic reforms since the initial reforms to get the bailout of Greece. So I think that's really the biggest impact. Nothing is happening in the fiscal sphere, that means nothing can happen in reforming the economy.
SOARES (voice-over): After so much drama and high expectations, many Greeks seem to expect little change in their fortunes, no matter who wins.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (Through Translator): Disappointment, despair, I still haven't decided who I'm going to vote for or whether I'm even going to vote.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Through Translator): I believe these elections were unnecessary because I think that the outcome will be the same. The previous parliament could and should have formed the government and led this country forward.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (Through Translator): Up until the last moment we still don't know how we will vote or whether we will vote.
SOARES: Disenchantment and frustration. Emotions that must be put aside if the country is to stay on its own two feet economically.
Isa Soares, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Still to come in CNN NEWSROOM, reckless speed in a quiet California neighborhood. The fast cars are making residents furious.
When we come back we'll find out who's behind the wheel.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:41:56] KINKADE: Welcome back. A Ferrari and Porsche on the town in Beverly Hills. But it's not the extravagant cars catching the attention of police, it's the breathtaking speeds their owners hit as they drag race through the streets.
CNN's Amir Daftari has the details on the apparent Qatari connection to the dangerous activity.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMIR DAFTARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like something out of "The Fast and the Furious" million-dollar super cars racing and revving at dangerous speeds. But these aren't scenes from a Hollywood movie. This amateur video was captured by witnesses on a quiet suburban street in Beverly Hills. A yellow Ferrari and the white Porsche, blazing through an intersection. Narrowly missing other vehicles and bystanders.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I only live down there. I was scared to go home. Like any second an 80-mile-per-hour zooming car could come and hit all of us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told him that in America, we have the free press and we are allowed to film from the sidewalk and he said "F America" and threw his cigarette at me.
DAFTARI: Police were called to the scene after one car reportedly blew its engine but no arrest were made.
DOMINICK RIVETTI, BEVERLY HILLS POLICE CHIEF: Qatar national Sheikh Khalis Hamad al-Thani has been connected with the yellow Ferrari depicted in the video. At this time we have information that leads us to believe that he has left the country. Officers were unable to make any arrests or issue citations at the time of the incident because they did not witness the incident, nor did any violations occur in their presence. And none of the witnesses were willing to make a private persons arrest.
DAFTARI: Earlier this month, incidents involving cars from the UAE in two different European cities were also caught on camera. Police in the Emirates detained both drivers upon their return.
CNN has reached out to Qatari authorities regarding this latest incident. No official comment is yet but Beverly Hills Police are still investigating and they're reportedly in contact with the U.S. State Department over the matter.
Amir Daftari, CNN. (END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, that does it for this edition of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade. I'll be back with more at the top of the hour. "WORLD SPORT" is coming up next.
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