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Greece Faces The Deadline; Greece's Bailout; New Information On A Shooting Rampage In Tunisia; On A Bullet Train In Japan, An Apparent Suicide Has Led To A Deadly Fire; Britain Is Remembering Its Citizens Killed In The Tunisia Beach Massacre; NBC Dumps Donald Trump; Japan's Volcano Warning; A Captured Convict Is Talking About His Dramatic Escape From A New York Prison; What Could Happen If Greece Defaults And Exits The Euro; Indian Schools Food Poisoning; New York Escapee Captured; Puerto Rico in Default; U.S.-Iran Nuclear Deal; Great Wall of China Is Disappearing. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired June 30, 2015 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, Greece faces the deadline to pay off its massive debt. This could be the biggest default in the country's history. And...
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: New information about the man who went on a shooting rampage in Tunisia, killing dozens. Plus...
BARNETT: Breaking news coming into CNN. On a bullet train in Japan, an apparent suicide has led to a deadly fire, that story coming up.
Hello, everyone. I'm Errol Barnett, a big welcome to our viewers here in the U.S., and those of you tuned in from around the world.
ASHER: I'm Zain Asher, thank you so much for joining us. This is CNN Newsroom.
BARNETT: At this moment, it is 9:00 A.M. in Greece, where the government admits it doesn't have the $1.7 billion that it needs to make its latest loan payment.
ASHER: That's right. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says he cannot accept an offer from European lenders because it would mean too much hardship for the Greek people. Instead, he is calling for a referendum on Sunday to let the people themselves have their say and decide for themselves.
If Greeks vote no in that referendum, the country could be forced out of the Eurozone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER, PRESIDENT, E.U. COMMISSION (through translator): This isn't a game of liar's poker. There isn't one winner and another one who loses. Either, we are all winners or we are all losers. They have to know that, on our side, the door is still open.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Now tens of thousands of Greeks rallied outside parliament in Athens in support of the government's position. People say they are tired of the harsh austerity measures. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Everybody's message here today is aloud and powerful no against all of these measures that Europe wants to impose on Greece. Why? So they can give us some pocket change?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): For me, this is war and we must resist, and fight against the siege that we are under as a country and as a democracy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: For more, let's bring in CNN's Isa Soares. She is live this morning in Athens.
And Isa, it is now a second bizarre day for Athenians and really people all over the country with only this dead-end seemingly referendum to look forward to. How has it been there?
ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's an odd place to be in because emotions are so differing. And so when you speaking to people, they're redivided and split on this referendum, whether it's in or out.
The majority of people, of course, telling me they want to be in the Europe. They want to be part of the E.U. But at the same time, they don't want to face the harsh austerity measures like the lady we just heard from before.
[02:05:00] So I took to the street, Errol, to get a sense of the mood given the fact that they now have those imposed capital controls, they can only take 60 euros a day. I thought that, perhaps, may sway people slightly towards voting against what the president is saying before the E.U. proposals, but it didn't seem that way.
Take a listen to what they had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: In the harsh light of day, Greeks take shelter from venue reality (ph), having to queue for a daily sum of 60 euros. Across Athens, these are now the scenes of despair.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It's been one of the worst days. As long as I remember, this is the worst day in Greece. Last night, it was the most dramatic night. There was never such a thing as, you know, no money in the ATMs or anything and people are very confused about what to do.
SOARES: Is this confusion that has many running to ATMs, fearing that they may soon run out of cash. This is, after all, a country that relies more on cash than cards.
SOARES: Despite the rain, Greeks continue to queue, that queue going further down. Many people sheltering from the rain. The majority of people we've seen have been able to take out the limit of 60 Euros, but we have spoken to several pensioners who said they have not been able to take out, not even a single euro.
Well, today, people maybe somewhat optimistic. The reality of the crisis may set in, in the next couple of days.
Efthea (ph) has been queuing here for some time, as she tries and fails time and time again to get some of her pension money withdrawn.
How frustrated were you with what's happening?
EFTHEA (?) (through translator): I've tried 10 times in two different ATMs and both of them I got nothing back, she says. I will now borrow money from a friend to survive for the day.
SOARES: Those who need more than 60 euros are searching every cubbyhole and travel bag for dollars, British sterling or any cash from their last holidays.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Greeks, like I said, they want to trade their leftover foreign exchange that they have had at home or whatever to get euros because they are in need of euros right now.
SOARES: For those not yet in the state of panic, there is a reminder in every corner of the referendum and a call by the government for off-heat, "No to the E.U. proposals."
For some though, any vote now is just too little, too late.
SYLVIA (through translator): I don't trust anyone, nothing. Everything is over for us, tells me Sylvia. "We pay taxes. We have gone bankrupt. Everything we known is gone," she says.
SOARES: In the upcoming referendum, Greeks still have a choice, choosing between extremely bad or extremely worse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And, Errol, many Greeks are telling me, you know, this has been an economic asphyxia. They really have enough. They want their dignity back. But at the same time, they worry about the consequences of saying no to these proposals of leaving the Euro. And I think the next couple days we'll get a better sense of how people react as the crisis unfolds.
But before I toss back to you, we have some news coming into us. E.U. source has told CNN in the last few minutes, Errol, that a last-minute offer was put, given to Greece from the E.U. Commission and that's what we're being told. We do not know as of yet what exactly was in that offer.
We heard yesterday from E.U. Commissioner, Jean-Claude Juncker, who said very clearly and a very impassioned speech, he said, "There were no pension cuts and no cuts to wages," and at least when he put the proposal -- the last proposal he puts on the table. As of yet, we don't know what that last-minute offer was put forth to Greeks late last night. Errol?
BARNETT: All right, twists and turns in this final week. And we had a demonstration with people who said they're going to vote against the referendum yesterday. And today, we're going to see a demonstration of those who say they will support the referendum. So it still remains a complicated picture where you are.
Isa Soares, live for us this morning in Athens.
And indeed, the Greek debt crisis has sent financial markets in the U.S. and in Europe into negative territory. Check this out. The Dow Jones Industrial Average that's 3rd in the U.S., dropped 350 points on Monday to close at 17,596. That is the worst single-day loss for the Dow so far this year
ASHER: And investors in Europe have certainly embracing themselves. The European markets open in the next hour or so.
But as expected, Monday saw stocks falling in London, Paris, Frankfurt and Zurich. You can see the red arrows all over there.
[02:10:02] BARNETT: All right. For the moment, we move our focus to Tunisia. That's where the country's interior ministry tells CNN the man who gunned down 38 people on the beach last week had ties to a Libyan terror group, but it still unclear whether Seif Rezgui had ever traveled to Libya.
Tunisian authorities say they've also made their first arrest in the attack.
ASHER: In a show of solidarity, the interior ministers of Britain, France, Germany laid flowers at the scene of the attack. The British Prime Minister David Cameron says a major counter-terrorism training exercise will take place in London over the next few days. Now, most of the victims killed in the attack were British.
For the latest on this, I want to go our senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, who joins us live from Sousse.
So Nick, we know that number of people have been arrested in connection with this attack, including the gunman's roommate. What do we know about -- what sort of assistance, if any, they provided to the gunman?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We don't know the precisely what they are accused of. But we do know that in the past 24 hours, the government has been giving a clear message, so they are rounding up what they think are accomplices. Then, the prime ministering saying there are suspicions pointed now at six or seven university, schoolmates he had, in trying to assess how he made that journey from that man in 2011 in his country side small town of Galfor (ph) considered punctual and a hard worker to certainly transform into a gunman who brutally murdered 38 people in their swim wear on the beach not far from where I'm standing.
But detail about his terrorist connections has emerged from the interior minister today. They are all saying they're not sure which to being group he made to affiliates with. But it's Ansar al Sharia, who had a former al-Qaeda affiliation or ISIS, who are increasingly in control of coastal territory across the board of where I'm standing inside of Libya. That's a key because it begins to paint a picture of quite how he may have been assisted quite how he may have been radicalized.
Interestingly, the prime minister also said yesterday that, in fact, they believe the radicalization occurred online and it was the internet that provided the fuel for his transformation, rather necessarily than a trip to a foreign country. They're still working on that premise.
His three roommates, yes, they are being questioned still and, at the same time, authorities said they've made their "First arrests." Unclear, how these different groups of people overlap, if you like, have in a diagram of who did what in assisting Saifeddine Rezgui in the attack here. They still insist. The authorities he acted as gunman alone. Amateur video from the scene pretty much confirms that. So there have been a lot of eyewitness reports suggesting, perhaps, other gunman involved. It's hard to tell really, and particularly, hard to see evidence in the amateur video of the attack that corroborates that notion.
But also today, a coincidence, perhaps, you might say, but a troubling one. The authorities of the interior ministry have posted on their Facebook page two images of two men they seek in questioning. It's not clear if they're related to Sousse, but it is clear they're considered dangerous.
Back to you.
ASHER: And of course, after the attacks, we saw at the Bardo Museum in March, I'm sure a lot people are wondering why didn't this resort have the appropriate safety measures in place.
OK, Nick Paton Walsh, live for us today, giving us the latest on the investigation. We appreciate that. Errol?
BARNETT: Well, Zain, Britain is remembering its citizens killed in the Tunisia beach massacre.
Michael Holmes has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Small shrines, places of remembrance are popping up in places around the country, places that meant something to those who lost their lives. Also, a football club in the English midlands, the team followed by 19-year-old, Joel Richards, his uncle, Adrian Evans, and Adrian's father, Patrick, one family, three generations. Only Joel's 16-year- old brother, Owen, on the left, survived. A flag at the council building, where Adrian Evans worked, is at half-staff. People here remembering a work colleague, trying to take it all in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've seen the picture of him in the T.V. and I've said to my husband, "I'm going to ask Adrian. I worked with him. I was just so shock that I, you know, heard this morning." He was a nice, funny chap, you know? The guys always got on with him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People care deeply about this family and they really want to show how much this family means to them.
HOLMES: For others in Britain, the anguish of waiting of knowing nothing. The family of John and Janet Stocker in (inaudible) near London have heard nothing for four days. The son, Mark Stocker, called the Imperial Hotel where they were staying to ask employees to check on his father and stepmother. Their luggage, passports and money were still in their room but there was no sign of the couple. He's called every hospital in the area, to no avail.
MARK STOCKER, SON OF JOHN AND JANET STOCKER: Well, where are they, then, you know? If they're not on the injured list, where can they be, you know? It does leads you to one conclusion but it's the conclusion that you want to hear or believe.
[02:15:02] HOLMES: There is, it seems, a human urge to connect and come together, especially in moments of tragedy. These were ordinary folk enjoying a summer holiday, people like anybody else. Taking little time out to mark their passing, to pay respect is what people up and down the country simply feel a need to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were just on holiday and getting killed while they were on holidays. It's terrible. I thought it was the right thing to do. Pay our respects because there were funs (ph). It was fun (ph). We are family. It's the right thing to do.
HOLMES: Michael Holmes, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Now, despite the massacre in Tunisia, the British government has made it clear, it is not advising against all travel to that country. It says it will be keeping its policy under close review.
ASHER: That's right. In an exclusive interview, Tunisia's Prime Minister, Habib Essid, told CNN's Becky Anderson that the attacked has been devastating for his country's tourism industry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HABIB ESSID, TUNISIA PRIME MINISTER: It's very damaging. It damages really -- it's a heavy damage because it's actually is a drowning. You know, more than 1 million people live directly or directly from these sectors. And then we should do everything in order to save the situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Members of the Arab League met in an emergency session in Cairo, Egypt on Monday. They are urging unity in the wake of the attack in Tunisia and the mosque bombing in Kuwait.
ASHER: It appears a fire on board a bullet train in Japan was caused by a suicide. This video shows the bullet train was after it's forced to stop on its way to Osaka from Tokyo. Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, says a man set himself on fire in a bathroom of the first car and died. Now, two people were found without heartbeats. More on that as it comes into us.
Now, Japanese officials have raised the warning level around the Hakoneyama Volcano southwest of Tokyo. The country's weather agency says the volcano appears to have erupted.
Our Meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri, joins us with more. Pedram?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. Guys, you know, this -- of course, we know Japan well-known for active volcanoes and Hakoneyama actually, one of 18 active volcanoes across Japan. That makes up for 10 percent of the world's active volcanoes. They come right out of Japan.
So, this particular one we know, of course, has been issue now in a level three, as far as on a scale of one to five for the severity of it. It's a popular tourist destination. It's about an hour's drive from Tokyo. It's not far from Mt. Fuji. There are lakeside resorts there. There are hots springs there. So a lot of people...
BARNETT: And I did warn about this, right? They warn that they could possibly activity.
JAVAHERI: Yes, you know, on the 15th of May. So about six weeks ago, we had 471 quakes in a 24-hour period, so it's pretty active in that sense and this particular one elevating the risk.
So we'll show you this because again very, very active part of the world, one of the more active places in the world when it comes to volcanic regions. And then you go in for a close look. There it is, again, 90 kilometers southwest of Tokyo.
The perspective is here. We have had major, major eruptions over a hundred of years, even going back to 3,000 years ago where this lake has been formed because there was a massive collapse in 3,000 years ago of an explosive eruption that dammed up the lake and essentially filled with water over time. So that's a concern here of this sort of an event that takes place then close proximity to densely populate Tokyo, it becomes a major issue.
But right now, a level three on a scale of one to five, saying just don't approach the volcano in the immediate future. So that's something we're watching very carefully. But a quick glance here since we're there now. The temperatures across the northwestern U.S. record territory yet again, we expect this to continue. There is a fire threat also around the northwest corner of the U.S. But we're also watching the volcano across Japan.
BARNETT: All right. A busy world indeed, and Pedram covering it all. I appreciate it. Thanks very much. See you later.
Now, a captured convict is talking about his dramatic escape from a New York prison. Coming up next, what he is telling authorities about who helped him and why he ditched his fellow fugitive.
ASHER: And later this hour, a closer look at what could happen if Greece defaults and exits the Euro, that's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:20:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I don't know what to do. I couldn't fall asleep for the past two days and I don't think I can fall asleep in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: On Monday, a 20-year-old woman, who had burns over 90 percent of her body, was the first person to die in the disaster. Her 12- year-old brother was also badly burned. That was their mother speaking out about the tragedy.
BARNETT: Now, this incident happened on Saturday when a colored powder that was sprayed over the crowd ignited, injuring almost 500 people. The water park in Taiwan will now remain closed while investigators try to determine what caused the deadly fire.
ASHER: The CEO of the water park issued a tearful apology on Monday. She is asking for a fund to be setup for the victims.
BARNETT: Now, we have the story just in to CNN. About 115 Indian school children have fallen ill after eating a mid-day meal. Now, this happened in the eastern state of Behar.
Official say the students complained of headaches, uneasiness and a burning sensation in their throats. Police are investigating claims from some students of a dead lizard, perhaps, in the meal. The district official says the children were treated at a nearby hospital. You see some of the footage. All of them at this hour, that we can report, are out of danger.
Now in the U.S., the man who led police in the U.S. on a three-week manhunt is now talking about his escape from a maximum security prison.
ASHER: And New York's governor says David Sweat and Richard Matt planned to go to Mexico but had to improvise after the prison tale, Joyce Mitchell, who is accused of helping them after she backed out. Now Sweat was caught on Sunday, just a couple of miles south of the Canadian border.
BARNETT: And he apparently told police that this prison guard, Gene Palmer, did not help them break out. Palmer appeared in court on Monday and has been charged in the escape.
[2:25:00] ASHER: Meanwhile, the FBI is looking into possible corruption and drug trafficking at the prison involving both inmates and prison guards as well.
BARNETT: So what exactly led to David Sweat's capture after hundreds of officers searching for hundreds of hours? It all came down to one.
Gary Tuchman has the time line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The word came over police radios around 3:20 P.M., gunshots fired. As scores of police raced to the ironically named town of Constable on the Canadian border, there was hope that David Sweat had been captured and fear that police officers and civilians could have been hurt. But one, only one officer was already at the scene, New York State Trooper Sergeant Jay Cook.
JOSEPH D'AMICO, NEW YORK STATE POLICE COMMISSIONER: As he was driving down the road, he spotted a male who was basically jogging up along the side of the road. He approached him. And as he exited the car, the male turned to him, he says, "Hey, come over here."
TUCHMAN: The male, who Sergeant Cook saw, was David Sweat, only about two miles as the cop (ph) lies from the Canadian border.
D'AMICO: The male kind of ignored him. He called out to him again at which time the male turned around kind of like, you know, "What do you want from me?" And he recognized him to be David Sweat.
TUCHMAN: Sergeant Cook says Sweat took off from the street into this field. The sergeant chased after him. He was afraid that Sweat would run into the woods and disappear. He fired two shots and the manhunt was over.
This very rural area has many Amish residents. In the aftermath, vehicles were being searched by police, including Amish buggies, to make sure only residents were allowed back into the area where the capture was made.
Jean Burke and Paul Meldrum were visiting an Amish family whose home and barn were adjacent to where Sweat was caught.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see this barn here, about 600 feet. The other side of that barn is where they apprehended him. If he made it to the end of the field, there is nothing but forest from there to the Canadian border.
TUCHMAN: Across the street from the field lives a family with two children. Michael Doyle heard the gunshots
MICHAEL DOYLE, WITNESS: When I heard the two gunshots, I didn't know if one was him and one was them, or, you know, back and forth type of deal or not.
TUCHMAN: He says within three or four minutes, swarms of police arrived. He took these pictures of the police cars, estimating there were between 40 and 50 vehicles on the rural road, with two officers in most of the cars.
DOYLE: They threw their cars and parked and they run out of their cars. Some had guns in hand. Throwing (ph) on coats and they were running through the field and the ambulance came into the field and headed down to where he was shot.
TUCHMAN: You can see the tire tracks of the vehicles in the wet field. Also, crime tape remains where the field turns into forest which would have been the beginning of Sweat's route to Canada.
DOYLE: To see all of this was very overwhelming.
TUCHMAN: Two ambulances are accompanied by police vehicles raced to a nearby hospital, leading to fears that more than one person had been shot, but Sweat was the only person who had been hurt.
In Franklin County, where most of the three-week long manhunt was centered, there is a great relief. And about 200 residents gathered in front of the county courthouse to show their appreciation to the law enforcement agents who risked their lives to find the two escapees.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They did an amazing job, tracking these guys and getting them.
TUCHMAN: 1,300 men and women looking for these killers, but it came down to one man, Sergeant Jay Cook, whose alert patrolling on this quiet road put an end to the fears of a region.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Constable, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: And we're going to take a quick break here on CNN. When we come back, NBC dumps Donald Trump over his immigration comments and now he might sue over their jointly owned beauty pageant.
BARNETT: Also coming up, Greeks lining up for the country's ATMs to get their money. We'll bring you the latest on the debt crisis there after this short break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:30:00] BARNETT: A warm welcome back to our viewers here in the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Errol Barnett.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher. Let's give you your the headlines. An apparent suicide ended up starting a fire on board of bullet train in Japan.
This video, you see right here, actually shows the train after it was forced to stop on its way to Osaka from Tokyo. Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, says a man set himself on fire in the bathroom of the first car and died. Two people were found unconscious and without a pulse. Two other people, who were on the train, were seriously injured and at least 20 others are hurt. Details are still coming in to us and we'll bring you more information as we get it.
Tunisia's interior ministry tells CNN the man who gunned down 38 people at a beach resort last week had a connection to a Libyan terror group. Now, it's unclear whether Saifeddine Rezgui had ever traveled to Libya. Authorities say they have made their first arrests in connection with this attack.
ASHER: Captured convict, David Sweat, is talking to police about his escape from a New York prison. He was shot and captured Sunday after three weeks on the run. Sweat and fellow escapee, Richard Matt, apparently had plans to go to Mexico but switched to Canada when their ride backed out.
BARNETT: For a second day in a row, Greeks are lining up at ATMs around the country, hoping to get their hands on their own cash before the country goes into default. Greece owes its European creditors $1.7 billion today. The country's economic minister says it will be impossible to make that payment.
John Defterios joins us now from Abu Dhabi to talk more now about what it means if Greece defaults and exits the Euro, which does seem more likely today.
And John, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras remains defiant in an interview on Greek TV last night, no last-minute deals according to all of the information we have at the stage. So, what has been the real final sticking point here?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING NATIONS EDITOR: Well, it's amazing, Errol, what is transpiring in both Greece and in Brussels, as we speak. It's abundantly clear in the last 24 hours that the European Union and lead members of the European Union and Greece have major ideological differences, but also very practical differences on pension reforms, tax rates or VAT rates, but most importantly, on long-term debt.
In the last 40 minutes or so, we've had confirmation from an E.U. source that the E.C. Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, had tabled an offer to the Greeks at the very last minute. It's also been reported that the offer included consideration of stretching out the terms of Greece's long-term debt. This is a sticking point with Alexis Tsipras.
[02:35:00] No discussion about cutting the principle and this, Errol, is the sticking point. The Greeks live with a debt of 1.77 percent of GDP, and this has caused the austerity. And this is why Alexis Tsipras, in his interview with Greek television last night, said he would be voting no on Sunday and he would leave it to the Greek people and even live with the consequences and that means, perhaps, if it goes the other way, and there is a yes vote from the Greeks that he would consider stepping down or there may be a call for him to step down and a call for new elections. That's the potential over the next three, four weeks, depending on that vote on Sunday.
BARNETT: But it's not the first time Greece has been down this road. I mean you could argue that for five years the country has been unable to balance its books. What could the implications of a debt default today, B, and what about the outcome of Sunday's referendum? I mean no matter which way it goes, this is uncharted territory.
DEFTERIOS: Uncharted territory and a test to the Eurogroup overall. There are 19 members that share their currency. The Greeks have been a member for the last 13 years. If the Greeks decided to vote against the proposal on the table and a selection not for austerity and, perhaps, to get out of the Euro, that doesn't say a lot about an experiment after 15 years of founding it and 13 years with Greece as a member.
The biggest concern, as we speak today, is contagion. We saw the Dow Industrial fall 350 points. We saw interest rates go up in Spain, Italy and Portugal, slightly. We don't see a huge contagion so far. Oil prices are falling.
But the point is, Errol, Greece is a very small country but, at times, it can pack a pretty strong punch. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: Greece represents only two percent of the European economy and only 0.3 percent of the global economy but this country could have an oversized impact on global financial markets, potentially defaulting on $382 billion of debt.
The key questions right now, if Greece cannot make its debt payments, would it default then would it exit the single European currency in Europe after 13 years as a member? It is the equivalent of, say, a state of the union deciding to opt out of the U.S. dollar. That, of course, would be a shock.
But what does it mean to you? Greece is a member of European Union and a key tourist destination. Around half of million Americans head there on vacation every year. And if you are planning your summer holiday there, you could face some issues. You may not be able to get your spending money out of ATMs. You could stumble across protests on the streets and strike actions if the country leaves the Euro. If you're heading to one of the fabled islands, you may not be able to get a ferry back to the mainland due to a lack of fuel. Unless or even saying that the country may not have enough money for ride jet fuel for planes on the ground as well.
So after six years of struggling to keep Greece in the Euro, a huge question mark remains over the future of the country and potentially the single European currency. (END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: So you can see, Errol, why people are watching the outcome of the default, potentially from today of $1.7 billion, a referendum on Sunday, and even may get more complicated. We're getting word out of Greece from the finance ministry that the Greeks may exercise some legal rights and challenge the exiting of the Euro. That's the call from the European leaders in the Euro group going forward. So this drama, certainly, is not near its completion. Errol.
BARNETT: That's right. And you covered the ups and downs of Greece for a longtime.
So John Defterios joining us from Abu Dhabi, get your rest this week. It is sure to be a busy one. We'll check in with you later. Thanks very much.
ASHER: Unbelievable. And now, Greece is actually not alone in facing a debt crisis. Puerto Rico may also end up being in default as well.
BARNETT: That's right. The governor is demanding the U.S. government allow the commonwealth to declare bankruptcy. Currently, only cities, towns, and other municipalities can do that. The island owes $73 billion that it cannot pay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEJANDRO GARCIA PADILLA, GOVERNOR OF PUERTO RICO (through translator): Puerto Rico needs, and I propose today, a complete and comprehensive restructuring and development plan, that is not short term but long term. And there's definitive for the immense problem today that we face. Not to achieve it. The alternative would be a unilateral and unplanned nonpayment of our obligations, with all the negative consequences which would have implications for each one of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Puerto Rico faces its first debt hurdle on Wednesday. The government-run energy company has a debt payment due then, and it's expected to default. OK, we turn now to politics and already crowded field.
The U.S. presidential race may be getting, get this, its 14th Republican candidate. In just a few hours, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is expected to officially jump into the race. He's going to be throwing his hat into the ring. The campaign launch is set to happen at his high school alma mater, where he once served as class president. Errol.
[02:40:00] BARNETT: Zain, billionaire businessman, Donald Trump, and now U.S. presidential hopeful, continues to court controversy. NBCUniversal just cut all ties with him after he said Mexican immigrants were rapist and brought crime to the U.S. Trump and NBC co-owned the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants which now the network says it won't air. Trump defends his comments and says NBC is just weak.
Athena Jones has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, CEO, TRUMP GROUP & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Am I so bad?
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: NBCUniversal has cut its ties with Donald Trump, citing his derogatory statements, calling Mexican immigrants rapists, drug dealers and criminals.
TRUMP: Somebody has to come out and tell it like it is.
JONES: The real estate mogul stood by those comments before a packed house in Chicago, quoting a report by "Fusion," owned by Spanish language channel, Univision and ABC.
TRUMP: If they think it's like Mother Teresa is coming across the border, OK? This one says, "80 percent of Central American women and girls are raped crossing into the United States." Well, I said drug dealers, I said killers and I said rapists.
JONES: NBC says it will no longer air the Miss USA or Miss Universe pageants, partly owned by Trump, following a similar step by Univision, which also dumped the event
Trump is threatening to sue.
TRUMP: I'll be suing Univision. Maybe I'll be suing NBC, too.
JONES: NBC was facing growing pressure to respond, with more than 200,000 people signing on to a petition on change.org calling on the company to dump Trump, and angry protesters denouncing him outside the Chicago event.
The reality star and now presidential candidate had already planned to give up his hit show The Apprentice.
Amid the controversy, Trump has been surging in the Republican polls, up to second place in the first primary state of New Hampshire.
Oozing a confidence, in classic Trump style, he touted the latest CNN/WMUR poll.
TRUMP: There's a CNN poll that just came out and they have interesting categories. Who is the best on terrorism? That is a pretty important subject. Trump right at the top. Who is the best on handling international trade? Like not even close. Trump is like almost double anybody else, right? That's incredible.
JONES: As for the man besting him in that poll, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Trump says he's a nice guy who can't win in 2016.
TRUMP: Believe me, he will never, ever, in a million years, bring it home.
JONES: Athena Jones, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: More of the world's biggest stories coming up. Iranian officials are watching negotiations closely as the U.S. and Iran trying to hammer out a nuclear deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAEDDIN BOROUJERDI, CHAIRMAN, IRANIAN FOREIGN POLICY COMMITTEE (through translator): And even though this was just about the nuclear issue, Iran considers this a historical test for the United States, because we still do not trust the U.S.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: The details on what Tehran wants as the deadline inches closer. That is coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:45:00]
ASHER: Welcome back, everyone. Iran's nuclear negotiator is heading back to Vienna for more talks as the deadline looms.
The U.S. and Iran both admit and probably won't have a deal worked out but are willing to continue talking past the stealth impose time limit. Now, if no deal is reached, both sides can keep talking for a few days longer, extend by a few months, or simply, if they want to give up and go home. However, both sides do hope to reach a final comprehensive deal on Iran's nuclear program. That is the goal
BARNETT: And keep in mind that a senior Iranian official says Tehran essentially wants all sanctions lifted if a nuclear deal is reached.
He sat down with our international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, to talk about this possible deal
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Obviously, the nuclear negotiations are in a very decisive phase right now. How good do you think that chances are that a deal will be reached? And what does Iran want to achieve?
BOROUJERDI (through translator): I believe the sanctions must be lifted all at once. This is a necessary condition. Of course, when it comes to executing the sanction relief, that might take more time. Both the implementation of the restrictions on their own, from the new agreement, and the execution of lifting the sanctions may take longer. But from day one, it must be declared that the sanctions will be lifted. And inspecting our military facilities is a definite red line.
PLEITGEN: Presumably, you've already spoken to Foreign Minister Zarif about how the negotiations are going. How confident are you that an agreement can be reached?
BOROUJERDI (through translator): Both sides must show serious will for an agreement. And considering the fact that we have accepted restrictions on our program that lawson (ph) talks, we believe the Islamic Republic of Iran has done its part. Now, it's the other side that has to make a decision. And the other side, especially the United States, wants to put on a show as they have done in the past when they reneged on previous agreements with Iran.
PLEITGEN: If these negotiations go well, if there is an agreement, could that lead to better relations with the United States, for instance, also cooperation in the field of fighting terrorism, fighting ISIS? And what do you think will be the consequences if this fails?
BOROUJERDI (through translator): We are witnessing a new atmosphere, which includes long-term discussions, longer than ever before. The two foreign ministers talked for countless hours. And even though this was just about the nuclear issue, Iran considers this a historical test for the United States because we still do not trust the U.S. At the sensitive juncture, the U.S. must show that it really wants to bring down this wall of mistrust between us
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: An agreement between the U.S. and Iran would be a victory for Iran but not everybody is pleased about it.
CNN's Jake Tapper spoke with the former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. to explain why Israel is pushing back against this deal. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL OREN, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL: It's pretty much a national consensus issue in Israel. Even the opposition to Netanyahu agrees that the deal as it is on the table now is bad deal, a bad deal for Israel.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT AND CNN ANCHOR, STATE OF THE UNION: What do you want? What do you think you're not getting in this deal?
OREN: A couple of things. One is a dismantling of a much bigger part of Iran's nuclear program. Right now, part of the program is being frozen. It's not being dismantled. They keep the centrifuges and some of them aren't plugged in but they're not being taken apart, the facilities not taken apart.
But the bigger part for Israel is that the deal is not attached in any way to Iranian behavior. Iran is the world's largest state sponsor of terror. It is complicit in the murder of 200,000 Syrians. It is trying to undermine pro-American, pro-Western governments in the Middle East. And it awfully declares its intention to destroy us, to destroy Israel. We want the nuclear deal linked to a change of Iranian behavior. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: And the ambassador also says the Iranian nuclear deal also poses several existential threats to Israel because it's situated in a profoundly unstable nuclear neighborhood.
[2:50:04] ASHER: And with that, we're going to take a quick break here on CNN. When we come back, the Great Wall of China is disappearing. Coming up after the break, we're going to be explaining why vast part of this wall is fading away.
BARNETT: And the Wimbledon tradition, as big as tennis-whites and rackets, are helping (ph) the strawberries and cream, after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JAVAHERI: The heat continues debate portions of Western and Northwestern Europe, massive ridge very easy to find in place. Good day to you, Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri. And look at the perspective here. We have high pressure. And large in charters the storm systems literally getting the list it up in over portions of the U.K. And you kind of see the steering currency here and the storm is kind of reentering offshore.
Kick up some winds by, say, Wednesday afternoon into Thursday. You can see some isolated storms. You can kind of see against stuck out there. But no, it's a few impulses do try to pick up has began and towards Wednesday afternoon, Iran, Scotland are cooling.
Certainly, we'll get there. But before then, temperatures were warmed up as you see the contort push up towards London even on to Scotland as well. The temperature is getting up to 34 degrees, the warmest since 2012. For a lot of these areas, the warmest since 2003. For Paris, 39 degrees, incredible heat taking place even up towards Madrid. The temperature trend if you're tuned across the Europe. Thank you for doing so. We'll give you most of the sunny skies. Not too bad, about 25 degrees. Key even to the 20s. How about Athens? Some showers about 29 degrees. And the heat across Southwest Asia, Tehran, some of the hottest temperatures I've seen in recent memory at 44. That is one of the hot spots across Southwest Asia.
Miami will make it up to 40 across a Western Africa from Sudan to Nigeria into the South. Some shower responses.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARNETT: It is considered by many to be one of the greatest wonders in the world, the Great Wall of China. Well now, it is slowly disappearing.
ASHER: And here's why. So it's a combination of weather condition and human activity, really to blame in this. So tourists are, of course, taking their toll and residents are actually stealing parts of the wall to build homes.
Now, about 30 percent of the massive structure has disappeared over time. It's pretty sad, actually.
BARNETT: It is. Now, the first day at the 2015 Wimbledon Tennis Championships is in the books. Serena Williams already holds, what, the U.S., Australia and French Open Titles. And the Wimbledon Crown would see the completion of another historic.
"Serena Slam," let's call it.
[02:55:00] She should beat 20-year-old Russian...
ASHER: Unstoppable.
BARNETT: ... Margarita Gasparyan to move on to the second round.
ASHER: On the men side, defending champ, Novak Djokovic, had a straight set victory on Monday to advance to round two.
BARNETT: Now, for those who don't know, Wimbledon is situated in one of the most prestigious areas of London, so finding a place to stay alone that can be a challenge. There were no hotels within kilometer of the tennis grounds. So most tennis stars run someone else's home for a couple of weeks, in fact.
Pat Cash has more on what they look for.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANE WELDON: Well Kim, good morning. Welcome to my home in Wimbledon.
PAT CASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jane Weldon has been hosting the (inaudible) to the game at her Wimbledon home for seven years.
WELDON: It's a five-minute walk to the courts and five from here. It has a lot of privacy. Although it's in the - there are other houses around. You can sit here and not be seen and you can see the courts and you can hear the roar from the center and number courts.
CASH: She's not to let to say who is on her guest list, but there's no secret who is her favorite player is.
WELDON: Well, it was Rafael Nadal. Rafael Nadal was thinking about renting it and I thought that would be very exciting to be able to say that Rafael Nadal had been a part of it. But he rented somewhere else. He didn't come.
CASH: Apartments with the SW19 post-code started $2,200 a week. And family homes top out at $23,000, players willing to pay big for the convenience of walking to work.
MARION BARTOLI, TENNIS PLAYER: So it's just something really nice about Wimbledon. It makes you feel you can never live here for normal life.
CASH: Bartoli believes the change in address can change the game. BARTOLI: I was renting the same house from 2008 to 2012 and I said, "Well, you know why. I didn't have the raise that I was expecting." Well, you know, I just get into the quarterfinal once since 2011. Well, I think it's time for a change.
CASH: So, she decided to rent a different house and won the title.
Roger Federer requires two houses when he comes Wimbledon to accommodate his growing family. He has looked up to buy Joanna Edonega (ph) who finds private homes for most of the top players.
JOANNA EDONEGA (?): They're quite superstitious quite a lot of players, I think. I mean I can never get a player to go and live in a house that's number 13, for example.
CASH: Joanna don't forget Pete Sampras, the seven-times Wimbledon champ, who brought his own bed to Wimbledon.
EDONEGA: He likes to sleep in a very large bed and a very small room. So he used to have to take all of the windows out, out of the house. What happened the bed winch in through the windows, it was, you know, it was a bit of a problem really.
CASH: She currently has 175 houses on her books and says she has no trouble convincing homeowners to vacate their properties during the championship.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: It must be nice to some, even watching CNN Newsroom everyone. I'm Zain Asher.
BARNETT: And I'm Errol Barnett. We've got another hour of the world's biggest stories and the latest on what's happening in Greece after this break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:00:00]
ASHER: We're following breaking news out of Indonesia. Reuters is reporting that an Indonesian military plane has crashed into homes and a hotel.
BARNETT: Plus, we're also tracking reports. A man set himself on fire on board of Japanese bullet train.
ASHER: And it's deadline day in Greece. The country needs to make its latest payment or risk default.
BARNETT: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the U.S. and all around the world, the number of stories breaking this hour for you. I'm Errol Barnett.
ASHER: And I am Zain Asher. This is CNN Newsroom. BARNETT: We want to begin with new information just into our Newsroom. Reuters News Agency is now citing an Indonesian official that a military transport plane has crashed in the city of Medan, killing 30 people. This is in Northern Sumatra. Reuters also reports that the plane hit a hotel and houses in this area.
The images you're seeing here are our first glimpse what took place. The plane reportedly has just taken off a minutes before the crashed from an air force based in Medan.
We will continue to try and get new information on this for you throughout the hour, including one of our team who is closed to where this is all taking place, as soon as we're able to connect with that correspondent to produce so we will bring them to you live this hour.
Now, two people are dead after a fire onboard of bullet train in Japan. This is the other breaking story we're following this hour.
ASHER: Right.
BARNETT: It's believed to started by a man committing suicide.
ASHER: Now, here's what we know so far. The police are telling us that a passenger actually poured some sort of liquid on his body, and then after that, basically
[03:04:00]
