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Greece's Left Wing Leader Emerges Triumphant; U.S. Promises to Accept More Refugees; Cuba's Young People Gather to Hear Pope Francis; Shift in Republican Race Following CNN Debate; Criticism of Carly Fiorina's Corporate Career; Muslims a News Focus in Presidential Race; Houthies Release 6 Hostages Including 2 Americans in Yemen; Francis Marginalized Before Becoming Pope; Iranian Woman Competes in Motocross. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired September 21, 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] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Greece's left-wing leader emerges triumphant from a snap general election after a dramatic victory over his conservative rival. We will go live to Athens for more.
Plus, as migrants continue to overwhelm Europe and more die trying to get there, the U.S. is now promising to accept more refugees.
And Pope Francis has a special message for young people as his historic trip to Cuba continues.
And that is all ahead this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
A month after he resigned, Alexis Tsipras is back as the prime minister of Greece, and he's got many of the same urgent problems to deal with. Tsipras says Sunday's vote gave him a clear mandate to lead the country. His Syriza Party came in just shy of an outright majority in the snap election. Syriza will join the Independent Greek Party to form a ruling coalition.
Mr. Tsipras says the voting results are proof that people believe in his leadership. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXIS TSIPRAS, GREEK PRIME MINISTER (through translation): We gave a tough and difficult battle, and I feel vindicated today because the Greek people gave us a clear mandate to keep fighting inside and outside the country and boost our people's pride. Today, in Europe, Greece and the Greek people are synonymous with resistance and dignity. This struggle will be continued together for a full four years because the mandate we got is a four-year mandate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: So the big question, of course, what's next for Alexis Tsipras as he takes control again.
Journalist Elinda Labropoulou joins us from Athens with more on that. Elinda, Alexis Tsipras talks about this clear mandate but his party
will need to form a coalition with the Democratic Greeks party. What can people of Greece expect from those two parties joining forces?
ELINDA LABROPOULOU, JOURNALIST & CNN CONTRIBUTOR: For the time being, what it would appear to look like is we're getting more of the same effectively because these are the two same parties that formed a coalition in January. So in that sense, not very much appears to be changing. But what Mr. Tsipras has achieved in this election is he has removed all the hard-liners from his own party. These are the people that wanted Greece out of the Euro. The M.P.s that were causing a lot of problems in terms of this third bailout for Greece and were really making things very difficult for the prime minister. They're also the reason mainly why he decided to go to election. So he's coming back having received a clear mandate from people to go ahead with this third bailout.
And if we go down to January, the last general election, we have to see that Mr. Tsipras was very different then. He was talking about the fight against austerity. He was willing to really battle with Europe and the creditors, and he did do that for several months. Eventually, he capitulated, got his third bailout, but now the Greeks look as though they're likely to support him. So, though not much appears to be different, essentially, a lot is.
CHURCH: So whatever the outcome of this snap election, the country still faces these major challenges ahead, as we mentioned, with the economy. Also, it needs to confront the migrant crisis. What changes to policy might voters see, then, going forward?
LABROPOULOU: Well, what they will see is the first impact of the third bailout to begin with, and that will not be nice, because that's something that includes more cuts, more tax hikes, everything that the Greeks had not wished for in last year's election, in January's election. But once the bailout was signed, Mr. Tsipras has very little room to stay away from these reforms if Greece is to receive any more money from its creditors. And as it is, the government that is going to be formed from these two parties will only have 155 seats in the 300-seat parliament. So we're not looking at a very strong government. And this is really the fear from Europe, from the markets. It will take a while before they see whether this government is strong enough to actually go ahead and implement these changes that now Mr. Tsipras has promised.
CHURCH: Elinda Labropoulou joining us from Athens. Many thanks to you for that. We appreciate that.
We will have more on the future of Greece coming up. My guest at the half hour says the next few weeks will shape the politics but the coming months will seal the country's fate. Do stay with us for that.
As people in Greece cast their ballots, more migrants try to get to the country, but as we've seen before, some did not make it. At least 14 people died in two separate incidents in the Aegean Sea on Sunday. In one of them, a migrant boat collided with a ship near Turkey's coast on the way to Greece. The Turkish Coast Guard rescued eight of those passengers.
In another incident, a boat carrying Syrian refugees was able to make it to Greece's Lesbos Island. They say they don't care where they end up, they just want safety.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[02:05:26] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are you from?
UNIDENTIFIED MIGRANT: Syria.
UNIDENTIFIED MIGRANT: Syria.
UNIDENTIFIED MIGRANT: Syria.
UNIDENTIFIED MIGRANT: OK. How many people in this boat?
UNIDENTIFIED MIGRANT: People, Syria --
UNIDENTIFIED MIGRANT: 20. Nearly 20.
UNIDENTIFIED MIGRANT: 20.
UNIDENTIFIED MIGRANT: OK. How much money did you pay for the trip?
UNIDENTIFIED MIGRANT: 2,000.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 2,000?
UNIDENTIFIED MIGRANT: Euro. 2,000 Euro.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. So where will you go?
UNIDENTIFIED MIGRANT: Go?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where will you go?
UNIDENTIFIED MIGRANT: Go to Europe.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MIGRANT: We want safe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MIGRANT: Only safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The International Organization for Migration says nearly 350,000 migrants have landed in Greece so far this year.
Well, many of these migrants begin their journey in Turkey before crossing the Mediterranean to Greece and then heading further north into Europe. Thousands of migrants have entered Croatia in the past week. The country has given them medical care, food and water, before sending them to a border crossing near Hungary. Now, Hungary is then sending many of these people on to Austria. The country is also taking action to secure its borders. A government spokesman says this is to prevent, quote, "uncontrolled and unidentified people from flooding into the E.U."
Well, the U.S. says it will take in more refugees as Europe struggles to handle the growing migrant crisis. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says the country will accept 85,000 people in the next fiscal year.
CNN's George Howell reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(APPLAUSE)
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At a time when tightening immigration is the focus by candidates fighting to become the next U.S. president, the current administration is planning to raise its cap on refugees, specifically in response to the mass migration seen in Europe as people flee conflict zones for safety. The U.S. has been under pressure to do more.
JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: America has always welcomed bringing more people in, in these kinds of circumstances, and we want to live up to that.
HOWELL: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made at announcement in Berlin, standing alongside his German counterpart.
The plan increases the number of refugees the U.S. will take in from 70,000 to 85,000 in 2016, then 100,000 the following year.
Kerry also noted that while the administration will do what it can to change U.S. policy on refugees as quickly as possible --
KERRY: They will be accompanied by additional financial contributions to the humanitarian effort not only from our government but from the American people.
HOWELL: -- part of the proposal would require debate in Congress to raise the needed funds. In contrast to other nations, though, like Germany that's bracing for 800,000 migrants this year alone, Behzad Yaghmaian, who's a professor of political economy at Ramapo College, says the U.S. is moving in the right direction by raising its limits on refugees, but adds bluntly --
BEHZAD YAGHMAIAN, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL ECONOMY, RAMAPO COLLEGE: This increase is minuscule and insignificant. It really lacks significance. It's like a drop of water in an ocean of refugees not only from Syria but from other parts of the region and Africa that are desperately escaping violence. The United States should and can do a lot more than this.
HOWELL: Yaghmaian believes the U.S. should bear more of the burden given how directly it's impacted countries from Iraq to Afghanistan. He says accepting more refugees should be front and center in the current political debates, though he acknowledges it would be a controversial discussion for politicians to take up amid security concerns.
YAGHMAIAN: There have been discussions that ISIS will take advantage of the United States' generosity, ISIS members will hide within -- among the Syrian refugees to try to enter the country. I think this is misunderstood because ISIS fighters have been going from the West to the East, not vice versa.
HOWELL: But public opinion matters for the U.S. to do more, to assure the American public that raising the limits on refugees does not equate to raising risk.
George Howell, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Pope Francis will be heading out of Havana, visiting other cities later today on his second full day in Cuba. Sunday was packed with events. The pope met with tens of thousands of ordinary Cubans from morning mass to evening prayers. He exhorted the faithful to be open-minded and look after the vulnerable and those in need. He also met with Cuban revolutionary and former president, Fidel Castro. The private meeting was described as friendly.
In his public appearances, affection for the pope was easy to see. And the pope expressed love for his followers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[02:10:19] POPE FRANCIS (through translation): Just dream. Wish. Look for horizons. Open yourself. Open yourself to great things. I don't know if in Cuba you use the word, but the Argentineans, we say don't hesitate to open yourself. Open yourself and dream. Dream that the world with you can be different.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: On Sunday evening, tens of thousands of Cuba's young people gathered to hear the pope speak.
Earlier, we spoke to CNN's senior Vatican analyst, John Allen, about the pope's appeal among Cuba's youth.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST (voice-over): Cuba in many ways has been a society almost frozen in time for decades, in part because of the trade embargo, in part because of its own internal policies. In my experience of speaking to young Cubans during the time the pope has been here, that they are desperate to believe that things can change. And they have a great confidence that Pope Francis is someone who can help make that happen. He, of course, was the figure who helped broker the deal that led to the normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba. Most Cubans believe that that augers a rapid end to the embargo. They have a great hope that Francis might be able to help move that along as well. And the young, in particular, I think, they are hungry to see society change. They are hungry to see it modernize, to open up, to see new economic opportunities created, new opportunities for building civil society.
One of the interesting twists at tonight's event, of course, is that the Vatican had asked, and the Cuban authorities had agreed, in a rare departure from the norm, that they would make Wi-Fi access readily available tonight for the pope's event so the young people could tweet and Snapchat and use social media to post their reaction. This is a country in which access to the Internet is very difficult to come by and, by the standards of ordinary Cubans, it's quite expensive. So I think you've got what the pope said, and also some of the atmospherics surrounding the event, you got a glimpse of the kind of society these young Cubans are hungry to construct.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And the pope has one more full day scheduled in Cuba. Then he heads to the United States. On Tuesday, he will arrive in Washington, D.C. On Thursday, he heads to New York. Saturday, he goes to Philadelphia. And then heads back to Rome on Sunday.
Pope Francis is the religious leader of more than a billion people, but less than 20 years ago, he was alone, exiled to this small room. Later in the hour, we will show you how he went from banished priest to church leader.
Also coming up, after the Republican U.S. presidential debate here on CNN, there's a major shift in the polls, with Donald Trump losing a bit of ground.
Plus, fellow candidate, Ben Carson, says Islam is inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution. We will have his thoughts on Muslims in power.
And later this hour, a group of hostages makes the journey to freedom in Amman.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:15:52] PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good Monday morning. Pedram Javaheri, CNN "Weather Watch" for you here.
(WEATHER FORECAST)
CHURCH: There has been a major shift in the U.S. presidential race. A key political poll has changed since the second Republican debate, which happened here on CNN, of course. In the latest CNN/ORC poll, Donald Trump still leads with 24 percent, but he has lost eight percentage points since the debate. Carly Fiorina has jumped to second place with 15 percent. And Ben Carson has dropped to third. Trump says these poll numbers are unexpected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION (voice-over): Well, I'm a little surprised because other polls have come out where I actually picked up after the debate, I actually gained after the debate. I'm in first place in every poll. But I gained substantially in a couple of them. So I'm a little surprised. But you know, it's a poll. The only poll that matters is the big one. You know that one. That's going to be the election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Sunlin Serfaty has more now on the numbers and what they mean.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNLIN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This poll shows how much the debate has really shaken up the race. But besides who's up and who's down, what's most striking is when you compare it to what the field looked like one month ago. Put up those comparison numbers for you now. As you see Donald Trump is still the front-runner but he's on a downward slope, sliding eight points. Support slipping there, too, for Ben Carson, who has lost five percentage points. Compare that to Carly Fiorina. She's leaping up 12 percentage points. That's a huge number, really in just three weeks. Also a big jump there, too, for Senator Marco Rubio, gaining 8 percentage points.
And all of this really underscores how vital the debate moments are for these candidates, especially with such a crowded field. Carly Fiorina, she really went toe to toe with Donald Trump in so many of those moments, and these numbers really do show that she came off looking very favorable because of that. Senator Marco Rubio, he was able to really highlight his foreign policy chops, gained a lot of momentum. Same with Carly Fiorina going forward. That sets a tone on the campaign trail going forward from here on out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: That was Sunlin Serfaty reporting there.
As Carly Fiorina's profile rises within the Republican field, so does the criticism of her record as a CEO.
Tom Foreman takes a look at her freshly controversial corporate career.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(APPLAUSE)
[02:20:00] TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outspoken and tough, by all accounts, Carly Fiorina has friends and enemies in high places.
DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: You ran up mountains of debt as well as losses using other people's money, and you were forced to file for bankruptcy not once -- FIORINA: I never filed for bankruptcy.
(CROSSTALK)
FIORINA: -- not twice. Four times. A record four times. Why should we trust you to manage --
(CROSSTALK)
FIORINA: -- the finances of this nation any differently than you managed the finances of your casinos?
(CROSSTALK)
FOREMAN: For foes, her most glaring weakness lies in two letters -- H.P. Fiorina made big headlines when she was named the first female CEO at that tech giant in 1999. But the headlines were even bigger when she oversaw the mega purchase of Compaq and H.P. went into a tailspin, losing half its stock value in the bursting tech bubble and laying off now workers.
TRUMP: The company is a disaster and continues to be a disaster. They still haven't recovered.
FOREMAN: By 2005, Fiorina was very publicly and painfully fired. She told "60 Minutes," about it.
UNIDENTIFIED ANCHOR, 60 MINUTES: Almost as if they meant to take you down a peg or two, that kind of thing.
FIORINA: Well, if that was their intent, they certainly succeed in that.
(LAUGHTER)
FOREMAN: For Wall Street, it wasn't personal. It was business. As soon as Fiorina was fired, H.P.'s stock rose 7 percent. And "Fortune" magazine's assessment is blunt, her run as CEO, well, it just wasn't all that great.
FIORINA: Keep up, ladies.
(LAUGHTER)
Sorry. I walk really fast.
FOREMAN: But Fiorina was soon pushing on, advising John McCain's presidential bid in 2008, running for Senate in 2010, giving us the famous demon-sheep ad and an infamous open-Mike moment when she insulted Barbara Boxer's hair.
FIORINA: Saw Barbara Boxer briefly on television this morning and said what everyone says, God, what is that hair?
(LAUGHTER)
So yesterday. Even --
FOREMAN: The Democrat responded by walloping Fiorina in the final vote.
Life has hit Fiorina hard, too. Twice married, she is a breast cancer survivor who underwent a mastectomy during that losing Senate campaign, and who that same year lost her stepdaughter, Laurie.
FIORINA: Drug addiction is an epidemic. And it is taking too many of our young people. I know this sadly from personal experience.
FOREMAN (on camera): Industry analysts broadly agree that Fiorina made some big mistakes in her corporate career, and even as her fans argue against that, they also suggest all the ups and downs have left their candidate ready for everything the campaign and the presidency can fling at her.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Now, despite his fall in the CNN/ORC poll, Donald Trump is standing by his decision not to correct a supporter who said U.S. President Barack Obama is a Muslim and possibly not even an American citizen. Sunday, on NBC's "Meet the Press," Trump refused to concede that Mr. Obama is a Christian as he says.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHUCK TODD, NBC HOST, MEET THE PRESS: Can you imagine supporting -- or being comfortable if a Muslim ever became president of the United States?
TRUMP (voice-over): I can say that, you know, it's something that at some point could happen. We'll see. I mean, you know, it's something that could happen. Would I be comfortable? I don't know if we have to address it right now. But I think it is certainly something that could happen.
TODD: You said you'd have no problem putting a Muslim in your cabinet?
TRUMP: Some people say it already happened, frankly. But of course, you wouldn't agree with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Meanwhile, Ben Carson, another Republican vying for the White House, says Islam is inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution and that a Muslim should not be elected as the country's leader.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: So do you believe that Islam is consistent with the Constitution?
BEN CARSON, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & RETIRED NEUROSURGEON: No, I don't. I do not. I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.
TODD: And would you ever consider voting for a Muslim for Congress?
CARSON: Congress is a different story. But it depends on who that Muslim is and what their policies are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well, Democratic presidential front-runner, Hillary Clinton, issued a stern warning Sunday to Donald Trump. She says his refusal to rebuke anti-Muslim remarks from one of his supporters is dangerous. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: He is fueling a level of paranoia and prejudice against all kinds of people. And when you light those fires, you better recognize that they can get out of control. And he should start dampening them down and putting them out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And listen to these numbers. Another CNN/ORC poll shows that 54 percent of Trump's supporters mistakenly believe the U.S. President is Muslim, while only 29 percent of Americans overall think that's the case.
U.S. politics didn't escape the 67th primetime Emmy Awards Sunday night. As the stars gathered to celebrate the best of television, one actress used her appearance speech to take a little dig at Donald Trump. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[02:25:24] JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS, ACTRESS: I think it would be appropriate at this moment to quote our political satire, "Veep," "What a great honor it must be for you to honor me tonight."
(LAUGHTER)
Oh, wait -- oh, no. I'm so sorry. Donald Trump said that. I'm sorry.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And that was Julia Louis-Dreyfus after she won outstanding comedy actress for the series "Veep."
The Emmys also made history with Viola Davis becoming the first African-American woman to win outstanding lead actress in a drama. Davis took home the statue for her role "How to Get Away with Murder." It was also a big night for Jon Hamm, who won his first Emmy after a dozen nominations as an actor. The "Mad Men" star won outstanding lead actor in a drama. And comedian Tracy Morgan's return to the Emmy stage brought the audience to its feet. Morgan suffered a serious brain injury 15 months ago after a deadly car accident. He presented the last award of the night for best drama series to "Game of Thrones," which won 12 Emmys Sunday, breaking a record for the most won in a single year.
Well, he claims he's now a man with a mandate. So will Alexis Tsipras do things any differently this time as he returns to power in Greece? That's the big question. And we will tackle it on the other side of the break.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:30:26] CHURCH: And a warm welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church. We do want to update you now on the main stories we are following this hour.
Pope Francis is calling on Cuba's youth to accept other people's differences. Thousands of young Cubans braved the rain to see the pope and hear his words Sunday. Earlier in the day, Francis met with Cuba's revolutionary leader and former president, Fidel Castro.
Nepal's new constitution is now in effect after decades of political conflict. For the first time Nepal's governing document was written by representatives of the people. But a handful of groups representing ethnic minorities are protesting the new constitution. They want a bigger representation in parliament.
Alexis Tsipras says he now has a clear mandate to lead Greece after winning the country's fifth election in six years. His Syriza Party came in just shy of an outright majority in Sunday's snap election. They will join the Independent Greeks Party to form a ruling coalition.
So let's talk more about Alexis Tsipras' return to power. Michael Jacobides is Sir Donald Gordon Chair of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the London Business School, and he joins us now from our London bureau.
Thank you so much for talking with us.
So whatever the outcome of this snap election, the reality is that the challenges don't change. Greece still has major problems to confront on the economy and, of course, needs to continue with austerity measures as well as deal with the flood of migrants. So how might policies change under a newly elected Alexis Tsipras in this coalition government, do you think?
MICHAEL JACOBIDES, SIR DONALD GORDON CHAIR OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION, LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL: Well, the first thing to realize is that the scope for the government to make choices is extremely constrained. It is very limited primarily because the MOU that Greece signed with the E.U. and the other parties is a much more prescriptive document. And what it needs to do over the next four months is not a question of what any government under normal circumstances would be able to choose. It has to implement measures that will transform the Greek economy and, very importantly, that seem to be politically anathema both to the Syriza Party and also to the government partners, the Independent Greeks.
Let me just focus on that just for a moment. Let's go back and think about what happened in January. There were two parties that said we're going to tear the memorandum, we're going to make Europe be scared, and these were Syriza and the Independent Greeks. Syriza, very left wing. Independent Greeks nationalists, very right wing. This government is supposedly very different because Syriza made a bold pass, it did vote for this new MOU, and you would have expected that after the elections since it now believes the memorandum makes sense it might have gone with center left, Pasok, and possibly even the Potami. Nobody even thought about it. It shows how politics work in Greece. They went with their buddies in government who happen to be right wing. Although, the only reason of having a coalition with them rather than anyone else has evaporated because now they have supported the MOU. The government majority of only five seats is very thin. And I don't think that we're going to have a smooth sailing ahead. Just in the next four months, the type of legislation that's need is going to make things politically very difficult.
CHURCH: So you don't agree with Tsipras that he has this clear mandate that he talks about. And you've also said that Greece needs a massive reform and reorganization. What do you mean by that?
JACOBIDES: If you think about what has been agreed in the MOU, both Greek economy is meant to open up. Greece has a very status, a very protectionist economy, and one of the things that has happened with the MOU, in addition to trying to find the money to pay back the debt, the agreement is to start opening it up. So this does require real reforms. Also reforms in the way that the public sector is organized. And Syriza as well as its partners tend to be quite closely intertwined with the public sector. So it's going to be quite interesting to see them trying to champion some of these changes they don't believe in.
I'm not suggesting is that there is not a clear mandate. But I think the mandate here was won on sentiment rather than facts. Let me give a couple of examples. So the first thing we know, most Greeks, even those that did vote for Syriza, did acknowledge that Alexis is not terribly brilliant in running the economy. That was plain to see for anyone who's been watching Greece. But what they did vote for was someone that says, out with the old, in with the new, and get rid of corruption. Now, that is interesting because his very government was the one that changed some of the panels that evaluate corruption in the public sector, removing judges, and instead having the local union representative, not necessarily the most objective assessors of what's wrong within the unit or that allowed the people that were already convicted of bribery in the first instance to return back to their services. So I think that he's done an absolutely marvelous job in terms of convincing people that this is the new. But when you start scratching underneath the surface, when you see the policy that's were advocated by his own government, it is a little bit less clear. What I'm suggesting is not that he lacks popular support. He's
charismatic. And he proved that he would disprove all the pollsters. People thought that it was a neck-and-neck race. He won it by seven percentage points. Nobody expected this result. No poll had anticipated that. But it's going to be very difficult to see that progress.
[02:35:] CHURCH: We will be watching this very closely, of course.
Michael Jacobides, thank you so much for your analysis on this. We do appreciate it.
Well, six hostages are now free after months in captivity in Yemen. They arrived in Oman Sunday after successful negotiations with Houthi rebels.
Nick Paton Walsh has the details from Beirut.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The strikes by the Omani government from Sanaa, Yemen, to their capitol, Muscat, ending a month-long ordeal for two Americans here, Scott Darden but also a man known as Sam Faron. Darden was there working for a logistics company. Little else is known about Mr. Faron, what brought him to be in Yemen. But the fate of a third American unclear at this stage. He was not on that plane and there was much confusion frankly during this day about whether or not there were three Americans on board. One diplomat in Sanaa speaking to me and other Yemeni officials believed that was the case. It clearly wasn't. On that plane, though, as well, as many as three Saudi nationals. That's according to Oman state television. And a U.K. official confirming to me that there was a Briton traveling on that plane as well from Sanaa to Muscat. And when he landed, he received consular assistance from the British embassy there.
Clearly, this tense set of negotiations, the Omani officials apparently involved as well as Americans, have brought these two individuals plus others to safety. We understand that perhaps a Houthi delegation were on board that plane traveling to Oman as well. That, according to a diplomat I spoke to, may be in Oman to try and start up again peace talks.
Now, the Houthies have been in a months-long brutal civil war now against a Saudi-led coalition backing the former Yemeni government in Yemen. The Houthies frankly have been losing a lot of ground. They're now, many say, encircled and heavily bombarded in the capital, Sanaa. And the U.N. are trying to broker a peace process.
The diplomat I spoke to said that this hostage release, captive release, call it what you will, perhaps a goodwill gesture to get these peace talks started again. That may happen in Oman in the days ahead or it may not. The diplomat I spoke to, very pessimistic, frankly, feeling that the Saudi coalition believes it has the military upper hand and may pursue a more military option rather than any peace talks. But civilians losing their lives frequently in Yemen, 2,000 so far. A
total of nearly 5,000, having died in this conflict. But today, for two American families, at least some good news, their loved ones now in safety.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, reporting there.
We'll take a short break. But still to come, the pope is one of the most visible people in the world. But at one time, he was leading an isolated life in exile. We'll show you where he was kept in seclusion. That's still to come. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:42:26] CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. The pope has been warmly greeted throughout his time in Cuba. A huge crowd of young people turned out in the rain just to catch a glimpse of him. He told them to be tolerant to those who think differently. Earlier Sunday, the pope celebrated mass before a crowd of thousands. There he told Cubans to serve people, not ideas.
Now, before he was Pope Francis, he was Father Jorge Mario Bergoglio, and not too long ago, the man who would become the pope, looking out for those on the margins, was himself marginalized, living alone in a small room.
CNN's Daniel Burke has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
DANIEL BURKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Cordoba, a city in the heart of Argentina.
(SINGING)
BURKE: More than a million people live here, but in the 1990s, this was a lonely place for the man who would become Pope Francis.
(MUSIC)
BURKE: Jorge Bergoglio, that's the pope's name before he was Francis, used to live in Buenos Aires, where he had a reputation for being more a drill sergeant than a man of mercy.
(MUSIC)
BURKE: He would tell priests how to read, how to dress, even how to pray.
(MUSIC)
BURKE: Finally, the Jesuits decided they'd had enough. They sent him 500 miles away to Cordoba, basically hoping to get rid of him.
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
BURKE: So how did this man who was exiled not only become pope --
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
BURKE: -- but become a rock star pope?
(APPLAUSE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As His Holiness, Pope Francis, has said, diplomacy is the work of small steps.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to thank and recognize the support of the Vatican and especially Pope Francis for the improvement of relations between Cuba and the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
JON STEWART, FORMER HOST, THE DAILY SHOW: I love this guy.
JAVIER SEBASTIAN, JOURNALIST: Nice to meet you.
BURKE (on camera): Nice to meet you.
(CROSSTALK)
BURKE (voice-over): Javier Sebastian is a local journalist in Cordoba --
SEBASTIAN: How is it?
BURKE (on camera): Good.
(voice-over): -- who fed me well and gave me their perspective on how the city changed the man.
SEBASTIAN: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
BURKE: You can hear the sadness in the pope's own words.
Ricardo Spinasi was one of the pope's closest friends.
RICARDO SPINASI: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
[02:45:08] BURKE: He read me a poem that Francis wrote about being lost on a dark night, with only the stars to keep him company. SPINASI: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
BURKE: Ricardo, told me that if I really wanted to know what happened during the pope's dark nights, I should talk to his spiritual son, Father Angel Rosi.
(on camera): How long have you been here?
FATHER ANGEL ROSI: 18 years here. Mate.
BURKE (on camera): That's a big mate. He looks happy.
(LAUGHTER)
It's beautiful.
BURKE (voice-over): He took me to the chapel where the pope prayed alone every morning. Rosi said that the pope suffered terribly during his exile, his friends were actually worried about his mental health.
ROSI: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
BURKE (on camera): Wow.
(voice-over): Father Rosi showed me the actual room where Francis lived.
(on camera): He would pray and write and read in here?
ROSI: Yes.
BURKE: Very simple. Very humble.
(voice-over): In the end, it's not exactly clear what happened to Pope Francis during his exile in Cordoba. But he says that he came back more merciful and kinder. So it seems like whatever happened here clearly had a lasting impact on Pope Francis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Daniel Burke with that report.
To the weather now, and storms are in the forecast for many migrants making their way into southern Europe.
We have our Pedram Javaheri here to talk to us about that.
And of course, the problem is that these people have had so much to deal with and the weather is not on their side.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's not on their side, not this week. And of course, we know the seasons are transitioning on Wednesday. Actually, it's the first day of autumn across the northern hemisphere. As we see a shift in the pattern the weather pattern not going to be helping the situation. But the pattern towards the southeast, we looked at right there. Really much of the Greek isles, that's where the active weather is locked in place. And the storm system here will meander over this region for a couple of days. So I know some of the land routes, especially exiting, say, out of Greece and work into Macedonia, certainly one of the areas where we know people have had to be trudging through some muddy areas just to get across the land, the region. The storm system will push through the area and eventually by mid-week we'll see conditions try to improve. The heavy-dutiest rainfall toward Athens, southern Balkans. Perhaps upwards of 200 millimeters of rainfall. As it goes right into Macedonia, notice the wind speeds 40 to 60 kilometers per hour. The water route across the Eastern Med much the same as well when it comes to the situation there. You look at some of the images in recent days across the Greek and also Macedonian border and it looks much like this. You get the heavy rainfall we know will fall this week. Certainly not going to help with people having just their livelihoods on their back and trying to cross over this region.
The other story we're following, the smog across portion of Beijing. Of course, we know the 45th annual Beijing international marathon was taking place on Sunday and look at some of the images. It kind of surprises some people, but other people, some of them getting into the race and wearing masks during the entire 42-kilometer race just because of the air quality issues. In fact we know some seven people hospitalized because of heart-related issues and of course we know across this region a lot of smokers, a lot of lung-related cancer as well. Much of it attributed to smoking. But certainly doesn't help when you're talking about pollution being a major player in this part of the world. A storm system will come here and clean up the air for one or two days and then we're back at it again for several weeks at a time of poor air quality. As it gets cooler, people start using coal to heat their homes. And that doesn't help.
CHURCH: Yeah. And no advice to people that it's not a good idea to get out in the street and run --
(CROSSTALK)
JAVAHERI: They've continued. It's a very large event, 30,000 participants. And I think it was run at your own risk. And your oxygen intake sometimes increases tenfold when you're running. You're taking in far more pollutants.
CHURCH: Very vulnerable.
JAVAHERI: You're very vulnerable.
CHURCH: Yeah.
Pedram, many thanks to you.
JAVAHERI: You're welcome.
CHURCH: We'll take a short break. But still to come, facing unusual challenges on and off the race course. Up next, an Iranian woman's goal in motocross.
Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[02:51:01] PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORTS ANCHOR: Hi, there. I'm Patrick Snell, with you CNN "World Sport" headlines.
Manchester United are up to second in the Premier League after winning a five-goal thriller with Southampton. Anthony Martial, the $55 million 19-year-old, endearing himself to United fans last weekend by scoring on his debut against Liverpool. Here on England's south coast, he showed a maturity way beyond his 19 years with not one but two goals. Juan Mata added a third. United come out 3-2 winners.
New Zealand starting their campaign to defend the Rugby World Cup title on Sunday, facing Argentina, who never before had beaten the All Blacks in 21 attempts. Legendary skipper, Ritchie McCore, fair to say he's had better days for his country. He was sin binned for just the third anytime his record haul of 143 international appearances. But it was relief in the end for the world champs. Sam Cain adding to scrum after Aaron Smith's earlier score, 26-16 New Zealand.
Seb Vettel basking in the glory of his triumph at the Singapore Grand Prix. It wasn't just the German's third win of the season, his 42nd career victory, now seeing him overtake the legendary Ayrton Senna on the all-time list. Vettel also moves to third place in the standings. This, remember, in his very first season as well with the Ferrari team.
Thank you so much for joining us. You're bang up to date. That is a look at your CNN "World Sport" headlines. I'm Patrick Snell.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: In a country where women are banned from riding motorcycles in public, Motocross might seem like an especially challenging sport for a woman to take up.
But as Fred Pleitgen reports, one woman is not only doing it, she's hoping for an international championship.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Believe it or not, Motocross racing has a strong following in Iran. Riders are fast and furious, and many compete internationally.
Most would expect this to be an all-male domain in this country until they meet Behnaz Shaffieh, one of the first and few female Motocross riders in Iran.
"When I was 15, I saw a lady going around on a motorcycle doing whatever she wanted," she says. "That's when I realized I wanted to do it as well." No easy task for a country where women can't even get a license to
ride motorcycles on the streets.
"There are some groups of men who when they see us they say you should stay at home and cook. This sport is not for you," she says. "It makes me so mad, so I want to prove them wrong."
Women in sports are a difficult issue in Iran. Conservatives continue to try and ban women from even attending sports events.
And the captain of Iran's women's national soccer team was not able to participate in the Asian championships because her husband wouldn't allow her to renew her passport. A husband's permission to leave the country is required by Iranian law.
Behnaz Saffieh faces similar problems. She can't compete in Iran and many dirt bike tracks won't let her practice.
"I believe 100 percent you should not make a difference between women and men," she says. "In many sports, women have proven that they're just as good."
Behnaz Shaffieh is coached by Iran's Motocross champion, Razoul Najafi. He says, in the beginning, it was a little strange for him to see a woman trying to take up the sport in Iran but now he believes, with proper sponsors, and if given a real chance, Behnaz could go far.
"She's very talented and can reach very high," he says, "but she needs better facilities and more sponsorship to advance further."
Behnaz Shaffieh has been invited to international races but a lack of funding often presents her from make the expensive trips. But that has not stopped her from chasing her dream. Practicing hard, riding fast, hoping one day her time will come.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:56:07] CHURCH: Great story there.
And thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church. Do join me and my colleague, Errol Barnett, after this short break for another hour of news from all around the world.
You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
