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Sanae Takaichi Elected To Be First Female Prime Minister; Zelenskyy To Meet Allies In London On Friday; Budapest Trump-Putin Summit Delayed As Rubio-Lavrov Talks Put On Hold; U.S., Australia Sign Rare Earth, Mineral Agreement As China Tightens Supply; Colombia Recalls Ambassador From U.S. Amid Rising Tensions In Bilateral Ties; Thieves Steal "Priceless" Jewels from Louvre in Paris; Virginia Giuffre's Posthumous Memoir Releases Tuesday; Former French President Sarkozy to Begin Prison Term; Amazon Systems Back Online after Global Outage; Inside Spain's Lavish El Transcantabrico Train. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired October 21, 2025 - 01:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Ahead here on CNN Newsroom, Japan may soon have its first female prime minister. We'll bring you a live report and analysis from Tokyo.

Colombia recalls its ambassador to the U.S. amid tensions over drug trafficking and priceless treasures, stock stolen from the world's most visited museum. How the robbers put it off and what clues the police are now looking for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

KINKADE: We begin with breaking news. Japan is getting its first female prime minister.

Conservative hardliner Sanae Takaichi won the vote in the lower house of parliament just moments ago. She is expected to be inaugurated in the hours ahead. Takaichi became president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party earlier this month, but a key coalition partner dropped out, marking her path to the prime minister's office less certain.

But another opposition party got on board on Monday, giving her the votes needed to win. Let's get right to CNN's Hanako Montgomery live in Tokyo. Great to have you with us, Hanako. So this is certainly an historic moment for Japan. In a country where gender equality consistently ranks low on international scales, just how significant is this?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Lynda, I can tell you this is a huge, huge historic moment for Japan. I mean, the fact that Sanai Takaichi has won a majority in the lower house of party parliament in Japan, securing her path to become the first woman prime minister of the country, is a massive moment for the nation.

As you mentioned, Japan is staunchly conservative and it's deeply patriarchal, especially in the political sphere. In terms of global rankings for gender equality, it consistently ranks among the lowest among G7 nations, especially in this political sphere. So the fact that Sanae Takaichi became and is going to become the first woman to lead the country is absolutely a stunning moment for the nation, Lynda.

But we do have to note, of course, that some critics of Takaichi have said that even though she is the first woman to lead the country, she might not necessarily be a feminist in terms of her views, especially socially within the country. For instance, she doesn't support married couples keeping separate surnames. And she also doesn't support the female succession of the imperial throne.

Though it must be important to note here that Sanae Takaichi has done her part in terms of improving the lives of some women. For example, she has supported improved health care for women in the country and also increasing support for those who are who have newborns. So again, Linda, it's a very controversial and of course a hugely important time for Japan and the fact that it has a female prime minister for the first time ever. Lynda.

KINKADE: Yes, incredible. And of course, you know, she will have to deal with some major issues upon inauguration, from Pasadena system inflation to a rapidly aging and shrinking population. And it seems she'll likely have a slim coalition majority. So take us through her key priorities. What do we know so far about her policy ideas?

MONTGOMERY: Yeah, so Takaichi has previously served as the economic security minister in previous in a previous cabinet in Japan. So we know that Takaichi will likely have a lot of different policies when it comes to the economy. For example, she has suggested looser fiscal spending and looser fiscal policies, which is expected to potentially significantly improve the Nikkei 2 to 5, the benchmark stock market in Japan, but could also potentially weaken the Japanese yen.

Now, we're also expecting Takaichi to be quite conservative and hawkish when it comes to her position on, for example, China and security. She has supported boosting Japan's defense spending and has repeatedly criticized China for its growing military aggression and actions in the Indo Pacific region.

Now also, again, Takaichi is a staunch conservative and she has suggested amending Japan's pacifist constitution to allow the nation to actually have an army, something that Japan has not had since the end of World War II.

[01:05:01]

So again, Lynda, I mean, her policy is very conservative and it's really a reversion to Abe era conservatism. Her predecessor, the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who of course really led the country and was very famous for his conservative policies. We are expecting Takaichi to lead the way again in terms of this conservatism and revert the country back to this era that we all well knew. Lynda.

KINKADE: So Hanako, just give us a sense of how Japanese voters are responding to the idea of a woman in the country's highest political office in Japan.

MONTGOMERY: Yes, Lynda, it's interesting that you asked that because we did speak to some people just earlier on the street of Tokyo and some individuals were quite supportive of Japan getting a woman to lead the job and really to lead the country. They said that they hoped Takaichi would be quite motherly and improve the lives of women in the nation, support different ideas and also policies that would help women in the country.

But others also again criticized her more conservative policies, criticized her for not exactly being a feminist that some people might expect her to be. Again, she is more of a conservative, more in line, for instance, with Italy's Giorgia Meloni or Takahchi's own role model, Margaret Thatcher.

So again, the views about Takaji and how much she can improve the lives of women is quite split at the moment, but nonetheless, it is a hugely historic moment for Japan again, which is a very deeply patriarchal country. Lynda.

KINKADE: All right, great to have you with us on this breaking news. Hanako Montgomery in Tokyo. We will have more on Japan's first female prime minister in the hour ahead. Thank you.

On Friday, Ukraine's president will join a meeting of his country's main allies, known as the Coalition of the Willing. The summit will take place in London. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is hoping for a good result after his meeting week with U.S. President Donald Trump turned hostile.

And we are learning from European officials briefed on the matter that Trump once again raised his voice at the wartime leader after Mr. Zelenskyy pushed back on handing over Ukrainian territory to Russia as part of a peace plan.

After his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, Trump is now pressuring Ukraine to accept the end of the war along the current battle lines, likely meaning that Russia would keep the Ukrainian territory it currently holds.

President Trump says he will meet with Putin in Hungary next month, but it appears plans to make that happen are on hold. .U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had intended to meet this week to discuss the next steps.

But a source tells CNN those talks are not happening now. It's not clear whether this will impact the anticipated Trump Putin summit in Budapest. Kristen Holmes brings us the latest on the White House's efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump appearing to do yet another 180 when it comes to the war in Ukraine after last month meeting with Zelenskyy and then posting that he believed Ukraine could actually come out of this war regaining the territory that it had lost to Russia. He's trying to clarify, essentially saying that he doesn't know if they would win the war. And he never said they would win the war, but instead that they maybe could win the war. Listen.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, they could. They could still win it. I don't think they will, but they could still win it. I never said they would win it.

HOLMES: Now, this comes on the heels of even more reporting about that meeting between Zelenskyy and President Trump on Friday. We had reported already that it had been tense, direct at times, quote, unquote, uncomfortable.

But now we're learning that it went beyond that. Points one source saying that voices were raised that President Trump grew frustrated, particularly because he was trying to encourage Ukrainian President Zelenskyy that he was going to have to give up land, that Zelenskyy was kind of pushing back on that notion. And President Trump grew frustrated.

Now, we know that this request for land to have Ukraine give up land came as part of the conversation that President Trump had the day before with Russian President Vladimir Putin. So all of this to say it's unclear where things stand with the Russia-Ukraine war, where it stands between Putin and Trump.

At the same time, you're starting to see senators back away from a sanctions bill, Republican senators, of course, it's the same time you're hearing President Trump really ramping up this rhetoric against Ukraine, or at least that was separate from what we had heard him saying for the last several months.

Now, of course, all eyes on that meeting, which we believe to be next month between President Trump and Putin in Hungary. But the question still remains, what exactly is the White House or President Trump hoping to get out of this meeting? Why are they think there'll be different results a second time when we already saw what happened in Alaska? Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:10:07]

KINKADE: Which is to add an escalating diplomatic feud. What the leaders of the U.S. and Colombia are saying and what's behind the rise in tensions.

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KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. A sign of strengthening ties between the U.S. and Australia. Australia as the two countries strike a multibillion dollar deal on rare earth minerals. Australia has rich deposits of many rare earths that are used in a wide range of modern technology.

Speaking at the White House, President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed the deal signifies an $8.5 billion pipeline that's ready to go.

[01:15:07]

As part of the deal, the U.S. and Australia will pay $1 billion over the next six months for new projects. The subject of rare earth minerals has become a sticking point between the U.S. and China after Beijing ramped up restrictions on its exports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I've been invited to go to China and I'll be doing that sometime fairly early next year. We have it sort of set, but I think we're going to have a very good relationship with China. And again they will threaten us with rare earths. I don't think they're threatening us too much right now, but they could do that. But I threaten them with something I think is much more powerful and that's tariffs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: President Trump also said he doesn't foresee China invading Taiwan, which he view -- which it views as its own territory. The self-governing island strongly objects to China's sovereignty claims.

Colombia is recalling its ambassador to the U.S. for consultations amid an escalating diplomatic feud between President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro. Those tensions have been ramping up following a deployment of U.S. warships in the Caribbean, as well as attacks on vessels the Trump administration claims were trafficking drugs. CNN's Patrick Oppmann reports from Havana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDNET: Relations between Colombia and the United States have hit their lowest point in years, if not decades, with the Colombian President Gustavo Petro trading accusations with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Petro says that Donald Trump's military actions against small vessels that the U.S. alleges are carrying cocaine and other drugs to the U.S. amount to war crimes and that some of these votes were carrying innocent fishermen. The U.S. of course, is blasting those allegations, saying that they are targeting boats that were carrying drugs and that according to U.S. President Donald Trump, that Petro himself is behind drug trafficking.

He's not supplied any evidence to back up that claim, but what he has done is threatened to curtail, to take away all important U.S. aid to Colombia to help fight drug trafficking and as well said that he will increase tariffs on the South American nation.

This is was a bitter relationship between Petro and Trump that is only getting worse. In recent days, we have seen the Colombian ambassador to the U.S. being recalled for consultations and as well Petro meeting with U.S. diplomats on Monday as he was getting ready to have a cabinet meeting. But during an interview with Univision, he again made these claims,

saying that regular fishermen, ordinary fishermen are being blown up, being falsely accused of being drug traffickers, and that he said as well that Colombia will not participate in any attempted invasion by the U.S. of Venezuela, which the U.S. also accuses of drug trafficking. President there Nicolas Maduro is under indictment for alleged drug trafficking.

So Petro again staking out that he's not with the U.S. on this issue, that he plans to stay out of the emerging conflict between the U.S. and Venezuela. And so how the U.S.-Colombian relationship, which has been so important over the past decades when it comes to backing up U.S. policy in the region, when it comes to fighting drug trafficking, how that relation gets back on track is really anyone's guess at this moment. Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, police are still searching for the jewel thieves who looted the Louvre Museum in Paris. Still ahead, the latest on the timeline of that and the treasures that were stolen.

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[01:23:53]

KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. And return now to our breaking news. Japan's parliament has elected its first female prime minister. Ultra conservative Sanae Takaichi won the vote in the lower house of parliament just a short time ago. For more, I want to welcome Stephen Nagy. He is a professor of politics and international studies at the International Christian University and joins us from Tokyo. Great to have you with us.

STEPHEN NAGY, PROFESSOR OF POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY : Thanks, Lynda.

KINKADE: So Takaichi, a high profile figure in Japan's male dominated Liberal Democratic Party, has become the country's first female prime minister. It was her third attempt, Right? In a party that has had four prime ministers in the last five years.

NAGY: Absolutely. She broke the glass ceiling. She's the first female Japanese prime minister. But let's be clear, she worked very hard through this ageist male dominated Liberal Democratic Party to come to the top. It illustrates she's pragmatic. She can work within coalitions and she knows how to work within the different factions within the LDP. That's the Liberal Democrat Party.

[01:25:00]

It suggests that she'll be pragmatic and that pragmatic streak probably comes from her mentor, the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

KINKADE: Of course, Japan is often criticized for poor gender equality rankings. Will she be a champion for women's rights or will her deeply conservative views limit change?

NAGY: Well, her views about women's rights are very clear, that they should work hard. They should be able to rise to positions of power like the Prime Ministership. And she believes this alongside traditional views of family, which is a mother is a woman and a man is a father.

She's going to promote at least three to four women within the cabinet to suggest that she is championing women and women in positions of power in Japan. And at this stage, we think the Minister of Finance, the most powerful ministry in Japan, will be headed by women, but also the Ministry of Economy, Economic Security as well as other ministries.

So this is really a change, It's a positive change and I think it says a lot about the direction of Japan in terms of gender equality within a conservative definition.

KINKADE: Yes. And of course Takaichi has expressed interest in revising Japan's pacifist constitution. Could that signal the start of a major shift in Japan's military posture? And could it potentially escalate tensions with regional powers like China or North Korea?

NAGY: Well, I don't think it matters what Japan does. China will be upset and we'll talk about a Cold War mentality and Japan not being forthright about the past and the same with North Korea. But in reality, Japan has been an outstanding member of the International Society for 80 years running.

It has increased its military budget or we call the self defense budget in 2022, in a new national security strategy, it committed to increasing its defense budget to 2 percent of GDP. So it's still not what NATO members are spending and it's still not what many countries are willing to spend.

But these are primarily defensive acquisitions that fall within Japan's three nonnuclear principles. That means not making nuclear weapons, not hosting nuclear weapons and not allowing nuclear weapons to come through its territory.

KINKADE: And Professor Takaichi is widely seen as a protege of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Where do their views align most closely and where might she chart her own course?

NAGY: So she's certainly not going to be a Shinzo Abe 2.0. She's going to be a Takaichi Sanae 1.0, most likely a pragmatic reformer. She's aligned in terms of the strength and the importance and the Japan-U.S. alliance as being the cornerstone not only to Japan's security, but to the broader Indo-Pacific.

She's also aligned, I think, in a pragmatic way that China will always be a neighbor of Japan. They have enormous trade relations and that it has to engage with China in terms of the economy, in terms of regional challenges.

At the same time, she's going to invest in building resilience into her economy. That means diversifying away from a China centered production network, moving rare earth material process into other locations. And she's going to invest in building other hubs or other partners such as Southeast Asian countries, India, and building strong relations with Korea, Australia and New Zealand. In that sense, she's aligned deeply with Prime Minister Abe about resilience and deterrence.

Where she might differ is the tone of her leadership in terms of women, including women in the economy, focusing on the domestic economy and family policies. And she may be a pragmatic Prime Minister that really starts thinking about how they can include India into a broader Indo-Pacific region, not only as an economic partner, but a technological partner and a defense partner.

KINKADE: And in terms of domestic issues, the challenges are considerable, a sluggish economy, persistent inflation, a rapidly shrinking workforce. With a fragile coalition behind her, how much room does Takaichi have to act decisively?

NAGY: So, Lynda, this is a great question. And domestically she has aligned herself with conservative parties that prioritize decentralizing the Japanese economy away from Tokyo and creating bigger hubs such as Osaka or Fukuoka or other cities within the region.

So I think this is broadly supported and this will make some of the other policy choices, for example, dealing with low birth rates and the aging population. Until there's a decentralization of resources, it's going to be very difficult to create the conditions so that Japanese people want to have family.

They also want to deregulate the economy. They want to break up some of the more calcified aspects of the economy, whether it's LGBT issues. Yes, she's formed a coalition with the Eastern Party that is for LGBT issues.

[01:30:00]

Also changing taxation and creating more opportunities for free health care, free nursery care, and supporting families.

This will be her primary objective. I assume that she'll have some successes and some failures. It'll depend on, you know, how many failures she has versus how many successes in terms of her longevity and success over the long term.

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it is exciting today in Japan. They have their first female prime minister.

Professor Stephen Nagy in Tokyo, great to get your analysis. Thank you.

NAGY: Thanks, Lynda.

KINKADE: Well, the global manhunt is underway for the gang of thieves who carried out a heist that's become a national humiliation for France. Officials say two suspects broke through a window on a balcony of the Louvre on Sunday and stole priceless crown jewels.

Two accomplices waited on the ground, aiding with a truck mounted ladder and getaway scooters.

CNN's Isa Soares offers a closer look at the evidence trail left behind as she explains how it all went down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Diversion, make a lot of noise over there. So over here in this room, you can take $100 million off the wall and waltz right out the front door.

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No diversion was needed for the four masked robbers who broke into the Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday morning, stealing priceless French crown jewels in broad daylight just minutes after the world's largest museum opened its doors.

The Louvre remained closed on Monday as France grappled with one question. How could the world's most visited museum be robbed with such brazen audacity?

It was a plot that played out like a Hollywood movie. Around 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, four thieves posing as workers wearing yellow vests used a moving elevator ladder to reach the second-floor balcony of the museum.

The perpetrators then forced open a window using an angle grinder and entered the Apollo gallery, throwing (ph) open the display location for the treasures of the French crown jewels.

As alarm bells rang, they grabbed nine of the Louvre's most valuable treasures: the priceless 19th century French crown jewels. Among them a dazzling crown adorned with 24 sapphires, 1,083 diamonds. Also stolen, a diamond and sapphire necklace and a pair of earrings, seen here in this painting of Queen Marie-Amelie in 1836, and a glittering bow with more than 2,000 diamonds.

JERRY ROWAN, AUSTRALIAN TOURIST: Clever to use a cherry picker and a glass cutter to steal priceless -- well, sentimentally priceless jewels from the Louvre.

The fact that it was done in daylight is also astounding.

SOARES: It took only seven minutes for the robbers to reemerge with nine pieces of jewelry, apparently from the same window.

GERALD DARMANIN, FRENCH JUSTICE MINISTER (through translator): What shows we failed because someone was able to put up an elevator truck in the open in the streets of Paris, have people woke up for a few minutes and take priceless jewels and give France a deplorable image.

SOARES: Thankfully, one of the most precious items was dropped by the thieves as it sped away on high-powered scooters along the banks of the Seine.

French police says the first 48 hours are key to track down the thieves, who so far are still on the run.

Isa Soares, CNN -- London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: I'm joined now by Anthony Amore, the security director at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Great to have you with us.

ANTHONY AMORE, SECURITY DIRECTOR, ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM, BOSTON: Thank you.

KINKADE: So, given your extensive background in museum security, the biggest question is what made the Louvre so vulnerable that thieves could steal crown jewels in a matter of minutes in broad daylight?

AMORE: Well, you know, I guess a dirty little secret to security is that every place is vulnerable. There's no 100 percent security for any facility of any sort, never mind museum.

So, if criminals are committed to finding a weakness or a weak point sometimes they can successfully utilize it to steal from you. And unfortunately, in this case, they did it successfully with a real audacious heist.

[01:34:48]

KINKADE: So how crucial are the first few days of this investigation? And what are the main challenges facing investigators?

AMORE: Well, the first few days are absolutely crucial. I mean, they're everything. The first 48 hours sounds like a cliche, but it's true.

You can't overstate how important it is that the authorities get on the right track and have everything lined up to have an organized, logical investigation into the theft.

Right now, I'm sure that detectives are talking to informants, having them work the streets. I'm sure everybody in Paris, all the criminal underworld, is abuzz about who might have done this.

I'm sure that the investigators are planning to interview, if they haven't already, interview all the employees of the Louvre. And of course, looking into all the forensic evidence that may have been left behind.

KINKADE: And speaking of that forensic evidence, talk to us about what was left behind and what might be the most useful for investigators.

AMORE: Well, the thieves left behind some of their tools apparently in the gallery, in their haste to get out of the museum, as well as, of course, it's been widely reported that they left a crown behind that they intended to take.

But I think probably the most significant thing was the vehicle. And it has been reported that the thieves had attempted to set the vehicle ablaze, but one of the -- or a number of the security staff at the museum were able to stop them.

That tells me that the thieves felt there may be some incriminating information inside the car, whether it's where the car was from or the vehicle was from. Could there be some forensic information? Could there be documents left behind? I don't know.

But since they wanted to set it on fire, that tells you that they wanted to destroy something. So hopefully, the police can exploit that.

KINKADE: Yes. And is it likely, Anthony, that the Louvre or the French government will offer a reward for information? And in your experience, what kind of incentive might actually compel someone to turn in those responsible?

AMORE: Well, that is a great question. I think that they're considering a reward right now. They have to be at least discussing whether they should.

The Louvre is a government museum, so it's likely self-insured. That means that, you know, they would have to cover this loss. I think that unless an arrest is made really soon, that it would be a smart idea in my estimation, to offer a substantial reward, something that will make the thieves sit up and pay attention.

I think it's likely that right now they're waiting to see what the museum or the government might do before they try to monetize the things that they stole.

KINKADE: And just finally, there has been plenty of criticism about staffing and security at the Louvre, even from as early as this year. Based on your experience, what immediate steps should the museum take to strengthen their security and prevent future heists?

AMORE: Well, I think they have to do an entire review. I think I did note that earlier in the summer, you know, in real time, I was paying attention to the complaints that some of the employees had about it being overcrowded. That leads to a real vulnerability as well.

And I know that the Louvre is working on renovations and changes to the facility, but clearly they're going to have to speed that up now to win back the confidence of the public. Whether they're at fault or not.

And it's hard to say. They have to take steps so that people and, you know, this is a taxpayer-funded museum, that the people of France feel confident in their crown jewel, the world's crown jewel of museums, the Louvre.

KINKADE: Yes. The most visited museum in the world. Anthony Amore, I will leave it there for now, but appreciate your analysis and perspective. Thanks so much.

AMORE: My pleasure.

KINKADE: Well, still ahead, a look inside the prison where former French president Nicolas Sarkozy will soon be held when his sentence begins in the coming hours.

Stay with us. You're watching CNN.

[01:39:05]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back.

A posthumous memoir by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre is set to release Tuesday, but its contents have already sparked controversy. It contains harrowing details of the abuse she allegedly suffered, at one point writing quote, "I believed that I might die a sex slave."

Giuffre died by suicide in April after years of attempting to get justice for herself and other Epstein accusers.

The book also offers new details on the U.K. Prince Andrew, who accused -- who was accused by Giuffre of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager.

Giuffre claims Andrews team hired -- tried to hire online trolls to harass her when she brought a civil case against the prince in New York. Prince Andrew denies the accusations against him.

In her memoir, she also claimed she was abused by a prime minister who she -- who reportedly isn't revealed in the book because Giuffre was afraid of retaliation.

[01:44:48]

KINKADE: Journalist Tara Palmeri worked to corroborate that claim, and others who shares her personal experience of working with Giuffre.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TARA PALMERI, JOURNALIST: I had a feeling that it was going to be explosive because I don't think people understood the brutality of what she lived through. I remember when we were driving past the Palm Beach Airport. It was February 2020, and the Lolita Express, Epstein's private plane, was parked there.

And we drove past it and I watched her body just recoil. And she recounted the type of abuse she endured from the same prime minister up in the air. And the way that she was just truly treated inhumanely and I, I'm really proud of her that she's put -- that she's put these details out there and its worse even than she writes.

And it's incredibly upsetting. And there was no one there to help. There was no one there to help her. She was nobody's girl. Nobody saw her as the daughter of somebody that was worth saving.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, Nicolas Sarkozy will begin his prison term in Paris in just a few hours. The 70-year-old former French president was sentenced to five years for criminal association in connection with the financing of his successful 2007 presidential campaign.

Last month, the court ruled that Sarkozy plotted to receive funds from Libya in exchange for diplomatic favors, but it required that he be incarcerated despite his intention to appeal the verdict. Sarkozy has denounced the ruling and reasserted his innocence, but said that he will comply.

CNN's Saskya Vandoorne takes us inside the La Sante Prison, where Sarkozy will be held.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN PRODUCER: An unlikely home for a former head of state. Nicolas Sarkozy will be the first French president ever held behind bars. He's been handed a five-year prison term and will soon start serving it here at La Sante in Paris.

A typical cell here looks like this: a bolted metal bed, a small desk, a fridge, a television, a shower and a phone.

Pierre Botton, a former businessman sent here for embezzlement in 2022 and a longtime friend of Sarkozy knows exactly what awaits him.

PIERRE BOTTON, FORMER LA SANTE INMATE (through translator): That's when you hear two sounds no inmate ever forgets. The lock going clack- clack as it bolts shut. That's the moment you know you're locked in.

From then on, nothing happens until 7:00 a.m. the next morning. You're alone with the TV and the noises.

VANDOORNE: It's the same prison that once held Panama's former dictator, Manuel Noriega, and international terrorist, Carlos the Jackal.

Sarkozy was sentenced after he was convicted of criminal conspiracy to finance his 2007 campaign with funds from Libya in exchange for diplomatic favors, a verdict he calls political persecution.

"I am innocent," he said, vowing to sleep in his cell, quote, "with his head held high".

Behind these walls, Sarkozy is likely to receive the same treatment as the other inmates, as set out in France's prison code. 22 to 23 hours a day alone in his cell with two walks in the courtyard and a few visits from the family during the week.

His arrival kit will include two blankets, a towel and basic toiletries.

BOTTON (through translator): On his first night, the guards will come by every two hours. They'll wake him up. They'll turn on the lights and make him raise his hand to show he's alive.

VANDOORNE: Sarkozy's lawyers are working to shorten his time behind bars. But it's a stunning fall from grace for a president who once prided himself on being France's crimefighter-in-chief. Saskya Vandoorne, CNN -- Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, the fallout from a massive Amazon web services outage has rippled across the globe. Up next, we'll bring you the latest on what caused it and the tech vulnerabilities it exposed.

[01:48:56]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back.

Amazon says its services are back online after a massive outage brought down several major apps and Web sites. The disruption impacted flights, it stalled online purchases and stopped work for millions.

CNN's Clare Duffy reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Yes, the Internet was on quite the rollercoaster on Monday. Reports of outages began around 3:00 a.m. Eastern time as people started to wake up on the East Coast and were unable to order Starbucks on the app or play Wordle.

Continuing throughout the day, we saw some flight delays because United and Delta Airlines were affected. People were unable to access the normal services they do at work, like Zoom and Slack.

And it even continued into this evening, with some people worried that they would be unable to access tickets from Ticketmaster for live events.

Now, part of the reason this continued throughout the day is we saw a number of different disruptions to Amazon web services different systems.

It solved one issue, said its systems were coming back online. But then, as it was trying to bring customers back, that caused yet another issue.

Now, as of this evening, Amazon says its services are mostly back up and running. The company said we continue to observe recovery across all AWS services.

But I think to understand why this had such a widespread impact, it's helpful to understand what AWS is because it really sits at the heart of much of the Internet.

Now, in the early days of the Internet, companies would largely operate their Web sites, their web services, their apps based on their own computers and servers.

Now, millions of companies rent server space from Amazon web services, and that generally makes life easier. It saves companies money unless there is an outage like we saw today.

And then you get a sense of just how fragile the Internet ecosystem can be, because we are reliant on a small number of core infrastructure partners.

One expert that I spoke to estimated that the financial impact of the outage on Monday could be in the hundreds of billions of dollars, because consumers weren't able to spend money normally and people weren't able to come and do their jobs as they normally would.

So you really get a sense of just how important these key players are and the impact and the ripple effects it can have for consumers around the world.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Our thanks to Clare Duffy there.

Well, it's a tough assignment, but someone's got to do it.

CNN's Richard Quest climbs aboard the luxury European train that is so in demand. You need to book your spot at least a year in advance. But the trip promises to be a once in a lifetime experience.

Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: All aboard the Transcantabrico train, a lavish hotel on rails.

Over the course of eight days and seven nights, it takes passengers through the breathtaking coastline of northern Spain, through the Basque Country.

It goes all the way from Santiago de Compostela to San Sebastian and then back again.

The train has a cozy bar for a cocktail and serves dishes showcasing local favorites.

As for those accommodations, they are comfy and beautiful. But it is expensive -- $23,000 per couple. Of course, for those on board, this train is about the visit and the experience not getting from A to B.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Train travel is very romantic, much nicer than being squished in an airplane or sitting at a tour bus the whole time.

QUEST: The Transcantabrico was Spain's first tourist train making its inaugural run in 1983.

GONZALO PASTOR BARAHONA, DIRECTOR OF TOURIST TRAINS, RENFE: The idea was to transform regional coaches, Pullman coaches from the 1920s, so and with this essence, you know, to have this personal, unique train that -- where you have this experience.

QUEST: It's quite an extraordinary -- it's a beautiful, beautiful train, isn't it?

[01:54:53]

BARAHONA: Yes, it's -- I mean, it's -- remember as the times of the Belle Epoque in the 1920s when we -- when to travel was experience and adventure. It's a romantic way of traveling, I'll say.

QUEST: This is extremely important. You have to book ahead on this train, don't you, because it's quite -- it's very popular.

BARAHONA: It's fully booked most of the time. So, you have to buy tickets in advance for one or two years.

QUEST: Really?

BARAHONA: If you wanted to see us (INAUDIBLE), we have a dedicated webpage in Spanish luxury train, because most of our clients come from abroad -- 80 percent of our clients and 20 percent are Spanish.

QUEST: Of course, food is incredibly important, and on the train you must have a lot of good food.

BARAHONA: The Gastronomy (ph) Express is great. When you travel with us, you will taste the different types of food of the north of Spain, from the West Country to Galicia, because we also have a kitchen and a special chef, a great chef in the train that will provide us, you know, all you want, all you need.

QUEST: For the passengers, they're taking full advantage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We feel like we're just eating all day, every day.

QUEST: And you're planning the next meal before you finish the last one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just about.

QUEST: The Transcantabrico Train is a jewel of Spanish railways, elegance of the past, comfort of today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: I want that assignment. That looked amazing. Our thanks to Richard Quest.

Well, there is a new TV series about the Kennedys starring actor Michael Fassbender. The German-Irish Oscar nominee will play Joseph Kennedy Sr., the patriarch of the American political dynasty.

The Netflix series called "Kennedy" is based on Fredrik Logevall's book "JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917 to 1956". The story begins in 1930, long before its most famous son became

president, as Joe Kennedy, his wife Rose, and their nine children experience wealth, fame, triumph and tragedy.

That does it for this edition of CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks for joining us.

I'm Lynda Kinkade.

CNN NEWSROOM continues in just a moment with the lovely Rosemary Church. Do stay with us.

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