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Japan Elects Historic-First Female Prime Minister; Former French President Begins His Sentencing in Jail; Amazon Web Services Fully Restored After An Outage that Lasted for Almost a Day. Aired 3- 4a ET

Aired October 21, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead.

An historic moment for Japan electing its first female Prime Minister, but Sanae Takaichi inherits a raft of challenges, including a stagnant economy.

The race to find priceless treasures in France after a brazen daytime theft at the Louvre.

From the presidential palace to prison, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is set to turn himself in.

And later all aboard an ultra-luxury train in Spain.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us.

Our breaking news out of Tokyo, Japan has just elected its first female Prime Minister.

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Staunch conservative Sanae Takaichi has won the vote in both houses of parliament. Later today she's expected to form a cabinet and meet with the emperor.

Takaichi became president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party earlier this month and she's inheriting a number of economic challenges including record high inflation, a shrinking workforce and the Trump administration's new tariffs. She's taking office just days before President Trump is expected to visit.

And we go live now to Tokyo and CNN's Hanako Montgomery. Good to see you again, Hanako. So history has been made in Japan with Sanae Takaichi voted to become the country's next prime minister, making her the first woman to lead Japan. So how significant is this moment for the country?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes Rosemary, it's hugely significant for Japan. I mean, just symbolically, the fact that a deeply patriarchal country like Japan was able to elect its first woman Prime Minister.

Now just to note here that Japan ranks consistently the last among G7 nations when it comes to gender parity, especially in the political sphere and this is something that Sanae Takaichi has talked about herself over her three-decades-long career. She's talked about how difficult it is to be a woman in a male dominated field.

So this is hugely symbolic for Japan, for the country, and for Takaichi who seems to be able to have climbed to the top. Rosemary?

CHURCH: And what does Takeuchi bring to the table? What style of leadership will she offer Japan as a conservative hardliner in a male- dominated political system and of course a patriarchal society?

MONTGOMERY: Yes Rosemary, so as you noted, she is deeply conservative and she is a nationalist. She has suggested revising Japan's constitution, its pacifist constitution, to allow for an army. She's also talked about boosting Japan's defense spending.

So under Takaichi, we could potentially see a throwback really to its more conservative days, to its time really under the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is actually the predecessor and also the mentor of Takaichi.

Now, also under Takaichi, some experts have told me that we could see rising tensions with China, one of Japan's neighbors and that is because she's very hawkish when it comes to China. She's previously criticized the country for its increasing military aggression in the Indo-Pacific region. She also shares very friendly ties with Taiwan, which is a self-governing island that of course China lays claim to.

So experts have said that potentially we could see tensions rise when it comes to foreign policy, especially with Japan's neighbors, but she could also soften her stance when she's in power, when she's actually in office, and that is because China is Japan's biggest economic partner, Japan needs China and vice versa. So we could potentially see a softening of stances there as well, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Right, and of course, as we've reported and as you've said, Takaichi will face two big challenges, the economy and also foreign policy, with U.S. President Donald Trump set to visit Tokyo next week before heading to Seoul for APEC, where Takaichi will also attend to promote Japan's interests. So how will Takaichi deal with all these challenges?

MONTGOMERY: Yes, when it comes to the economy Rosemary, Takaichi has supported looser fiscal policy, which means bigger government spending.

[03:05:04]

Now, some experts within the country fear that that could mean the Japanese yen weakens further against the greenback, potentially, but though very good news for the Japanese stock market and foreign investors.

Now, when it comes to foreign policy, especially with the United States, of course, Japan sees the United States as its biggest security ally and also a very important friend and partner.

So we won't see massive changes under Takaichi when it comes to the U.S., but we are also expecting potentially some friction when it comes to the tariff trade agreement that the U.S. and Japan has signed. Takaichi has previously suggested that she might want to revisit that $550 billion U.S. investment deal struck between the two countries. How that really plan will be revisited we don't quite yet know.

But also experts have told me, Rosemary, that the two leaders could enjoy very friendly ties. Both are conservative both also support Japan boosting its defense spending which is something that the U.S. President Donald Trump has previously really push for. In fact on X earlier this month went Takaichi won the position of leader of her party, the U.S. President Donald Trump said, quote, "she's a highly respected person of great wisdom and strength," and also congratulated her for being Japan's first woman prime minister, even though she actually hadn't gotten the title yet.

So again, Rosemary, we are likely to see friendly relations between Japan and its biggest ally, the United States, but potentially some tensions up ahead. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Interesting. Hanako Montgomery, many thanks for bringing us that live report from Tokyo. I appreciate it.

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 last week with U.S. President Donald Trump turned hostile.

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 Russia would keep the Ukrainian territory it currently holds.

Well President Trump also 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 next steps. Now a source tells CNN those talks will not be happening for now, but it's not clear whether this will impact the anticipated Trump-Putin summit in Budapest. Kristen Holmes brings us the latest on efforts by the White House to end the war in Ukraine.

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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SR. 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. 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 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?

[03:10:08]

Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

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CHURCH: Israel has identified the 13th deceased hostage returned from Gaza as Sergeant Major Tal Haimi, his body was handed over on Monday, leaving 15 more deceased hostages still to be returned. The 41-year- old father of four was killed defending a kibbutz during the October 7 terror attacks.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump is warning Hamas he could order a fresh offensive if the group does not abide by the ceasefire agreement with Israel. He says no U.S. troops would be involved in the campaign, but Hamas would be eradicated if they don't cooperate.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is set to join a U.S. delegation in Israel today. They're meeting with top Israeli officials to sort out the next phase of the ceasefire with Hamas. CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports from Jerusalem.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: After this ceasefire faced its biggest test today, President Trump's top envoys to the Middle East sat down with the Israeli Prime Minister on Monday. Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, as well as Steve Witkoff, his special envoy, the two men who helped broker this ceasefire agreement, meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister to try and hold this ceasefire together, but also to talk about these next steps.

Indeed, on Sunday, we saw the ceasefire nearly go up in flames after two Israeli soldiers were killed in a Sunday morning incident that involved sniper fire as well as a rocket propelled grenade that was fired at those troops. Following that, we saw the Israeli Prime Minister authorize a wave of airstrikes across Gaza in southern, central and northern Gaza killing at least 45 people, some of whom appear to have been civilians.

And we know that since then both Israel and Hamas seem to be expressing their commitment to this ceasefire. The guns have once again gone silent, humanitarian aid flowing into the Gaza Strip once again on Monday.

Hamas for its part denied any involvement in the attack that killed those two Israeli soldiers with the Al-Qassam Brigades saying that they have no knowledge of any incidents that took place in that southern Gaza area where this happened and saying that they lost contact with their fighters in that area. Nonetheless Israel maintaining that this was a Hamas attack

But we do know that this meeting that happened between the Israeli Prime Minister, and Kushner, and Witkoff, it is critical for not only maintaining this ceasefire right now, but also looking forward. There are a raft of issues that still have to be addressed in order to ensure that this ceasefire actually results in the end of the war in Gaza that President Trump has said it represents.

Setting up that international stabilization force that will go into Gaza, for example, preparing for the transfer of power from Hamas to this transitional Palestinian governance inside of the Gaza Strip and of course, the mechanism for how Hamas will actually be disarmed inside of Gaza in order for Israel to ultimately fully agree to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

All of that on the agenda this week between Kushner, Witkoff, Netanyahu, but also as the Vice President of the United States, J.D. Vance, set to arrive in Israel this week.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

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CHURCH: The gang of thieves responsible for a jewel heist at the Louvre is still at-large. And time is running out to locate the stolen treasures. What we know so far, that's still ahead.

Plus, a look inside the prison where former French President Nicolas Sarkozy will soon be held when his sentence begins in the coming hours.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

A 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 with a ladder and getaway scooters.

CNN's Isa Soares takes a closer look at how they pulled it off in a museum already filled with tourists.

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UNKNOWN (voice-over): 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 ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No diversion was needed for the four mass 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, sawing open the display location for the treasures of the French crown jewels.

[03:20:04]

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, 1083 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 2000 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 (voice-over): It took only seven minutes for the robbers to re-emerge 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 (voice-over): 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.

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CHURCH: Joining me now live from London is Christopher Marinello. He is the founder of Art Recovery International, an organization that specializes in recovering stolen and looted art. Thank you so much for talking with us.

CHRISTOPHER MARINELLO, LAWYER AND FOUNDER, ART RECOVERY INTERNATIONAL: Good morning.

CHURCH: So investigators continue their hunt for the suspects who carried out this brazen seven-minute heist. How were they able to pull this off in broad daylight?

MARINELLO: Well, they took advantage of the fact that construction was taking place at the Louvre, and so they thought that no one would pay any mind to a forklift and a ladder going up and seeing some men in yellow vests. But to be honest with you, it's quite unusual to see anyone working in France on a Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. They had the right tools, they brought with them what they needed, and it was beautiful brilliantly planned, but a very sloppy smash-and-grab as they dropped a few items that they wanted to take with them.

CHURCH: Yes, an interesting point. And what security measures were in place at the time of this swift theft? And why was it not enough to stop this from happening? We know the alarm went off.

MARINELLO: Well, there were no cameras, apparently, in that particular room. But, you know, the Louvre is one of the most well- funded museums in the world, and their security is top of the line. The problem we have is a problem that's going on in Europe right now and the U.K., where thieves are hitting museums all over Europe, and Europe has a crime problem.

Everything from pickpockets to stealing iPhones to smaller museums, and now a big slap in the face really a thumb in the eye of law enforcement that they can take on the Louvre and it should be a wake- up call.

CHURCH: Yes, it is humiliating isn't it? So how likely is it that these crown jewels will ever be recovered or is it inevitable the precious gems will be broken down and sold separately even as one French prosecutor suggests it's possible an art collector may have commissioned this heist?

MARINELLO: There really is, in my experience of over 40 years of recovering stolen art, I have never encountered that "Dr. No" character who's ordering thefts around the world. These are just thugs, thugs who want to convert their ill-gotten loot into cash, and to do that, they have to break down the diamonds, they have to recut the larger stones, they have to sell them on the open market and once they break them out of these crowns and jewels, they will be untraceable.

And the other benefit of breaking them apart is it hides the evidence of their crime.

CHURCH: So you don't think there's any chance that France will ever see the crown jewels returned?

MARINELLO: As you said earlier, the first 24, 48 hours is critical and catching the criminals is very important because you can't locate the jewels without catching the criminals and making them talk. And to that end, the police force, the BRB in France, has hired CGI, an Israeli investigative firm that worked on the 2019 Green Vault theft in Dresden.

[03:25:03]

They were successful there in catching the criminals, and hopefully they will catch the criminals here. But unfortunately, in that theft, all the jewels were not recovered. So that does not bode well for the Louvre.

CHURCH: So what security lessons have been learned in the wake of this audacious heist and how can the Louvre be secured in a better way going forward?

MARINELLO: Those security lessons are clear. If you have jewels, if you have gold in your museums, they're coming for you. You need to start moving these things to lower grounds, to basements, they need to start building vault-like enclosures, because these gangs are operating all over Europe. It's not just France.

Paris was hit four times in the last few months with their smaller museums. The U.K. has been hit recently, a museum in Wales, the Drents Museum in the Netherlands, all looking for jewels and gold so that they can melt down the gold, hide it forever, break up the stones, also hide it forever. Europe has a problem and it needs to address that.

CHURCH: A cautionary tale for Europe. Christopher Marinello, thank you so much for talking with us. I appreciate it.

MARINELLO: It's my pleasure.

CHURCH: And still to come, Nicolas Sarkozy will soon become the first former French president to be held behind bars. We'll take you inside the Paris prison where he'll serve his sentence.

And a legal victory for the Trump administration. What an appeals court had to say about the deployment of National Guard troops in Portland. That's next.

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[03:30:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

Japan is getting its first female prime minister. Parliamentary members elected Sane Takeichi just a few hours ago. She is the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Takeichi is a hardline conservative who supports revising Japan's pacifist constitution and is against same-sex marriage.

A group of Ukraine's main allies called the Coalition of the Willing will meet in London on Friday. French President Emmanuel Macron says Ukraine's president will join them for the summit. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says there will be "many meetings and negotiations" and that he is counting on results.

Former U.S. President Joe Biden has completed a course of radiation therapy for his cancer treatment, according to a spokesperson. Biden is battling prostate cancer, but the spokesperson did not give details on next steps in his treatment. The former U.S. president will turn 83 next month.

Nicolas Sarkozy is set to begin his prison term in Paris next hour. And you are looking at live pictures now of the high security surrounding Sarkozy after the 70-year-old former French president was sentenced to five years after a court ruled that he plotted to finance his 2007 presidential campaign with funds from Libya in exchange for diplomatic favors. Sarkozy has maintained his innocence plans to appeal.

CNN's Saskya Vandoorne takes us inside La Sante prison where Sarkozy will soon be held.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN PARIS BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): 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 long-time friend of Sarkozy, knows exactly what awaits him.

PIERRE BOTTON, FORMER INMATE, LA SANTE PRISON (through translator): That's when you hear two sounds no inmate ever forgets. The lock going 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 T.V. and the noises.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): 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."

VANDOORNE: Behind these walls, Sarkozy is likely to receive the same treatment as the other inmates as set out in France's prison code.

[03:35:02]

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.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): 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 light and make him raise his hand to show he's alive.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): 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 crime fighter-in-chief.

Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: We are following developments in a showdown over presidential power. A U.S. appeals court has handed the Trump administration a legal victory after ruling it can deploy National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, despite strong objections from leaders in the state. And this comes after a judge last week ruled to extend a temporary restraining order barring the deployment of troops while the appeal plays out.

President Trump has cited protests outside Portland's Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility to justify the call-up of troops. Two Trump-appointed judges sided with the administration while a third judge dissented, saying the decision is not merely absurd but also erodes core constitutional principles. Oregon's Attorney General is set to file a petition for a hearing with a larger panel of appellate judges.

Attorneys for former FBI Director James Comey argue that the criminal charges he faces are a quote, "egregious abuse of power by the federal government." Comey's lawyers have launched two efforts to have them thrown out.

They accuse Donald Trump of singling out the former FBI Director in a personal vendetta because of his criticism of the President, they also argue that Trump's appointment of an interim U.S. attorney is unlawful because she has not been confirmed by the Senate. Comey has pleaded not guilty to charges that he provided false statements and obstructed a congressional proceeding.

Well, President Trump is now overseeing a massive construction project at the White House, a new $200 million, 90,000 square foot ballroom. Crews are tearing down part of the executive mansion's east wing, where first ladies have kept offices in the past.

The President says the ballroom will be completely separate from the White House itself while keeping the theme and architectural heritage of the mansion. The White House communications director pushed back against critics of the project saying, "Construction has always been a part of the evolution of the White House."

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

Plus, a rare earth pact. The U.S. signs a deal with Australia on access to the key minerals just as China ramps up restrictions on its own supply. We'll have details for you just ahead.

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[03:40:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back to CNN, it's time now for your Business Breakout.

The selection of a new Japanese Prime Minister is giving stocks in the Asia Pacific region a boost. The Nikkei added more than 0.25 percent in today's trading, shares in Hong Kong and Shanghai also extended their gains after U.S President Donald Trump said he expects to reach a fair trade deal with China.

And these are the business headlines.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro met with a top U.S. diplomat Monday amid rising tensions and threats from Donald Trump to cut subsidies and raise tariffs. Colombia's ambassador to the U.S. was also in attendance. Presidents Petro and Trump have traded barbs over the deployment of U.S. warships in the Caribbean and attacks on vessels the Trump administration claims were trafficking drugs.

Kenvue, the company that makes Tylenol, is pushing back against a U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposal to change the painkillers safety label, it would mention a possible link between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism and ADHD in children. The company says the science does not support that claim despite pressure from the Trump administration for tougher warnings.

The acting head of NASA says he's ready to open up the bidding process for the next moon landing mission, known as Artemis III. SpaceX has the NASA contract to land humans on the moon as soon as 2027 but Sean Duffy says Elon Musk's firm is falling behind schedule and he's willing to let other companies bid for that contract, including Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. NASA has not landed an astronaut on the moon in over 50 years.

Well Amazon says its services are back online after a massive outage brought down several major apps and websites. The disruption impacted flights, stalled online purchase and halted work for millions. CNN's Clare Duffy has more on what went wrong.

[03:45:06]

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CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Yes, the internet was on quite the roller coaster 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 websites, 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.

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CHURCH: A sign of strengthening ties between the U.S. and Australia as the two countries strike a deal on rare earth minerals. That came during a meeting between President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House. CNN's Kevin Liptak has the details from Washington.

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KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: It took 10 months for President Trump to invite Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to the White House and it was clear that this meeting was well-timed for the Australian leader. Just as President Trump becomes newly attuned to some of the challenges presented by the U.S. reliance on China for its rare earth minerals, Albanese came ready to strike a deal to partner with the U.S. to help provide some of Australia's critical minerals to help ease some of those concerns.

And clearly that sort of greased the wheels for quite a friendly meeting between the two men and provided Albanese with some leverage as he worked with President Trump to discuss issues like trade and defense partnerships. And all of this, of course, is meant to counter China. As President Trump works to decrease U.S. reliance on some of those critical minerals, but also as Beijing makes it harder for the U.S. to obtain some of them, the President is looking for other countries to obtain some of these key elements and that was, I think, the underpinning of this meeting on Monday.

The two men also discussed that AUKUS partnership that was developed during the administration of President Joe Biden, where the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia partner to develop new submarines. Now, heading into this meeting, it wasn't precisely clear what the status of that alliance was. The Pentagon had said that it was reviewing it to ensure that it was America first but President Trump seemed committed to the AUKUS deal in their talks on Monday and said that he did view it as a potential deterrent for China.

Now, he said that he didn't think that President Xi Jinping has any designs on Taiwan. He doesn't think that the U.S. and Australia will essentially need to use those submarines against China in the coming years, but he said that it would be essentially in place if needed.

Now, this is all sort of leading up to a critical moment that will occur at the end of this month when President Trump and President Xi sit down in South Korea, the President sounding confident in the prospects of striking a new trade deal with China at that meeting he thinks that those talks will essentially be successful.

Now the President was asked specifically a question about leverage in that meeting and he was asked whether the U.S. would agree to oppose Taiwan's independence as part of his attempts to broker this new trade deal that has been something that's been discussed in the lead up to these talks.

[03:50:01]

The President said that he didn't want to talk about that now, but that he was certain it would arise when he sits down with Xi at the end of October.

Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, luxury on rails and CNN's Richard Quest has the ticket. He'll take us all aboard Spain's most exclusive train experience after the break.

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone.

A preliminary report is shedding new light on the cause of the deadly funicular crash in the Portuguese capital. According to the findings, the steel cable that broke was not certified to carry people and did not meet the operator's specifications, at least 16 people were killed last month and several others injured when the cable connecting two cars snapped. Authorities stress that these interim findings are not conclusive. A final report will be released next year.

Well, it's a tough assignment, but someone's got to do it. CNN's Richard Quest climbs aboard the luxury European train that's 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.

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RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE (voice-over): 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.

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

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QUEST (voice-over): 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 original trains, Pullman coaches from the 1920s. So, with this essence, you know, to have this special unique train where you have this experience.

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

BARAHONA: Yes, it's, I mean, it remembers us the times of the Belle Epoque. The 1920s, when to travel was an experience, an 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: One or two years in advance. We have dedicated webpages, the 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 experience is great. When you travel with us you will taste the different types of food of the north of Spain from the Basque Country to Galicia because we also have a kitchen and a special tub, a great chef in the train that will provide us you know all you want all you need.

QUEST (voice-over): For the passengers they're taking full advantage.

UNKNOWN: 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.

UNKNOWN: Just about.

QUEST (voice-over): The Transcantabrico train is a jewel of Spanish railways. Elegance of the past, comfort of today.

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CHURCH: Looks fantastic.

Costa Rican authorities have seized three tons of cocaine that was hidden in a container of fresh fruit. Officials say the shipment was headed to Germany, stacked in sacks inside the shipping container. The driver who transported the cargo has been arrested.

And before we go, at a time of so much darkness, it's more important than ever to look for the light. Fireworks were set off in India on Monday, marking the first day of Diwali, or the Festival of Lights. Millions of people are observing the festival that marks the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil.

I want to thank you so much for your company, I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "Amanpour" is next, then stay tuned for "Early Start" with Brian Abel, coming up at 5 a.m. in New York 10 a.m. in London.

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