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Japan Votes for a New Prime Minister; U.S. Envoys Witkoff, Kushner Meet Israel Prime Minister and Officials; Zelenskyy to Meet with Main Allies in London Friday; Thieves Steal "Priceless" Jewels from Louvre in Paris; Colombia Recalls Ambassador to U.S. Amid Diplomatic Feud; Amazon: Systems Back Online after Global Outage. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired October 21, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:52]

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Great to have you with us.

Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, Japan's parliament is voting for a new prime minister. And for the first time, it could be a woman. We're live in Tokyo.

Tensions between the U.S. and Colombia are escalating. Leaders of the two countries are at a standoff over President Trump's so-called war on drugs.

And the seven-minute heist, as the world is left stunned by a brazen robbery at the Louvre. French police are looking for the suspects.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Lynda Kinkade.

KINKADE: Well, Japan seems to be on the cusp of electing its first female prime minister. Parliament is scheduled to start voting at any moment, and the favorite is conservative. Sanae Takaichi. Now, she won the ruling party's presidency earlier this month, becoming the first woman to take the Liberal Democratic Party's top job. And an opposition party agreed to join her coalition on Monday, making her the clear frontrunner.

Takaichi is known for her hardline stance on national security and immigration. The key vote comes more than a month after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba decided to resign.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery is covering this live from Tokyo.

Great to see you, Hanako. So in a country where gender equality consistently ranks low on international indexes, this is a historic moment. Voting is underway as we speak. How likely is it that Takaichi will secure the top job and become Japan's first female prime minister?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Lynda. As you said, it's a hugely historic moment for Japan, given that the country is so deeply patriarchal. There has never been a woman to lead the country as prime minister. And it really looks as though Takaichi is set to secure that top job. Now, as you mentioned she had some troubles forming a coalition government after its longtime coalition partner Komeito broke from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

But on Monday, Takaichi was able to form another coalition party with a smaller opposition party that shares a lot of its conservative ideals with the ruling party. So it looks as though Takaichi is set to become the next prime minister of Japan, which again will be hugely historic and symbolic for the nation. In fact, Japan ranks lowest among G7 nations in terms of gender parity especially in this political sphere. And Takaichi herself has talked about how difficult it is to be a woman in such a male dominated space.

So again, Lynda, it's a huge, huge moment for Japan. And there are many people in the country who are excited to see a woman take the helm.

KINKADE: Yes, exactly. But of course, Japan is grappling with a range of challenges, from persistent inflation to a rapidly aging and shrinking population. With Takaichi likely to govern with a slim coalition majority, what will be her key priorities?

MONTGOMERY: Yes, as you mentioned, Lynda, Takaichi's government, including its coalition partner, doesn't actually really have a strong, strong majority in parliament. So it will be difficult for the Liberal Democratic Party to pass through a lot of its policies. But at the forefront, Takaichi has said that security, the economy and also social issues within the country will be her top priority.

In fact, at a press conference on Monday, she highlighted some of the issues that she and her government could face should she be sworn in as prime minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANAE TAKAICHI, LIBERAL DEMOCRAT PARTY LEADER (through translator): Right now stable politics are crucial. Without that, we can't implement strong economic or diplomatic policies. The same goes for national security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MONTGOMERY: Now, in terms of her economic policy, Lynda, she does support looser fiscal spending. And what that means is we could see the yen potentially weakening against the greenback and also the Nikkei 225, Japan's benchmark index in the country, strengthening.

[00:05:04]

Now, we could also see on the security front, potentially Japan boosting its defense spending, something that will go down well with the U.S. President Donald Trump, who is likely to visit the country later this month during an Asia trip.

Now she again is also a conservative and a nationalist, someone who has in the past suggested revising Japan's pacifist constitution to amend the constitution and allow an army to actually form within the country. Now that has been met with some opposition, but also with some support, including from her new coalition government.

And again also in terms of the economy, Lynda, as you pointed out, I mean, super high inflation in the country and also record high prices for households that are really feeling the pain of this inflation, something that they haven't seen in decades. So Takaichi has a long list of issues ahead of her should she become the next prime minister of Japan -- Lynda.

KINKADE: All right. We will check in with you at the top of the hour to see how that voting is going.

Hanako Montgomery in Tokyo, thanks very much.

Well, new 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 that state. Well, it comes after a judge last week ruled to extend a temporary restraining order barring the deployment of troops while that appeal plays out.

President Trump has cited protests outside Portland's Immigration Customs Enforcement facilities 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 judges.

I want to go to the Middle East now where 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 7th terror attacks. His return comes as top U.S. negotiators are in Israel, working on the next phase of the ceasefire. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to join them in the coming hours.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: After the ceasefire faced its biggest test today President Trump's top envoy 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 authorized 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 Brigade 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

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We're 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.

CNN's Kristen Holmes reports.

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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, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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.

At 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 thinking there'll be different results a second time? And we already saw what happened in Alaska.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, a White House official tells CNN that a planned meeting between the Russian foreign minister and the American secretary of state is now on hold. That meeting between Sergey Lavrov and Marco Rubio was expected to help set up the meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin.

Well, Nicolas Sarkozy will begin his prison term in Paris in just a matter of 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, and it required that he be incarcerated despite his intention to appeal that verdict. Sarkozy has denounced the ruling and reasserted his innocence, but said he would comply.

French President Emmanuel Macron is vowing to bring those who robbed the Louvre to justice. Coming up, the latest on the investigation and the stolen treasures.

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KINKADE: 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, aiding with the truck mounted ladder and the getaway scooters.

CNN's Melissa Bell has more on how it went down and why it's likely the jewels may be lost forever.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was 9:30 a.m. when a witness called the police from outside the Louvre to report suspicious individuals wearing motorcycle helmets, breaking into the museum, using a truck with a lifting platform. By 9:37 a.m., a museum alarm was triggered. Shortly after a camera catches one of the robbers wearing a yellow vest as they break into a display case, then quickly escaping through the window they used to get in. By 9:38, the thieves flee the scene on scooters.

The entire heist was done in just seven minutes and involved the most rudimentary of tools, this angle cutter and blowtorch.

ARIEL WEIL, MAYOR OF PARIS CENTER: It does appear that these were extremely well-trained robbers. They plan meticulously this obviously.

BELL (voice-over): The thieves made off with priceless jewelry worn by French queens in the 19th century. Like this tiara, necklace and a single earring of Queen Marie-Amelie. This large bodice bow brooch of Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon the Third, and her tiara.

One thing the robbers dropped as they fled from that window on the first floor was the crown of the Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon the Third. What they made off with, though, were eight pieces of jewelry of inestimable value in historical and cultural terms, and they did so on the back of scooters as they headed down this bank of the Seine River.

NATHALIE GOULET, FRENCH SENATOR: I think that the pieces are already far from the country. So "Ocean 13", it's "Thomas Crown." So easy and not sophisticated. It's a drama for the French culture and also for our image.

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BELL (voice-over): By Monday, the Louvre remained closed as investigators tried to piece together how so much could have been stolen so quickly and why.

LAURE BECCUAU, PARIS PROSECUTOR (through translator): Either it was commissioned by a collector, in which case, if we identify this collector and commissioner and can't find the jewels in good condition, or it could also happen that it was commissioned by people who just want the stones and pearls that they were made of.

BELL (voice-over): Authorities say the investigation continues, but the longer it takes to takes to identify the suspects, the slimmer the chances of recovering the jewels.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

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

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, although 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.

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Whether they're at fault or not, and it's hard to say, they have to take steps so that people in, 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, we'll leave it there for now, but appreciate your analysis and perspective. Thanks so much.

AMORE: My pleasure.

KINKADE: Well, still ahead, an escalating diplomatic feud. What the leaders of the U.S. and Colombia are saying and what's behind the rise in tensions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade. I want to take a look at today's top stories right now.

[00:30:33]

Japanese lawmakers are voting for the next prime minister of the country. The frontrunner is conservative. Sanae Takaichi who is the new president of the ruling party. She would become Japan's first female prime minister. We'll bring you the results once they come in.

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 a spokesperson did not give details on the next steps in his treatment.

The former U.S. president will turn 83 next month.

Amazon says its systems are back online after a massive web services outage brought down thousands of major apps and websites. The disruption impacted airlines, stalled online purchases, and stopped the work for millions of people.

Experts estimate that the economic cost could reach hundreds of billions of dollars.

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.

The tensions have been ramping up following a deployment of U.S. warships in the Caribbean and attacks on vessels the Trump administration claims were trafficking drugs.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand reports from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. has now conducted at least three strikes on boats carrying Colombian nationals --

BETRAND (voice-over): -- including as recently as last Friday, as tensions escalate between President Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro.

The last known strike that the U.S. carried out targeted individuals believed to be affiliated with Colombia's National Liberation Army, also known as ELN, an insurgent group that has operated out of Colombia for decades and that the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization.

Secretary of Defense Hegseth also said that the U.S. believed that boat was involved in illegal drug trafficking in the Caribbean at the time it was struck, killing all three people on board.

But just a day before that strike, the U.S. carried out --

BERTRAND: -- another strike on a semi-submersible vessel in the Caribbean that killed only two out of the four people on board. One of the survivors was a Colombian national who is now going to be processed by the Colombian justice system after the U.S. released him to his home country, according to Petro.

But tensions have been steadily rising between the U.S. and Colombia for days --

BETRAND (voice-over): -- over another strike the U.S. carried out in mid-September against yet another boat carrying Colombians that had actually departed from Colombia itself.

Petro has said that an innocent Colombian fisherman was killed in that strike, which CNN has not been able to independently verify. And he also accused the U.S. of murder and of violating Colombia's territorial sovereignty.

Now the U.S., it's worth noting, has not provided evidence for its claims that these individuals its striking are drug traffickers. But at the same time --

BERTRAND: -- it's built up this huge military presence in the Caribbean that, sources told CNN, is aimed at pressuring the drug cartels and specifically --

BETRAND (voice-over): -- Venezuela's president. But on Sunday, Trump continued to escalate the feud with Petro, Colombia's president, threatening to attack alleged drug targets inside Colombia itself.

He also called Petro a, quote, "lunatic" and said he was going to cut off funding to Colombia over its cocaine production.

BERTRAND: Colombia, meanwhile, said that it is going to be recalling its ambassador to Bogota for urgent consultations.

Natasha Bertrand, CNN, in Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back with much more news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:38:40]

KINKADE: Welcome back.

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

CNN's Clare Duffy has more on what went wrong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the Internet was on quite the roller coaster on Monday. Reports of outages began around 3 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.

DUFFY (voice-over): 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 --

DUFFY: -- 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Our thanks to Clare Duffy there.

And thanks to you for watching us for this edition of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade. I'll be back with much more news at the top of the hour. WORLD SPORT is next.

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(WORLD SPORT)