>> and in rich's case, taylor has given him a reason to want to stay young. and in many ways, that's better than sex. pro-democracy demonstrators

in hong kong remain defiant and out on the streets. large crowds still gathering at this hour, but riot police have pulled back. we're live from both hong kong, and we'll get the perspective from beijing as well. also, desperate for word in japan as rescuers search for survivors since a volcano erupted by surprise. and we are learning that the death toll has climbed. hikers completely caught unaware by this explosion. also ahead here, our first look at one of the world's most talked about couples. i think you know who they are. now happily married. george in venice. we'll get to that in a little bit. welcome to our viewers in the u.s. and around the world. you're watching cnn. i'm natalie allen. we're going to take you live to hong kong in a moment. but first we have a developing story out of afghanistan. that country getting ready to swear in a new president. we have live video here of the

inauguration ceremony in kabul. ashraf ghani will be replacing long-time president hamid karzai. after a much disputed election we reported on for months here, ghani will share power with his opponent, abdullah abdullah, who will become chief executive. security, as you can imagine, is tight in case the taliban were to launch attacks to try to disrupt the transition. the inauguration comes just before most foreign troops withdraw from afghanistan. we'll continue to follow developments there. now to hong kong, where the government says riot police have now pulled back from the pro-democracy demonstration sites around the territory. that announcement from the authorities within just the past couple of hours. o'fishls say they have withdrawn police because they say the

demonstrators are currently acting peacefully. but authorities are also urging activists who are blocking roads to allow cars and emergency vehicles to pass. the protests have been causing widespread disruptions in hong kong, one of asia's financial hubs, as you know. let's go straight now to cnn's andrew stevens. he is live in the thick of things. and we can certainly appreciate from that video right there behind you, steven, that she's people are still out in full force. >> reporter: absolutely. and the numbers are growing by the minute, too, natalie. we've just come up here to give you a better understanding of just how many people there are. now, that is the view as we look down toward the central business district. just beyond there is where the actual financial heart of hong kong begins. and as you can see, it is becoming very, very condensed down there. difficult to put a number, exact amount of people down there, but some people saying it is now in the tens of thousands.

and as you say, it is a peaceful protest. the people came here this morning after a night of violence wondering what would transpire today. hong kong riot police were here in force this morning. when we were here, we were watching them. there was no direct confrontation, though. the crowd was well behaved. the police also backed off. and they continued to sort of back off during the day to the point where the hong kong police decided they can stand down the riot squads, which is exactly what they've done. there's no attempt to try and move any of these people. and they also say the protesters say, natalie, that we're not moving until we get the political demands that we want to see. this is what a couple of the protesters told us a little bit earlier. >> as long as it takes. as long as there's one person that's still out here on this highway i'm going to be here. >> first of all, i don't think it affected business. secondly, even if it's affected business i think it's worth it.

>> reporter: so as you see there, a, it's a business town, as we know. but people, at least some people here are saying that the principle is more important than getting business done at the moment. and also the protesters on the street, natalie, very clearly saying they are not going to move. at issue here is democracy. universal suffrage. one person, one vote. it's also and most importantly it's about how the people who will be allowed to stand for election as the new leader of hong kong in 2017 will be chosen. beijing has ruled that only beijing-approved candidates can actually stand for election. once those candidates and all of hong kong can vote, beijing says who will be allowed to stand. and that is the sticking point for these protesters. they say they want full choice. they want to be able to nominate whoever they like to that position. now, what we saw 12 hours ago was a vastly different scene.

what's going on behind me now. about 1:00 in the morning my colleague ivan watson was down here covering the story. watch what happened where he was. >> reporter: you can see the demonstrators now clashing with riot police, walking through with a sign that says "warning, tears, smoke, and disperse." they have continued with the tactics of civil disobedience, trying to stand in the way. riot police aren't using force but they are vastly outnumbered. look at this. vastly outnumbered by the demonstrators, who are screaming at their fellow protesters not to throw bottles at the riot police. this is clearly a very tense situation as the demonstrators have blocked off i estimate tens of thousands of them have blocked off the central artery through hong kong as part of

these pro-democracy protests. and they're pleading on their hands and knees, pleading to the riot police, as they've been chanting shame on them in the past. the protesters here in hong kong afraid that the central government in china will impose a more authoritarian system of government on this former british colony. and you can see the riot police trying not to use force on the demonstrators. it's an incredibly dramatic moment here. this protest movement ballooned. and has led to the scenes we've seen now with tear gas now breaking the truce here. we're now going to be enveloped in tear gas.

okay. okay. i'm okay. i'm okay. we're pulling back. >> reporter: dealing with that tear gas attack launched by hong kong police. i should put this in context, though, natalie, that by hong kong standards what we saw last night was actually quite a violent confrontation. there are many protests in hong kong, and they are nearly always peaceful. in fact, universally they are peaceful. you get a lot of people out here marching to air their grievances and then they go home. this is not the sort of riot, demonstration situation we've seen at many of the g-20 meetings, for example, in recent years, when rocks are thrown, windows are smashed, and the police respond very heavy-handed. there's been no beatings of protesters here. yes, we have had the pepper spray and the tear gas. certainly nothing beyond that at this stage. so right now both sides have drawn back, if you like.

but there is a standoff. very difficult to see where it goes from here. i want to bring in david mckenzie now, our beijing bureau correspondent, who's also been following the story from beijing. obviously, david, this is a story which has been watched so closely by the leadership in beijing. have they said anything? and what sort of coverage are the protests in hong kong actually getting in china? >> well, andrew, the coverage has been quite spotty because effectively they've dictated what will be shown of the protests here in the mainland china and it's very little. very few images are being allowed to be distributed. certainly no video of those clashes we saw on cnn yesterday. and now the statements from the chinese government are looking a little bit dated because they did say yesterday through state media on sunday that this is an illegal demonstration that the hong kong government should take care of it.

but we haven't heard anything since. so really the sense is they're tightening the screws on the coverage here in mainland china. at the same time in general allowing cnn and other international broadcasters' images to get out into china. and they do often block, as we know, our reporting here in the mainland. andrew? >> just by way of comparison, david, for our viewers joining us from the u.s., the differences between hong kong and china, it is all now china but hong kong operates under the special policy of one country, two systems. it does enjoy a lot more privileges than most mainland chinese citizens, david. but is it likely that the chinese government is going to go that further step and allow a full democratic process, full universal suffrage, to unfold? >> i would be very surprised if they did. and certainly everyone i've spoken to to a person has said that the chinese government is unlikely to bend. the communist party has said

what they think should happen in the 2017 proposed elections. they say they're not going to change from that. and very few people think that xi jinping, the president of china, is the type of leader who will be seen to losing face over all of this. this is one country, two systems setup, which is sometimes quite hard to get your head around. one way to describe it is you've seen thousands of protesters today peacefully gathering, surrounding you there, andrew, if maybe just one or two got out on the main street here in beijing and put out a placard they would be immediately whisked away by the security forces. so there are a lot more freedoms in hong kong, though those scenes we saw on sunday would be troubling to many who followed hong kong and china for some time. and this impasse between the protesters and the communist party doesn't appear to have any obvious way out.

andrew? >> all right, david, thank you very much for that. david mckenzie joining us live from beijing. certainly, there are so many more freedoms in this part of china. but the people on the street, the tens of thousands of people who are now on the street are saying that they want more freedoms. natalie, they want the ability to choose their own leader in 2017 when the next elections will be held. they want true democracy. it does look very unlikely at this stage whether they're going to force the hand certainly of beijing but even of hong kong in that context. but we really do now have to wait and see. the numbers continue to grow here. there's holidays toward the back end, public holidays toward the back end of this week, which could see a lot more people coming onto the street. remember, it's a working day today. so these protests are more likely to escalate than deescalate at this stage. natalie. >> we can tell that. it's certainly fascinating as it unfolds. we thank you, andrew stevens for

us there and david mckenzie in beijing. thank you. well, a new president faces afghanistan's challenges. what's ahead for the new power-sharing government as it is inaugurated this hour, right now? also ahead here, inside the mind of isis. an active member and a defector speak exclusively with cnn. turn the trips you have to take, into one you'll never forget. earn triple points when you book with the expedia app. expedia plus rewards.

welcome back. fierce battles, more air strikes, and an isis counteroffensive. it is all happening in iraq and syria right now. the u.s. and its allies have launched new attacks on the kareemist group. they bombed isis targets in the syrian cities you see here highlighted, destroyed some refineries, we're told, armored vehicles, and a small command center. and in iraq american warplanes destroyed two checkpoints near fallujah and an isis safehouse outside baghdad. however, that being said, we are also told isis fighters are closer to seizing the key syrian city of kobani. they launched a counteroffensive against kurdish forces on sunday

despite several u.s. air strikes. no word yet on casualties. well, it's believed isis has recruited, as you know, thousands of new members in recent months from all over the world, raising questions about its apparent allure. well, now two members, one who's currently active and one who defected, are giving us a glimpse into the mindset of this extremist group. cnn's arwa damon has our exclusive report from turkey. >> reporter: when air strikes blasted the isis stronghold of raqqa, he saw a target of opportunity. he called the only person he could trust. >> translator: he was a relative. he was always telling me to defect. >> reporter: defect from isis. he shaved his beard and crossed into turkey. visibly anxious as we speak. now wanted by all sides. the organization he refers to as the islamic state, he tells us,

relies heavily on foreign fighters. >> translator: the french, they have so much control, they're even more extreme than we are. they come from france, but it's as if they've been a part of the islamic state for years. >> reporter: and he says isis was well prepared for coalition air strikes. moving their fighters and equipment. >> translator: they almost entirely emptied out the headquarters. some equipment they hid in civilian neighborhoods. some they hid underground. >> reporter: we're interviewing abu bal haib by skype. he's an isis fighter in raqqa. but he won't speak directly to a woman. that's why araf is asking the questions. since the coalition air strikes in syria he says isis banned all communications from raqqa. with permission from his emir he traveled closer to the border with iraq to be able to access the internet for this interview.

>> translator: we've been ready for this for some time. we know that our bases are known because they're tracking us with radars and satellites. so we had backup locations. they thought they knew everything. but thank god they don't know anything. and god willing, we will defeat the infidels. >> reporter: he says he was with the fighters who overran mosul and that they knew how easy it would be to push out the iraqi army and seize their weapons and armor. much of it american made. >> translator: this thing was all planned and prepared. there was nothing that was by chance. it was all organized. >> reporter: abu talha scoffs on the coalition strikes on the oil installations and other targets. >> translator: we the islamic state, we have revenue other than oil. we have other avenues and our finances are not going to stop just because of oil losses. they hit us in some areas, and we advanced in others. if we are pushed back in iraq,

we advance in northern syria. these strikes cannot stop us, our support, or our fighters. >> reporter: for abu amar the caliphate was a dream, one he still believes in, but not under isis, not like this. >> translator: i saw a 70-year-old sheik killed in front of me. the islamic state can't continue like this. there are a lot of youth who are joining. 14, 15 years old. maybe my voice can make them think again. >> reporter: arwa damon, cnn, gaziante, turkey. the death toll is rising on japan's mt. ontake, and the desperate search for hikers suddenly buried in volcanic ash continues. we'll go live there for the latest in a moment. are you kidding me? at university of phoenix, we think you should be able to try before you buy. that's why we offer students new to college a risk-free period.

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again, live to afghanistan. right now the country just swearing in its new president. and there he is. first handshake as president. live pictures here of the inauguration ceremony in kabul as ashraf ghani replacing long-time president hamid kar i karzai. the president-elect there on the left of your screen. after a disputed election, ghani will share power with his opponent, abdullah abdullah, who will become the country's chief executive. a power-sharing agreement helped broker by secretary kerry there after the u.n. monitored the disputed election. but once again, you just saw it.

afghanistan has a new president. now we turn to this evolving story in japan. an unbelievable occurrence happened right here on this volcano. look at the search and rescue going on, pulling people from the ash. this happened in central japan after this volcano suddenly erupted. we are being told that a coroner's examination has confirmed the death of at least ten people. that is expected to rise. at least 21 others presumed to have died when mt. ontake, a very popular place for hikers, erupted suddenly on saturday. you're looking at people that took shelter and the video there of this smoke and ash bearing down on them. more than 25 people were injured. it's not clear, though, how many more may still be buried under the deep layers of ash. just before this explosion all

that gray ash you see there on top of this mountain, this was fall foliage. and people had gone there, a very picturesque place, to hike and take in the sights. and then this is what happened. cnn's will ripley has been covering this from the start. he joins us now live from the scene there, will. it is just extraordinary that this happened. and the video that we are getting from people that got the video before they got out, well, it's just chilling. >> reporter: it really is chilling, natalie. and this situation continues unfolding. the rescue effort you were talk about is under way right now. and you really get a sense when you zoom in and we see mt. ontake and you see how the small eruption, the seismic activity continues at this very moment. this smoke plume has been increasing in size all day long. it's so -- i should say it's more gas and ash as opposed to smoke because it's not necessarily things that are burning up there, but it's the steam and the gases that are

shooting up from inside the mountain. and it's also the ash that is raining down on this area where we're standing right now. we've been wearing protective masks when we're not on the air because at times the air quality has diminished. it dropped to the point where it's hard to breathe. and if there start to be more dangerous embers that start falling, we have helmets that we wear and that everybody's wearing when you get a bit closer down to the roadblock there, which is as close as we are safely allowed to get. but those rescuers are going up there. they're hiking through knee-deep ash, natalie, to get to the places on the mountain where some of the injured hikers are still in these mountain lodges where they've been hiding out. they rode out the eruption midday saturday. they've been there. they can't walk down the mountain on their own strength. and because there's so much ash in the air it's difficult to get helicopters in there. they can only do that sporadically. so some of these people are literally being carried down the mountain, not to mention those people who were near the summit. the ten so far who have been pronounced dead and those 21 others you mentioned that still need to be taken and examined

before their families are notified that they did not -- that they did not survive the eruption. just terrible. >> yes. absolutely. you feel for those families. and you can just so appreciate how that mountain got covered with that rescue video that we've been seeing. all right. we'll stay in touch with you. will ripley for us there near mt. ontake. well, as we heard, the threat for additional eruptions is far from over. our meteorologist pedram javaheri has more on this developing story. certainly there won't be anyone going anywhere near this thing. >> yeah, not anytime soon. >> now since it just took them by surprise. >> yeah. you know, this is equivalent for the viewers watching in the united states, natalie, take mt. rainier, outside of seattle, washington. you put that in perspective. popular destination, of course, for hiking, has not had an active eruption since the 1800s. this particular one, last major eruption, occurred 35 years ago. so both, again, active volcanoes. this particular one just as

quiet as rainier has been across the pacific northwest, but saturday morning, late saturday morning a perspective quite different after what was generally a sunny day. we had cool temperatures, beautiful time of year across this region on the second tallest volcano in japan. and in fact one of our operations managers based out of cnn in hong kong there flying from canada to hong kong on saturday morning. and guess what? looking out the window, this is what he saw as the eruption occurred across this region. but i'll take you here because it is about 200 kilometers west of tokyo. it is about 125 miles or so when you convert that over. so it is quite close. we had major travel disruptions here as far as flights having to be rerouted as they were heading in toward tokyo as the direct result certainly impacted when you have this much ash into the upper atmosphere. but the concern continues. the japan meteorological agency saying hey, the next six to ten days still a possibility of yet another eruption. rescue efforts still taking place. search efforts taking place. and over the next two to three months a possibility for everything to continue before it finally begins to calm down. but i want to share with you

this security camera perspective as the eruption occurred here. kind of showing you the scary -- literally the scary nature of what's happened here on saturday morning. the pyroclastic flows, the explosive volcanic eruptions like this one, you have hot gas, you have wind speeds of this -- the ash speeds i should say, hurricane force. so well over 80 miles per hour in this region. and then the temperatures could be some, say, 400 degrees fahrenheit, or up to 700 or so degrees celsius when it comes to the heat generated by this. so it makes survival very, very difficult. and a lot of people out of the 250 that were estimated to be hiking this region, a little over 100 took shelter inside some of these cabins at the top of the mountain, and that is really one of the only ways they were able to survive what was happening here. and natalie, we know of course this region, the search efforts going to continue. we do have one storm system, a tropical storm that's exiting, and we have a front that's going to come in, and winds are going to be an issue. but with helicopters on a mountain the last thing you want of course are winds. so the risk is going to be high,

and the rescue effort's going to continue with all of this as well. >> absolutely. and there's people that are in those cabins. they must be terrified. certainly hope they get out okay. >> yeah. >> thanks, pedram. next here on cnn, the situation in hong kong appears to be calmer today, but a number of demonstrators say they're going to stay right where they are. and look at the size of this crowd and this live video we have right here. we'll have more about it in just a moment. also, what does beijing think of all this? china's communist leaders are watching intently. we'll get the perspective from there with a live report from beijing. much more ahead here on cnn. musical chairs. fun, right?

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and welcome back to our viewers in the u.s. and around the world. i'm natalie allen. in the headlines this hour, hong kong authorities say they have now pulled back riot police from protest areas in the territory. officials say they've done that because the demonstrators are currently acting peacefully. but authorities are urging activists who are blocking roads to allow cars and emergency vehicles to pass. there are still throngs of people out, protesting. now back to japan, where authorities warn mt. ontake could have another major eruption within the week. the volcano erupted saturday, covering the area with half a meter of ash. you're looking at people being plucked off this mountain. and a coroner now confirms ten people have been killed. at least 21 others are believed to be dead. it's still not clear how many are missing. they were all hiking on a

beautiful fall day when it suddenly erupted. now we turn to the middle east, where isis appears to be closing in on the key border city in syria despite several u.s.-led air strikes. kurdish forces trying to fend off those militants around the city of kobani. if isis overruns this city, it will be closer to controlling the syrian border with turkey. many of kobani's residents have already fled north. ashraf ghani is now afghanistan's new president. he was inaugurated just a few moments ago in kabul. mr. ghani will share power with his opponent in a bid to celt a dispute over election results. abdullah abdullah will be the country's first chief executive. hong kong authorities say riot police have been withdrawn from the pro-democracy demonstration sites around the territory. officials say that's because the

demonstrators are currently acting peacefully. but hong kong authorities are also urging activists who are blocking roads to allow cars and emergency vehicles to pass. the protests have been causing widespread disruptions in the asian financial hub, and that is what they have wanted to do. let's get the latest now from the scene. cnn's andrew stevens is once again live in hong kong for us. andrew? >> reporter: natalie, thanks very much. just to get an idea of now the size of this crowd, this has actually swelled and quite significantly swelled in the last two hours or so. it does coincide with that announcement we heard from the hong kong police that they are standing down their riot squads. so it has given protesters here a little bit more reassurance that the events of last night that we saw about 12 hoirz ago when there was tear gas used, when pepper spray was used against protesters, the likelihood of that happening again, certainly with the riot

police stepping down, has receded and as a result we're seeing a lot more people here. very difficult to get the numbers, but certainly it's swelling every five minutes or so. there does seem to be a significant increase in this. they're also starting to chant much more often too. we're hearing different chants. the most common refrain has been "stand down c.y. leung." c.y. leung is the leader of hong kong. the man pushing through this agenda, which most people think has been set by beijing about universal suffrage which effectively means that beijing will decide in a far too significant manner what is going to be the next leader of hong kong. that is the nub of this dispute. so we're hearing chants for the resignation of hong kong's leader. we're also hearing chants of peace, that there won't be a repeat of what we saw last night, which was tear gas, as i say, and pepper spray attacks. i just wanted to play a couple of little bits of sound from people on the streets about what

they're saying and how long they plan to be down here. listen to this. >> translator: fighting is the only thing we can do. we have no power. we either choose to be cowards or citizens in a free society. if you choose to be a coward, well, that's too bad. but if you don't want to be a coward, i think as a hong kong citizen i should come out, do the little i can, and step up. >> we want to select our own chief executive. yeah. by our people. i want someone who is for the people, for the people, and consider the good of us, not for the chinese government only. >> reporter: and that really is the bottom line here. it's about the people. about the people of hong kong deciding their own future, deciding who they want to be the next leader. that election being held in 2017. they believe that beijing quite clearly is going to be interfering in the process, that it will only be a

beijing-approved candidates who the choice will come down to. there may be several candidates, but they all have to be approved by beijing. which most people would tell you, natalie, rules out the democrats, which have a very strong following here in hong kong. obviously not liked in beijing. it would rule out the chance of a democrat party member being the next leader of this territory. i want to bring in victor gao now. he is with the china national association of international studies in beijing. victor, you're a regular guest on the cnn. we always enjoy speaking to you about china and politics. i'd just like to get your take, first of all. what do you think beijing would be making of these scenes behind me? tens of thousands of people chanting for universal suffrage, for a full and fair election. how would beijing be viewing this? >> well, first of all, hong kong is a democracy, and people in hong kong have the right to

demonstrate and protest. and they have the right of freedom of speech. therefore, it is not surprising if people demonstrate. and such demonstrations and protests happen in almost all the other countries in the world, including the united states or great britain. however, i would say when people demonstrate in a democracy, they also need to do so by abiding by the law. therefore, if they use violence, if they disregard the warning of police, they are actually doing more harm than any good. they are using illegal means to advance democracy, which will be counterproductive. therefore, i think it is time to urge the people in hong kong who are protesting by disobeying police orders to listen to the rule of law and do so not to create any more disturbance to other people who want to go to work and go on with their life. now, i don't think universal suffrage is an issue. all parties agree that universal suffrage will need to happen in

2017. it's just how the candidates are going to be nominated. that's at issue. but i think the political consultation process is still going on and people with whatever positions can have other means to express themselves rather than resorting to illegal ways of protesting. and hong kong being an international financial center, having stability in the street is crucial for hong kong to thrive. >> okay. stability in hong kong is crucial. and these protests, be they illegal or not, they are still sending a very, very clear message to beijing that this is what hong kongers want to happen. they want to see that mechanism for choosing the candidates for the chief executive to be changed. beijing has made it quite clear what they want to see. it is at odds with what hong kong wants to see.

how does beijing bridge that gap? is it prepared to try to bridge that gap? >> well, i would say the whole matter leading to the universal suffrage and the nominating process is still going on. it's a very well-tuned five-step process. and now that the national people's congress in beijing has made its decision, that decision has been referred back to hong kong and political consultation involving all walks of life will need to take place. therefore, i think there are better channels for people in hong kong to express their positions rather than resorting to illegal means of creating disturbance and counterproductive means of preventing other people to go to work and go along with their life. therefore, i think people in hong kong should have wisdom and maturity enough to express themselves while not disturbing social order in hong kong.

>> all right. victor, thank you very much for your comments. victor gao with the china national association of international studies, based in beijing. always good to get your thoughts on this. natalie, as victor gao was saying there, this is being perceived by him and also in beijing as an unlawful and illegal exercise. also the hong kong government says the same thing. and that hong kongers need to achieve their aims by other measures. but certainly if you look behind me, if you speak to the people who are gathering here, there is a very clear commitment and a very real passion to get change instituted through this sort of mechanism. and i do need to repeat that it was -- there was a confrontation last night. there was tear gas and pepper spray used. but since we've been down here this morning as the numbers go,

it has been very, very peaceful. and when you compare that with so many other demonstrations around the world, the hong kong gatherings, if you like -- the norm here is for peaceful protests. that's what we're seeing at the moment. of course anything can change. at the moment it is in a state where they are pushing for what they want without antagonizing the police and without also, natalie, actually damaging the business here in this town. the stock exchange is still open. there is still business going on in central hong kong. so their aim of bringing hong kong to a standstill, of this civil disobedience of trying to stop business in central hong kong, the financial district, is not having that effect at the moment. >> well, that's good for hong kong. and it's good that they are able to stand out there and have a peaceful protest, and those numbers sure do speak volumes about many people's resolve there. it will be interesting to see how long this does go on and if

beijing will ever bend to their wants. thank you so much. andrew stevens, following developments for us. and we'll get back to you if things change. all right. coming up here, dozens of suspected jihadists are about to go on trial in belgium. the charges they face and how a former recruit was turned into a key witness. we're live in just a moment. [ female announcer ] you change your style.

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nearly four dozen people suspected of terrorist activities will soon go on trial in belgium. this is the single largest trial of its kind in that country. attica shubert spoke with the father of the prosecution's star witness. >> reporter: islamist fighters in syria but speaking flemish. easily identifying them as belgian. the government estimates that more than 300 belgian fighters like these have traveled to syria to join the ranks of militant groups like isis. more than a quarter of those are believed to have links to this man, few yad bell qasem, a banned islamic extremist group based in antwerp. now he's the biggest suspect in the country's biggest terror trial. accused of leading a terrorist organization and recruiting young muslims to its cause. the father of one recruit says bel qasem brainwashed his son into joining a cult.

>> he prepared them to make a jihad in conflict areas like syria. it's kind of like an injection in your arm. >> reporter: dimitri botnik's anger is understandable. his son yeyun was recruited by sharia for belgium at just 16 years old. in their videos he is seated next to bel qasem and is featured as one of their most popular street preachers in antwerp. but he was no ordinary recruit. he eventually traveled to syria joining a group of foreign fighters ultimately absorbed by isis. after nearly a year inside, his father tracked him down in syria and convinced him to come home. and incredibly, to tell belgian police everything he knew about jihadist recruitment to syria. despite death threats from former sharia for belgium members. >> my son, he gave a very good cooperation. he talked the truth. how he was influenced by this

sect. because he's the golden crown witness. without my son they are nothing today. >> reporter: now yes. yun is a key witness against bel qasem even as he faces charges himself of being a member of a terrorist organization. but dimitri botnik insists bel qasem is not the only one to blame. >> so do you blame bel qasem? >> i don't blame only him. i blame the western governments also because they have blood on their hands also. >> because they didn't arrest him? >> they didn't arrest bel qasem. they know he was recruiting and selecting western children. if there was no sharia for belgium, my son would never have been gone to syria. there's no doubt about this. let us be clear about this. >> reporter: cnn has attempted to contact sharia for belgium and bel qasem's lawyer. we have not received a response. but over the next few days and weeks his story will unfold in court. >> again, atika shubert there

covering this trial for us in belgium. and she will have live reports as the hours tick on and it gets under way. coming up here, a group of north korean athletes is in south korea for the asian games. ahead, this boxer right here who defected from the north shares what she thinks about the visit from the north koreans. ♪ this is a woman hesitating on a life-changing decision. at university of phoenix, we know going back to school is a big decision. that's why we offer students new to college a risk-free period, so you can commit to your education with confidence. get started at phoenix.edu "hello. you can go ahead and "have a nice flight."re."

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it will be another two weeks before the air traffic control center that serves one of the world's busiest airports is fully up and running again. that according to the u.s. federal aviation administration. we're talking about chicago. hundreds of flights have been canceled and delayed at o'hare international airport and midway airport after a fire broke out at the air traffic control center in aurora, illinois and police say that fire was set intentionally on friday by an employee before he apparently tried to kill himself. well, record rains have soaked parts of the southwestern u.s. and new storms could spark additional travel issues in that part of the u.s. meteorologist pedram javaheri following that for us this half hour. pedram, it just seems like they go from complete dry to complete onslaught of rain. >> we're transitioning now to the autumn season, the fall season. so this is definitely going to be one of those times where activity really goes to pick up. and that's good news for some

across california. wait till you see some of the record rainfall totals we saw over the weekend across the southwest. but pretty active frontal feature here, diving well south over the past 24 or so hours. so with it the storm track going to come south, where the rainfall again quite heavy at times in recent days. right now feature kind of pashlparked over the intermountain west and see winter weather over the wasatch front east of salt lake city. we've seen some snowfall across this region, 9,500 feet. you've got to get up quite high. but it is beginning to snow in some of these areas across the rockies and waswatch mountains of the united states. so you know times changing, the weather pattern going to get far, far cooler in the coming weeks. you notice one to three inches has come down and expected to come down by the time you get through, say, monday afternoon across southwestern idaho and also southwestern state of wyoming just south of jackson. at this point looking like more rain but looks like long-term, of course, transitioning into snow once you bring the temperatures down. record rainfall on saturday

afternoon. phoenix picked up some 1.6 inches, about 150 millimeters. idaho falls picked up nearly an inch of rainfall. and even in california, in bishop, california not far from yosemite, trace amounts. that's less than .01 of one inch. that was a record amount of rainfall, having never rained across this region that date, the 27th of september. but you notice the rain has been quite significant. we've had flooding issues across las vegas and about four to six inches just north of kingman, around seligman, arizona, st. george, utah and cedar city as well. so travel issues you would expect across the southwest mainly now left because of the wind in this forecast. las vegas delays generally under one hour on monday afternoon. and salt lake city about the same, natalie. and if you're traveling to the eastern united states, the u.s. capital in d.c. and also philadelphia, some thunderstorms, delays again generally about an hour, but at least not as bad as the issues they have in chicago a couple days ago with the fire. >> absolutely. thanks to one person. all right, pedram, thank you. well, right now athletes from more than 40 countries are in south korea for the asian

games. and that includes a delegation from north korea. and as you well know, that's an emotional factor for a lot of people in south korea. especially one boxer in seoul who years ago defected from the north. and she is one tough cookie. here's paula hancocks. >> reporter: choi hyun mi packs a mean punch. world champion in featherweight and super featherweight boxing, representing south korea, after escaping from north korea ten years ago. she tells me how competitive the training was in the north. "kids from a poor family had a very strong sense of rivalry," she says, "as they earned extra money and food if they win the sparring. but for me from a rich family, it wasn't about food and money. i just hated losing." she says her peers were desperate to win to please kim jong il, the late north korean leader.

choi's drive here in south korea is knowing her father gave up a successful business in the north to give her a more normal life. financially it's harder for them in the south. she's still looking for sponsorship. but she knows she is far better off than those north korean athletes currently here for the asian games. choi says that the worst case scenario for a north korean athlete is not just losing, it's losing against someone who's from south korea, from japan, or from the united states. she says in that case it is very rare for that sportsperson to compete again. the fact north korean athletes are even in the south for the games and competing in a country which is considered enemy territory is progress in itself. the two koreas are still technically at war. >> it shows that north korea wants to make this trip very visible. that maybe other forms of diplomacy, traditional diplomacy and cultural diplomacy, they're trying everything, may not be working optimally. >> reporter: one political hiccup before the athletes even arrived. all national flags were taken down from the streets of host

city incheon as the north korean flag is not allowed to be flown in the south outside of the sporting stadium. choi, though, is proud to be fighting under the south korean flag. as a professional she's not asian games and seems relieved she will not be fighting against a north korean contender, knowing if she wins her rival could be out of a job. paula hancocks, cnn, seoul. well, finally, people can't seem to get enough of the most famous newlyweds in venice right now, or perhaps the world. of course we're talking about actor george clooney and his new wife, amal alamuddin. they stepped out to a throng of photographers on sunday. their first public appearance since their marriage a day earlier. the newlyweds took a taxi boat ride on the grand canal. a notice from city authorities says the city hall area will be closed monday afternoon for two hours, presumably for their civil ceremony. what a dashing couple. well, pro-democracy protesters in hong kong say they

aren't giving up, even after a violence night. it's not violent right now. but look at the number of people. we'll get a live update from hong kong in just a few minutes. as rosemary church picks up the next hour of our special coverage here. thanks for watching. i'm natalie allen. an unprecedented program arting busithat partners businesses with universities across the state. for better access to talent, cutting edge research, and state of the art facilities. and you pay no taxes for ten years. from biotech in brooklyn, to next gen energy in binghamton, to manufacturing in buffalo... startup-ny has new businesses popping up across the state. see how startup-ny can help your business grow at startup.ny.gov

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♪ ♪ great rates for great rides. geico motorcycle, see how much you could save. introducing a pm pain reliever that dares to work all the way until the am. new aleve pm the only one with a safe sleep aid. plus the 12 hour strength of aleve. it was in the united states and all around the world. i'm rosemary church. ahead this hour, tensions easing in hong kong after riot police pulled back from massive demonstrations there. also ahead -- >> just over there where you can see that smokestack, that was clearly mortar