in his first remarks as president, mr. ghani said he was committed to bringing change. mr. also thanked his rival dr. abdullah abdullah who's agreed to take part in a national unity government, but the new president took the chance to make it clear who's in charge. >> translator: we want to assure you that after this, that politics don't become the reason for instability. i want my team, i want everybody who participated and supported my team and who have helped dr. abdue will's team as well, to thank you. afghan people showed a victory. the national unity government was a necessity. it doesn't mean sharing of power, but it means working together. i am thanking dr. abdullah abdullah. who helped this process to be successful. today's afghanistan is different to yesterday's afghanistan. >> ashraf ghani, the new president. our correspondent in kabul david loyn gave me his latest thoughts on this. >> reporter: this was a speech that was full of promises to end corruption. at one point, he said, we will end poverty. reforming the judiciary. and looking after widows and orphans. d

mr. ghani's predecessor hamid karzai refused to agree to that deal.ny people thought, okay, foreign troops are coming out of afghanistan, certainly combat troops. is this a sign that actually in a way the international mission has failed, that we still need so many foreign troops in afghanistan going forward? >> well, the number of afghan security forces is around 350,000. they are equipped, they are trained, but according to western military experts, they are not ready yet. it still relies on u.s. and nato airplanes and they still need assistance in surveillance. they don't have heavy weapons. and they still need to help in logistics, so that's why they want to keep a few thousand foreign forces for training and for counterterrorism operations, because the u.s. forces will be based in a number of strategically important facilities and areas from where they can have their air attacks. they can assist on security forces if they are needed and they can also trend off on forces for the next few years. >> and looking into the border areas, especially with

mr. ghani will share power with his opponent in a bid to celt a dispute over election results.llah 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 hong kong authorities say riot police have been withdrawn from the pro-democracy demonstration sites around the territory.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

i think todd was -- today was the beginning of it and president ghani and what mr mr.llah suggested yesterday and allowed it to happen today and it's beginning of cooperation. challenges, the first thing they need to sign the by lateral security agreement which is expected tomorrow to happen. >> this is a final question about the taliban, they described this deal, this unity deal as a u.s.-orchestrated sham, so where does this leave the taliban in terms of their inclusion and mission from the emerging political landscape in the country? >> reporter: well, at this stage it seems very much taking participation of people and both of the election and the very warm welcome of the public of what has happened today. taliban, if they continue what they are doing will become an irrelevant actor in this entire process. i think they will continue the violence and if they continue the violence people will excel and continue to keep distance from them and see them marginalize. they do not speak for the public here. i think afghans reached the deal and the process of which people ha

ghani the president of afghanistan and mr.dullah will be chief executive so it's not going to be a core presidency, it's going to be one president with a chief executive and a want it in and a government that has to function. >> ashraf ghani and what are the immediate challenges for him? the economy is in a dire straight and some reports say the country cannot pay e bonuses to workers without finding donations. >> reporter: the economy has suffered in the past few years precisely the income dropped, the investment completely froze and now we have to start from below zero again and i think being in the international communities commitments have to be coming back because they have commitments to afghanistan and afghanistan needs to work with the international community and vice versa so we can meet all our obligations, this is not just a one-way street. we have to function as a government and they have to function as allies and we have to work together and we need to reciprocate. >> how do you think the ongoing fight against the

ashraf ghani and abdullah abdullah were close to a power sharing deal, but mr.bdullah has announced he won't accept the election results. this despite last-minute and frantic efforts by the u.s. and u.n. to produce some sort of breakthrough. abdullah agreed to a 100% audit. the winner would be the president and the runner-up would be the chief executive officer. both were unwilling to compromise. the prolonged election process has reportedly cost the economy of the country more than $5 billion. the results are expected to be announced, though, in a matter of a few days. we'll wait and see for that. joining me now from the studio is the chairman of the united afghan tribes. thanks very much indeed for coming in and joining us here. do you believe that we are close to resolving this deadlock crippling, as it has been? >> i think we've got a situation in afghanistan, david. first of all, the election commission was free. they had to make i the announcement who's the winner and who lost the election. unfortunately, before the announcement, the john kerry diplomacy p