In hong kong remain defiant and out on the streets. Large crowds still gathering at this hour, but riot police have pulled back. Were live from both hong kong, and well 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 worlds most talked about couples. I think you know who they are. Now happily married. George in venice. Well get to that in a little bit. Welcome to our viewers in the u. S. And around the world. Youre watching cnn. Im natalie allen. Were 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 longtime 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. Well continue to follow developments there. Now to hong kong, where the government says riot police have now pulled back from the prodemocracy demonstration sites around the territory. That announcement from the authorities within just the past couple of hours. Ofishls say they have withdrawn police because they say the demonstrators are currently acting peacefully.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 asias financial hubs, as you know. Lets go straight now to cnns Andrew Stevens. He is live in the thick of things. And we can certainly appreciate from that video right there behind you, steven, that shes people are still out in full force. Reporter absolutely. And the numbers are growing by the minute, too, natalie. Weve 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 theyve done. Theres no attempt to try and move any of these people. And they also say the protesters say, natalie, that were 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 theres one person thats still out here on this highway im going to be here. First of all, i dont think it affected business. Secondly, even if its affected business i think its worth it. Reporter so as you see there, a, its 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. Its also and most importantly its 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 beijingapproved 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. Whats 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 arent 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 prodemocracy protests. And theyre pleading on their hands and knees, pleading to the riot police, as theyve 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. Its an incredibly dramatic moment here. This protest movement ballooned. And has led to the scenes weve seen now with tear gas now breaking the truce here. Were now going to be enveloped in tear gas. Okay. Okay. Im okay. Im okay. Were 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 weve seen at many of the g20 meetings, for example, in recent years, when rocks are thrown, windows are smashed, and the Police Respond very heavyhanded. Theres 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, whos 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 theyve dictated what will be shown of the protests here in the Mainland China and its 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 havent heard anything since. So really the sense is theyre 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 ive 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 theyre 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 youve 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 doesnt 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 theyre 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. Theres 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, its a working day today. So these protests are more likely to escalate than deescalate at this stage. Natalie. We can tell that. Its 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 afghanistans challenges. Whats ahead for the new powersharing 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 youll 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, were 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, its 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 whos currently active and one who defected, are giving us a glimpse into the mindset of this extremist group. Cnns 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, theyre even more extreme than we are. They come from france, but its as if theyve 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 were interviewing abu bal haib by skype. Hes an isis fighter in raqqa. But he wont speak directly to a woman. Thats 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 weve been ready for this for some time. We know that our bases are known because theyre tracking us with radars and satellites. So we had backup locations. They thought they knew everything. But thank god they dont 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 70yearold sheik killed in front of me. The Islamic State cant 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 japans mt. Ontake, and the desperate search for hikers suddenly buried in volcanic ash continues. Well 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. Thats why we offer students new to college a riskfree period. So you can commit to your education with confidence. Get started at phoenixtrial. Edu fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. Everybody knows that parker. Well. Did you know auctioneers make bad Grocery Store clerks . Thatll be 23. 50. Now. 75, 23. 75, hold em. 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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 countrys chief executive. A powersharing 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 coroners 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. Youre 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. Its 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. Cnns 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, its 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 continue