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Pistorius To Stay in Jail For Now; China Linked To Hacking Network; Whale-Hunting Ships Attacked; Brazen Hollywood-like Heist in Brussels; Marco Rubio Visits Israel; Crimes of Opportunity in Peru

Aired February 20, 2013 - 12:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL. I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Michael Holmes.

MALVEAUX: This hour we're taking you around the world in 60 minutes.

We begin in South Africa. This is Pretoria, South Africa. Court is adjourned for the day with no decision on whether or not to let the Olympic star Oscar Pistorius out on bail. He is charged with premeditated murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend. Lawyers are going to argue again tomorrow. Stay here. We're going to be live from Pretoria in just a moment.

HOLMES: Well, the White House is about to unveil a new and aggressive plan to protect the U.S. from devastating cyber attacks. And China considered one of the biggest offenders. A cyber security company, of course, has been saying it's identified a hacking group in Shanghai with ties to China's military. It says it watched those hackers systematically steal information from more than 140 companies. China denying any involvement.

MALVEAUX: And police still have no clue who managed to pull off a daring heist at the Brussels Airport. Thieves managed to steal $50 million worth of diamonds from a plane on the tarmac. On Monday night, two cars burst through the perimeter fence, the airport, sped towards the plane. Authorities say the men were wearing police uniforms and were heavily armed. They were in and out of the airport within minutes.

Well, it is CNN's top international news story today. Of course, we are talking about the Olympic star Pistorius.

HOLMES: Yes.

MALVEAUX: I mean everybody is following this. Everybody is talking about this.

HOLMES: It is, around the world, the media pack.

MALVEAUX: It is really quite amazing.

HOLMES: Yes. MALVEAUX: Another night he's going to spend in jail. But we don't know, I mean, the outcome of all of this, whether or not he's going to be released on bail. This is just playing out. This is actually Pretoria, South Africa. The judge didn't decide on bail for the double amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius.

HOLMES: Yes, the funny thing is, this sounds like a trial already. You're hearing all the evidence. The defense lawyers, the prosecutors arguing over eyewitness accounts and various other pieces of evidence. But, got to remember, it's just a bail hearing to decide if Pistorius should be free while the justice system does its thing. And, remember, it's not even been a week since the Olympic runner's girlfriend was shot to death in his home. CNN's Robyn Curnow is in Pretoria following things right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More interesting details on what prosecutors say happened Valentine's Day morning and countercharges from the defense. According to prosecutors, witnesses heard arguing coming from the Pistorius home for an hour before the shooting. The defense saying the witness' house was 300 meters, about 1,000 feet away.

On the stand, the investigating officer said Pistorius used a cricket bat to break down the bathroom door. That bat and a cell phone found splattered in blood. Using a diagram projected on a large screen, the officers said Pistorius aimed his gun at the toilet, pointing out that he had to turn and fire at an angle in order to hit the toilet.

Police also say a witness heard a gunshot, then heard a female scream, then more gunshots. The defense say no female screamed.

Defense attorneys pressed the police officer, who admitted that Steenkamp's body had no signs of an assault or signs of her defending herself. The officer also conceding he could find nothing inconsistent with Oscar Pistorius' version of events. Pistorius has said he thought he was shooting at an intruder.

Prosecutors say police found bullets in a safe in the home. They say that will lead to charges of possessing illegal ammunition. But later, the investigators said they did not establish whose ammunition it was. Authorities say they also found two boxes of testosterone and needles, which defense attorneys contend is actually herbal medicine.

Prosecutors say there's no way the killing of Reeva Steenkamp was self-defense. That Pistorius knew his girlfriend was in the bathroom when he opened fire. They cited two previous incidents of police encounters with Pistorius that suggest he could be prone to violence. Adding that since they consider Pistorius a flight risk, he should be held without bail. And with that, court is adjourned until tomorrow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And Robyn Curnow joins us now live from Pretoria. As we said earlier, Robyn, it sounds a lot like a trial. And you hear the prosecution making their allegations. The defense shooting holes in it. You know, what do you think? How is this looking like in terms of the chances of him making bail?

CURNOW: Well, you know, this is actually quite common, this sort of trial within a trial within a bail hearing here in South Africa. It's not unusual, particularly with such a serious case of premeditated murder, the charge being laid against him. So, you know, it's heightened. The kind of information and evidence that has to be put forward, it just makes it all the more serious. And, of course, added to that mix is the fact that Oscar Pistorius is, well, Oscar Pistorius.

So that, you know, that adds to that dynamic. Will he get bail? Well, it's been up and down. You know, it's been like watching a football game today. I just -- you know, one hand, it's, you know, early on this morning, it seemed like the state was making an incredibly strong case against him.

By the afternoon of cross-examination, Pistorius' legal team really shot down, kind of weakened, even discredited the cases against the state. So, you know, it really is -- I can't call it, although this is what an expert says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LLEWELYN CURLEW, V.P. SOUTH AFRICAN LAW SOCIETY: Personally, I would like to see him receiving bail at this stage. That the law can take its course. Normal course. That we shouldn't have a trial by ambush and that we shouldn't see a media trial out there. Let the evidence come forth. We've got a decent constitution. Ultimately, arguably, we've got one of the best constitutions in the world. And that should be the test. A open -- an open society of fairness and a decent trial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: As you can see, it's dark here. The sun's just gone down. Oscar Pistorius was taken a few hours back -- ago back to his cell. So he spends his seventh night behind bars. And, of course, let's not forget Reeva Steenkamp's family, who spent their seventh night -- whose spending their seventh night, you know, without their daughter.

MALVEAUX: Robyn, what is it like inside of the courtroom? I know it's a different kind of legal system. You've got a judge, a couple advisers. But who's actually in the audience there? Are those family members and friends? And is Pistorius any different than he was yesterday?

CURNOW: Absolutely. I mean I think we've chatted about how yesterday he really seemed broken. Physically unable to sit up. You know, bent over crying, sobbing into his hands. I mean just uncontrollable at times. Today, definitely more composed. And that might be because his defense team really, you know, seemed to hammer the state. And I think there was a physical sense of him sitting up straighter. His family were in the court behind him. He has a large family, and they tend to fill up a lot of the seats behind him in the -- behind the dock. So, you know, there was, I think, a palpable sense of optimism that grew throughout the day. It's obviously going to see tomorrow how that changes. You've got final arguments from both sides start around 4:00 Eastern Time. You know, so when your viewers wake up in the morning, they might have a better sense of the decision that the magistrate makes.

HOLMES: Yes, Robyn, and very quickly, the prosecution was thinking him a flight risk. And, again, the defense shooting that down. I mean tomorrow we are going to get a decision or you don't know?

CURNOW: I would say that we're going to get a decision, although, you know, I'm not going to put money on it because these things, you know, tend to fly away with you. But, you know, basically, I think there's a sense, closing arguments, there will be a decision. The magistrate will sort of rule on it. I think a lot of people want to see this speed up.

But in terms of the flight risk, I mean that was also shot down. It was fascinating. The chief inspecting officer who, you know, who's leading the investigation said, no, absolutely, you know, he should -- he's a flight risk. He has a house in Italy. He has offshore bank accounts. And Oscar Pistorius' lawyers came back and said, well, how do you know he has a house in Italy? And the investigating officer says, well, I just heard about it.

So it's that kind of information that came from the investigating officer that really didn't hold up at all, you know. And, I mean, I think there was one tweet today in court where one of my colleagues said, you know, I have no facts. It's really not a helpful statement coming from the man who's the leading investigation like this.

HOLMES: Yes.

MALVEAUX: Yes. Robyn's a smart woman not to put money on any of this, because this changes from hour to hour.

HOLMES: Very wise. It does.

Good to see you, Robyn. Robyn Curnow there in Pretoria.

Yes, extraordinary scenes, you know?

MALVEAUX: Fighting an invisible enemy overseas. The U.S. is now preparing to do just that, unveiling a plan today to take on hackers. They have been attacking American companies, stealing valuable information.

HOLMES: Yes, the White House scheduled to release its battle plan this afternoon. We already know China is going to be the main focus of this cyber fight, and American cyber security firm, we told you about this yesterday, traced an entire hacking network to Shanghai. And not just to Shanghai, to a building linked to the Chinese military. David McKenzie went to that building where the hacking is reportedly taking place.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Driving in the northern part of Shanghai, this is a hub of low tech industry, but it's also allegedly a high tech hub of corporate and potentially government espionage. The allegations come from a group called Mandiant from the U.S. They say that there are tens, if not hundreds, of Chinese hackers working in conjunction with the Chinese government to hack into most of the U.S. companies and steal data and corporate secrets.

Mandiant says after years of investigations, they pinpointed the hacking to this group of buildings. They said that the hackers would go in to an institution through back door means and spend potentially years there stealing secrets. Some of these industries were national security industries, like aerospace, high tech and IT.

It's clear that this installation of buildings is closely watched by the people's liberation army. And the allegation is that they're working in conjunction with civilian hackers. As we got closer to take a look, we got in trouble.

Keep driving. Drive away. Drive away. Drive away.

We've had to move out of sight of that facility. Now, the question is, was that response because it's a military installation, or is there something more here? Is this a secret center of Chinese bloggers working for the Chinese government and attacking U.S. institutions? That's certainly what Mandiant is saying. But the Chinese government says that's not the case. They say this is a baseless accusation and, quote, "irresponsible."

Chinese say that 14 million computers are hacked every year here in China, and they blame the U.S. The question is, is this just the next salvo in a cyber war?

David McKenzie, CNN, Shanghai.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Yes, what a story that is too.

Here's more of what we're working on this hour for NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL.

So, what's the retirement package like for a pope? Haven't had to work that one out for a while, a few hundred years. We're going to take a look at what life will be like for Benedict after he steps down.

MALVEAUX: And later, picture yourself stretched out on this baby. That's right, the biggest yacht on earth, pretty fantastic, worth $1.5 billion. That's billion with a "b." What kind of money does that buy you? We're going to take you on a little cruise. We're talking swimming pools, luxury spa. It even has its own submarine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Well, it turns out we could have a new pope a little sooner than expected.

MALVEAUX: Yes, that's right. Pope Benedict XVI considering changing the Vatican constitution. He shocked the world last week when he announced his resignation effective at the end of the month. As it stands, Vatican rules says that cardinals should start voting on a replacement from 15 to 20 days after the vacancy.

So, what do you think, Michael, when the pope leaves, what does he do?

HOLMES: What does a retired pope -- one hasn't done this, remember, for 400 years.

MALVEAUX: Roll that commercial, that Taco Bell commercial from the Super Bowl.

HOLMES: I remember that.

MALVEAUX: I think that was kind of a little bit of -- there you go.

HOLMES: Yes, the old folks escaping from the home and having a bit of fun.

MALVEAUX: You know, I think he would have to escape. I don't know if the -- is the pope allowed to do any of this partying or, you know?

HOLMES: We don't know. We haven't had -- we haven't seen it for a few centuries. It's all going to be new, isn't it?

MALVEAUX: But he's -- I think he's going to have like a little pocket change to play with, right?

HOLMES: Yes. It's about...

MALVEAUX: So how much are...

HOLMES: It's about $3,000, $3,500 a month. $3,300 odd dollars a month, that's what he gets. And they worked it out because that's what retired bishops get. Because they haven't really done a 401(k) before.

MALVEAUX: But all expenses paid. He's in the monastery, right?

HOLMES: That's the thing.

MALVEAUX: What could he possibly spend his money on? I think he's covered, yes?

HOLMES: It's play money. But what does a retired pope need play money for? The imagination can go wild.

MALVEAUX: Taco Bell, mini-tacos, I don't know.

HOLMES: He'll be sneaking out.

We've got another one for you, too, from Australia. MALVEAUX: A group that protests whale hunting says its boats were attacked by Japanese ships, calling it the worst incident that they've experienced in a couple of years. Japan conducts this annual whale hunt despite a worldwide ban on whale hunting.

HOLMES: They use a loophole. They call it scientific research.

Now, this group is well-known down under, Sea Shepherd. Now, they say that their ships were rammed by the Japanese ships. They fired water cannons, as well, threw concussion grenades at them while they were refueling. Concussion grenades, of course, are designed to stun, not kill.

The group claims Japanese ships violated international and Australian law by intruding into international waters. The Japanese and Australian governments looking into these claims.

MALVEAUX: And this video, it's rather extraordinary, kind of surprising, too, when you look at it. This is on YouTube. It's showing U.S. troops and the president covered up with flames as well as harsh language. This was posted by North Korea's propaganda agency, not surprising. The text says, "United States uses gangster tactics," and that North Korea's military is now getting stronger.

It was just a couple of weeks ago, you might recall, Michael, a similar North Korean video showing New York City in flames. It was over this musical soundtrack. Obviously, they're trying to show a little bit of bluster, a little bit of muscle, if they can, as they conduct these kinds of tests.

HOLMES: Yeah, that's the old propaganda unit at work.

Meanwhile, sounds like something out of a movie, doesn't it? We told you about this yesterday, too. Eight armed, masked thieves, they were dressed as police officers, which we didn't know yesterday, stole $50 million worth of diamonds from a plane while the passengers were on board.

MALVEAUX: Are you serious?

HOLMES: Yeah.

MALVEAUX: No shots were fired, fortunately. I mean, nobody got hurt in all of this. But this happened in Brussels airport in Belgium on Monday night.

Dan Rivers shows us it only took a couple of minutes for them to actually pull this whole thing off.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It required chutzpah, inside knowledge, and some very fast driving, one of the biggest gem heists ever, and the question is who did it? Who would dare to steal $50 million worth of diamonds from a supposedly super- secure European airport? It all sounds like the plot of a Hollywood blockbuster, a rather unbelievable Hollywood blockbuster, the sheer audacity of this heist is breathtaking. They simply drove into Brussels International Airport, flashed their guns, and drove off with tens of millions of dollars worth of diamonds -- and all without a shot being fired.

At 7:47 local time Monday night, the gang cut through a perimeter fence near a building site and drove parallel to the busy runway in two cars. They knew where to go, stopping a Swiss airliner, holding three people at gunpoint, stealing bags of uncut diamonds that had been unloaded from a Brinks Security truck.

JAN VAN DER CRUYSSE, BRUSSELS AIRPORT SPOKESMAN: They have returned to the car and sped off again, left the airport perimeter exactly 11 minutes after they have entered. The operation at the airport has taken exactly three minutes. So this was a very quick hit-and-run, very well organized.

RIVERS: The diamonds were being transported from Antwerp to Zurich. Antwerp is the world's diamond capital. $200 million of the stones are transported through this airport each day. Traders here say they fear damage to their status as a world hub could be significant amid rising concerns over security, but experts say the mastermind of this heist will be tough to uncover.

HARRY LEVY, LONDON DIAMOND BOURSE: I imagine whoever commissioned the heist would keep as far distance as he can, as far as identification is concerned, between himself and the people who actually carried out the robbery.

RIVERS: The thieves were reportedly dressed in uniforms to make them look official.

With Europe's open borders, they could have driven to any one of two dozen European countries by now with the loot that's extremely difficult to trace.

Dan Rivers, CNN, Brussels.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right, imagine this. You're sitting at a stop light. Yeah, have a look at that. That happens.

We're going to take you inside a rash of car robberies that went down in broad daylight. This happened in Peru.

Stay with us. Look at that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back, everyone. Visiting Israel today, the junior U.S. Senator from Florida and possible 2016 presidential candidate, we're talking about Marco Rubio.

MALVEAUX: And, of course, he's getting quite an audience, all the bigwigs. Holding talks with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. He is expected to discuss the peace process, concerns about Iran, as well. He sits on the Senate intelligence and foreign relations committees.

And imagine sitting at an intersection, Michael, right? You and I saw this video. Unbelievable, right? Somebody just bursts into your car, takes all your stuff, your wallet, your purse, anything of value.

This is Lima, Peru. It's not just one guy who's doing it. You can see a whole bunch of them. Rafael Romo to explain this, so, do they have to -- I assume their cars are unlocked. These guys, they take advantage of the moment and they just swoop down on people who are unsuspecting.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AFFAIRS EDITOR: It's what you call a crime of opportunity. They see the opportunity because this is a very busy street. They see people stuck in traffic, and they look at the car and see if there's somebody vulnerable, elderly people, people who are infirm. They take that moment, go into the car as fast as they can, and you see the consequences.

Now, what you're seeing right there is part of the good news in this really scary news, which is that they were caught, and this is the actual police operation when they were caught. And I'm glad to say -- and I'm sure the Peruvian national police will be glad to say this, too -- that all four suspects were caught.

And one surprising thing about this, that all the suspects were very, very young. One was 23, the alleged leader of the gang. The other three were only 18, just barely over the age. So, this is just an incredible, incredible story.

HOLMES: Was anyone -- A, was anyone hurt? B, does this happen a lot?

ROMO: The good news is that people were probably beaten up a little bit, but nobody died. That's the good news. And it seems like -- it seems they were working, according to what the police told me, they were operating around that area, which is the Barrios Altos neighborhood in Peru, as far back as mid-January.

Now, police were estimating based on witnesses and what people told them, and they could have stolen as much as $46,000 in just the last few weeks.

MALVEAUX: We're seeing young women in the video, kind of running around there. Are those people who got out of their cars and started chasing these guys? Who are those young women in the video?

ROMO: Police are now looking at the possibility that they had lookouts, people -- young girls were there, so to speak, accomplices, and were helping them to target victims, kind of spot who was vulnerable and who would be an easy target for them to attack.

HOLMES: Wow. I suppose one message that lock your doors, people. Really. ROMO: Exactly.

HOLMES: Yeah.

MALVEAUX: Yeah, that's one way to avoid that.

Thank you, Rafael. That's really -- glad those guys are behind bars now.

ROMO: Yeah, very scary video, but they're behind bars now.

MALVEAUX: OK, thank you.

HOLMES: Amazing stuff, isn't it?

Now, here's another bit of video for you, too. If you've got young kids, you know can't take your eyes off them for a second. A mother in China learnt that the hard way. Why?

MALVEAUX: Her daughter crawls into the washing machine, gets stuck. We're going to tell you how it -- what it took, actually, to get her out.

HOLMES: Here's a clue, a lot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)