Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

World Powers Agree to Pause in Syria Fighting; Government Forces Advance in Northern Syria; Aid Group Trying to Get Supplies to Syrian Cities; Pope Francis Visits Mexico; Traveling with the Warship Targeting Traffickers; Jeb Bush Gets Help from His Big Brother; Pope Francis in Mexico for Six Days; Brazil's Army Called in to Fight Zika; Machete Wielding Man Attacks Ohio Restaurant; Video Shows Laptop Bomb Gets Past Security. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired February 13, 2016 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:09] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The president of Syria says he is open to peace talks a day after world powers agree to pause in fighting there. Plus, cheering crowds greet Pope Francis in Mexico as he begins his six-day visit in that country. And later, Donald Trump goes on a new offensive against Ted Cruz. Why he is threatening to sue his rival for the Republican presidential nomination.

From CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell. CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

And a good day to you. We begin this hour with a security conference in Munich, Germany. Top diplomats from more than a dozen countries dealing with what's been described as a, quote, "bleak global environment." And it's the situation in Syria and the European refugee crisis that are overshadowing their talks.

The meetings come just days after ministers from the United States, from Russia and other nations all announced that they've agreed to a pause in the fighting in Syria to take effect in a week. But there are fears that at least two issues will scuttle any lasting peace in that nation. The continued Russian airstrikes in Aleppo and the insistence by the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that he will continue fighting enemies that he deems terrorists.

Let's get the very latest from Munich. Our CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is live for us this hour.

Nic, good to have you with us. So there are so many issues that are playing out in the world. What is the mood there among leaders in Munich?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, there's concern about this peace plan for Syria at the moment. The focus for the concern would be this next week in Aleppo. It's very clear to the leaders here that Russia and President Bashar al-Assad have a military agenda to achieve in and around Aleppo. They feel that they're making progress on that. They've got momentum. And so the international -- International Syrian Support Group that met here on Thursday that agreed across the board that there should be a cease -- a cessation of hostilities that should come into place next week, the concern is what happens in and around Aleppo this week.

And we've heard already this morning that the French prime minister has asked his Russian counterpart, Medvedev, to halt Russia's bombing. The concern at the moment is that if Russia continues an aggressive bombing campaign in a week at the end of which everyone has agreed there's a cessation of hostilities that that will sort of create a mood on the ground among the -- among the opposition, among the people of Syria, that means it will be very hard to restart peace talks over the next few weeks, which is what the agreement was anticipated to do.

So there's a broad concern obviously by the security implications that so many refugees, not just from -- coming from Syria but a lot from Syria, Afghanistan and other countries coming into Europe have security implications for that, security implications for the growth and spread of ISIS, relations with China are an issue here, relations with North Korea are an issue, cybersecurity is an issue in Munich.

But I have to say that the big talk at the moment between the leaders is the concern about this not getting through this next week in and around the city of Aleppo.

HOWELL: Nic, I want to also talk about the continued bombing by Russia. We just mentioned at the top of the show that the Syrian president says that he is open to peace talks but that he will continue to focus on groups that he deems to be terrorists. Also, Russia continuing its bombing missions against ISIS and the al-Nusra Front which are not mentioned in that cessation of hostilities. So how can peace be achieved if that continues?

ROBERTSON: The idea of the peace initiative is to get the opposition and the government speaking and agree to a new constitution and elections in 18 months time. ISIS and al-Nusra have been designated by the U.N. and by the groups here as the terrorist elements. In the past Russia has said that it's targeted in its bombing ISIS and al- Nusra, the al Qaeda affiliate, and there's been a lot of evidence to suggest on the ground that they've been targeting the moderate opposition as well that fights President Bashar al-Assad that is supported by the United States, by Turkey, by Saudi Arabia, by a lot of other countries.

So there's been a very clear delineation now at this meeting in Munich of the International Syria Support Group about who and what the terrorists are. If you will, that gives Russia less scope to target those that aren't ISIS and al-Nusra. It remains to be seen if they do stick to that new definition.

[04:05:06] And that's certainly something that there's going to be pressure now on the Syrian government to stick to. While President Bashar al-Assad says he'll continue to fight terrorists, the terms of the agreement state quite clearly that you can no longer call the opposition, who he's supposed to be talking to, terrorists now. So that's been a change. It's not clear if the sides are going to stick to that. But that's been a very, very clear change. It is also up to the United States and Russia together leading the military task force that's come out again at this Munich meeting to determine where ISIS is, where al Qaeda, al-Nusra Front is and then target them.

So both Russia has a legitimate reason to be targeting ISIS and al Qaeda. That's an expectation the fight is going to be taken to them. That the United States and the coalition also going to be taking the fight to al Qaeda and al-Nusra. The government would, too. And the opposition that's supported by the West and by the Arab allies also will be fighting ISIS and al Qaeda. So the fight is going to be, the hope, focused on ISIS and al Qaeda, the real radical Islamists. There are fringes of that -- of those groups and in places they've had alliances with, with some of the rebel groups that are supposed going to talk with the government. That complicates it. But at a simple level that's what's supposed to happen.

The government and the opposition, this broad opposition are supposed to sit down and talk but the fight against ISIS and al Qaeda remains.

HOWELL: It is a complicated puzzle as these world leaders try to find peace in that region.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson live for us at the security conference in Munich. Nic, thank you for your reporting there.

The Syrian government forces, they have made major gains across the northern part of Syria. But of course they're getting the help, the backing of Russian air power.

CNN has gained unusual access in areas just north of Aleppo that have been taken back by Assad loyalists. Our Fred Pleitgen is in a town that has endured years of fighting and has this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): God, Syria, Bashar, and nothing else, these villagers chant in the pro- regime village of Nubl. The mostly Shia town was under rebel siege for more than three years. Fourteen-year-old Zalticar Ali Jaweeh lived through it and recalls the hardship.

"It was very tough," he says. "Many people got sick and the kids were very scared. But after a while we became numb to the fear."

The siege was broken by the recent government offensive north of Aleppo. Now there is food in the local markets and clearly a lot of support for the main backers of the Assad regime, Hezbollah, Iran, and Russia.

(On camera): The people here in Nubl are keen to show their affection for Hezbollah, for Iran, and for Russia. They believe that throughout the years of siege, it's these groups who stood by them and insured this town's survival.

(Voice-over): The U.N. has strongly criticized the denial of aid to besieged areas in Syria, accusing government forces, some rebel groups, and ISIS of using food and medicine as weapons. A new agreement reached by world powers hopes to put an end to these tactics.

Aleppo's countryside is now one of the main battlegrounds in this brutal five-year civil war. As pro-government forces press an offensive backed by Russian air power, tens of thousands have fled towards the Turkish border.

On our trip we saw scores of deserted villages, some clearly scarred by fierce fighting.

Government soldiers issues a strong warning to opposition fighters.

"Their families should encourage them to look for reconciliation," he says, "otherwise they will be killed. They have no other options."

But the opposition believes reconciliation is not on the government's mind. They say they are simply being slaughtered as the Syrian military continues to push to try and retake the area north of Aleppo, in what many feel could be a crushing blow to anti-Assad forces.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Nubl, Syria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Many Syrians are still trying to get out of harm's way. Tens of thousands of refugees have fled north toward Turkey's border with Syria.

Arwa Damon has more on their plight and the effort to get aid to Syria's hardest hit cities.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Despite the agreement of cessation in hostilities, aid organizations are continuing to try to send in as much assistance to various areas in the country but especially to Syria's largest city of Aleppo. Many of them still fearing and concerned about the fate of the civilians there and the fact that the Syrian regime is very close to the siege in Aleppo.

[04:10:08] Aid organizations like Mercy Corps say that are dispatching in as much as three months' worth of supplies. Meanwhile tens of thousands of those trying to flee the violence continue to gather on Turkey's border. Turkey, despite the fact that it maintains that it still has an open-door policy, says that for the time being it is hosting those who have fled this most recent onslaught by Syrian fighter jets and regime troops advancing along their allies inside Syria, saying that it is providing the same conditions for them that it would be providing at refugee camps inside Turkey.

But of course the concern is that as these Russian fighter jets approach the various cities and towns closer to Turkey's borders, as the regime gains even more territory, these civilians do remain very vulnerable to the violence. And as long as they are in Syria, that one thing that they really so desperately crave, that sense of security, is denied to them. Arwa Damon, CNN, Gaziantep, Turkey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Many refugees have to resort to human traffickers to help escape from war zones. A little later in our show, our Phil Black takes us on a Navy ship used in the fight to put a stop to trafficking. He shows us how they train to catch smugglers in action.

Pope Francis, he is in Mexico this hour and of course he landed Friday night to a rock star greeting.

Hundreds of cheers and chants for the first Latin American Pope. President Enrique Pena Nieto met with Francis at his plane and he will have an official visit in a few hours' time. Earlier Friday the Pope met with Russian Patriarch Kirill in Cuba, a meeting that was a millennium in the making. This was the first time a Pope met with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church since the two faiths split in 1054.

Pope Francis has a full schedule while in Mexico and as typical of his visits, the Pope will spend a great deal of time administering to the poor.

Shasta Darlington has more on what we can expect to see over the coming days.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some surprisingly melodious parishioners gearing up for Pope Francis' arrival. A six-day trip that starts right here. The Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe, patron saint of Mexico, visited by millions of pilgrims each year who pray before a 16th century shroud that bears her image.

According to the chaplain, Pope Francis seeks guidance at the start of his trip.

"He's looking for her protection," he says. "He's entrusting his whole trip to Mexico to the Virgin of Guadalupe."

Pope Francis planning to visit some of Mexico's poorest and most violent corners, from Ecatepec, a sprawling suburb with the highest rate of killings of women, to Morelia, at the center of Mexico's narco war.

(On camera): Pope Francis chose this shrine because it's the most revered in Mexico. In fact, in much of the Americas. But it's interesting talking to parishioners here, they say of course they want to hear his message of faith, but they're just as interested in having him shine a light on the problems of corruption and crime in Mexico.

(Voice-over): "I would ask him to talk to authorities about the violence," says this woman, especially the disappearances.

This man traveled on foot for five days to reach the shrine.

"The Pope's going to visit the places where people need him most," he says, "where he needs to motivate them so they don't lose faith."

But here at the Basilica, faith runs deep. For these musical nuns flying in from Peru the message is simple. "When the future seems uncertain and fear weakens your faith, believe in God."

Shasta Darlington, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. And still ahead, we have much more on the Pope's visit to Mexico including a secret that he told our Rosa Flores on board the papal plane. That is coming up.

Plus, presidential hopeful Jeb Bush hasn't been doing very well in the polls but he's hoping now that a little help from his big brother will help to change that. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:18:35] HOWELL: This year alone an estimated 83,000 refugees have landed in Europe. The E.U.'s military force is trying to curb the flow of migrants who making that dangerous journey by sea into Europe. Their goal is to target human traffickers.

CNN's Phil Black has been on a warship off the Libyan coast to find out more about the mission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've been at sea in the Mediterranean with Italian and Spanish naval forces for about five, six days now. This is part of the E.U. naval operation against people smugglers operating out of Libya. We started when we were first transferred to the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour. It is the command ship for this entire operation. It is big, it's pretty new and it's really very impressive.

From there, we came here to the Numancia, the Spanish frigate. And in pretty big seas, we've been carving through the south of the Med. These conditions here have been too big, the swell too rough, the winds too strong for people smuggling boats to put to sea. So in the meantime, the crew of these vessels, they need to train. And so we witnessed the Marines aboard the Numancia conduct a boarding exercise.

The Marines are the ones responsible for approaching, making the initial approach to the migrant vessels, giving a security assessment, making sure that there is no threat.

During our time at sea, we spent a lot of time clambering in and out of helicopters. Aboard the helicopter here on the Numancia, we were able to get very, very close to the Libyan border.

[04:20:08] Through the haze, you can see the Libyan coastline in the distance, with 12 nautical miles away at the very edge of Libyan territorial waters. This is as close as these forces can get to where the people smuggling operations are based.

But living aboard a frigate built in the 1980s, the late 1980s, it takes some getting used to, but it's also really good fun, at least for a few days in the way that we're doing it. But you get a real sense of just what a challenging environment this would be to live in, in the long term. So, it is, of course, incredibly narrow. The confined space, we got lost a few times. Actually we're on the wrong deck. The hallways narrow, passing people all the time.

We were warned that the single most dangerous thing aboard the ship are these narrow, steep ladders and stairs that separate the decks. And this is where they control the ship. And it's a pretty extraordinary view.

To get a sense of where this ship has been operating, where we are and what we're waiting for, this is a map of the southern area of the Mediterranean. I'm not allowed to show you the area that shows the coast of Libya. But the people who run this operation, they talk about the Lampedusa triangle. So if you imagine the coast of Libya down here, there is Tripoli on the eastern side of the map. To the left, heading towards the border with Tunisia.

It is from here, they say, this stretch of coast, the boats leave and head out north. That's the triangular shape heading towards the Italian island of Lampedusa, more towards the center of the map.

So today as the ship has been plowing through seas much bigger than what you see here now, this is pretty flat. The winds are pretty gentle by comparison. They've come down a long way. This, the crew believes, makes it more likely that you're going to see some sort of migrant boat movement. But where we've been positioned for a couple of days now, we've been holding a pattern to the northwest of Tripoli, probably just to the northwestern side of the Libyan coast in international waters, waiting here in a position the crew believes is beyond the detection of the people-smuggling crews and operators back on the Libyan coast itself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will arrive at 15 nautical miles.

BLACK: This is one of the Marines stationed aboard a 50-caliber weapon trained to the side. He is looking out and ready for the possibility of some sort of attack from a smaller vessel. What the commanding officer describes as asymmetrical terrorist attack.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Now to the race for the White House. U.S. Republican candidate Donald Trump is threatening to sue his rival Ted Cruz. Trump sent out this tweet earlier threatening to take Cruz to court over whether he's a natural born U.S. citizen. That is if the Texas senator doesn't stop running negative ads against him. Trump is questioning Cruz's eligibility to become president since he was born in Canada.

The Cruz campaign hit back saying that Trump needs to go to, quote, "the time-out chair," and think about his choices.

Fellow Republican candidate Jeb Bush has been struggling in the polls but is now getting a little help from his big brother. That would be the former U.S. president George W. Bush who will be campaigning for his brother in the state of South Carolina this week.

CNN's Athena Jones has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: I know Jeb.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): George W. Bush is back.

G. BUSH: Experience and judgment count in the Oval Office. Jeb Bush is a leader who will keep our country safe. He respects the military. He honors their families.

JONES: And Jeb Bush couldn't be happier about it.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's the last Republican that was president. He is the most popular Republican alive. I'm a proud brother of George W. Bush.

JONES: Bush, whose campaign logo doesn't even include his famous last name, and who began his run thrusting he would be, quote, "his own man," has been embracing his family more with each passing day.

J. BUSH: I'm Jeb, exclamation point, proud to be a Bush.

JONES: The mother Barbara Bush joining him on the stump in New Hampshire. The brothers will be campaigning together for the first time Monday. Until now W has been helping out behind the scenes.

J. BUSH: This is the first time that he's really kind of stepped out in the political realm since he was president. I think there'll be a lot of interest in what he has to say.

JONES: It was once the younger Bush who was thought to have a head for politics, but his older brother beat him there, winning a governorship first and later the White House.

G. BUSH: I, George Walker Bush, do solemnly swear.

JONES: Eight years during which Jeb Bush has said he never disagreed with his brother on policy.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Not one time did you call up and say, you know what, don't do that?

J. BUSH: I'm not going to start now. It's just until death do us part.

JONES: The assist from W won't come without criticism.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Your brother and your brother's administration gave us Barack Obama because it was such a disaster those last three months that Abraham Lincoln couldn't have been elected.

[04:25:04] J. BUSH: You know what, as it relates to my brother, there's one thing I know for sure, he kept us safe.

JONES: Donald Trump has repeatedly bashed the elder Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq.

TRUMP: And I see he's bringing his brother.

JONES: And the GOP frontrunner says he'll be ready with some more choice words for the Bushes in the coming days.

TRUMP: Now he's bringing in his brother. I won't say anything. I'm going to save that for after his brother makes a statement because there's plenty to say about what happened.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: That was CNN's Athena Jones reporting for us.

Meanwhile, on the Democratic side of the race, the candidates are trying to boost their support going into the next round of primaries. And Hillary Clinton just picked up endorsements, big endorsements, from newspapers in the states of Texas and Florida.

The "Dallas Morning News," "Houston Chronicle," and "Tampa Bay Times" all published editorials praising her record and stances on issues. But they had complaints about her, too. The Florida paper called Clinton, quote, "an imperfect candidate with political baggage that would sink most other politicians."

Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders is under fire for claiming that race relations would be better if he is president than under the current president, Barack Obama.

Atlanta's Democratic mayor, Kasim Reed, spoke to our Erin Burnett earlier and called Sanders' comments dismissive and disrespectful. We should also note that Mr. Reed is a Clinton supporter.

Still ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, a group of school children in the United States have messages and questions for Pope Francis. Find out what they had to say and whether their words reached the Catholic leader.

Plus, the Zika outbreak continues to cast a shadow over Brazil. The government's latest plans to fight the virus.

Broadcasting from Atlanta and live around the world this hour, you're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:16] HOWELL: A warm welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Good to have you with us. I'm George Howell. The headlines.

A pause in the fighting in Syria's civil war is set to begin within a week. Top diplomats from the United States, from Russia and other nations all announced they've agreed to a cessation of hostilities but complicating the situation, Russia which backs the Syrian government says it will continue to bomb rebel targets in Aleppo.

Anti-government demonstrators march in Bahrain's capital on Friday. Fifth anniversary of the country's Shiite uprising. The majority of Shiite Muslims have been demanding more rights from the Sunni monarchy since the Arab spring protests that erupted in 2011.

In just a few hours time from now Pope Francis will be visiting with Mexico's president at the National Palace. The Pope arrived Friday night to a huge fanfare for a six-day visit there. He is expected to deliver a message of hope and solidarity to victims of drug violence, trafficking and discrimination.

Pope Francis also has a tough love directive for people causing those issues. Our Rosa Flores is traveling with the Pope and has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pope Francis is the pope of mercy and sometimes of tough love, calling the unfettered pursuit of money, "the dung of the devil," blaming human activity for climate change.

POPE FRANCIS, CATHOLIC CHURCH LEADER (Through Translator): Our house is going to ruin and that harms everyone.

FLORES: And now that he's visiting Mexico, he's expected to arrive with a holy dose of some of that tough love. One of his targets could be drug traffickers when the Pope visits Morelia, a city in the heart of cartel territory. In Mexico, the drug-related death toll, more than 80,000 in the past nine years.

In a recent video message to a group of Mexicans, the Pope encouraged them to fight against corruption, drug trafficking, against organized crime and human trafficking.

During the Pope's visit to Brazil in 2013, he blasted narcos, calling them dealers of death. And some of the Pope's tough love could also be pointed at the United States when he speaks about immigration.

FRANCIS: So many of you are also descendants from immigrants.

FLORES: During his speech before the U.S. Congress, Francis said immigrants should be welcomed. But GOP frontrunner Donald Trump vows to build a wall.

TRUMP: I will build a great, great wall.

FLORES: And overlooking the existing wall dividing Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, is where Pope Francis plans to celebrate mass.

MICHAEL MURPHY, DIRECTOR OF CATHOLIC STUDIES, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY: What the Pope would be saying is like, look, a wall is a symbolic message that people are not welcome. And that's not what our Constitution or our history says at all.

FLORES: Francis is visiting Juarez and Ecatepec, a suburb of Mexico City, both areas where women are being brutally targeted.

HECTOR GARCIA, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY: I mean, the number of women who have lost their lives, have been abused, disappeared, feels like a civil war.

FLORES: And as the war rages on, the Pope says he wants to be an instrument of peace in Mexico.

Rosa Flores, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: And, in fact, this is the second trip that Rosa has taken with the Pope. On their way to Cuba on Friday, she had another opportunity to speak with Pope Francis on his plane. She gave the Pope letters that children from a Catholic school in Chicago wrote to him. One first grade student wrote, the Pope inspired her to learn many languages. Another said he hoped Francis would fill hearts with love and stop violence in Mexico and the world.

Pope Francis told Rosa the letters were beautiful and also let her in on a secret here. He's publishing a children's book.

To read more of these letters you can head to CNN.com.

The Pope will spend his first full day in Mexico Saturday, capped with a mass that he'll celebrate at the Basilica of Guadalupe. Stay tuned for live coverage throughout his visit. You can find it right here on CNN.

Carnival has come to an end in Rio de Janeiro, but the battle against the Zika virus in Brazil has entered a new phase. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers are beginning to deploy to help fight the mosquito borne disease.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the carnival ends, here comes the parade.

[04:35:03] A total of 220,000 Brazilian troops. That's 50 times more than you see here due Saturday to go door-to-door for a week, making a lot of noise about Zika. In their sights, ignorance and the pools of stagnant water mosquitoes breed in. It's a massive urgent task. So why not earlier? GENERAL LUIZ EDUARDO RAMOS, BRAZIL ARMY: First of all, you know the

whole world know you have carnival, OK? Not only because that, you have to take a little bit of time to prepare ourselves. The soldiers, before they received lectures about how to proceed, how to behave, when to go to approach the Brazilians' house or the civilian population, how we have to say to them, so you need a little bit of preparation.

WALSH (on camera): Now this massive mobilization isn't going to make a dent, really, in Brazil's stagnant water mosquito problem, but it might get Brazilians who still aren't listening to pay attention to the threat of Zika, but possibly most importantly, show the outside world. The Brazilian state is doing everything it can to combat this outbreak.

(Voice-over): Here's one place they're needed most badly but may be least welcome. One of Rio's many favelas. Actually this is among the less cramped ones, but imagine trying to eradicate all water pools here.

Andre is a local activist and not a fan of the police who often come here to pacify all the developers who gentrify.

(On camera): If the army came up tomorrow, what could they do to help? Are they going to be welcome in a place like this?

(Voice-over): "This aid coming from the military is just for show,' he says. "It's aimed at worried tourists thinking about coming to visit during the Olympics. It's an artificial action and that's something the Brazilian government does quite often."

Yet the disease is real and took Samuel out of action for six days of aching joints, red eyes and rashes. His focus now, protecting little Otto (PH).

"It's really complex, especially for children," he says. "I use a mosquito net to protect him, but mosquitoes constantly breed in this heat. In the rain like we had yesterday, a lot of people leave receptacles out. Rain gets in them. The mosquito breeds, nobody pays attention, and we get sick."

(On camera): Drainage ditches like this to take away the rain don't really solve the problem. A mosquito only really needs a capful of water to breed.

(Voice-over): We learned of a young mother living here who had Zika when pregnant and today near her term, was rushed to hospital. Her family, though, wanting privacy.

Zika, (INAUDIBLE) upon the poor, hitting hardest areas where the day's burden is already enough.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Rio de Janeiro.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HOWELL: From South America and now to Europe where Greek farmers have flooded Athens to protest a pension reform plan. They say it will lead to tax hikes and increased Social Security contributions. Farmers threw tomatoes at police outside the Ministry of Agriculture. And clashes broke out between farmers and riot police. The E.U. and the International Monetary Fund have demanded that Athens reduce pensions spending by 1 percent of GDP this year.

Next on here CNN NEWSROOM, investigators dig into a chilling new video that appears to show a sophisticated laptop bomb just moments before it was planted on an airliner. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:41:43] HOWELL: There is some chilling new surveillance video that appears to show a sophisticated laptop bomb and how it made its way through Mogadishu's airport security just before being planted on board a passenger jet last week.

CNN's Brian Todd has this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Crucial new evidence in a horrifying terror attack. Closed Circuit TV footage from the Mogadishu airport. On the right side of the screen, two airport employees who are now suspects. One of them is holding what appears to be a laptop computer. Just seconds later, one of the men hands the computer to a third man. The computer, a source says, was packed with explosives.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: It's chilling, frankly, to see this, you know, because this is -- you know, if you and I were in this lounge right now, you'd see these people and you can see them handing off that laptop, you wouldn't think twice of it.

TODD: The man the laptop bomb was handed to, Abdullahi Abdisalam Borleh. And what he did with it, according to Somali sources, was try to blow up the Somali passenger jet.

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, the moment the Somalis clearly suspect that he was a willing participant, that he planned to be a suicide bomber, that he positioned himself on the aircraft at a place where he could create the maximum amount of damage.

TODD: The bomb ripped a hole in the fuselage. Borleh was killed when he was blown out of the hole. His right hand and right foot are missing. The pilot made an emergency landing. Amazingly, no one else was killed in the February 2nd attack.

Now a source close to the investigation tells CNN correspondent Robyn Kriel the laptop bomb was sophisticated and got passed a fairly advanced x-ray machine at the Mogadishu airport.

CNN is told one of those airport employees who were suspects placed the laptop on an x-ray belt before it was handed to the bomber in the departure lounge.

O'BRIEN: The capabilities that they would have to get through security by doing a little bit of social engineering, just distracting or saying, hey, I got this one, open up all kinds of sinister possibilities.

TODD: U.S. officials tell CNN they believe al-Shabaab, the vicious al Qaeda affiliate in Somalia, is behind the attack. But the plot has gotten thicker. Just three days after the plane bombing, the two airport workers were in a car in Mogadishu when it exploded.

CRUICKSHANK: One was killed because he was still in the car. The other had got out of the car to go to a shop.

TODD (on camera): A Somali official tells us the two men may have been targeted to prevent them from speaking to authorities. The official says the suspect who survived the car bombing is in custody and is giving information. But the official would not say what that information is.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Four people were wounded and a suspect is dead following a terrifying machete attack at a restaurant in the U.S. state of Ohio. Investigators haven't determined the motive for the attack but they haven't ruled out terrorism and say it is possible that the attacker was a so-called lone wolf.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick has this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The attack happened at the Nazareth Middle Eastern restaurant in Columbus, Ohio.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some guy pulled out a machete and started stabbing people. I ran out with my kids.

FEYERICK: A man with a machete attacked and injured four people, one of them critically.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was the table right in front of me. He just started attacking people.

KAREN BASS, WITNESS: I thought it was a personal thing and then he just started down the row hitting everybody with something. I don't know, there was -- people were bleeding.

[04:45:06] FEYERICK: Officials say the attacker is 30-year-old Mohamed Barry. He's of Somali origin and has a drug-related criminal record. The FBI is looking into Barry's recent travel and any potential links to jihad.

The restaurant is owned by an Israeli Arab Christian. Hany Baransi tells the "Columbus Dispatch" the attacker was apparently inside the restaurant asking an employee about him.

HANY BARANSI, RESTAURANT OWNER: I understood that he left, came back 30 minutes later and attacked a person and then start slicing up people down the booths.

FEYERICK: People inside the restaurant fought back, some of them throwing chairs. Another confronting the suspect.

SGT. RICHARD WEINER, COLUMBUS POLICE: Nobody inside from the people that we've spoken to, whether it be some of the patrons or the employees, nobody said that they knew him.

FEYERICK: The suspect fled, driving off with multiple police cruisers chasing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trying to get out of the vehicle. He's getting ready to go again. He's moving in.

FEYERICK: Police say they got the suspect to stop. He tried escaping out of the passenger door with his weapons.

WEINER: He had a machete and another knife in his hand and he lunged across the hood at the officers. Another officer in a cruiser fired a couple of shots at him and put him down.

FEYERICK: One person initially critical was rushed into surgery and is now listed in stable condition.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: For the first time since her teenage son helped mastermind the infamous deadly school shooting in Colorado, Dylan Klebold's mother is now speaking out. Klebold and his friend, Eric Harris, murdered 13 people at Columbine High School almost 17 years ago. After the massacre they then killed themselves.

In her first television interview ever Sue Klebold says she overlooked possible warning signs that her son was troubled thinking that it was just teenage angst and she says she is haunted by memories.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUE KLEBOLD, COLUMBINE SHOOTER'S MOTHER: I just remember sitting there and reading about them. All these kids and a teacher. And I keep thinking -- constantly thought how I would feel if it were the other way around and one of their children had shot mine. I would feel exactly the way they did. I know I would. I know I would.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Klebold's book about the ordeal comes out next week. Her publisher says she will donate the profits to charities devoted to mental health issues.

Potentially deadly weather. It is invading much of the eastern U.S. Our meteorologist Derek Van Dam is here to talk about it.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Bitterly cold, George.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOWELL: Wow. I remember a couple of weeks -- a couple of years back it was a lot more coverage.

VAN DAM: You could walk across Lake Michigan.

HOWELL: Yes.

VAN DAM: From Muskegon to Milwaukee.

HOWELL: Wow.

VAN DAM: But not the case this year.

HOWELL: Derek, thank you.

VAN DAM: Thanks, George.

HOWELL: Still to come here on CNN, we take you to a farm in the United States that rescued neglected animals. See how with a lot of love they are thriving in their new home. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SPORTS)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Welcome back. Sunday is Valentine's Day. And it's not just people that are feeling the love. Dozens of animals rescued by the group Farm Sanctuary in the United States are learning to love and trust after enduring horrendous conditions.

[04:55:11] Farm Sanctuary's national shelter director explains how these animals are now thriving.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSIE COSTON, FARM SANCTUARY NATIONAL SHELTER DIRECTOR: With any animal all they ever really need is to feel like they're loved and then they feel safe and secure. So they're like everyone else. They just need love, right?

They know that you're doing something good and they know that there is such a massive difference from where they were and where they are now.

We've seen them at their very worse, trembling, not making eye contact, putting their head in the corner. It's just this absolute fear. Like clearly once they calm down, this is not fear. When the babies get used to us, then she'll start to trust us.

What it takes to get these animals to learn to love again is a lot of patience and time and just allowing them to be themselves and kind of reading what they need.

Let's go see mom.

So they can see that it's OK to trust again.

Isn't that ridiculous?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: You can visit the group's Web site at farmsanctuary.org to find out how you can help or you can even stay on the farm.

And that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell at the CNN center in Atlanta. I'll be back after the break with another hour of news from around the world.

You're watching CNN. The world's news leader.

(END VIDEOTAPE)