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Trump's Campaign Manager Facing Assault Charges; Egyptian Hijacker Has Criminal Record; Taliban Splinter Group Claims Responsibility for Pakistan Easter Attack; Remembering Patty Duke; Whiskey Sales on the Rise in the U.S. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired March 30, 2016 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:06] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This is "CNN NEWSROOM" live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour: Donald Trump is standing by his man, just hours off the Republican Front-runner's top aide was booked on battery charges; plus, the brother of an ISIS killer, CNN sits down with a Belgian man whose brother is waging jihad; and we'll look at how a man was able to hijack a commercial aircraft using a fake explosive belt.
Hello and thank you for joining us. I'm Isha Sesay; "NEWSROOM" L.A. starts right now.
Well, the three republican contenders in the race for the White House just wrapped up a CNN Town Hall meeting in Wisconsin. The U.S. state will hold its primaries in one week. Ted Cruz and John Kasich hope to stop this man's momentum. Of course "this man" we're talking about, Donald Trump, leading in the delegate count and the latest controversy surrounding his campaign led the Town Hall.
Trump's campaign manager is facing assault charges for the incident you're looking at right here on the screen. He allegedly grabbed a reporter by the arms and shoved her away. All three candidates had plenty, plenty to say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm a loyal person. I'm going to be loyal to the country. I'm going to be loyal to Wisconsin. We have to tell it like it is. It would be so easy for me to terminate this man, ruin his life, ruin his family. He's got four beautiful children in New Hampshire. Ruin his whole everything and say you're fired; okay? I've fired many people, especially on "The Apprentice."
JOHN KASICH (R-OH) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When you have problems like that you have to act. I've been, of course, an executive running the seventh largest state, and we see things that happen at times. You want to give people the benefit of the doubt, but when you see things that are pretty clear -- from what I understand, the video is clear, of course I would fire him.
TED CRUZ (R-TX) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The culture of the campaign has been a campaign built on attacks, on insults and I think there is no place in politics for -- for insults, for personal attacks, for going to the gutter and there should be no place for physical violence either.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Trump was talking loyalty; we've got our own two loyal men here with us, here in the studio -- like that? Yeah, okay; David Jacobson, Democratic Strategist and campaign consultant at Shallman Communications. Also here, John Thomas, a Republican Consultant and President of Thomas Partners Strategies. Always good to have you with us.
Let's just jump into it. This Lewandowski situation, John, to start with you, what did you make of how the Trump campaign is handling this?
JOHN THOMAS, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: Poorly. I mean, it's a disaster. This has gone on way too long. Trump should have fired his campaign manager weeks ago, when the rallies started getting out of hand, when Ben Carson and other surrogates were not on that message and started to drift; that falls flatly in the campaign manager's hands. Then, the latest issue with battery, why is it even a question coming from the man from "The Apprentice" that
is a professional firer? Why can't he fire Corey? He's not only a disaster for the campaign but he's undermining Trumps biggest problem, which is he has a gender gap. Women don't like him.
SESAY: And Dave, Trump was so bullish in his support of Lewandowski tonight.
DAVE JACOBSON, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: I think it's symbolic of the larger challenge that Donald Trump has with women. NBC, in partner with "The Wall Street Journal," released a poll that showed across the country 70-percent of women have an unfavorable view of Donald Trump. 49-percent of Republican women have an unfavorable view of Donald Trump. So the fact that Donald Trump is out there trying to discredit this reporter, this vulnerable reporter and sort of say that he's loyal to his campaign manager, I think really serves as further evidence of this growing challenge that Donald Trump is going to have, particularly as he pivots towards the general election against, potentially, a woman candidate like Hillary Clinton.
SESAY: Go ahead.
THOMAS: He's really backed himself into a corner on this one because he should have fired Corey at the riots. He should have fired Corey when Ben Carson went off script. He should have fired him at the first instance of the reporter - the Michelle Fields. And so if he reverses his opinion he looks weak. So he's -- he's now really backed himself into a corner.
SESAY: You two seem certain this is a bad move that will hurt him in the general, it will hurt him with women. Will it hurt him next week in Wisconsin? JACOBSON: Well, look; the polling is all over the map in Wisconsin. You've got some polls that have Ted Cruz and John Kasich within single digits of Donald Trump. Then you've got very volatile polls that show John Kasich 20 points behind Donald Trump. I think John Kasich, this evening, sort of looked like the adult in the room, the level headed, sort of, pragmatic leader and this was an opportunity to raise his profile as the candidate whose sort of the third tier in the race.
He doesn't really have an opportunity to have as much media coverage as he did this evening and so I think, you know, voters potentially looking at a John Kasich as the adult in the room, someone who, you know, I think could [00:05:01] win a general election, particularly appealing to women.
THOMAS: I think this race is too late for John Kasich. I think this is a two-person race between Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. I think Ted Cruz did remarkably well tonight. He gave, especially on the female front, about a story about his mom being strong and independent.
SESAY: Me too.
THOMAS: I thought that was an excellent way to connect with the voters. I think he did a great job.
The question about will it hurt him in Wisconsin, probably a little bit. Trump's voters are remarkably resilient. They stay with him throughout this. I think this is more of a general election problem than it is a primary, but he's got to nip it in the bud now.
SESAY: And let's talk about Trump and foreign policy. That too is on display this evening. Donald Trump was asked to defend recent statements made about willing to see Japan and South Korea acquire nuclear weapons. Here's how we explained his position.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: At some point we have to say you know what? We're better off if Japan protects itself against this maniac in North Korea. We're better off, frankly, if South Korea is going to start to protecting itself.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, CNN TOWN HALL: Saudi Arabia have nuclear weapons?
TRUMP: Saudi Arabia? Absolutely.
COOPER: You would be fine with them having nuclear weapons?
TRUMP: No, not nuclear weapons, but they have to protect themselves, or they have to pay us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: John, Dave, standby for us because I want to bring in our own Paula Hancocks who is joining us from Seoul, to get the regional reaction to Donald Trump's position on the nuclear issue. Paula, good to have you with us. What's being said where you are?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, via satellite: Well, Isha, I think the two words that best sum up the feeling in Northeast Asia at the moment is concern and confusion. The alliance between Japan and the U.S. and South Korea and the U.S. have been going for decades. 60 years for Japan. 70 for South Korea and if you just look at the number of high profile figures that have weighed into this argument you can see how high that concern is. Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, felt that he had to publicly say how important the alliance was to Japan and whoever the next president of the United States is, he said, that is a cornerstone of Japan's diplomacy and Japan's policy, that U.S. relationship.
Here in South Korea, as well, you've had the Foreign Ministry making comments saying that they do pay enough for this alliance. Donald Trump also saying that South Korea pays peanuts for this alliance between the two countries. So really there is a huge amount of concern.
The U.S. Ambassador to Korea also weighing in saying that he supports what South Korea is doing and says simply that Washington is happy with the way things are going. So really there's a lot of confusion here, a lot of editorials calling these comments "shocking" and also editorials concerned that this might actually affect the relationships between the U.S. and South Korea and Japan.
SESAY: All right; Paula Hancocks joining us there from Seoul, with the regional view. Appreciate it, Paula.
Back to my guests here in the studio. John, that's the concern, that these kinds of statements that Donald Trump is making, even as a candidate, not even the nominee, have repercussions or could have repercussions in U.S. standing in the world and relations with other countries.
THOMAS: Yes, I mean, the one thing the commander-in-chief really controls is foreign policy. Everything else Congress can block it, but it relates to foreign policy. I mean, these do have ramifications. I think Donald Trump's problem here is he's oversimplifying the matters. Could the rest of the world be chipping in more to keep the world safe? Absolutely. could they be doing more? Absolutely. Is that possible? Are things black and white? not necessarily. I think the binary view that Donald Trump is taking to our foreign policy is dangerous at this point and if he wants to be competitive in the general election he's going to have to evolve.
SESAY: Yes, and that's the point, Dave, in the general election with someone like Hillary Clinton, if she was to win, I mean, this becomes -- this becomes a rich scene for her to attack.
JACOBSON: Right, absolutely. I mean, people say she's the most experienced candidate ever to run for the President of the United States, particularly coming on the heels of her experience of her being Secretary of State.
I think the problem for Donald Trump is he has a severe lack of understanding when it comes to foreign policy. During this even - even during this Town Hall he said look, I'm for less nukes on the planet and then simultaneous to that he says, well, we ought to have South Korea and Japan have their own; acknowledging that more countries need to have nukes. So, I think you're seeing these sort of flip-flops instantly in these sort of settings and I think people are flabbergasted all across the world.
I think the problem also with Donald Trump is every day you're seeing the sort of flip-flop back and forth and that's going to be a tremendous problem for him going against someone like Hillary Clinton, who has tremendous depth and experience when it comes to foreign policy.
THOMAS: Well she does have experience; she also has vulnerabilities and liabilities in her experience.
JACOBSON: Sure.
THOMAS: I mean, the Obama Administration has been widely criticized for its foreign policy in Libya and other places. So she's not going to get through this clean, but one thing she can say is she has a lot more experience. she understands its more nuanced than Donald Trump.
SESAY: Absolutely; and she can also say her comments, at least at this stage, aren't eliciting concern and bewilderment around the world. She can say that.
Let's also talk about this pledge. This pledge that was taken weeks ago, yes, I am indeed looking at you John.
THOMAS: That's the big story.
SESAY: That's the big story from tonight and you know, to remind our [00:10:01] viewers, you know, some time back the candidates were asked to make a pledge that they would support the eventual GOP nominee. It turns out times have changed. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CRUZ: I think nominating Donald Trump would be an absolute train wreck. I think it would hand the general election to Hillary Clinton.
TRUMP: Honestly he doesn't have to support me. I'm not asking for his support. I want the people's support.
COOPER: Do you continue to pledge whoever the Republican nominee is?
TRUMP: No, I don't anymore. Look -
COOPER: You don't?
TRUMP: No; we'll see who it is.
COOPER: You won't promise to support the republican nominee?
TRUMP: He was essentially saying the same thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: As the GOP, I mean, the Party, it seems by all accounts, from what they're saying, the pledge is dead in the water.
THOMAS: Yes, they all threw it out.
SESAY: They all threw it out.
THOMAS: Even Kasich (inaudible, cross talk).
SESAY: He was like I'm going to be nominee so it's fine.
THOMAS: Yes.
SESAY: But, seriously, what does this mean for the GOP? It's unraveling faster than people can keep up.
THOMAS: You're right; I mean, we've got a real rift in the Party that has to be healed. We'll see how quickly we can heal it. I think the only encouraging thing for those in my party is the only thing we, you know, if you're not a Trump guy or not -- if you're not a Kasich or a Cruz guy,
you hate one of the candidates, you can rest assured that we dislike Hillary Clinton more than we dislike our own field. So we may still coalesce.
Here's what you've got to remember: at this point in the game, these three guys hate each other, Isha. It's personal for them. They're attacking each either's wives. Nothing is off limits so the idea that they won't support each other is not a surprise.
SESAY: Yes, indeed. Dave?
JACOBSON: Look, I think in the future, when you look up the 2016 GOP primary in the Webster Dictionary, the word chaos is going to have a big picture of that Town Hall for tonight. I mean, the reality is, this is great for Democrats. You know, Bernie Sanders folks, Hillary Clinton folks, they're all going to coalesce. They all have a similar agenda. I think either way you look at it, the Democrat is going to be stronger going to the general election.
I think the challenge for Republicans is if Donald Trump, a candidate who's really sort of all over the map, I think if he sort of, you know, moves forward like this, there's a possibility that he could be a third tiered candidate and run an independent campaign of whoever the GOP picks, if he doesn't get the nomination at the convention, and I think that could happen if he doesn't get this sort of 1237 number or, potentially, if the GOP just doesn't coalesce behind him. You could have a third-party run on the other side, from the establishment --
THOMAS: If we have a third-party run we're cooked. It's over. Forget it. Why have an election?
SESAY: You know, you know it's bad when John Thomas just throws his hands up and says "We're cooked". THOMAS: We've got problems, Isha.
SESAY: Gentlemen, our loyal gentlemen, thank you.
JACOBSON: Your welcome.
SESAY: Appreciate it. All right; let's turn to the democratic side of things now and both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are hoping for a big win in the Wisconsin primary. Meantime, they are debating over a debate. Senior Washington Correspondent Jeff Zeleny has more from the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: The democratic fight for Wisconsin is on. As Hillary Clinton tries to look ahead, Bernie Sanders is working to block her path.
BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT) DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We won -- have won six out of the last seven elections, often by landslide victories. That's called momentum.
ZELENY: The Wisconsin battleground will help determine the strength of Sanders' argument to stay in the race until the end. In the Badger State today it seemed like Groundhog Day. Clinton and Sanders making familiar cases.
HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY) DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to keep talking about this.
ZELENY: For Clinton it was on guns.
CLINTON: I pledge to you, if I'm so fortunate enough to be elected president, I'm going to keep talking about it and acting on it and working.
ZELENY: Appearing with mothers of gun violence victims and suggesting Sanders is weak on the issue.
CLINTON: There are a lot of powerful lobbies, don't get me wrong: Wall Street, drugs, big oil, there's lots of powerful lobbies. Nothing is more powerful than the gun lobby.
ZELENY: Sanders says his was too close to Wall Street and big campaign contributors.
SANDERS: I'm not wasting my time going to rich people's homes begging them for their campaign contributions.
[Cheering]
SANDERS: I'd rather be here with you in Appleton than begging billionaires for their money.
ZELENY: In the middle of it all, a raging debate over debates. Sanders calling for another debate before the April 19th New York primary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know why the Clinton campaign is afraid to debate in New York.
ZELENY: The Clinton Campaign calling it a publicity stunt for a candidate locked in second place. Perhaps, but that's precisely what Clinton did eight years ago.
CLINTON: I'll debate anytime, anywhere. Look, I'm so sleep deprived, it doesn't matter. Anytime, anywhere, I'll show up.
ZELENY: Back then Obama declined, like she's doing now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Our Jeff Zeleny there. Well, actor Susan Sarandon, a prominent [00:15:03] Bernie Sanders supporter, says she doesn't think she could vote for Hillary Clinton if she's the democratic nominee. Sarandon told MSNBC that she can't support Clinton even if Sanders loses to her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN SARANDON, ACTRESS: -- but I think a lot of people are. Sorry; I just can't bring myself to do that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about you personally?
SARANDON: I don't know. I'm going to see what happens.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really?
SARANDON: Really.
UNIDENTIFED MALE: I cannot believe that as you're watching -
SARANDON: Some people feel Donald Trump will bring the revolution immediately if he gets in, then things will really explode.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, so you're saying the latest model of fighting the contradictions.
SARANDON: Yeah; yes, yes, yes. Some people feel that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't you think that's dangerous?
SARANDON: I think that what's going on now - if you think that it's pragmatic to shore up the status quo right now, then you're not in touch with the status quo. The status quo is not working.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Well, you can imagine her interview set the internet on fire, with people thinking she would choose Trump. Sarandon tweeted Monday night to clarify she wasn't voting for him saying, "Of course I would never support Trump for any reason. If you watch the interview you'll see that's not what I said."
Well, if you missed CNN's Republican Town Hall, we are putting together a special highlight show later today. Tune in for that at 12:00 noon in London. 7:00 tonight in Hong Kong. It's right here on CNN.
Time for a quick break. Passengers on board an EgyptAir flight are recounting the terrifying moments after their plane was hijacked. What authorities are saying about the man who held them hostage, next on CNN NEWSROOM L.A.
Plus, Pakistan is cracking down on suspected militants after a deadly bombing at a park on Easter Sunday. Just ahead, we'll take you to the scene of the blast. Do stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (WEATHER HEADLINES)
SESAY: Welcome back everyone. A small plane crash in eastern Canada has killed all seven people on board including former Canadian politician, Jean Lapierre. The dead also include his wife, two brothers and a sister. The family was heading to the funeral of Lapierre's father when their plane crashed in wintery conditions.
A proud French Canadian, Lapierre was a federal cabinet minister. He also helped found a party that called for Quebec separatism, a goal he later denied supporting. Lapierre was also a prominent radio host and political analyst.
Well, Egyptian authorities say the man who hijacked an EgyptAir flight Tuesday has a criminal record including forgery, burglary and drug dealing. Officials described Seif Elbin Mustafa as unstable saying he held passengers and crew hostage with a fake explosive belt. He apparently took over the plane because of issues involving his ex-wife. (Inaudible) authorities are questioning Mustafa.
The incident ended peacefully when all of the passengers and crew were safely evacuated and Mustafa surrendered to police. CNN's Ian Lee has the details now from Cairo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For more than five hours all eyes were on this plane on the tarmac at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus. EgyptAir Flight MS 181 was forced to land here early Tuesday morning after taking off from Borg El Arab Airport in Alexandria. It had been bound for Cairo until it was hijacked midflight. One passenger recounted the horror on that flight.
FARAH EL DIBANY, EGYPTAIR PASSENGER: One of the cabin crew also told them that we are hijacked. We are being hijacked. So yeah, that was -- there was a lot of panic on the plane and -- yeah, they didn't tell us anything more. They didn't say what he wanted or where we're heading, nothing; that we were just kidnapped. That's it.
LEE: A man, now identified as 58-year-old Seif Eldin Mustafa, seen here being checked by security at Alexandria, later demanding the plane divert to Istanbul.
AHMED ABDEL, VICE CHAIRMAN, EGYPTAIR, via telephone: We got a call into our Operations Room from the captain that he has information about one person who's claiming to have an explosive belt, and asked to divert the airplane to Istanbul or anywhere else in Europe. The captain informed him that there's not enough fuel to land in Istanbul so he diverted to Larnaca Airport.
LEE: Most of the 69 people on board were allowed off the plane shortly after it landed in Cyprus, but seven passengers and crew were held hostage for several hours as negotiators worked for a peaceful resolution. They soon established this was not a terror attack, but Seif Eldin Mustafa's motives remained unclear. Initial reports indicated he wanted to be reunited with his ex-wife, prompting this response from the Cypriot President.
NICOS ANASTASIADES, PRESIDENT, CYPRUD: Always there is a woman in (inaudible).
LEE: But the Egyptian Prime Minister said he kept changing his demands.
SHARIF ISMAIL, PRIME MINISTER, EGYPT, via translator: Some moments he asked to meet with a representative of the European Union and at other points he asked to go to another airport, but there was nothing specific.
LEE: Then at 2:30 local time, this: more people emerged from the plane, some run. This man casually walks down the aircraft stairs, even taking the time to fumble around with his bag. Then another climbs out of the EgyptAir cockpit window to make his escape. They are met by special forces and checked for explosives. Finally, the hijacker himself surrenders to police. He's searched on the ground. The bomb it's found is a fake.
Seif Elbin Mustafa remains in the custody of Cypriot authorities. His passengers all safely returned to Egypt after what was a terrifying ordeal in a time of heightened alert.
Ian Lee, CNN, Cairo
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Well, joining me now to discuss this is former CNN Analyst Ken Robertson. He serves as Executive Chairman of the Board for the security company White Horse Technologies. Ken, welcome.
Listen, thankfully this situation was resolved peacefully, but you feel that this collective sigh of relief is misplaced, it's the wrong reaction; how so?
[00:25:02] KEN ROBERTSON, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, WHITE HORSE TECHNOLOGIES: Well, the fact that it occurred. The fact that he was able to move through an airport of the -- one of the recipients, largest recipients of our foreign aid, part of which is airport security; and to be able to get on that flight says that there's still a lot of problems that have to be solved.
SESAY: You know, Egypt said after that Russian flight, you know, was blown up over the Sinai, back in October, that they've taken steps, and they have been saying they've taken steps, to sort out airport security. Many saying this throws up questions. You just implied that just now, yourself, that there's still work to be done.
ROBERTSON: There's always work to be done because even in this country vigilance is the only way that we can move forward. There are better airports with better security in other countries that set the tone of what needs to be done in Egypt.
SESAY: Such as?
ROBERTSON: Israel. Israel has concentric circles of security that start when vehicles start approaching the airport and again, as people dismount and come into an area. Long before they ever get a ticket, there are people moving amongst them observing them and then will come up, approach them and talk to them, engage them one on one. What they're looking for, they're trained to move amongst the human terrain. They feel that this is more valuable than any other way. They don't use high, expensive, multimillion dollar detectors for metal. They use people and they engage each passenger one on one.
SESAY: You say Egypt is getting it right. Talk to me about the points of the world that concern you when it comes to airport security protocols.
ROBERTSON: One area is Athens, Greece. Athens has been a location for multiple terrorist attacks over the years and it's one of -- it's one of the ones that is an area where a lot of jihadists kind of pass through, because it's a way point: on their way to Europe; on their way back to jihad; the other direction, and it's had an enormous amount of problems financially as a country over the last three or four years, and they've had a hard time keeping up with the proper things that need to be done for airport security because it requires enormous resources and will to be able to do it correctly.
SESAY: You mentioned Athens there. You have concerns about Egypt given those realities, in your view of airport security there, what should the U.S. be doing when it comes to planes that are coming from these airports, as you see it, with security that could be better?
ROBERTSON: Well, the only thing we can do is engage our allies or engage the people who we've given parking permits to that come into a U.S. carrier airport and we have to simply say you either meet a specific standard, an international standard, or you're denied the ability to land your plane in a U.S. port of entry. That's the only real stick that the United States has.
SESAY: Ken, we're going to continue the conversation next hour. Thank you so much for joining us.
ROBERTSON: You're welcome.
SESAY: All right; we're going to take a quick break now. Pakistanis bury the dead from Sunday's park bombing in Lahore. Just ahead, what police are finding in their sweeping investigation; and one Belgian family's disbelief. What their loved one has turned into. An exclusive interview with the brother of an is killer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [00:31:46] SESAY: You're watching "CNN NEWSROOM" live from Los Angeles; I'm Isha Sesay. The headlines this hour: the three republican candidates in the U.S. presidential race fielded audience questions at the CNN Town Hall in Wisconsin. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump back away from their pledges to support the party's eventual nominee. Republican primary in Wisconsin is one week away.
Authorities in Cyprus are questioning the man who held passengers and crew hostage on an EgyptAir flight Tuesday. Egyptian officials say Seif Eldin Mustafa has a criminal record that includes fraud and drug charges. He apparently hijacked the plane because of issues involves his ex-wife.
The FBI is analyzing the data on phones and computers in connection with the Brussels terror investigation. The items were seized in raids and shipped to the U.S. Belgian officials have revised the death toll in last week's attacks to 32. More than 300 were wounded.
Well, the attacks are prompting a deeper examination of radicalization in Belgium. How militants are able to recruit moderate young Muslim men, it's a question one Belgian family is asking about a son who has appeared in graphically violent ISIS videos. In this CNN exclusive, Michael Holmes has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In an organization that revels in barbarity, the hands of this man are more soaked in blood than most. Hashim Chaib, Belgian-born of Moroccan descent, praises the Brussels attacks and promises more to come. Chaib is a murderer of many, by beheading, crucifixion and gunshot. He aims this video, warning his country of birth, by killing another man.
MOHAMED AMIN CHAIB, BROTHER OF BELGIAN ISIS FIGHTER, via translator: He was someone who couldn't hurt a fly, that went through life laughing. It's just disbelief, and still the family doesn't believe this could happen.
HOLMES: The brother of a killer. Mohamed Amin Chaib is sickened by what he cannot yet bring himself to watch, the actions of a man he no longer recognizes.
What good memories do you have of him, when he was younger, before all this took hold? What are your memories of him as a young man, as a child?
CHAIB: What I remember is an older brother who was always there, that's what I remember. If I had trouble, he was there.
HOLMES: Hashim he grew up in this suburb of Antwerp, in Belgium; by all accounts a normal upbringing, in a moderate Muslim family of 13. Until, his family says, he met people, radicals, who turned him to a view of his religion unlike that what he was raised in; what his brother calls a twisted cut and paste Islam.
CHAIB: That's an Islam that they fill in according to their own interpretations, colored by their own frustrations.
HOLMES: 22-year-old Mohamed Amin has not seen his brother since 2013, when he left Belgium for Syria. Since Hashim Chaib's latest grotesque video, the family who disowns his actions has received threats to their own safety.
CHAIB: With the latest video we've had threats, hate messages. It's a major [00:35:01] influence in our family, not just emotionally but also out of fear. Our parents are very fearful that something might happen with their sons or daughters.
HOLMES: The family's angst does not end with Hasim though. Another brother, Anwar, faces charges after authorities say he too allegedly tried to go to Syria, although his lawyer says Anwar is no Hashim.
MATTHIAS LEYS, CHIAB FAMILY LAWYER, via translator: My client has taken notice of the video images in which his brother is seen and he wants to absolutely distance his self from it. He rejects the acts and the words of his brother and is shocked by what recently happened in our country.
HOLMES: Mohamed isn't sure if he'll see his brother again, but if his brother sees this, he has a message from a family paying for the sins of a son.
CHAIB: Hisham, think hard, because you have a family here. Your own mother thinks about you every night and cries always about you. Your father is old; he also always loves you. Think about the consequences for your family, because they're enormous.
HOLMES: By his past actions Mohamed Amin's plea unlikely to be heeded.
Michael Holmes, CNN, Antwerp, Belgium.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: In Paris, security was tight at (inaudible) France as the National Futball Team played its first match there since last November's terror attacks. A moment of silence was held before the game to remember victims from last week's attacks in Belgium. French President Francois Hollande was among those in the crowd. France beat Russia 4-2.
Pakistani authorities have detained more than 5,000 people following in Punjab Province following that Easter Sunday bombing in Lahore. They later released most of them, but several hundred people remain in custody. meanwhile, families of the victims are burying their loved ones. 72 people died in suspected suicide attack in a crowded park.
CNN's Saima Mohsin takes us to the scene. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The park remains closed, this area, of course, remains a crime scene and police teams have been arriving as we've been here to carry out more analysis. Detectives meeting with local police inside a child's playground. Families had come here because this is an amusement park. If we take you in closer you can see the dark black soot, the scars of where the bomb was detonated.
We believe one unidentified suicide bomber carried out this attack right next to a children's ride. Unimaginable and horrifying. While police still with this crime scene, the military and para-military forces have been conducting raids in Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan. They say they've arrested a number of suspected terrorists and found caches of arms and ammunition.
Now, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Taliban splinter group is claiming responsibility for this attack, saying they were targeting the Christian community on Easter Sunday but the simple fact is families from all over the city come to this park. The majority of those killed and injured are in fact, Muslim and that is what people really want to point out. They are targeting Pakistanis and terrorism has no religion. Almost 400 people were injured, only 90 of them have been released from hospitals so far, 300 still being treated.
And those people have managed to get into the park have made this makeshift memorial for those killed and injured in this. This says "May those killed in this attack rest in peace." Flowers have been left. Candles lit and this over here, the Lord's Prayer and then "Lord, make me a means of your peace."
Saima Mohsin, CNN, Lahore, Pakistan
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SESAY: very sad indeed; and some other sad news to share with you. The Oscar and Emmy Award winning actress Patty Duke has died at the age of 69 from intestinal complications. Duke appeared on U.S. television in the 1960's comedy show named after her, but it was her signature role in the drama "The Miracle Worker" that won her acclaim and a "Best Supporting Actress" Oscar. Duke was just 16 when she played Helen Keller, the real life activist and author who learned to read and speak although she was deaf and blind. Duke suffered from bipolar disorder and became an advocate for mental health issues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [00:41:39] SESAY: In Myanmar, the first civilian president elected since the 1960s was sworn into office a short while ago. Htin Kyaw, from the National League for Democracy, replaces the outgoing president. The change in leadership brings to a close decades of military rule. It's widely expected the new president will act as a proxy for the party's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who is constitutionally barred from holding the office.
Now the Land of Milk and Honey is getting a taste for whiskey. An Israeli distillery has crossed the first single malt. CNN's Oren Lieberman paid a visit to sample a drop.
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OREN LIEBERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the Holy Land, where Palestinian and Israeli vintners are recreating the wine that Jesus drank, where there's a growing beer and microbrew scene, what's missing? Whiskey.
"Milk and Honey", a distillery in Tel Aviv, is setting out to solve that problem.
GAL KALKSHTEIN, OWNER, MILK AND HONEY DISTILLERY: We can make very good whiskey in our climate so we wanted to try it.
LIEBERMAN: It's Israel's first single malt whiskey. Worldwide demand for single malt whiskey has soared in recent years. High quality single malt is in short supply. The distillery season opening for Israeli kosher whiskey.
KALKSHTEIN: In Israel there is no malt (inaudible) drinkers, so we want to export and we want people that love the land and who love whiskey to buy our whiskey.
LIEBERMAN: The first production batch will be one million bottles, most of which will ship overseas. Whiskey sales in the U.S. are booming, a potential market for the distillery.
This copper still is at the heart of the Milk & Honey Distillery; custom made based on the Scotch model of making whiskey. It's new, so it's clean on the inside, but overtime it will build up a residue from each new batch so that each new whiskey builds on the flavors of the whiskeys before it.
LIEBERMAN: Master Distiller, Jim Swan, pours us a tasting of a test batch.
JIM SWAN, MASTER DISTILLER, MILK AND HONEY DISTILLERY: It's meant to be light, easy drinking. That's the idea, and most are light, fruity whiskeys so we're aiming at the whole world.
LIEBERMAN: You've had more than a few glasses of whiskey?
SWAN: I've had more than a few, yes.
LIEBERMAN: And how does this stack up?
SWAN: I think it's pretty good. I'd be happy to sit and drink that.
LIEBERMAN: The first batch that has aged a full three years is not ready yet?
SWAN: No, no. No, no. You have to come back in another two and a half or so years to try them. It just -
LIEBERMAN: We will come back.
SWAN: Okay.
LIEBERMAN: Whiskey would be a tiny fraction of Israel's multimillion dollar alcohol industry. The entrepreneurs hope the market matures with their whiskey.
Oren Lieberman, CNN, Tel Aviv.
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SESAY: We shall see. This "CNN NEWSROOM," live from Los Angeles; I'm Isha Sesay. "World Sport" starts after the break.
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