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Thousands Flee Sudan as Food, Water, Medicine Run Out; Evidence of Wagner Group Arming Militia in Sudan; Kyiv Pushes for NATO Membership During Stoltenberg's Visit; Dozens of Women, Children Among 186 Villagers Killed in Airstrikes in Myanmar; Uganda's Harsh Anti- LGBTQ Close to Being Ratified; New Video Suggests Police Inaction During Brazil Violent Protest; Schumacher Family Plans Legal Action Over Fake Interview. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired April 21, 2023 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Ahead this hour on CNN NEWSROOM, with Sudan on the brink of all-out civil war. CNN reports exclusively on the Russian military group founder arming one of the military factions.
[00:01:03]
Hurry up and wait. The head of NATO makes his first visit to Kyiv since the Russian invasion, promising Ukraine a place in the alliance, in the fullness of time.
And also this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I don't know why they targeted a place full of pregnant women, children and the elderly. The military are not human. They are more savage than animals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The depravity of Myanmar's military leaders. Cowards who use weapons of war to kill and maim defensive men, women and children.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.
VAUSE: The holy month of Ramadan is coming to an end. For Muslims everywhere, a time for celebration, but not in Sudan, which appears to be spiraling towards an all-out civil war, as two rival military factions battle for control.
The paramilitary rapid support forces, or RSF, has announced a short time ago a 72-hour humanitarian pause to coincide with the Eid al-Fitr holiday: a chance for residents, especially in the capital, to get food, water and other vital supplies.
Many have been trapped indoors without electricity since the fighting erupted almost a week ago. No word from the head of Sudan's army if his forces will agree to the
temporary truce. Two other ceasefires earlier this week collapsed within hours.
The World Health Organization believes 330 -- 330 people have been killed. But with dead bodies left in the streets, the actual number of those who have been killed so far is certain to be much higher.
The Pentagon is sending troops to a U.S. military base in the nearby country of Djibouti on standby to evacuate Americans from the U.S. embassy in Khartoum, if needed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: No decision to evacuate anybody now has been made. It's just really about prepositioning military forces, if and when there's a decision to move towards some sort of military evacuation, then we'll have more to say about that at the time in terms of size, scale, scope and what we're doing.
But right now, the best thing that can happen is for the fighting to stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Leaving the capital of Khartoum is becoming increasingly difficult. The international airport has been badly damaged by airstrikes has been not operating now for days.
Bus tickets out of Khartoum five times more expensive than usual. Around the world are now calls for the fighting to end, including from the U.N. secretary general, Antonio Guterres.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: All parties to the conflict are Muslim. You are living a very important moment in the Muslim calendar. I think this is the right moment for a ceasefire to hold. And this ceasefire is absolutely crucial at the present moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: With us now from Khartoum is Muhameda Tulumovic, the Sudan country director for the humanitarian aid group Emergency NGO.
So Muhameda, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us. There is now this ceasefire, which the RSF has agreed to. Do we know if the other side has stopped the fighting? What can you report to us from there in the capital? Has the fighting continued? Is there a pause right now?
MUHAMEDA TULUMOVIC, SUDAN COUNTRY DIRECTOR, EMERGENCY NTO: Hello. We as Emergency, we are currently in our hospital that is in the Southeast of Khartoum.
And town to town, we can hear, still, fighting since the beginning. We are not in the middle of the -- of the city, so we don't hear all the -- all the time.
But yes, every day since the beginning, we can hear shooting and fighting.
VAUSE: And that situation continues. What, it continued overnight. It continues at this hour?
TULUMOVIC: To be honest, I don't know exactly if it's continuing all the day and all time, because we are a bit outside of the city, so we hear that fighting, but not as our colleagues and our friends in the city, the city of Khartoum.
[00:05:03]
VAUSE: Clearly, the situation is extremely dangerous. You're in a hospital right now.
I want you to listen to the head of the U.N. on the current state of humanitarian assistance in Sudan. Here's Antonio Guterres.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUTERRES: Humanitarian operations are virtually impossible. Warehouses, vehicles and other humanitarian operations are being attacked, looted and seized.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: What has been your experience over the last few days, over the last week or so. And even if there is a ceasefire which holds, do you have the ability to help people? Have you got the infrastructure in place to distribute any kind of Unitarian assistance to be able to give them any kind of medical care?
TULUMOVIC: In this moment, we have -- we have four projects in -- in Sudan that the two are in Khartoum. One is in my that is South -- South Khartoum is another clinic.
And I think it's not.
VAUSE: We're having some trouble there with our connection there with Muhameda Tulumovic in Khartoum, on the outside of Khartoum.
I think we have lost it, and we're trying to maybe get back to her a little bit later on to find out more of the situation there in Khartoum.
But she did report that, as far as you could tell from outside of Khartoum, the capital, there was still the sound of fighting. She could still hear the explosions, even though she was so far away from the actual center of the capital.
We'll move on now to a CNN exclusive. Russian mercenaries accused of war crimes in Ukraine now appear to be involved in the conflict in Sudan.
Senior international investigative correspondent Nima Elbagir reports on the violent group's efforts to help the paramilitary forces.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Sudanese and the Libyan army celebrated a successful joint operation Wednesday, April 19, near the remote desert border between Libya and Sudan.
Having captured the Chevrolet Garrison belonging to the rival Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the RSF. But why is this military base so important, given how far it is from the existential fight in Sudan's capital, Khartoum?
Because CNN can reveal that the fight in Khartoum is being influenced by what was happening at that garrison, a Russian resupply campaign backed by a key regional players aimed at turning the tide in Sudan's war in favor of the RSF, who have been a key recipient of Russian training and military aid.
In collaboration with all eyes on Wagner, a research group focusing on Russian proxy Wagner, CNN investigated the group's current presence in Libya.
You can see here on April 16, one day after the fighting began in Khartoum, a Russian Iluyshin-76 transport plane at the Al Jufra base in Libya, previously identified by American intelligence as a Wagner base.
Three days later, this same plane is spotted by flight tracker aviation expert Gourgeon (ph) coming back from the Russian airbase in Latakia, Syria before returning to the Libyan air base in Khadim.
Images of that same plane began circulating online April 17, heading in the direction of Sudan. Sudanese and regional sources tell CNN that weaponry was air-dropped to the RSF within that time frame, April 15 to April 18, to the Chevrolet Garrison during a period of fierce fighting, boosting the RSF.
The Al-Khadim and Al Jufra bases where the Wagner planes departed from in Libya are under the control of field marshal Khalifa Haftar, who commands territory in the East of Libya.
Haftar and the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, a.k.a. Hemetti, having in common strategic alliances, one with Wagner, who Haftar is hosting in his territory in Libya and whom a previous CNN investigation exposed as working with Hemetti to extract Sudanese gold.
ELBAGIR: A second with the United Arab Emirates, who tapped Hemetti to send forces to the conflict in Yemen and backed Haftar in the fighting in Libya.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): What does it all mean for the ongoing misery and conflict in Sudan? It means that both a regional -- Libyan General Haftar -- and a global player -- Russia -- are putting their thumbs on the scale, which raises the stakes for the region, for the global balance of power, and for the people of Sudan caught in the crossfire.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: CNN reached out to both the Libyan general and the Wagner Group as part of our investigation. So far no response.
The RSF, in a statement to CNN, denied receiving aid from Russia or Libya.
The Ukrainian president has used an unannounced visit by the head of NATO to make yet another push to join the alliance. NATO's secretary- general offered his full support but no timeline.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL: Ukraine's future is in the Euro-Atlantic family. Ukraine's future is in NATO.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Moscow responded to Jens Stoltenberg's visit, saying that keeping Ukraine out of the NATO alliance remains one of its main military goals. More details now from CNN's Ben Wedeman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[00:10:10]
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A blunt message to Moscow, the head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Kyiv, demonstrating the military alliance's firm support for Ukraine, even though it's not yet a member.
STOLTENBERG: NATO stands with you today, tomorrow, and for as long as it takes.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Secretary general Jens Stoltenberg is the first NATO representative to officially visit Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Great to see you.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): An act once thought of as too provocative, given President Vladimir Putin's warnings against the bloc creeping ever closer to Russia.
STOLTENBERG: We'd like to express strong support.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): But Kyiv says it's looking for even more than this type of close cooperation with NATO.
ZELENSKYY (through translator): We value support from NATO allies and support with weapons. But we want to know when Ukraine will be in NATO. WEDEMAN (voice-over): Stoltenberg promised that the topic will be, quote, "high on the agenda" at July's NATO summit in Lithuania and emphasized the more than $160 billion of support already delivered to Ukraine.
Allies are sending more jets, tanks and armored vehicles, but Ukraine says it needs security guarantees.
ZELENSKYY (through translator): We need something more than the kind of relationship we are having now.
WEDEMAN: Even still, that relationship, and NATO's broader alliance, are undoubtedly stronger since Russia's war began, representing a major blow to Putin.
WEDEMAN: Stoltenberg's visit comes just a few days after Putin visited Russian troops in occupied areas of Southern and Eastern Ukraine. His own attempt to display strength at a time when the conflict enters a critical stage.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Kyiv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Jill Dougherty is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She's CNN's Russian affairs commentator, as well as CNN's former Moscow bureau chief.
And it's good to see you again.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN RUSSIAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Hey, John.
VAUSE: OK. So the head of NATO in Kyiv, a surprise visit. Perfect timing for Ukraine's president to raise NATO membership. So thanks for everything you've done so far, but when we actually get to -- you know, get the ring, if you like. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENSKYY (through translator): We need more than the current format of our relationship. We highly appreciate military assistance from the NATO countries, but we want to understand when Ukraine will be a NATO member.
We also want security guarantees on our path to NATO membership.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So Jens Stoltenberg was gushing with words of commitment, like Ukraine's rightful place is in NATO, and then adding this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STOLTENBERG: Mr. President, I'm here today with a simple message. NATO stands with Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: He then said, you know, it will happen over time, in the fullness of time, if you like, which seems to be the position which Stoltenberg has had since February, when he said, "NATO allies have agreed that Ukraine will become a member of our alliance, but at the same time that is a long-term perspective."
So what's actually going on here? What -- what -- what does Zelenskyy want? Because there's a lot of double speak, it seems, going on. And what is Stoltenberg promising here? Because it doesn't seem membership straightaway.
DOUGHERTY: Right. OK, so you have to go back to 2008 when they had the Bucharest meeting. And that is where they said essentially, yes, you're going to become members of NATO eventually, but they left it without a timetable, without details.
And that was deliberate, because there are members of NATO. Now we have 31 members of NATO. There are some who absolutely wanted today, especially with this war that's going on.
They say, you know, Ukraine really has won its position. It deserves to be there, because they fought really hard. And that would be the Baltic countries, Poland. Think definitely that that's the case.
And then you look at Germany and France. And they are saying, Well, you know, it could be highly inflammatory and dangerous to do this, because Vladimir Putin would try to come in and attack. And it could lead to World War III.
VAUSE: Well, the German defense ministers seem to sort of basically call truth to what was going on with all of this. Late Thursday, telling the public broadcaster ZDF, "The door is open a crack, but this is not the time to decide now on Ukraine membership to NATO," adding that Ukraine was aware of this.
Ukraine is aware of this, he said. Any decision on Ukraine joining NATO should be done, he said, "with a cool head and a hot heart, not the other way around."
You mentioned this. If Ukraine was to join NATO, become a fully- fledged member, then there is Article V. An attack on one is considered an attack on all.
So if Ukraine joins anytime soon, does that mean we're looking at World War III.
[00:15:06]
DOUGHERTY: Well, I guess theoretically, it would, and that's why you have this kind of, you know, yes we want you but not quite now approach.
I mean, essentially, if you look at what they're saying, let's say the United States and others who don't believe that now is the time. But eventually, there will be a time. What they're saying is, we have to ensure that Ukraine is going to win this war, that they will prevail. And then we can figure out a little bit more specifically what's happening, but in the future -- but everybody knows, since we're going to the summit, another meeting of NATO in July in Vilnius.
Everybody wants to try to incrementally, at least, give something that might be the security guarantees that Zelenskyy is -- is striving for.
But again, are they going to sit down and write something? Would this be, you know, let's say a legal promise obligating members to do something? I don't think so.
So there's -- there's the dilemma.
VAUSE: And after all of this, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Ukraine joining NATO would pose a serious and significant danger to our country, to the security of our country.
He said that a gazillion times before. But just play devil's advocate here for us before the Russian invasion. You know, the talk about Ukraine joining NATO was it was always a nonstarter because of fears that Putin -- how he would react, you know. That he might invade the country, that he'd go ballistic, he'd go nuclear.
Well, he's done all that now. So in hindsight, was it a mistake not allowing Ukraine to join soon? Ukraine, you know, in the past.
DOUGHERTY: Oh, that's such a debate. That -- that is one of the biggest debates that, let's say, theoretically, if NATO -- sorry, if Ukraine had nuclear weapons, or were a member of NATO, this never would have happened.
I think that, you know, you just cannot even go there at this point, because it is so theoretical. But -- but I do think there are people who really do believe that need that Ukraine has won the right to be part of NATO.
VAUSE: Ukraine certainly have spilled enough blood, stopping the Russians from going any further than Ukraine. So I think it does seem to be a very strong argument that they've paid their price already.
Jill, as always, it is so great to have you with us. So good for you to explain all of this and give us some perspective there. Thank you.
DOUGHERTY: A pleasure.
VAUSE: A powerful blast was reported in the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukrainian border. What appears to be a case of friendly fire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SIRENS)
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: According to state media, the explosion was caused by a Russian fighter jet which dropped what it called aviation munition during a mid-air emergency.
The blast left a crater 20 meters wide, knocking down electricity poles and damaging an apartment building.
Russian officials say two women were hurt.
When we come back, CNN reporting on an airstrike in Myanmar. The generals claim the target were terrorists. The victims, in reality, were defenseless men, women and children. Dozens dead, others left maimed and seriously wounded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a killing field where people scattered everywhere. A woman with burst intestines died in front of me. I was shaking. Why would they kill their own civilians?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:20:32]
VAUSE: The killers always return to the scene of the crime. And so it was in Myanmar on Thursday.
Troops sent to a small village for what's being called a clean-up operation. That's according to Myanmar's ousted shadow government, which says the military carried out new air strikes and then sent troops to the area to kill anyone who stayed.
CNN has been unable to independently verify the report, but it comes after state security forces said it was targeting terrorists with a helicopter gunships and fighter jets, raining fire down on the same village just a week ago.
CNN's Anna Coren has the story. We want to warn you, though. The report contains details and images which viewers will find extremely disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On this dusty mound near a grove of banana trees, villages don't know where to walk.
Everywhere they turn is another dismembered body. Legs, arms, severed heads, human flesh littering the earth.
"We can't recognize who they are," says the man filming this video. "There are so many."
Hundreds of people had gathered for a community celebration last Tuesday in Pazigyi, part of a self-governed district in Sagaing state, Northern Myanmar.
They'd come for breakfast on the eve of Tunjong (ph), a Buddhist new year festival. Families, the elderly, and dozens and dozens of children.
"(EXPLETIVE DELETED)," cries this man. "What did these kids do wrong?"
At 7:45 a.m., a military jet dropped a bomb on the building where they'd gathered, according to witnesses. Minutes later, an MI-35 attack helicopter mowed down survivors and continued to circle for the next 15 minutes, firing at anyone who moved.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We heard a boom. I hit the ground, and there was a huge cloud of smoke. I got up and realized my daughter was missing.
COREN (voice-over): As the wounded screamed for help, this man searched among the dead and injured for his 3-year-old daughter and his parents.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It was a killing field. There were people scattered everywhere. A woman with burst intestines died in front of me. I was shaking. Why would they kill their own civilians?
COREN (voice-over): And then, after several hours, he found them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): My father was cut in half from the waist. My mother's body unrecognizable. My daughter was headless.
COREN (voice-over): He says he lost seven family members. Others lost their entire family.
For those who miraculously survived, the injured were taken to makeshift medical clinics as staff treated their catastrophic wounds.
Others fled to the safety of the forest, coming to terms with the horror they'd just witnessed.
"I cannot comfort myself," cries this woman. "Everyone is suffering."
With fears of more aerial attacks, villages quickly gathered the bodies and placed the countless remains in piles for cremation.
"Burn, burn, burn! The wood is not enough. Please add the tires," pleads this man. "We are trying to burn the flesh of the dead."
Sure enough, a military helicopter did return just before sunset, firing more missiles at those who'd come to cremate the dead.
The day's final death toll, according to the national unity government, 186 people killed, the deadliest attack since the junta seized power in a coup more than two years ago.
The military confirmed the bombings, saying they were targeting rebel forces who have been fighting Myanmar's military government. But CNN has interviewed over half a dozen eyewitnesses of last week's attack who say the target was civilians.
This man lost 30 relatives, including young nieces and nephews.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I don't know why they targeted a place full of pregnant women, children, and the elderly. The military are not human. They are more savage than animals.
COREN (voice-over): During our interview, a jet flies over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jet fighters.
COREN: A jet get fighter is coming?
COREN (voice-over): The threat ever present.
[00:25:00]
The day before the Sagaing attack, the military bombed a school and church in neighboring Chin State, according to Myanmar's national unity government. Nine people were killed, including the principal, his wife and their son.
And last month in Shan state, 22 people were executed outside a monastery, including three monks, a resistance group said.
CNN obtained this footage from the opposition defense forces and spoke to the coroner who carried out the post mortems. He confirmed all the victims were tortured and had been shot in the head.
Well, the latest massacre sparked international condemnation of the junta and the countries that support them, such as China and Russia.
The families of the victims say it's just more empty words.
"How many more children have to die before the world's leaders take action?" pleads this man, grieving the loss of his baby niece, he says. "This is genocide."
Anna Coren, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Welcome back. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
It seems the homophobic lawmakers in Uganda will have to wait a little longer for their draconian anti-LGBTQ+ legislation to be signed into law.
The Ugandan ruling party says the president congratulated lawmakers on Thursday over the bill's passage, but then sent it back to Parliament for amendments. It's expected to be finalized next week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DENIS HAMSON OBUA, CHIEF WHIP, UGANDA'S RULING PARTY: The president, in principle, congratulated the members of Parliament on two fronts. One, for the strong stand on the anti-homosexuality bill. And two, for rejecting pressure from the imperialists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: This legislation has triggered worldwide outrage. The European Union voted Thursday to condemn the bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALIN BJORK, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER, SWEDEN: The proposed Ugandan bill, imposing death penalty for consensual same-sex relations, is simply horrific. Death for being who we are. Death for loving another person that the majority doesn't think you should have the right to love.
KARSTEN LUCKE, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: And this law doesn't take one step, doesn't take 10 steps, but countless steps back into what feels really like Middle Ages. The proposed criminalization of human -- OF homosexual people; tramples human rights in such a way that it's really unbearable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Major corporations have also spoken out against this bill, which would impose the death penalty for those deemed to be guilty of so-called aggravated homosexuality.
[00:30:03]
CNN's Stephanie Busari looks at the anti-gay legal action in Uganda and across the region.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In much of Africa, the LGBTQ community is living in fear. Following their heart could cost them their lives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cannot control myself. I cannot pretend what I'm not. I don't even know if I'm really safe.
BUSARI (voice-over): In recent months, East Africa's LGBTQ laws have been a topic of global conversation. In March, Uganda passed a harsh anti-LGBTQ bill.
Within the text are severe punishments for those who engage in, quote, "aggravated homosexuality." If found guilty, individuals would be sentenced to death.
While supporters in Parliament celebrated, many around the world mourned the decision.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: =Human rights are universal. No one should be attacked, imprisoned or killed simply because of who they are or whom they love.
BUSARI (voice-over): Western leaders condemned the bill. A coalition of businesses, amongst them Microsoft and Google, warned that the move could damage the regional economy.
Uganda isn't alone. A group of Tanzanian MPs are also calling for tougher laws on LGBTQ citizens.
At the same time, Kenya has made one step towards equality. The Supreme Court moved to allow the registration of groups that represent LGBTQ interests.
Still, some lawmakers say they will work to overturn the decision.
GEORGE MURUGARA, KENYAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: This judgment, this ruling should actually be reexamined through a review, and if the review is denied, rest assured as the House, we will move to outlaw everything they have done, because we have power to do so.
ICHUNG'WAH, KENYAN PARLIAMENT MAJORITY LEADER: Our laws are quite clear. Our penal code still has outlawed issues to do with homosexuality.
BUSARI (voice-over): While the Supreme Court ruling is victory for the LGBTQ community, it hasn't been without consequences.
The activist group at the center of the ruling says it has received a spike in calls related to assaults, threats and discrimination. According to the group, numbers rose from 78 in January to 367 in March of this year.
But despite some acts of violence, Kenya is generally viewed as a safer space for members of the LGBTQ community. Same-sex relations and marriages are illegal, but the law isn't regularly enforced. A rare reprieve for a community fighting for justice and equality.
Stephanie Busari, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: In Paris, protesters angry over pension reforms have targeted the offices of stock exchange operator Euronext.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(WHISTLES BLOWING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: They briefly occupied the lobby, singing, firing, flares and chanting the cost of keeping the pension system solvent should be borne by employers, not workers.
Last weekend, President Emmanuel Macron signed the bill into law, which raises the retirement age from 62 to 64. New details this hour about the political protests in Brazil's capital
in January this year, newly-released video appears to show security forces allowing rioters to enter the presidential palace and ransack the building.
CNN's Isa Soares has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was the darkest of days in Brazilian democratic history. Supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro taking the capital, Brasilia, by storm, breaking into the presidential palace and other government buildings.
Now, new CCTV footage exclusively obtained by CNN affiliate CNN Brasil of what transpired inside the presidential palace appears to bolster the claims of people who have accused the police of failing to act.
Chief among them, current President Lula da Silva.
LULA DA SILVA, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): There were a lot of people colluding, It's important to say there were a lot of conniving people from the military police, and there were a lot of conniving people from the armed forces.
SOARES (voice-over): The hours of CCTV footage showed police forces seemingly retreating as protesters marched on the palace and leaving their post as rioters entered the building.
Once inside, the ransacking begins. Priceless antiquities, tables, phones. Almost nothing is left untouched.
At the time, former policeman Cassio Thyone told me some of the criticism was unwarranted.
CASSIO THYONE, FORMER POLICE OFFICER (through translator): Some policemen ended up not acting, because they didn't think there was a risk of invasion. I don't think it was incompetence.
SOARES (voice-over): The Institutional security office or GSI, which handles security for the presidential palaces, has also defended its officers, saying they evacuated some areas, concentrated demonstrators on the second floor, and waited for reinforcements to arrest them.
Despite those assertions, the bureau acknowledging its offices are being investigated and those proven to have collaborated with rioters will be held responsible.
But heads have started rolling. General Goncalves Dias, Lula's government minister in charge of security, has resigned. CCTV footage shows him walking with some of the rioters just feet away from the presidential office. He says he was trying to lead them away so they could be arrested.
But critics say his demeanor was complacent and complicit. Back in Brazil after three months in self-imposed exile in the United States, Bolsonaro is enjoying some respite, the video leak seen as a momentary win as he continues to dodge blame for the January riots.
Yet doubt remains. The new footage raising more questions than the answers it provides.
Isa Soares, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still ahead, it was billed as the first interview with a Formula One legend turns out none of it was real. Coming up the latest controversy surrounding the growing use of artificial intelligence.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Well, it was all cheers at the time, but that didn't really last long, because as SpaceX put it, next came a rapid, unscheduled disassembly, OK?
Yes happy. Happy. Happy right now.
Here's what happened. Everything went off A-OK at the beginning. This was a normal test flight of the super heavy rocket and starship spacecraft.
The most powerful rocket ever built successfully took off, at least initially, from South Texas on Thursday, but then --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything after clearing the tower was icing on the cake. Everything after --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Yes, not so much. About four minutes into the flight, several legends failed. The starship tumbled and exploded. Can we still call it a success? Because they say they learned a lot. They're planning another test in a few months.
Icing on the cake.
Well, charges are being dropped against actor Alec Baldwin over the deadly shooting on the set of the movie "Rust." Prosecutors in New Mexico say they're dismissing the involuntary manslaughter accusation after new facts emerged.
A source says the gun used in the shooting had been modified.
During a rehearsal in 2021, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed by a live round fired from a gun fired by Baldwin. It was a prop gun.
He maintained he never pulled the trigger and pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors say Baldwin is not absolved. Charges could be refiled, depending on the results of a follow-up investigation.
[00:40:03]
Meantime, the armorer on the set, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, still faces involuntary manslaughter charges. A court hearing set for Friday.
This story is a puzzle over how someone pulled off a multimillion- dollar gold heist at Canada's busiest airport.
Police say a cargo container carrying the precious metal and other valuables was stolen after it was unloaded from a plane. It was taken to a holding facility at the Toronto Airport Monday, then disappeared. The haul is estimated at more than $15 million.
The family of seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher are planning legal action after a German magazine published fake quotes attributed to the F-1 legend but were actually created by artificial intelligence.
CNN's Anna Stewart has the story.
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ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, looking at the front page of "Die Aktuelle," the headline, translated to English, is "Michael Schumacher: The First Interview," followed by a more cryptic subheading, which reads, "It sounded deceptively real." It's a hint, but not a clear one.
But what appears to be an exclusive interview with Michael Schumacher, the first since his ski accident in December 2013, is anything but.
In fact, even if you get to the teased article on page eight, you find the headline, "My Life Has Changed Completely," followed by quotes attributed to the Formula One champion, talking about his medical condition and his family life since his brain injury.
It's only toward the end of the article that you discover that the interview is fake. Responses were generated by artificial intelligence.
The Schumacher family say they are planning to take legal action against Funke Media Group, the German publisher of the magazine, and a spokesperson for that company has declined to comment.
This fake interview has caused particular upset, considering both Michael Schumacher's condition following his ski accident, but also his wife's very clear message in a Netflix documentary, which broadcast two years ago, in which he said, "It is very important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life as much as possible. Michael always protected us. So now we are protecting Michael."
Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
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