you're watching cnn live coverage. hello, everyone i'm natalie allen. we want to welcome our viewers in the u.s. and around the world. ahead this hour -- >> translator: the group was about to carry out major terrorist attacks in belgium imminently. >> we are live in brussels where authorities say they have taken down a terror cell there. also france copes with the aftermath of terrorism in its capital. more funerals today after the deadly attacks at "charlie hebdo." in an exclusive report also from nigeria, soldiers who are

supposed to be fighting terror say they often feel like they're fighting their own government just to get the basic necessities. also ahead here shutting down traffic. a highly anticipated visit by the pope to the philippines. we're live in manila. we begin this hour with a new threat from isis. the terror group has posted a new video online warning that more attacks are planned across europe and in the united states. cnn cannot independently verify this video's authenticity. a western intelligence source tells cnn the ongoing terror threat stretches across europe and involves as many as 20 sleeper cells with up to 180 people. the source says the cells are ready to strike in france germany, the netherlands, and belgium, that's where authorities say they have foiled imminent terror attacks. police staged raids in several cities including this one in

verviers. here's eyewitness frederick houseman. >> i heard first two big detonations, really big ones. after that i look out the window and i see policemen on the street level, and with assault rifles. after that they put another grenade, very big explosion, smoke or something like that. >> investigators are looking into how belgian terror cells may be connected to the paris attacks. one source says a belgian arms dealer may have provided weapons to amedy coulibaly, the man who killed four hostages at the paris grocery store. belgium has raised the national

alert level now in light of the new security concerns but the prime minister says he's not aware of any specific threats. >> translator: we can consider that it would be useful to raise that level for caution and vigilance. this means complimentary measures of protection and security will be taken. >> let's bring in chris burns, who is following developments in the story live from brussels. chris, let's talk about what the prime minister just said there, they don't think there are any emment eminent threats but i'm sure the people are shaken despite those words. >> reporter: it's early in the morning and traffic seems normal. but over my shoulder you see two guys dressed in black looking

like commandos and you don't usually see that. this is part of the stepped up threat level that the authorities are reacting to. it's almost maximum now, and i suppose to the police prosecutor's office spokesman this morning, and he says that, yes, they have deployed additional police at a number of places across the country really. we do know that the jewish schools are closed here in brussels and in antwerp, the two biggest cities today, as a result of what went on overnight. also they're busy analyzing, collecting all the information they got from roughly ten different searches they did in and around brussels as well as in verviers and yes, sir, they found four kalashnikovs in one building with bomb making

material. and here in brussels they found bomb making material -- they found a bomb. they found explosives. so it is quite disturbing. and in one area, not far from the european commission and parliament that's something to be very aware of. we'll be watching to see how much they do step up security today as a result of that. natalie? >> have they given any more information, chris about the suspect that they took into custody and i would think they would hope to get some information from this person. >> reporter: no they haven't said anything further. they will have a press conference later. the prosecutor's office will have a press conference later this morning. so we're hoping to get a few more facts on that. that person was shot and wouldnded this that gun fight last week. the police shot dead two other suspects there that they believe to be islamic extremists and the

police said they began firing on the police and that's why they fired back. that's all we know at this point. there weren't any other incidents like that here in brussels. but quite intense situation as they did search through a number of homes here in the capital. >> as you say, a news conference coming up in just a few hours. chris burns, thank you very much. nearly half a million muslims live in belgium. north of are of north african descent. the government says about 100 belgian nationals have returned from syria with combat experience. about 40 may have been killed there. and 170 others are still fighting in syria and iraq. the pentagon says more than 900 french citizens have gone to syria and iraq. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is in paris to meet with french president francois

hollande. he will visit the sites of last week's terror attacks that left 17 people dead. and today france will grant citizenship to the muslim immigrant that was working at the kosher supermarket and he helped jewish patrons hide. there will be more funerals for the victims of "charlie hebdo." our phil black attended one of the funerals, which he says was also a celebration. >> reporter: the casket marked by cartoons and messages became a tribute to the man and his craft. most of the applauding crowd had never met him. but they grieved for the cartoonist they knew as tignous. he was also a husband and father of four.

standing before thousands, his wife chloe spoke about the man taken from her. she said she couldn't write a speech because she didn't want to say goodbye. she described their marriage as her most beautiful love story. and she spoke about his work cartoons famous for scouring french politicians. his wife said he was a pacifistsscifist who cared about politics. the french justice minister said they taught us without us noticing the virtues of freedom of expression. ♪ ♪ the crowd, inside and out, honored the fallen artist with an old italian wartime song. belting out the last line. ♪ ♪ [ singing in foreign language ] "to die for freedom."

the people here say that's what tignous did. >> we must fight against all the error and we must fight for the liberty. >> reporter: a man killed for pushing the limits of french freedoms is now inspiring others to defend them of the phil black, cnn, france. we turn now to the pope's visit to the philippines. he's in manila today on his five-day visit there. during the flight from rome the pope condemned last week's terror attacks in france and also said it's wrong to provoke people by mocking their religion. >> translator: i believe you cannot react violently. but if my great friend says a curse word against my mother he can expect a punch. this is normal. you can not provoke, you cannot insult other people's faiths.

you cannot make fun of faith. many people who speak badly about other religions or who make fun of them make other people's religion a joke, that is a provocation. there's a limit. every religion has dignity, every religion that respects people. >> the pope didn't specifically mention "charlie hebdo" or its depiction of the prophet muhammad. he went on to say to kill in the name of god is an aberration. stay with us because we're following the pope all through the first full day of his visit to the philippines. we'll have a live report for you from manila. and a closer look at the u.s. military strategy for defeating terrorist groups. push your enterprise and you can move the world. ♪ ♪ but to get from the old way to the new you'll need the right it infrastructure. from a partner who knows how

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the west's response to the growing threat of terror groups like isis in syria and iraq. as mr. obama and mr. cameron meet cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr takes a closer look at the u.s. military's role so far in defeating terrorist groups. >> reporter: in the fight against isis in syria and iraq air strikes by drones or fighter jets can only do so much to suppress the threat of terrorism. >> the d.o.d. approach is not to defeat isis from the air, but to slow isis down to give a ground force time to be trained, because a ground force will be required. >> reporter: in syria, where isis still controls vast swaths of territory, it could take years to get syrian opposition forces on the ground fully trained and committed to the fight. but the obama administration has said any ground forces won't come from the u.s.

so the answer for now is air strikes that punish the enemy but fail to land a knockout punch. >> you can't control territory. you can't influence people. you can't maintain lines of control after you've established them. that will take a ground force. >> reporter: even before al qaeda in yemen claimed responsibility for the paris attacks, the pentagon was quietly trying to figure out new ways to thwart al qaeda's most dangerous affiliate. but a frustrating answer came back no new military options are out there. the major millitary tool remains unchanged, drone attacks. drones have killed nearly 1,000 militants in yemen during the obama administration according to the american foundation. >> if you look at all these places there's a common thread

and that's governance. if you have good governance a government that can control its territory, then extremist groups have a difficult time operating. you can't get it with drone strikes. drone strikes is equivalent to mowing the grass. you can kill some extremists that way. you can keep perhaps a lid on their capabilities. but you cannot eliminate the groups. >> reporter: there may be one bright spot in all of this and that is iraq. u.s. officials say they believe they are stalling isis' progress in iraq and that is because they are able to work with iraqi and peshmerga forces there, and gain an advantage from the intelligence that those groups have. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. the u.s. state of oklahoma has executed a convicted murderer and rapist. charles warner is the first to be put to death since a botched lethal injection last year forced the state to put a hold

on executions. oklahoma spent over $100,000 making changes to its methods. witnesses at warner's execution say he showed no obvious signs of suffering, and died 18 minutes after receiving the injection. >> the execution began at 7:10. mr. warner said my body is on fire. at this point, his microphone was turned off. he said no one should go through this. i'm not afraid to die. we's all going to die. >> the state of florida also executed a convicted murderer around the same time as the oklahoma injection was taking place. there is a major break to tell you about in one of the biggest corruption cases in the history of the u.s. navy. malaysian ship supply contractor leonard glenn francis, nicknamed

fat leonard, entered a plea of guilty to federal conspiracy charges that he had been fighting since 2013. he told the court the scheme spanned several years and involved dozens of navy officials and millions in bribes and gifts. he says they were given in exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars in overbilled contracts. francis could face up to 25 years in prison and may forfeit up to $35 million. sentencing is set for april 3rd. an enthusiastic reception for pope francis the leader of the catholic church treated by thousands today in manila. he'll share his message to the filipino people and their leaders when we come back. ou are outside and you are safe but what do you do now and that's where the red cross came in... . we ran out of the house just wearing our pajamas. at that point just to even have a toothbrush that i could call my own was so important... . ...you know it just makes you feel

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♪ ♪ thousands and thousands of people have been lining the streets of manila today, hoping to get a glimpse of pope francis, and many did. he began with a welcoming ceremony at the presidential palace. he then celebrated mass in manila. for more on his trip, let's go straight anna cornyn. this is the first trip in 20

years. so we certainly understand the welcome he's getting from this predominantly catholic country. >> reporter: yeah it's a rock star welcome. i don't know how else to describe it but that what has greeted pope francis since he touched down just as the sun set here in the philippines last night, where we are positioned at the moment is where he will be giving sunday mass at this park you can probably hear the sound checks going on preparing for what is expected to be a papal milestone. authorities believing that between 6 million to 8 million people could turn out here to listen to pope francis celebrate mass. of course the weather could play havoc. there is a tropical storm heading towards the philippines. it is due to hit manila on sunday. but somehow, considering the reception he has received you know over the last -- less than a day, i somehow don't think that rain will dampen people's

spirits. this have been tens if not hundreds of thousands of people lining the streets just to catch a glimpse of pope francis as he travels by in his motorcade. he gave mass today at the manila cathedral, and he pulled a swifty on his security detail by heading out a side exit to go and meet the parishioners. this is what he does. we saw this in brazil we've seen this in other trips he's done overseas. we'll see it again here in the philippines, which is a security nightmare. the pope does present a security nightmare, said the filipino president. there are up to 40,000 security military and police who have been deployed to look after the pope. obviously, there are concerns

about terror. there are no specific terror threats. but that aside, this is a day and age where they have to be very much on high alert. if there are going to be 6 million to 8 million people here on sunday as predicted, then obviously all security personnel very much on high alert. natalie? >> you made us laugh when you said the pope pulled a swifty and did it his own way. he kind of does it his own way, and that's the only way for him. he sent a message to the leaders of the country about supporting families, and about the poverty in the philippines. is that the type of thing that people there that they told you they're looking to hear? >> reporter: it was a very strong message he delivered during his speech at the

presidential balance this morning. he talked about social injustice, and the fact that the poor need to be focused on they need to be given a voice. you know earlier i described the philippines as being incredibly poor and got some backlash to that. this is a country that is going through great economic change. there are extremely poor people living here in the philippines. 20% of the population live below the poverty line living on less than $2 a day. with that there are these families having five six, seven children. so it's unsustainable. the cycle of poverty continues. pope francis pointing out that the poor need to be lifted up out of poverty. social injustice needs to end. he also said that corruption must end. he focused specifically on that and the philippines, you know as we know corruption is rife

in all aspects of society here. so the pope delivering some hard messages but no doubt ones that need to be heard. >> anna coren will be covering for us. thanks so much. we'll see you again. well the only wrinkle in the trip is perhaps the weather. he may have to pull another swifty. >> i like that. you can imagine how difficult it is just the logistics for 6 million people to have an outdoor mass but in the middle of a tropical storm? vendors need to secure their equipment, all the barricades need to be extra secure. there's a lot of stuff to think about when organizing an event like this. the pope's visit is just wrapped in all kinds of irony, as he goes to visit, as natalie just talked about, the tacloban region that was impacted by typhoon haiyan a year ago. at the same time he may be

altered thanks to this on coming tropical storm he woulded that way. now, this is the forecast for manila where the pope is located. the weather looks good today, but it's going to go downhill by the end of the weekend. we're talking sunday and monday tropical storm michaela will move into the southern sections of luzon bringing heavy rain and wind and outdoor mass for upwards of 6 million people could be impacted by tropical storm force winds. this is the latest information for the tropical storm. 75-kilometer-per-hour sustained winds. could impact the southern sections of luzon, including manila by the end of the weekend. i've stopped our forecast just about 10:00 a.m. in tacloban where an outdoor mass will take place with the pope on saturday. looks like rain and wind. that's all the time we have here at the world weather center.

more news and headlines coming up after a short break. flo: hey, big guy. i heard you lost a close one today. look, jamie, maybe we weren't the lowest rate this time. but when you show people their progressive direct rate and our competitors' rates you can't win them all. the important part is, you helped them save. thanks, flo. okay, let's go get you an ice cream cone, champ. with sprinkles? sprinkles are for winners. i understand.

welcome back. i'm natalie allen. our top stories. police in belgium have foiled a plot to launch major terror attacks. they raided a house in verviers thursday killing two suspects and arresting a third. a western intelligence source says as many as 20 sleeper cells are poised to strike targets across europe. the hunt is intensifying for this woman, hayat boumeddiene, possibly the only suspect in the paris terror attacks who is known to be alive. belgian authorities tell cnn a man there has been arrested in connection with arms trafficking

and they say he recently bought a car from this woman. a big welcome, as we mentioned, for pope francis as thousands are on hand to see hum visit the capital manila. he celebrated mass at manila's cathedral. and earlier addressed filipino leaders and foreign diplomats at the presidential palace. we have this news breaking. 400 u.s. troops will deploy to train the moderate syrian opposition. defense officials confirm the train willing begin in early spring and will take place in saudi arabia turkey and qatar. authorities in several countries are now scrambling to root out terror plots before they can be carried out. the anti-terror raids in belgium are clearly part of that. but authorities say so far there are no links to the attacks in paris. we learn more from cnn's jim sciutto. >> reporter: gunfire erupting

again on the streets of a european city. this is verviers in eastern belgium tonight. anti-terror police raid the home of suspected terrorists recently back from syria. inside sources tell cnn, suspects directed by isis armed with kalashnikovs and planning to attack the local police station. last night, police fight their ways up the stairs. >> translator: this was in the frame work of an investigation, looking into an operational cell made up of people coming back from syria. the investigation made it possible to determine that the group was about to carry out major terrorist attacks in belgium imminently. >> reporter: soon anti-terror operations are under way in several other belgian cities. earlier police in belgium detained an arms dealer who is suspected of selling weapons to amedy coulibaly, including the weapons he used to storm the

kosher market in paris last week. coulibaly sold him a car and took out a loan for 6,000 euros. to belgium and a known arms tealer believed to have supplied weapons. to spain, the last known place where the kosher shop attacker and his companion were seen together last month. in bulgaria authorities have arrested a known contact of the kouachi brothers. then turkey and syria, the search for the companion of hayat boumeddiene. and in yemen, home base of aqap claiming responsibility of the paris attacks. secretary of state john kerry arrived in paris, the highest level u.s. official to visit france since violence rocked paris. >> my visit to france is to basically share a big hug with paris and express the affection

of the american people for france and for our friends this who have been through a terrible time. >> reporter: belgian police are draw nothing ties between the operations in belgium and the attacks here in paris. they say they had these cells under surveillance for some time and they acted now to prevent what they called an imminent attack. jim sciutto, cnn, paris. tony blair was britain's prime minister in 2005 when muslim terrorists killed 52 people in an attack on london's transit system. he's since created a foundation that works to root out religious fundamentalism around the world. our jake tapper asked blair about what's unfolding now. >> reporter: i want to ask you about a headline in "the new york times," and a debate about what was behind this terrorist attack and what's behind other terrorist attacks. it says crisis in france is seen as sign of social ills alienation of muslims in poor

suburbs. do you buy that? >> i think this is a really important question and we have to answer it in the right way. i think that you can have a multiplicity of factors, like poverty, alienation and particular psychological reasons related to the individual why people do these things. but personally i think we've got to see this in a bigger context that there is a radical ideology out there. it has a group of people at the fringe who are fanatics and prepared to kill. it is a large group of people that subscribe to many of the ideas behind that fanaticism. and it is based on a perversion of religion and religious faith. and i think it's very dangerous because it can divert us from looking at that question if we

believe that by different programs on unemployment or social regeneration you're going to deal with this problem. you've also got to tealdeal with the fact that there are young people being radicalized. and in the case of the british bombers, in 2005 they're not people who are poor. they're people with all the benefits of all the social support that our countries can give. so it is important that communities don't become alienated and separated out from the main stream of society. but part of that ideology comes from a desire of people in fact to separate themselves out from a social culture that they don't share. >> former prime minister tony blair there. algerian troops have found the body of a french hiker once held

hostage. he was beheaded and soldiers found the bold in a search operation. he was hiking in one of algeria's national parks when he was abducted by a terrorist group. the group's leader and two militants were killed in a military operation last month. now we turn to nigeria where we have been telling you about what human rights group call the deadliest massacre they have ever seen. local officials in the town of baga say boko haram militants killed as many as 2,000 people earlier this month. cnn's christiane amanpour asked nigerian military spokesman about what the government is doing to try and protect people there.

killings. are you concerned about that and concerned about alienating the population you're trying to protect? >> amid the criticism that the government isn't doing enough the president made a surprise visit to the borno state in the northeast, the same state that the massacre happened and where boko haram is highly active. soldiers there have long complained about not getting enough support from the government. nic robertson has an exclusive

report. >> reporter: we're on our way to meet a soldier who's been on the front line in the battle against boko haram. we've been chasing him all day and we're still trying to catch up with him. eventually we meet, hidden in a tiny store, he dares spend only a few minutes with us. he's not authorized to talk. he wants to remain unanimous. he's telling a side of the war we never hear what it's like to be a soldier fighting boko haram. kit yourself if >> yes, i bought mine. >> that's incredible. his base is just outside of this town barely three hours' drive northeast of the capital. it's where the mostly muslim

north meets the mostly christian south. and right here just last month, a twin suicide bombing killed 12 people. there are thousands of troops stationed in this town. and there are many more stories like the soldiers we're talking to. >> reporter: so this is what they give you after your injury recommending for treatment? another soldier shows me his medical papers. he too is not authorized to speak to us. his unit, he says was outgunned. boko haram with bigger longer range weapons. more men and more ammunition. his comrades fled, leaving him behind. >> they no have equipment to stand. the equipment is very very old. >> reporter: three scary days alone on the run from the terror group before reaching his base.

his morale rock bottom. things were about to get worse. the army won't pay for the drugs, even though you got your injury fighting boko haram. >> they not pay for the drugs. >> reporter: we asked a senior government official about these shortcomings. he said they would look into this. why don't the generals see this morale problem and think about giving you better weapons to win the fight? >> corruption. >> reporter: how can you go on being a soldier in that environment? good will that without bigger guns and more ammunition may soon run out. nic robertson, cnn, nigeria. traveling to cuba from the u.s. just got a whole lot easier. the new rules that have travel experts ready for a new era. those rules taking place today.

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markets took a nosedive one of the biggest single day drops in decades. roughly $90 billion wiped off the zurich smi. switzerland's move on its currency is sure to have a global impact. >> reporter: now that the swiss national bank has ripped the band-aid off, allowing the swiss franc to soar there are so many ripple effects. first, why did swiss shares fall so far? from watches to pharmaceuticals, swiss products just got a whole lot more expensive. meaning they'll find it harder to export their products around the world. what about tourism? just think of all those world leaders and business elite heading there for next week's world economic forum. their money is not going to go as far as it would have just this week.

an expensive country just got a whole lot more expensive. and it also means people who might have booked a skiing holiday might instead go to france or italy where they have a nice cheap euro. and finally, gold. well like a lot of commodities, gone has gone off the boil but not on thursday. it hit around a four-month high up some 2% after the swiss franc took off. why? there's nothing like a safe haven when it's not clear what's going on. jim boldin, cnn, london. starting today, it's now a lot easier for americans to travel to cuba. according to the u.s. treasury department u.s. travelers no longer need government permission before booking a trip. but they must meet certain criteria, such as visiting family or going for cultural or educational reasons. i spoke with a travel expert about this who is headed to cuba himself in a few hours.

he is the co-founder of afar media, who specializes in authentic travel experiences. he told me what americans need to know before booking a trip to cuba. >> there still is you know the license that you have to get, but it's going to be a lot easier for americans to travel there. i myself am going to be flying to havana tomorrow night, and it was the first time that my travel adviser was able to actually book me all the way through to havana. that change actually just happened this afternoon when we were looking at flights this morning, she was telling me that i would need to purchase my ticket once i landed in panama city. now she was able to book me through all the way to havana. >> that's amazing. >> a lot easier to get there. >> will we be seeing commercial air routes now? >> i think so. it's still unclear when that will happen but the fact that this second announcement came on

the heels of the first one just 28 days ago indicates to me that the obama administration is moving fast and it's an opportunity for commercial airlines to really get in the game. >> the other changes that people will see, they're allowed to use credit cards in cuba that is new. so cuba will likely see and feel a change. and americans can bring back souvenirs and spend more cash. >> exactly. so it's not only easier to travel there, but easier to travel within cuba. american also be able to use their credit cards. we'll see how that works this weekend when i'm there. it's also easier for cuban-americans to send money back to cuba. you're going to see enhanced telecommunication services. so lots of good things. also enhanced trade. so that's going to be good for business and the economy of cuba and for the united states. >> interesting that these new

rules don't allow for basic tourism, but this is a welcome mat to cuba. so what might the typical traveler expect in a trip there? >> yeah i mean i think in the short term it's going to be business as usual. just more people. speaking to our folks on the ground there actually a lot of the hotels are already full. there seems to be a lot more americans already traveling there now. so things are already starting to really pick up steam there. some of the best hotels in havana seem to be fully booked through march. so it's interesting to watch just the demand that's happened since these two announcements have occurred. >> the curiosity over the country, because of the restrictions for so many decades. but is there a concern, joe, that these relics from the past that are cuba that those will be going away as far as artisans that use ancient machines and

cars from the '50s? >> yeah, i think those concerns are valid. when a country opens up in the way that cuba will you definitely see an evolution in the way things happen there. and so you know hopefully there will be a nice balance in terms of how to preserve some of the culture and history of what's been in cuba. but also you want to be able to see that destination evolve and be able to usher in a new era of tourism and infrastructure to help support that tourism. >> he is headed to cuba in just a few hours. so he'll have more to say when we comes back. coming up the nascar driver who insists his ex is a trained killer. push your enterprise and you can move the world. ♪ ♪ but to get from the old way to the new you'll need the right it infrastructure.

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winner also be announced february 22. whatever is going on in nascar is reading just like a hollywood script. the claims made by the former champion kurt busch, testifying in court against his ex-girlfriend, are extraordinary. here's andy schultz. >> who's your daddy now? >> the assassin angelina jolie plays in "mr. and mrs. smith" is fictional. but according to kurt busch, his ex-girlfriend is the real life version. while testifying in court, busch said driscoll is a trained assassin who would go on covert missions around the world. the family court battle stems from a november incident where she claims that busch assaulted her. the state attorney general is still investigating the case. busch says it's a made-up lie after the relationship ended. >> i'm just glad the truth got told. >> reporter: busch says claimed

that -- >> bin laden is there. you're going to kill him for me. >> reporter: during court testimony, busch told a story about one time when they were in texas, busch said driscoll once went out in camouflage gear only to return later wearing an evening gown covered in blood. far fetched? maybe. but busch is standing by his story, saying everybody on the outside can tell me i'm crazy, but i lived on the inside and saw it firsthand. she is a senior executive of a company called front line defense systems, and is described on the company website as having spent the majority of her career in the narcotics and intelligence world. in a phone interview with the associated press, driscoll said these statements about being a trained assassin are ludicrous and without basis and are an

attempt to destroy my credibility. i find it interesting that some of the outlandish claims come straight from a fictional movie script i've been working on for eight years, and she says busch has proofread. >> wild story. driscoll told the sports network espn that busch needs professional help to deal with alcoholism and depression. he's not responded to those remarks. stay tuned. thank you for watching this hour. errol barnett is up next with the latest news from around the world, including details on the pentagon's plans to end u.s. troops to train moderate syrian rebels. he'll have that right after this.

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