welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm rosemary church. >> and i'm errol barnett. ahead this hour -- stepped up security inside several european nations following the deadly attacks in paris. now we're learning that australia has raised its terror alert level. also ahead, the rich are getting richer. we will look at a new report which claims the wealthiest 1% could soon own more than the rest of us combined. later, the war of words inside hollywood over the oscar-nominated film "american sniper." we begin with this breaking news this hour. we've just learned that isis is demanding $200 million in exchange for the lives of two

japanese hostages. >> that's right. the group released a video on line tuesday that shows a man threatening to kill the hostages who are kneeling next to him wearing orange jumpsuits, an image that we have unfortunately become all too familiar with. the man criticized what he called the japanese government support for an effort to stop the islamic state. it's not clear yet how long the hostages have been held. we're going to continue to look for more information on this and the japanese prime minister possibly he's heading on a trip shortly, could make commence on this. if he does, we'll bring it to you. two japanese hostages isis demanding a $200 million ransom for. >> we'll keep an eye that story. want to turn to the latest out of belgium a manhunt is underway for a 27-year-old belgian moroccan isis fighter, the alleged leader of a suspected terror cell that was raided last week. >> authorities are also chasing a number of other leads in

france. phil black has details on the terror investigations that have those countries on high alert. >> reporter: heavily armed security on the streets of brussels and antwerp. a sight that country hasn't seen in 35 years. officials say five belgian nationals have been charged with participation in a terrorist organization following last week's raids. the hunt for the presumed mastermind been the suspected terror cell continues according to belgium's justice minister upon authorities-- minister. the group which continued individuals returning from syria planned to target officers. orders for the failed terror plot may have come from isis according to belgian newspaper reports. france also remains on high alert while the search continues for the person whose dna was found on the kosher market assailants assailant's gun. sources tell cnn another person whose dna was found in jam dee kuehl -- in amedy coulibaly's

car, is one of nine suspects in custody. coulibaly had proclaimed allegiance to isis. there's growing tornado terror groups are directing european recruits to return home and launch attacks. european official are meeting in brussels on monday to tackle the spread of terrorism and potential threats. >> as the threat is not only the one we faced in paris but also spreading in many other parts of the world starting from muslim countries. we need to strengthen our way of cooperating together. first of all in our countries and then internally. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: the spate of violence began when the crashkouachi brothers attacked the "charlie hebdo" office. officials thought cherif gave up terror activities when he started selling counterfeit goods. they started monitoring -- they stopped monitoring him. a source tells cnn he stopped

using the weapons. another alert on one of the brothers' phones. by the time it reached the main domestic spy agency a source tells cnn the brothers were no longer under surveillance. investigators believe cherif and his brother traveled to yemen in 2011 via amman. even though cherif's passport was confiscated a year earlier. it's believed the brothers received funding from al qaeda in the arabian peninsula which has claimed responsible for the "charlie hebdo" attack. phil black, cnn, brussels. coulibaly and cherif kouachi met in prison where both were radicalized by a fellow prisoner. there were growing concerns that french prisons are becoming breeding grounds for radicals. our senior international correspondent nic robertson joins us live from paris. seems as the days go on we learn more and more examples of how french officials dropped the ball in following the kouachi

brothers for years. what new details are emerging today? >> reporter: we just heard phil black in his report there list some of those failings another of the failings we understand is when the brothers were put under surveillance in 2011. authorities didn't then go into their commuters which contained sermon and preachings of the radical american-born yemeni cleric anwar al awlaki. a group that claim responsible for the "charlie hebdo" attack. that's another one of those failings. they're also learning this morning that four of the nine men being held here by french authorities were taken in front of the magistrate this morning. and they will be -- those four will continue to be held by french authorities for questioning. they're all in their 20s. the other five of those nine that were arrested thursday friday of last week have been released. all of this paints a concerning picture for french authorities

and not least the state of what's happening inside the jails here. inside a french jail prisoners hang bed sheets from a window. yo-yoing they call it flaunting lockdown spreading messages. a gaping hole in prison security. >> it is it is becoming a university of terrorism. >> reporter: cameras are banned yet prisoners including kosher supermarket killer amedy coulibaly shot this themselves several years ago according to journalist at french newspaper "l'mon o n "l'monde." documenting paris life. at the same jail where years earlier "charlie hebdo" killer cherif kouachi met his partner in 2006 and recruiters. >> both young men being in

contact directly for seven months with degal had a terrible effect on them. >> when i come in jail i come -- >> reporter: a 17-year veteran warder at the same jail tells me he is more powerless than ever to keeper. >> sometimes we are -- >> reporter: that's impossible. >> it's hard to do. really. >> reporter: the french justice ministry says 283 people are in french jails on terrorism charges. they judge 152 of those to be radical islamists. and there are growing concerns that they may be trying to radicalize others. the french government says there are close to 67,000 people in jails here. and experts estimate as many as 60% of those are muslims. this man is on the front line. one of nearly 200 imams who visit prisoners. warns without more like him,

extremists get the upper hand. >> translator: prisoners will declare themselves imams and persuade others of their own message and bring them toward radicalization. that's a certainty. until now theaters have not listened to us. >> reporter: the prisoners' video reveals a jail rotting on the inside, dilapidated showers, walls covered in mold, trash on the floors. a system overwhelmed and incubating terror. >> we lack intelligence in prison. there's only one officer of intelligence for 2,000 prisoners in france for all the prisons. so it's not enough. >> reporter: how many terror connects made here still unknown. -- keekzconnects made here still unknown. the authorities are trying to

put those in the mainstream population into greater isolation. all those who are sort of involved in dealing with them inside the prison service are just concerned that the odds that they're up against, the numbers are overwhelming the resources that they have to tackle that. errol? >> nic, the reality is that inside european prisons isn't the only place that jihadis and suspected terrorists are networking. you had this meeting of e.u. foreign ministers in brussels. but the general take, didaway was -- takeaway was the desire for information sharing. you wonder how did the officials not already know the importance of that in a 9/11 world. it's stunning. >> reporter: oftentimes -- this is sadly and i think people in the intelligence agencies and governments are very aware of it -- it takes a significant shock to the system. the system of intelligence gathering, of sharing information for people to realize that there were actually

flaws in the system. the system was failing. it wasn't working properly as certainly theless that of 9/11 -- the analysis of 9/11 indicates there were areas where perhaps intelligence sharing hadn't been as good as possible. that led to a shakeup in the united states. and it's seeminging to do the same here. it's not the first time shakeups have been called for in intelligence gathering and sharing. the problems internally inside countries between different agencies. the meeting of e.u. foreign ministers highlighted they need to share more information with the countries like syria, like -- like iraq where these groups are at their strongest and where there's stronger information, trains and trails of data and movements about people that help european governments. it's a multi leveled approach upon the-- multileveled approach. again, it isn't until a tragic failure that governments wake up

to the fact that they have problems they must get to grips with errol. >> ten past 9:00 in the morning in paris. thank you very much. more on the global fight against terror later this hour including the hunt for the young woman wanted in the attack on a paris supermarket. cnn speaks exclusively with the men who may have smuggle her into syria. plus, a cease-fire is in place following deadly crashes made on the presidential palace. questions about how long this deal will hold. stay with us. thanks for the ride around norfolk! and i just wanted to say geico is proud to have served the military for over 75 years! roger that. captain's waiting to give you a tour of the wisconsin now. could've parked a little bit closer... it's gonna be dark by the time i get there.

geico. proudly serving the military for over 75 years.

an update on breaking news. isis is demanding $200 million in exchange for the lives of two japanese hostages. the group released a video on line tuesday that shows a man threatening to kill the hostages. those hostages are kneeling next to him wearing orange jumpsuits. >> and that man criticized what he called the japanese government's support for an effort to stop the islamic state. japan's foreign ministry says it is working to verify the authenticity of that video at this hour and says it is "strongly furious at their threat using the life of people as shields. the government says it will make every effort to free the japanese nationals. >> we expect to hear from prime minister abe. he is actually visiting in jerusalem right now. but he is intending on holding a

news conference and talking to the media about this situation. we will bring that to you, at least the details from the news conference when that happens. it is tuesday morning in yemen. and the government and rebels are poised to make a cease-fire agreement official after a day of heavy fighting. some say that agreement is a fragile one right now. [ gunfire ] >> health officials say nine people were killed and 67 injured in clashes around the presidential palace. yemen's prime minister went into hiding after gunmen shot at him. >> barbara starr reports the turmoil raises fears a power vacuum could create a safer haven for terrorists. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: gunfire, rebel fighters' checkpoints. smoke rising near the presidential palace. yemen facing chaos. many say this is the beginning

of an attempted coup by houthi rebels even as there were claims of a cease-fire. >> i do not think that the cease-fire will hold. that's what my gut tells me based off what we've been watching the past year going on in sanaa and throughout yemen. >> reporter: shia houthi rebels backed by iran have been challenging authority for months. the information minister tells cnn the yemeni prime minister is surrounded by militias stationed on rooftops around his home. what is the state of control of the government? >> almost nonexistent. >> reporter: are you telling me the government is not in control? >> yes, shocking, you had? >> reporter: for u.s. embassy workers, if there is an order to leave, they could be ordered by state department-chartered aircraft but only if it is safe enough to drive to the airport. if the airport closes there is

another route. cnn has learned the u.s. military has just increased its alert level. marines and special forces on board the "uss iwo jima" offshore are ready to go immediately according to a u.s. official in the region. v22 and ch53 helicopters could land on the embassy grounds and quickly airlift out everyone including nearly 100 marines already there guarding the embassy. an even deeper national security worry as yemen unravels al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, aqap headquartered in yemen and laying claim to the paris "charlie hebdo" attacks has a dangerous advantage. >> when there is turmoil, it's great for aqap because everyone is focusing on internally in the country, and aqap kind of sits in the shadows and continues to have some safe haven, continue to train. >> reporter: so for the united

states, what to do now especially about al qaeda in yemen? u.s. official say the situation inside that country is so perilous there is little they can do but watch and wait. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. pro russia rebels have launched new attacks on ukrainian government forces in the battle over the donetsk airport. it's the latest in an especially bloody week of clashes between the two sides. months of fighting have destroyed parts of eastern ukraine and torn communities apart. the conflict has killed both soldiers and civilians. as matthew chance reports, there doesn't appear to be a clearen in sight. -- clear end in sight. >> reporter: after months of heavy fighting for control of donetsk airport, these dramatic

images captured by an aerial drone paint a startling picture of the devastation. just months ago, this was a modern functioning terminal. a gleaming symbol of economic progress in eastern ukraine. now it's a symbol ruined. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: recent days have seen a sharp upswing in violence and bloodshed. ukrainian government forces on the offensive using heavy weapons, seizing areas seized by pro russian rebels. it's raising concerns moscow may intervene as it's been accused of doing in the past. >> translator: the decision was taken to form a separation which was successful. we have almost completely cleansed the territory of the airport which belongs to ukrainian forces as marked by military separation lines. >> reporter: but civilians continue to be caught in the crossfire. last week at least 12 people were killed on this passenger bus. shelled as it stood at a government checkpoint southwest

of donetsk. both sides blame each other for the tragedy, though it seems to have hardened attitudes in kiev. a police march in the ukranian capital, kiev to mourn the victims, the country's president was defiant. >> translator: we will not give up any piece of ukrainian land. we will return it restore the ukrainian nation and will show one more highly important factor of our victory is our unity. >> reporter: but ukraine appears far from united and may instead be on the brink of yet more violence. matthew chance, cnn, moscow. we're still following the breaking news in to cnn this hour. isis demanding $200 million in exchange for the lives of two japanese hostages. according to a video they've posted on line. we are waiting to hear from japanese prime minister shinzo abe. we expect him to make a

statement. if he does come out in the next few minutes in jerusalem, we'll stand by and get you the latest on the breaking development and join you after this short break. curling up in bed with a favorite book is nice. but i think women would rather curl up with their favorite man. but here's the thing: about half of men over 40 have some degree of erectile dysfunction. well, viagra helps guys with ed get and keep an erection. and remember, you only take it when you need it. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours.

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we do want to update you on breaking news. isis is demanding 2 $200 million in exchange for the lives of two japanese hostages. and for the first time, we are showing you a snapshot of the video. we've decided to just show the

still rather than the whole video. >> but it is something we've seen before and the image is disturbing. the group released this tuesday. you see the man in black, two men in orange jumpsuits kneeling. the man criticized what he called japanese government support for an effort to stop isis. japan's foreign ministry says it's working to verify the authenticity of the video ands it is strongly furious at the threat using the life of people as shields. how it the government says it will make every effort to free the japanese nationals. we expect to hear soon from japan's prime minister, shinzo abe. for more on this we want to turn to cnn's will ripley. he joins us live from beijing. very disturbing development. and of course as i mentioned, we have chosen to still that shot from the video in order not to give them any more publicity than isis wanting out of this.

talk to us about the situation. what do we know about those two hostages and how shinzo abe is likely to respond as we wait to hear from him as he visits jerusalem? >> reporter: it's gut wrenching to the images and to see that video and listen to this now-familiar message from isis. and that familiar isis executioner believed to be jihadi john responsible for the executions of so many others from so many other countries and now japan. two people two citizens of japan, a passivist country that doesn't believe in military action aside from self-defense, though citizens are seen in a similar situation kneeling next to him. we know that one is a journalist. according to his twitter account, he has filed reports for a number of major news outlets, was covering the crisis in the middle east. the other has been reported

about extensively in japan. his become story -- his back story is a little unclear, but his website claims he owns a private military company, a security firm if you would. although it's not clear whether he actually had much security training. the public reaction to him when his capture was announced in the fall in japan was not quite so favorable because people were confused as to what this man was doing in syria and aleppo in the first place. he had traveled there on his own after some personal problems reportedly in japan. the timing of this significant, of course because prime minister abe just a couple of days ago pledged $200 million in nonmilitary support to fight isis. the prime minister joining a number of other nations around the world, trying to fight this group which is responsible for so many deaths executions torture, repression. we know about it we've covered it extensively. then you have these two japanese

hostages miraculously appear on video as isis does on social media. and the threat this if the japanese government doesn't pay isis $200 million, that these people will be executed. it's obvious -- there are no words to describe what the families of these people are going through, and the shock that's going to be felt in japan. again, it's a passivist country, a country -- a country horrified at the thought of having soldiers off to war and having them fall into harm's way. and now to see video of two citizens potentially in serious danger. they are in serious danger not potentially. they are in seriou danger. and we'll of course be listening closely to what the prime minister has to say in the coming minutes here. >> as we talk about this -- and very distressing images of course. we know that the world has had to deal and struggle with this question of the payment of ran

volumes. most of the countries -- of ransoms. most of the countries, they are willing to do that. the united states as we know does not. what is the situation for japan? what are we likely to hear from the prime minister? >> well already the indications are coming from the japanese government that they're not going to bow down to terrorists. that they're going to work with all appropriate countries to put forth the maximum torte to secure the re-- effort to secure the release of these hostages. a payment of $200 million is not going to happen i think it's safe to say. that's not going to happen. what other measures or steps may be taken, that is going to be up to the japanese government to decide. you know this is in some ways not an unprecedented situation. abe has dealt with other hostage situations before. if you think about algeria, recently i believe ten hostagesened up die flooding a hostage -- hostages ended up

dying in a hostage incident there. it's not the first time. but we'll see what the japanese government says. this demand, this demand of $200 million within three days that -- countries that have paid ransom they've paid much smaller amounts. it's been negotiated and drawn out over a series of months or even years to secure release. not something that's pulled together in three days. >> right. that's right. of course as you say, we will wait and see whether we can get that live feed shinzo abe, japan's prime minister expected to say some words on this very matter while he's visiting there in jerusalem. will ripley, many thanks to you, joining us from beijing. now we are learning what's on the cockpit voice recorders from the doomed airasia flight a5801 and why the investigation is leading away from terrorism. the jetliner went down in the java sea last month killing everyone on board. official say they don't hear gunfire or an explosion in the

flight's final moments. however, they still don't know exactly what caused the plane to crash. all right. time to get a check on the international weather forecast now. we turn to our meteorologist, pedera pedram. what are we starting with? >> a celestial line that will lead to flooding in coastal communities. now in the earn united states we're a few hours away from this maximizing itself in portions of the san francisco bay area. you look at the sun, earth, moon and the closest proximity across the region where we're going to have really maximum tug and effect there on the coastal communities. rip currents going to be an issue. some coastal flooding the bike paths, parking lots across san marin county going to take on water. the surge could come up to about seven feet high over the next several hours which is what we saw on monday morning and certainly tuesday morning. the theme still is present here with high pressure in place, weather will be nice. some morning fog, afternoon sunshine. the them to across san

francisco, while from seattle to portland also seeing generally quiet weather here with high pressure in place. not a bad setup the next couple of days. quite unusual to see multiple days of sunshine this time of year across the pacific northwest. they'll take it before some rain pushes in by friday afternoon. and long term, not bad. the western united states looking at a pretty impressive setup there with warming weather in the forecast. while the eastern united states does see a cooldown in the forecast beginning this weekend into later next week. if you're traveling out toward midwestern united states some snow showers going to be prevalent. cleveland into detroit, even chicago. minimal snow showers, but visibility will be reduced in houston even with the fog, delays from 45 minutes up to 90 minutes over the next couple of days. that's the latest in the weather across the united states. more news coming up.

welcome back, everyone. you are watching cnn. i'm rosemary church. >> i'm errol barnett. an update on our breaking news this hour -- isis is demanding $200 million in exchange for the lives of two japanese hostages. this, what you're seeing now, is a still image from a video the group posted on line tuesday. the masked man in the video criticized what he called the japanese government's support for an effort to stop the islamic state. japan's foreign ministry condemn condemned the video and its message. and the government says it will make every effort to free these men. in belgium, a manhunt is underway for the leader of a suspected terror cell that was raided last week. authorities are looking for a 27-year-old belgian moroccan isis fighter. his last known location was believed to be greece.

france remains on high alert now while investigators search for the person whose dna was found on amedy coulibaly's gun magazine. also investigators say dna found in a car used to transport the kosher market gunman was traced to one of the suspects already in custody. meanwhile, french police are still searching for coulibaly's partner. >> senior correspondent arwa damon has a look at the path she may have taken out of france and into syria. >> reporter: hayat boumeddiene today among europe's most-wanted women. on january 2nd before her name was internationally known, boumeddiene cleared customs at ease with istanbul's secondary airport. something raised a red flag with turkish authorities, and the two were placed under surveillance. they checked into this hotel on the asian side of istanbul were monitored for a couple of days. after engaging in what was

described as tourist activities the surveillance stopped. this happened in the days leading up to the paris attacks. following the attacks, the turks alerted the french that they had already gathered some intelligence on hayat boumeddiene. the french then provided the turks with phone numbers that they were able to use to further track her movements. hayat boumeddiene's last known location the turkey/syria border. it's become a key hub for transenjoy the syria. the -- transit into syria. the population swelled due to refugee inreduction in -- influx. just about anyone can blend in. from here plenty of ways to the next journey. we meet two men close to the border. they are both professional smugglers. for the last few months, the soldiers have really cracked down, one says. there are always security breaches and drtalternate routes to

be exploited. the other tells us a woman in all black paid him two to three times the going rate. right around when turkish authorities believe boumeddiene disappeared into syria. "she said i will give you 100 lira just to get to israel," he recalls. "she was entire covered in black like i am now." it's the first time since the war in syria began that either have taken a woman across on her own. the smuggler says she was of medium build and guesses her age to be like boumeddiene, in her mid 20s. show spoke classical arabic and did not have a syrian accent. that, he chamber of commerce is all he knows. "i saw the 100 lira and did not ask anything," he tells us. on the back of a motorcycle they headed down this road dotted with military stopping points. we were stopped before we could get to the area where this woman

crossed into syria. but it is further down the road in a similar sort of landscape. there is no way of knowing if it was boumeddiene. within an hour of speaking to the smuggler the woman covered in black was in syria. jarwa arwa damon, cnn. >> per capita belgium produces more radicalized muslims than any other european country. a senior international correspondent, ivan watson reports, a mix of yaengz and unemployment has -- alienation and unemployment has helped make belgium a recruiting ground for terrorists. >> reporter: police on alert in the heart of europe. beefing up security after authorities in belgium say they foiled a suspected home-grown jihadi plot aimed at attacking the police. the belgian government struggling to deal with the threat posed by hundreds of belgians who have gone to syria to join isis. have some of these people gallon syria? >> yes yes, of course.

we have several people who left to fight in syria, and some came back. and that's the danger. >> reporter: this is the mayor of a down-on-its-luck neighborhood in the belgian capital. the largely husband lip community with many first, second and third generation immigrants from north america suffers from soaring youth unemployment. over the past week police carried out multiple counter terror raid here. the lone man arrested after a shoot-out with police left two suspected jihadis dead last "newsweek" a 25-year-old belgian of moroccan descent from the area. his attorney says his client is not a terrorist. >> translator: he went there to bring a pair of sneakers without knowing there were guys related to international terrorism. the moment he sat down the policemen started shooting.

he managed to escape by jumping out the window. the other two, however, took their guns and responded and got killed. >> reporter: at this muslim youth center in brussels young belgians call news of the alleged terror plot a nightmare for their community. >> we condemn what's happened. this is not our vision our understanding of our allegiance. we face radicalization and xenophobia. >> reporter: they face discrimination because of their faith. >> who is going to be the next person? >> reporter: they all know people who have done tempted by internet propaganda -- who have been tempted by internet propaganda urging belgians to join the isis jihad in syria. >> i have a friend of mine who told me yeah, i think i will go there. i was like why? he said i have nothing to lose here. i was like, you have nothing to win there. you just won't go?

>> reporter: everyone seems to agree this toxic mix of alienation and unemployment has helped make the capital of europe a recruiting ground for terrorists. ivan watson, cnn, brussels. we'll take a short break. still to come here on cnn, why some are now saying the united states started the cyber-war with north korea years ago. we'll be right back.

we want to update you on breaking news. isis demanding $200 million in exchange for the lives of two japanese hostages. we're showing you a snapshot of the video which the group released on tuesday. >> we've been looking at this the past hour. you see a man, four dressed in black in the center understood to be jihadi john. he apparently speak with a british accent. standing next to two men in orange jumpsuits who are kneeled on the ground. the man criticized what he called the japanese government's support for an effort to stop the islamic state. japan's foreign ministry says it's working to verify the authenticity of the video and says it is "strongly furious at the threat using the life of people as shields." >> the government says it will make every effort to free the japanese nationals. we do expect to hear soon from japan's prime minister shinzo abe, who will hold a news conference from jerusalem. we're looking at that live shot now and waiting for him to speak

and fine out what he's going to say. looks like we've got some people coming out here. we will keep an eye on that. we'll bring it to you when it happens. all right. we are waiting for north korean reaction to a new report the u.s. national security agency has broken into the same computer networks north korea uses to launch cyber-attacks. the revelation came out in a "new york times" article alleging that's how the u.s. quickly discovered north korea. it was behind the attack on sony pictures. here's brian todd. [ applause ] >> reporter: tonight, kim jong-un knows how the u.s. government came to point the finger at him for the sony cyberattack. >> we can confirm that north korea engaged in this attack. >> reporter: how could the president be so confident a funk after sony had been hacked? "the new york times" reports the national security agency america's super-secret eavesdroppers, had infiltrated north korea's shadowing

cyber-warriors since 2010. >> it appears that what happened was nsa established footholds in various parts of north korea's computer infrastructure. they basically established footholds in the chinese region, and they apparently established footholds in the malaysian region. >> reporter: the times time reports the nsa began spying on north korea's computer networks after becoming increasingly concerned that the regime was bolstering its teams of hackers. kim jong-un's government has a secretive hacking team called bureau 121 and a larger cyber-branch called the reconnaissance general bureau commanded by a general that's a former bodyguard for kim's father and grandfather. >> one of the things the north koreans have done is built up effective and strong teams with skills and training designed to break into computers and destroy them and to gather intelligence. >> reporter: if the u.s. intelligence community knew kim's hackers were building their capabilities did anyone in the u.s. government warn sony that it could be attacked?

north korea had warned as early as last june that it considered sony's move "the interview" an act of war. >> nice tank! is that valley? >> it was a gift to my grandfather --in stalin. >> in my country it's pronounced stallone. >> reporter: an intelligence official acknowledged that sony was not warned. prior to the sony hack the u.s. intelligence community noticed north korea doing nothing more than its usual run-of-the-mill attacking activity. fishing emails. there was never any indication that such a massive cyberattack against sony could be in the works. brian todd, cnn, washington. another big story we're following -- winter is gripping some of the major cities of western europe this morning. our meteorologist joins us to tell us how cold it's getting out there. pedram? >> a couple degrees below zero in parts of london. well below average. colder in london than in moscow this morning. want to show you the scenes places across the u.k. over the past couple of days.

take you to that historic city west of london natural thermal spa in full swing. visitors enjoying some of the warm waters there. this is in fact the only natural thermal spa in britain and also atop a roof across bath. a spectacular sight. these are scenes across bedfordshire northwest of london. flurries possible as far south as london later tonight. look at the observations. down to three below in london. moscow one below. it's comparable in london as it is in oslo. impressive cold spell across the region. it's expected to continue over the next several days. high temperatures for this time of year should be around eight degrees celsius, upper 40s fahrenheit. look at this only gets there finally come monday afternoon. gets above average. that's because the jet stream has taken a nose-dive into northern africa. some of the jets this far south, the coldest air and weather north of the region precisely

what we had monday afternoon. look at the images out of the french riviera. waterspouts, helicopter, what a scene that would be flying by. the perspective eerie, but not unusual to see across the region of the mediterranean. when we have active thunderstorm we get rotation to spawn such weather. 60 to 100 millimeters of rainfall three to four inches came down across southern europe. we had snowfall last week, and temperatures have warmed now to the south. sarajevo bosnia snow significant flooding across the region. speaking of flooding remember the storm system that impacted the pope over the weekend with tremendous rainfall? remnants of it not done with yet. pushing toward japan, if your travel plans take you to tokyo, western japan evening you're going to get in on active weather because of the tropical remnants as they push north. of course losing all tropical characteristics. still, going to run into difficulties when it comes to travel disruptions in and around northern japan because of the

weather pattern over the next couple of days. could see impressive snowfall totals, as well up in the higher elevations up to maybe ten centimeters or so. and a quick glance. portions of the middle east active weather as well in the middle east where it typically is quiet. of course, this time of year is when you pick up the bulk of moisture in afghanistan, also pakistan. some decent snowfall beginning to come down. kabul going to get in on significant accumulations in the coming days possibly over ten centimeters in a few of these spots. even around southern portions of pakistan rainfall possible in the coming few days, as well. we've updated you on weather. more news and updates coming up.

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go to livewatch.com. plug & protect is not available in stores so go to livewatch.com right now. that's livewatch.com. you are looking at live pictures now of a news conference in jerusalem where japan's prime minister shinzo abe, is speaking and responding to isis. demands for $200 million in exchange for the lives of two japanese hostages. he is speaking in japanese. we do not have a translation at this point. we are monitoring this. and anything of significance that the prime minister shares with the assembled media we will share with you. the next story has a mix of oscar nominations, box office records, and controversy. >> yeah. the movie "american sniper" has people flocking to neerts. the clint east/wood

[ -- clint eastwood/bradley cooper film has people packing theaters. >> reporter: people packing theaters to see "american sniper," the real-life story of the man known as america's deadliest sniper. navy s.e.a.l. chris kyle played by bradley cooper. the film is breaking box office records this debut weekend, earning $105 million in weekend ticket sales and six academy award nominations. >> i loved it. i loved it. >> it was emotionally a stressful movie, i thought. >> it was pretty good. very compelling. >> very good. excellent. >> reporter: not so excellent, however, in the minds of some in hollywood. a actor seth rogen tweeting "american sniper remines me of the movie in the third act of "inglorious bastards." and michael moore, "my uncle killed by sniper in world war ii

ii. we were taught snipers were cowards, will shoot you in the back. snipers aren't heroes and invaders are worse." five hours later, "but if you're on the roof of your home defending it from invaders who have come 7,000 miles you are not a sniper you are brave, you are a neighbor." moore's comments about cowards getting pushback. >> for somebody who spent their career on freedom of speech and expression to be criticizing an individual like chris kyle who exemplifies the very best that's biting the hand that feeds you. >> reporter: the moviegoers we spoke to also took issue with the perceived criticism. >> i think he was fighting for this country. he was doing what he thought was right. >> none of us who don't serve or can't verve no idea what -- can't serve have no idea what our soldiers are going through. >> reporter: whether moore was talking about the film "american sniper" is sort of a gray area. tweeting "hmm i never tweeted one word about "american

sniper," chris kyle. i said my uncle killed by sniper in world what two, only cowards would do that to him and others." he goes on to say, "so people want me to tweet something about "american sniper." great acting powerful message, sad ending. there." then sending people to his facebook page for further clarification. " regardless, one thing seems clear on the streets among the masses who saw "american sniper" -- >> it's not a coward. a man doing what he was told to do and what he was trained to do. >> i'm ready. >> reporter: george howell, cnn, chicago. we'll quickly get you new information just in to cnn. the paris prosecutor's officer says four suspects arrested in a terror sweep friday will appear in court today to face criminal charges. also the five other suspects arrested on friday have been released. we of course have been watching this breaking news bringing you updates on the two

hostages that isis had. they're demanding $200 million for their release. we know shinzo abe, japan's prime minister, is talking in jerusalem. so far he has said that he demands the immediate release of the two japanese hostages. are you watching cnn. i'm -- you are watching cnn. i'm rosemary church. >> i'm errol barnett. stay with us. ♪♪♪ when it comes to medicare, everyone talks about what happens when you turn sixty-five. but, really, it's what you do before that counts. see,

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>> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >> the breaking news this morning, a chilling new threat from isis releasing a new video overnight. that as the manhunt in europe intensifies for the leaders of the operational terror cell. live coverage starts now. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm john berman. it is tuesday, january 20th. christine romans is off this morning. we have breaking news. a disturbing new isis video threatening new hostages. this time it appears to be an attempt to extort $200 million from the japanese government. joining us now with the latest