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Police are Charging Temple Authorities in Kerala with Culpable Homicide; Mohamed Abrini Admits to Being Involved in Brussels Airport Bombing; More Protests Expected in Bangladesh Following the Brutal Murder of a Secular Blogger; Bernie Sanders Picks up the Wyoming Caucus Seat. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired April 10, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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


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ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST: Fire severely damages the historic temple in India leaving four dead in India plus a mystery man no more.

Police in Belgian confirm Mohamed Abrini is the "Man in a Hat" at the scene of the Brussels airport bombing.

And India welcomes Britain's Prince William and his wife Katherine on their very first visit to the country.

Hello everyone, I'm Zain Asher. And this is CNN NEWSROOM.

We begin in Southern India where police are charging temple authorities in Kerala with culpable homicide. Ninety-eight people are now confirmed dead of the fire at a temple. More than 250 people are being treated in hospitals. The flame started when a firework show lit the massive place early Sunday morning during a festival.

Let me get more now on this terrible tragedy. Mallika Kapur joins us live now from Mumbai.

So, Mallika, this does told really just continues to rise. What more do we know about what specificity caused this fire?

MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the combination of the fire and people suffering from burns and it's also a result of people being crushed under the rubble. Thus, some of the details we've just learned when I spoke with someone who's on the scene, there right now. I just spoke to this person, Cuban Isabel (ph), who said that the scene there is really grim and police have been pulling out bodies from under the rubles, some of them charged so badly that it's being impossible to identify who this people are.

And she said that the building soak (ph) so violently with the impact of this fire that several of the buildings within the temple complex have fallen down. And thus, here, when you look at the pictures, you see a lot of rubbles. So it's a combination of buildings being, you know, building falling of the rubbles with people catching their breathe (ph) and of course there is -- there are burned, there are people who died from suffocation. And it seemed that she said it's, you know, it's very, very grim.

Interestingly she said that the inner tank of the main shrine where the babies (ph) are kept, that seems to be okay but the surrounding buildings within the complex have been destroyed and two of them have been completely guarded.

ASHER: So you know that Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is on his way to the scene? What has he been saying about this tragedy?

KUPAR: Prime Minister Modi reacted very quickly to this tragedy. He is on his way right now. He has ordered helicopters to be mobilized to airlift those who are critically injured to hospitals which have better facilities. In fact, we're just learning that a helicopter should landing any minute as we speak at a football field nearby, part of the first responders team. And Prime Minister Modi, the morning, you know, treating his sorrow saying that he is -- it's heartrending and shocking beyond words tears on his way, he's taking along with him a team of doctors, including burn specialist and he's also announced that compensation package about $750 for those who've been injured and about $3000 for (inaudible) for people who've lost their lives for their families.

But a lot of angry people of the ground there was so (inaudible). You know what? Money isn't enough. What we want are answers. We want to know how a celebration was turned into such a deadly tragedy. Where were the security measures? Were there any security measures? How could this happen to a lot of angry voices on the ground near the temple right now, Zain.

ASHER: Yeah, especially with over a hundred confirmed dead and of course that (inaudible) has continued to rise.

Mallika Kapur live for us there. Thank you so much. I appreciate that.

To Belgian now. Well, authorities are making major advances in a Brussel terror investigation. Mohamed Abrini admitted to police that he is the mysterious suspect seen in Surveillance video before and after the airport bombing.

Abrini was arrested on Friday in connection to last November's attacks in Paris. Investigators believe that he could really be a crucial piece in terms of finding out more about the terror network throughout Europe.

Frederik Pleitgen is joining us live now from Brussel.

So, Fred, just walk through what authorities can learn from Abrini in terms of the planning and the organization of the Brussels attack?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDNET: Well, the Brussels attacks and the Paris attacks (inaudible), they believe that he could very well be an important figure in both of those and of course also, give them additional information as to the wider cell that might be behind all of this. And that's not just important to try and find out how the Paris attacks could happen and how the Brussels attacks could happen, but of course also to try and prevent something similar happening in the future.

[03:05:06] The big question from the authorities is going to be how many people are still out there or -- so there are other people other there who may have helped this network logistically, who may have provided some sort of other support like safe maybe to this people. The interesting thing that we have to keep in mind is that every time a high profile terrorist suspect has been captured by the Belgian police, he's always been (inaudible) private department with some sort of people that he might have known from the past.

Mohamed Abrini was arrested with two other people. Salah Abdeslam, who was arrested right before the Brussels attacks he was arrested in a household with several other people as well. So the big question is how big is the network that could possibly still be out there? Then of course, the big question is what about the Brussels attacks, how were they contested? Of where did the supplies come from? For instance, make this make these bombs. And then what sort of rule did Mohamed Abrini and the others play in this terror attack. Was he someone who might have been a minor facilitator? Was he someone who maybe would suppose to blow himself up but then didn't? Or was he someone who was guiding the suicide bombers for instance at the airport to their targets and were trying to escape and possibly mastermind other attacks. So there's certainly are a lot of questions that the authorities here in Brussels will have for Mohamed Abrini.

It's interesting to see that at this point in time, it does appear to be at least to a certain extent cooperating with them.

ASHER: Why? He's already given quite a bit of information to authorities. I'm just curious in your experience about how right is it that a terrorist would actually be this cooperative at the stage of investigation?

PLEITGEN: Well, first of all, you're absolutely right. There is a lot of information that he has already given to authorities about (ph). Well, first thing that he said is yes indeed he is the third man on that surveillance photo that was put out from the Brussels airport. But he also apparently in detail, map out the route that he took from the airport toward Central Brussels right after those attacks took place.

Do you remember that a couple of days ago, the Belgian authorities put out a video essentially showing the so called "Man in a Hat" leaving the Brussels airport and then going towards Central Brussels, he said that, yes, he did that, he dump his jacket along the way and he said that in the end at some point, he sold his hat, which seems quite bizarre to some people that a man on the run would do something like that.

But it's certainly is quite rare for someone like that to cooperate with authorities or recall for instance Salah Abdeslam when he was captured in the beginning. His lawyer said yes, he will cooperate with the authorities. But then all of a sudden that was changed, he said no, he wouldn't cooperate with them anymore and only a day later, the Brussels attacks then actually happened.

Now, one of the things that we have to keep in mind is that you always have to take something like this with a grain of salt, even if you might be cooperating with authorities. Now, will that continue also? Is he telling the authorities the truth? Because keep in mind that this man, at this point in time, is implicated essentially in two cases of mass murder in two major European countries.

ASHER: Right. And I'm standing curious as to why he left the airport and didn't directly participate in those attacks. I'm sure authority is going to be looking to find out onto that as well.

Frederik Pleitgen was there. Thank you so much. I appreciate that.

You know, (inaudible) Tuesday, John Kerry has arrived in Hiroshima, Japan. He was greeted by U.S. Ambassador of Japan, Caroline Kennedy. He's meeting with other foreign minister from G7 countries, to discuss, Ukraine, North Korea and nuclear arms.

Late of Sunday, Secretary Kerry will visit a memorial of the people killed in the first use of a nuclear bomb that happened way back in Hiroshima at 1945, U.S. strike the bomb leading to the end of World War II.

And before heading to Japan, Kerry actually headed a surprise visit to Afghanistan. He met with officials to discuss political inciting there. The staff is planning took off four explosions.

Went off to the Capitol, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh have more.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There're four explosions to seem to mostly hit the diplomatic area of (inaudible) embassies are when it key pause (ph) the infrastructure. Well, they came, we think pretty much minutes off that John Kerry had departed the country. We had a note proof (ph) in airport traveling within (inaudible), with the before we heard there're actually explosions. It's unclear where he was but initial reports. Yes, it was rocket and that we're not hearing of many major injuries at this day, but at later night here, scanned information available. But it really goes to how my home frankly, how fragile security is. Not just hearing (inaudible) even at a time of look down for a key in a pre- visit like this but across the country full stop with this very volatile fighting seasons that's in the (inaudible) expected to stop soon.

John Kerry was here. He said quite clearly to try and sure up the national government here that he helps create (ph) a number of years ago, now, in between President Ashraf Ghani, the president there now, and the man he fought the election against, the man is now the country's CEO, Abdullah, Abdullah that not necessary known to have the best working relationship here.

[03:10:02] Many have said their administrations hammed strong by that rivalry, many key post is left not failed and John Kerry was there to make a very explicit demand that the government should work as hard as they could toward the Afghan people in the months they have left before it hit key deadline for a future (inaudible) to exist frankly.

But above all, I think the agenda here is being about security. A Taliban on the march to inhale man where they are, it keeps resetting (ph) its main city, (inaudible) at the stage and across the country where he (inaudible) openly exerting how lost, yeah, it was a terrible year for Afghan security forces. They lost five and half thousand soldiers in that one year (inaudible) campaign here and of course Afghanistan (inaudible) as well burying hte bronzer of (inaudible) 11000 of them was injured and killed last year, three and a half thousand is actually dead. It is a terrifyingly oblique, some that we might have ahead of us here in Afghanistan. And I think frankly the fact that (inaudible) put in place to someone like John Kerry, the Chief Diplomat coming here being unable to prevent those four explosions.

Really (inaudible) quite not fragile Afghanistan is and so much that needs to be done to put the Taliban on their bank host (ph). Well, frankly now, they're doing so well in the buckle field that's refusing all demands for 12 (ph) at the table.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN (inaudible).

ASHER: And there's more of next reporting in Afghanistan that we'd like to share with you. You don't hear about that much but there are battles being wage against militants across the country right now.

The white flags don't indicate surrender but instead they show just how far the Taliban have advance.

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Hundreds of Americans and Britains died for (inaudible) many -- in the town of Sangawam (ph) where this picture shows the Afghan army. Recently in heavy crashes but now Afghanistan is quite quickly watching (inaudible).

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ASHER: Nick Paton Walsh brings us a real look to how Afghan soldiers are defecting to the other side in the middle of the fight to say it's (inaudible) from the Taliban. You can watch that on Monday right here of course on CNN.

A Bangladeshi blogger ambushed and killed for expressing his view. He is the speech writer of ISIS materials (ph), murdered in Bangladesh in just year.

We'll have more in the group that is claiming the possibility for this attack. Coming up.

Plus, the royal goes to India (ph). Find out what William and Kate' plan (ph) for their first visit to the country, that's next.

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ASHER: In Southern India, nearly 100 are dead of the fire at this temple pictured here before the tragedy. These are images of the opimus (ph) of the fire place of charge temple authorities with culpable homicide (inaudible) during a festival is what had caused the flame. More than 250 people right now are being treated at hospital.

[03:15:05] We're going in Bangladesh, more protests are expected Sunday following the brutal murder of a Bangladesh Secular Blogger. Machete-wielding attacker ambushed and shot 26-year-old Nazimuddin Samad in Dhaka on Wednesday and al Qaeda wing in South Asia has now claimed responsibility.

CNN's Sumnima Udas is covering this for us (ph) from New Delhi.

So, Sumnima, people are really angry about this. Just give a sense of how large, how robust these protests have been so far.

SUMNIMA UDAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this protest had held by the students Jagannath University, which is the same Unitversity that Nazimuddin Samad went to as a law student. They've been protesting all morning, they've blocked off road around the campus.

Not a huge amount of people that's certainly not the kind of crowds we expect in this part of the world when there are protest, it's (ph) about 200 to 300 protesters there, but still they're loud and robust, nonetheless, Zain. And what they are asking for government action and justice.

They say this has been going on for too long, which almost six bloggers killed in post (ph) 14 months or so. They are saying that, you know, they're tired in their words, they're tired of this culture of impunity in this government entity as well. Because they're perpetuated for the most part of things, they have not arrested. Some arrest happened (inaudible) but most of them are still at large. And even this case, they know arrest has been made (inaudible). These protesters say that they're not just worried about what's been happening but also the larger impact it has on Bangladeshi society because these types of attacks are instilling fear among regular Bangladesh. So they too are to scared to now talk about what they want to say, what they want to write, what they want. And this time, re-precaution, you know, this kind of impact on Bangladeshi society is very dangerous as what they say, Zain.

ASHER: So, Sumnima, is the government now going to do more to address this issue of freedom of speech in Bangladesh?

UDAS: Well, we have been talking to the luminous (ph) and also the home minister of the country, Zain. And what they say is this, look, "Bangladesh is a secular country. Freedom of speech is a constitutional right. But at the same time, the state religion is on more than 90 percent of the country of Bangladeshis are Muslim. So they are these anti-blasphemy laws in place. So Bangladeshi should not do anything basically offending anyone's religion is forbidden." So what they say is, "Say what you want, do what you want but be responsible." Those are the word of this Minister.

And again, what's happening really, I mean, if you talk to the students, they say, you know, "Why should -- in this day and age, why shouldn't we be able to say what we want and do what we want?" But then there's a huge part of Bangladesh that is still very conservative. There's also new clash of ideas that (inaudible) Bangladesh but also in India and also in countries like Pakistan. Zain?

ASHER: All right. Sumnima Udas live with that. Thank you so much. I appreciate that.

Britain's Prince William and his wife, the Duchness of Cambridge, are starting a week long trip to India. The couple will begin (inaudible) to the country by paying respects to the victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Katherine and William with also meet with children's group lingual (ph) with some of Hollywood celebrities and even take part in the game of cricket. The visit aims to strengthen ties between India and the U.K.

So for more now on the royal couple's trip, I want to bring in CNN's Royal Commentator in Historian, Kate Williams.

Kate, thank you so much for being with us.

So, walk us through what exactly is on the agenda (inaudible)?

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: It's a very pact agenda. As you say, they are arriving just about now. It's about lunch time in India at the moment. There (inaudible) terrible bombing in 2008. They're going to lay (inaudible) to those who suffered, those who died in the actual bombings and then they talk to me and they're going to go to a cricket match and meet some members of churches (ph) that foster and they patronize. And then the evening, they're going to have the glittering Bollywood reception, a lots of stars there from the Indian World of Media and Film (inaudible) commission.

And then tomorrow, they're got another busy day of schedule and meetings as well and meeting receptions. And then on the evening, they have birthday party for the queen and then after that, they'll fly to New Delhi, they have a few days in New Delhi having various engagements and then they go to Assam, to a National Park to consider the question of hunting and pouching (ph) and conservation which goes very close to William's heart. After that, it's (inaudible) visit to Britain to visit the royal family there and visit the country.

But (inaudible) have very little experience of and then they come back and the final stop they have is to go Agra and they visit they'll visit the Taj Mahal, that great monument to love, which of course was intransitive that we saw this iconic pictures of Diana so many years so.

[03:20:04] So it's a very pact, very busy schedule and certainly we are going to expect to see a lot of them over the next few days. ASHER: So, Kate, just explain how this visits specifically enchant (ph) this Britain's relationship with India.

WILLIAMS: Well, Britain has a very long historic relationship with India. And there was of course part of the Empire and many Indian people living Britain at the moment as a community for about 1.5 million Indians living here and also it's such an important country to Britain because it's a trading partner. The estimation is that by 2030 is going to be the world's most popular nation, where medium people enter the work force everyday.

So, that's why we say that you conduct just really looking into questions are very important to me, the pouching (ph), the question of conservation but also business that meeting, you know, entrepreneurs in Mumbai, also Bollywood and the media an Indian film. So it really is what I think that you conduct the same care (ph).

The importance of the visit is that India was going to be vital partner for Britain going forward into the next world. Whatever happens in the European referendum we've got coming up, it's going to be somewhere that's very important. In the last state visit that we had was the Queen in 1997. So there's been sometime in laps.

ASHER: All right, and we're actually looking at live pictures right next to you, Kate. Let's see if we can pull them off again. Do we have them? Live pictures, I guess we do not have them. OK, Kate, there we do. So that's Prince William and Kate Middleton -- his wife Catherine I should say -- outside the Taj Mahal.

And you mentioned that this visit is of emotional significance because of course Princess Diana way back in 1992 post in that iconic photograph seating on the bench by herself outside the Taj Mahal. And that was a few months before she announced a divorce to husband Prince Charles, but they are of course paying respect to the 2008 victimes of the Mumbai terror attack that is why they are there. This is a part of a week long trip to India.

OK, Kate Williams, the affiliate of that (ph). Thank you so much. I appreciate that.

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

ASHER: Now, to the U.S. race for the White House. Another win in the west for Bernie Sanders, Democratic presidential candidate picks up the Wyoming caucus seat on Saturday. He's now won eight of the last night states. Sanders won more than 55 percent of the vote bringing a major jolt of momentum in the race against Hillary Clinton.

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SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (D-VT) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that it is very fact to say that we were way, way behind during the first half of this contest, but we are having to save at least a very strong second half. And we are closing very fast and now that Wyoming is behind us. We are here in New York State.

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ASHER: Sanders may have won Wyoming but the 14 delegates up for grabs were evenly split between both candidates. Now, here's public (ph) delegates proposal stands right now. Hillary Clinton leads that with about 1790 delegates. Sanders is quite far behind actually with 1113.

The candidates are currently in New York right now campaigning ahead of that states. Primary Clinton said that she needs to win in order to become a Democratic nominee sooner and focus on beating the Republicans.

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HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you. We are on the path to the nomination but I need to win big here in New York because the sooner I can become a nominee, I can turn and unify the Democratic Party like I did with President Obama back in 2008. And the sooner we can go after the Republicans full time.

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ASHER: The New York Democratic Primary will be held in about nine days from now, Tuesday April 19th. And, New York will be the spotlight for the next week CNN Democratic Presidential Debate. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders facing off live from Brooklyn, that is this Thursday April 14th, 9:00 p.m. on the U.S. TV host right here of course only on CNN. You will not want to miss that.

Republican candidate, Ted Cruz, has won the Colorado Republican State convention winning all 13 delegates at stakes that day. And a total of 34 delegates in the state as well. Right now, Donald Trump leads the national Republican delegate count with 746. Cruz has 538. John Kasich pretty far behind with about 145. Now, a total of 1237 delegates are needed to win the nomination.

The Boston Globe is publishing its historical (ph) front page in Sunday's paper. Warning readers with Donald Trump presidency would look like. So, the top headline on the states (ph) front page said, "Deportations to Vegin."

[03:25:01] Another headline we market sinks as trade war looms. And the joke still its page dated April 9th, 2017 a year from now is in the newspaper's idea section. It was produced by the editorial page of the Globe which is separate from the newsroom.

El Nino had been the catalyst for extreme weather patterns across the world. But it's the fact, though (ph), beginning to diminish. I want to talk more about this with our meteorologist Derek Van Dam.

So what now you're seeing, I'm going to get this right this time, is El Nino becoming La Nina?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Very good.

ASHER: Thank you. VAN DAM: Spanish conjugation, very, very well on that. I like it. Yeah, that's right. Those are the hot topic key words kind of in a weather world. I can bring you into that space and our viewers. Because we blamed so much of the words weather patterns on El Nino well now it's changing to La Nina. And that just has to do with the ocean temperatures in the eastern and central pacific. But that has huge reifications in the world for their patters.

Take a look at those graphic. It's a little bit on the complicated sides. So, let see if I can break it down for you, simplify things. Just to give you an example of what it means to transition into a La Nina season. We have the potential for another extremely dry winter and then already drought plague California. And the potential for a warmer and whether Southeast Asia, as we head into this La Nina season, this is the opposite, let's say, of El Nino. Again, it has to do with the warming waters of the central and eastern pacific. Now, they are starting to cool.

We're looking at an ensemble mean forecast. These series of lines across this region and now we're starting to see this cooling effect takes place. And as we move in to the summer and fall season of 2016, will start to transition into La Nina. What does that mean for you? Well, let's break it down for North America. In El Nino season, which we're just coming off of, which peak in November 2015, we saw that jet stream that drives our world's weather pattern shift southward and it also increases wind shear. This is the change of speed and direction of wind with height or altitude in the atmosphere. This is important because the development of hurricanes get sheared off at the top when that wind shear becomes strong and when we transition into a La Nina season, we see that opposite occur. The jet stream say (ph) northward and we degrees our wind shear which also reduces or actually allows for the increase of hurricanes across the Atlantic. So something we're going to monitor very closely.

I want to end with this though, because this is the interesting. Coming out of Russia, these guys aren't thinking about El Nino or La Nina that is for sure. They're cutting some of the keys and ...

ASHER: Can I tell you something? This is actually my favorite weather segment of the week.

VAN DAM: These guys taken advantage of spring state conditions. Yeah, it's definitely (inaudible).

ASHER: OK, thank you so much for watching.

I am Zain Asher.

Up next is supercharge. First, I'll be back with the quick look at your headline.

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