Return to Transcripts main page
NEWS STREAM
Prominent Businessman In Police Custody In Sri Lanka In Relation To Easter Sunday Bombings; Twenty for 2020; Russian President Says He Is Pleased With His Summit With Kim Jong-Un. Aired: 8-9a ET
Aired April 25, 2019 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, NEWS STREAM (voice over): Tracing mistakes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We didn't take him seriously. The security agencies also didn't take him seriously.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Sri Lanka's Prime Minister admits to CNN some suspects were being monitored.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANIL WICKREMESINGHE, SRI LANKAN PRIME MINISTER: They said we didn't have sufficient evidence to take them in.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am announcing my candidacy for President of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT (voice over): Twenty for 2020. Joe Biden launches his campaign for the White House. And historic first Summit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Vladimir Putin says he has quote "thorough one-on-one talks" with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong-un.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT (voice over); But the focus is on the substance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There was very little detail on any kind of specifics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT (on camera): I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to NEWS STREAM. A prominent businessman is in police custody in Sri Lanka.
He is accused of aiding and abetting two of his sons who have been identified as two of the suicide bombers in the Easter Sunday attacks. You
see him in the middle of this photograph. He is one of the country's wealthiest spice traders. His son, pictured on the right is shaking hands
with the former State Minister of International Trade. Incredibly, the other son had been arrested before at a remote compound in western Sri
Lanka. He was later released.
And on Sunday, he entered a restaurant in this Cinnamon Grand Hotel and blew himself up. Despite the government receiving multiple credible
Intelligence warnings that something like this was about to happen -- 359 people are now dead.
Our Ivan Watson, he spoke directly with the Sri Lankan Prime Minister and Ivan joins us now live from Colombo and Ivan, this was a revealing
interview you conducted with the Prime Minister who made this incredible admission about Sri Lanka tracking and monitoring some of the suspected
attackers. What did he say?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, as the Prime Minister put it, this was a complete breakdown amid the security forces, I
would argue, a systemic one, since there were warnings coming from different sectors of Sri Lankan society as CNN has reported, and also from
overseas, from Indian intelligence.
I asked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, I asked him about the file of the suspected suicide bombers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WICKREMESINGHE: They are middle class, upper middle class, well-educated - - educated abroad. That is surprising because we've been looking at other places for possible ISIS connections. But these people are also known and
they were being monitored by the Intelligence.
WATSON: They were being monitored?
WICKREMESINGHE: They had been monitored by Intelligence.
WATSON: Some of the suicide bombers?
WICKREMESINGHE: Some of them, yes.
WATSON: And yet they were still there able to carry out these deadly attack.
WICKREMESINGHE: Yes. They said they didn't have sufficient evidence to take them in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: And I was really stunned to hear that Kristie, but we've since learned even more from one of the top government officials that we've been
speaking with that one of the suicide bombers who attacked the Cinnamon Hotel here in Colombo, up the road from where I'm standing right now that
he was in fact previously detained around January of this year, when police raided a suspected training camp in the north of the country and unveiled
around 100 kilograms of explosives there.
The police detained this man, identified as Ilham Ibrahim on a four-month detention order, but he was released about a week later, the senior
government official says, due to intervention from another political official. Now, this is one of a pair of brothers, whose father is a
wealthy spice merchant named Mohamed Ibrahim, who is well known in high society here in Sri Lanka as a spice exporter.
In fact, we've seen photos of him with government Ministers and the Prime Minister himself says he may have met Mohamed Ibrahim in the past. That
man, the father, has been detained police say in connection and basically accused of abetting these terrorist attacks on Easter Sunday and two of his
sons have been identified as some of the suicide bombers here.
[08:05:03] WATSON: So you have young men with education coming from elite parts of Sri Lankan society, who are now accused of having helped kill more
than 300 of their fellow citizens, as well as dozens of foreigners who were visiting this country -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yes, very elite individuals. A spice tycoon has been detained, a stunning arrest there. And before we let you go, I wanted to ask you
about the mood ahead of Friday and fear of retaliation, you know, tomorrow, Friday prayers. How concerned -- how afraid are Muslims in Sri Lanka after
last weekend's Easter attacks on Christians?
WATSON: It's a major concern and we're hearing from different sides of society, from government officials as well. They want to avoid any kind of
cycle of revenge violence. And we have heard reports of Muslims in this country feeling harassed. And we've heard also from leaders of the
Christian community that they're urging their grieving and frightened community not to lash out. The Prime Minister said this is a major concern
for him as well.
As for the general mood, well, there are bomb threats on a daily basis. Police carrying out controlled detonations on a daily basis and the
Catholic Church here in Sri Lanka has announced a suspension of all Christian services through the 29th of April due to security threats. So
the situation is still very fluid. The Prime Minister telling me he believes it is possible that there are still terrorists out there, that
there are still sleepers that may want to cause more harm to a country that is barely getting over the incredible loss of life that it saw on Sunday --
Kristie.
LU STOUT: Security is still high, situation very fluid. Ivan Watson reporting live for us from Colombo. Ivan, thank you.
In the U.S., a crowded field made even more crowded of Democratic presidential hopefuls is grown by one more. Former Vice President Joe
Biden has announced his plan to run for President earlier on Thursday via an online video that was aimed squarely at President Donald Trump, evoking
Charlottesville. Biden said that this election amounted to -- in his words -- a battle for the soul of America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: He said there were, quote, "some very fine people on both sides." Very fine people on both sides? But those words, the President of the
United States assigned a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those who have the courage to stand against it.
And in that moment, I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any I had ever seen in my lifetime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Billing himself as the man to beat Trump, Joe Biden has already run for President twice before, so will it be a third-time-lucky for this
76-year-old. Now, Barack Obama's Vice President is expected to run as a centrist Democrat in this crowded field of candidates to the left of him
here. It's like a constellation of candidates. This field is so full, we might need a bigger wall.
Now, Joe Biden will now hit the road with an event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that's happening on Monday, followed by trips to several
early primary and caucus states.
Brian Klaas, Assistant Professor of Global Politics at University College London, and co-author of "How to Rig an Election," what a title. He joins
us now live from London. Sir, thank you for joining us. Joe Biden has finally announced. He has finally made it official. How does he reshape
this race?
BRIAN KLAAS, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF GLOBAL POLITICS, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Well, he is probably the front runner now. I mean, there was a
poll that came out a couple of days ago that showed him with about 30 percent in the Democratic primary field. That's top dog, currently, so
just above Bernie Sanders. And he's a very well-known commodity.
I mean, one of the problems he might have is that there is a lot of progressive energy for a new guard in the Democratic Party, and he is very
much of the old guard. So we'll still have to see how the activists on the left wing of the party, either embrace or reject Joe Biden.
LU STOUT: He's the old guard. He has high name recognition and he also has quite the campaign ad. You know, this ad that was just released, Biden
says that, quote, "We are in a battle for the soul of America." He has launched this full-on attack of President Trump. Is that going to be an
effective strategy?
KLAAS: Yes, so he is more than anyone else in the field trying to make this referendum on Trump, which I think might make sense because it is a
different election. I mean, Trump is not a normal President and he is going against American values in ways that we've never before seen. So
coming out with this Charlottesville center point of his campaign release video makes clear that Trump is making -- sorry, that Biden is making this
a moral referendum. One in which the idea of the battle of the soul of America that Trump is a fundamentally indecent candidate and that Biden
will restore decency to the race.
[08:10:09] KLAAS: So I think he is appealing to people who may be more centrist and reject Trump, but are not as energized on the left as some of
the candidates like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders might be.
LU STOUT: And the question is out there age -- the age factor, is it a factor? Is it important?
KLAAS: Yes, so Joe Biden is 76 right now. By the time he took office, he would be 78 years old, which means that the end of the first term, he'd be
82. So this is one of the factors that he's going to have to answer.
Now, of course, Donald Trump is in his mid-70s. You have Bernie Sanders, who's even older than Joe Biden. But on the other end of the spectrum,
Pete Buttigieg who is one of these sort of electrifying candidates is 37. So, you know, he was -- I think he was not born even when Joe Biden had
been in the Senate for 10 years. So there's a very wide spectrum of age in the Democratic primary.
And I think this is one of the really healthy things about the American political process is that you'll have all of these different people
offering their visions that will be a hopefully positive campaign run and at the end of the day, we'll either have somebody who is very young, a bit
more old or somebody in the middle and I think that's one of the choices that voters are going to have to grapple with as they think about who is
going to beat President Trump in 2020.
LU STOUT: Well said. Brian Klaas from University College London. Thank you.
KLAAS: Thank you.
LU STOUT: Now the President of Russia says he is pleased with his Summit with Kim Jong-un and that he plans to brief the U.S. and China but the
outcome of today's talks. Vladimir Putin calls his discussions with the North Korean leader "thorough." Their talks in the Russian city
Vladivostok reportedly lasted about three and a half hours and included the situation on the Korean peninsula, but there are no plans for a joint
statement or any formal agreement.
Our CNN senior international correspondent Matthew Chance joins us now live from Vladivostok and Matthew again, no formal deal, no joint statement. So
what ultimately came out of these thorough talks?
CHANCE: Well, it was a first opportunity so the Kremlin says, for these two figures to meet. They hadn't met before. And of course, even the head
of the Summit, the Kremlin was already managing expectations telling us in advance, there wouldn't be a joint statement, telling us there wouldn't
even be a joint news conference, and so that was not a surprise.
But what it was is an opportunity for these two figures to put out these very positive optics. This was all about what it looked like for both the
Russians and the North Koreans. For the North Korean point of view, they wanted to show of course that following the breakup of the nuclear talks
with President Trump in Vietnam, that they weren't isolated on the international stage, also sent a message perhaps to China that they have
other options in terms of alliances when it comes to providing support for them in the form of Russia.
For the Russian President, also sending a powerful message that Russia is an important force diplomatically, and its voice should be heard when it
comes to this issue of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Let's take a quick listen to what Vladimir Putin, the Russian President had to
say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We've just had thorough one-on-one talks. We're able to talk about the history of
relations between our countries about today and perspectives of development in our bilateral relations. We discussed the situation on the Korean
Peninsula. We exchanged opinions about what and how it needs to be done, so that the situation would have a great perspective for improvement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: So it was full of generalizations both the remarks Putin made and the remarks that Kim Jong-un made as well, very short on specifics. What's
going to happen next is that Vladimir Putin is off to China possibly as early as this evening, local time. The Kremlin won't categorically
confirmed. Kim Jong-un is going to stay here in Vladivostok where he will be embarking we hear, though the exact plans are very secretive, embarking
on a sort of touristic tour of Vladivostok possibly visiting the local aquarium, possibly visiting a war memorial, but he will be doing that,
essentially on his own with his entourage, not with the Russian President-- Kristie.
LU STOUT: Got you. So a bit of sightseeing for Kim Jong-un; as for the Russian President, he is going to beef up his regional clout with visiting
Xi Jinping next. Matthew Chance reporting live from Vladivostok. Thank you.
Joining us now is Artyom Lukin. He is a professor at the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok. He joins us now. Professor, thank you
for joining us. What did this Summit -- this first face-to-face meeting achieve? And was it more than just optics?
ARTYOM LUKIN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR RESEARCH, SCHOOL OF REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, FAR EASTERN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY: Well, actually,
it's hard to say at the moment, because actually, we don't know what they spoke about exactly during their face-to-face meeting and you know, this
face-to-face interaction between Putin and Kim, It lasted almost two hours or longer than initially expected, so I guess they had a lot of things to
discuss.
[08:15:08] LUKIN: And we don't really know. Maybe they made some substantive agreements or maybe not. Actually, we'll see. We'll see.
LU STOUT: This was a long meeting and we do know that the topic of denuclearization, of getting North Korea to give up its nukes was
mentioned. But what leverage does Russia have on that issue?
LUKIN: Well, frankly, I don't think that anyone has a lot of leverage over North Korea, even China has very limited leverage on North Korea. Russia
does have some leverage and a substantial part of this leverage comes from the fact that Russia has a very longstanding ties, friendly ties with North
Korea. So I think there is at least some degree of trust between Russia and North Korea.
There is some economic interaction between us and North Korea, so I think probably, Russia could use those ties to kind of maybe persuade North Korea
to be more flexible with the denuclearization diplomacy. But how far Russia could, you know, nudge North Korea towards denuclearization, this
remains to be seen.
LU STOUT: That's interesting, so how should the Trump White House be viewing today's Summit? Is this not something to be worried about per se,
but an opportunity to move forward on denuclearization?
LUKIN: Definitely. I don't think Washington should be worried about this meeting. I think that Russia is not interested in adding fuel to the North
Korea nuclear problem. I think Russia is genuinely interested in fixing this problem and resolving this nuclear crisis. Just because, you know,
the Korean Peninsula's far eastern doorstep and we just don't war, major war close to our borders.
And another very important thing and Putin did mention it during his press conference after meeting Kim Jong-un, he said that Russians and the U.S. do
have one shared common interest with regard to North Korea and this is denuclearization. Both Russia and the U.S. are guarantors of
nonproliferation regime and we don't want more states with nuclear weapons in the world. So Putin made it very clear that this is something we could
cooperate very closely with the U.S.
LU STOUT: Yes, good reminder there. In this case, Russia is not being spoiler, it's in Russia's interest to pursue denuclearization on the Korean
Peninsula. Professor, we'll leave it at that. Thank you so much for joining us.
You're watching NEWS STREAM and keep it here because a lot more ahead on the program as talks resume between Sudan's military and opposition
protesters, we are learning new details about Russian attempts to shape events there. CNN's exclusive report from Khartoum. You don't want to
miss it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:20:44] LU STOUT: All right, coming to you live from Hong Kong. Welcome back. This is NEWS STREAM. A victory for Sudanese protesters as
three generals resigned from the Military Transitional Council. The Council is also resuming talks with the opposition movement. Discussions
have broken down on Sunday partly over the lasting presence of leaders who demonstrators accuse of suppressing their dissent. The Council says it is
looking at crossing out a few more names as well, including the deputy head of Intelligence and two police generals.
As protesters in Sudan continue to hold out against the country's latest military rulers, the families of the dozens killed by Sudanese government
forces over the three months of protests, they are still mourning their dead. But as deadly as the months of protests have been, CNN has learned
it could have been so much worse.
Documents obtained by the London based group that's called the Dossier Center and shared with CNN detail a plan very similar to that which is
believed to have played out during the 2016 U.S. elections. This time put forward by a shadowy Russian mining company linked to Putin confidant,
Yevgeny Prigozhin, offering to help crush the protesters, spread misinformation and keep Omar al-Bashir in power. At stake, a Russian Naval
presence on Sudan's strategic Red Sea coast.
Nima Elbagir has this exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): He was just 17 years old, in his first year of university.
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): January 8th, government forces in Khartoum opened fire on unarmed protestors. A
teenager, Mohammed El-Fateh (ph), is among the first to die. His mother tells us, he knew there was a chance he'd be killed that day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It was Mohammed's hope that the government would be overthrown. Our hope is that the same way Bashir
killed our son, he must be executed, killed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR (voice over): Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is ousted, but the crowds gather still outside the military headquarters. Today, they're
chanting, "Only blood washes blood." They want justice for the dozens of lives lost during the pro-democracy process, but it could have been so much
worse.
CNN has learned that in January, Russian advisers to the government drew up plans to suppress the protests. Government sources in Sudan say they
worked from an office in Khartoum belonging to an obscure Russian mining company called M-Invest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
ELBAGIR (on camera): We just asked in those offices, and they told us that this was another mining company, not M-Invest. But this is the exact
address that we've been given by numerous sources, and there really isn't any other Russian company matching the description that we were given of M-
Invest right here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR (voice-over): CNN has discovered that M-Invest had sophisticated plans to disrupt the process. Painting them as a foreign plot.
Fabricating evidence that protesters were being paid, that they are destroying mosques and schools.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR (on camera): The evidence comes from thousands of documents shared with us by the London-based Dossier Center. They paint a picture of an
operation prepared to go to great lengths to keep Omar al-Bashir in power. But why would an obscure mining company care?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR (voice-over): Because M-Invest is part of the business empire of Yevgeny Prigozhin, one of Russia's most prominent oligarchs and a man close
to President Vladimir Putin.
The documents reviewed by CNN offer no confirmation that official Russian security agencies were involved directly in trying to suppress the protests
in Sudan. But Sudan was at the heart of a Russian drive to expand its influence in Africa.
[08:25:10] ELBAGIR: Russia had bet big on Omar al- Bashir. It wanted logistical help for their navy at Port Sudan.
In January, activists circulated images of heavily-armed men observing the protests. Government and military sources in Sudan say they were private
Russian contractors, embedded with Sudanese government forces.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR (on camera): At the same time, M-Invest was working on a plan to discredit the leaders of this process, recommending that looters, so-called
looters, should be executed. Putting together a social media campaign suggesting that Israel was behind the process. And saying that lesbian,
gay and bisexual activists were working among the protesters. Something that would have been utterly unacceptable in the deeply Islamic and
conservative society here in Sudan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR (voice-over): Multiple government and military sources in Sudan tell CNN that Russian advisers were placed in government ministries and the
national intelligence service. According to one senior figure in Bashir's regime, their plans involved what he called minimal but acceptable loss of
life.
The regime did begin to implement the M-Invest plan, smearing students as trying to foment Civil War. Limiting Internet access and even devising a
fake social media campaign to start disputes and disinformation. The same playbook U.S. prosecutors say Russia's Internet Research Agency used to
disrupt the 2016 presidential election. The agency and M-Invest both tied to Yevgeny Prigozhin.
He has previously denied any ties to election meddling, and calls to his company for this report went unanswered.
And when he apparently felt Sudan's government was slow to act, Prigozhin evidently wanted more. In a letter to Bashir in mid-March he accused the
government of inaction and warned that the lack of active steps to overcome the crisis is likely to lead to even more serious consequences. As the
process gained strength, Prigozhin wrote again, praising Bashir as a wise and farsighted leader but urging immediate reforms.
Senior officials in Khartoum tell us that Bashir hesitated. Within a week, he was gone. But M-Invest is not. The documents we've reviewed show that
it has close ties to Sudan's military, and they're in charge now. The families of the fallen pray that their sacrifices are not in vain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I'm happy that Mohammad's dream of freedom was realized. I'm grateful to God, and I hope -- dear God,
forgive me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELBAGIR (voice over): The Kremlin and its oligarchs may have other ideas. But for now, here in Khartoum, the fight for freedom continues.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: That was CNN's Nima Elbagir reporting an incredible scoop and report that underscores the international reach of Russia's disinformation
campaigns. Now, Russia has consistently played down Russian contractors operating in Sudan saying this quote, "We are informed that some employees
of Russian private security firms who have no relation to the Russian government authorities are indeed working in Sudan, but their functions are
limited to personnel training," unquote.
Now the impact of the bombings on Easter Sunday goes far beyond the Christian community in Sri Lanka and just ahead, the fear the Muslim
community is now living under there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:31:30] LU STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, you're watching NEWS STREAM and these are world headlines. Now the field of U.S.
Democratic presidential hopefuls just got bigger. A short time ago, former Vice President Joe Biden officially jumped into the race in an online video
aimed directly at President Trump. He talked about the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, saying this election will be a battle
for the soul of America. And the current holder of the office tweeted this moments ago, quote, "Welcome to the race, Sleepy Joe. I only hope that you
have the intelligence, long in doubt, to wage a successful primary campaign. It will be nasty. You will be dealing with people who truly
have some very sick and demented ideas, but if you make it, I will see you at the starting gate," unquote.
The U.S. is in the middle of its largest measles outbreak in decades. Now, the disease was declared eliminated back in the year 2000. But recently,
the number of cases has been climbing. Six hundred and eighty one people have gotten sick with measles so far this year across nearly two dozen
states that has surpassed the number of reported cases for all of 2014.
Facebook is expecting a fine from U.S. regulators of up to $5 billion after a year of data privacy scandals. The social network has set aside $3
billion in legal expenses related to an ongoing investigation. Facebook posted a quarterly profit of $2.4 billion on Wednesday. That is down 51%
from this time last year.
Carlos Ghosn is waiting to hear if he will be freed from a Japanese jail. Now, a court in Tokyo granted bail to the former Nissan chief on Thursday.
But now, prosecutors are appealing the decision which halts the process. Less than a month ago, Ghosn was we rearrested on new charges of financial
misconduct, Ghosn denies all the charges.
CNN has learned that one of the nine Easter Sunday suicide bombers in Sri Lanka had been arrested before and released. He later blew himself up at
the Cinnamon Grand Hotel. His brother seen here on the right was also one of the attackers. And in this photo, he is shaking hands with a government
minister. This was pictured back in 2016.
The two were sons of a wealthy spice trader, the man in the middle here. The father is now in police custody. He is accused of aiding and abetting
his sons. The atrocities have left Sri Lankan Muslims fearing retaliation from their Christian neighbors.
In the town Negombo, it's about an hour north of Colombo, more than 100 people at Saint Sebastian Church were killed. Hundreds of Muslims are now
reportedly fleeing the town. One Pakistani Muslim told Reuters as he boarded a bus that local Sri Lankans have attacked homes in the area. Many
Muslim owned stores have closed their doors this week. And people are afraid to send their children to school.
What is happening in Negombo shows how the bombings are exposing religious fault lines in Sri Lanka and families who lost loved ones in the attacks,
they are struggling to cope. Ivan Watson reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON (voice-over): A 10-year-old Alexandria sings a song for her father.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUDESH KOLONNE, FAMILY KILLED IN BOMBING: She loved to dance. She loved to create songs you know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON (voice over): This is the last video Sudesh Kolonne has of his little girl. On Sunday morning, the Australian-Sri Lankan, his wife,
Manik, and daughter, all prepared to celebrate Easter together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOLONNE: These two were so excited that Sunday we are going to church for the ceremony.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON (voice over): And it was here at Saint Sebastian Catholic Church that a suicide bomber struck.
[08:35:12] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOLONNE: Both died in front of me, especially my daughter and my wife both died in my hand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON (voice over): His wife and daughter two of the hundreds of people killed on Easter by a wave of suicide bombers.
Grief now echoes across this island nation, hundreds of families destroyed by acts of unspeakable violence.
WATSON (on camera): The people of Sri Lanka have barely begun the process of burying their dead. And there are still so many more funerals to be
had.
WATSON (voice-over): The suicide bomber at Saint Sebastian transformed this house of worship into a slaughterhouse.
One top Sri Lankan official says the bombers were homegrown Islamic extremist seeking revenge for a white nationalist's attack on two mosques
in Christchurch, New Zealand last month. Mass shootings that killed 50 people.
WATSON (on camera): The weapons used against the mosques in New Zealand and Saint Sebastian Church here in Sri Lanka may have been different but
all of these attacks were fueled by the same raw hatred. This, this is the end result of the twisted logic of mass murder.
WATSON (voice-over): Sri Lankans are trying hard to avoid descending into a cycle of sectarian revenge attacks. The Catholic clergy, trying to keep
their targeted community calm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIROSHAN PERERA, PRIEST: Be calm. Don't fight with each other, don't have grudges with each other, especially with the Muslims.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON (voice over): But grieving families can't even mourn in peace. Police and troops out in force to protect funerals from the threat of a
second wave of terrorist attacks. Survivors like Sudesh Kolonne are left clinging to extended relatives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOLONNE: We have a really good family. I mean, especially my daughter, a good time, unbelievable loss.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON (voice over): Hard to imagine how anyone can ever recover from this type of loss.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOLONNE: Now they are going, now I'm very hurt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON (voice over): Ivan Watson, CNN, Negombo, Sri Lanka.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOR, FICTIONAL CHARACTER, "AVENGERS: ENDGAME": I saw all of these people die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: It is time for the grand finale of Marvel Studios four-part "Avenger" series, the culmination of about 10 years of interconnected
movies, 21 films in the making. We're talking about "Avengers: Endgame." It wraps up all those storylines, picking up from "Avengers: Infinity War"
which had an opening weekend box office record in 2018, but the final installment may surpass that number.
Now, the three-hour epic has set a new opening day record in China bringing in more than $107 million in ticket sales. And now fans in the U.S. and
Canada are about to get their chance. A lot of people, they already have their tickets in hand.
Now CNN media reporter, Frank Pallotta expects us the international release of the film is going to shatter every box office record on the books. He
joins us now live from New York. Frank, good to see you. Now, the movie had a wow -- big debut in China.
[08:40:10] LU STOUT: How big is it going to be when it opens there in the U.S. tonight?
FRANK PALLOTTA, CNN MEDIA REPORTER: It's going to be pretty big. We really don't know how big it's going to be. I've been covering the box
office for about five years now. And I've never seen anything like "Avengers: Endgame." To just give you some context, originally, last year
"Infinity War" broke the global record at $640 million to give -- and that was without China. This time, that will not be the case.
China is looking like it could bring up anywhere between $200 million and $250 million just there alone. So we're talking about maybe in global
opening weekend of over $800 million. Some people are saying that could get close to $900 million or maybe even though I don't think it's possible,
a billion dollar weekend.
LU STOUT: Wow. And what does this mean for Disney? You know whether it makes a billion dollar weekend or not, it has been an incredible months for
the company and its share price.
PALLOTTA: Yes, this has been a huge month for Disney. Basically, what it's done is that it's conveyed and unveiled Disney Plus, it's also
unveiled the rise of Skywalker. And now it's going to top off its month with potentially the biggest movie of all time. I would doubt that it's
not going to be the biggest movie of all time, it could make close to anywhere between $260 million to $300 million in North America. Plus, as
we said more than $800 million globally.
It's just been an incredible month for Disney and the stock price has shown that with one of its biggest in a day -- one of its biggest stock market
days in the decade following the Disney Plus announcement.
LU STOUT: And the movie itself, "Avengers: Endgame." What have you heard? How is it?
PALLOTTA: Well, I actually saw it a couple of nights ago, and it's really great. It's a really great conclusion to this decade long story. It has
something of the other Marvel movies don't have, which is this finality aspect to it. It actually feels like something is coming to an end.
Obviously, there'll be much, much more Marvel as we go on over the next couple of years with Disney Plus shows and obviously more feature films.
But in terms of the story that they've been telling with Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and the other Avengers, this feels like
that's the -- this is the end of that story. The three hours kind of goes by pretty quick.
I would suggest though, if you're going to go to bathroom, try to go to bathroom in the first hour to an hour and a half after that, you don't want
to be out of your seat.
LU STOUT: That's right, because this movie is three hours long. You don't want to take a bathroom break. You have to strategize where you're going
to take it. Thanks for the warning. Frank Pallotta there. We'll talk again soon and that is NEWS STREAM. I'm Kristie Lu Stout, but don't go
anywhere unless it's a bathroom break, "World Sport" with Amanda Davies after the break, is next.
(SPORTS)
[09:00:00]
