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NEWS STREAM

A terrifying Easter Sunday across Sri Lanka; Ukraine Elects A Comedian As The Country's Next President; Monday Marks A Week Since Paris Notre Dame Cathedral Went Up In Flames. Aired: 8-9a ET

Aired April 22, 2019 - 08:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A terrifying Easter Sunday across Sri Lanka.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And suddenly they heard the blast. They quickly ran away because they were so afraid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A brand new type of terrorism for Sri Lanka, copies of an internal government memo showing a warning coming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This particular report was not considered with the Cabinet or mentioned to the Cabinet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sri Lanka's political system may have actually played a role in that information not being relayed correctly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Thanks for joining us. You're watching CNN. I'm Robyn Curnow, this is NEWS STREAM.

Now state of emergency will go into effect in Sri Lanka in six and a half hours as the government apologizes for not acting on warnings ahead of

those Easter Sunday terror attacks.

The death toll we know is approaching 300 people with more than 500 people injured in coordinated bombings of churches and hotels. And ministers say

multiple warnings were received starting in early April. One of them talked to CNN a little bit earlier about the missed warning signs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARIN FERNANDO, SRI LANKAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: So we just finished another Cabinet meeting just a while ago, and even yesterday after

the incident in Cabinet Ministers meeting. However, what is alarming was the fact that we were not informed even though certain sectors of our

security details or the diplomatic security detail, as well as the former President's detail actually had some information being sent out from the

Intelligence Unit around the 11th of April.

What's ironic is that this this particular report was not considered with the Cabinet or mentioned to the Cabinet.

I myself, being Catholic, goes to this particular Church in particular, which is in Colombo, and the particular day, I was in my constituency,

which is quite far away from Colombo. However, it's quite shocking because even the hotels that that were attacked, it was on the restaurants which

had the Easter brunch.

So we just perplexed on how the Intelligence missed it all out. And unfortunately, as you all look up, Sri Lanka had a coup about 51 days -- 51

days of a coup starting from last year, October until about the late December.

From there onwards, there had been lapses and there have been certain in- fighting within the government. And I'm being very brutally honest with the fact that I did not see that the government with the Executive and the

legislature working together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Well, there's still no claim of responsibility. The government though, says it believes religious extremists carried out the attacks and

that they must have had help from outside the country.

So far, 24 people have been arrested for questioning and the danger is not yet over.

This video shows what police are calling a controlled detonation of a van near one of the churches that was attacked on Sunday. The blast was so

strong, it blew out windows nearby. Police have also found dozens of bomb detonators at Colombo's main bus station.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department updated its Sri Lanka travel advisory warning the terror groups was still plotting further attacks in the

country. Security, we know will likely remain tight and again, that state of emergency takes over in a little over six hours' time.

So for more on all of that, let's bring in Charu Lata Hogg, an Associate Fellow at the Asia Program at Chatham House. Good to have you with us.

The coordination involved in these attacks. What does that tell you?

Charu Lata Hogg, ASSOCIATE FELLOW, ASIA PROGRAM AT CHATHAM HOUSE: But I think as other analysts have said before me, this is unprecedented.

Sri Lanka has been the site of terror attack for many, many years, and has seen a lot of violence. But the precision with which these attacks have

been planned and coordinated and implemented in in multiple sites is not something that we've seen before.

Certainly, the liberation side of the Tamili live the Tamil Tigers who did engage in this kind of terror activity, including through the use of

suicide bombers, but it was one site at a time. I think this is quite unusual.

CURNOW: Yes, it certainly is. I want you stand by, our correspondent Ivan Watson, we've just established connections with him in Colombo and I want

to go there. Stay on the line, I want to get your take after we have spoken to Ivan. Ivan, hi. Just tell us where you are and what you've been

seeing and hearing.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're in front of St. Anthony's Shrine in Colombo. This was a Catholic Church that was bombed on

Easter Sunday.

[08:05:10] WATSON: And the security forces here have been investigating a number of scooters and vehicles that they're worried could have been rigged

with explosives and they've already carried out in the last two hours and other controlled detonation.

We're going to pan the camera down here, down this road, there the remains of what was a white van that the explosive ordinance disposal team blew up

a couple of hours ago. And that really triggered some real panic in a neighborhood that was already traumatized by the deadly suicide attack that

took place on Sunday morning.

So we've gotten warnings from the security forces. So they're working here to either clear out or we can come back. And that just gives you a sense

of how the authorities are trying to deal with the aftermath of this series of terrible terrorist attacks that appeared to have been very coordinated,

Robyn, hitting three cities on the same day -- three Catholic Churches and three luxury hotels here in Colombo with a death toll that is absolutely

staggering.

We're talking about at least 290 people killed, and more than 500 people wounded, some fighting for their lives in hospitals right now.

As one Minister put it to me, this is a brand new type of terrorism for Sri Lanka.

CURNOW: Yes, Ivan, it certainly is. In terms of the people who were killed, those who are still fighting for their lives. How are hospitals

managing this? Do we know anything about surgeries that are taking place now? How doctors and nurses have rallied?

WATSON: We went to the National Hospital and the Director there explained to me that they had a disaster kind of crisis plan that immediately went

into effect on Sunday morning.

He said he was in mourning for friends that he had lost in the terror attacks. And they received hundreds of casualties at that one installation

alone. He said they had adequate supplies. There had been a bump in blood donors, an increase to help them with the challenges there. I asked about

the curfew, there's going to be another curfew that will go into effect at 8:00 p.m. local time here. The sun is starting to set in Colombo.

And he said that the authorities have issued some passes to some of their doctors to be able to travel after dark and help to organize buses so that

the personnel can move around. And they're having to feed people who simply have to stay in the hospital.

So these are some of the extraordinary measures that the authorities are taking in the wake of Sunday's terror attacks. And amid concerns that

there could be more terrorists out there. And I have to stress that in the hours after the suicide bomber attacked at this church and at other

churches and at hotels, the police were raiding a house here in Colombo and detonations went off there killing three police officers and wounding

another suggesting that the suspects had planned for that eventuality, which suggests also just how organized the perpetrators of these atrocities

were -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Yes, it sort of defies belief that this could have been bigger than it was because of so many people that already we know have been

killed. Just talk us through also the number of detonators that were found at this bus station and this massive pipe bomb found along the road on the

way to the airport that also an indication of how much bigger this could have been.

WATSON: So a police spokesperson says they found 87 detonators at the main bus station here in Colombo. And last night the Air Force said they

diffused a six-foot long pipe bomb on the road to the airport. We don't know yet is that linked to these other deadly terror attacks or not? It's

just very difficult to know.

But it does suggest a fluid situation right now, as the security forces and the state try to reassure the populace while also dealing with a threat,

the likes of which they haven't really faced before. They did fight an insurgency for decades and crushed that insurgency amid some controversy in

2009. This is a government and an Armed Forces that can fight Armed Forces on the battlefield. But this wave of suicide attacks is something

different and it has presented some new challenges for this country.

CURNOW: Okay, you make an excellent point there. Ivan Watson there in Colombo, the sun is setting behind you. Thank so much for bringing us up

to date with what is happening over there. Appreciate it, Ivan.

So I want to go back to Charu Lata Hogg, an Associate Fellow at the Asia program at Chatham House.

[08:10:10] CURNOW: Charu, you heard our correspondent, Ivan there talking. We also know that the government has apologized for missing warnings about

that -- about this about this terror attack. What do you know about that? And how might the political situation have influenced this situation where

these Intelligence warnings were missed?

HOGG: Well, I think all this has to be seen in the context of a Constitution crisis that the government came into last year, late last

year, and the fact that the relationship between the two sides of the government -- the President and the Prime Minister have been quite

dysfunctional, and indeed, there is no effective functioning government from that perspective in terms of a coordinated response.

So the lack of information sharing has to be seen in the light of this constitutional issue that arose. And also from the perspective of the fact

that a large majority, not all of the population, particularly those who believe in a more hardline form of government, do not have faith in the

current Prime Minister, and therefore, there is a risk that these two discourses get intertwined -- a loss of faith in the Prime Minister seeks

to strengthen a more nationalistic, hardline response towards this terror attack.

CURNOW: You speak of the complications politically, you also said this kind of attack, the coordination of it, you know, hasn't been really been

seen before in Sri Lanka. Does this give us any indication of who might be responsible?

HOGG: I think it's too early to speculate. There are already indications by the government that this seems to be suicide bombers, very well-

orchestrated, possibly with some international support, but they're not quite identifying it.

For sure, Sri Lanka's domestic groups are -- or the few incidents of violence that have occurred since the end of the insurgency in 2009, these

violent groups do not show the same level of sophistication that has been demonstrated in these attacks.

So I think in all probability, there does seem to be an indication that there could be an external element, but I think it would be speculative and

also inappropriate to jump to conclusions now.

CURNOW: Okay, Charu Lata Hogg, thanks so much for giving us your perspective on that from Chatham House. Thank you. So we want to get more

now on world reaction. Just a short time ago, the Pope called the bombings inhumane acts and on Easter Sunday he said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE FRANCIS, HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND SOVEREIGN OF THE VATICAN CITY STATE (Through a translator): Dear brothers and sisters, I heard with

sadness the news of the horrendous attacks, which on this very day, Easter Sunday, have brought morning and pain to some churches and other places in

Sri Lanka. I would like to express my heartfelt closeness to the Christian community attacked while gathered in prayer, and to all the victims of such

a cruel act of violence.

I interest to the Lord all who so tragically died, and I pray for the wounded and all those who suffer because of this traumatic event.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: And South Asian leaders have also condemned the attacks. In neighboring India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted this, "There is no

place for such barbarism in our region. My thoughts are with the bereaved families and prayers with the injured" And Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran

Khan also struck a similar tone. He tweeted, "My profound condolences go to our Sri Lankan brethren. Pakistan stands in complete solidarity with

Sri Lanka in their hour of grief."

So we'll continue to monitor that story, but also up next here at NEWS STREAM, Ukraine elects a comedian as the country's next president, his only

previous political experience? Well, that's playing a President on TV.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:16:38] CURNOW: Ukraine has elected a new President, comedian and TV star Volodymyr Zelensky. His only previous political experience is playing

a President on Ukrainian television. The country's Central Election Commission says Zelensky won more than 73 percent of the vote, but that

count is still ongoing. The incumbent, Petro O. Poroshenko focused his campaign on taking a tough stance with neighboring Russia, a country

Ukraine has been locked in a proxy war with for five years. He has conceded saying, Zelensky's victory will please the Kremlin.

In a moment, we'll hear from Nathan Hodge in Moscow. But first Phil Black joins us from the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. Phil, this is a landslide -- 73

percent and still counting.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, landslide, from what can only be described as a really unconventional candidate running a really

unconventional campaign.

As you mentioned, a candidate with no political experience, a comedian, someone who has pretended to be the President on TV, but not just any

President, a regular guy who accidentally becomes President and then battles corruption and other politicians, oligarchs and the like. And that

was very much the idea that his campaign was based around as well. The regular guy, not a politician making a virtue of his inexperience, his

fresh face.

And he did it not through appearing in public or detailing policies, but through slick online videos, mocking his opponent and the old guard of

Ukrainian politics. And all of that has resonated enormously with people across Ukraine, either those who are simply unwilling to vote for more of

the same or those who genuinely are sold on Zelensky's ability to change things here.

He is, though, in a bigger sense, the latest manifestation of what has been a really powerful feeling in this country for some decades. And that is

the desire to wipe out corruption, fix its democracy and government and become a normal functioning democratic state.

Remember, this is a country that has experienced two revolutions in just 15 years. The most recent was 2014, the last President to be forced out of

office here was forced out as a result of that revolution, a violent hard- fought one that left more than a hundred people did.

In that context as well, this election for all its surprises, it is something of an achievement, too, because a sitting President is being

forced from office peacefully and democratically, Robyn.

CURNOW: We also have been seeing this push and pull about the influence of Russia within the country and Petro Poroshenko said that, you know, his

campaign was focusing on a tough stance against Russia and that this one be good for the Kremlin. Did people vote against Poroshenko's push back

against Russia?

BLACK: Not on that point necessarily. No, I mean Poroshenko's because greatest disadvantage was the fact that, it's often been said is that he is

Poroshenko. He has been a political figure in this country for decades. He is a wealthy oligarch, himself, a billionaire through the confectionery

business, someone who promised to get out of his business when he came to power, and he never did. He never gave up his business interests.

In this sense, he was considered the old face of the old type of politics, the sort of politics that people were sick of in this country. He was

judged, although to have had limited achievements, notably rebuilding the army, securing the country, making some progress in stabilizing the

economy. He just have not done enough on that key points of fighting corruption.

[08:20:05] BLACK: And so on that point, he was always vulnerable. So regardless of however many times he said, that Zelensky is experienced, a

lightweight, not fit to be President not fit to be Commander-in-Chief, these messages simply did not cut through such was the desire for really

fundamental change in this country.

CURNOW: Okay, so let's go to Nathan in Moscow to get the take from the Kremlin there. Petro O. Poroshenko says this will be good news for the

Kremlin. Have we had any reaction?

NATHAN HODGES, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIFF: Robyn, just a short while ago, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson said that it was still too early

for President Vladimir Putin of Russia to congratulate Zelensky on his election win. But it's been fascinating to watch it here from Moscow.

Many people have been watching it closely precisely because the outcome was so unpredictable. Remember that just over a year ago, Putin also won a

landslide reelection, but one that everyone confidently predicted that he would win.

Whereas we've seen a very robust and a very competitive election season in Ukraine with a two-round election where the two leading candidates first

had to square off against a very large field of other competitors. So I think a lot of people have been really sort of fascinated in Russia, with

the competitiveness of the Ukrainian political process.

But again, I think it's really early days yet. The Kremlin taking somewhat of a cautious line. We had heard as well late last night from Maria

Zakharova, that's the spokesperson for the Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who did say that there's a possibility for Ukraine to have a go at

a reset. What exactly she meant wasn't clear, but it was a much warmer sort of reception than we would have seen from the kind of words that we

heard the Kremlin directing Poroshenko, who was very often depicted as the head of the -- what they called the party of war in Ukraine -- Robyn.

CURNOW: So there's the official Kremlin line saying, "Let's wait and see. Too early." But in terms of the broader spheres of influence the way

Moscow looks at Ukraine, is this an opportunity for President Putin particularly, is he able to take advantage of this man's inexperience? The

fact that he's a comedian?

HODGES: Robyn, I think that's a question in a lot of people's minds and that's exactly what Poroshenko was running on, which was his national

security credentials. But in a lot of ways, things have come to an impasse.

The war and Eastern Ukraine's claimed around 13,000 lives thus far in the five years that it's raged. The peace process there has been a more or

less stalled. So in many ways, regardless of what Zelensky's record is and what kind of policies he'll be introducing, it does -- it provides a fresh

slate in many ways, and it's a quite an unprecedented change of power, a peaceful transfer of power that we've seen in Ukraine after, as you had

noted, as Phil noted earlier, 15 years of often tumultuous political activity -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Okay, Nathan Hodge there in Moscow. Phil Black in Kiev. Thanks to you both.

Now former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn is facing new charges for aggravated breach of trust. Monday's indictment makes the fourth set of

formal charges brought against Ghosn. The ousted Nissan chief will remain in custody in the Tokyo Detention Center unless the Court allows them to be

released on bail.

He is currently awaiting trial on separate charges of financial misconduct. He denies all of those charges.

And then in the U.S., Democrats in Congress have big decisions to make after the release of the Mueller report. They want to get on the same page

about whether or not to hold impeachment proceedings against the U.S. President, Donald Trump.

Now, Abby Phillip reports that is prompting some deep soul searching.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): House Speaker Nancy Pelosi scheduling a conference call with the Democratic Caucus today,

insisting that Congress will not be silent after the Justice Department released a redacted version of the Special Counsel's report last week.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff says the Caucus will weigh the option of pursuing President Trump's impeachment over the coming

weeks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): I think what we are going to have to decide as a caucus is what is the best thing for the country? Is the best thing for

the country to take up an impeachment proceeding, or is it in the best interest of the country not to take up an impeachment that we know will not

be successful in the Senate because the Republican leadership will not do its duty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP (voice over): House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler who leads the committee where impeachment would start saying he wants to hear Mueller

testify first.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): If proven, some of this would be impeachable, yes. Obstruction of justice, if proven, would be impeachable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP (voice over): Mueller outlined at least 10 episodes that he investigated where the President attempted to thwart his probe. The

Democrats have been divided on the issue, with Nadler, Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer urging caution.

[08:25:08] PHILLIP (voice over): As a handful of the Caucus' more progressive members and two 2020 candidates call for impeachment

proceedings to begin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This isn't about politics, it is about what a President of the United States should be able

to do and what the role of Congress is in saying no, a President does not get to come in and stop an investigation about a foreign power that

attacked this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP (voice over): President Trump responding asking how do you impeach a Republican President for a crime that was committed by Democrats? As

members of the administration continue to falsely insist that the President has been exonerated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: The President is not going to jail, he's staying in the White House for five and a half more

years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP (voice over): President Trump's attorney, Rudy Giuliani raising eyebrows with this defense of the Trump campaign's willingness to accept

political help from Russians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, DONALD TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: Any candidate in the whole world - in America would take information negative -

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: From a foreign source? From a hostile foreign source?

GIULIANI: Who says it's even illegal? There's nothing wrong with taking information from Russians.

TAPPER: There's nothing wrong with taking information --

GIULIANI: It depends on where it came from, it depends on where it came from.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: You're watching NEWS STREAM. After the end of decades of Civil War, then years of peace, Sri Lanka is once again back into chaos, the

search for answers there after devastating terror attacks. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Welcome back, I'm Robyn Curnow. More now on the Easter Sunday terror attacks in Sri Lanka, a state of emergency starts in six hours'

time, as the government there tries to figure out who is responsible.

The death toll we know is approaching 300 people with more than 500 people wounded in these coordinated bombings of churches and hotels across the

country.

Ministers are actually apologizing today for not acting on multiple Intelligence warnings that an attack would take place. Police meanwhile

are carrying out raids and have arrested 24 people for questioning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJITHA SENARATNE, SRI LANKAN CABINET MEMBER: So with that, we are doing all the raids and one by one, we are catching and all the other places.

Actually the training places have been identified and we have raided already. So we have taken all the actions by now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Okay, so for more on Sri Lanka, let's go there. Will Ripley explains how these attacks unfolded.

[08:30:00] (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY (voice over): Bomb after bomb, city after city, a terrifying Easter Sunday across Sri Lanka. The primary targets, four hotels full of

foreigners and three churches full of Christians.

One blast rocked Saint Sebastian's Church at the end of Easter mass. A thousand worshippers ran from the horror. Lifeless bodies, blood- stained

pews, debris and human remains propelled through the sanctuary into the streets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALCOLM RANJITH, ARCHBISHOP OF COLOMBO: This morning, Easter Sunday, in two of my churches, Saint Anthony's Church in Kochchikade and Saint

Sebastian's Church in Katuwapitiya, two bombs exploded. It's a very, very sad day for all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY (voice-over): Pope Francis expressed sadness and solidarity, calling the attacks cruel violence in his Easter address, offering prayers

and a moment of silence for the victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE FRANCIS (Through a translator): I learned with great sadness the news of the serious attacks that today on Easter brought mourning and pain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY (voice-over): Police say more than two dozen foreigners are among the dead, many of them killed in hotels in and around Colombo, Sri Lanka's

largest city and in recent years a tourist hotspot. Also killed, three police officers raiding a house when two bombs went off inside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Through a translator): In the explosion, three police officers from the Colombo Crime Investigation Division were killed. The

officers, one sub-inspector and two constables were killed when two explosions occurred during a raid at a home in Colombo where they were

attempting to question the resident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY (voice-over): The targets and timing have the hallmarks of international terror, but Sri Lanka also has active local militias and next

month marks a decade since its bloody 26-year Civil War came to an end.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANISHA GUNASEKERA, HIGH COMMISSIONER OF SRI LANKA TO THE U.K.: I would say that this is an attack against the whole of Sri Lanka because Sri Lanka

is a very multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi- cultural country and the whole country comes together in celebration of Easter Sunday with the

Christian and the Catholic community, so this is an attack against the Sri Lankan-ness and the Sri Lankan identity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY (voice-over): As a growing list of world leaders condemned the bombings, Sri Lanka's President expressed shock and dismay, calling all

police officers back from Easter break, imposing an island-wide curfew and closing schools until at least midweek.

Sri Lanka's Army, Navy and Air Force also held emergency meetings as the small South Asia island nation grappled with familiar questions in this age

of terror.

Why here?

Why now?

And what's next?

Will Ripley, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Thanks to Will for that. Ivan Watson now joins us again from Colombo. Ivan, you're there on the ground, you heard Will say what next?

There's still real concerns about security.

WATSON: There are. Let me just get out of the shot here and we'll zoom on how the bomb squad is looking at that bright red tuk-tuk over there, which

is right next to St. Anthony's Shrine, one of the Catholic Churches that was so savagely targeted on Easter Sunday, and the authorities have been

rigging it up with what we could see was a fuse.

And they've already blown up another suspicious van parked in the other direction earlier this afternoon, which just set off a ferocious blast that

sent parts of that vehicle flying on the rooftops and shattered windows and triggered real panic in this neighborhood where people are justifiably and

understandably on edge after Sunday's terror attacks.

The authorities are clearly concerned. They conducted a raid after this wave of deadly bombings on Sunday, Robyn, at a house here in Colombo and

two blasts went off killing three police officers and wounding another suggesting that there is an organized foe that they are dealing with here

that had planned ahead of time.

And understandably, both the populace and the authorities are on edge and trying to make sure that they cover all the eventualities here -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Yes, We just want to keep this shot up to see what happens with this tuk-tuk. But again, as you say, an indication of how this country is

on edge and organized foe, you speak about. Also some suggestions that there might have been help from outside the country.

WATSON: Yes, a lot of this information is coming from an Intelligence brief between different departments of the security forces here earlier

this month, where it was stated that they received a warning from a foreign Intelligence Agency about a plot to carry out suicide attacks against

Catholic Churches and against the Indian High Commission here, which was not targeted.

[08:35:07] WATSON: And that it was linked to a little known local Sri Lankan extremist organization known as the National Thowheed Jamath, which

had been blamed previously for doing a little more than spreading extremist propaganda online on social media and defacing some Buddhist statues.

The suggestion that an organization like that could have been behind something that would have required such coordination and some real skills

like bomb making. It's a little hard to imagine that a little known group could have made such a leap in this case, but again, that's something that

perhaps the investigation could yield more about.

The Health Minister of the country has speculated that there must be some kind of links to some broader international network to carry out attacks on

the scale that we saw on Sunday that have killed more than at least 290 people and wounded more than 500. Violence, the likes of which this

country really has not seen on that kind of scale before.

The Minister of Housing called it a brand new type of terrorism for Sri Lanka.

CURNOW: Okay, thanks so much, Ivan Watson. It is early evening in Colombo. Ivan Watson giving us the latest there from the streets of

Colombo. We'll stick with that. So you're watching the news and we will stick with our story, the breaking news out of Colombo, out of Sri Lanka.

We will continue to talk about the 300 victims -- nearly 300 victims who have lost their lives in one of these worst terror attacks in modern

history. So stay with us you watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: So this Monday marks a week since people in Paris watched in horror as their beloved Notre Dame Cathedral went up in flames.

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause. Worshipers who would normally mark Easter Sunday at Notre Dame had to do it in a smaller

church nearby.

Well, Melissa Bell shows us how Paris is coping and also how the disaster unfolded a week ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The first signs of smoke were captured by the amateur footage of tourists. Crowds gathered to watch

in horror as the flames took hold of the roof of Notre Dame. Firefighters were on the scene within 10 minutes of the second fire alarm, 23 minutes

after the first.

For hours, they took on the flames in an operation they described as the most challenging they've ever faced.

To the horror of onlookers, the cathedral's 19th century spire collapsed.

As night fell, the flames reached one of the belfries. It took 20 firefighters of the several hundred involved in the operation risking their

lives to push them back and save the structure.

Outside, the faithful had gathered to pray and sing, as the fire raged on through the night for nine hours.

By morning, almost miraculously, the Cathedral still stood. Crowds gathered to take stock of what had been lost. Like the roof-soaked beams known as

The Forest for the number of trees involved, some felled in the 1160s.

[08:40:10] BELL: But amidst the damage, much to be thankful for, like the saving of some of the Cathedrals' priceless art and relics. Among them,

the Crown of Thorns believed by Christians to have been worn by Jesus as he went to his crucifixion.

In just a week, more than $1 billion have been raised towards the Cathedrals' reconstruction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (Through a translator): I tell you tonight with strength. We are a nation of builders. We have so much to

construct. So yes, we will rebuild Notre Dame even more beautiful. And I want that to be done in the next five years. We can do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL (voice over): Since the fire, tributes have poured in from the Indian Ocean, where 920 Marines aboard the Charles de Gaulle Aircraft Carrier

recreated the facade of Notre Dame, to the church bells that rang out across France 48 hours after the fire began.

Investigators are looking into the possibility of a short circuit that may have been at the origin of the fire that has changed Paris' skyline

forever. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: And while Paris is still recovering from a tragedy of its own, the French capital paid several tribute to the victims of Sri Lanka's attacks

on Monday, including a touching gesture. Here it is here that came at the stroke of midnight. As you can see, the Eiffel Tower went dark for a few

minutes in honor of hundreds of people killed in those bombings.

And we're also now learning more about the victims of this horrific attack, most were Sri Lankan nationals, but also dozens of foreigners were also

killed, including the children of Denmark's richest man.

Anders Holch Povlsen was visiting Sri Lanka over the Easter holiday with his family when three of his four children were killed in those terror

attacks.

Another victim was well known TV chef in Sri Lanka, Shantha Mayadunne was popular in India and the U.K. Her daughter apparently posted this image on

Facebook just minutes before the explosions. The family was sitting down for Easter breakfast at the Shangri La Hotel in Colombo, both mother and

daughter were killed.

And that's NEWS STREAM for this hour. I'm Robyn Curnow. We will continue to monitor these Sri Lanka attacks. I'll be back at the top of the hour.

In the meantime, "World Sport" is next.

(SPORTS)

[09:00:00]

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