here's hoping all three last forever. here's hoping all three last -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com dozens killed in a pakistan park, where they had gathered to celebrate easter. we will bring you all the details. and we're live in brussels with the latest on tuesday's terror attacks. plus, exclusive insight into the lives of the key suspects in november's paris atrocities. and bernie sanders makes strides. but he lags behind front-runner hillary clinton in the democratic race for the white house. we'll crunch the numbers and look at how social media is impacting the 2016 campaign. hello and welcome to our viewers

here in the united states. and of course, all around the world. i'm rosemary church at cnn . >> and i'm michael holmes in the belgian capital. this is cnn newsroom. we will bring you all of the latest from brussels in a moment. but first, christians deliberately targeted on their holiest day. and a promise from militants that more violence will come. a splinter group from the pakistani taliban is claiming responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed at least 69 people. the explosion happened at a crowded park in lahore, where families were celebrating easter sunday. many of the victims were women and children. more than 400 people are wounded. ravi is following the developments and joins us with the latest.

people across lahore, trying to come to terms with this tragic and deadly attack. what more are we learning about what happened and the group claiming responsibility for this? >> that's right, rosemary. this took place on sunday evening. it was a playground. and it took place near some children's swings we're hearing from eyewitnesss that are there. real devastation from lahore. lahore, is the capital of the state of punjab. and the state of punjab is where 60% of pakistan's population resides. this is the side of pakistan that receives terror attacks less frequently than other parts of pakistan in the northwest. this is unusual, to some extent, attack.

and really, a message from the splinter group of the pakistani taliban, that has claimed responsibility. it is a message from them to the pakistani government saying, we can attack you anywhere. we can attack you in the heart of the punjab. in the city of lahore. that's the city that pakistan's prime minister is from. and his younger brother, the chief minister of the state of punjab. really, this is an attack that has jolted the government. it was a large explosion that was heard for kilometers away. >> how does the pakistan government plan to respond to this attack? and what are they doing to try to protect people from the threat of more attacks? is that even possible? >> what we heard from eyewitnesses on sunday, is there was little security at the pack where the explosion took place.

it would have been easy for a suicide bomber to walk in and detonate. there was less security on sunday. the prime minister has said he is looking into what can be done. no specific measures have been named so far. he held an emergency meeting with his top ministers on sunday evening, as did the army general, no relation to the prime minister. he said that they will look into going after this particular group. but i should add that pakistan's war, this form of terror, has been continuing for many years. and this is one of a spate of attacks in recent months, and recent years. this particular one by this particular group is brutal. and it's made a name for itself, by not flinching, going after minority groups, and going after women and children. and particularly brutal. monday morning, still in the city of lahore, people are waking up to the news.

they are still scouring hospitals and searching for loved ones. you've seen the pictures on your screen. real scenes of devastation in pakistan today. >> the details are horrifying. raviing gagrawal, many thanks t you. belgian police have been active in and around the capital. they carried out 13 raids sunday and questioned a number of individuals, four of whom are still in custody. was of now, it's not clear if they've led to new leads. our michael holmes is following all of the latest developments. he joins us live from brussels. michael, what's the scene there after the weekend protests? >> yes. rosemary, it's just after 8:00 a.m., of course, here in brussels. it is a very cold and blustery day. it is a public holiday.

and the scene behind me in the place dela bourse is quiet. we've seen people come by this memorial to honor the dead and the wounded from these terror attacks. as you say, after the protests yesterday, by this group of nationalists, who came in and really disresulted and disrespected the scene behind me, this memorial, we hope there's no repeat of that. but as we saw yesterday, police did step in and sort that out pretty quickly. but it was a very disturbing scene. it really is quite windy here today. that might keep the crowds down. meanwhile, brussels remains tense, it has to be said, in the aftermath of the terror attacks, that left 28 people dead on tuesday. police carrying out raids in and around the city, all sunday, as you said. there were a total of 13 operations, resulted in nine more people being deined. only four of them remain in custody.

and that's been a real patent that we've seen. they'll pick up several people and release a few of them. but they always keep someone. there's been quite a few in detention. and several have been charged with various offenses. including in one case, terrorist murder. outside of the country, the rest of europe, also actively engaged in terror measures of their own. dutch police, we can tell you, arrested a man in rotterdam. that was at the request of french authorities. that man suspected of plotting an impending attack on france. he is expected to be extradited in the coming days. that's a day after italian police arrested an algerian national with ties to the last attack on france, november's assault on paris. more coming to light on a daily basis. that raises concerns about the scope of a possible terror network right throughout europe. now, here in brussels, the fear

is palpable. there's a lot of anxiety with a lot of people on the loose. and it's manifesting itself in some ugly ways. just behind me, at the place dela bourse, those mourning sunday only to find them in one-half of the city divided. hundreds of belligerent protesters storming the memorial, shouting anti-immigrant slogans. phil black was in the middle of it. saw it all firsthand. >> reporter: this is what the place de la bourse has looked like since the days of the attack. large crowds, honoring the victims. sometimes applauding respectfully. that changed sunday, hundreds of men, dressed in black, with

their faces covered. they surrounded the memorial site. and rolling flags and banners, screaming together. these were right-wing nationalists. loud, aggressive, intimidating. many drinking alcohol. some others in the square, challenged the behavior. there were scuffles. police struggled to keep them apart. we were broadcasting live when someone started letting off fireworks. riot police moved forward, surrounding the crowd and slowly driving it out of the square. another rival group began chanting, too, denouncing the men in black as hateful racists, and cheering for the police as they advanced. the police used a water canon to clear the square. some people here were left more upset because of what they had just seen. daniel says his 19-year-old daughter lost two legs in the

suicide blast at the metro station. >> you see this? that's not normal. my daughter, has half-legs. >> reporter: it exposed a powerful divide in how people here are responding to terror. phil black, cnn, brussels. well, before brussels, it in many ways we might have seen this backlash coming after similar responses in paris. those attacks offer a great deal of context of what's happening in brussels now. the name abdeslam, notorious and tied to the bloodshed last november. cnn got an exclusive interview with two of the brothers' friends. they told our nina dos santos, that the terrorists barely resemble the men they both knew.

>> reporter: this was life before isis. the abdeslam brothers partying at a nightclub in brussels. it's february 8th, 2015. eight months later, brahim would blow himself at a cafe. salah becomes the world-most wanted man. two of the friends took the video in the club. they talked to cnn, on the condition we hide their identities. trn salah, was very neat. he was funny. you could have a laugh with. it wasn't unusual for him to have a drink or two. but he didn't go out and get drunk. brahim was more intelligent. he was better behaved. >> reporter: they first began hanging out with the abdeslam brothers in 2011, when they went

to this bar, which is now shut following a police raid. they came here to drink, to play cards, to smoke marijuana and also to watch the brothers' favorite football team, real madrid, play on the tv. things could get boisterous. here, brahim cheers on drunken antics. >> translator: i used to go there after work to have a drink, have a laugh with friends, play cards. anything that involves betting with money, really. >> translator: you felt at home, among family. >> reporter: among that family, hamza and raji. the friends say they were duped. >> translator: i was hamza attou. and around 10:30 or 11:00 p.m., he was asked him to pick him up in france because his car had broken down.

>> reporter: not long after this party, they stopped drinking and became more religious. >> translator: they prayed more. at the mosque, maybe only on fridays. otherwise, it was praying at home. >> reporter: praying and plotting. no one, even their closest friends, knows why the abdeslam brothers changed so much, so quickly. brahim got on with everyone. he didn't have problems with black, white, whatever race or religion. >> reporter: he didn't, until this. nina dos santos, cnn, brussels. >> all right. we'll go back to michael holmes at the half-hour mark for more from brussels. let's move on now. russian president vladimir putin is congratulating syrian president bashar al assad, on recapturing the ancient city of palmyra from isis. mr. putin said russian air support was key to the syrian army's success. and he says moscow will continue supporting damascus in fighting

terrorists. earlier cnn spoke to retired lieutenant colonel rick francona, about the significance of the syrian army's victory. >> this is a big win of the syrian regime. it shows the effectiveness of the russian airpower they poured in there the last few months. it is a good win. it's a morale booster for the syrian army. and it's another notch down the pegs for isis. they suffered some defeats over the last few months. this is probably the biggest on the battlefield. and this pushes them further up against the tigris river. the euphrates river in syria. it opens up the road to eastern syria. it's a small enclave where the syrian regime has a besieged garrison there. they need to get out there and do that. this is a good sign for the syrians. >> president assad says syria will rebuild palmyra.

much of the historic city was destroyed by isis after its capture. bernie sanders is on a winning streak in the democratic race for the white house. ahead, what he still needs to do to complete a path to his party's nomination. plus, you don't need to be on twitter to know what these five presidential hopefuls are saying about each other online. we will examine the crossover between social media and mainstream news. back in a moment. if you have allergy congestion muddling through your morning is nothing new. introducing rhinocort® allergy spray from the makers of zyrtec®. powerful relief from nasal allergy symptoms, all day and all night. try new rhinocort® allergy spray. all day and all night. i can get over 60 sheets mercedes-benz metris. to get 60 sheets of drywall into my van, i invented the fold-o-matic 5000. my metris also holds over 2,500 pounds of payload.

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democratic u.s. presidential hopeful bernie sanders is on a tear. he told supporters he has the momentum to ultimately win his party's presidential nomination. on saturday, he won caucuses in three states. in alaska, with 16 delegates at stake, he had 82% of the vote. in hawaii, with 25 delegates, sanders grabbed 69% of the votes. and in washington state, with 101 delegates at stake, he

grabbed 73%. when it comes to the national delegate count, hillary clinton is far ahead of bernie sanders. cnn's chris frats explains that sanders has to pull off more landslide victories to catch her. >> reporter: bernie sanders swept hillary clinton by wide margins, beating the front-runner in hawaii, and alaska. they give him enough momentum and delegates to keep him in the hunt. all of those delegates are awarded proportionally. despite losing, clinton was able to put points on the board. to figure out where things stand now, let's go to the numbers. going into yesterday's contests, sanders trailed clinton by about 300 pledge delegates. with the sweeping wins, sanders, still lags clinton by about 240 delegat delegates. about 60 delegates gained there for bernie sanders. there's delegate that will

likely go into sanders' column. going forward, sanders, he needs to continue to put up the big wins. he has to win 75% of the delegates left to clinch the nomination. and 75% is a really high bar. and clinton for her part, she needs to win 35 of the delegates remaining to become the nominee. and meanwhile, the gop race, that's been largely quiet this weekend, with candidates taking a break from campaigning for easter. the few between donald trump and ted cruz, it's gotten personal, with the candidates' wives being dragged into the fight. and ted cruz blaming donald trump for planting a tabloid story about him and it was a charge that trump denied. >> all right. more on the ever-growing feud between donald trump and ted cruz. the latest row involves delegates from the state of louisiana. trump beat cruz in the march 5th primary by almost 5%. but the cruz campaign is using

its might to sway ten more delegates towards its camp. and trump is threatening to sue. in an interview with abc, he said the republican system is broken. >> the system is a broken system. the republican tabulation system is a broken system. it's not fair. i have so many millions of votes. i brought people into this party by the millions. you understand that. they voted by the millions more. it's one of the biggest stories in all of politics. and what do i have. i have a guy going around trying to steal delegates. this is supposed to be america. a free america. this is supposed to be a system of votes, where you go out and have elections, free elections. not elections where i won. i won louisiana. and now, i hear he's trying to steal delegates. you know, welcome to the republican party. >> cnn is hosting the republican town hall this week, featuring donald trump, ted cruz and john

kasich. you can watch it wednesday at 1:00 a.m. in london, 8:00 a.m. in hong kong, right here on cnn. before relieve politics. one last announcement from the trump camp. the front-runner's daughter, ivanka, gave birth to a boy on sunday. and here he is, theodore james. theodore, which can be shortened to ted. as in ted cruz. this is trump's eighth grandchild. and chelsea clinton is set to give birth this summer. it may be late for it, there's some snow coming to some western u.s. states. karen maginnis joins us with the latest forecast. karen, it's supposed to be spring. >> so it would appear. at least on the calendar. but we have a powerful storm system that's going to take a while to move out of the great basin of the united states. we're going to see the wind whip around, all the way from montana, down across the central

see sierra nevada. this is where we're looking at snowfall. maybe as much as a meter in some places. a lot of moisture being fed in from the south. but also from the north. we get a little bit of a break in the pacific northwest. but not for very long before the next round of snowfall moves in. there you see, right along nevada and utah, we could see a couple of feet. but the higher peaks, plenty of snowfall. the ski operators might stay open longer. this is where the substantial snowfall will be. what a season it has been. and then, across the united kingdom, and through the english channel, the normandy and the brittany coast, we've seen powerful wind gusts over the last 24 hours. rain has really materialized, especially across the regions. into paris and the lowlands and coastal sections of scandinavia. a little bit of wind and rain to

report there. but very powerful wind gusts, especially along this brittany and normandy coast. and some areas, nearly 130 kilometers per hour. this is typically a windy area. this is fairly exceptional to what we commonly see. by tuesday, the winds slack off a little bit more. but it looks like just a wild break in the weather. the systems are coming in off of the north atlantic. and really feeding in quite a bit of moisture. temperatures have been just about average for this time of year. typically, in the low to mid teens. and we'll see that trend continue. some areas to the south, we'll see temperatures cool down just a bit. there, you can see the long southern fetch of moisture, feeding into portugal and spain, as well. we look at the forecast. as i mentioned, temperatures just about on par to where we would expect them to be. here's a look at london.

it is going to be fairly windy there. watch out. we have advisories for gale-force winds in places. temperatures in the low teens. as we head towards next weekend, we could see the temperatures bump up a few degrees. enjoy that. rosemary? >> thanks so much, karen. we'll talk again soon. still to come, what does model kylie jenner have that the five presidential candidates would dearly love? we're not talking about her wardrobe. before that, we rejoin michael holmes live for the latest developments in brussels. that and more. (patrick 1) how about done? (patrick 2) that's the kind of control i like... ...and that's what they give me at national car rental. i can choose any car in the aisle i want- without having to ask anyone. who better to be the boss of you...

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a warm welcome back to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. i'm rosemary church. want to update you on the main stories we're following this hour. an offshoot of the pakistani taliban is claiming responsibility for a dead suicide attack. it intentionally targeted christians in a park in lahore on easter sunday. 69 people were killed. an official says more than 400 are wounded. vladimir putin is congratulating his syrian counterpart, bashar al assad, for recapturing palmyra from isis. the russian air support was key to the success. and russia will continue in supporting damascus in fighting terrorists. police raids in and around brussels led to authorities questioning nine people. four of them remain in custody.

the police have not announced what relation they may have to the attacks on tuesday. the raids came a day after authorities charged a man they are calling faycal c with terrorist murder. in addition to those raids, belgian police had to use water canons to corral protesters at a memorial site. michael holmes is following all of the developments from brussels and joins us live. the protests were disturbing for a loft the people mourning the victims from the brussels attacks. talk to us about that. and of course, these raids and what they may lead to. >> yeah, indeed. they're very unseemly, rosy. the good in brussels, perhaps uneasy, as the dust settles on

tuesday's horrific attacks. it's not alone in that. the rest of europe struggling with a terror problem that seems to grow bigger every day. as you said, multiple raids, arrests in five different european countries since friday. more overnight. we can tell you dutch police arresting a man in rotterdam at the request of french authorities. that man, in france, was suspected of plotting an impending attack there in france. the man arrested in the netherlands is expected to be extradited to france. a nigerian national in italy was arrested as being a part of the brussels attack in paris. and the mysterious faycal c, the man who police are charging with terrorist murder, among other things, they all seem to be part of a complex framework of terror. it's hard to wrap your head around how far this could

stretch and how many people are involved. want to bring in ryan heath now. he is senior e.u. correspondent for politico. he joins me to talk more about all of this. let's get the nationalist protest out of the way. that unseemly protest. how much of a presence are they in belgium? how organized? or are we talking about skinhead soccer hooligans here? >> they're known. and their somewhat organized. nair not neo-nazis that you read about on the daily newspapers or see on the nightly news. people are aware of their existence. but what was more disturbing was what violence they did create but how they came to be in the protests in the first place. bun mayor of a town about 15 minutes from brussels, knew they were gathering in his town. and then, they were arriving at a station, around a kilometer from the protest site. and the police all but escorted them down to the protest site.

at one level, that's freedom of expression. at another level, how did people with flairs and missiles get into a peace vigil? i was standing about 200 yards away when they arrived. i couldn't get in 2 minutes later. police put the place into lockdown. the capacity was there. why wasn't the sense and the presence of mind there to check them, bag checks, person checks, before they came in the first place? >> it does speak, however, to the rise of the right, if you like, not just here. but in europe in general. >> that's completely right. you see a populous backlash growing for a number of years. not just in relation to security issues. but people who feel left out of mainstream debate. they feel that globalization has left them behind. policymaking and political elites are not listening to them. it's not dissimilar to how donald trump and bernie sanders are able to tap into anger in the united states. this is just a new channel where those groups of people are

finding a way to have a backbone. >> let's talk about the arrests in amsterdam, the man in the netherlands. that's related to a man picked up in france, who was plotting an impending attack. not related to brussels. what this speaks to is a very broad web throughout europe, that is related to attacks everywhere. >> it shows that a national database is not going to cut it when you try to track people down. it doesn't matter how good your national police and security services are. if you're a weak link in a wider chain of 28 or more countries in europe, you're not going to sofl the problem. all of the countries are going to have to work together. they have to adopt best practices. they're finding more of the dissent now. that's the glimmer of hope. >> you have a european union. you have theoretically, a

commonality across the continent, that does not seem to exist between intelligence services who are very protective of their own sources, their own information. and in belgium in particular, what we saw was a real breakdown of not talking between -- well, talking between countries, as well. but talking within the security services within the country. do you see, now, talking to your friends, your contacts, a growing failure at the structural level? >> i would say there's unrest. many belgians gather for easter sunday lunch. and if families do that anyway. i think there is unrest, i would say. they're not willing to condemn the government yet. but more and more, you look at the belgian papers the th morning, we need answers. we want to know what really happened. and we can't stop until we get the answers. that's a long way from the previous position, which was close ranks.

let's get through this. let's stay united. now, there's a lot more questions as each new revelation comes out. >> do you think the government here -- you report politics all the time. do you think the government here was caught offguard by this, despite what we know is a large number of foreign fighters who come from belgium, despite the knowledge about the problems with radicalization within parts of belgium. do you think the government was caught offguard by this? and almost didn't realize what the failures were? >> that is true, if you dial back to january 2015. but i think they knew people were leaving for syria three or four years ago. and at first, they were happy that was happening. they thought they were exporting the radicals and it wouldn't come back to slap them in the face. when they busted a big attempted plot in the eastern edge of belgium in 2013, they knew maalenbeek was the problem. things ramped up between then and november, the paris attacks. that was the big wake-up call.

and a lot more money has been put in since then. you have a culture of unaccountability in belgium because no one is responsible because the power is so fragmented, the decisionmaking is devolt, very few people have their heads on the line when something major goes wrong. until that happens, you're not going to see the speedy turnaround that would have saved brusles from this attack on tuesday. >> good analysis. ryan, thanks so much. ryan heath, who has been with us from politico throughout our coverage here in brussels. you know, it's interesting, rosemary. when you saw from nina's story earlier, nina dos santos' story, too, so many of the suspects were not raised in a fundamentalist sort of household. they were out drinking, smoking, womanizing and then radicalized. that's the challenge for belgium and other european countries, as well. is to head off the radicalization, the message that is getting to people and turning

them into terrorists. now, we're going to have much more to discuss live from brussels in the next hour. now, back to you, rosy, in atlanta, with the rest of the news. >> many thanks, michael. still to come here on cnn newsroom, what's in a tweet? we will evaluate the impact of social media on the u.s. presidential campaign and examine what works and what doesn't. introducing rhinocort® allergy spray from the makers of zyrtec®. powerful relief from nasal allergy symptoms, all day and all night. try new rhinocort® allergy spray. what aremaking a cake!ht now? ayla reminds me of like a master chef and emiana reminds me of like a monster chef. uh oh. i don't see cake, i just see mess. it's like awful. it feels like i am not actually cleaning it up what's that make mommy do? (doorbell) what's that? swiffer wetjet. so much stuff coming up. this is amazing

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and here's one on twitter that you might not have heard. kylie jenner, daughter of kris and kaitlyn announced that she had 30 milli15 million follower. it advanced the question, is social media, alone, impacting, what we think of our politicians? or are traditional media simply turning what's said online into mainstream news? joining me to talk about the interplay between the traditional and the social media, is host of "reliable sources," brian stilter. thank you for joining us. >> you, too, thanks. >> we've seen social media

giving people a voice, in the arab spring, iran, and a host of other possibilities there. what we're seeing play out right now between donald trump and ted cruz is a more negative use of social media, with a twitter war that's raising eyebrows. is it social media that's reaching the big audience? or is it traditional media p perpetuating it and fueling it? >> i look at social media to be the springboard on to mainstream outlets. don't count out television and newspapers and websites yet. these traditional news organizations, the big news rooms, are still delivering the messages that might start on twitter and facebook and instagram and snapchat and every other social network, including some i don't know about yet.

in many cases, it's traditional media fueling it. trump has been using twitter to keep the unsourced story about cruz alive. trump is trying to give it more fuel through traditional outlets. >> you look at the math here. it is interesting that kylie jenner is celebrating 15 million followers. while the five presidential candidates combined have about 16 million followers on twitter. >> there's limits to that celebrity. donald trump needs traditional television. keep in mind what they don't share online. they don't share information about the fund-raisers or his foirps and they don't fact-check themselves. there's important roles to play for traditional outlets, as we figure out the relationship between the mediums.

>> where have the candidates got it wrong and got it right in terms of using social media? and reaching, presumably, they want to get the younger audience out there. >> certainly, there are wise messages, to amplify this. when hillary clinton or bernie sanders or ted cruz post a video from one of their rallies, they reach a lot more audience than in person. we have come a long way, in 2008, when both parties were nominating candidates, twitter was brand-new. facebook was mostly for young people and college students. we're seeing the tools used in a more professional way to organize voters, to encourage sign-ups for newsletters. it's in second and third inning. as many millions of followers

are, to your point, the true celebrities have bigger audiences. not just the kardashians, although, they are some of them. these candidates need the normal megaphones that barack obama and before him george w. bush, used to get to the white house. >> yeah. it seems it's another tool, doesn't it? >> it is an important tool. >> it is. and interestingly, donald trump seems to be ready to dump twitter as a tool once he becomes president. listen to what he had to say to the abc about that. >> frankly, it's a good way of communica communicating. but i won't do it as president. i will act as the best interest in our our country. our country is going to be protected, not like it is now, where we have nobody at the helm. we have nobody protecting the interests of our country. we're being ripped off by every nation in the world and we can't even beat isis at war.

>> brian, what's your takeaway from that? >> he started to say he will move a lilt away from the twitter app if he is elected president. i've noticed, if you look at trump's facebook and instagram accounts, they're a kinder gentler version of his campaign. he uses twitter for the below-the-belt messages, the snarkier messages. he's started to figure out how to use different mediums in the best way possible. maybe he uses twitter for the nastier stuff because that's where journalists congregate. he knows people covering his campaign will see it there. on facebook and instagram, where are the platforms of a general audience and a friendlier tone, he's adammpted to those. he's masterful to get his message out. people around the world are horrifying to see his campaign growing the way it is. the messages that have come through from him. the way he uses social media is

different than the way hillary clinton and bernie sanders have on the other side of the fence. we are many months from the conventions, aren't we? >> we are. strap ourselves in, right? brian stelter, many thanks. >> thanks. let's take a short break here. still to come, in jerusalem, one of christianity's most sacred sights have a an unlikely custodian. the contract helping to keep the peace is just ahead. back in a moment. someone's hacked all our technology... say, have you seen all the amazing technology in geico's mobile app? mobile app? look. electronic id cards, emergency roadside service, i can even submit a claim. wow... yep, geico's mobile app works like a charm. geico. expect great savings and a whole lot more. if you have allergy congestion

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♪ pope francis celebrates easter mass for tens of thousands of people in st. peters square sunday, amid tight security. the event celebrates the resurrection of jesus christ. in his easter sunday address, pope francis denounced blind and brutal violence by terrorists. and he urged countries to take in migrants and refugees. many christians believe the origin of easter can be found in jerusalem. the city is home to a church believed to house jesus' tomb. now, this church is sacred to many christian denominations.

so, a neutral party has held the key to that church for centuries. cnn's oren lieberman has the story. >> reporter: holy week dawns in jerusalem. the tension of the old city has melted away. adib makes his way to his job. he carries with him the obligation of centuries. >> good morning. >> reporter: his ancestors have held this job. now, it is his turn. he is entrusted with the key of the church of the holy sepulcher. this is the site where the bible says jesus christ was crucified. it is one of the holiest sites in christianity. and its key belongs to a muslim family. a neutral guardian for a site sacred to so many denominations. he shows us the family cupboard, inside a koran and a bible.

the contracts for the guarding of the key date back hundreds of years. he shows us the oldest contract in his home. it was written in 1517. this is the familiar heritage, he says. it's all we own as a family. this is not only an honor for our family. this is an honor for all muslims in the world. he has pictures his great grandfather, who cared for the key at the turn of the last century. in this family, that's recent history. this is the key to one of the holiest places in christianity. and every morning, this key opens the door. for 500 years. >> for more than 850 years. >> reporter: he tells me what we pass to the next generation is not only the key, but the way you respect other religions. at 4:00 in the morning on holy thursday, the armenian orthodox offer their prayers. then, the franciscans, the greek orthodox and others. he protects the key for all of them. it's a mod official co-existence dating back centuries, that can

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terror in pakistan. a powerful explosion kills nearly 70 people in lahore. many of them women and children. a taliban splinter group says they are responsible. government forces recapture the ancient city from isis fighters in syria. also ahead, gambling, marijuana, boozing nights, an exclusive inside look at the lives of two brothers, suspects in november's paris attacks. hello and welcome to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm rosemary church. this is "cnn newsroom."

a grim warning from militants in pakistan that more violence against christians will come. an offshoot of the pakistani taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on easter sunday. at least 69 people were killed, many of them women and children. more than 400 others are wounded. it happened at a busy park in the center of lahore. sophia saphi joins us now with the latest from islamabad. the people of lahore of course still trying to come to terms with the enormity of this deadly and tragic attack. what more are you learning about the shocking blast and the group claiming responsibility for it? >> reporter: well, rosemary, we know the attack took place at around 6:45 in the evening yesterday at this crowded park. it took place near a children's amusement park, which is why most of the dead and injured are women a children. we know that most of the victims

were burn victims. a lot of the injured in the hospital suffered fractures because there was so much of a rush that they had to climb over walls to get out of the madness that ensued. we actually have some sound from one of the witnesses and the victims at the scene. let's have a look at what they said. >> translator: we went to a canteen to have something to eat when there was suddenly a big blast. everyone panicked. running in all directions. many of them were blocked at the gate of the park. dead bodies could be found everywhere. >> reporter: well, rosemary, this as you know was one of the victims who had seen -- who had actually experienced what happened there. the government has strongly condemned this attack that took place in lahore. the group that was behind the attack actually took responsibility for another attack that took place in the northwestern city of peshawar

just earlier this month and was in fact also responsible for another attack in lahore last march which targeted two churches around easter time as well. rosemary? >> and sophia, how does the pakistan government plan to respond to this attack? what are they doing to try to protect people from this threat of more attacks? >> reporter: rosemary, we know the prime minister was in a meeting with the interior minister and other top officials for over four hours yesterday. we also know that the military actually came in to provide some sense of calm at the park, at the scene. the chief army staff of the military has said that -- he's condemned it. he's said they're going to go out and nab these militants and try to find whoever was behind the attack. there's a lot of grief. there's a lot of shock at what's happened. and it's a story that continues to develop as the day goes on. rosemary? >> sophia, talk to us about the christian population there and

what sort of things they'll be doing now to try to protect themselv themselves. because they are the target here. >> reporter: they are indeed the target. they were the ones who experienced the most pain at this -- after this attack. we know that the christian minorities themselves in pakistan are highly oppressed. punjab, the province where the city of lahore is, has the highest concentration of christians in the country. there isn't much security. the government has reassured minorities time and time again that they will provide proper security, but as of right now, what we're seeing, there hasn't been much provided. so there is a lot of fear and a lot of despair as to what will come for these communities in the days ahead. >> sophia saifi joining us there live from islamabad. many thanks to you. appreciate it. russian president vladimir putin is congratulating his syrian counterpart bashar al assad on the syrian recapture of palmyra. syrian army forces backed by

russian air support drove isis out of the ancient city sunday in what it calls a mortal blow to the militant group. mr. putin says russia will continue surpporting damascus i fighting terrorists. cnn international correspondent arwa damon is covering the story for us from istanbul in turkey and joins us now live. of course, arwa, you have covered this story many, many times. let's talk about what this means for the region, with syria taking palmyra. >> reporter: well, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves in trying to declare that this is going to be some sort of turning point in the broader battle against isis. isis moved into palmyra give or take about a year ago, taking control of this ancient city, destroying millennia-old tombs and other relics that had been left behind, beheading one of

the chief antiquities expert, an elderly man who had dedicated his entire life to trying to preserve and uncover the many mysteries of palmyra. now, this was back when isis did take it over. interestingly, one of the first times and only times that iceus had directly confronted the syrian regime. this is not necessarily one of the areas where isis has for years established full-time control, not necessarily an area that is as fortified as some of its other strongholds. the syrian army was able to reportedly recapture it thanks to those russian air strikes. hundreds of them reportedly pounding various different isis locations, which is what allowed the syrian troops to move forward. it is, however, a symbolic and to a certain degree strategic gain for the syrian army given palmyra's location, which is right on the road to one of the

other more significant isis strongholds of der azur. this will serve to bolster the morale of the syrian army and the standing of the assad regime. but it is also clear to underline in all of this, rosemary, that once again we're seeing the assad regime make gains that they could not have made without that decisive support from russia. >> but arwa, your take on this is not to get too excited about this move. you're not seeing it as a turning point, any significant turning point? >> reporter: well, look, rosemary, isis still controls iraq's second largest city of mosul. yes, there the iraqi army has managed to recapture some villages and towns around it but those villages and towns are still 45 to 60 kilometers away. isis still controls significant swaths of syria, to include the city of raqqah. and these other areas isis

controls are areas that it has fortified, it has dug itself in and areas that are going to be defended to a much more significant degree than isis would have necessarily defended palmyra. and some will say that isis moved into palmyra trying to push its own battle lines forward because, yes, it is being attacked by the americans, by the russians, by the assad regime, by the iraqi security forces and their various different militias. so strategically speaking, isis would want to push out the barriers, the borders of its self-declared caliphate to a certain degree. but these are not necessarily areas that it is going to end up defending to the death like raqqah, like mosul. >> all right. arwa damon reporting there live from istanbul. many thanks to you. want to get some more insight on syria's recapture of palmyra. we turn to cnn military analyst retired general rick francona. he joins us via skype from la

quinta, california. rick francona, good to talk with you. i want to get your take from a military perspective. what do you think is the significance of recapture of palmyra and what could this mean for the battle against isis? >> i think it's an important step in the battle against isis. and as arwa says, palmyra was not as defended as maybe raqqah and mosul will be. those will be bigger battles. but this is a first step. and it was important for the syrians to take that step. but i think vladimir putin was exactly right. the russian air power was key to this. if it hadn't been for the russian air force providing air support to the syrians on the ground, they would not have been able to take palmyra back as easily as they did. and it was a pretty quick operation. that said, the syrians have to keep pushing. they've got to go up toward raqqah in the north but they've also got to go out there to the east to der assor. mostly surrounded by isis.

the syrians have to keep pushing and that's going to require additional russian air power. the russians are going to do that. so i think it's a first step. it's an important first step. and of course it's a symbolic step. it really gives the assad regime a real morale boost, and it solidifies his position with the syrian people. it strengthens his position. of course that plays right into the russians' hands. the russians have played in very, very well. >> so an important first step. so what's isis's likely next step here as it fights back in response to this loss? >> well, isis is being isolated. and it's going on not only in syria but in iraq. we see that the american -- the coalition in iraq is really trying to isolate mosul. we've got the kurds moving to encircle mosul. they've cut the road between mosul and raqqah at sinjar. we see the russian air force trying to isolate raqqah and

bombing in raqqah. so i don't know if there's a coordinated effort yet. there may be at some point. but when you've got all this air power trying to isolate isis you can break them into different enclaves. if we can separate mosul from raqqah that's two enclaves they have to defend. and iraqis will try to roll up mosul while the syrians try to roll up raqqah. i think we're not at the turning point yet but we are certainly getting close. and the next probably few months are going to be critical as the iraqis try to move on mosul and the syrians try to move on raqqah. so air power's going to be the key on both sides. and relying on local boots on the ground. >> yeah. and of course you mentioned mosul and raqqah. it is critical. but how long might that fight be to try to take back those two cities? >> yeah. i know that the iraqis are telling everyone that the liberation of mosul has begun. but as arwa said, they're still 60 miles away.

we see a lot of movement from the iraqi army, trying to push up the tigris valley. but that's a long way. and as they go up there they're going to have to take these towns, they're going to have to hold these towns, which is always a problem, against any isis count ar tacks. and then they're going to have to marshall their forces to attack the city of mosul. they don't have the manpower yet to do that nor do they have the technical expertise just yet. on the syrian side it depends how much air power the russians are willing to put in there. the syrians are in better shape militarily than the iraqis right now. >> all right. as you say, an important first step here with the retaking of palmyra. we will watch very closely to see what happens next. many thanks to lieutenant colonel rick francona. good to talk with you. we are following several new developments in the investigation of the brussels terror attacks. michael holmes is in the belgian capital. he joins us now michael, of course, we were talking about

the weekend protests and the impact they've had on the morale there in brussels but also too these raids and the impact they're having. >> reporter: that's right, rosemary. plenty to talk about when we come back. a peaceful vigil for the victims in brussels ends with water cannon dispersing hundreds of protesters. we'll explain what went wrong. also, new insight into the abdeslam brothers. friends telling cnn they partied, played cards, went drinking and smoking and nightclubing before the attacks that rocked paris back in november. an exclusive interview where this inner circle coming up later this hour. we'll be right back. we needed 30 new hires for our call center. i'm spending too much time hiring and not enough time in my kitchen. (announcer) need to hire fast? go to ziprecruiter.com and post your job

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welcome back, everyone. well, it seems like all of europe is on edge after the horrific attacks here in brussels. dutch anti-terror police have arrested a man at the request of french authorities on sunday. they caught up with him in rotterdam on suspicion that he was part of a terror plot targeting france. he's expected to be extradited

there soon. police here in belgium carried out 13 raids around the capital brussels on saturday. and they are still detaining four people from those operations. the place de la bourse faces another problem. nationalist protesters as you see there on your screen swarming what had been a peaceful vigil for days at this memorial for victims that still continues behind me. hundreds of these people all dressed in black disrupting the peaceful mourners. and there were some scuffles as well. our phil black was there to see it all firsthand. >> reporter: this is what the place de la bourse has looked like since the day of the brussels attacks. large quiet crowds honoring the victims. sometimes applauding respectfully. that changed sunday. hundreds of men dressed in black with their faces covered invaded the square. "we're in our home," they cried.

they surrounded the memorial site and rolling flags and banners screaming together --. these were right-wing nationalists. loud, aggressive. intimidating. many drinking alcohol. some others in the square challenged their behavior. there were scuffles. police struggled to keep them apart. we were broadcasting live when someone started letting off fireworks. riot police moved forward, surrounding the crowd and slowly driving it out of the square. another rival group began chanting too, denouncing the men in black as hateful racists. and cheering for the police as they advanced. the police used water cannon once they were clear of the square. it was all over in about an hour. the memorial was quiet again. but some people here were left even more upset because of what they'd just seen.

daniel hollibeck says his 19-year-old daughter lost two legs in the suicide bloast at maalbeek metro station. >> when you see this, it's not normal. my daughter don't have legs. >> reporter: the atmosphere of quiet sorrow was shattered only briefly. enough to expose a powerful divide in how people here are responding to terror. phil black, cnn, brussels. >> reporter: and i can tell you that similar demonstrations popped up in france following the attacks there last november. you may remember anti-muslim backlash at the forefront then and muslims here in belgium fear that trend could continue. our seema mos uh with more on that. >> he had a lucky escape. he missed both the attacks at the airport and metro by minutes. he's in brussels on a business

trip and has barely left his hotel since the bombings. but not just because he's afraid of terrorist attacks. >> i stay in the hotel for two days, i even did not go out because i was scared what will be the people's reaction because of my beard or because i am muslim, i am from pakistan. second i was scared because of the forces, the police. they're doing their job. i'm not saying -- they're doing it for the people's safety. but i don't want to be in that trauma situation where they will be keeping me four to five hours. >> reporter: his wife and family were concerned about racial attacks and a backlash against muslims. his company advised him not to traflt. >> i was scared because of the bag, if i go from one train station to another with my suitcase. and with my appearance. his fears are not unfounded. on sunday right-wing protesters charged through the memorial in

place de la bourse. stamping on flowers, raising nazi salutes. just a day before, members of brussels' muslim community came out to show solidarity with their fellow citizens, laying bouquets of flowers for the victims. muslim mothers brought their children to light candles. >> translator: for me it's immoral and shameful. not all muslims are terrorists. we are against terrorists. we are nice muslims. >> translator: we are human beings. our relationship with god is separate. we're not allowed to judge others. we should put our spiritual side aside and work together. build together. >> translator: there are two types of muslims. there are those who are not good and those who are good. we're not all the same. >> reporter: this little girl wrote a message saying, "i'm against terrorism. why all this war?"

dlarlgss and questions too big for a small child. for some in this community it's unbearable that muslims could carry out such a heinous attack. >> translator: it hurts. these are innocent human beings that are dead. it shouldn't happen. you shouldn't kill innocent people. they haven't done anything. it's not our religion that kills. it's got nothing to do with it. islam is a peaceful religion. >> reporter: amongst the flags of countries that too have suffered from terror attacks, pakistan, afghanistan, turkey, france. a banner above them all reads "not in the name of islam." sima mosin, cnn, brussels. the fight against fear at home may prove to be one of the most pressing issues face countries going forward. now, serge struvance is the brussels representative at the institute for economics and peace, and we've talked a lot over the last few days. we've seen these raids a number -- more than a dozen raids yesterday, sunday. more people picked up.

i'm curious how you see the security strategy unfolding here. >> i will say after the attacks of brussels last week two measures need to be taken. first, assurance or reassurance measures. we need to really put the focus now on security. targeting those network. and this is what have happened even in belgium but also throughout europe. the second phase will be a phase of adaptation. really drawing the lessons from what happened last week, what happened in paris and maybe come up with a new security strategy. >> reporter: so what do you think the belgian authorities are looking for now as they do these raids? who is it and what is it that they're looking for here? >> they are looking at really pinning down the cells active in belgium, part of this i would say europe-wide network. the french do the same with an arrest two days ago and some of the arrests that have been made yesterday in other european countries are really linked to those both cells. >> how strong do you see that cell now? do you see that cell as being whittled down? do you see it as being broken up?

or is it still a threat? and how real is that threat? >> i would say that the network is still a threat. of course there is a terrible backlash for the cell even in belgium and also the one that they are rolling up in paris. but now the network will have to readapt and maybe reshuffle and maybe morph again. so there has been a blow to those cells but the network will reshuffle and readapt. >> it really does point to -- we saw the attack in pakistan overnight on another soft target. and when you're looking at airports, when you're looking at metro stations, you're looking at a park or something like that, or for that matter the people who were gathered down here this past week. when you look at those soft targets it does point to you really can't stop that. it does point to intelligence. what sort of structural changes do you see coming? >> i would say in belgium after the "charlie hebdo" attacks last

year in january, almost 15 months from now, we continuously live under threat of level 3 up to 4. so this is a permanent situation. after the paris attacks in france they lived in state of emergency. you cannot live in state of emergency for six months, a year. so i think maybe we should rethink the security situation in europe, think of this as the basic level and move up from there. >> i want to ask you about the protests we saw there, the nationalists if you like. how organized are they? or are they -- a lost us looked at it and thought, well, they're just a bunch of of skinheads, football hooligans. or are they more of a threat as the backlash rises? >> i think that you have to look at them also as radicalized persons. radical is not synonym for islam. this is also a form of radicalism. so people think that violence or extreme violence is a way to portray or at least to talk to the people to attain your goals. and i think this is also

something that should be really fought. >> serge, thanks so much for coming in again. serge stroobants there. coming up on the program we're going to look at the now infamous abdeslam brothers. in an exclusive interview some former friends explain what the terror suspects were like before they changed so dramatically. we'll be back after the break. '. tylenol® 8hr arthritis pain has two layers of pain relief. the first is fast. the second lasts all day. we give you your day back. what you do with it is up to you. tylenol®.

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this is "cnn newsroom." i'm rosemary church. let's check the main stories we've been following this hour. a splinter group of the pakistani taliban is claiming

responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed at least 69 people. the group says it intentionally targeted christians in a park in the center of lahore on easter sunday. more than 400 people were wounded. russian president vladimir putin is congratulating syrian president bashar al assad on recapturing the ancient city of palmyra from isis. mr. putin says russian air support was key to the syrian army's success. the army calls the victory a mortal blow to isis in syria. and president assad says the city will be rebuilt. police raids in and around brussels led to authorities questioning nine people. four of them remain in custody. the police have not announced what relation they may have to the attacks on tuesday. the raids came a day after authorities charged a man they are calling faycal c. with terrorist murder. let's get back to brussels and

my colleague michael holmes in the belgian capital. he is following the latest on the terror attacks investigation. hello again, michael. >> reporter: hey, rosie. thanks for that. well, as the investigation in brussels continues to unfold, we're seeing much of what happened after the november o'tacks in paris repeat itself just in a new setting. our nina dos santos got an exclusive interview with former friends of the abdeslam brothers. and the name abdeslam of course now notorious and forever tied to the bloodshed last november. and you got some good access to his -- their inner circle if you like, and they painted a remarkable picture. tell us about it. >> reporter: yeah, their inner circle here in brothers. we're talking about a very sort of sleepy street in the molenbeek part of town which is where the abdeslam brothers lived. they actually owned a cafe and had many friends in the area. two friends in particular, michael, spoke exclusively to me and the picture they painted was one of disaffected young youths. many of them had been to prison, spent some time dealing drugs, soft drugs, et cetera, et

cetera. and they felt they said that with the abdeslam brothers they'd managed to create a family-friendly network but they had no idea they would go on to commit the atrocities they allegedly did. take a look. this was life before isis. salah abdeslam and his brother brahim partying at a high-end nightclub in brussels. it's february the 8th, 2015. just eight months later brahim would blow himself up at a paris cafe. salah becomes europe's most wanted man. two of their friends shot the video in the club. they talked to cnn on the condition we hide their identities. >> translator: salah took care of himself. he was very neat. someone who was funny, who you could have a laugh with. bit of a ladies' man. wasn't unusual for him to have a drink or two. but he didn't go out and get drunk. >> translator: brahim was a lot more intelligent. he was also better behaved.

>> reporter: speak under assumed names they say they first began hanging out with the abdeslam brothers in 2011 when they took on the lease at this bar, l le beguin which is now shut following a police raid. they say they came here to smoke, play cards, smoke marijuana and watch the brothers' favorite football team, real madrid, play on the tv. things could get boisterous. here brahim cheers on some drunken antics. >> translator: i used to go there after work to have a drink, have a laugh with friends, play cards. anything that involves betting with money really. >> translator: basically, you felt at home, among family. >> reporter: also among that family, hamza attu and mohammed amri seen here in rashid's photos. they were detained after driving salah back from paris following the attacks and remain in custody. the friends say they were duped. >> i was with hamza attou and around 10:30 or 11:00 p.m. he

received a phone call from salah asking him to come and pick him up in france because his car had broken down. >> reporter: not long after this party they stopped drinking and became more religious. >> translator: they prayed more. at the mosque. maybe only on fridays. otherwise it was praying at home. >> reporter: praying and plotting. no one, even their closest friends, knows why the abdeslam brothers changed so much so quickly. >> translator: brahim got on with everyone. he didn't have any problems with black or white, from whatever race or religion. >> reporter: he didn't, until this. [ gunfire ] >> all right. back now to nina. what's interesting about this is how much they know about these guys within the community. have they been spoken to by security? >> reporter: this is the really interesting part of the story, michael. they knew six of the paris attacker suspects, including two

suicide bombers and one person who's still on the run, mohammed amri who's on the run who was also part of that cafe network. and these two individuals have actually spent time in jail. one of them. the other one has been arrested on suspicion of robbery and then released saying it was a false identity and the police got his identity wrong. but despite the fact that they've had repeated brushes with the law, michael, they have not been spoken to by authorities, they say, about the inner circle and what they knew. adding to this also, what we should, is that one of them had a 15-year-old cousin who was prevented from going to syria just the other day in another belgian city. it just goes to show that authorities have not been speaking to these people. it's an interesting insight into the inner circle. >> you've got to wonder whether another ball is being dropped there in terms of counterterrorism in this country. nina dos sanity okay, gretos, gg as always. let's take it back to you, rosemary church, at the cnn center. >> thanks so much, michael. we'll take a very short break here. but still to come, a group of islands is at the center of a

territorial dispute in the south china sea. we will tell you which countries are laying claim in this power struggle. that's next on "cnn newsroom."

a would-be suicide bomber in cameroon is claiming to be one of the kidnapped nigerian schoolgirls. she was one of three young women stopped by locals friday. one escaped. boko haram militants kidnapped more than 200 girls from the town of chabok back in may 2014. the nigerian government will send a delegation to find out if the girls are indeed from that group. the delegation will include chabok community members and parents of missing girls. a power struggle is brewing in the south china sea. several governments have long claimed different parts of that body of water, and now a group

of islands, rocks really, are at the center of the disputed claims. cnn's ivan watson was invited to one of the contested islands, which is guarded by taiwan but also claimed by china. >> reporter: the contested waters of the south china sea seen from a taiwanese military plane. and this is what greets you when you land at taiping, an island controlled by taiwan. taiping is a tiny island. it basically runs the length of this runway. the taiwanese government first laid claim to this place more than half a century ago. but this is the very first time the government says that journalists have been invited to see it firsthand. and it's at a time when tensions are ratcheting up here in the south china sea. at least six different countries have competing claims for this body of water. but china claims almost all of it. and to cement china's claim,

beijing has been building a series of manmade islands atop reefs and atolls in the hotly disputed spratly archipelago. it's making the neighbors nervous. >> we are opposed to militarization, military expansionism in the area. >> reporter: enter the u.s. navy. we caught up with the aircraft carrier "john c. stennis" shortly after it sailed through the south china sea, performing an unmistakable show of u.s. force. >> just being there in the south china sea shows we believe we have the right to operate in international waters. all ships, not just military vessels but civilian vessels. >> reporter: washington calls these visits freedom of navigation operations. they clearly irritate the chinese. >> the chinese navy. please go away quickly.

>> reporter: last year cnn accompanied a u.s. navy spy plane that flew over china's manmade islands. beijing expressed outrage, issuing formal protests and calling these operations a very serious provocation. so where do smaller claimants like taiwan fit in? on taiping officials showed off the island's chickens and goats as well as supplies of fresh water. if taiwan proves taiping can sustain human life, then the taiwanese can make the case for a potentially lucrative 200 nautical-mile economic exclusion zone around the island. amid the contest for control of the south china sea taiwan is trying to demonstrate that it too is a player and should not be overlooked. meanwhile, other small countries like vietnam and the philippines are reaching out to the u.s. for help at counterbalancing china

as it continues to flex its naval muscle in this contested body of water. a place that feels like a tropical paradise is instead becoming part of a much bigger regional power struggle. ivan watson, cnn, taiping island in the south china sea. all right. we turn to the weather now. and strong winds and rain are affecting parts of france and the united kingdom. flights have been delayed and canceled due to some of the winds, which have gusted over 100 kilometers, or about 60 miles per hour. our karen maginnis joins us now in the weather center with more. this is very messy but not so unusual, is it, karen in. >> reporter: no. we've seen -- it's kind of a transitional time, rosemary but we've seen one system after the other. this one has really packed a punch with these gusty winds. this is going to prevail throughout the rest of the morning. and as we go to the afternoon hours you might see a couple of

breaks. but you can clearly see on the satellite imagery just kind of the circulation that's taking place here. what about those winds? yes. in some instances well over 120 kilometers per hour. but not just along the southern coast of england. also extending over toward the brittany and normandy coasts of france. very strong, gusty winds there. so a lot of impact can be felt. looks like the winds do start to taper off as we go toward monday evening. but they're still going to be fairly brisk. and there are yellow and amber alerts out for some sections of england extending on down toward france. but we're looking at the potential for the gusty winds to continue there as well as into the lowlands and into southern scandinavia as well. so you can see a little bit of dry air intrusion is taking place here that occurred over the last 48 hours or so. but those were pretty brief but a very vigorous and dynamic weather system here. it looks like some of the highlands, that changes over to some snowfall as well.

but this has been a real unsettled time period but not unexpected because we're trying to see that transition where the atmosphere goes from that wintertime pattern now to more springtime pattern. i can better believe that you really don't feel like it's springtime with the wind blowing around so vigously and that showery conditions. there's another area of low pressure that is expected to move right on in behind this. so if you're traveling into or out of gatwick and heathrow, you'll need some patience because it is going to be very trying. they have diverted some of the flights out of -- from landing at gatwick to an area just to the south. we're seeing a number of tweets around that area that suggest that the delays are going to be ongoing. into north america, the northeastern corner of the u.s., it's going to be showery, overcast, and windy. and mounting snowfall may prolong the ski season across some of the ski resorts across

the western united states, along with some pretty blustery conditions. snow levels lowering here as well. so spring not coming in like a lamb, rosemary. back to you. >> indeed. all right, karen maginnis, many thanks to you. let's take a short break here. but coming up, batman versus superman soars at the box office despite lackluster reviews. why critics are slamming the tale of two comic book legends. that is next.

black and blue. god versus man. day versus night. >> the latest superhero movie is flying high at the box office. "batman vs. superman: dawn of justice" nabbed the biggest march opening weekend ever, earning more than $170 million in north america. it also made an impressive $424 million globally. the fourth biggest worldwide opening in history. but despite scoring big with audiences, the movie has received a brutal takedown by critics. "batman vs. superman" is produced by warner brothers,

part of time warner, the parent company of cnn. kim serafin from "in touch weekly" joins me now to talk more about "batman vs. superman: dawn of justice." hey there, kim. so lots of people very excited to see this movie. myself included. i know you've seen it. but how much does this movie need to make to break even, and how's it likely to overcome some of these really bad reviews? >> yeah. well, first of all, you have to say record-breaking numbers at the box office this weekend. it was the fourth largest global debut in history. the sixth largest domestic debut. 170 million domestically. 424 million globally. so it is making a lot of money. and a lot of these bad reviews did not deter fans clearly from going to see it. but as you mentioned, it does cost a lot of money to make the movie. 250 million to make the movie plus an additional 150 million to market it. so you have 400. but what they're saying is it

needs to make at least 800 million to kind of recoup all the costs. but i don't think it's going to be a problem considering the debut it had. it should easily i think make up to a billion dollars. >> we'll see what happens. and of course with so many fans enjoying the movie despite these bad reviews you have to ask how much do critics actually matter these days? >> it's true. it really did get some pretty bad reviews. i think it was a 29% review on rotten tomatoes. it was called joyless, annoying. those are some of the nicer things that were said about it. but clearly it didn't deter people from going. and i think that is a question. do critics matter and how much do they matter? especially in this age of social media. especially when word of mouth really carries a lot. and especially when you're dealing with such iconic characters. when you're dealing with batman. when you're dealing with superman. when there was so much build-up to this movie, with ben affleck playing batman and just people wanting to see this new whole

universe of justice league. and that's really what this movie did. it really was a launching pad for this whole new kind of marvel rival universe of justice league. you have more movies coming out. you have two justice league movies coming out. you have the wonder woman stand-alone movie. you got a glimpse of her, got to see her and meet her in this movie. aq aquaman has a stand-alone movie. the flash. there's all these new characters coming into play, and i think that's what made people so excited to see this. bad reviews cannot bring down batman, basically. >> it's interesting. as you were talking we saw one of these reviews, "it's a mess you've got to see." how are the cast and the director reacting to the negative reviews? >> well, it's funny because obviously they have been asked about some of these negative reviews. there's a very funny video. people have probably seen it online. the sad batman movie that everyone -- the sad batman meme that everyone is talk about. someone at a press junket asked henry cavill and ben affleck about what they thought of these bad reviews. henry cavill goes on to say it's really about the fans, it's really about the fans.

and ben affleck is kind of just sitting there. they start playing "the sound of silence" over him. and at the end he said, "i agree." but they really -- clearly it doesn't matter. zack snyder has said the same thing. amy adams. they say it's really all about the fans. and that's what it's all about. >> you've certainly got to have thick skin, haven't you, to sort of deal with some of these reviews. and so many people getting involved in being critics themselves despite their background. so people just have to move forward. we'll be watching the movie and we'll make up our open minds, right? that's what we're supposed to do. >> that's right. and remember how many people criticized ben affleck getting cast as batman way back when. clearly that did not stop people from going to see this movie. >> it did not. kim serafin, many -- great to talk with you as always. >> thanks so much. well, donald trump's inflammatory comments about hispanics have given him quite a reputation south of the u.s. border, and so mexicans included him in a tradition, the burning of effigies.

every year around easter mexicans set fire to cardboard figures that look like politicians or celebrities they dislike. looks like trump made quite the pop. for the record, u.s. president barack obama was also among the effigies this year, as was el chapo guzman, the mexican drug lord who escaped and was then recaptured. i'm rosemary church. for michael holmes in brussels and all of us here at cnn center, thanks for your company. "early start" is next for our viewers in the u.s., and for those of you elsewhere more "cnn newsroom" is coming up next. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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new terror raids and arrests across europe as investigators hunt for the two surviving bombers. tensions over terrorize as protesters come in the city. and dozens dead and hundreds wounded as christians crowd a park on easter sunday. we are live with who is behind the deadly attack. isis pushed out of a key historic city. is the caliphate losing ground? good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans. >> i'mli