catherine n.: you are watching "live from paris" from "france 24." a suicide message has been found as police in belgium continue their investigation into tuesday's deadly attacks. more than 40 people have died in the bomb blasts. thousands of people all across belgium honoring the victims today with a minute of silence. special prayers said, too, by the hope in the vatican -- i don't hope -- by the pope in the

vatican. trump and hillary clinton move ever closer to their party's nominations for this --r presidential election this year's presidential election. thanks very much for being with us here on "france 24." starting with the investigation into yesterday's deadly bombings in brussels. plenty of updates coming from belgian police. they found 15 kilos of explosives and what appears to be the will of one of the suicide bomber. they have been -- suicide bombers. they have been conducting raids. the death toll has now risen to 34.

around 200 people are injured. belgium's federal prosecutor says two of the bombers have been identified. one man is still believed to be on the run. catherine clifford has the latest for us on the investigation. this cctv image of three men behind the attacks was revealed shortly after. two are thought to have died in the explosions. the third, on the run. >> one of the suicide bombers born inhim el bakraoui, brussels. the second on the left of the photo has not yet been identified. third suspect, wearing a light coat and a hat, is on the run. he dropped the last bag and then

left before the explosions. catherine c.: the prosecutor also revealed it was tallied up accurately -- it was khalid el-bakraoui who -- where salaht flat abdeslam had been hiding. following a tip from a taxi a large police found cache of materials and insight into one of the attacker's minds. >> investigators found a computer containing the testimony of ibrahim el bakraoui, which declares, "i'm in a hurry. i no longer know what to do. i am being searched for everywhere. if it goes on, i will end up in

a prison cell next to him." apparent c.: this, an reference to captured paris attack suspect salah abdeslam, thought to be linked to el-bakraoui. the country is keeping its terrorism threat level at its highest possible. theerine n.: for all latest, let's cross live to our correspondent in brussels. more raids today. police are trying to pin down of the attackers. belgian media has reporting a third identity is now known. byt is not yet confirmed belgian authorities. meabh: we have seen french media and a number of media here,

flemish and french-speaking, saying they are confirming that information that, according to najimin ources, laachraoui was the other. we have to spread this information very carefully. earlier, it was reported that laachraoui had been arrested during a counterterrorism raid. police thought they were moving in on him, but they had not caught him. on a day like today, with media trying to get their hands on information, the federal prosecutor being very tightlipped. the investigation is very sensitive. we all know there are a number of suspects that have not been caught by police. police do not know what their location are. that's why the federal

prosecutor quite frankly has not replied to the number of phone calls and texts from journalists looking for clarification on .ajim laachraoui is dna was found in two dna was foundis in two locations and on the bond that was used in the paris that was- the bomb used in the paris attas. mohamed belkaid, they believe he was one of the masterminds, and could have been the recipient of the text message that was sent outside of the bataclan theater. meabh, there doesn't seem to be a new link to the middle east. the turkish president has said

that one of the suspects in brussels was deported from turkey to belgium last year. he was flagged by turkey as a foreign fighter and seems to have slipped through the net. meabh: these are very serious allegations. if they are true, the belgian government will have some serious answers to provide to everyone and all the victims of these attacks. we are hearing from officials that -- belgium is denying these allegations. situation, a live trying to handle the situation on the ground with the manhunt and to come to terms with the deaths and injuries, with 14 nationalities being injured. was detainedkraoui and deported from turkey in 2015, we have heard. there was an exchange of letters between the turkish government and the belgian government, that

belgium was arrest -- informed of the arrest. they said they had question him, but they could not find any link between him and any sort of terrorist attack. he was asked then if he could be sent to the netherlands. belgium never asked for his extradition. he stayed in the netherlands. was ableschengen, he to move freely. this is coming from turkish sources. catherine n.: thank you very much. let's bring in a specialist on terrorism and national security at the margaret thatcher center for freedom in washington, d.c. thank you for joining us. police raids are continuing. how big do you think that the network of attackers involved in yesterday's attacks might be?

>> no idea. before the attacks took place, there were suggestions the paris .etwork was around 30 people the network that carried out the attack on november 13. now it appears the entire operation is much bigger. we appear to be looking at dozens, at least, of isis operatives working in europe, planning attacks in europe. will the belgian authorities be able to get a fix on helping the network is? we hope so. -- on how big the network is? we hope so. atherine n.: belgian is such small country in northern europe, bordering france, bordering germany. it seems that people could

easily be spread more widely around europe. >> absolutely. isis -- it makes very little sense for them to base their entire network in belgium or a district of brussels. with the schengen agreement, the fact that you can move around , there areasily probably cells dispersed throughout various countries. if they hadn't done that before this week, they certainly have now. catherine n.: the islamic state group has claimed responsibility for yesterday's attacks. to what extent do you think people in syria are likely to have been involved? is it a case perhaps more of them inspiring attacks, sponsoring people who come to them and say, "we want to do something in the name of the islamic state group"? robin: there have been many isis-inspired plots in the west

over the past 18 months or so. -- whatpened in paris happened in brussels, what happened in paris, seem to have had a direct link to raqqa. there are those who are inspired by the group, but with very little connection to them. these appear to be operationally directed by the isis leadership in raqqa. catherine n.: i suppose the next question is how can those links europe be broand there has beenken. -- be broken. there has been talk about cracking down on finance. learly, they obtained guns and

-- robin: the answer is to defeat isis abroad. defeating isis in the middle east helps bring security to europe. it is only this caliphate it has in iraq and syria that gives it any sense of legitimacy. we really need to figure out a way of taking away that terror -- in order to increase -- increased security in the west. catherine n.: thank you very from thein simcox, margaret thatcher center for freedom in washington, d.c. live pictures from brussels right now. the picture hardly changing since 24 hours ago. hundreds of people spontaneously gathering there in this central brussels square. you can see they have laid out

flowers, candles, other tributes. belgium is observing the first of three days of national mourning. thousands of belgians stood in silence earlier in tribute to the victims. you can hear the spontaneous applause as we listen in. the mayor of brussels also spoke out earlier. out -- hen to reach called on his countrymen to reach out. a minute of silence in memory of the dead. thousands of others across the country, the belgian king and queen, the european commission president, and the country's prime minister came together to stand in solidarity at midday on wednesday. >> more than ever, we have a duty to be at the helm of europe's destiny.

this fate is now being undermined. we now have to come together to be up to the task at hand, to be united. you --r: outside of outside, e.u. flags were at half staff. at the same time, around the capital, a growing carpet of tributes. thousands assembled to pay their respects at the foot of the old stock exchange, followed by a huge round of applause. [applause] reporter: an entire nation united, both in grief and in defiance against terrorism. knows thiseveryone is a horrible thing. this reaction [indiscernible] meanwhile, the king

and queen and other dignitaries came to meet staff at the capital airport, where two explosions brought carnage and mayhem on tuesday morning. on the payment outside of the now that -- of the maelbeek metro station, the prime minister led the tribute there. flowers and tributes continue to pour in from across the globe. catherine n.: the latest news coming in from the associated , citing two anonymous officials in belgium, saying the suspected bomb maker in the attacks in paris last november is one of the two suicide bombers who died at brussels airport yesterday, najim laachraoui, the person who has been talked about in french media this wednesday evening. one european intelligence official and a french police official.

they say that dna from laachraoui has been identified from samples taken at brussels airport. we will let you know if and when that information is verified by belgian authorities. policece, 1600 extra officers are being deployed across the country. british authorities are beefing up their security measures. britain's interior telling parliament this is a continuation of measures in place since last november's attacks in paris. >> these attacks occurred away from the shores of the u.k., but we should not forget that our own threat level remains at severe, which means that an attack is highly likely. we will remain vigilant. the police and security services will continue in their dedication to keeping people safe and the public should remain alert. catherine n.: for more on the reaction in the u.k., let's bring in our london

correspondent. what extra security measures is she talking about today? kingdom's response has been immediate. it was within minutes of the tragic events in brussels yesterday. confirmed that the border force controls by britain have been intensified, as have border controls in belgium. in brussels, where the euro star arrives. in france, whether land, air, or eurostar check-ins. increased officers present at ports and airports. these measures are destined to not only help foil any kind of plot or attack. british police and intelligence services work day and night, like their european counterparts, to stop those, but

also to reassure the public. they are also in the transport networks and across the country. what's also important to underline is that may said that these were precautionary measures. they were not in the light of specific new information. she also underlined that the threat from international terrorism remained severe. in other words, the threat level has not been changed. what that means concretely is that an attack is actually highly likely. the very highest level, the next level, is actually that an attack is imminent. that is not the case. what she also underlined and told people in parliament was, in the last 18 months, police and security services in the united kingdom have disrupted seven terror plots to attack the united kingdom or were either linked to or inspired -- united kingdom. all were either link to or inspired by daesh.

catherine n.: thank you so much, benedicte, our london correspondent. it is just coming up to 9:20 in the evening here in paris. we are going to take you through some other top international news headlines. news from syria that forces loyal to the government say that they are within reach of retaking the ancient city of yra from theof palm islamic state group. troops are within just 850 meters of doing so, one said.the islamic state group overran the city known as the pearl of the desert last may. they have looted priceless antiquities and blown up historic temples and other relics. barack obama is continuing a tour of latin america, meeting the argentine president today. he and marcio macri sealed a traitor -- he and mauricio

macri sealed a trade deal. --ri won the election he said today about the visit that it is the mark of the beginning of an intelligent and bilateral relationship. obama: we just had an excellent conversation. i can tell you president macri is a man in a hurry. he has moved rapidly on so many of the reforms that he promised, to create more sustainable and inclusive economic growth and to reconnect argentina with the global economy and the world community. and today, in a show of confidence in argentina's new direction, many u.s. businesses are announcing tens of millions of dollars of new investments here in argentina. catherine n.: barack obama inaking earlier on

argentina. in the united states, nominating contests have seen the two front runners consolidate their leads. josh varney has more details. josh: big wins in arizona for the u.s. primary frontrunners. hillary clinton and donald trump oath took definitive -- both took definitive victories. win in arizona meant extending a shaky lead over democrat contender bernie sanders, who took both idaho and utah. ms. clinton: it's exciting to see that result come in. in arizona, like washington, like a lot of the states that are going to be expressing their views and counting their boats in the weeks ahead, understand that this is not just a contest between different candidates. this is a contest between

fundamentally different views. josh: meanwhile, republicans nominationt a trump would be disaster for their cruz'sook hope from victory in utah. he was also endorsed by former candidate jeb bush, a group of establishment republicans hoping to keep trump shy of the 1237 delegates he needs to take the nomination before the convention in july. mr. trump: i think we are going to maybe easily make that number of the 1237. we should make it pretty easily based on what i'm seeing, so we won't have to worry about fighting at convention. ight thee democrats f last of the march contests this

saturday. catherine n.: it is time now for a look at the business news headlines of the day with markus karlsson. we are going to look at news from the u.k. a british trader one step closer to a court case. markus: this is a closely watched case we have seen play out over the past months, even years in the united kingdom. a british judge has approved of navinderdition of sarao. in the case try him of the flash crash that took place in 2010, when u.s. shares lost a matter of $1 trillion in minutes. >> this man could face up to 350 years in american jail. sarao is wanted in the

united states on 22 charges, including wire and security from -- fraud. 2010, markets crashed and then rapidly rebounded within 36 minutes. the dow jones industrial average, for example, plunged more than 1000 points, wiping trillion in value. american authorities accused sarao of having manipulated the markets. pushedy he artificially prices down and allowed him to buy contracts at a bargain. sarao made roughly $40 million with this practice, known as spoofing. the judge wondered whether all the blame could be put on a single trader who operated from his parents' london home near he threw -- near heathrow. >> they cannot on any of you be view be laidon any

wholly or mostly at navinder sarao's door, although he was active on the day. markus: looking at economic news next. advisers,top economic the so-called "wise men," say growth will be slower than predicted. europe's biggest economy will expand by 1.5%, down rum under -- from an earlier forecast of 1.6%. weaker growth could undermine demand for exports. domestic consumption will hold up well. the wiseman consists of four men wise menoman -- the consist of four men and one woman. in the united states, shares have closed a little bit lower. not a flash grass, from -- flash

crash. far from it. energy stocks took a hit. nike shares also in focus. they lost steam after the company came out with better-than-expected profits, but weaker than expected revenues on tuesday evening over in the united states. let's bring you up-to-date with european markets. mixed bag for european markets at the end of the trading day, just like in the united states. commodity prices putting pressure on mining shares and also energy shares. the ftse was driven higher by europe's largest home improvement retailer, kingfisher, as it reported better-than-expected results. belgium's main stock market index, and it higher for a straight consecutive day, only slightly so, but still higher after the brussels attacks. let's bring you up-to-date with some other stories we've been watching.

credit suisse has announced plans to cut 2000 jobs as part of a restructuring aimed at cutting costs. it wants to reduce costs by 4.3 billion swiss francs by 2018. d"b"b

03/23/16 03/23/16 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> after what happened in france, we said to ourselves, the capital of europe must had at one time or another, and it was today that it was hit. amy: belgium begins three days of mourning after a pair of bombings targeting the brussels airport and a central subway station killing at least 31 , people and injure over 200.