Much-anticipated monsoon may not solve India's drought crisis

By Juliet Perry and Huizhong Wu, CNN

(CNN)India's killer heatwave is leaving the country reeling from the worst drought in decades and a rural population struggling to survive.

Relief is due with the arrival of the monsoon in mid-June, and because of the impending La Nina weather pattern, the forecast is for above-average rainfall.

However WaterAid India's Head of Policy, Nitya Jacob, says groundwater levels are so depleted that even if a good monsoon comes in June -- and meteorologists predict there will be one that ends the drought -- it won't be enough.

"Even if the monsoon is good, it cannot compensate," Jacob told CNN.

Central Water Commission data shows that India's major reservoirs are 79% empty, and 75% of India's basins are holding less water than the 10-year average.

CNN Meteorologist, Michael Guy, says this is usually the hottest time for the subcontinent, but this year has seen an unprecedented spike in temperatures. 

"India is currently in their summer or pre-monsoon season, which lasts from April to late May, or early June," says Guy.

"This year we've seen temperatures range from the lower 40s to as high as 47˚C or 116˚Fahrenheit. For some, this is three to five degrees (Celsius) above normal."

And critically, the past two monsoon seasons have seen below average rainfall.

"This has had a huge impact on groundwater supplies," says Jacob.

Impact on the ground

The government estimates up to 330 million people could currently be affected by the dry climate conditions.

"We are seeing that people don't even have enough water for drinking," says Jacob.

In an open letter to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April, more than 150 of India's activists and academics expressed their concern about the drought's impact on the rural population.

"In areas where rains have failed, farmers who depend mainly on rainwater to irrigate their crops have no, or very low, crop yields," they wrote.

"Those who rely on irrigation are also affected, with groundwater sinking and streams and reservoirs drying up."

The combination of heat with humidity makes India a global hot spot for heat-related illnesses and fatalities -- so far the government estimates more than 370 people have died.

2015's heatwave led to around 2,500 deaths in India, making it among the top five deadliest years in recorded history.

"It was a wake-up call for us," said K. Dhananjaya Reddy, the director of disaster management in Andhra Pradesh, a state that saw more than 1,300 deaths in 2015.

 

In 2016, as part of a prevention strategy, 10 cities across the hottest parts of India have teamed up with different organizations to create plans to combat the heat.

"All of the plans are focused on the most vulnerable population who don't have access to air conditioning, or have to work outdoors," says Anjali Jaiswal, Natural Resources Defense Council's India Initiative director.

The low-tech solutions range from warning systems, to medical training, to enforcing cuts to power and water supplies during cooler times. In Bihar, according to The Hindu, the increased threat of wildfires has even resulted in a cooking ban between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Weird weather

El Niño is a periodic weather event characterized by warming ocean temperatures. The most serious effects are heat waves and water scarcity, and we are currently coming to the end of one of the worst El Niño periods in two decades.

Why this El Nino could be the biggest on record

While the effects of El Niño are global and widespread, it hits Asian countries the hardest: heat waves and drought become a more common occurrence, leading to energy, food and water insecurity. 

The good news is that this current El Nino system is fading, and the impending monsoon rains are offering rural villagers, as well as those locked into sweltering cities, some cause for optimism.

Meteorologists also say that the upcoming La Niña impacted monsoon is expected to be heavier than normal. "The forecast is quite positive," says CNN Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.

At the start of the hottest month of the year, with forecast rains still weeks away, and no certainty that the coming rains will be enough, only time will tell how India will cope.

North Korea puts on once-in-a-generation political event

By Will Ripley and Ralph Ellis, CNN

(CNN)North Korea, one of the world's most secretive nations, is putting on its biggest political event in 36 years.

The 7th Congress of Workers' Party began Friday in Pyongyang, the nation's capital and biggest city.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the event will "lay out the brilliant blueprint that will advance the final victory of our revolution," according to the state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun.

But the secrecy surrounding the event continues, even with the presence of more than 100 international media outlets.

About 3,000 party members have poured in for this once-in-a-generation political gathering, officials tell CNN.

The congress will be held at a convention center called April 25 House of Culture. While the building also hosted the previous party congress in 1980, it was not officially announced as this year's venue until the day before the gathering.

There will be plenty of spectacle as thousands of costumed North Koreans will parade and perform choreography in this scrubbed-down metropolis.

Political pronouncements are likely, though nobody is sure what Kim has in mind.

The meeting, which was initially reported in October, is being convened to reflect "the demand of the party and the developing revolution," the official state Korean Central News Agency reports.

What will Kim do?

There is speculation Kim could move away from his father's "military first" ideology and reinforce his own brand of simultaneous nuclear and economic development.

The congress is also likely to see Kim announce the continuation of North Korea's nuclear weapons program. That, along with military intelligence, is a major reason why many South Korean and U.S. government officials believe a fifth nuclear test could happen at some point during the congress.

Kim ordered what was claimed to be a hydrogen bomb test on the same week of his birthday in January. It was followed a month later by a satellite launch, which led the United States and its allies to push for a new round of strong sanctions aimed at halting the regime's nuclear and missile programs.

Those sanctions have made it difficult to improve the North Korean economy, another major issue facing Kim.

"The goal of this congress is really to consolidate Kim's hold on power," said Mike Chinoy, author of "Meltdown: The inside story of the North Korean nuclear crisis."

"During the rule of Kim Jong Il the focus was very much on 'military first,' the armed forces had even more influence than before. Kim Jong Un has been shifting power back to the ruling Korean Workers' Party."

Doing so, along with continued nuclear tests, may enable Kim to reduce the amount resources spent maintaining a traditional army, Chinoy said.

Speculation on reasons for the congress

Last congress in 1980

Kim's birth date is unknown, but he's thought to be in his early 30s, meaning he wasn't even alive when the last congress was held in 1980.

At that time, his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, North Korea's founder and president, elevated his son Kim Jong Il to No. 2 in the party, solidifying his position as successor. Kim Jong II took power in 1994 when his father died and never held a congress.

He died in December 2011, and his son took command of the military.

The new congress has involved much more than politicians.

To prepare for visitors, thousands of regular North Koreans have engaged in a "70-day Battle" to clean up Pyongyang. They have hung banners, swept sidewalks and planted flowers ahead of the event.

Student bands even played patriotic tunes to lift the spirits of citizens and encourage them to work harder to make their capital look its best.

According to state TV, the campaign concluded with "144% achievement," with Rodong Sinmun adding that it had united the people around Kim in a way that "cannot be reversed by any enemy."

CNN's KJ Kwon and James Griffiths, and journalist Sol Han contributed to this story.

 

Trump, Clinton score major victories

By Stephen Collinson, CNN

Washington (CNN)Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton scored huge victories Tuesday that bring them closer to a monumental duel for the White House in the fall.

Trump's political strength was on display with a clean sweep of races in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Clinton delivered big wins in Maryland and Pennsylvania -- the biggest prizes of the night -- along with Delaware and Connecticut. Bernie Sanders picked up his sole victory of the night in Rhode Island.

The wins for Trump -- following a massive victory last week in New York -- move him significantly closer to the 1,237 delegates he needs to win the nomination outright heading into the convention in July. In the process, he inflicted serious blows on the legitimacy of claims by rivals Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich that he should be deprived of the nomination.

"This to me was our biggest night," Trump said in his victory speech. "I consider myself the presumptive nominee."

Clinton's big wins, meanwhile, help bolster her campaign's argument that it is time for Sanders to make a decision to stop personal and political attacks on the former secretary of state that could weaken her ahead of a showdown in November with Republicans.

She climbed on stage to cheers in her election night headquarters in Philadelphia, the city that will host the Democratic National Convention this summer.

"With your help, we are going to come back to Philadelphia for the Democratic National Convention with the most votes and the most pledged delegates," Clinton declared. "And we will unify our party to win this election and build an America where we can all rise together, an America where we lift each other up instead of tearing each other down."

Exit polls: Wealth colors viewpoints in 'Acela' states

Clinton foreshadowed the potential general election clash with Trump that could center on women voters.

"The other day, Mr. Trump accused me, of playing the, quote, woman card," she said. "Well, if fighting for women's health care and paid family leave and equal pay is playing the woman card, then deal me in."

Trump struck back during his victory speech.

"I think the only card she has is the women's card," Trump said. "She has got nothing else going. Frankly, if Hillary Clinton were a man, I don't think she would get 5% of the vote."

He added: "And the beautiful thing is women don't like her, ok?"

As of 10:45 p.m. ET, Trump picked up at least 99 delegates on Tuesday, bringing him to 945 compared to Cruz at 563 and Kasich at 152. Clinton won at least 72 delegates, boosting her total to 2,026, which includes pledged and superdelegates. Sanders holds 1291, including pledged and superdelegates.

Pennsylvania's wild card delegates could make or break Trump

Not backing down

Still, Trump and Clinton's challengers showed no sign of backing down Tuesday despite a rapidly narrowing path to the nomination.

Cruz, speaking before polls closed -- in a clear sign that he expected a bad night -- slammed the media for what he said was a premature judgment that the general-election nominees would be Clinton and Trump. He branded them "New York liberals."

But he predicted things would change next week.

"I've got good news for you tonight, this campaign moves back to more favorable terrain," Cruz told a crowd in Indiana.

Sanders also spoke early in West Virginia, which holds its primary next month, and made clear he is not leaving the race. He said he had a "significantly larger" lead in match-up polls over Trump than Clinton — hinting that he would press on with his bid to convince superdelegates to back him instead of Clinton at the Democratic National Convention in July.

He said he was winning independent voters and some Republicans and added: "That is a point that I hope the delegates to the Democratic convention fully understand."

Clinton banking on a big night

In the Democratic race, Clinton's victories build on her resounding success in New York, which stunted Sanders' momentum and left the senator -- for all his fundraising muscle and large rallies -- fending off calls from Clinton supporters to fold his campaign so that she can start exclusively targeting Republicans.

Bitter Pennsylvania Senate primary has Democratic establishment on edge

Sanders and Clinton were competing for 384 pledged delegates on Tuesday. Clinton went into the night leading Sanders by 253 pledged delegates, according to a CNN estimate, and dominated the count among superdelegates -- party officials and activists who also have a convention vote.

At her victory speech, Clinton extended an olive branch to Sanders in an apparent effort to begin the process of unifying the Democratic Party behind her candidacy.

"I applaud Sen. Sanders and his millions of supporters for challenging us to get unaccountable money out of politics and putting greater emphasis to closing the gap of inequality," she said. "I know together we will get that done."

CNN's Dan Merica contributed to this report

Nuclear terrorist threat bigger than you think

By Joe Cirincione

Joe Cirincione is the president of Ploughshares Fund, a global security foundation. He is the author of "Nuclear Nightmares: Securing the World Before It Is Too Late," and "Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons." He serves on the secretary of state's International Security Advisory Board. The views expressed are his own.

(CNN)Nuclear policy experts can seem like Cassandra, constantly prophesizing apocalyptic futures. In case you haven't noticed, we don't live in a Mad Max world devastated by nuclear war. Terrorists have not blown up New York with a makeshift nuclear bomb. We haven't bankrupted ourselves, despite the trillions of dollars spent on Cold War weapons.

Cassandra's curse, however, was not that she was wrong, but that no one believed her. I don't know a single nuclear expert who thinks that the threat of nuclear terrorism is shrinking. I don't know a single one who thinks that the actions taken by world leaders at this week's Nuclear Security Summit are enough. We are fearful. And you should be, too.

Joe Cirincione

Chills went down a lot of experts' spines last month when we saw the news that the Brussels bombers, the ISIS terrorists who blew up the airport and attacked the metro, were secretly videotaping a Belgian nuclear official. This official worked at a facility that had radiological material that terrorists could use for a "dirty bomb." We do not know if they were filming him or his family, if there was a kidnap plot in motion, or what their exact plans were. But this is not some Hollywood fantasy. This is real. A nuclear terrorist event may be closer than you think.

What are the risks? First, that terrorists could steal a complete nuclear weapon, like SPECTRE in the James Bond thriller, "Thunderball." This is hard, but not impossible. The key risk is that the outside terrorists get insider help: For example, a radical jihadist working at a Pakistan weapon storage site. Or the Belgian base just outside Brussels where we still stash a half-dozen nuclear weapons left over from Cold War deployments. Or the Incirlik air base in Turkey where we keep an estimated 50 weapons just 200 miles from the Syrian border.

Second, terrorists could steal the "stuff" of a bomb, highly enriched uranium or plutonium. They cannot make this themselves -- that requires huge, high-tech facilities that only nations can construct. But if they could get 50 or 100 pounds of uranium -- about the size of a bag of sugar -- they could construct a crude Hiroshima-style bomb. ISIS, with its money, territory and global networks, poses the greatest threat to do this that we have ever seen. Such a bomb brought by truck or ship or FedEx to an urban target could kill hundreds of thousands, destroy a city and put the world's economy and politics into shock.

Third, there is the possibility of a dirty bomb. Frankly, many of us are surprised this has not happened already. I spoke to Jon Stewart on his show 15 years ago about the danger. This is not a nuclear explosion unleashed by splitting atoms, but simply a conventional explosive, like dynamite, laced with radioactive material, like cesium or strontium. A 10-pound satchel of dynamite mixed with less than 2 ounces of cesium (about the size of a pencil eraser) could spew a radioactive cloud over tens of square blocks. No one would die, unless they were right next to the explosion. But the material would stick to the buildings. Inhaling just a speck would greatly increase your risk of getting cancer. You could go into the buildings, but no one would. There would be mass panic and evacuations, and the bomb would render a port, financial district, or government complex unusable and uninhabitable for years until scrubbed clean. Economic losses could be in the trillions.

North Korea doesn't have an H-bomb (Opinion)

Fourth, terrorists could just attack a nuclear power reactor, fuel storage or other site to trigger a massive radioactive release that could contaminate hundreds or thousands of square miles, like Chernobyl or Fukushima. While nuclear reactors are hardened against outside attack, including by the intentional crash of a medium-sized jet plane, larger planes could destroy them. Or a series of suicide truck bombers. But it might not even take a physical explosion. This week, it was reported the United States and the United Kingdom are to simulate a cyberattack on a nuclear power plant.

Can we prevent these attacks? Yes, by eliminating, reducing and securing all supplies of nuclear materials so that terrorists would find it too difficult to get them. And by reducing and better protecting nuclear reactors and spent nuclear fuel.

Are we doing enough? No. "The capabilities of some terrorist groups, particularly the Islamic State, have grown dramatically," says Harvard scholar and former Bush Administration official William Tobey, "In a net calculation, the risk of nuclear terrorism is higher than it was two years ago."

The United States spends about $35 billion on nuclear weapons every year. This year, we will spend $1.8 billion on all our efforts to stop the spread these weapons and stop nuclear terrorism. You don't have to be a nuclear expert to know something is out of whack here.

It is time we put our money where our threats are.

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Obama: Trump 'doesn't know much about foreign policy'

 

By Nicole Gaouette

Washington (CNN)President Barack Obama said Donald Trump's suggestion that Japan and South Korea should consider obtaining nuclear weapons demonstrates the Republican presidential front-runner's lack of understanding about foreign policy and the world at large.

"The person who made the statements doesn't know much about foreign policy or nuclear policy or the Korean Peninsula or the world generally," Obama said at a news conference at the close of the Nuclear Security Summit.

Obama described the U.S. nuclear umbrella for Japan and South Korea, in place of their own arsenals, as "one of the cornerstones of our presence in the Asia Pacific," which has provided the U.S. peace, prosperity and flowing commerce.

"It has prevented the possibilities of a nuclear escalation and conflict," he added. "You don't mess with that. It's an investment that rests on the sacrifices that our men and women made" in World War II.

Japan, South Korea hit back at Trump's nuclear comments

He concluded, "We don't want someone in the Oval Office who doesn't recognize how important that is."

The summit came as the Republican front-runner to replace Obama in the White House made several controversial nuclear proposals this week.

Trump said that nuclear proliferation is the world's biggest challenge, but also suggested at a CNN town hall on Tuesday that it may be time for Japan and South Korea to develop their own nuclear arsenals so the U.S. can pull back from Asia.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida squelched the idea of his country developing its own nuclear weapons, saying, "It is impossible that Japan will arm itself with nuclear weapons."

The island nation is the only country to experience a nuclear attack, when the U.S. ended World War II by dropping bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and has been committed to a non-nuclear defense posture since then.

Which countries have nuclear weapons?

Trump has also suggested redrawing U.S. security relationships in other regions, arguing that Germany and Saudi Arabia need to do more in their own defense or pay the U.S. more for the protection it offers.

And he's proposed using nuclear weapons to put a swift and definitive end to the threat of ISIS.

"I would never take any of my cards off the table," Trump told MSNBC.

U.S. affirms Japan security backing after Trump nuclear comments

The summit, the final of four Obama has held during his presidency, drew leaders from around the world to discuss ways to prevent the use of nuclear weapons and better secure nuclear materials, especially from the threat of nuclear terrorism.

Obama said global efforts to improve nuclear security have removed from circulation material that is equivalent to 150 nuclear weapons, safeguarding it from extremists.

"That's material that will never fall into the hands of terrorists," Obama said.

Non-proliferation efforts mean the entire continent of South America is free of nuclear materials. If Poland and Indonesia meet commitments this year, Central Europe and Southeast Asia will follow suit, he said.

"As terrorists and criminal gangs and arms merchants look around for deadly ingredients for a nuclear device, vast regions of the world are now off-limits, and that's a remarkable achievement," he said, admitting that much work remains.

Opinion: Nuclear terrorist threat bigger than you think

Obama said that while leader-level summits are ending, the delegates have agreed to create a new nuclear security contact group of more than 30 countries to institutionalize their work and build on their achievements.

Obama said he realized that "our vision will not happen quickly, perhaps not in my lifetime, but we have begun."

He noted that nuclear stockpiles are the lowest they've been in six decades. "I'm extremely proud of our record," he said.

The summit focused particular attention to ISIS, devoting a special session to the group, which has demonstrated an interest in nuclear materials, Obama said. After the Paris attacks in November, investigators found hours of footage tracking the movements of a Belgian nuclear official.

Obama said earlier Friday that it was likely that as the anti-ISIS coalition continued to make gains against the terrorist group, the organization would try to conduct more attacks outside the Middle East.

"As ISIL is squeezed in Syria and Iraq, we can anticipate it lashing out elsewhere, as we've seen most recently and tragically in countries from Turkey to Brussels," Obama said Friday, using another acronym for ISIS.

At the opening of the nuclear conference's Friday session, Obama said the summit's work -- mostly done quietly behind the scenes in the months between high profile gatherings -- served the crucial purpose of reducing the chances that nuclear materials could be stolen.

"The single most effective defense against nuclear terrorism is fully securing this material so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands in the first place," Obama said.

Obama's vision of a nuke-free world is tested by ISIS, Russia

He called on the attending countries -- more than 50 -- to improve intelligence sharing and do more to cut off the flow of foreign fighters going to Syria and Iraq.

"The sense of urgency that we've shown in destroying ISIL in Iraq and Syria also has to infuse our efforts to prevent attacks around the world," Obama said. "We simply cannot afford to have critical intelligence not being shared as needed, whether between governments or within governments."

The summit meeting offered an opportunity to "explore ways to step up those efforts," Obama said.

Over the four meetings that have taken place since 2010, the nations involved have made 260 commitments to improve nuclear security and implemented three-quarters of them, the president said.

Nuclear non-proliferation has been a focus for the President since his days as a junior senator from Chicago. He co-wrote legislation on nuclear controls and travelled to inspect safety measures at nuclear sites in Eastern Europe and Russia while in the Senate.

Much of the nuclear summit's work has focused on reducing countries' levels of highly enriched uranium or improving training for handling nuclear materials.

Critics have said that the efforts fall short because discussions haven't focused on military stockpiles of highly enriched uranium or civilian plutonium, seen by resource-poor countries as a potential source of energy.

And they point to Russia's decision not to send high-level representation as a setback, given that the U.S. and Russia between them control the vast majority of nuclear materials.

But Obama claimed progress Friday, announcing that 102 nations have ratified what he called "a key treaty," a Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material which will enter into force in coming weeks.

That, Obama said, gives "us more tools that we need to work together in the event of theft of nuclear material or an attack on a nuclear facility."

Leaders wrapped up the meeting with a communique that pledged to use the foundation built during the four summits to guide future work.

"Sustaining security improvements requires constant vigilance at all levels, and we pledge that our countries will continue to make nuclear security an enduring priority," the statement said.

 

Opinion: Is Turkey coming in from the cold in Europe?

Soner Cagaptay, Special to CNN

 

Is the EU is ready to hold its nose in dealing with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's authoritarian administration?

(CNN)Turkey is facing the largest wave of terror attacks in its history -- in the past six months alone, the country has been hit by five deadly attacks. 

Islamic State (IS) has targeted Istanbul twice and Ankara once since October 2015, killing at least 120 people, and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has hit the Turkish capital Ankara twice, killing at least 65 people.

How Europe responds to the crisis facing Turkey could be crucial to the country's future -- as well as Europe's.

The only silver lining for Turkey at the moment is the reopening of the country's European Union (EU) accession talks. 

Although Turkey and the EU entered into membership negotiations in 2005, the country's membership process came to a halt soon after.

Recently, though, Turkish-EU ties have taken on new life. In December 2015, Ankara and Brussels opened a new chapter in accession talks covering monetary policy, and earlier this month the two reached a deal on a plan for handling refugees.

This is because Brussels realizes that it needs Turkey's help with the refugee crisis threatening to break the EU at its seams. Turkey is a frontline state in the refugee crisis, and the EU needs Turkish cooperation.

Accordingly, talks have restarted and the EU is ready to hold its nose in dealing with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's authoritarian administration.

Why Europe has a bigger terror problem than the U.S.

Benefits to both

Turkey has its own reasons to get back on track with the EU.

In 2005, soon after membership talks commenced, Erdogan's government put EU accession on the backburner, declaring 2005 the "Year of Africa" in foreign policy in a clear snub to Brussels, and then pivoting Turkish foreign policy to the Middle East.

As Turkey turned away from Europe and towards Erdogan's foreign policy dream of marching into the Middle East to become a regional star in the last decade, the public pivoted away from Europe with him.

Opinion polls conducted by the German Marshall Fund (GMF) show that whereas 73% of Turks were in favor of joining the EU in 2004, in 2010, this number had dropped to 38.

And then the Arab Spring took root at Turkey's doorstep and emboldened Ankara to throw its support behind anti-Assad rebels in Syria to oust the Assad regime on its own.

Suicide bomber had ISIS links, says Turkey's interior minister

 

 

Pakistan bombing: Suspects, arms seized after attack on Christians kills 69

By Sophia Saifi, Holly Yan and Daniyal Hassan, CNN 

Lahore, Pakistan (CNN)Security forces, hunting for suspects in the deadly Easter Sunday bombing targeting Christians in a Lahore park, raided locations in three cities overnight and arrested suspected terrorists, a military spokesman said Monday on Twitter.

No details were given on who had been arrested or what role -- if any -- they may have played in the bombing, which killed at least 69 people, a local government spokesman told CNN.

The blast injured more than 341 others, Punjab government spokesman Jehangir Awan said.

A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamat-ul-Ahrar, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had targeted Christians. The group vowed more such attacks.

The overnight raids by military and intelligence agencies targeted locations in three cities across the Pakistani province of Punjab, including Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan, military spokesman Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa tweeted.

In addition to the unspecified number of arrests of suspected "terrorists and facilitators," forces also recovered a "huge cache of arms and ammunition," Bajwa said.

 

Operations were continuing, "with more leads coming in," he tweeted.

Sunday's attack came at a poignant time for Pakistan's Christians, some of whom were in the city's Gulshan Iqbal Park to celebrate Easter on Sunday evening.

The religious group makes up only 2% of the population, and tensions are high between them and a hardline Muslim core that wants to see a strict interpretation of Islamic law take precedence in Pakistan's legal system.

'Dead bodies ... everywhere'

One witness named Danish was at the amusement park with his two sisters.

"It was so crowded that there was even no way of entering it," he told reporters. "There was suddenly a big blast. Everyone panicked, running to all directions. Many of them were blocked at the gate of the park. Dead bodies can be found everywhere."

He said one of his sisters died; the other was wounded.

"The object (that) hit her looks like a piece of hard iron, and it burned her in the neck," Danish said. 

 

95 years after disappearance, USS Conestoga is found

By Mariano Castillo, CNN

(CNN)It was peacetime when the USS Conestoga departed from California's Golden Gate strait on March 25, 1921, but in one of the biggest maritime mysteries the vessel disappeared without a trace.

The Navy seagoing tugboat and its 56 officers and crew went missing so long ago that the famous bridge that spans the Golden Gate did not yet exist.

On Wednesday -- nearly 95 years after the Navy declared the Conestoga and its crew lost -- the shipwreck's discovery was officially announced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Navy.

The wreck was first discovered in 2009 in the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary about 20 miles west of San Francisco, and an investigation initiated in 2014 confirmed that the wreckage was the missing Navy vessel. 

"After nearly a century of ambiguity and a profound sense of loss, the Conestoga's disappearance no longer is a mystery," NOAA Deputy Administrator Manson Brown said in a news release.

The Conestoga departed Golden Gate en route to American Samoa via Pearl Harbor, but never arrived in Hawaii. A massive air and sea search followed, but was called off by June 30, 1921, according to NOAA.

A NOAA team was doing a hydrographic survey in 2009 when it discovered what looked like an uncharted shipwreck. 

In September 2009, a NOAA/Fugro multibeam sonar survey of the area around Farallon Islands documented a probable shipwreck with an estimated length of 170 ft at a depth of 185 ft.

The agency, together with Navy experts, confirmed the wreckage belongs to the Conestoga and made the formal announcement.

"We hope that this discovery brings the families of its lost crew some measure of closure and we look forward to working with the Navy to protect this historic shipwreck and honor the crew who paid the ultimate price for their service to the country." Brown said.

NOAA and the Navy's investigation hypothesizes that the tugboat, possibly towing a barge, ran into a storm on its way from California to Hawaii. The investigators believe that the vessel tried to reach a protected cove on Southeast Farallon Island, but didn't make it.

"This would have been a desperate act, as the approach is difficult and the area was the setting for five shipwrecks between 1858 and 1907," according to NOAA's report. "However, as Conestoga was in trouble and filling with water, it seemingly was the only choice to make."

 

 

Japan kills 333 minke whales

By Jareen Imam, CNN

 

U.N. to Japan: Stop whale hunting – Three dead minke whales lie on the deck of the Japanese whaling vessel Nisshin Maru in the Southern Ocean. 

(CNN)Japan's whaling fleet has returned with more than 300 whales harvested from Antarctic waters, according to the country's Fisheries Agency.

A four-ship fleet from Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research traveled to the Antarctic Ocean and killed 333 minke whales. Some 230 were female; about 90% of these were pregnant, according to the report.

The research was conducted as part of an effort to understand the minke whale populations in the Antarctic Ocean, the Japanese Ministry of Fisheries said in a statement on its website. The purpose was to study the best methods for managing minke populations, the ministry said. It said there were no incidents with anti-whaling activists.

In the past, opponents, including New Zealand and Australia, have raised concerns about the legitimacy of the scientific research contention. In 2014, the United Nation's International Court of Justice ordered Japan to halt its whaling program, over concerns of its whaling activities in the Antarctic region.

On social media, Greenpeace, a longtime opponent of Japan's whaling program, stated in a tweet: "The Japanese whaling fleet defies the UN and kills 333 whales, including 200 pregnant mothers."

Japan has continued to reject international orders to stop its program, alleging that its whaling activities are vital to a larger body of research, as opposed to commercial purposes.

Scientific research gets exemption from the 1986 international ban on commercial whaling. But the International Court of Justice rejected Japan's scientific claims and ordered an end to its JARPA II research, which claims to study the maintenance and improvement of the minke whale population and the effects of environmental changes on the whale's food supply, according to its website.

Japan launched a new research program after the court ruling in 2014 that says 333 whales could be killed annually, according to Japan's Fisheries Agency and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The four vessels left the port of Shimonoseki, southwest of Tokyo, in December 2015 and returned Thursday. The expedition was part of a 12-year program that will kill 4,000 minke whales.

CNN's Paul Ferguson contributed to this report.

 

CNN/ORC poll: Clinton tops Trump on presidential traits

By Jennifer Agiesta, CNN Polling Director

Washington (CNN)If Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the respective front-runners in the race for the Democratic and Republican nominations for president, wind up leading their respective parties into the general, voters nationwide think Clinton would most likely win in the November election, according to a new CNN/ORC Poll.

The poll also finds Clinton would start the general election contest with an edge over Trump on several potential presidential qualifications, with the former secretary of state widely seen as better able to handle the responsibilities of being commander in chief, more in touch with the middle class and more often aligned with Americans' views on important issues.

Hillary Clinton on Donald Trump: America needs 'steady hands'

Overall, 56% say they think Clinton would win a match-up between the two leading candidates in November while 42% say Trump would take it. Democratic voters are more convinced that Clinton would win (87% say she would) than Republicans are about Trump (75% say he would win), and Republican voters who aren't currently backing Trump are particularly skeptical of his chances. Among that group, 40% say Clinton would win, 57% Trump, vs. 92% of Trump supporters who think he would win in November.

The complete CNN/ORC poll results

An earlier release from the same survey found Clinton ahead of Trump in a hypothetical general election match-up, 53% to 41% among registered voters.

The new poll also asked which of the two candidates was better described by a range of potential presidential attributes. On those, 55% say Clinton would make a better commander in chief vs. 36% for Trump, and 51% see Clinton as more in touch with middle-class problems vs. 36% for Trump.

Opinion: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are made for each other

 

Does Donald Trump know what he's talking about?

By Tara Setmayer

Tara Setmayer is former communications director for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-California, and a CNN political commentator. Follow her on Twitter @tarasetmayer. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN)It's no secret why Donald Trump doesn't want to do any more debates. Despite his delusions of grandeur, thinking he's done so wonderfully in all of them, the reality is he really hasn't. He's lost his temper, name-called, and in arguably one of the lowest points of primary debate history, referred to his manhood. Not exactly a reincarnation of the Lincoln-Douglas debates.

Once you get beyond his histrionics at these debates, Trump is exposed for his alarming lack of policy knowledge on a whole host of issues and is unable to explain clearly how he plans to implement the few he does. Lack of substance isn't a new criticism for Trump's campaign, but he's managed to get a pass from voters on it because he's tapped into a vein of voter disgust unlike anyone else.

Trump has flip-flopped on key issues, backtracked on others, even flat out changed his mind on some, but those are pesky details his supporters don't seem to care about. According to Trump, the only thing we need to know is he is the only one who can negotiate "better deals," so we can "win" and "make America great again."

The shtick may work well on the stump, but it doesn't go over as well when he's on a debate stage where he is held accountable for his actions and challenged by his opponents directly. Trump doesn't get to control the narrative up there, and he doesn't like it.

So it was no surprise when Trump announced he would skip the next debate, leading John Kasich to pull out, too, thereby forcing Fox News to cancel it altogether. CNN provided an evening of town hall-style interviews Monday with all five remaining candidates on both sides of the aisle. Of course, Trump had no problem with this format. He thrives on his ability to frustrate even the most seasoned interviewers by using his uncanny ability to steer the conversation wherever he wants, no matter the initial question. Dodge, deflect, change the subject, repeat.

Trump telegraphed his campaign's messaging strategy moving forward. No matter the question asked, he defaulted to the same basic overarching themes: We aren't winning overseas, the United States is broke and only he can negotiate good deals, and the nominating rules are somehow unfair if there's a contested convention.

When challenged on his controversial stance on reducing American involvement in NATO and how our allies would react to such a move, Trump pivoted to our country is "under attack in every way," we are $19 trillion in debt and can't afford it. For Trump, the geopolitical implications are relegated to an afterthought to keep the message simple. Or perhaps he simply has no idea about those details, so he deflects. 

On the Israeli-Palestinian peace process? Trump reassures us he's a great dealmaker. He repeats the absurd notion that participating as the grand marshal of the Salute to Israel Parade in 2004 somehow validates his claim that no one knows Israel better than he does.

Perhaps one of the most telling exchanges came when Trump was asked if he'd follow the Republican Party nominating rules if he failed to reach the 1,237-delegate majority to win the nomination before the convention in Cleveland. Not only did he refuse to say yes, Trump launched into a diatribe complaining how the entire process is "mathematically unfair" because he had to compete against so many candidates. What? 

So there it is. Trump's creating a false narrative that the whole thing was rigged from the beginning to deny him and the will of the people if he doesn't win the majority of delegates before Cleveland. It couldn't possibly be that over half of the Republican electorate rejects Trump based on the merits, or lack thereof. Oh no. It's the system's fault. Trump's previous veiled threats about potential riots at the convention were not an accident. Trump's surrogates and apologists in the media have already begun to set the stage.

Sen. Ted Cruz took the opportunity to showcase his plan of attack against Trump, poking holes in the notion that he's anti-establishment. Cruz went down a litany of liberal lawmakers Trump has funded over the years and declared, "His whole campaign is built on a lie. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are the flip side of the same coin. ... He made billions buying influence in Washington, and she made millions selling it."

Exposing Trump's hypocrisy on key issues from immigration to trade is clearly a Cruz campaign theme moving forward. Whether that resonates at this point remains to be seen.

Kasich continued his happy warrior routine, vowing to stay the course despite recent CNN polling that showed 70% of GOP primary voters think he should drop out. However, the same poll also showed Kasich beating Clinton by the largest margin. His argument is electability in the general, but he has a herculean task to get there.

Clinton and Bernie Sanders offered more of the same. Despite having virtually no path to victory, Sanders is staying the course. He continues to outperform Clinton with millennials and liberals, and his supporters are more enthusiastic.

Even though Clinton is the clear Democratic front-runner, head-to-head, Sanders beats all the GOP candidates by larger margins, whereas Clinton only beats Trump, pulls even with Cruz and actually loses to Kasich by 6 percentage points, according to the latest CNN/ORC International Poll.

It looks like both sides have their own nuisance candidates vowing to take it all the way to the convention floor. In this wild political season, how that plays out is anyone's guess.

Brussels eyewitness: 'A lot of people were on the floor'

By Tim Hume, CNN

(CNN)Eyewitnesses described terrifying scenes that unfolded Tuesday as coordinated attacks struck multiple locations in the Belgian capital.

Two explosions -- including at least one suicide bomb -- struck Brussels Airport at about 8 a.m. before another blast hit a subway station in the heart of the city. At least 34 people were killed in the attacks and 170 wounded, according to Belgian media.

Jef Versele, from the Belgian city of Ghent, was making his way to check-in for a flight to Rome when he heard a loud noise from the airport's departure hall several floors below him.

"At first I was not aware that it was a bomb," he told CNN. "I had the idea that an accident had happened in a food court or something like that."

The explosion set off a panic, with people screaming and running through the terminal, before a second blast followed, "which was in my eyes much more powerful than the first one."

The second explosion left wounded people strewn across the floor, blew out windows and collapsed ceiling panels.

"A lot of people were on the floor. They were injured," he told CNN. "It was quite a mess."

He said about 50 to 60 people were injured on his level of the airport, while the scenes on the lower levels were even worse.

Brussels attacks: Live updates

"I think I was lucky, I was very lucky. I think I have a guardian angel somewhere."

It was about 10 minutes before emergency services and security forces arrived and began tending to the casualties and evacuating people to the parking lot, Versele said, where he was able to reach his car and leave the scene.

He said it was hard to believe the scenes he had witnessed. "We cannot believe it, it was so insane. You think not in my backyard."

Brussels attacks: Travel advice

Luggage trolleys used as stretchers for wounded

At the Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel, directly opposite the airport terminal, Anthony Barrett heard a loud noise at about 8 a.m. that "sounded like somebody moving furniture in the hotel room above me."

"When I opened the curtains and looked out, I could see people fleeing the terminal building," said Barrett, who had been attending a conference at the hotel and had been due to fly home to Britain on Tuesday. Footage from the scene showed panicked passengers running along the roads to get away from the carnage.

"It's clearly a very serious incident," he said.

From his vantage point in the hotel, Barrett said he saw dozens of wounded carried out on stretchers or luggage trolleys to ambulances as medics and security personnel swarmed on the scene.

"I can see a man carrying somebody who looks very injured," he told CNN as he watched events unfold.

Maalbeek attack: 'We heard some noises that shouldn't be there'

About an hour later, another blast struck the subway station of Maalbeek in central Brussels, near the European quarter, where much of the European Union is based.

Sander Verniers was riding the subway, in between stations, when he heard and felt the blast.

"I think I was in the subway right behind the one that carried the bomb," he told CNN.

"We all kind of felt a strong wind coming through the carriage, through the subway, and then we heard some noises that shouldn't be there."

The train braked to a halt, passengers opened the emergency exit and were evacuated through the subway tunnels by security forces, fleeing through smoke.

"There was a lot of smoke," he said. "They organized it pretty good, they made sure there wasn't any panic."

Serge Massart was in a nearby European Commission building when he also heard and felt the blast.

"We all felt the building was shaking, a vibration," he said. Crowds began to pour out of the subway station.

Gavin Sheridan tweeted that there were dramatic scenes around the Maalbeek station after the blast, with some people visibly upset.

"A young lady walked passed me in tears," he tweeted.

"One clearly distressed and angry commuter shouted at the hacks (journalists) 'You have no idea what's down there. Bodies...' before storming off."

Belgium: Europe's front line in the war on terror

Danger 'is getting close'

Richard Medic told CNN he arrived at Maalbeek station shortly after the attack to find it cordoned off, with emergency services at the scene.

"I think after the Paris attacks we had been expecting that something like this would happen," he said.

"I don't think it was unexpected."

He said he personally had not changed his routine, although he had noticed a greater vigilance and increased security given the heightened recent terror threat.

"I walk past the European Commission every day to take my daughter to day care," he said. "We walk past soldiers with guns and heightened security and people checking badges a lot more than they used to -- but I think most people go about their daily routine."

Versele, the airline customer from Ghent, told CNN he was a frequent flier from Brussels Airport and had never considered there was any danger attached to traveling from the facility.

"But now, to be honest, it's getting quite close," he said.

He said it was important not to shy away from traveling or living life as normal "to prove that we are not afraid of" those behind the attacks.

But he said maybe authorities are "finally realizing that they have allowed a few people who should not be allowed here. It's a pity these things have to happen before they get aware there's a serious problem."

After Salah Abdeslam's arrest in Brussels, 6 critical questions

CNN's Chris Cuomo, Euan McKirdy and Paul Armstrong contributed to this report.