and what the nature of this coordinated blitz is. when it comes to the investigation in el that officially clearly hasn't started yet but the country because of its experience with the tamil tigers and sporadic can rest between two thousand and nine i guess and where we are today when it comes to looking at c.c.t.v. footage when it comes to seeing if any perpetrators or potential perpetrators of left an electronic or a computer footprint any place the country is actually quite well set up to deploy that mechanism. absolutely peter don't forget that we dealt with a very brutal conflict for over twenty five years a conflict in which time that you had bomb explosions essentially going off every single day there was some days that we had multiple explosions of a massive scale and all the time the authorities had to sorry we just have someone

try to interrupt a shot we have authorities basically trying to use the system to find out who is behind these attacks there's a huge intelligence operation obviously that. is capable of they had to use it during the conflict with the tamil tigers and it is pretty guaranteed that all of the enforcement agencies the different security arms will be putting their heads together to try and figure out what exactly has transpired in terms of so far. in terms of so far we have seen all the authorities it's all hands on deck we just had a contingent of marines of special forces commanders west seeing a huge military presence around all the locations of the explosions as well as in colombo and in other parts of the country because the government has started to use

nor that given the scale of what we're seeing they need to get a handle on this as soon as possible peter for the moment thank you. well thousands of worshippers have turned to join pope francis for easter mass and peter's square he talked about sri lanka the sacred holiday commemorates the resurrection of christ after the crucifixion and you know this year's holy festival has been marred by the violence in sri lanka where those churches have been attacked killing one hundred fifty six people at least injuring several hundred more and placing something of a strain on the local medical services those are the latest pictures from st peter's basilica in the batek on. dear brothers and sisters i heard with sadness use of the horrendous attacks which on this very day. have brought mourning and pain to churches and other places and true long i would like to express my heartfelt closeness to the christian community attacked while gathered in prayer and to all the victims of such cruel acts of

violence i entrust to the lord all who so tragically died and i pray for the rooted in all those who suffered because of this tragic event. we're expecting to find out later on sunday the protest leaders in sudan have chosen to take over the transitional government there they're doing that to put pressure on the ruling military transitional council so it hands of a power to a civilian led government thousands of demonstrators have been staging ongoing protests outside the army headquarters the former president bashir was removed in a coup earlier this month table morgan carol covering that story for us live out of khartoum who do you think it might be. well peter it's not clear but who what we do know is that the declaration of freedom of change of at least twenty two parties including the city's professional association want to make sure that the military council does not take control of the country and steer the way that the transitional government is formed so with what the coalition along

with the sudanese professional association which has been spearheading the calls for the protests for the past four months is going to do later today for their their statement is that they're going to announce a parallel council a council that will be the one to decide how the transitional government should be found and who should be included in it that's obviously something that not all the political parties are on board with yesterday the head of the african union commission was affecting visited the country he met with political leaders and with the military council and most parties said that they do not want the s.p. and the coalition to go ahead and name means they're saying that this is something that should be agreed upon by all political parties and not just a certain coalition group the military council. he does not agree with this that either they want to be the ones deciding the transitional government's formation how it should look like but most of all they want to be the one in control there is saying that if they're not in control of they don't have control of the basic ministries if they don't have control of how that transitional government is shape then they will not be able to keep the country safe and secure but at the moment

peter thousands are gathered in front of the army headquarters excited with some tension waiting for the sunnis professional association and its coalition to name names and waiting to see what would happen between the military council and the coalition after that's happened here thanks very much. the fire that engulfed not only this week has forced worshippers to find other places to celebrate the used to holiday. the russians who normally celebrate easter mass at the historic paris cathedral who moved to the new bias and so peace church isn't expected to reopen to the public for at least five or six years the french president emmanuel michel is pushing for a quick reconstruction. a court in algeria has summoned the former prime minister and current finance minister in an investigation into alleged misuse of public monies hundreds of thousands of algerians are holding rallies calling for wider political change after the president after lizzie's particular step earlier this

month. in serbia anti-government protesters there once again filled the streets of the capital belgrade marchers complaints included unemployment and nepotism and they want the government to resign the president alexander held his own rally on friday which he argued that differences should be settled at the ballot box. pakistan's prime minister is traveling to iran on sunday on his first official visit since he took office in august imran khan will meet iran's supreme leader ayatollah khamenei and president hassan rouhani on the first day of a two day trip his visit comes at a delicate time between the two countries pakistan has blamed an attack on thursday that killed more than a dozen security personnel on militants based in iran. back to europe now where there is debate among some nations about how to repatriate women and children who've lived on the ice or in syria but in call support the government has decided to bring back more than

a hundred of its people and russia pal explains. far away from battlefields and refugee camps in syria dozens of women are being given a second chance to be part of a nation they chose to leave along with them more than seventy children who had no say in the matter. as most european nations stall in repatriating their citizens who went off to fight for i sold or at least support myself fighters the semi autonomous region of kosovo has brought back the largest group so far believe you got it it's an important and sensitive operation was organized in which the government of kosovo with the help of the united states has returned a hundred and ten of its citizens who are in war zones in syria four of whom were fighters thirty two women and seventy four children including a nine lost their parents in the war. the u.s. led coalition says kosovo has set an important example to follow that's after making a name for itself in other ways. with

a population under two million the tiny balkan territory produced more i saw fighters per capita than any western country ethnic albanians played some big roles and i saw recruitment efforts the most notorious of them laughed at him who had jedi was likely killed in a u.s. drone strike in twenty seventeen. dozens of others he inspired have since been jailed or indicted as part of the government's efforts to stamp out support for the group but european countries worry that evidence obtained on the battlefield may not stand up in court and that families of isis fighters could be a security risk. news that. our aim was clear not only to make sure that our citizens are not part of foreign conflicts but to take concrete measures that the ones who already are in those zones come back to their homes we have worked for months to make this happen. these children are innocent according to kosovo's government and may have a chance at a normal childhood after all but other european governments will now face greater

pressure to take back their children still stuck at camps in syria and schapelle. it's time for sports news we've been joined by south and her parents that's winning performance by james harden that means the houston are just one way away from the second round of the n.b.a. playoffs last season's most valuable player might have not scored the most points in game three. but he got them when it counted to say. thanks it's not often that someone else schools houston rockets star james harden. but that's exactly what utah donovan mitchell did in game three. thanks michel and if teammates managed to keep pace with houston throughout the game effect one of the title final quarter of the playoffs. and was hardly outscored overall he delivered when it mattered most. thank you with this post

you did. last season the fact twenty two points in the fourth quarter. we were. kids if it guided houston to the narrowest of victories one zero four two one zero one. yes we are going through every single night in. this our belief in our room and i think we did. we had a chance when everything when we played the rocket now be just one more winter progress to round to see how they looked with the first talkie within twenty five years or so him ali al jazeera. liverpool manager yogen club says the title race has been crazy so far the reds will be playing catch up but once again that has the aim to go back to the top of the english premier league when they face cardiff on sunday where they're trailing the man city by one point after they beat top number one nil on saturday cup side also have the champions league semifinal

against barcelona to prepare for during their running on liverpool have just four games left in the e.p.l. as they aim to win the championship for the first time in nearly thirty years. eventis have bounced back from the shock of their champions league exit in midweek to win a rare called eights had in title in a row where you've a went behind to an early goal up from the inequality you don't call reach as they hosted fiorentina also here but they managed an equaliser before for sound or not to launch the attack that ended in a feeling tina's own goal you've a winning it two one sealing this cadets with five matches to spare it makes we're not the first player to win the english spanish and italian league titles. in the n.h.l. playoffs the san louis blues have become the first home team to win in the series and vasu the second round they beat the winnipeg jets in game six of the western

conference playoff series jaden schwartz scored a hat trick while goalie jordan bennington made eighteen saves to help the blues two three two when they were net space the winner of the dallas nashville series. and in that series it looked. these stars have pushed the western conference second to save to the brink of elimination the second win over the play that is where the strong performance on saturday alexander. who are two goals in the second period to help them five three when to take it three days late. and that's it for me. thanks very much let's just recap that developing story coming to us out of sri lanka if you're just joining us here on the news we're going to show you some of the latest pictures that we've received here at al-jazeera headquarters in doha a series of a devastating bomb blasts ripping through both high and five star hotels and churches holding easter services in sri lanka killing at least one hundred fifty

six people including thirty plus foreigners now worshippers were targeted in several locations coach carter sense of boston and batticaloa churches during mass while the other locations two three main hotels the cinema and ground the kingsbury hotel and also the hotel. the authorities have reacted as best as they possibly could we understand that they've in effect shut social media we've had interviewees on this program in the last sixty minutes telling us that facebook. not working. skype lines what they call lines invision telephone lines that you would use on your handheld device not working as well we witnessed a degrading of a skype call that we were having with one of our contributors the country is set up very very efficiently to try to get a handle on who the perpetrators were who they are where they were in the immediate run up to the devices being detonated the prime minister randall wickramasinghe

condemning the attacks the worst act of violence since the end of the civil war a decade ago the events of two thousand and nine. will bring you all the latest developments on the other side of the break. anti fascist anti establishment and pro violence. despite the recent official disbanding of its militarized wing of basque separatist movement is found alive and well on the terraces of a build found stadia. a place where political revolutionaries share

a platform an ideology with violent football hooligans. and read all death on al-jazeera. also one of our biggest strengths is that we talk to normal everyday people we get them to tell their stories and doing that really reveals the truth people are still gathered outside these gates waiting for any information most of them don't know whether their loved ones are alive or dead or miami really is a place where two worlds meet we can get to washington d.c. in two hours we can get it on jurists in the rest of central america about the same time but more importantly as well those two cultures north and south america beats us to teach a great it's a very important place for al-jazeera to be refugees heading for a better life in australia to set in and send to remote islands indefinite detention in holistic conditions get a conscience. understand how to do this to smuggle footage and eyewitness

accounts the main thing in doing for pain pauline's asking them not times that most want to kill themselves witness chasing a sign. on al-jazeera. while really felt liberated as a journalist was all about getting to the truth doesn't lie with us that's what this job. shock and agony in sri lanka at least one hundred fifty six people were killed in multiple attacks on luxury hotels and churches during easter sunday services. hello i'm the star and this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up hospitals

across the country scramble to care for more than four hundred people injured during the coordinated bomb attacks. and in other news libya's government reopens tripoli's international airport after intense fighting with forces loyal to the warlord khalifa haftar plus. the runoff vote to elect a new leader begins in ukraine with president poroshenko functioning to hang on. to many and it was supposed to be a sunday to mark an important christian holiday instead there's been a series of attacks that have killed at least one hundred fifty six people across several cities police say at least eight coordinated explosions happened at several churches and hotel resorts the attacks targeted worshipers cheering easter sunday

services and people at five star hotels at least thirty five foreigners are believed to be among the dead they happened at sites in the capital colombo to suburbs today and so much to go into nearby and a gun bow and in the eastern city of bytecode al jazeera is an elephant and as a standing by for us live it's a nice try and one of the churches attacked in colombo will have multiple written reports and real time action but first. hereabout unmanly begins our coverage with this report was one blast so violent it ripped through the roof of this church in the heart of the capital the floor covered in remains of the roof goods and blood this video posted online shows the moments of the blast. sometimes these churches popular with locals and foreign tourists after the explosion shock and disbelief. three separate churches bombed on easter sunday one of the major celebrations in the christian calendar. one witness says

the blast was so powerful it shook the surrounding buildings but it wasn't just christians targeted it seems to be a much wider operation they are the casualties we build them for that we transported them to their national hospital and then we have been advised to come. bombs also rips through five star hotels in the heart of the capital an all close together of the shangri-la cinnamon grand prix hotels and the centonze the shrine church since sebastian church in a gumbo. unsigned church about to close also targeted and the tropical in hotels and. sri lanka's prime minister running a single says here take action me if you do the math right i would like to express my condolences to the families of victims and those injured in the attacks that

took place and i strongly condemn those attacks that targeted religious sites and luxury hotels we will take stern action against all those who are responsible regardless of their stature i this is the largest coordinated string of attacks in sri lanka in recent years and so far no one has claimed responsibility i think for now ambulance crews rushed to treat hundreds of injured people and with many people dead and widespread damage the extent of the devastation is being assessed you're about a manly al-jazeera. correspondent in elfland as joins us now from outside to nansen is trying one of the churches that was attacked in colombo now now eight blasts with two some hours after the first six do we know if this is over. well every sri lankan is certainly hope so hoping so last asia when we had the six

explosions of mid-morning and the sort of unusual sort of news of it sink in people had hoped that that was the end and then we had two more incidents now having said that people do not want to sort of assume that it's over very much the response of the law enforcement authorities the police curfew that's been brought into effect with the sort of immediate neuters are all part of trying to get a handle on the situation so everyone hoping for the best hoping that we've seen the worst if you can look just over my shoulder we're seeing some of those fatalities at this in anthony's church all of them being lined up in body bags of the huge number of fatalities just at this location and some heart wrenching scenes we've seen at least two families clutching basically more forums where they have four to graphs of their loved ones they have no idea where these people are they're trying to convince some of the workers that are bringing out the dead bodies to try

and identify if where their loved one is among the dead bodies there's a second family that just arrived they said they've done the rounds of the hospitals the mortuaries and they can not find the person in the family and they've appealed they're sitting out here just waiting for news nasty asia we're now alongside those families we can also still see a huge security presence there with you and given that no one has yet claimed responsibility i imagine there's some pressure on the author already is to work out who is behind all of this how is that investigation progressing. i'm sure the authorities are hitting this on all from asia we've seen all manner of arms of the security establishment you can just hear in the background the sound of some patrol bikes some basically security squads doing the rounds of all heavily armed and number of military personnel being deployed all around the country we

have a huge six of security personnel even now that sound you hear behind me for more mounted security personnel obviously rushing to some kind of call out and this is the kind of nature of what we've been seeing in the last couple of hours we had a bomb disposal squad vehicle that was pressed into action about a half an hour ago zipping its way down the road because there had been reports that there was a parcel in a dream on the side of the road so a huge amount of sort of reports also being called in obviously people don't want to take the risk and you know avoid or or feel to avoid another tragedy but that is the way things are pending out of the police curfew imposed island wide in place as we speak to her as an alpha and as on the ground for us in colombia will be speaking to her throughout the day thank you and now on now we can speak to

her should a silver as minister of economic reforms and public distribution and he joins us now on the line from colombo so let me start by asking you do you believe the string of attacks to be over. well it looks like it is it seems. some of the people who are running from going forward. getting caught to the last expose them is one small lot just outside the city. and in a place called them a. middle class neighborhood seem to be those who may be behind the bombings in the morning. and able to hide. now with someone. you know fighting back you know we just lost three officers because while ago i mean i

actually felt we read some suspects so we feel that we are closing in on all of that one through but for the mornings at that right now so we'll be moving from now will so you said that there was a shoot out can i ask you if you had anyone in custody or any indication as to who is actually behind these attacks. we have some people were in custody we have them out of our free will. in part because we walk. up a new clothes. suspected hideout and those people have been taken in and do we have any idea yet as to the motivations behind these attacks and what they were trying to achieve what kind of message they were trying to send. lol you don't know where you're. going from your many

stories for i don't want to scrape in. doing that so we can all come for. our remaining stuff before and for. a press conference that. seems to be from exterior lamenting was. that we really should do everything that we've had. to cut to. be small and you say it is a potentially extreme elements but katie they had a lot of resources and capacity and sophistication that their disposal when it comes to the coordinated nature of these attacks can you tell us how large this group might be and just how long they might have been operating. you know i cannot tell you that by a group who absolutely called america that something about seeing

in this country before we run in. to war to. do or that they're good at that maybe the first. people who are really doing this country have also been. so. we do we are we are hard to fight this shock be exposed to. this kind of thing where we never expected. to get to the bottom of it and we remark skulk. before we get to get to the bottom and find out and these people are so i also want to confirm with you that there has been a curfew imposed and that social media is partially shut down across the country can you confirm that to me and explain the rationale for choosing to take that step as the government. yes that is correct we force the police then why.

do we make sure that everyone is safe and we don't want people to congregate in any one place. and the archbishop. and it will be. two people or groups being those are the activity has been canceled. my spin camp. and useless want. everybody to be mysterious from croppers. tying the one for people to do that both cities that stuff about everybody please repeat the model long and. out of bounds it should stay at home for their own safety and we paid besides to shut down facebook and. we we don't want speech going.