this is bbc news. lam martine i am martine croxall. the headlines at 7: turkish president erdogan has claimed victory in a referendum which grants him sweeping new presidential powers in the country. with counting under way, his opponents have refused to concede. we'll be live in istanbul shortly. there is now an international consensus, which includes china, on the threat posed by north korea, according to the us national security advisor. 68 children are among the dead in syria after yesterday's bomb attack on buses carrying evacuees from besieged towns. also in the next hour: theresa may urges unity over brexit, as she delivers her first easter message as prime minister. our shared interests, our shared ambitions, and above all, our shared values can and must bring us together. builders renovating a medieval church in london have unearthed the remains of five archbishops

of canterbury who have who have lain for centuries in a forgotten crypt. good evening and welcome to bbc news. president erdogan has claimed victory in turkey's referendum on the constitution. votes are still being counted but reports suggest a narrow win for his reforms which would give him extensive new powers. mr erdogan says the changes are needed to give the country greater political stability, and a more efficient government. opponents have not conceded defeat. our world affairs editor, john simpson, reports from istanbul. they chant: recep tayyip erdogan, recep tayyip erdogan! this was a day which could change turkey forever, a day when the president,

who turned up to vote in his home area of istanbul, asked the nation to abolish many of the constitution‘s checks and balances on him. and make it at least possible for him to stay as president until 2029. wearing his familiar lucky jacket, he says, this referendum is a choice of change and transformation for a new administrative system for our republic. as this whole vast media circus indicates, this is an historic day, both for turkey and its future, and for the man over there who wants far more powers as its president. this is the school in an area of istanbul where mr erdogan was once a pupil. poorer conservative areas like this have tended to vote solidly yes. if it is important for

recep tayyip erdogan, he says, it is just as important for me. and indeed mr erdogan has done wonders for the standard of living in places like this and he is seen in areas like this one as standing up to countries which haven't treated turkey with enough respect. but in better off areas of istanbul, like this one, many people worry that religious conservatives are growing in power and that freedoms are being seriously eroded. i voted no. it means a lot of things for our future, our children, and for the democracy culture that we will have in the future. as the count progresses the turnout has clearly been high, perhaps 86%, but the opposition is crying foul because the electoral commission says non—stamped ballot papers, which haven't properly been attested, can be

included in the count. the result here is still on a knife edge. john simpson, bbc news, istanbul. we can speak to selin girit who's in the istanbul. just how close does the result look like it is going to be? well, the official state news agency says that 98% of the ballot boxes have been opened, up until now, and the yes vote stand at 51.3% and the no votes stand at 48.7%. that is the latest numbers, that is the latest percentages. the yes campaign, the yes votes, a re percentages. the yes campaign, the yes votes, are in the league with a narrow margin. if this is the official result, the turkish nation have decided to give president recep tayyip erdogan extensive executive

powers. it will mean that the turkish nation has decided that the time has come for this country to replace parliamentary systems with a presidential system, with extensive powers in the hands of recep tayyip erdogan. what can the powers will he have? he will be able to appoint the vice presidents, he will be able to appoint all the ministers in the cabinet, he will be able to appoint topjudges, he will cabinet, he will be able to appoint top judges, he will be able to draft the budget and dismissed the parliament, and the post of the prime minister will be abolished. the prime minister, yildirim, and president recep tayyip erdogan are expected to speak to the nation shortly. but there are concerns about the legitimacy of the vote and whether it has been great. the main opposition party, chp, and the no campaign leaders, are voicing concerns, saying campaign leaders, are voicing concerns, saying that there are problems with over 2 million votes.

legitimacy will be a word we will hear frequency from now on. thank you. the latest from istanbul. we hope to speak to mark tullo and a little bit later in ankara. and we will keep an eye on the statement that we are expecting the prime minister to make shortly. —— we hope to speak to mark lowen later. and we'll find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrow's front pages, at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are john crowley, who's editor—in—chief at the international business times and tim stanley, the leader writer and columnist for the daily telegraph. america says it's working on a "range of options" with china, amid rising tensions over north korea's nuclear and missile programmes. pyongyang attempted to test fire what's thought to be a medium—range missile this weekend, but it blew up shortly after take—off. the launch is being seen as a provocation, coming shortly before the us vice president, mike pence, arrived in south korea, to discuss ways of forcing the north to disarm. 0ur correspondent, john sudworth,

is in the capital, pyongyang, where his movements are being monitored and tightly controlled. this flower show, like almost everything else in north korea, is dedicated to its ruling family. this is the stand of national defence... and this display is in honour of their abiding obsession, missiles. is it a little strange to have rockets and missiles in a flower show? no. not strange at all. there are reports that there was a missile test this morning. yes. and some suggestions that it failed, have you heard these reports? this is not a failure. we will win and we will have greater successes in the future. there has, so far, been no mention of the missile on north korean tv. but it's true. every launch, failure or not, takes the military one step closer to its goal. the timing of the latest missile test is significant, coming just a few hours before

the us vice president, mike pence, arrived in the south korean capital, seoul. it's a message of defiance from here in pyongyang. its quest to become a fully fledged nuclear—power continues. at its big military parade yesterday it put some of its newest missiles on display. the decades of threats and sanctions against north korea have clearly done little to stop it. mr pence‘s talks will focus on trying to find something that will work, including military options, according to officials. our commitment to this historic alliance with the courageous people of south korea has never been stronger and with your help and with god's help, freedom will ever prevail. at pyongyang zoo today there was a relaxed holiday atmosphere.

the looming crisis seems far from anyone‘s mind. north korea appears confident that president trump's threats will turn out to be hollow and that he'll conclude, like others before him, that war carries far too many risks. john sudworth. bbc news, pyongyang. with me now is ramon pacheco pardo who is senior lecturer at king's college london and co—director of the london asia pacific centre for social science. how close are we to a conflict of a type that we have never seen before with north korea ? type that we have never seen before with north korea? i do not think we are with north korea? i do not think we a re close with north korea? i do not think we are close to a full—blown conflict, but provocations from north korea will probably continue. there have been skirmishes, there have been south korean vessels being sung, shelling of south korean islands. i

would not be surprised if something like this happens over the next few weeks and months. what sort of position is china in at the moment, given that everyone relies on china to be the conduit for contact with pyongyang? china does not have as much influence as we think it does. north korea wanted to be independent from china and japan throughout its history. it does not want to be influenced. if china employed economic sanctions, north korea would still have survived. north korea will not change its behaviour because of chinese sanctions. mike pence is on a tour of the region. what kind of reassuring scan the united states offer to the neighbours of north korea? placed on mac thought it might have been forgotten mac thought it might have been fo rg otte n by mac thought it might have been forgotten by the trump administration when he started to focus on the middle east. the fact that mike pence is visiting korea and then going to japan, it will be seenin and then going to japan, it will be seen in both countries as a

demonstration that the us is committed to the alliance. if north korea launches an attack, the us will help south korea to retaliate. everyone likes to be able to save face. how can this situation be turned around ? face. how can this situation be turned around? what does north korea ideally one? i think north korea wa nts to ideally one? i think north korea wants to go to the negotiation table, but i think it wants recognition as a nuclear power. it is not officially recognised as a nuclear power even though it has the capability. that is very important for north korea because south korea does not have nuclear weapons. if north korea and sit down with the us at the negotiating table, ed clancy, having nuclear weapons will allow us to negotiate with the most powerful nation in the world. the trump administration would be able to say that they have sat down with us, both sides would be able to save face. thank you very much for coming

in. let's return to those results in tu rkey‘s bitterly in. let's return to those results in turkey's bitterly fought referendum on increasing the powers of the president. let's speak to turkey correspondent, who is in the turkish capital. how close are these results compared with what president erdogan might have wanted ? when president erdogan calders referendum, he wanted a resounding victory. his response to the military coup last year sent him riding high in the opinion polls to 70 or 80%. he thought he could ride that wave of popularity and get a resounding victory but it has been very close. 51.3% against 48.7% for the opposition. you can see behind me that the erdogan supporters believe they have got victory. they are streaming into the ak party headquarters but the opposition is disputing it. they say that votes have been raped in the counting process was rigged. they are

refusing to accept it. you can see the scene behind me, vehicles going past with turkish flags, with a key party flags. with the yes flags. they are streaming into the party headquarters and blaring out the campaign song. they believe they have clinched victory and the president has called the leader of the opposition and the far right party to congratulate them on a clear victory, but the opposition are not accepting that so we will have to see that builds of steam. i was just reading have to see that builds of steam. i wasjust reading on reuters have to see that builds of steam. i was just reading on reuters that the pro—kurdish opposition party, they are saying it is a clear sign that turkish society is not in agreement. what recourse do opposition groups have over this result? well, they can challenge it to the supreme well, they can challenge it to the supreme board of elections, they can demand recounts, they can try to challenge the legitimacy and international courts, by giving the

fa ct international courts, by giving the fact that the state machinery in this country is so heavily controlled by the president and the governing party, the vast majority of the media, a or 90%, are pro—government, they will rub their hands with glee and declaring victory, so they are facing an uphill struggle. you are right, this vote has shown how polarised the country is, split down the middle over a president that one side of the country reviewers with the devotion i have never seen amongst other democratically elected leaders, and reviled by the other side of the country, who can barely speak his name without spitting. it is an extremely split country and whatever comes out of tonight finally, president erdogan will have his hands full to try and heal wounds and build bridges abroad. the campaign was extremely divisive. he lambadas did dutch and german leaders for being nazis and flashes. the relationship between turkey and the west has eroded, it has been a bruising campaign. they think it is

over but the opposition says it is not. which parts of the country were mostly opposed? is it possible to carve up mostly opposed? is it possible to carve up the country geographically? it is interesting. when you look at the electoral map, six of the eight largest cities into the voted no, including istanbul and ankara. a third city will always vote no, it isa third city will always vote no, it is a republican stronghold. it seems that the yes side, the erdogan side, was more prevalent in smaller cities, in areas of the countryside. that is one of the argument is the opposition is using to dispute the results. they say it is impossible for six of the big cities to vote no, and for years to prevail, giving the population demographics. erdogan appears to more conservative, pires, put voters who believe they are his voice, people who wear headscarves who were shunned by the secular

regime for decades. the haters of erdogan believe the country on the brink of dictatorship, that turkey should be more pro—western and feel that president erdogan has eroded what was left of turkish democracy. it isa what was left of turkish democracy. it is a 50-50 what was left of turkish democracy. it is a 50—50 split. it is within a few hundred thousand votes as to which side is dominant. for the moment, thank you. and we will keep an eye out for the president and prime minister, who are due to make a statement soon. the headlines on bbc news: votes are being counted following turkey's controversial referendum on constitutional change. donald trump's top security adviser says the us and china are working on a "range of options" on north korea after the country's failed missile test. 126 people, most of them children, are thought to have died in yesterday's bomb attack on buses carrying evacuees from besieged towns in syria. 126 people, most of them children,

are now thought to have died in yesterday's suicide bomb attack in syria. a convoy of coaches packed with evacuees in a pre—arranged exchange between the syrian government and a number of rebel groups was targeted with the car bomb. the blast happened on the outskirts of aleppo. here's our diplomatic correspondent, james landale. they were heading for what they thought was safety, thousands of civilians from government—held villages who'd been under siege by rebel forces for two years. just a short bus ride from aleppo and a better life. but then this, a massive suicide bomb attack. a vehicle supposedly carrying food, packed instead with explosives, devastating the convoy, buses and cars. a potato truck, as they were hungry,

comes and offers for the kids potato chips, potato bags. so the kids, who were very hungry, some of them left the buses, went to the truck and as soon as they approached it, it exploded. that's where it emerged today that among the 126 dead were 60 children, according to british—based activists who monitor the conflict. hundreds of others injured in the attack were rushed to hospital in aleppo. it is still not clear who was responsible for the attack but the local islamist rebel groups have denied any involvement. the people travelling in these buses were part of a deal between government and opposition forces to evacuate civilians from towns besieged by both sides. they were attacked as they waited for another convoy to go in the south, evacuating civilians from rebel held areas.

but an attack like this that left so many dead has raised doubts about whether there will be more evacuation deals in the future. the remaining survivors in the convoy continued theirjourney to aleppo in relative safety. the united nations condemned the attack and urged all sides to secure the safety of evacuees, but there are already fears that civilians in rebel held areas may now face revenge attacks. james landale, bbc news. the number of people killed following the collapse of a rubbish dump in the sri lankan capital colombo has increased to 26, including six children. hopes are fading that anyone else will be found alive. tonnes of rubbish fell on to more than a hundred homes on friday when heavy rain caused the dump to become unstable. 980 people have been displaced because of the disaster and 79 houses completely destroyed. testing children in primary schools has been on the agenda at the national union of teachers‘ annual conference in cardiff today. there was a heated debate among delegates, in which teachers

criticised the way younger pupils are tested. delegates at the nut conference will vote tomorrow on whether to boycott the tests. 0ur education correspondent gillian hargreaves is at the conference. there was delegate after delegate after delegate this morning, saying how irritated they were by the testing regime in england's primary schools. one said the government is test obsessed. another said sats tests at the age of 11 are akin to a monster stalking our schools. the reason why the government has testing at the age of 11 is to monitor pupils‘ progress before they go into secondary school. the government would say without testing, you can't make sure children have reached a record level to compete with other pupils across the world, and you can'tjudge how good primary schools are. so testing at 11 will almost certainly stay. but the opposition to testing in primary schools is such that the government has said it will look again at testing younger children. at the moment, six and seven—year—olds also undergo formal testing.

the government has effectively established a moratorium on that until they can consult with teachers about what might be the best way forward. there were so many delegates talking this morning about primary testing. they haven't actually yet had a vote on whether they are going to boycott sats tests. that will happen tomorrow. this being easter sunday, what normally happens is that the nut breaks for the rest of the day, so there won't be any more debates this afternoon, so we won't find out when that boycott will happen or if it will happen until tomorrow. but given the flavour of the comments this morning, it is almost certainly inevitable that teachers will vote to boycott them. they will not affect sats tests being sat in the next ten days or so. those will go ahead as normal. if there is any boycott, it will affect the testing regime next year. the bbc understands lloyds banking group has decided

to set up a european base in germany after the uk leaves the eu. lloyds has decided to convert its berlin branch into a european hub in orderto maintain a presence inside the eu, sources told the bbc. lloyds is the only major british lender that does not currently have a subsidiary in another eu nation. the bank already has a branch in berlin and employs 300 people in the city. police in west yorkshire are issuing a warning to drug users following two deaths in the area on saturday. it follows the deaths of three men and a woman at separate addresses in barnsley on good friday which are believed to be linked to heroin. south yorkshire police said it was not officially linking them at present, but warned drug users to be careful. dave edwards reports from leeds district police headquarters at elland road. police were called to compton view in leeds yesterday morning, where they found the body of a 36—year—old man. four people have been arrested in connection with his death. then yesterday afternoon, paramedics were called

to park green in normanton, where a 27—year—old man was suffering breathing difficulties. he died at the scene. west yorkshire police have told us they believe both deaths are related to class a drugs. it's after four deaths were reported in the barnsley area on friday, and south yorkshire police said those may be linked to heroin use. both police forces have issued a warning to users of class a drugs. there are concerns about the strength and content of heroin being used in the region. two men have been arrested by the south yorkshire force on suspicion of drugs offences, and they have been released under investigation. special services have been held around the world

to celebrate easter sunday. here, the queen and prince philip attended a service in windsor castle, accompanied by several members of the royal family, including the duke and duchess of cambridge. meanwhile, religious and political leaders have been speaking out about the need to alleviate global suffering, and protect religious freedom. 0ur religious affairs correspondent, martin bashir reports. st peter's square was resplendent as pope francis celebrated mass and delivered the fifth easter sermon of his papacy, but his message was sober, pleading for an end to what he called the horror and death in syria and asking that international leaders have the courage to prevent the spread of conflict. at canterbury cathedral, archbishopjustin welby drew attention to the plight of christians in egypt following twin bomb attacks

on palm sunday that killed 46 and injured more than 100 people. and he said that suffering was not confined to war zones. christians in egypt live surrounded by bombs and terror. but the words jesus says on that first easter day, he says to you and me now. to each of us, to listen, to take hold of within our hearts. do not be afraid. the prime minister, in her own easter message, also focused on the issue of religious persecution. we must be mindful of christians and religious minorities around the world who do not enjoy these same freedoms, but who practise their religion in secret and often in fear. labour leaderjeremy corbyn said that regardless of one's faith, he wanted to affirm every act of kindness that helps alleviate suffering across the country. i meet christians and others of all faiths and none

on a daily basis who share and live these ideals, people who give their time for others, whether are those running food banks, protecting the vulnerable, looking after the sick, the elderly and other young people. both religious and political leaders have drawn sober lessons on this easter sunday. the celebration of the resurrection has been placed in the context of persecution and suffering. martin bashir, bbc news, in central london. the tombs of five former archbishops of canterbury have been unearthed by builders undertaking refurbishment work near lambeth palace. the builders were levelling the floor of a nearby church when they accidentally cut into the foundations and discovered a hidden chamber. inside, they found 30 coffins, with an archbishop‘s mitre resting on one of them.

closer inspection revealed metal plates bearing the names of five former archbishops of canterbury, dating back to the early 17th century. christopher woodward, director of the garden museum development project, which is refurbishing the church, spoke to me a little earlier about the moment he was told of the discovery. we didn't quite know what to do with this great pile of coffins and we wanted to leave them in peace, really. we are doing this transformation of an old medieval church into a museum, a deconsecrated church, and the builder rang and said to come quickly. i arrived thinking, there's gonna be bones or some terrible hole, and they said they found a golden crown and, looking through the hole under the chancel, you could see the mitre glimmering in the dark. it's an 18th—century replica of what the archbishop would have worn, but it was made to be placed on the coffin at an archbishop‘s funeral, and there seemed to be

about five archbishops among about 30 coffins in this vault. a sunnier day tomorrow, with just a few showers around. at the moment, we still have rain across parts of central and eastern england, which is light, patchy and sporadic. elsewhere, it turns dry for a time before the showers start to develop in parts of scotland. and with clearer skies, particularly for the northern half of the country, a touch of frost for one or two to take us into the start of easter monday. easter monday starts with cloud in the south, but then brightening up. we will see showers across scotland. but after a sunny start in northern england, clouding over with showers later. northern ireland will avoid most of the showers. there will be quite a bit of sunshine between the showers. some avoid them altogether, but chilly in the breeze. the breeze eases down into tuesday, which means a colder start in the countryside. but a very pleasant day, with some sunshine around. through the week ahead, there is not

much rain in the forecast. still turning warmer by day, but the nights are chilly, with a risk of frost. hello. this is bbc news with martine croxall. the headlines: president erdogan's supporters claim victory in turkey's referendum, which would grant him sweeping new powers. but with counting still under way, his opponents have refused to concede. donald trump's top security adviser says the us and china are working on a "range of options" on north korea after the country's failed missile test. at least 68 children were among 126 people killed in saturday's bomb attack on buses carrying evacuees from besieged syrian