hello and welcome to bbc news. my name is david eades. our top stories: manchester pays tribute to the victims of monday's attack, as the prime minister raises the uk's terror threat level to critical. this means that their assessment is not only that an attack remains likely, but that a further attack may be imminent. 22 people were killed and 59 injured when a suicide bomber targeted young fans leaving a pop concert. the first victims have been named — among them children and teenagers. police say the bomber‘s been identified as 22—year—old salman abedi, who lived in manchester. hello. i am sally bundock with the business stories. as the uk prime minister ups the security personnel across the country we assess the cost of keeping britain safe. and balancing the books within a decade — that's the promise from the trump administration as it reveals its spending plans for 2018.

hello, thank you very much for joining us. the terror threat level, here in the uk has been raised to "critical" following the manchester killings — that means further attacks may be imminent. the decision, announced by the prime minister, theresa may, comes as investigators have not yet been able to determine whether the suspect salman abedi acted alone. the armed forces are also being deployed, to boost the police presence at key sites. 22 people died — several are still in critical condition in hospital. sarah corker has more on the security situation. raising the threat level to critical isa raising the threat level to critical is a major and raising the threat level to critical is a majorand blair raising the threat level to critical is a major and blair move by uk security chiefs, though not

unprecedented. it is the first time the assessment has been placed at the assessment has been placed at the top of five levels for more than a decade. it means that hundreds of troops will be deployed at key sites gci’oss troops will be deployed at key sites across the united kingdom under police command. it is now concluded, on the basis of today's investigations, that the threat level should be increased, for the time being, from severe colour to critical. this means that their assessment is not only that an attack remains highly likely, but that a further attack may be imminent. investigators can't say for sure whether the bombing suspect, salman abedi, acted alone, oi’ suspect, salman abedi, acted alone, or with others. the highest level is decided by thejoint or with others. the highest level is decided by the joint terrorist analysis centre, a group of experts based at mi5 in london. the police have asked for the secretary of defence to deploy a number of armed

military personnel in support of armed officers. this request is part ofa armed officers. this request is part of a well established plan, known as operation temperer. a plant described as a sensible response will mean additional security at big events. all those extra police officers that we are putting on the street already will be augmented by military support. the first phase, those military officers will take over some of our guiding duties at some fixed locations, and were joined police on the streets in protecting the public, and could potentially provide military support police and key events and locations. this level has only been breached those before, first in 2006, during a major operation to stop a plot to blow up transatlantic airliners with liquid bombs. then in 2007, when

police search for a man who bombed a london nightclub, then went on to try an attack glasgow airport. the promise has said that the government would take every measure available to it help the police protect me publish. sarah corker, bbc news. if you are with us this time yesterday, you may recall that i was speaking at one point to shallow campbell. she was the mother of 0livia campbell. she was doing all she could at that point to try to track down her daughter, as she did not know where she was. the news, i am afraid, is not good at all. charlotte attended the ariana grande concert with a friend, and her mother has confirmed her daughter's death in a facebook post. she wrote: "rip my darling precious gorgeous girl 0livia campbell taken far far to soon go sing with the angels and keep smiling

mummy loves you so much." so just sojust one of so just one of those very sadly who died. charlotte spoke to us very bravely about her efforts to try to find her daughter. let's get the latest now from manchester — our correspondent wyre davies is outside police headquarters. i bring ibring up i bring up 0livia campbell, because we have a series of these. we have a series of name still to come. yes, it isa series of name still to come. yes, it is a desperate situation for all of the family. we now at least publicly have at least four fatalities confirmed the 22 people who died in the bombing on monday night. and it still seems there are some families out there who don't know what has happened to those young children they waved goodbye to add a normal pop concert on monday. there is at least one family in scotland, and others in the north of don't know if their young children

are injured, if they have been taken in by kind samaritans, if they have accepted lives and not go back in touch with their families, or are theyin touch with their families, or are they in the fatalities. it must be a desperate situation. i imagine is the day progresses we will get more danes released of the people who have been filled in that bomb attack. —— get more names. but there are still families who don't know the worst or the best. and to get some detail about the individuals, why they were there, who they were with, it makes it so much more points at —— poignant, doesn't it? ag isa points at —— poignant, doesn't it? ag is a desperately sad story. but where you are, with the police, so much of it is about salman abedi, who he was working with, if anybody, and getting the information as quickly as possible. —— each is. and getting the information as quickly as possible. -- each is. of course, the families wanted no what

happened to to their families. but the investigation is ongoing. the thinking is he probably had some accomplices, helpers, or supporters. he would have had this to put together and deliver his suicide bomb. he was not acting alone is the prevailing view among security officials and police at the minute. that is why they have escalated the threat level across the uk. there will be help, much heightened security at other venues, out of fear that there could be a secondary attack if there is an compass out there. salman abedi set of a suicide bomber. he may have been in libya and return to the uk... his recent history is still being put together. the fear, clearly, is, and the government would not have taken a slightly —— this lightly, that he might have an compass out there. we

do know that he had, his family, of course, was from libya, and had gone back. we are not sure if he went back. we are not sure if he went back to libya himself and was radicalised amongst islamic state or any of the other islamist groups in libya itself. the feeling is that the british police wanted to hold onto his name, even though they knew who he was, forfear that onto his name, even though they knew who he was, for fear that to release his name may have alerted those who sympathised with him all who helped him. but his name was released in america circles, leaving the greater manchester police coming here, with no option but to release the name. perhaps earlier than they wish to cover yesterday. —— american circles. it was an emotional vigil last night. a realforce for good, i think, for the city? yes, and it was

a very dignified event. thousands of people of all religions, creeds, and backgrounds gathered in and around albert square in the city centre. this reinforced the view that despite the trauma and tragedy of what happened at the concert on monday night, this city is not broken. it has not cracked. and it is not falling apart. it is a distinctive and multicultural city. and it is proud of that fact. i don't think that despite what happened any of that is under threat at all. that was the message from everybody who gathered in manchester last night. thank you very much for joining us, wyre, from manchester. as we mentioned, there were thousands at the vigil in the centre of manchester. gavin hewitt has been speaking to many of those who went to the concert. and a warning, he's included some distressing images.

ariana grande's costa was coming to an end, when from the foyer, the sound of an explosion. there were screams, then running. a crowd of children, teenagers, parents, heading for whatever exit they could find. 22 people were killed near the entrance. around 60 were injured. suddenly a massive flash and bang. smoke. my wife, i laid her down on the floor. she's got bruising. she had one that slided under her chin, and bruised. she's probably broken a femur in her left leg. something really hot flew over and landed behind me and my sister. we dropped to the floor. my mum told me to run, but i thought they were behind me, so i ran out. then i realised they weren't, so i tried to run back in because i was worried.

i shouted for my mum but i couldn't hear anything. my ear is all blocked. it was really scary. all i could hear was screaming, people crying. everyone was running everywhere. it was complete madness. it was like out of a film, everybody cramming through. everybody was screaming. people had cuts all over their legs. the injured were taken to eight hospitals across greater manchester. some families and friends were split up in the rush to get emergency treatment. armed police units patrolled the streets by the arena. before the night was over, the police knew they were dealing with an attack by a suicide bomber with a home—made explosive device packed with metalfragments. during the night, specialist teams were brought in in case there were other explosive devices. during the night, specialist teams

we re during the night, specialist teams were brought in, in case there were other explicit devices. it was a deliberate attack on children and young people, timed just at the moment when parents were waiting to pick up their sons and daughters. 400 police officers were deployed, along with forensic teams. early on, police appeared to know the identity of the bomber, but they didn't reveal his name until late afternoon. i can confirm that the man suspected of carrying out last night's atrocity is 22—year—old salman abedi. however, he has not been formally named by the coroner, and i wouldn't wish to, therefore, comment any further about him at this stage. salman abedi was the son of refugees, a student at salford university. 0n the streets, today, survivors, reliving the terror of a concert that ended with murder. this is helen and isabella mccourt. we hit the corridor, when we saw masses of people running in absolute terror and panic to get out of the place. young teenage children, 14, 15.

there were mothers with children, carrying them over their shoulder. there were people with even wheelchairs panicking to get out. laura and isabella eames' concert ended in a chaotic search for an exit. wejust ran. i don't really know which entrance we came out of. we just ran, because it — but we also found two girls that had lost their parents, or had to get home on their own. so they were in tow. they were very scared, obviously, because they were on their own. manchester has been a city on edge, today, shaken by alerts and rumours. and a shopping centre evacuated. it is now beyond doubt that the people of manchester and of this country have fallen victim to a callous terrorist attack.

an attack that targeted some of the youngest people in our society with cold calculation. this was amongst the worst terrorist incidents we have ever experienced in the united kingdom. although it is not the first time that manchester has suffered in this way, it is the worst attack that the city has experience, and the worst ever to hit the north of england. dozens of people are still tried to trace loved—ones after last night's bombing. georgina callander was aged 18, seen here with ariana grande at a previous event. john atkinson, aged 28, from bury. and eight—year—old saffie roussos was amongst those killed. it was an attack directed at young people and innocence. during the day, police raided a number of houses.

a 23—year—old man was arrested in connection with yesterday's bombing. an attack on a family event like what happened last night has long been feared. preventing a determined suicide bomber is incredibly difficult. the priority, now, for the police will be to discover everything they can about this man — whether he is part of a wider network, and whether there is a risk of further attacks. thousands of gathered outside the town hall, in a sign of defiance. one by one, members of different faiths said they would not be cowed. these were sikhs with placards — "i love manchester". then a reading by local poet, tony walsh. there's hard times again in these streets of our city. but we won't take defeat. and we don't want your pity. because this is the place where we stand strong together, with a smile on our face. mancunians forever!

because this is the place in our hearts, in our homes, because this is the place that is a part of our bones, because manchester gives us such strength from the fact that this is the place! defiant, yes, but questions, too, as to what drove a young man to murder so many. gavin hewitt, bbc news, manchester. i have to say, that paul was very powerful. if you get a chance to hear it in full, please take it. picking up on some business news, in a way, you could say this is security at no cost, you pay what you need to? this is a big deal? security at no cost, you pay what you need to? this is a big deanm isa

you need to? this is a big deanm is a big expense to any government. the french government is paying a huge amount to keep france protected. as we've been hearing, britain is now on a critical terror alert — with the military set to bolster the police amid fears the manchester bomber, salman abedi, did not act alone. earlier, prime minister theresa may raised the threat level to the highest possible — meaning that another attack could not be ruled out. so how well funded is britain's security operation? the uk has seen an increase in anti terror spending in recent years. here's how things looked in the last financial year — the uk's annual terrorism policing budget was £591; million, that's around $770 million. but in the past year that's gone up to its current level of £670 million — roughly $869 million.

the main priority for the boosted security budget is to increase the capacity for counter—terrorism investigation, including monitoring online activity and gathering digital evidence. this led to last year's announcement of a 15% increase in officers at the uk spy agencies m15, m16 and gchq, and the security services will now be working round the clock to establish whether the manchester bombing is part of a wider pattern of attacks. we'll have more on this in world business report coming up shortly. also, the trump administration has unveiled its $4.1 trillion budget plan for 2018. it proposes deep cuts to dozens of programmes providing assistance to the poor, such as medical help and disability benefits. the plan would sharply slash food stamps, healthca re for low—income patients, disability benefits and eliminate student loan subsidies.

however, the budget does also feature an ivanka trump plan for paid parental leave. the devil is in the detail, our team in new york has been unpacking. i will be back in about ten minutes. we'll have more from manchester later in the programme, and don't forget our website. there is a live page following all the important information from police and officials, with regular updates on the casualties. that's all at bbc.com, forward—slash news. this morning, an indian air force plane carrying mr gandhi's body landed in delhi. the president of india walked to the plane to solemnly witness mr gandhi's final return from the political battlefield.

the polling stations are all prepared for what will be the first truly free elections in romania's history. it was a remarkable climax to what was surely the most extraordinary funeral ever given to a pop singer. it's been a peacefulfuneral demonstration so far, but suddenly these police are teargassing the crowd, we don't yet know why. the pre—launch ritual is well established here, helen was said to be in good spirits butjust a little apprehensive. in the last hour, east timor has become the world's newest nation. it was a bloody birth for a poor country, and the challenges ahead are daunting. but for now, at least, it is time to celebrate. this is bbc news. the latest headlines:

britain's prime minister has raised the terror threat level to critical after the deadly attack in manchester. 22 people were killed and 59 injured when a suicide bomber targeted young fans leaving a concert on monday. let's round up some of the other main stories. the philippine president, rodrigo duterte, says the state of martial law on the southern island of mindanao could last for up to a year. troops on the island are battling an islamist faction linked to so—called islamic state. it's only the second time martial law has been declared since the fall of president marcos. president trump is due to hold talks with pope francis in a few hours, he will also meet italy's president and prime minister before flying to brussels for a nato summit. it's the third leg of his first overseas trip as us president. earlier, he vowed to help israelis and palestinians achieve peace. venezuela's embattled leader, nicolas maduro, has issued a decree to rewrite the country's constitution.

0pponents say the move is intended to reinforce his hold on power. venezuela is gripped by an economic and political crisis with almost daily anti—government protests. judges in taiwan are expected to rule on whether same—sex couples can get married under existing laws. at the moment, the rules say a marriage should be between a man and a woman. campaigners want that declared unconstitutional. the decision comes as the lgbt community faces increasing persecution in the region. many of the young people leaving the concert in manchester witnessed harrowing scenes, as the events unfolded. families offered accommodation to those caught in the turmoil,

and taxi drivers gave free rides to anyone in need. sophie long reports on how the community came together in adversity. manchester was a city understandably on edge this morning — panic as another building in the city centre was evacuated. smashed all the windows down in the arndale to get out. some lads have just said... everyone's just ran. this time, it was a false alarm, and while the threat is felt acutely, people here are coming together and the human spirit, the defiance, is strong. no amount of evilness will ever, ever dampen any good thought there is about manchester. cab drivers who worked through the night, foregoing theirfares, were back keeping the city moving again today. mostly the teenagers, like, eight to 16 or 1a years old, all these girls, they're crying for their mothers, and their parents as well, they're crying. then we take to their home, take to the hotel, take to the train station. i said, "how many people? jump in the cab and i'll drop you there." when i asked people how they feel

about what happened here, so many people have said to me — i have no words, and words have been difficult to find today as people just begin to get their heads around the atrocity that took place right in the heart of their city. what comes more easily to people here are actions. people queued to give their blood. i just really wanted to come down and see if i could help at all because it's such a massive tragedy. there's just been an overwhelming response on social media, so i thought i'd come down and try and give blood. do my bit, yeah. 0thers took food to hospitals where the injured were being treated. people connected — in person, by phone. even the very young were among those responding. go find a policeman. helping to keep people going. thank you very much. thank you. it's so close to home, and we're sat at home, so we might as well help, which ever way we can. 0n the city's streets today, a real sense of community.

after what happened yesterday, there's a responsibility to do something and i just want to show people that they're loved. so we're just going around by hugging people because, ultimately, love's the only thing that we can do when we're facing hate. yeah. tonight, concert—goers were undeterred. simple minds took to the stage just a mile away. that's how manchester is responding to an inhumane, cowardly attack, with countless acts of kindness. they are coming together and they are carrying on. i encourage you to look at the website for more tales of heroism as well as, website for more tales of heroism as wellas, i'm afraid, the website for more tales of heroism as well as, i'm afraid, the awful despair that comes with it. hello there.

we're looking at a mild start to our wednesday morning, the cloud will be thickening into the far north—west with some showery outbreaks of rain. some coastal fog could with some showery outbreaks of rain. some coastalfog could be with some showery outbreaks of rain. some coastal fog could be a with some showery outbreaks of rain. some coastalfog could be a nuisance first thing in the morning. a murky start potentially down into south—west england and in parts of south wales. hopefully conditions will improve. we will see some brea ks will improve. we will see some breaks in the cloud and temperatures starting to respond, temperatures already warmed in the morning. the further east you are, then either the weather. some showery outbreaks of rain into western scotland, these will gradually drift eastwards as we go through the day. we will see the odd isolated shower across eastern scotland, possibly more disappointing into the northern isles as we go through the day. elsewhere, some breaks in the cloud

and sunny spells, feeling pleasantly warm. even keeping the cloud, it will be a warm day for many. temperatures 19— 25 degrees, possibly cooler in the finals of scotland. 0ne possibly cooler in the finals of scotland. one thing is for certain, as we had through the week there will be little in the way of significant rain. dry for pretty much all of us. a lot more in the way of sunshine, turning warm if not hot for some. the first signs of that will be seen on thursday. more sunshine coming through. mid 20s in the south—east, perhaps some areas of scotla nd the south—east, perhaps some areas of scotland seeing 23— 2a degrees. the area of high pressure in the driving seat nudges further east towards the end of the week. that allows us to drag warmer, hot air from the continent. a weather front is trying to push on from the atlantic. saturday, we could potentially see the hottest day of the spell. 30 degrees is not out of

the spell. 30 degrees is not out of the question. as this weather front meeting, we could see some sharp, bunbury downpours developing. so there is a lot of uncertainty for saturday's forecast. keep watching. ahead of that, hot and sunny with some sharp, bunbury downpours potentially waiting out in the wings in the west. take care. hello. you're watching bbc news. the headlines this hour: the uk terror threat level has been raised to critical following the manchester concert attack that left 22 people dead and many injured. britain's prime minister theresa may has warned that a further terror attack could be imminent. she also announced that soldiers will be deployed to protect key sites. the suicide bomber has been named as salman abedi, a 22—year—old born in manchester. he was of libyan origin and was a student at the nearby university of salford. the islamic state group has published a statement on social media saying one of its supporters carried out the attack. thousands of people have gathered for a vigil in manchester's city

centre in memory of those who died. a minute's silence was held as crowds spilled out