hello i'm tom donkin, welcome to bbc news broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the world. our top stories: more raids and arrests in the uk as police confirm their belief — a network of accomplices helped the manchester bomber. salman abedi's father and brother have been detained in libya — they deny allegations of any connection to extremist groups. leaked photos from the scene of the bombing are published in the new york times. british investigators have expressed "fury" and "astonishment. more tributes for the victims: 16 have been named so far — police say they know the identities of everyone who was killed. hello and welcome.

the investigation into monday night's bombing in manchester is moving fast. police say they are looking notjust at the bomber salman abedi, but a ‘network‘ of people. there has been more arrests around manchester and in other uk cities. our chief correspondent gavin hewitt starts our coverage. late morning, central manchester, and a raid on a block of flats, part of a huge operation to discover the network of the manchester bomber. police believe he stayed there as recently as 7pm on monday evening of the night of the attack. today's operation involved armed units, some wearing military clothing. got to the front door and was greeted by an armed police officer with a helmet, face mask machine—gun. i asked him what was happening. hejust said "operations, out!" to gain access to the apartments, they blew down a door. other police units arrived looking for any signs of a bomb factory. there have been raids in different parts of the city,

this one involving armed units. the police regard themselves as in a race against time, trying to find other members of the network to prevent further attacks. this was just one of a number of police operations carried out in manchester today. you'll be aware that the level of activity in this investigation is intense and is continuing at a fast pace. i think it's very clear that this is a network that we are investigating. and as i've said, it continues at a pace. late afternoon and a new arrest, this time on a street in wigan. a man detained. police say he was carrying a suspicious package. the uk is now a country on high alert. this was reading this morning. and this the scottish parliament in edinburgh. outside downing street, soldiers were patrolling alongside police. eventually, 3,800 troops will be deployed.

elsewhere, the changing of the guard at buckingham palace was cancelled, a nation living with the expectation of an imminent attack. we have now gone to a critical level in terms of the threat. operation temperer has now been invoked, and that means there will be additional military personnel coming to backfill the armed police officers so that they can support other areas. all of these special operations are aimed at discovering the circle linked to salman abedi, the manchester bomber. it has become clear that he was part of a terror cell. police today were examining his house in south manchester. abedi may have been the mule, a bomb carrier. the bomb makers may still be at large. abedi returned to the uk from libya a few days before the attack. abedi worshipped at the didsbury mosque. one of the trustees today condemned monday's attack, although he didn't take any questions.

the horrific atrocity that occurred in manchester on monday night has shocked us all. it has indeed shocked us all. this act of cowardice has no place in our religion, or any other religion for that matter. on monday, abedi carried out a suicide attack at the manchester arena. 22 people were killed and 64 injured. today, the new york times revealed pictures from the crime scene in the foyer of manchester arena. the pictures appear to the remnants of the bomber‘s rucksack, the metalfragments used in the attack, and a possible detonator. british officials tonight expressed astonishment and disbelief that the pictures had been leaked. all day in manchester people have been coming to the town hall to lay

flowers and to remember. just pain because everybody in manchester seems to know somebody that's been or attended or my daughter had a friend that went. it's, like, we're all linked together and we kind of... it's like it's happened to someone in your own family. ijust wanted to come. i brought a red, white and blue rose down and just wrote some words and just felt like i had to come. tonight, manchester is a city that knows there may be people in its midst who planned mass murder and may strike again. gavin hewitt, bbc news, manchester. police chiefs here, have expressed "fury" and "astonishment" after the publication in the new york times of police photos apparently showing bloodstained fragments from the attack. greater manchester's mayor, andy burnham, has also complained strongly. i made my concerns known to the us ambassador.

it is not acceptable to me. there is a live investigation taking place here. we cannot have information in the public domain not in direct control of the british police and security services. earlier i spoke to our correspondent david willis for the latest. the fact this was carried out by a suicide bomber and indeed the identity of the perpetrator, both being released here in the united states before they were released in the uk, causing a lot of concern. the home secretary, amber rudd, saying it was very irritating and it should not be allowed to happen again. whereupon the new york times published pictures of the crime scene featuring a rather charred remain of the backpack of the suicide bomber. the british government is livid and counterintelligence said these partnerships around the world had helped deter these attacks in the past.

they went on to say this: so, they are clearly angry in the uk and there is a feeling that this could compromise a long—lasting intelligence sharing agreement between the us and the uk. it will make for an awkward and perhaps even tense meeting later today when president trump and theresa may meet at this nato summit. that is absolutely right. they are expected to address this issue perhaps on the sidelines of that meeting.

it has to be mentioned that donald trump himself has been the victim of countless leaks in the short time in which he has been in office. these are thought to be leaks from people in very senior positions in government. people who are putting at risk theirjobs and perhaps their liberty in order to release this sort of information to the press. he has been more than a little peeved, the president himself, about the inability to track down the people who are leaking this kind of information, tom. a big challenge in the early stages of the investigation — to build up a comprehensive profile of the bomber. it's thought salman abedi — who was born and raised in britain — returned to the uk from libya just days before the attack. our special correspondent ed thomas reports now on his background and what may have motivated him. suicide bomber salman abedi,

an extremist who attacked the city of his birth. now investigators surround his home, like everyone here, wanting answers. suhaib knew abedi. he'd watch him come and go from manchester to libya. now he can't believe what his neighbour did. unbelievably disgusting to be honest. speaking as a muslim. and a libyan as well. to us, obeying the law of the country is the most priority number one. that's what the prophet teaches us. and some talk of erratic behaviour, of abedi chanting in the street. he was shouting out the koran in "islamic." you see, i don't know their language. the bbc has been told a black flag with arabic writing hung outside his home. many had no idea what it meant. i remember seeing some

sort of flag outside. was it islamic writing on it? i didn't really look at it. it was just... was it english writing? no. a community worker who didn't want to go on camera has told us that two separate people who knew salman abedi at college rang police several years ago. they said he was supporting terrorism and had expressed a view that being a suicide bomber was ok. greater manchester police will not comment on those claims. and what about the manchester bomber‘s family? this is his brother, hashem, now under arrest in libya for supporting so—called islamic state. then there's abedi's father, ramadan, affiliated to extremists, the libyan islamic fighting group. on his facebook page, he praised fighters in syria linked to al-qaeda. today he gave an interview in libya minutes before he was detained, defending himself and his son. translation: salman doesn't belong to any organisation. i know this about him.

he doesn't hide it from me. i always discuss things with him. i'm sure and i believe that salman would not do such a thing, but there are hidden hands behind us, security organisations, in order to harm the libyan community, especially the youth. salman did not travel to syria. the evidence is that i have seen his two passports and he never hides anything from me. he did not travel to syria. there was no apology. before he left south manchester, we're told he would sometimes lead in prayers in this mosque. he's there all the time when the prayers are happening. he's a guy who announces it, like, "allahu akbar. " police now want to know if anyone else knew what salman abedi was planning and his father's beliefs. salman abedi's father, he was well known in the mosque? oh, yeah, everyone knew him. everyone from our age... a good man? he's a good man. hayel khazaal is close to the trustees at didsbury mosque. he had no idea of the family's extremist links. we know he is connected

to extremist fighters in libya, groups close to al-qaeda. right. groups close to al-qaeda. to us, they did not show it to us. is that a problem, though? that people like yourself, good people, don't know who they are with? now, we go back again, the mosque trustees have to do more about that. leaders of communities have to sit together. a lot of thought needs to be done in this mosque. tonight, didsbury mosque said salman abedi was a coward whose crime had no place in their religion. a man willing to kill in the city that was once his home. ed thomas, bbc news, south manchester. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we take a closer look at the british counter—terrorism strategy — and how it's been implemented following the manchester bombing. 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: more raids and arrests in the uk as police confirm their belief that a network of accomplices helped the manchester bomber. counter—terrorism officials have strongly criticised the leaking of pictures from the scene of the bombing to media organisations in the us. one of the key questions for british investigators, is how salman abedi was radicalised, and the influences on him in recent years. some in manchester's muslim community insist they reported their concerns about him to police five years ago. mark easton takes a closer look at the british government's counter—terrorism strategy and how it has been implemented in this case. in the streets of south manchester,

condemnation of monday's attack is total. but from this area more than a dozen men have been identified as having been radicalised and then followed the path of extremism. salman abedi is just the latest. the question which screams at you at times like this is "how can we stop young people from being radicalised in the first place?" the government's answer is prevent. a controversial strategy which requires public workers and others in the community to report any possible signs of extremism to police. in the market, i met a stallholder who told me he was acquitted of terrorism charges four years ago. from his perspective, the prevent strategy confuses extremism with religious devotion. it's mainly spying on the community.

that's what my opinion is. but it's there to try to stop people from becoming extremists? what is extremist? what is a sign of extremism? from my case, when i was accused of being a terrorist, they said extremism is practising your faith. we were told that if you're praying five times a day, that's the first step of extremism. that, to you, is really quite personal, then? when it's targeting innocent people then, yeah. no—one extremes with extremism or terrorism in any form, but when you're discriminating against a set of people within the community that have lived in peace for many years, i think that's... that's extreme and racist and terrorism itself. elsewhere, people were supportive.

is it spying on you? no. it has now emerged that some in the community had called the police anti—terrorism hotline trying to alert the authorities to the radicalisation of salman abedi. one imam says people should be listened to? this is our faith. it is my faith that has been maligned. the new mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham, campaign to scrap prevent, claiming it was toxic. he now oversees the strategy across the region but today refused to discuss it, saying it was not the time. this muslim mother has no such qualms. she has written about extremism and thinks the current policies are not being properly explained. prevent has a branding problem.

absolutely. i am a supporter of it. i am critical of it. it has flaws. how can anybody with a sane mind and intellect be against that? politicians reference prevent as how they are working with the muslim community. others, as proof of their toughness in targeting islamic extremism. such mixed messages may be the policy's eight is challenged. all this is happening in the middle of an election. you'll find much on our website. there's a live page with the latest developments including the new arrests and the hunt for this possible "network" behind the bomber. go to bbc.com/news. taking a look elsewhere, donald trump's first overseas trip as president gathers pace. he's currently in brussels for a nato summit where he faced several thousand protesters.

earlier, at the vatican, the us president was granted a short private audience with the pope which he described as "inspirational." our north america editor, jon sopel, reports. ever so slowly, and flanked by the swiss guard, the leader of the world's pre—eminent superpower walked through the vatican to meet the leader of one of the world's pre—eminent religions. and were there ever two more different people? pope francis, with just the merest hint of a smile. president trump, beaming. they sat across from each other in the pontiff's study, as though one was going for a job interview. but there were lighter moments. as melania trump was presented, the pope wanted to know, "do you feed him lots of potica?" a slovenian cake. her facial expression suggested she hadn't expected that as a question. the president gave the pope

bound copies of the works of martin luther king. the pope gave the president some of his encyclicals, including, pointedly, one on the environment and the dangers of global warming. after two world leaders have had a difficult discussion their normal mantra is "there is more that unites us than divides us." that may well be true but make no mistake — the divisions between the pope and president trump are significant. during the election campaign, when pope francis visited the us—mexico border, he said that people who choose to build walls and not bridges weren't christian. he actually said that maybe i'm not a good christian, orsomething! it's unbelievable! donald trump said those comments were disgraceful. and in february, just after donald trump had tried to introduce his travel ban from six mainly muslim countries and suspended the refugee programme, the pope tweeted, "how often in the bible the lord asks us to welcome migrants and foreigners, reminding us that we too are foreigners!" the visit concluded with a tour

of the sistine chapel, and the awe—inspiring last judgement by michelangelo. the vatican said the discussions had been cordial, a connection has been made. the president and first lady have now arrived in brussels ahead of tomorrow's nato summit. yes, he's warmed to the organisation, but his determination to get member states to cough up more money is unchanged. he really wants to persuade nato members to step up and fully meet their obligations under burden sharing. the 2% of gdp was a target they all agreed to. i think you could expect the president to be very tough on them. on the streets, thousands turned out to protest at donald trump's arrival. feminists, immigration campaigners, trades unions. welcome to europe, mr president. jon sopel, bbc news, brussels. let's round up some of the other main stories. a non—partisan agency in the united states says about 23

million people will lose health insurance over the next decade, under the new health—care plan championed by president trump. the congressional budget office said 14 million people would be uninsured in the first year alone. the president of the philippines says martial law could be imposed across the whole country as security forces continue their battle against islamist groups. rodrigo duterte is already well—known for waging a violent campaign against drug dealers. he's warned he's willing to use similar methods against extremists. more than 30 migrants, mostly children, have drowned off the libyan coast after around 200 people without life jackets fell from a boat into the sea. a rescue group say in total, almost 2,000 people were rescued from four rubber dinghies and six wooden boats. american officials say a us navy destroyer has conducted what's been described as a "freedom of navigation operation? " near disputed islands in the south china sea. they say the operation took place near mischief reef, in the spratley islands where china has upset nearby countries by building a military base.

it's the first operation of its kind since donald trump became president. in brazil's capital, protesters have clashed with police in a march against the president, michel temer. police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. brazil's capital descended into violence on wednesday. the seat of government was on fire as government and people clashed. out with temer, they chanted, a call that has become all too common in recent months. it has taken on more urgency in the past week after the president was put under investigation for corruption, an accusation he denies and refuses to step down. many of the protesters were members of unions angry about austerity

policies he is trying to pass, and they feel will have increased hours and reduced pensions. he is irresponsible and is putting brazil ina huge irresponsible and is putting brazil in a huge crisis. he cannot continue in the presidency. he has no credibility, he has no support. many of those who came to demonstrate we re of those who came to demonstrate were peaceful. but some made sure they left their mark, damaging ministerial buildings. police responded with rubber bullets and tear gas. amid all the chaos, civil serva nts tear gas. amid all the chaos, civil servants were evacuated and sent home. translation: the protest was expected to be peaceful, but it erupted in violence, vandalism, disrespect, and aggression. threatening people, many of them public servants who are terrified, and who evacuation we are guaranteeing at this moment. the

president decreed an action which will guarantee law and order. troops we re will guarantee law and order. troops were called in, a controversial move because they are not usually allowed to patrol the streets. brasilia is now calm, but for how long? it has been a rocky week for the country, and is not expected to stop. katie watson, bbc news, brazil. that's all the time we have for now. we'll leave you with images ofjust some of the tributes, the flowers, words, and gifts, collected in st ann's square in the heart of manchester. they were laid by what seemed to be an endless stream of people during the day, all wanting to express their sympathy and solidarity. good morning.

wednesday was a dry, settled, sunny day for most of us and we have some weather watchers pictures which help to illustrate that point, as you can see in worcester, with blue skies and sunshine, and also in the london area. these two places were the hotspots through the day, with 26 celsius. it's worth just pointing out though, in wednesday's satellite picture we had some cloud up into the far north—west and by the end of the day we also had some sea fog through the irish sea. now that is going to be a bit of a nuisance over the next few hours and linger during the early morning. it is going to be a pretty muggy start to the day as well, temperatures widely into the mid—high teens. so there's only one place for those temparatures to go, when we get that sunshine coming through. the fog will take its time to clear but it will do so and as we go through the morning, it will be a beautiful picture. a little bit of fairweather cloud developing into the afternoon, which may well be welcome news as those temperatures continue to climb.

it is going to be a hot day in the south—east. one or two spots generally into the mid 20s, maybe as high as 28 degrees and not much of a breeze either. a noticeable breeze down towards the south—west and into south wales, but head further north ans west, again, we could see temperatures into the high 20s not out of the question. northern ireland and western of scotland, a better day in comparison to yesterday and there'll be more sunshine and more warmth as well. 25 for glasgow. we do it all again on friday. that south—easterly breeze driving that heat further north. by the end of the day though, signs of a few showers gathering into the western part of northern ireland but it looks as though in sheltered areas of scotland, in the north—west, we could see temperatures into the high 20s. somewhere like inverness could see 29, maybe 30 degrees. widely a very warm if not hot day across england and wales as well. that's worth bearing in mind as well if you have any time outside, the uv level are going to be pretty high across the country, very high in the south—east, and certainly worth bearing in mind. as we move out of friday,

into saturday, we still keep the heat but there is a potential for these showers that i pointed out in northern ireland to become fairly widespread into the far north—west. some of these heavy and thundery as well. so the potential for some sharpish showers, a fresher feel here, but we still keep the heat. 28—30 degrees not out off the question into the south—east corner. it is bank holiday weekend this weekend so it is going to be a hot and humid start but it looks as though that thundery breakdown will arrive and then behind it somewhat fresher conditions look likely to follow on. take care. this is bbc news, the headlines: the father and a brother of the manchester bomber, salman abedi, have been detained in libya. police have now arrested a total of seven people in britain. they think a network was behind the bombing which killed 22 people at a ariana grande concert. british police have condemned the publication by the new york times

of leaked photos from the scene of the bombing. officials say it undermines the investigation and eroded trust with us intelligence partners. the british prime minister is expected to raise the issue with president trump at a nato summit on thursday. more tributes have been paid to the victims. so far 16 have been named but police say they know the identities of everyone who was killed. a vigil in the centre of the city brought together representatives of manchester's different religious communities in a show of defiance and unity. now on bbc news, it's time for hardtalk.