and more than 20 seriously wounded, after a gunman opened fire on worshippers at two mosques in christchurch, new zealand. the attack, on people attending friday prayers, is the deadliest in the nation's history. i didn't think something like this could happen in new zealand. christchurch, of all places, is such a small community. we are so kind and loving, so ijust don't understand why someone would hurt us like this and in such a wayjust like an animal. why would you treat us like that? the gunman — named as brenton tarrant, an australian — livestreamed the attack on social media. security experts say it was widely shared. i went and looked today and i've got to tell you, while he was committing this atrocity he was being cheered

on by hundreds of people on these channels, including new zealanders. that is disgusting. schools and mosques were put on lockdown and people told to remain inside in what new zealand's prime minister has called the country's darkest day. these are people, who i would describe as having extremist views, that have absolutely no place in new zealand and in fact have no place in the world. we'll have all the latest from new zealand and australia. our other main story... seeking a way through the brexit breakdown, the dup are holding talks with the government, which are being described as "ongoing and significant". we'll bring you the latest. and in sport... tottenham will face manchester city in an all english champions league quarterfinal. manchester united have been drawn against barcelona while last year's beaten finalist liverpool will play porto.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. at least 49 people have been killed, and more than 20 others seriously wounded, after a gunman opened fire on worshippers during friday prayers at two mosques in the city of christchurch in new zealand. explosive devices were also found strapped to a vehicle. a 28—year—old man has been charged with murder after what new zealand's prime ministerjacinda ardern said was a planned terrorist attack, describing it as the country's darkest day. our first report is from paul adams. drama on a quiet street in christchurch. wheels still spinning on a car rammed by police, a suspect wrestled to the ground by armed officers. the police dealing with events without parallel in new zealand's history.

outside a mosque in linwood, east of the city centre, more frantic police action. officers called to the scene of a second terrible shooting. word of mass casualties now beginning to emerge and, with it, shocking accounts of the survivors. shooting after shooting after shooting. it went on about six minutes or more. i could hear screaming and crying. i saw some people drop dead. a gunman identified as brenton tarrant live a gunman identified as brenton tarra nt live stream the a gunman identified as brenton tarrant live stream the attack on facebook. he earlier published a ma nifesto facebook. he earlier published a manifesto online. the shootings happened as worshippers gathered for friday prayers. they watched helpless as the gunman kept firing. there was one guy changing the gun and taking another one. he parked on this side, next to the mosque house.

he just took the gun and started firing again, you know. the attacks began in the early afternoon at the al noor mosque in hagley park. soon after a second mosque not far away came under attack. at the deans avenue mosque we now know that 41 people have lost their lives. and at the linwood mosque, seven have lost their lives. of the 40 mosque, seven have lost their lives. of the a0 people who are being treated at christchurch hospital, one has now passed. so the total number of people who have died in this horrendous event is a9. only when the shooting stopped could ambulances reach the two mosques. soon, more than 20 wounded people were being rushed to hospital and, all day, the number of reported deaths continued to rise.

police had parts of new zealand's second—largest city under lockdown for hours. mosques told to close their doors, the country now on the highest possible alert. the new zealand prime minister had to find words for those responsible. you may have chosen us but we utterly reject and condemn you stop we had undoubtedly experienced an attack today which is unprecedented, unlike anything we have experienced before. new zealand has been chosen because we are not a place where violent extremism exists. we reject those notions me must continue to reject them. it is not an enclave for that kind of behaviour and ideology. we will and must reject it. it is a place where people should feel secure and will feel secure. this will not change new

zealand's profile. today's events have shocked people to the core. you do not think something like this will happen in christchurch of all places. i do not understand why someone places. i do not understand why someone would hurt us like this in such a way... just like an animal. why would you treat us like that? just heard the news. i could not put into words howl just heard the news. i could not put into words how i am feeling right fiow. into words how i am feeling right now. with the country in shock, one of the sporting idols posted his reaction. and there was a lucky escape for bangladesh cricket team. a test match due to take place tomorrow has been called up is that this is the worst mass shooting in new zealand. sympathy messages have

been pouring in from around the world. dozens of people attending friday prayers were caught up in the atrocity and bystanders too were affected. one woman who was driving past at the time of the shooting, told local reporters what she saw as she stopped to help. and i heard and saw what i thought were firecrackers. i saw young fellas running down the street. then, all of a sudden, it got quite violent, and i thought, "that's not firecrackers," and they started falling. one fell to the left of my car and one fell to the right and... for a few minutes, i stopped the car in shock. i leaned either way, i think i crossed the seats to try and avoid getting shot. apparently a bullet went sailing over my car and struck the one in the back. we opened my passenger's door and my driver's door and we pulled him around behind and then opened at the back as well, give us some protection. he had a first aid kit and crouched and ran all the way back to get it.

he lifted up his shirt and he dressed it and i put the pressure on. and then, a nice muslim guy come and give me some help as well, because you had to put quite a bit of pressure on and my poor old hands were shaking that hard. i was scared i wouldn't be able to do a good job. the worst thing was, we could hear the ambulances but they couldn't get to us. in the end, a nice guy who was on the other side, he put three people in his car and took them to hospital. the guy on the street, he was trying to ring his wife... the other guy i could see was in bad shape but i couldn't get to him because that was where, directly, the gun fire was coming from. and the guy i was compressing, he was trying to ring his wife and i managed to get it

and i answered the phone and i said to her, "your husband has been shot outside the mosque. don't come here to deans ave, you won't get through but please go to the hospital and wait for him." then i kept talking to him and telling him that she was at the hospital waiting, and he wasn't to give up. we kept pressure on the best we could for him until we got him some help. and, in the meantime, the poor guy across the road passed away. and my car is still down there. that is so terrible. i never thought... i'm 66. i never thought in my life i'd live to see something like this, not in new zealand. clearly distressing stories emerging. that eyewitness report from a lady who had been driving past at the time of the shooting. emma cropper, from the new zealand website newshub, outside christchurch hospital. what is the latest? welcome the

latest from police in new zealand is that they had centred on a location ina that they had centred on a location in a city called dunedin, four hours south of where we are in christchurch. this is a location of interest and i believe it to be linked with a firearms incident that took place in christchurch. as for the hospital behind me, there are a8 wounded, children and adults were taken this afternoon. there have been 12 operating theatres in use throughout the evening, operating on there is an urgent need. there are 200 family members inside either bedsides of loved ones are waiting for news of the outcomes of surgery. we are seeing family members walking in and out of hospital. an uneasy and restless night for many in christchurch after what has been a frightening and shocking day. thank you. the christchuch gunman appears

to have published a document before the attack, in which he set out his intentions. he espoused a far—right, anti—immigrant ideology as the basis for his actions. our aecurity correspondent gordon corera reports. brenton tarrant has been identified as the 28—year—old responsible for the attacks. issuing warnings beforehand on social media and then streaming himself live on the internet carrying it out. he was not known to the authorities in new zealand or australia where he was born. i can confirm that the individual, he was taken into custody, i had been advised is an australian born citizen and, obviously, that element of the investigation, australian authorities are involved in and i will be proceeding with their investigation which has already been stood up, involving all the relevant agencies. just before the attack he posted a link online to a rambling 70 page document. in it he described

himself as a racist, fascist and nationalist. he said he wanted to target what he called invaders, in order to incite violence and spread fear. he said he was not a member of any organisation but does say he interacted with many nationalist groups, taking his inspiration from others who had carried out attacks. if you look at the facebook page, you can see the influence of the international connections or influences he has got and then, of course, what we have seen is the rise of islamophobia, he was not on the australian security services or police watchlist either and i think that has to raise some fundamental questions about the monitoring of these groups. he claims he began planning his attack two years ago. he said he came to new zealand only temporarily while he planned and trained. in the last three months he decided to carry out his attack in

christchurch. now the new zealand authorities, who had never had to face an attack like this, will be urgently trying to establish whether oi’ urgently trying to establish whether or not anyone else was involved was bay and other governments will also be hoping that these events do not lead to any further violence in response. “— lead to any further violence in response. —— whilst they and other governments. in a moment we'll talk more to gordon, but as you heard there, the chief suspect is believed to be from australia. let's go to sydney and our correspondent phil mercer. how is this being reported there, phil, and what details are you able to share on what you know about this man, brenton tarrant. new zealand and australia share a very close relationship. that relationship will come into sharper focus now, given that the main suspect in this case was apparently born, or living, in the northern pa rt born, or living, in the northern part of new south wales. the australian prime minister scott

morrison has described brenton tarrant as a right—wing extremist, a white supremacist. certainly his background will have to be gone through forensically by australian investigators. we understand that a 28—year—old man has been charged with murder and he is due to appear in court in christchurch in the morning. as the court process proceeds, more light should be shared on the motivations of the gunman or gun men behind these attacks. i think it is safe to say that new zealand will almost certainly be changed forever because of this. the former prime minister helen clark was saying this is a watershed moment and the deputy prime minister winston peters in new zealand were saying this is an end to the age of innocence in new zealand. for many years people living in new zealand thought they we re living in new zealand thought they were living in a small country, perched at the bottom of the world, far away from the world's trouble spots but the trauma inflicted on the people of christchurch today means that age of innocence in the

words of winston peters is well and truly over. thank you. and gordon is here with me. we still have not had it confirmed whether he was acting alone. there is concern about incitement to violence it may now cause. what is the wider view? the most urgent question is, could anyone else had been involved? question is, could anyone else had been involved ? could question is, could anyone else had been involved? could others be at large? the second question is, is there something they could have missed about this individual? where they're warning signs on social media? —— as were there warning signs? it is about whether he is linked to a broader international network. he said in a rambling document that he was not a member of another organisation that he clearly had some kind of contacts it looks like. there will be questions about those links. the concern is also of

copycat attacks or violence in response in many places. in the uk the home secretary will be meeting with police and the security services to look at improving protection around mosques and improve that. it is noticeable that in the uk, the mis has taken on looking at extreme right—wing groups. in the past that is something the police were doing. the concerns have been growing in terms of the number of signs of individuals becoming radicalised planning violence. when it reaches a certain threshold it looks like it may be possible that individuals are moving towards violence it becomes an mi5 investigation. that is one sign of how the concern has been growing about the threat of extreme right—wing violence. gordon corera, thank you. today's attacks are not the first tragedy to hit the city of christchurch, which was struck by a major earthquake in 2011. bbc news presenter dominic o'connell

is visiting his family there and has been explaining the impact of the attacks on the community. when i was driving towards where my mother is living there were police cars everywhere, and my brother called me to say that he'd been cycling past the mosque, which is just to the west of hagley park — this is where the main attack was — and he had seen a man covered in blood. he had been carrying someone to safety, and he told my brother that he thought perhaps 15—20 people had been killed in the attack. we now know that actually in total the death toll so far is a9, so much worse than even he thought then. and that was around two o'clock in the afternoon. then there was a period of lockdown when most public buildings, certainly schools, were closed, and that ended maybe two or three hours ago. and now, i can't say life has returned to normal, but now there is traffic on the streets. most people are really in a state of shock, horror, really, and disbelief that this could have happened here in christchurch. christchurch has had tests

of its strength in adversity before. eight years ago, eight years and one month ago, there was a devastating earthquake here, which killed 185 people. a lot of the town has been rebuilt since then. christchurch felt that it was recovering. it was a long time after the earthquake, it took a long time for it to get back on its feet, but really, that sense of strength in adversity will be tested again by this terrorist attack. although new zealand had become more of a polyglot society, more groups of immigrants, the new zealand way of life, the meritocratic society, the sort of, all—in—it—together type approach, that's always sort of been part of the new zealand psyche, real or imagined, i don't know. but certainly part of the national identity. yet those old grudges, those old religious hatreds, were perhaps left behind. but perhaps today is a day when a lot of that has been brought home to new zealand, to christchurch, my home town, which is not a small town,

a00,000 people, a bit under a00,000 people, but like a lot of new zealand, it still retains something of that small town feel. dominic o'connell, bbc news presenter, reporting from christchurch. there has been condemnation of the attacks from political and religious leaders around the world. our correspondent richard galpin has been looking at the international reaction to the events in christchurch. london this morning. a vigil in memory of all those killed or injured in the christchurch attack. and also today, the house of commons expressed its revulsion at the mass shooting of men, women and children, who had been attending friday prayers. this barbarity, this evil, this depravity, will not prevail. we will stand up to it, and it will be defeated. colleagues, i propose a

minute's silence starting now. in a tweet, the prime minister expressed her deepest condolences to the people of new zealand, saying her thoughts are with all those affected by this sickening act of violence. and likewise, the mayor of london, sadiq khan, describing what happened as heartbreaking news, innocent people murdered because of their faith. ahead of friday prayers at the finsbury mosque in north london, flowers have been left in memory of the victims in new zealand. what's happened is very shocking for the muslim community, but here they are determined not to be intimidated. here in the muslim community we are resilient, and we will not accept that. today i believe more than 2000 people will be attending prayer here to show solidarity and show we are not scared and we will carry on with our lives as normal. in some parts

of the muslim world, like here in turkey, there's already been an angry response to the mass killing in new zealand. translation: with this attack, islamophobia, whose rise the whole world has been watching and for a long time has even been encouraging, exceeded the level of individual harassment and reach to the dimension of a massacre. leaders of other muslim countries like the pakistan prime minister imran khan have also spoken out saying what has happened reaffirms what we have always maintained, that terrorism does not have a religion. richard galpin, bbc news. the attack was live—streamed on social media and police have called on the public not to share the "extremely distressing footage" online. social media platforms have said they are working hard to remove any clips or copies of the video but this lunchtime,

the home secretary sajid javid has called on them to do more to stop the promotion of violent extremism. our technology correspondent rory cellan jones reports. it was an attack streamed live on the internet by someone apparently determined to use social media to spread a message of hate. the gunman, identified as brenton tarrant, used facebook to show his every move during the 17 minute attack. and it became a social media event watched by the world. i went and looked today, and i've got to tell you, while he was committing this atrocity, he was being cheered on by hundreds of people on these channels, including new zealanders. that is disgusting. so, let's not think that we're immune to all of this. in an age of a globalised telecommunications, we are no longer in a benign security environment. facebook said it had acted swiftly. "new zealand police alerted us to a video on facebook shortly after the live stream commenced, and we quickly removed both

the shooter's facebook and instagram accounts, and the video." other social media firms say they are trying to remove the video, youtube promising to work vigilantly to remove any violent footage. but, a while back, we had a look on youtube — with a simple search, we found that someone else had uploaded the full 16 and a half minute video from that gunman. we reported it and it's now been removed. but more seems certain to pop up. when someone posts a video onto youtube or facebook and it needs to be taken down, those are human moderators behind the scenes who have to make that call. and then have to actually do the work of taking it down. it's not automated yet, it's not artificial intelligence doing it — its human beings. so, there are simply not enough human moderators to keep up with the number of people who are putting these videos online and causing it to go viral. facebook and other social media firms are investing in both

people and technology to remove extremist content. and there is mounting pressure from politicians. more needs to be done to identify this kind of content, to take it down quickly. and, once it has been identified, crucially, for the tech companies to prevent it from being re—uploaded. but, extremist material like that posted by the gunman spreads so rapidly because so many people choose to share it. changing our online behaviour remains the biggest challenge. rory cellan—jones, bbc news. european leaders are considering whether to agree to uk calls for brexit to be delayed. last night mps voted to extend the uk's exit from the eu beyond the scheduled date of 29th of march, but that requires the unanimous approval of all 27 other eu states. the dutch prime minister reiterated the eu's position that the current withdrawal agreement — which has twice been voted down by mps — is the only deal on the table. anna holligan reports from the hague. the dutch prime minister's official residence — often theresa may's first stop when trying to woo european leaders.

the netherlands, considered the uk's best friend in europe. today it was donald tusk, european council president, who coordinates on behalf of the national governments making it his priority. and britain cannotjust click its fingers and delay leaving the union. if mps back theresa may's third meaningful vote in parliament next week, brexit could be delayed up to the end ofjune. if that vote fails, then she says she will ask the eu again for a much longer extension, possibly a year or more. in trade terms, the netherlands is on the front line. 30% of goods entering the eu from the uk go via dutch ports. here, 1.2 million lorries cross the channel every year. preparations for a no deal have been ramped up this week. if nothing is agreed, by the end of the month, every firm transporting

cargo via the netherlands will be required to submit their customs declarations digitally in advance. failure to do so will see them blocked from entering the ferry terminal. the netherlands would be one of the countries worst hit by a no deal. what they don't want is to agree to an extension that will only extend the uncertainty. as all the european member countries will have to agree, it is important the uk not only asks for this extension which will generally meet with their opponents but it will also make clear what the extension will be used for. after the meeting here, the dutch prime minister tweeted there is only one deal. european leaders are now waiting for a request from theresa may to delay. making up their minds will be dictated by economic and political self interest. theresa may acknowledges her robust exchanges at these gatherings

and she has gone home disappointed in the past. anna holligan, bbc news. well, today the dup is holding what have been described as "ongoing and significant discussions with government" as the prime minister attempts to build support for her deal. our political correspondent alex forsyth is in westminster. what can you tell us. ? if you don't back my deal, that delay could be much longer. a year or more, and perhaps involve a total rethink of brexit. the point being this, number ten hopes that will encourage brexiteers who have rejected this deal before to come round rather than face a long delay.

in fact, one prominent brexiteer, esther mcvey, former work and pensions secretary, who quit the government because she doesn't like this brexit deal, has now told the bbc she is now minded to vote for it and others might have to think about doing the same. so the effort is clearly on trying to salvage that deal. there are talks taking place today between the government and dup, who are crucial in this, happening as we speak in whitehall. the focus is again on the issue of the backstop, that plan to avoid checks on the irish border, whether or not there can be any interpretation of the legal advice that may give the uk a way out of that may give the uk a way out of that if it so chose. but don't underestimate the fact that this deal has been kicked out resoundingly twice and it will not be easy for theresa may to change mps' mines in a few short days she has. alex, one of the government's biggest public service providers, thank you.

one of the government's biggest public service providers, interserve, is expected to go into administration, after shareholders failed to approve a restructuring plan. interserve holds contracts for a range of services in prisons, schools and hospitals. our business correspondent rob young is here. into service a huge funder of public services and employs a5,000 people in the uk making hospitalfood, cleaning floors in schools, providing probation services as well. but it has been struggling under a huge debt in recent years will stop now the company's lenders had suggested a rescue package that would see it right off a large portion of that debt in exchange for taking majority control of the company but the existing shareholders have resoundingly voted against that risky plan today, so shares in the company have been suspended on the london stock exchange. the company says there will be an urgent board meeting later today and it's likely they say that the company will file for administration and it seems the lenders will then seize control of the business anyway. the government has been preparing for the financial failure of interserve for quite some time, saying public contracts will

continue as normal and there is no immediate threat to anyjobs. you will remember more than a year ago, another outsourcing company, carillion, went into insolvency and unions have said it again raises questions about the model of giving private companies contracts for public services. a man in his 50s has been shot dead by police near the centre of birmingham. west midlands police says the shooting was part of an intelligence—led operation, but was not related to terrorism. the incident has been referred to the independent office for police conduct. the former liberal party leader, lord steel, has been suspended from the liberal democrats over allegations he did not do enough to tackle an mp over claims of child sexual abuse. lord steel told the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse that in 1979 he asked the late mp sir cyril smith about claims he abused boys at a rochdale hostel in the 1960s. lord steel said he came away from the conversation "assuming" that smith had committed the offences but claimed it was "nothing to do" with him.

time for a look at the weather.