this is bbc news. the headlines at 9am. more than 150 people have been killed and more than 400 injured in a wave of explosions at churches and hotels in sri lanka. at least six blasts have been reported, worshippers were targeted as they were praying at easter services. bringing back the violence, blasts and gunfire to this country, to achieve their targets, they are misleading us. the main easter celebrations in paris will be held at the church of saint eustache following monday's devastating fire at notre dame cathedral. nhs england says deaf children, who can't use standard hearing aids or implants, will be offered cutting—edge brain surgery to help them hear. emergency crews have been tackling

a large wildfire which broke out on ilkley moor in west yorkshire as the hot weather continues. in boxing — britain's amir khan lost the wbo welterweight champion to terence crawford, at madison square garden in new york last night. and our sunday morning edition of the papers is at 9.35 — this mornings reviewers are james millar and lainy malkani. good morning. more than 150 people are reported to have been killed and hundreds more injured in a series of explosions in sri lanka. at least six blasts have been reported, at three churches and three five—star hotels.

one of the churches and the three hotels that were attacked are in the biggest city, colombo. the other churches are in negombo and the easten city of battacloa. people were attending easter sunday mass in the churches when the explosions hit. sri lanka's president has told people to remain calm — and the prime minister has condemned what he called a ‘cowardly attack‘. it's reported that dozens of foreign nationals are among the dead. the bbc‘s azzam ameen is at the scene of one of the attacks in colombo. it's very early to say but even the police are not saying who is behind it. they arejust guessing whether there is an international or religious organisation behind this but it is still very early to. they are just investigating the matter so i just spoke to a government minister and they have no clue. they have no intelligence about an attack like this. so the president is holding

a special inquiry and he has requested people to stay calm because there has been a lot of rumours about more attacks. we have seen thousands of police officers around the country, guarding the main places because they are afraid of more attacks. akshat saraf was on the 25th floor of the shangri la hotel in colombo with his wife and child when the explosion happened. he told me what he heard. at that point my wife and myself are planning to go down for breakfast but the explosion happened on the breakfast floor. the top floor. from the 25th floor we heard two loud bangs. which is why we decided we should go down to the lobby, even though at that point we cannot see much from our window.

when we got downstairs i could see that ambulances had arrived. it took me about three to four minutes to take the stairs to get downstairs. by then all ambulances, police, i could see a lot of guests who were taken to different hospitals. i would not be able to comment on the number of guest that were injured. however, there were casualties, about a0 hotel staff and guests. no group has yet admitted carrying out the attacks. a government minister, visiting the scene in colombo, said the country did not want to return to violence. we are shocked, the government, we support peace. for this government and for this country. if anybody can think

by bringing back terrorism, by bringing back the violence, blasts and gunfire to this country, that they achieve their targets, they are misleading us. and the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, has condemned the attacks. he says he's "deeply shocked and saddened by the horrifying attacks on churches and hotels in sri lanka today". adding "to target those gathered for worship on easter sunday is particularly wicked". we'll get more on this developing story from our south asia correspondent at around 9.15. the main easter sunday celebration in paris, which would have taken place at notre dame cathedral, will instead be held at the church of saint eustache, as workers continue the task of making the cathedral safe. last night french television put on a concert to raise funds for the renovation, following monday's fire. will batchelor reports. it was billed as a unique moment to symbolise hope, the hope of a rebuilt notre—dame.

musicians from france and across the world put on a glitzy show in paris last night, with television viewers invited to give generously. this morning, the message of hope and resurrection will continue with an easter sunday service. not at notre—dame, which is still being made safe, but at the nearby church of saint eustache, where a congregation of 2,000 will hear the choir of notre—dame seeing —— sing in a mass led by the archbishop of paris. if the fire brought a moment of unity for parisians, it was brief. shouting. before last night's concert, 200 people were arrested in the latest round of protests by the so—called ‘yellow vest‘ protesters, many of them angry that wealthy donors can find millions to restore an ancient cathedral but not, they say, to tackle poverty.

the fire in notre—dame is out, but as others are lit, it seems that some people of paris have more hope than others. let‘s speak now to our paris correspondent, hugh scofield. notre dame is usually the focus of easter services but not this year. yes, we are at this church, the 16th century building, not far from yes, we are at this church, the 16th century building, not farfrom notre dame, this is a replacement church where as you can see, hundreds of people are lining up to get and. the service will start in an hour or so. we have them speaking to many people here. all have been affected, saddened by what has happened to their cathedral where they have been attending services for many years in many cases. being observant roman

catholics, and this being easter, the overriding feeling is one of hope that the cathedral is still there, it will be reborn. that coincides neatly with their overall easter message so it is more of a positive feel amongst this congregation then you might expect. given what we have seen that has happened in sri lanka, iam given what we have seen that has happened in sri lanka, i am sure there are a lot of messages of solidarity and condolence expressed in paris as in other places, but the mood this year because of the fire must be different? yes. on your first point, absolutely, everyone we have spoken to has wanted to make that expression clear, their support and solidarity and shop with what they‘re learning about what happened in sri lanka. yes, the mood at easter is very, very different. it

is different in price because of what happened to therethat in easter week, it happened on monday, the story of christ‘s passion in their church and cathedral, their spiritual shelter, it looked like the worst had happened but by the end of the week, it was clear the worst had not happened. the cathedral hosted and that is hope it will be rebuilt. there is a clear parallel in the minds of everyone who is waiting here to attend the service. on the christian message as a whole. we have seen expressions of anger that money is forthcoming to rebuild notre dame from multiple sources but not to tackle other issues such as poverty which is also a consideration for the church? yes, these two stories are happening in parallel. i am these two stories are happening in parallel. iam not these two stories are happening in parallel. i am not sure there is a

huge connection between the two. there is obviously a huge amount of money being raised and huge focus on the roof of notre dame. there is also the yellow vest protest movement and we saw the violent scenes yesterday. among people protesting somejoin scenes yesterday. among people protesting some join this parallel between money raised for notre dame and money dc should be given to other causes like poverty and so on. ido other causes like poverty and so on. i do not think the country as a whole feels that there is anything to get angry about in the money that has been raised for notre dame. i think people feel notre dame is a natural cause for the humanity of man and money should be raised. they think money should be eased for the purdah is well and the social issues highlighted by the yellow vest movement. —— mike should be raised

for the tour as well. i do not think there is a rift or scandal that money should be reesa quickly for the cathedral. thank you very much. it‘s the most sacred day of the christian calendar and thousands have gathered to see the pope hold easter mass. people travel to rome from all over the globe to worship at easter. 0ur correspondent, james reynolds, is in the vatican. this is a point for many christians, they really want to spend easter in rome to hear the pope speaking. we are used to hearing this address every year. yes, he has begun to preside over the easter mass which is being held in front of st peter‘s basilica. at midday he will address the crowds from the central balcony of st peter‘s, that is usually a religious message and a message of peace. he is expected to mention

various conflicts around the world. then he will get into the bookmobile and say hello to the crowd. this is the most profound day of the christian calendar and a very important day for the pope. what is his message this year has the vatican made it clear? no, the m essa 9 es vatican made it clear? no, the messages held under wraps until the hoop speaks. it does not take much to guess what he will be about. —— the pope speaks. of course he will be talking about the christian resurrection, he is expected to touch on conflicts around the world. remember, the pope visited sri lanka in 2015. i am sure the vatican will wa nt to in 2015. i am sure the vatican will want to react to what has been going on in sri lanka with those explosions. it seems that a number of leaders will be talking about

persecution of recent religious followers, whether christian or otherwise, waking up to the use and thrilling cat today. yes, one of the pope‘s messages, one area of interest has been the persecution of christians around the world in various conflicts. sri lanka may be a focus of that but he has spoken repeatedly about the middle east and the persecution of christians there. he has made that an issue of concern, another is the plight of migrants. you criticise those who exploit migrants as being people with armoured hearts. for the moment, thank you very much. no doubt we shall come back to you later. james in rome. profoundly deaf children, who are unable to use standard hearing aids or implants, are now being offered pioneering brain surgery. specialist teams in london and manchester will perform the procedure, known as auditory brainstem implant, which could help under—fives hear for the first time.

well, earlier, bbc breakfast spoke to imelda, whose son, theo, has had the surgery, and neurosurgeon scott rutherford. theo falls into a very select minority of children who unfortunately are not able to have conventional hearing aids or cochlear implants. the reason for that is he has been born without hearing nerves on either side. all of those conventional therapies for congenitally deaf children rely on there being a cable between the inner ear and the brain to conduct those hearing signals. theo did not have that so up until a few years ago there was no option for allowing theo to hear. what can he now hear? in a quiet room in the home, he can hear me calling from upstairs to downstairs, through walls. he can hear me calling him.

theo speaks. yeah, you have to wait for a minute. he has started to develop speech, which means yes, the three of us. he has started to develop speech because he is hearing speech now, which is not something we ever expected him to develop. this must have been life changing for you, to be able to communicate with your child? yes, for me, there was complete silence for him, for the first two years, there was nothing so for us it changed our lives. we turned off the radio and television because we felt guilty because he could not hear anything. when scott gave him the implant our lives changed. it was like a cloud of grief had lifted so he could hear. tell me about theo‘s levels of language and communication?

he has been hearing for 2 years so he has the hearing ability of a two—year. his speech is delayed. he isjust past the babble stage, he can say his name. he can shout mummy and harry, his brother. he attends a mainstream school. he can hear the teacher calling him. he wears a radio aid. he is desperate to be doing something here. theo, look at the man. how old are you? four. good boy. four. firefighters have spent the night tacking a large wildfire on moorland in west yorkshire. the blaze broke out over 50 acres of ilkley moor at lunchtime yesterday on the hottest day of the year so far. bradford council warned people living nearby to stay indoors and keep their windows closed. the headlines on bbc news... at least 150 people have been killed

in sri lanka after a number of explosions at churches during easter services, as well as three hotels. hundreds are wounded after st anthony‘s church in the capital colombo was hit, no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks so far. after monday‘s fire at notre—dame, today‘s easter celebrations in paris have moved to the church of saint—eustache. let‘s get more now on our top story, the series of explosions in sri lanka. let‘s get more now from our south asia correspondent, rajini vaidaya nathan. tells what the focus of the investigation is. we knew that the number of dead is likely to rise. yes, it truly is horrific news eve ryo ne yes, it truly is horrific news everyone is waking up to one easter sunday. as you mentioned, we know there were at least six attacks, three at churches and three at

high—end luxury hotels. the death toll is likely to rise throughout the day. we have been told by one hospital there will be a number of foreign casualties as well. this is an emerging story, we still have no idea, the government is not speculating either, about who might be responsible for these attacks. this drilling can finance minister said on twitter they were coordinated attacks. —— the finance minister. christian communities being targeted and foreign to this have been targeted in the high—end hotels. how close together that the explosions go off? some happened near the city of the capital city, colombo, and one of those hotels with actually close to the prime minister‘s house. the cinnamon grand hotel where a blast ripped through

the restaurant. the geography of this will not give us more of a clue as to who was behind it. what is interesting is we are approaching the tenth anniversary, the end of the tenth anniversary, the end of the sri lankan civil war,. in general, the christian community has lived peacefully in the country. there has been some violence targeting muslims in the last few yea rs targeting muslims in the last few years but certainly there has not been anything on this scale for about a decade since the end of the civil war. that is why it has come asa civil war. that is why it has come as a shop to modern sri lankans that we have been speaking to on the ground. —— shop. we have been speaking to on the ground. -- shop. can you hear me? what is the message from government ministers to the people and to visitors, a hugely popular island with holiday—makers? visitors, a hugely popular island with holiday-makers? we had a

statement from the prime minister who strongly condemned the attacks. i call upon all sri lankans during this tragic time to remain united and strong. perhaps this is the most significant part of it, saying please avoid propagating unverified reports and speculation. the government is taking immediate steps to contain the situation. since the attacks took place, the attack in the churches took place before nine o‘clock local time. the country is ona o‘clock local time. the country is on a state of high alert but we have not heard of any other incident subsequently but of course police and military add—on cards for the possibility of any more attacks, given that it seems to be a coordinated and targeted attack. right now, the focus is on making sure those who had enjoyed get the right treatment but unfortunately it looks like the death toll may be a lot higher than what we are reporting now. thank you very much. thank you very much.

with me is thusiyan nandakumar, member of the editorial board at the tamil guardian newspaper. thank you forjoining us. this is appalling news to wake up to today. it isa appalling news to wake up to today. it is a horrific attack and took a lot of the island by surprise. is your correspondence said, it is unprecedented, we have seen nothing on the scale in terms of attacks on christians ever. so i religiously tolera nt christians ever. so i religiously tolerant place usually?” christians ever. so i religiously tolerant place usually? i would not say that, the island has a history of violence. the majority is buddhist and has been violence against the minorities, like tamils. last week there was an attack on a church on palm sunday as well so there have been attacks against christians but on this scale is

unprecedented. in parts of the country there are some very militarised groups still operating, despite the calming down of the civil war? yes, the groups that do operate now in the north and east which are the most heavily militarised regions, they operate with the government consent. the military itself is still very active in the north and east, one of the biggest militaries in terms of manpower in the number of soldiers that has. it is a highly militarised police in the north and east, as many as two soldiers for every civilian in some places. i think thatis civilian in some places. i think that is why everyone is quite surprised at this attack. some of the attacks have happened in the west parts of the island, how much ofa west parts of the island, how much of a shock is that? it is definitely taking everyone by surprise and his cot eight the government. their

questions as to whether the government should provide extra security to churches given that there had been attacks against christians in the past. —— has caught out the government. most attacks in the past have been against bluetooth but this has been unprecedented. what response will there be security wise no, even though it‘s after neophyte, given this is the most important feast in the christian calendar? it is a good question, there is a lot of fear that this will lead to the extreme right wing of the government, if that makes sense, a resurgence of the security state and ramping up militarisation. that is possibly what could be coming up in the coming year. how unwelcome will not be for the civil population? in the northeast where the tamils are living and whether christians are

living, it is already unwelcome analogy being there. there are lots of calls to demilitarise the region especially as it ten years after the armed conflict when thousands of civilians were killed by the military. stepping up their presence would be very unwelcome. thank you very much forjoining us. let‘s hear more from mathew schmalz — a professor of religion who has lived in sri lanka. thank you forjoining us. the most appalling events to wake up to on easter sunday. it is shocking and terribly sad. as all your commentators have indicated, this is something which is totally surprising and unexpected. how well do you know some of these places, especially the places of worship which had been targeted?” especially the places of worship which had been targeted? i did

research on the catholic community when i was studying a programme in sri lanka so i travelled to negombo many times. it was like going back to catholic past. the churches are beautiful, open and they represent very vulnerable targets for those who have malevolent intent. how attractive are those places of worship for visitors because there are still many cultural and historical sites to choose from when you visit through anchor? certainly if you are interested at all in catholic culture globally or colonial influence. —— when you visit sri lanka? they are truly important and they are active throughout the day with people praying and making intercessions, in

addition to regular scheduling of masses. these are not relics, they are very much active places of worship and belief. how resistant to greater levels of security do you think these congregations will be in spite of these horrors? that is an interesting question because when i was there, which was four years ago, there was little security presence at all. so it will curtail in many ways the urban form of catholic life in sri lanka to the detriment of all. -- in sri lanka to the detriment of all. —— that aired and flow of catholic life. so one of the questions will be how much adaptation the catholic church wants to meet in the wake of these events. thank you forjoining us. thank you. the archbishop of colombo cardinal ranjith has condemned the attacks. he compared the perpetrators to animals. this morning, easter sunday, in two

of my churches, saint anthony's church and saint sebastian's church, two bombs exploded, killing nearly 150 people. from the initial statistics that have come to me. so it isa statistics that have come to me. so it is a very, very sad day for all of this. i wish to therefore express my deepest sorrow and sympathy to all those innocent families that have lost someone and also to those who have been injured and vendor destitute. i would like to call upon all to three that all those who are injured may be healed soon and that all these families who have lost someone all these families who have lost someone maybe consult. i condemn to the utmost of my capacity this act that has caused so much death and suffering to the people. i would also like to ask government to hold

also like to ask government to hold a very impartial, strong inquiry and find out who is responsible behind this act. and also to punish them mercilessly because only animals can be like this. the archbishop of colombo. if your password is 123456, then you share it with more than 23 million people. that‘s according to a study published today by britain‘s cyber—security watchdog. use the word "password". it‘s urging people to make it harder for hackers to access their data by using three random but memorable words. joining me now from our salford studio is technology expert dan sodergren. you wonder how often we have to be told this before we listen? you wonder how often we have to be told this before we listen7m you wonder how often we have to be told this before we listen? it is a strange one. human beings are of course strange creatures. it is a

bit like the green cross code, it is a message which gets repeated, this new idea of the internet is out there and we have to be digitally mindful of what we are doing. we must. this message has been thrown at us ever since must. this message has been thrown at us ever since we must. this message has been thrown at us ever since we have logged on. but what about companies that ask us to choose a password, surely there is an algorithm to compute out there which can prevent us from using obvious letters or numbers? which can prevent us from using obvious letters or numbers7m which can prevent us from using obvious letters or numbers? it does not necessarily need to be an algorithm but often they will save your password is not strong enough, there is a variety of forms at their hotel you it is weak to strong. you have to take the responsibility. you have to take the responsibility. you have to take the responsibility. you have to protect your bank pin number

or your alarm at home, you have to be responsible, you cannot blame the burglar alarm company. you cannot blame organisations and cd are not doing enough, they are but we are not being sensible enough online. a0 to percent of his fear we will lose money from online hacking so we have to be sensible with it. —— a2%. ideally you would have different passwords with different accounts, i find it difficult to remember, there are find it difficult to remember, there a re password find it difficult to remember, there are password managers to help? yes, there are andy king go to different websites. i and wary about them because if you put all your passwords in one place and that gets hacked, all your passwords go at once. there is nothing more powerful than the human brain to keep secrets. the other thing which signs

old—fashioned, is