this is bbc news, i'm shaun ley. the headlines at two. more than 200 people have died after a series of explosions at churches and hotels in sri lanka. at least 400 people are injured. i see this as a serious situation aimed at destabilising the country and the economy. sri lankan authorities say seven people have been arrested. they've imposed a nationwide curfew and restricted social media. christian worshippers in three churches were targeted as they celebrated easter. find out who is responsible behind this act. and also to punish them mercilessly. only animals can behave like that. there were blasts at four hotels. nine nationals from the usa, uk, netherlands and portugal are believed to have been killed.

good afternoon. at least 200 people have been killed and hundreds more injured in explosions at churches and hotels in sri lanka — according to the authorities there. dozens died in blasts during easter services at churches in negombo and the eastern city of batticoloa. in colombo, worshippers were targeted at st anthony shrine. three of the city's major hotels were also hit — the kingsbury, the cinnamon grand and the shangri la. a short time later there were explosions at another smaller hotel and at a private house. they have confirmed 27 foreign

nationals have died but have released no further details. britain's high commissioner to sri lanka said some britons were among those caught in the blasts. our south asia correspondent rajini vaidyanathan has the latest. they came here to pray, on one of the most sacred days of the year. butjust before nine in the morning, the sanctity of their easter service was shattered. as a violent bomb blast ripped through the historic st anthony's shrine in colombo, worshippers scrambled to escape. translation: i heard the explosion and then the roof fell on us. we took the children and ran out from the rear door. but when i came to the hospital, i saw my brother—in—law, and son on the ground. at almost the same time, two other churches in the area were also hit by deadly explosions. leaders speaking on behalf of the country's christian minority called for peace and harmony in the wake of these attacks. i would like to call upon all,

to pray, that all those who are injured may be healed soon, and that all these families who have lost someone may be consoled. i condemn, with my, to the utmost of my capacity this act that has caused so much death and suffering to the people. and it wasn'tjust churches. bombs also exploded at three hotels popular with tourists. a number of foreigners are among the dead. the british high commission in sri lanka said some uk tourists have been caught up in the blast — it is unclear to what extent right now. outside the shangri—la hotel, the scene of one of the explosions, investigators are surveying the damage. an eyewitness who was staying on the 25th floor told the bbc what happened. we heard two loud bangs and the entire room was shaking.

i could see that a lot of guests are being taken to hospitals. there were casualties, the hotel staff and guests. as grieving relatives waited for updates, two further blasts were reported. the sheer scale of these attacks suggest they were co—ordinated. translation: this is a serious situation, aimed at destabilising the country and the economy. i strongly condemn this attack aimed at religious institutions and some hotels in the capital. the island of sri lanka is on a state of high alert. next month marks ten years since the country's civil war ended. today's blasts are the worst this country has seen for more than a decade. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, delhi. the bbc‘s azzam ameen is at the scene of one of the attacks in colombo.

so far, seven suspects have been arrested. they say they believe most of these were suicide bomb attacks and they say one group is behind it but they didn't name but said that is what they are suspecting. a police curfew has been imposed after the latest attack. it attacks took place. there will be a full countrywide curfew and they will ask the public to remain inside their houses, don't come out, because the situation was panicking and there we re situation was panicking and there were a lot of rumours about more attacks. social media, especially facebook and whatsapp have been restricted to stop information from spreading. as you saw in that report, the sri lankan prime minister, ranil wickremesinghe, has been speaking about the attacks. translation: i see this as a serious situation aimed at destabilising the country and the economy. i strongly condemn this attack on religious institutions and hotels in the capital.

joining me now is manisha gunasekera, sri lanka's high commissioner to the uk. thank you for coming in on this terrible day for sri lanka. what more does the government know about the attacks and what may be responsible? with regard to the multiple attacks carried out in greater colombo, i think at this moment we have information that seven suspects have been arrested and there is also information that these are related to suicide attacks, suicide bombings. security and colombo has been beefed up and also the government has declared a police emergency, so a police cu rfew. police emergency, so a police curfew. a curfew until 6am tomorrow,

and all action is being taken by the government to conduct an unimpeded investigation to see who is responsible for these attacks, while of course ensuring the safety of the people of sri lanka and also requesting the people of sri lanka to remain calm and united in the face of this tragedy, and everyone is very united and remaining peaceful and calm in the face of this great tragedy of immense magnitude, skill and position. given the geography and scale of the attacks it seems there was a lot of planning? absolutely and this is why i say the scale of it is unprecedented. it is multiple attacks in different places so it could have been a group or groups

who had tremendous capacity to carry it out at this level. certainly we cannot speculate at this time. we also don't know whether the suspects that have been arrested are sri la nka that have been arrested are sri lanka national or anybody else and what links they may have, these groups may have. we have no such information so we cannot speculate. certainly the scale of it is unprecedented. the government had no prior knowledge of specific attacks but of violent activity planned by groups, nothing that alerted the government authorities that this may have been coming? i cannot at this moment speculate on the intelligence the government may have been privy to, but i can say that these types of incidents were not expected. it has come completely as a shock to

eve ryo ne has come completely as a shock to everyone in sri lanka, especially because easter sunday is a celebration not only for the catholic and christian community but for everyone. it is a public holiday and all sri lankans come together. it comes in conjunction with the new year which we have just celebrated than the christian and catholic community belong to both ethnicities, so therefore this is all communities, all communities come together and join and celebrate this. this must be on the scale of the emergency operation that has had to follow the attacks, something sri la nka to follow the attacks, something sri la n ka really to follow the attacks, something sri lanka really hasn't seen for over a decade. the civil war raged for 30 yea rs decade. the civil war raged for 30 years and next month as the tenth anniversary of the declaration of peace in the end of the war, but it has been a long time since sri lanka has been a long time since sri lanka has had to prepare with violence on the scale. we will be marking ten yea rs the scale. we will be marking ten years since the end of the conflict. sri lanka is a country that has

suffered greatly and they have been very resilient, and they were in the process of consolidating peace and taking forward the reconciliation process when this happened. i have to again say that we are in shock andi to again say that we are in shock and i think the government reaction is very measured and careful. i must say that having gone through a difficult period for 30 years, nearly 30 years, i think the sri lankan government has the capacity to interest these types of incidents ina very to interest these types of incidents in a very professional manner. we hope that with the support of the international community they will be able to deal with this. sri lanka welcomes millions of foreign visitors whether on business or tourism. this time of yearjust after the sri lanka new year is a very busy time for your tourist industry and hotels were caught up in the attacks. are you concerned this may act as a disincentive to

people to visit what is otherwise a very popular destination? certainly for the uk sri lanka is a very popular destination and we are also very concerned about the uk nationals affected and we are in the process of obtaining this information in coordinating and providing support. we are certainly in the short and medium term, tourism will be affected. we hope that in the long term this will not be the case, given the nature of sri la nka be the case, given the nature of sri lanka as a top tourist destination, we hope this will not be the case in the long term. the other principal target was the catholic churches on easter sunday. i think security has been beefed up considerably at places of worship which are now identified as vulnerable points, and i think they are also looking at minority communities that may be considered to be vulnerable at this

point, and the scale of security has been escalated. there is also concern about the circulation of speculative information and news that could be fake news. is that why the government has restricted some of the social media access? that is the thinking behind it, this will be a temporary measure. these days, this is one of the tools that people use to keep in touch when there are hundreds or thousands of miles away oi’ hundreds or thousands of miles away or evenjust a few hundreds or thousands of miles away or even just a few miles away, and thatis or even just a few miles away, and that is a dilemma, because in one sense you might want to keep it open to tell relatives they are fine, but on the other hand it could be a term of propagating lies? as a short-term measure i think it is necessary to maybe to can grow or contain some of the social media. that is the thinking of the government. —— control or contain. this would be a

temporary measure and this is also to ensure that fake news is not circulated and there is no capacity given to groups with vested interests to use such fake news to push for violence or instability, because given the number of incidents we have seen, eight, we need to be very careful, so it could bea need to be very careful, so it could be a temporary measure. and there is a significant sri lankan expatriates community in the uk. how will they be feeling today when they read of these events back home? very sad and very shocked and we have been inundated with messages of sympathy and support, as well as requests to support sri lanka and the sri lankan government at this time. we cannot actually deal with a lot of the m essa 9 es we actually deal with a lot of the messages we are getting from the community. the community is also looking to the news and they want to be sure that curated information on the incident is available in the

united kingdom, so i would say at this moment the sri lankan community in the uk would be a source of strength and support and moral courage for us at this difficult time. high commissioner, thank you very much for coming in and our condolences to you and fellow sri lankans at this very difficult time. thank you. earlier my colleague martine croxall spoke to asela waidyalankara. he lives in colombo and saw smoke from one of the blasts from his house. we were watching the news and heard a loud explosion very close by. i climbed to my rooftop to see what was happening and i could see white smoke about i kilometre away from where i am. immediately afterwards, there were some helicopters that flew by and then we could hear ambulances and fire trucks coming. a little bit later, we saw another helicopter doing a flyby as well. what was the target of this seventh explosion?

what we heard from local news sources it was a small hotel very close by to the zoo. that seems to be the area of the seventh explosion. there is a curfew right now in operation, we are told to 6pm until 6am and the subsequent news bulletin that the curfew is with immediate effect and is there indefinitely. social media—wise, facebook, instagram, whatsapp are not accessible to sri lankans at the moment. however, twitter is still available so that it is one social media platform still available in sri lanka. the foreign office have put out some advice, they say if you are worried about british friends orfamily in sri lanka caught up in the incidents, please call the foreign office switchboard number: 020 70081500.

i will read the number again. the pope has condemned the attacks in sri lanka describing them as a ‘cruel act of violence'. speaking at his annual easter day address at the vatican, pope francis said he stands by the victims of the attacks, saying that christians have been hit by'mourning and pain'. our rome correspondent james reynolds reports. days after one catholic monument in europe was badly damaged by fire, attention turned to another of the church's most iconic structures, st peter's basilica here in rome. under grey skies, worshippers, pilgrims and tourists gathered in the square. the pope celebrated easter mass. he called for peace in conflicts in the middle east, africa, and latin america. from the basilica's main

balcony he offered prayers for the victims in sri lanka. translation: i heard of the serious attacks in sri lanka today with great pain and sadness, that on easter sunday have brought mourning and suffering. i would like to express my closeness and affection to the christian community, struck while gathered in prayer and to all the victims of the cruel violence. the archbishop of canterburyjustin welby this morning leading a service in canterbury cathedral called on people to stand with sri lanka in prayer, condolence and solidarity. the will to power leads to the murder of innocents in sri lanka. the utterly despicable destruction, that on this holiest of days, seeks to challenge the reality of the risen christ.

the queen, today celebrating her 93rd birthday, led the royal family to an easter service at saint george's chapel in windsor. and in paris, catholic worshippers who would normally go to notre dame for easter gathered instead at the nearby church, st eustache, a stand—in cathedral. until notre—dame itself is rebuilt. james reynolds, bbc news, rome. the headlines on bbc news. at least 200 people have been killed in sri lanka after eight explosions at hotels, and churches during easter services. pope francis has condemned the attacks at an easter mass in the vatican, saying he is close to the christians hit by ‘mourning and pain' this easter. 27 foreign nationals are believed to have been killed in the attacks.

a global study of stolen passwords has found that the most commonly used was 123456. the national cyber security centre is calling on people to make their passwords more difficult for hackers to guess. our security correspondent gordon corera has more. a password is supposed to keep our information secure, but as we have all had to use more and more passwords, the temptation is to keep them simple. that, though, can be a mistake. a new study which analyses the passwords that have already been stolen shows the risks. the most used password overall is "123166" , appearing more than 23 million times in the study. the next biggest is the not much more imaginative "123456789". and the phrase "password" appeared 3.6 million times. all of these are easy

for a hacker to guess. only 15% of the uk population feel they know how to stay cyber say. for passwords, get three random words, passwords, get three random words, password manager, back—up your data, do two factor verification if it is available to you, and also when the updates for apps come through, do it. nearly half of people in the survey said that information on how to keep secure online is confusing and as we move more and more of our lives online, the hope is that the survey today may make more people think again before they take the easy route when it comes to their password. labour's deputy leader says the party must promise another brexit referendum in order to counter the electoral challenge posed by nigel farage. tom watson said labour could "not sit on the fence". mr farage said a new referendum "would be a total insult" to the labour supporters who voted leave. britain has been granted an extension to leaving

the eu until 31 october. a helicopter is being brought in to help fight a large fire which is continuing to burn on ilkley moor in west yorkshire. more than 70 firefighters are still at the scene, and people are being advised to stay away from the area. police say they've arrested several people. earlier our correspondent olivia richwald had the latest from the scene. at its height, the fire was very dramatic and the flames could be seen from many miles away engulfing 25 square metres of more and the fire is still smouldering, you can see smoke rising. down in the town you can see ilkley moor and it rises up you can see ilkley moor and it rises up above the town as a backdrop and everywhere you go you can see a black smouldering smoke coming up, andi black smouldering smoke coming up, and i don't know if you can hear, the helicopter behind me is the

latest tactic the firefighters are using. it has been coming over every five minutes with bucket loads of water and what they need to do now is saturate the ground and make it really wet so the fire doesn't ignite. it is a hot day and there is a chance the fire could restart which is why there are still 75 firefighters at the scene. the police are treating the fire is deliberate and arrests have been made. it is a very popular place and people come here for walking but at the moment people are being asked to stay away so the fire doesn't get any worse. police say they've now arrested more than 830 people protesting in london over climate change. the protest organised by group extinction rebellion is now in its seventh day. hundreds of extra officers have been drafted in to monitor protestors on waterloo bridge, parliament square, and the main demonstration site in oxford circus — which has now been cleared.

let's talk to our correspondent to assert marble arch which was officially designated as the protest site. when you are talking yesterday afternoon you were explaining that the police were trying to get people to go down to marble arch and vacate the other sites. i passed oxford circus on my way into work this lunchtime and it is pretty much back to normal, very few signs of people hanging around apart from police officers. what is it like down there? it is very busy and there has been an energetic atmosphere. to my left a lot of drumming and dancing, and today marks the seven and the protesters say the second week marks a change in approach so they are now wanting to shift the focus and turn media attention towards their demands, and they want more talks with mps, with the mayor of london. they want sadiq khan to agree to

setting up a people's assembly and to speak up on policies to tackle climate change. they say that this way they can basically try and get people to focus on what they are calling for. the other issue that they are looking at and asking for is that they can set up site officially at old palace yard near the house of commons so they say they will move from the other site and focus there. this has been an extraordinary week that has caused widespread disruption as you say, and now the focus is switching and they say the disruption now gives them leverage to talk to the politicians, to get them to listen to their ideas and their concerns. they say this means they are not rebels, sorry, they are not a rabble but rebels with a cause. nearly a thousand pubs closed in britain last year.

landlords blame increasing costs and business rates but the rate of decline is slowing. there are calls for changes to the way pubs are taxed, to try to help those at risk of closure. rob young reports. the great british boozer, there aren't as many as are used to be. in the seven years up to april 2017, 128 pubs vanished each month in england and wales. since april 2017, the rate of closures has half, of closures has halved, with 76 closing each month. two years ago, a new business rates system was introduced. since then, many public houses have received a discount on their bills. this year, the average pub is estimated to have had £6,000 knocked off their rates. the industry says business rates, together with high beer duty and rising general costs, are a heavy burden on the sector. there have been calls for further changes to the way the great british boozer,

there aren't as many of them and in better news about beer sales — the amount of beer sold in pubs rose in the last three months of 2018, the first time there had been an end—of—year increase for years. cheaper alcohol in supermarkets has hit some pubs. the local is regarded by many as an important part of culture and a valuable community asset. those pubs that have vanished could have been demolished or turned into homes, shops, or offices. rob young, bbc news. 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 and the reason is because he has been born without hearing nerves on either side and all of those conventional therapies for congenitally deaf children rely on there being a cable between the innerearand the brain on there being a cable between the inner ear and the brain to conduct hearing signals, and theo didn't have that, so i until a few years ago there was simply no option for allowing him to hear. what can theo now here? in a quiet room at home he can hear me calling him from u psta i rs to can hear me calling him from upstairs to downstairs, through walls. he can hear me calling him. you have to wait. now he can talk!

he has started to develop speech, the three of us. he has started to develop speech because he is hearing speech sounds which is not something we had expected he would start to develop. this must have been life changing for you as welljust to be able to communicate with your child? the first two years it was complete silence for him, nothing, so for us, it changed their lives. we turned off the radio on the television because we felt guilty he could not hear anything and when scott gave him the implant our life changed. it was like a cloud of grief was lifted from is because he could hear. tell us from is because he could hear. tell us how your levels of communication and has levels of language... he is hearing two years, the healing ability of a two—year—old if you put it in that perspective. his speech is delayed, just past the babble

stage, and he will say his name and shout mummy and harry, his brother. he attends a mainstream school and can hear the teacher calling him. he wears a radio aid. he is desperate to be doing something! look at the man. how old are you? four. seal talking to the breakfast team this morning. the queen has attended an easter service at windsor castle on the day she celebrates her 93rd birthday. she wasjoined for by family members including the duke and duchess of cambridge and the duke of sussex. the duke of edinburgh, who has retired from public duties, and the duchess of sussex, who is expecting a baby, did not attend. here‘s what happened when her majesty left the chapel. crowd sings happy birthday

lovely on one side and lovely outside in london but is it lovely everywhere? maybe. tell us a good news antibodies. i‘m feeling overdressed. i keep showing you pictures like this, and for the greater part of the british as it really is as glorious as that. the temperatures are responding. in fa ct, the temperatures are responding. in fact, they have broken the easter day record in wales and northern ireland, but it has been an exception, this north—western court is still plagued by the weather front that has been there or thereabouts. the cloud is there to be had across the south of northern ireland, but elsewhere, temperatures of exceeding 20 degrees in one double a number of locations.

overnight, we are going