this is bbc news i'm julian worricker. the headlines at 7. more than 200 people have died after a series of explosions at churches and hotels in sri lanka. five british nationals are among the dead. translation: i heard the explosion and then the roof fell on us. we took the children and ran out through the rear door. but when i came to the hospital, i saw my brother—in—law and son on the ground. the authorities say eight people have been arrested, received before the attack. this is a serious situation aimed at destabilising the country and the economy. i strongly condemn this attack. in other news... more than 830 people involved

in climate change protests in london this week have been arrested by police — 42 have been charged. police in west yorkshire arrest a number of people in connection with fires burning on ilkley moor. dozens of firefighters are still dealing with the blaze covering six acres. ukraine's president poroshenko has conceded defeat to his rival — volodymyr zelensky — who has won the election run—off with more than 70% of the vote. at least 200 people have been killed and hundreds injured in a series of bomb attacks in sri lanka. five britons are believed to be among the dead. the explosions were targeted

at churches , during easter services and some luxury hotels. the attacks took place in the capital colombo, in nagombo, and batticaloa on the east coast. one of the first places to be targeted in colombo, was st anthony's shrine, a very popular site for worshippers. three of the city's major hotels were also hit, the kingsbury, the shangri la , and the cinnamon grand followed by two further explosions, on the outskirts of colombo. eight people have been arrested, the sri lankan prime minister says there may have been prior information, about a possible attack. 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. look closely at the left of frame. this amateur video said to show the moment the explosion happened and the smoke billowing from the church. 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 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 horrific 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 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. the sri lankan foreign ministry says five britons are among those killed, two had joint citizenship with the us, details about the victims have yet to be released. outside the luxurious 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 could hear two loud bangs, and the room was shaking. i could see that a lot of guests are being taken to hospitals. there were casualties among the hotel staff and guests.

as grieving relatives waited for updates, two further blasts were reported. with hundreds of casualties, hospitals are at capacity. this 20—year—old from the united states is being comforted by his father as he receives treatment for his injuries. the government believes most of the blasts were carried out by suicide bombers. the prime minister has admitted officials had some prior knowledge of the attacks but that ministers weren't told. three police officers were killed as a security forces raided a house in colombo today. no group has admitted carrying out the attack. several people have been arrested. the country's prime minister has described today's atrocities as

cowardly. 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. a nationwide curfew is in place, and access to social media has been temporarily banned. this was the worst attack sri lanka has seen since its deadly civil war ended ten years ago. tonight, this usually idyllic island remains on a state of high alert. joining me now is assistant professor at the london school of economics and author of a book on ethnic politics in sri lanka. the scale of this is horrifying.

there was reference in that piece to some prior knowledge that something might happen along these lines. what do you make of that aspect of what has emerged today? the available information, and one has to be careful about speculating at this point, is that within the intelligence familiar there was some information of a possible attack. so at that level there has been some idea that perhaps something was being hatched. but at another level, there are no known extremist groups out there waiting to do this. this has really no basis in sri lankan politics in the last decade. perhaps intelligence officials, but otherwise it is a complete and devastating shock. we are talking about a country that has seen relative calm since the end of the brutal civil war ten years ago. yes,

it is almost a tenth anniversary of a civil war that lasted itself for 25 years. that war was horrific in many ways. there were suicide bomb blasts, atrocities committed on both sides for a long and protracted period. that came to an end in 2009. this kind of violence hasjust period. that came to an end in 2009. this kind of violence has just not been seen. it is not something anyone could have conceived of. in those last ten years, how would you have characterised the way the different ethnic elements that make up different ethnic elements that make up sri lankan society i've got along together? sri lanka has a majority of sinhalese and buddhists, about 7596 of sinhalese and buddhists, about 75% of the population, and also has hindus and muslims and christians, about 10% each. in the aftermath of the war there have been many unresolved issues that have not quite been dealt with in the last ten yea rs quite been dealt with in the last ten years that should have been dealt with. there has also been the

rise of new forms of religious tensions between buddhists and christians, buddhists and muslims in particular. and there have been some incidents of violence. nothing of this magnitude, but there has been rising tension in the last ten years along religious lines. clearly the priority is to care for those who have been injured, to try to find the perpetrators. but what are the wider implications of something on this scale? it is very hard to tell. i think the first thing is that it is absolutely devastating for sri lanka's christian minority that has been targeted. there are about 1.5 million christians in sri lanka, about 8% of the population. a long and vibrant history in sri lanka for 500 years. there are christians on both the tamil side and the cinelli site. christians today are feeling

shattered and vulnerable. but it also has the possibility it could disturb ethnic tensions in sri lanka if it emerges that another ethnic or religious group was somehow responsible for this. there is real concern. 0ther responsible for this. there is real concern. other people in sri lanka, not just christians, concern. other people in sri lanka, notjust christians, are feeling concerned and vulnerable because something totally unexpected, not of their making, has hit them. thank you forjoining us. earlier, sri lanka's high commissioner to the uk, manisha gunasekera, spoke to my colleague shaun ley about the attacks. i think the scale of it is unprecedented. it is multiple attacks in different places so it would have been a group or groups which had tremendous capacity to carry it out with this level of precision, so certainly we cannot speculate at this point. we also don't know whether the suspects already arrested

are sri lankan nationals or anybody else, and what links they may have, these groups may have, we have no such information so we cannot speculate. but the scale of it is unprecedented. the government had no prior knowledge, not of specific attacks but just of violent activity planned ? nothing that alerted the government authorities that this may have been coming? i cannot at this moment speculate on the intelligence that 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 everyone in sri lanka, especially because easter sunday is a celebration not only for the catholic and christian communities of sri lanka, it is a public holiday and all sri lankans come together in a celebration because this comes in conjunction with the new year

which we just celebrated, and the christian and catholic communities belong to both ethnicities, so this is all communities coming together and joining to celebrate this. 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 had to deal with violence on this scale. this year will be marking ten years since the end of the conflict. it is a country that suffered greatly with the protracted conflict related to terrorism, and sri lankans have been very resilient. they were in the process of consolidating peace and taking forward a reconciliation process when this happens, so i have to say that we are in shock and i think the government's reaction is very measured and very 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 deal with these

types of incident in a very professional manner, so we hope that with the support of the international community we will be able to address this. the foreign office have put out some advice 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. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30pm this evening in the papers. the pope has condemned the attacks in sri lanka describing them as ‘cruel violence'.

speaking at his annual easter day address at the vatican pope francis said he stood by the victims of the attacks saying that christians had been hit by'mourning and pain‘. 0ur religion editor martin bashir has the latest. st peter's had been transformed into a vast garden of flowers as christians gathered to celebrate the resurrection of jesus. but as news of the attacks in sri lanka reached the vatican, the pope's traditional easter message was altered to acknowledge the unfolding tragedy. 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 it was gathered in prayer, and to all the victims of the cruel violence. at canterbury cathedral, archbishop justin welby condemned the attacks.

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, to say that darkness will conquer, that our choice is surrender or death. the queen, who is 93 today, also attended an easter service and in paris, worshippers were invited to attend mass at saint—eustache church, on the other side of the river to notre—dame. during the service, archbishop michel aupetit handed over a bible rescued by firefighters from notre—dame — a sober moment on what is normally a joyous day

in the christian calendar. martin bashir, bbc news. there's disagreement amongst climate change protesters this evening over whether to pause the protests which have been going on in central london for a week. this morning one organiser said they were considering a change in tactic, moving towards negotiation, but by this afternoon others insisted the direct action protest would go on. more than 830 people have been arrested. for a seventh day, climate change protesters were making noise on

the streets of london. some dressed for the weather, others not so much. all week, the atmosphere has been remarkably good—natu red. the people that are standing here today and that have been here for seven days are amazing, and without people standing up and speaking out loud and shouting, nobody will listen. 0n waterloo bridge, there were more arrests after demonstrators glued oi’ locked themselves together to block the road. but around lunchtime, as protests continued, came news of a shift in a leaked e—mail sent to demonstrators, one organiser saying perhaps it was time for a pause with a transition from mass disruption to negotiations with political leaders. for some here, worth considering. this kind of action won't be needed if the government responds properly. i mean, you know, the demands, actually, are reasonable and so in line with the science. it is an untenable position not for the government not to negotiate. this evolving movement has no real leaders, and the message that it is time to pause is by no means felt by everyone. we have spoken to one organiser who says that direct action, like the kind of thing we have seen over the past week, should and will continue in the coming days.

the agreement that has been agreed is that we will carry on with a week of activities, we have got a whole week scheduled. while some protesters may think it is time for negotiation, others believe talks will only be successful alongside the pressure that direct action brings. at least 200 people have been killed in sri lanka after eight explosions at hotels, and churches during easter services. five british citizens are among 27 foreign nationals believed to have been killed in the blasts. the queen has attended an easter service at windsor castle on her 93rd birthday. a crowd sang "happy birthday" as she left st george's chapel. in ukraine exit polls suggest a comedian with no prior experience of politics has won a landslide victory

in the country's presidential election. volodymyr zelenskiy, who stars in a ukrainian tv show as a fictional president, has now beaten the current president, petro poroshenko, with nearly three—quarters of the vote. well, we can speak now to our correspondent, jonah fisher, who's at the zelensky hq in the ukranian capital, kiev. it seems this has been a resounding victory. yes, we have had a concession speech from petro poroshenko and the last half hour. it is now official that the next president will be volodymyr zelenskiy, a comedian with no political experience, and indeed a comedian who is currently starring ina comedian who is currently starring in a television series in which he plays a fictional president. it is a series similar to the west wing,

with jokes, he is series similar to the west wing, withjokes, he is the president and that, and now, you can perhaps hear in the background, he is giving a victory press conference. it is now confirmed that fact will follow fiction and that volodymyr zelenskiy will go from being a television present to ukraine's real president. extraordinary stuff. the fact he has w011 extraordinary stuff. the fact he has won by so much, what does it say about attitudes to mainstream politicians in ukraine? only part of this vote is a vote for volodymyr zelenskiy. a huge part of it is about ukrainians giving two fingers to ukraine's politicians and president, a political system which many think has failed, with politicians having far too close a relationship with rich oligarchs. this has been a vote for volodymyr zelenskiy on the ballot paper, but i think most people are looking a bit further than that, and seeing it as being a massive rejection of the political establishment here, and

the way they do business. has he said what he'll do now that he has one? he's giving a press conference 110w one? he's giving a press conference now but i wouldn't expect a great many details because we haven't heard many details throughout the campaign from heard many details throughout the campaignfrom him. perhaps heard many details throughout the campaign from him. perhaps that is the reason why he has done so well. he really has not laid out much of a campaign platform, apart from saying that he will be new, different, he will be tougher on corruption than president poroshenko was. at the moment the onus will be on his team to try to lay out some platform for what we will see over the next month oi’ what we will see over the next month 01’ so. what we will see over the next month or so. it was a pretty extraordinary campaign that volodymyr zelenskiy fort. he didn't do rallies or political speeches, he didn't go on tv talk shows, he mainly communicated through videos posted on social media. and the lessee talked, the more popular he became. and that's why today we have ended up and that's why today we have ended

up with him winning around 75% of the vote without people really understanding who he is and what he really believes in. police in west yorkshire have arrested three men in connection with fires burning on ilkley moor. more than 70 firefighters and a helicopter have been battling a large fire covering around 25000 square metres. authorities have urged people enjoying the bank holiday to avoid the area. 0ur reporter 0livia richwald, who has been at ilkley moor, told us it's proved to be a real challenge for the firefighters there. the flames are all gone, they were put out this morning, but there is a billowing smoke because it has

burned off the top and has gone slightly underneath. all day they have been dampening down with wildfire units and jets. every five minutes a helicopter has been flying over with buckets of water. they are trying to stop the fire from reigniting in these very hot temperatures. it has been a difficult day for them. the update i just got is they are expected to continue with the firefighting operation until night falls, and thenit operation until night falls, and then it will be a watching brief because they cannot fight the flames when they cannot see what they are doing. they will watch overnight to make sure the fire will not start again, but probably will be back tomorrow. 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. prison staff are using

new technology in five jails in england and wales to find phones being used illegally by inmates. the system produces a heat map when a mobile is detected, allowing officers to trace the device to a particular cell. ministers hope the technology will also help tackle drug smuggling and violence in prisons. if your password is "1231156" — then you share it with more than 23 million people — that's according to a study published today by britian‘s cyber security watchdog. the national cyber security centre says people should make it harder for hackers to access their data by using three random, but memorable words. 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 "1231156" , 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. 0nly15% of the uk population feel they know how to stay cyber safe. for 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 some people think again

before they take the easy route when it comes to their password. 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, 138 pubs vanished each month in england and wales. since april 2017, the rate 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 they are taxed. two years ago, a new business rates system was introduced. there is relief at the reduction in the number of sites closing. 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. the queen has attended an easter service at windsor castle on the day she celebrates her 93rd birthday. she wasjoined 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, did not attend. crowd sings happy birthday. now it's time for a look at the weather. after some fine easter sunday weather, it will be another fine day tomorrow. some rain affecting the far north—west of scotland, and into the western isles. that pulls away westwards as we go through the night. it could turn misty in central and eastern parts of england. some rural spot getting close to freezing for a touch of

frost. into tomorrow, some high cloud drifting northwards across the uk will turn the sunshine increasingly hazy. it is a sunny day for the western isles and western counties of northern ireland, compared with recent days. we'll be breezy out there. a fresh breeze will be more noticeable. not out of the question of a late shower towards south—western england and wales. it will be very warm once more. but it turns cooler in the week ahead.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines... more than 200 people have died after a series of explosions at churches and hotels in sri lanka. 5 british citizens are among the dead. sri lankan authorities say eight people have been arrested in connection with the attacks. three police officers died during a raid in the capital colombo