welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: grief and shock across sri lanka, as a wave of bomb attacks on churches and hotels leaves more than 200 dead. 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. a government minister tells the bbc police were briefed about the threat ten days ago but the prime minister wasn't told. the million—dollar question was, this was sent on the 11th of april and no proper government official actually had their hands on it.

the comedy actor volodymyr groysman wins ukraine's presidential election bya wins ukraine's presidential election by a landslide despite no political experience. after a week of protests that brought parts of london to a standstill, what next for the exctinction rebellion? hello and welcome. at least 200 people have been killed, and hundreds injured, in a series of bomb attacks in sri lanka. 36 foreign nationals are thought to be among the dead, including five britons. the explosions targeted churches during easter services and some luxury hotels.

the attacks took place in the capital, colombo, in nagombo, and batticaloh 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. 13 people have been arrested. the sri lankan prime minister says there may have been prior information about a possible attack. our south asia correspondent yogita limaye reports from colombo. this is where people had gathered to pray. but a bomb ripped through the peace of easter sunday. dozens were killed here

at st anthony's shrine in colombo. 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 around the same time an explosion took place here at this catholic—dominated town just north of the capital colombo at a church which is just down the street. we're not allowed to go past this point right now because of security reasons but this is believed to have been the deadliest of all the bombings. a church in eastern sri lanka was also attacked. families rushed to hospitals looking for loved ones. for hundreds, that search ended in heartbreak. sri lanka is home to more than a million christians. a community that's been left shaken. i would also like to ask the government to hold a very impartial, strong enquiry and find out who is responsible behind this

act and also to punish them, mercilessly. three luxury hotels in colombo were also targeted, popular with tourists. many foreign travellers are among those killed and five british citizens have also lost their lives. investigators have been searching for evidence. a guest staying on the 25th floor of this hotel, the shangri—la, describes what happened. we could hear two loud bangs and the entire room was shaking. i could see that a lot of guests here have been taken to hospitals. they're all casualties, staff and guests.

for many, a holiday has turned into a nightmare. 20—year—old jason allen is from america. he's being treated for his injuries. security forces raided a house where they believed some of those involved in the attack were hiding. three policemen died. several people have been arrested in connection with the bombings. we must also look into why adequate precautions were not taken in this respect. but first and foremost, we have to meet ensure that terrorism does not lift its head in sri lanka. a curfew is in place across the country. security has been heightened at churches, hotels and the airport, among other places. since its bloodiest civil war ended ten years ago, it's the deadliest day sri lanka has seen. yogita limaye, bbc news, colombo. yogita limaye with that

report from colombo. a few hours after the attack, a government minister told bbc world news that sri lankan police were briefed about the threat of an attack 10 days ago, but the prime minister wasn't informed. the report from the military investigation department, the security commission, had these particular details. however it was not dealt properly and the pm was not informed. as you are aware, the law and order minister is the president, and the defence minister is also the president, so therefore there was a problem of miscommunication, and this was raised by the cabinet ministers how this particular report was not taken seriously. the million—dollar question was, this was sent on the 11th of april and no proper government official actually had their hands on it.

unfortunately, none of the government members of the cabinet are in the security council except the president. they are hoping to meet the president tomorrow to see how this gap of communication really happened, because it is quite a serious one. it is clearly said that there could be four sort of attacks, it said they could be suicide bombs, a weapon, or it could be a knife attack or it could be a truck attack, so these were actually mentioned, and names have been mentioned as well. they have given a lot of details in this report, even phone numbers, et cetera, so i myself am quite amused by this situation, because how did any of us not know about this, because of the security report, and cabinet ministers all the prime minister didn't know about it. amarnath amarasingam is a senior researcher in extremism and has written books about sri lanka and the struggle for peace after the civil war. he joins us from toronto, where he is based. amarnath, thank you so much for your time. first of all, can you tell us where we have seen this sort of co—ordinated attack in sri lanka before? definitely not since the period of war itself, so between 83

and 2009 when there was an actual civil war in the country we did see heavily co—ordinated attacks like this, but over the last ten years, aside from minor skirmishes and kind of communal tensions, we haven't seen this level of co—ordinated attack before. there are so many rumours about what could be behind it and we still really don't know who is responsible. is it unusual, given nearly 2a hours after the attack, we still don't know who is behind it? it is i guess a symptom of the complexity of the country itself because you have multiple ethnic and religious identities competing for power and, at the same time, conflicts that have affected each community in different ways. and so i guess the assumption is when we see these kinds of attacks in europe and other places it is often al qaeda inspired all isis inspired but in this case we kind of assume it is a similar situation,

but of course i had been watching isis channels all day long and they haven't sent anything about sri la nka haven't sent anything about sri lanka so it is a bit confusing to see, particularly with the targeting of christian populations, which also hasn't happened so often before, what could be behind this — it is actually quite a confusing situation. you know some people who have been lost in the attack i mean personally, how do you feel when you see this situation unfold? it is quite tragic, i mean, ithink see this situation unfold? it is quite tragic, i mean, i think the level... the death toll is a bit mind—boggling because you haven't seen this kind of death toll for a long time in sri lanka and we have had ten years of fairly stable peace postwar. of course there are tensions, of course there are disagreements, of course there are kind of post— conflict protests and things like that, but we've never seen things like that, but we've never seen anything like this in a very long time. and so do wake up to it

this morning kind of took me by surprise and kind of grounded me for the whole day. i couldn't do anything else except kind of watch this news unfold and try to get as much pieces of the puzzle together asi much pieces of the puzzle together as i could, but it has been crazy. much pieces of the puzzle together as i could, but it has been crazylj imagine many people are still reeling from the attack inside the country. i want to ask you about the government response, because the bbc has been hearing that there was some perhaps warning of an attack, but the prime minister wasn't told. is that normal in sri lankan politics to have this kind of communication issue? not really. ithink to have this kind of communication issue? not really. i think we are still waiting for more information on that because initially there was a bit of confusion about whether he had been told and that he ignored it oi’ had been told and that he ignored it or whether he hadn't been told at all. i think we will eventually find out the answers to those questions. if it was the fact that he was told and then he didn't trust the

intelligence community or something like that, i think he will probably be in trouble politically. but i think it is an unfortunate situation because we have heard rumblings of sleeper cells and things like that for some time in sri lanka. we didn't know where they were coming from, who was finding it or organising it, but it has always been part of the chatter i guess in the background, but most of us i think dismissed it as probably conspiratorial or rumours or something like that. but it's not a new phenomenon to hear of sleeper cells and things like that so i think that might be part of the reason why the political class may be dismissed it as just another kind of rumour floating around about sleeper cells but this time it turned out to be fairly well co—ordinated. i do want to stay with six suicide attacks and seven arrests so far it is a fairly sophisticated plot unlike anything we have seen in sri lanka for a long time. and i think it will take some time. and i think it will take some time to get to the bottom of who these people are, where the funding came from where the resources came from and so on, and the targeting of christians as well makes it a bit

unique in that respect. all right, amarnath amarasingam, thank you so much for your insight. there's more detail and background to the deadly attacks on our website, including eye—witness accounts and updates as we get them on the victims. do log on to bbc.com/news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: after months of protests in sudan, demonstrators suspend talks with the ruling military. the stars and stripes at half—mast outside columbine high. the school sealed off, the bodies of the dead still inside. i never thought that they would actually go through with it.

one of the most successful singer songwriters of all time, the american pop star prince has died at the age of 57. he was a great musician and, you know, a genius. for millions of americans, the death of richard nixon in a new york hospital has meant conflicting emotions. a national day of mourning next wednesday sitting somehow uneasily with the abiding memories of the shame of watergate. mission control: and lift-off of the space shuttle discovery with the hubble space telescope, our window on the universe. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: police in sri lanka have made 13 arrests after a wave of bomb attacks on churches and hotels left more than 200 people dead. a government minister has told bbc

news police were briefed about the threat ten days ago but the prime minister wasn't informed. in ukraine, president petro poroshenko has conceded victory to his rival, the comedian volodymyr zelensky. exit polls suggest mr zelensky, with no previous experience of politics, has won a landslide majority. he stars in a ukrainian television show as a fictional president, and is said to have won the presidential election with nearly 75% of the vote. this report from jonah fisher contains some flash photography. the latest episode of the volodymyr zelensky show started at the polling station. are you ready to be president? i don't know, the people will decide it in the evening. i'm ready. he doesn't, however, have any political experience, or, judging by his election campaign, that many ideas. the choice ukraine must make today is whether to stick with the president they've had for the last five years, or take a leap into the political unknown, with this man,

the comedian volodymyr zelensky. across town, there were fewer smiles. mr zelensky‘s opponent, president petro poroshenko, has been blamed for the stalling of reforms. "it's important people vote with their minds and not for thejokes", he said. that's what mr zelensky is best known for — slap stick humour and for playing the part of a principled, honest president in a popular television series. this evening, with the music from his tv series playing, mr zelensky took to the stage. exit polls immediately confirmed an overwhelming win. so, there we have it, fact will follow fiction.

ukraine's television president is now going to become this country's real president. incredible! cheering. this is a fairy tale win for mr zelensky, but it's also a protest vote against notjust the president, but a political class that are widely seen as self—serving and corrupt. jonah fisher, bbc news, kiev. david dodson is a friend of volodymyr zelensky. as a film director and editor they have worked on a dozen films together. he is in burbank, california. thank you for your time, david. can you give us a thank you for your time, david. can you give us a sense thank you for your time, david. can you give us a sense of how big a star you give us a sense of how big a staer you give us a sense of how big a star mr zelensky is in ukraine? yes, well, he has been a media personality for the better part of 15 years. his comedy troupe, which

won a competition out of college, then went on to become very famous in sketch tv shows, and since then he has built this sort of media empire in ukraine with a company that does television shows, sitcoms, animation and feature films, and his popularity today is probably stronger than ever. the presidential and political side notwithstanding. the film i just directed and political side notwithstanding. the film ijust directed him in last year, in december became the most successful film in the year, in december became the most successfulfilm in the history year, in december became the most successful film in the history of cinema in independent ukraine, so his pop culture cachet is already as big as it could possibly get in ukraine, to the point that you might think of it as being an iconic sort of status in ukraine. it is interesting to think about the profile he already had. you know the man, you have worked with him, what

is he like as a person? my experiences with him in making movies and being on movie sets, it results in a kind of intimacy you only get on a movie set because of the long hours and the kinds of things you are doing. through all these years, he has always been nothing but warm and generous and conscientious and generous to eve i’yo ne conscientious and generous to everyone around him. he is a good listener, if you tell him you have an issue you need to resolve or something you are passionate about, he will give you a chance to convince him and he does want to be persuaded if you can present a good enough argument. did he ever talk and set about his ambitions to become a leader, about policy ideas? was that ever part of your conversations with him? no, actually it wasn't, and it was very deliberately not so. any time over

this past — i was in ukraine for eight months working on this film — and there were rumours in the production corridors, but it was actively discouraged if it was brought up. the only time you knew if there was a meeting going on that had to do with this potential run was when you would go to his office and there would be ten or 15 cellphones piled up on his assistant‘s desk that were not allowed into his office for the actual meeting, that is how you knew it was a political meeting. it was very quiet until the moment they decided to announce it. so they kept the two sides very separate. are you shocked now that he is the president of ukraine, just briefly, and how do you think he will cope with the job? i'm not shocked in terms of knowing the ukrainian people as i do, they have come exhausted with the seeming lack of progress of reform in the country, whether that is accurate or not. as to how he will do, it is a

very ruthless world that he is getting into, a very different kind of world he is getting into, and i think he will work very hard to be as prepared as he can, and whether or not he is able to navigate those pretty treacherous waters are given all the players involved, i think that remains to be seen. thank you very much, david dodson a friend of volodymyr zelensky, the new president of ukraine. in sudan the leaders of the campaign to end military rule have suspended talks with the army. they accused the generals of frustrating plans for a civilian government. the leader of the transitional military council said he was committed to giving power to the people. our africa editor, fergal keane, reports now from the sudanese capital, khartoum. among the crowds it often feels like a celebration, but for a new world that's still struggling to be born. every cause in the country comes here, to claim its part in the revolution. women's rights

campaigners, students. yet the weight of past cruelties is ever present. these are people from darfur. 300,000 were killed there in a genocidal campaign waged by the bashir regime. and they want justice. the woman leads a chant to avenge the victims. these are relatives of soldiers killed by their own leaders. mohammed sayed malik was executed by the regime in 1990. "i came to congratulate myself and the sudanese people for getting back our rights," says his sister. "those who gave us hunger and a nightmare have been overthrown." past experience of the military is the biggest barrier to trust now, despite a promise tonight from the new regime leader. translation: first, the role

of the military council is a supplementary role to the uprising and the blessed revolution. the council is committed to giving power to the people. but this prominent activist is sceptical. she saw her husband and daughter jailed in the past. i think this military is an extension to the previous regime, so we don't trust it, 100%. how many percent do you trust them? i would say 20%. that's not great, is it? it isn't. so what happens next? i think we will continue on our protest. we will continue on our revolution, until we get what we want. there is so much at stake here, for sudan of course, but also the watching world, because across this region authoritarian rulers can see the challenge posed by a peaceful civil society. remember, it's come to this moment without violence by the protesters, with women playing a leading role, and with the inclusion of all ethnic and religious groups.

tonight, the protest leaders said they were suspending talks with the military and escalating demonstrations, hoping the tactics of defiance of the past fortnight will eventually bring civilian rule. fergal keane, bbc news. the swedish teenage activist greta thunberg has addressed climate change protestors in london. she told the audience they were making a difference. several protest leaders have offered to consider pausing their action if the british government agrees to discuss their demands. jon donnison reports. for a seventh day, climate change protesters were making noise on the streets of london. some dressed for the weather, others not so much. the people that are standing here today and that have been here for the last seven days, have been amazing, and without people standing up and speaking up louder and shouting, no one will listen. on waterloo bridge, there were more arrests, after demonstrators glued or 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 said it was perhaps time for a pause. and a transition from mass disruption to negotiations with politicians. but this evolving movement has no real leaders and the message that it's time for a pause is by no means felt by everyone. we've spoken to one organiser here who says that direct action, like the kind of thing we seen over the past week, should and will continue. there certainly won't be a pause in our activities. the agreement that has been agreed is that we will carry on with a week of activities. we have a whole week scheduled. chanting: we love you! and this evening, "we love you" was the chance for the 16—year—old swedish activist greta thunberg who has inspired young people to demonstrate around the world.

we are the ones making a difference. it shouldn't be like that but since no one else is doing anything, we will have to do so. as night fell, police moved in to remove the last of the glued—down protesters from waterloo bridge. with a debate now within the movement about whether such tactics should continue, demonstrators will hold a public meeting tomorrow to discuss their next move. jon donnison, bbc news. and before we go, we'd like to leave you with these pictures of the eiffel tower which is usually lit up, but this is the moment it went dark at midnight, to pay tribute to the victims of the sri lanka bomb attacks. we have been covering that story here on the bbc, keeping up—to—date. about a50 people were injured and

more than 200 people have died. several people have been arrested but no—one has claimed responsibility yet. hello. there are weather changes on the way this week, but we're going to see out the last day of this holiday weekend with plenty more sunshine and warmth. and what a weekend it's been! good friday, 2a degrees. saturday, 25.5. and then, for easter sunday, in the sunshine it was the warmest easter sunday on record in scotland, northern ireland and in wales. the record in england, 25.3, still stands. it came close to that, just topping out at 2a.6 at wesley in surrey. but, as i indicated earlier, another fine day on the way. now, the satellite pictures showed on easter sunday there was some cloud north—west scotland, the western side of northern ireland. that has actually pulled away, and we are starting today dry and clear across the bulk of the uk. a little chillier than this in some rural parts of central and eastern

england, maybe a little misty in one or two spots, but it's a sunnier day in north—west scotland, the northern and western isles, in the western side of northern ireland, where you have had a few of cloud. but there will be high cloud spilling northwards through much of england and wales, the sun will be hazy, there will be more cloud around in recent days here. there may be a late shower somewhere in south—west england and south wales, especially on the hills, very isolated. temperatures — high—teens, low—20s, feeling every bit as one, maybe mid—20s in the warm spots, it could be the warmest easter monday on record so we will keep you updated on that. it will be breezier, mind you. on through monday night into tuesday, well, a lot of high cloud around, still the chance for a few showers, the channel islands, south—west england, south wales and temperatures where they have been chilly in recent nights will be higher. big picture for tuesday, drifting up from the south and along with the high cloud a bit of saharan dust as well, so cameras at the ready, there could be some fiery looking sunrises and sunsets

to be watched on tuesday, and maybe for a few days beyond as well. a lot of fine weather again on tuesday. it is hazy sunshine. still fairly breezy out there. and still, the further west you are, you could pick up one or two showers as the day goes on. it's still very warm, though temperatures may have come down a degree also on where they have been, and that is a process that accelerates from mid—week. losing the warmth, low pressure setting up as it becomes unsettled and the cooler air moves in, particularly at the end of the week and into next weekend. so, gradually turning cooler as the week goes on. you can see this process is under way here. we are changing from sunshine to increasing chances of wet weather, not necessarily a bad thing on the gardens and the fields. so, the cooling trend, temperatures may be below average by next weekend, some showers, even some thunderstorms, spreading northwards. bye bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines: police in sri lanka are investigating a series of devastating bomb attacks, which killed more than 200 people in churches and luxury hotels, and have made 13 arrests. a curfew's in place and social media curbed. the authorities say most of the coordinated blasts were suicide attacks. the comedian and actor volodymyr zelensky has won a landslide victory in ukraine's presidential election. full results are not yet in, but his rival, the incumbent petro poroshenko, acknowledged defeat after exit polls showed mr zelensky had won about 70% of the vote. the leaders of the protests that led to the ousting of sudan's former president say they have suspended talks and cooperation with the transitional military council that's running the country. they urged demonstrators to continue their peaceful sit—ins until a transition to a civilian government was achieved.