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. back to our main story now,

as at least 200 people have been killed and hundreds injured in a series of bomb attacks in sri lanka. the explosions were targeted at churches during easter services and some luxury hotels. the bbc‘s sharanjit leyl arrived in sri lanka a short while ago and has this update. it's 2am in the morning here in colombo and the streets are eerily quiet, as they should be at this time of the day, save for the soldiers we saw at the airport and on the streets trying to get here to our hotel and, of course, the security personnel at the hotel who extensively checked our bags before we could even get in. now, there is a curfew in place, which started at 6pm local time and will continue until further notice, the authorities say. and we're restricted in our movements too, venturing only out in the lobby to film this. many sri lankans remember the days of ethnic strife when the country

was torn apart by tamil and sinhalese groups. but sunday's blasts have added a new dimension, bringing back memories that many would rather forget. two of the explosions took place at catholic churches, with tsurenko as a whole home to 1.2 million catholics —— with shrill anchor —— sri lanka. i would like to express my closeness to the christian community, attacked while gathered in prayer, and to all of the victims of violence. i entrust to the lord all who so tragically died and i pray for the wounded and all who suffer because of this traumatic event. other world

leaders have been reacting to the attacks, us vice president mike pence said at potus and i are monitoring those horrific attacks. our hearts and prayers are with the victims and their families. this atrocity is an attack on christianity and religious freedom everywhere. no—one should be in fear in their place of worship. of course, we will have a lot more on those attacks and shall anchor on bbc news, now it is time for writ this history —— sri lanka. hello. welcome to witness with me, razia iqbal. i am here at the british library to guide you through five more extraordinary moments from recent history. we will meet a woman who was caught up in the violent struggle for a jewish state in british—controlled palestine. we will hear how the iconic sydney opera house was built. we'll meet the man behind

a death revolution in the us. in 1988, a us warship, the vincennes shot down an iranian passengerjet over the persian gulf, killing all 290 people on board. first—hand accounts of the incident are rare, but the witness spoke to rudy pahoyo, a us navy combat cameraman who happened to be filming on the vincennes that day. it was a tragedy. we did shoot down an airliner. one of those things, i am still in disbelief that it could have happened. the mood in the gulf was very intense. iran, iraq were in the middle of a war at the time. us navy was taking the oil tankers that came out of kuwait to make sure the flow of oil kept coming to the united states and the iranians were harassing those ships. —— protecting the tankers. the boghammar speedboats that the iranians were using, they would round robin the ships while they are shooting, trying to catch it on fire. so ourjob was kind of like

a police force, if you will. the team i was with was combat camera group. i'm videotaping the whole time. and i caught a ride with the uss vincennes, a cruiser, a billion—dollar boat, state of the art at the time. as we were sailing back to bahrain, we got into battle with iranian speedboats. all hands manning battle stations. during a gunboat battle, we were thinking they were going to come at us with whatever they have now, and that would have been their airforce. the year before, 1987, the uss stark got hit by an exocet missile that was launched by iraq. we were always reminded, remember the stark, remember the stark. about five minutes went by

and they said there was a target that had left bandar abbas, the iranian airfield. the military and civilian airport, to my knowledge, is the same place. so the aircraft, when it took off, was identified as air hostile. they thought it was the iranian air force, tomcat, but the plane in reality was flight 655 — an airbus. five times a week, there is a scheduled service from bandar abbas across the strait to dubai. but here the crew is, waiting for another target to come out. and i believe that one of the lieutenants, i went up and asked them, "what are we doing?"

he said, "you're going to see some missile action." i went to the operation specialist who was watching the scope and he is watching the missiles because he can track it on the radar and he sees it hit the target. dead on! but they found out, like 15, 20 minutes later that there was an airliner missing. an iranian airbus is assumed crashed, please look for survivors or aircraft wreckage. and so that was when it was like, what? airliner missing? we didn't shoot an airliner, we shot a tomcat, i thought. there was a lot of soul—searching, disbelief, that is not supposed to happen, that is not what we're here to do. 290 civilians passed away on flight 655, and of those 290, 66 of those were children. i felt so bad for the families

that lost their loved ones and sometimes you're part of history and you love it, and sometimes you're part of history and you hate it, and this is just one of those things where ijust wish it didn't happen. but, i was there. rudy pohoyo on the terrible story of flight 655. now, we head to australia and the story behind one of the most iconic buildings in the world. in the 1950s, the city of sydney decided it wanted a new opera house. this would be no ordinary construction. engineer sirjack zunz was structural designer on the project. the first prize of £5,000 has been won by danish—bornjorn utzon. a storm of controversy follows. some say it's wonderful, other think it's dreadful. utzon dreamt up these wonderful shapes for his competition entry and they were three shapes. it is almost a stage in the harbour,

the whole town looks upon it. and you sail around it. i like to be on the edge of the possible. he was great fun to work with, particularly in those early years, we had some very good times together. i think he won one or two minor competitions for housing and so on, but as far as building anything of any scale, he hadn't really done very much. this much was clear from the start — the structural engineers appointed would face a monumental task. utzon himself suggested a british—based international firm. they were appointed in 1958, so i suppose that was 11 years that really dominated my life. the first thing they did when they were asked to collaborate,

they took these three shapes and developed a series of mathematical models, which as near as possible matched utzon's competition design. none of these shapes appeared buildable. the roof itself — known as stage 2 — went through so many design changes, there were rumours gleefully spread about that it could never be built. personally, i wasn't sure whether to admit to working on it at the time. if you got into a taxi, you got an earful of all the money that was being wasted on god knows what. they fed hundreds of thousands of formulas into computers, but still, the stubborn roof would not stand up. then, suddenly in september 1961, utzon had an idea. he saw that if he started with a sphere, he could take all the shapes needed for its regular surface. he came back a week later and said, "i have solved it."

and he made the scheme out of a sphere. but in so doing, he had changed architecture quite radically. so gradually, the whole situation was going downhill, utzon couldn't — wouldn't — didn't produce the documents which his client desired. terrible shocker. utzon — i am not sure that he saw himself able to complete the job. it arup‘s firm seven years, 350,000 man hours and at different times, 200 engineers to do all the work before the final structure emerged. the building was actually constructed around the capacity of the largest 12 cranes, which could be found.

seven years after utzon resigned, after endless discussions, arguments, changes in plans, and the expenditure of a further of £40 million, a finished building — the architectural extravaganza of the century — has emerged. you can't quantify to the extent to which the human spirit has been lifted by the sydney opera house or places like it. the remarkable sydney opera house. next, we are off to the united states. in 1988, students at the world's only university for the deaf, occupied their campus in protest at the board's decision to promote a hearing person as president. witness has spoken to i king jordan, who became the first ever deaf president of gallaudet university in washington, dc. it's important to know that i am totally deaf,

i can't hear a jet engine, i can't hear anything. right now, i'm working with a sign language interpreter — sarah, who's sitting in front of me, next to the camera. so, instead of hearing your questions, i am seeing sarah sign. gallaudet college has been the centre of deaf education in america since 18117. in 1987, the president at that time stepped down. right away, there was a push for the board to recognise that the president should be a deaf individual. so they narrowed it down to three finalists. two of us were deaf and one was hearing. i have a lot to bring the university, but i also have a lot to learn from it and that process must start right away. the board of trustees voted to name elisabeth zinser the seventh president of gallaudet. dr zinser had a lot of experience,

but she didn't know anything about deafness and i guess that's when i guess you could say the protests started. someone had the bright idea to bring buses to block the gate. the rallying cry was, "we want a deaf president now." one of the posters out front said, "honk if you support a deaf prez." and of course everybody who drove past saw that sign and honked. then the press started to come. and for a week, it was the front page of the washington post. it was a big, big story.

journalist: are the students prepared to continue blocking the entrance as long as the board refuses to meet their demands? student: we would give up our souls in order to get a deaf president. the chair of the board was jane bassett—spilman. she came to campus and called a meeting. she wanted to talk and explain her decision. student: are you going to resign? she used the word "children." she said, "children, you are making too much noise, i can't communicate if you make so much noise." by using the word children to college students — ooh, that was not good. when dr zinser realised the intensity of the feelings and the sense on the campus, she decided to step down.

the board discussed and decided to name me president. there is one person i want to single out for very special thanks. my wife, linda. right now, i'm getting emotional. so i have to stop. people who are deaf must have unlimited educational and professional opportunities. the pioneering dr i king jordan. remember, you can watch witness every month on the bbc news channel or you can catch up with all our films and more than a thousand radio programmes in our online archive.

just go to bbc.co.uk/witness. now, we head tojerusalem in 19116, when british forces controlled what was then palestine. at the time, the british faced an insurgency by armed jewish groups fighting for the creation of a jewish homeland, israel. one of the most devastating attacks was the bombing of the king david hotel injerusalem, which was the location of british headquarters. we hearfrom shoshana levy kampos, who was a jewish secretary working in the building. newsreel: after a bomb explosion caused by terrorists on the british headquarters injerusalem, one entire corner of the king david hotel, a building of seven storeys, was razed to the ground. suddenly, everything was black. what happened ? i couldn't understand.

you only think how do you get out? newsreel: while arab and jew have a cause to battle for, the british soldier is there only because it is his job to keep the peace. in a quarrel, which is none of his making, he doesjust that, and precious few thanks he gets for it. my family was a jewish family from germany, came to palestine because we were in danger in germany. i was 21 years old when i worked for the british in the king david hotel, shorthand typing. it wasn't a happy time, it was always tense because they didn't know how to stop all these attacks. always, troops on the street, british police or soldiers.

we worked for them, we had to have a salary. there wasn't so much work. there was a warning. a telephone call that bombs were laid in the cellar of the king david hotel, that the people, workers should all go out immediately. i was just getting up from my place and suddenly i heard an explosion. and black. i don't see anything. after some time, i've heard somebody was coughing. coughs isaid, "0h, there's another one living." newsreel: men of the army

and the police were working with cranes, bulldozers, drills and shovels to reach the unfortunate victims still buried in the wreckage. i knew there would be many, many, many dead. victims, terrible, terrible. i started to cry. the latest casualty lists included 65 killed, 47 injured and 58 missing. my boss, he was a very nice man and he was killed in the attack. of course, i was angry at who did it. i didn't know until they told me it was the etzel. the etzel was one of thejewish groups who were against the british. they wanted the british to go out, but that wasn't the right way to do it. no, i can't agree.

i worked for the british till they left. three months they gave me salary. i got as compensation and that was all. so i had to say thank you. shoshana levy kampos. now we move to britain two years later in 19118, and the creation after the second world war of one of britain's most cherished institutions, the national health service. for the first time, all would be able to access free universal healthca re. witness has been speaking to olive bellfield, who was a nurse when it began. i had always — it was a great thing that i wanted — was to be a nurse. anyone asked me, you know, what you want to do when you grow up? i'd always said,

i want to be a nurse. i started nursing when i was 18 in 19115. you were then accepted for 12 weeks. you lived within the nurses‘ home. and of course it's so exciting. it sounds a bit ludicrous now, but, you know, when you think, you got your uniform, which was pink. if we passed, that was it. we could then carry on and become our ambition of nursing. and, you know, joy upon joy, it happened. newsreel: britain's doctors, hospitals and health centres come under state control in the £152 million a year national health service bill, soon to come on the statute book.

onjuly 5, the new national health service starts, providing hospital and special services, medicines, drugs and appliances, care of the teeth and eyes, maternity services. nevertheless, the task that lays ahead of us is far greater than what we have already accomplished. aneurin bevan, his main ambition in life was to get the nhs, from his early political career. he just wanted that. and, of course, so did everybody else. the kind of people who were helped initially would be the poor people. my first ward was a male medical ward. one of the worst instances was a young man, and this young man died. i'd never seen anyone die.

i stood and cried. and, of course, i think i had most of the patients crying. but i can still remember to this day that the ward sister immediately got me out of the ward. and she said, "the parents have come, make the parents a cup of tea." and, of course, they could see i'd been crying. the mother started. and there was i, crying, and she got hold of me and she said, "you've made me feel better than anyone else. " she realised that we were human. olive bellfield on the birth of the nhs. that's all from witness this month

here at the british library. we will be back next month with more first—hand accounts of extraordinary moments in history. but for now, from me and the rest of the witness team, goodbye. 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. 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 24.6 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've 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, 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 on 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 or so 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 cool 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 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.

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.