this is bbc news. headlines at five bn. police in sri lanka arrest 2a people as the government blames a local islamist extremist group for a series of coordinated bomb attacks. it's believed a british mother and her two children are among the 290 people killed. police say more than a thousand people have been arrested after seven days of climate change protests. dozens of firefighters are trying to control a moorland fire in marsden in west yorkshire. guns fire. gun salutes have taken place to mark her majesty the queen's 93rd birthday. the uk sizzles as england, scotland, wales and northern ireland all record their warmest easter monday on record.

good afternoon. the sri lankan high commissioner says eight british nationals are among the 290 people killed in a series of bomb attacks. more than 500 others were injured in the blasts which targeted churches and hotels on easter sunday. police say they've arrested 2a suspects and that the bombings were carried out with the support of an international network. the government has blamed a local radical islamist group — although no—one has yet admitted carrying out the attacks. there has been another explosion today in the sri lankan capital colombo, as security forces were defusing a bomb inside an abandoned van near a church.

nick beake reports. the christians of colombo should have been celebrating rebirth this easter, but it's death, on an horrific scale, which has confronted them. this was one of three churches bombed. shouts and screams rang out where there had been singing and prayers. they were victims of a carefully coordinated strike which has plunged hundreds of families into mourning. among them, a 36—year—old's relatives, his brother said he rushed him to hospital, but there was nothing that could be done. the scale of these attacks and the planning that went into them have stunned sri lanka. but already the prime minister has admitted that intelligence was received more than ten days ago about possible attacks on churches, so already some people are asking — could these bombers have been stopped? visiting one of the bomb sites, a senior official defended the authorities‘ actions.

why you try to isolate this particular incident? what i have to say, it is very u nfortu nate, very u nfortu nate. at the shrine of saint anthony's in colombo, disbelief. more than 1,500 worshippers had packed into the easter sunday service. the chief priest told us he had left his church to pick up some papers when the bomb ripped through his congregation and that it was a miracle he survived. how does that touch you this morning, knowing you have been saved and 300 others lost their lives? i don't understand it yet, he has saved me. many are on edge, with good reason. explosions. this device has just exploded near one of the churches targeted yesterday, as the bomb squad was moving in. still no group has yet admitted it was behind the attack, the perpetrators may remain in the shadows but the carnage they have wrought is painfully clear.

nick beake, bbc news, colombo. pa rt part of those 290 deaths, eight were british. we now have confirmation that a british mother and her two children were among those that died. we have had a statement from the nicholson family. the statement says, my family and i wish to confirm that my wife anita, my son and my daughter aged 11 were killed in the bombing of the restaurant in the shangri—la hotel in colombo on sunday morning while sitting at our table, mercifully, all three of them died instantly. with no pain or suffering. the father goes on to say iam suffering. the father goes on to say i am deeply distressed at the loss of my father and children. anita was a wonderful and brilliant life. and a wonderful and brilliant life. and

a loving inspirational mother to our children. the holiday that we had enjoyed was a testament to anita's enjoyment to travelling. in creating a colourful life for our family and children. in tribute, he says his children. in tribute, he says his children were the most amazing, thoughtful and talented children and anita and i were immensely proud of them both. they shared with their mother at the priceless ability to light up any room they entered and bring joy to the lives of all they came into contact. i would like to give my sincere thanks, he says, for the medical teams for treating my family with great dignity. and me with kindness and sympathy. i would also like to thank the teams of the british high commission who have looked after me since sunday morning. and the sri lankan people i have encountered in colombo

following this catastrophe. anita, alex and annabelle lee behind a large extended family and cherished friends who are grieving at this loss. we shall miss them dearly. we are grateful for the expressions of support and good wishes. he com pletes support and good wishes. he co m pletes a support and good wishes. he completes a statement saying we asked that the media at nowt respect oui’ asked that the media at nowt respect our privacy and allow us to grieve together. —— now respect our privacy and allow us to grieve together. it's been confirmed that three of the four children, of the danish billionaire, anders holch polsen were killed in the attacks. mr polsen, who is denmark's wealthiest man, is a major shareholder in the online clothing retailer asos and one of the uk's largest private landowners, confirmed that his family were visiting sri lanka over the easter period. the queen has sent a message to the president of sri lanka. it says...

our correspondent in colombo, sharanjit leyl gave us this update. we have had those deadly explosions on sunday which we have been reporting on, but today there is still very much an active situation as we have seen explosions over the last few hours that we are told, were controlled detonations of devices that were found, particularly one that was found in the vicinity of saint anthony's shrine. we are told this is the van that was detonated that the suicide bombers used yesterday to target the shrine. there were yet more explosions, controlled we are told, taking place at a market nearby, and some 87 devices were found

at one of the big bus stations here, and they were also detonated. so still very much an active situation. investigations continuing here in colombo into what caused this attack. and, of course, a lot of issues and questions being asked around just how much the government and the authorities knew and when because it has since emerged that there was a memo put out that warned as early as april 11 that such an attack would be taking place. but prime minister wickremesinghe and his office were not informed of this, so there is a lot of questions about what could have been done, perhaps precautions could have been put in place, specifically at the luxury hotels. we are hearing from the hotels that they would have had their security and security personnel on high alert if some of this had been in place in effect. she was speaking to us earlier from

colombo. she was speaking to us earlierfrom colombo. dozens of firefighters are trying to control a moorland fire in marsden in west yorkshire. it's thought the blaze, which broke out last night, extends to over a square mile was started by a barbecue. it's the sixth fire in the area so far this year. joining me now is our correspondent fiona trott. you can see that black scarring to your left. absolutely sell and down there on the left—hand side is easter gate, that is where a lot of families come. 0n bank holidays for picnicking. it is thought that this fire was started by a disposable barbecue. the fire started in that area. you can see this huge area, we think now around 400 hectares are now blackened out by the flames. down below us, to the reservoir. that is where a helicopter has been coming to get water and dump it on

the flames on this moorland. the pilot has been working since nine o'clock this morning. 15 fire appliances working here as well. we are going to speak to craig bass who is from the national trust. how are things looking, what are your strategies over the next few hours? we are going to stay with the fire support. we fully expect the fire to burn into the evening, into the night. they will be no surprise that this is burning in the morning. rangers and volunteers will work to deploy our helicopter. it will pick up deploy our helicopter. it will pick up water from the reservoirs and deploy it on to the various claims. explain to people how important this area is for the local wildlife. explain to people how important this area is for the local wildlifem isa uk area is for the local wildlifem is a uk designated area. it is also

recognised in europe for nesting birds, it is a peak landscape. it is also a great place for people. lots of people visit here. for walking or running or cycling. we have birds here nesting at the moment it is an important time of year. and they are going to be devastated. yes, definitely. currently you and other birds will be looking to nest here. it could be that their eggs are burnt as well larger mammals have certainly been impacted. i was watching this earlier and the flames move at such a speed it is frightening. it is no doubt that small mammals would not have avoided being killed. a lot of money and investment has gone into this area as well. it is not the first fire that you have had here at marsden. how does this make you feel? we have

invested millions to restore this landscape. this year, we have seen six wildfires, which is very unusual. but maybe we should not be too surprised because for several months we have seen hardly any rainfall. thank you very much for joining us. the message from the national trust this evening is if you are coming to enjoy this moorland do not bring disposable barbecue is. this fire has been going on for 22 hours and as you have heard they are going to be here for some hours yet. fiona trott, thank you very much. an update on another fire. it broke out over the easter weekend. three men were arrested yesterday. we are learning that one man has been charged with arson in relation to that fire.

while the other two have been released pending further investigations. unmanned has been charged with arson in relation to a fire was started. in northern ireland, hundreds of holiday—makers in county down spent the night in emergency accommodation — after a large hillside fire forced them from their caravan park. the wildfire happened in the mourne mountains above the seaside town of newcastle. they're now under control. chris page reports. 0n the mountainside, a fire a mile long threatened some houses as it burned through the gorse. eyewitnesses described it as a running wildfire. 50 fire fighters worked to bring the blaze under control. the flames came close to a caravan park. police went from one mobile home to another, telling people to get out quickly. buses took around to hundreds of holiday—makers to a leisure centre. it wasn't how expected to be spending their easter. very frightening. people were told to get in to their cars, move their cars.

then you got in and you were told to get out of your cars and run to the front gates. the wind was blowing it towards the caravan site. once it hit one caravan, then they were worried about the gas bottles. once the gas bottles are hit, it would have made a chain reaction. they have now been allowed to go back to their caravans. the mourne mountains provide some of the most striking scenery in northern ireland. the hilltop scrubland adds to the rocky beauty. but when fires break out here, the wind and the terrain mean they spread rapidly. it isn't clear yet how this one began. but the emergency services have pointed out the vast majority of gorse fires are started deliberately, and pictures like these show how dangerous that can be. chris page, bbc news. in derby, a police station has been evacuated after a large commercial fire triggered a string of explosions. derbyshire constabulary say the fire at prime parkway industrial estate has resulted in a series of blasts,

and the subsequent evacuations of st mary's wharf police station. they've advised local residents to keep their doors and windows shut. 0rganisers of the extinction rebellion protests are meeting this afternoon to decide whether the group will continue to disrupt central london for another week. police say more than 1,000 arrests have been made during climate change protests over the past seven days. 53 have been charged. two teenagers arrested in connection with the murder of the journalist, lyra mckee, have been released without charge. the 29—year—old was shot dead during violence in londonderry on thursday night. police said support from the community has been positive, but appealed for "tangible evidence". the headlines on bbc news... police in sri lanka arrest 24 people

— as the government blames a local islamist extremist group for a series of co—ordinated bomb attacks. the husband of anita nicholson has paid tribute to his wife and their two children all three of whom died in the bombing. police say more than a thousand people have been arrested arrested after seven days of climate change protests. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's holly. they could only manage a draw at stoke this afternoon. let's take a look at some of the results. the canaries needed a win to guarantee their move to the premier league next season. they also needed sheffield united to drop points at hull —

instead they won 3—0. to put the pressure on leeds for a top two finish — they kick off at brentford in the next few minutes. elsewhere play—off—chasing middlesbrough and bristol city both lost away from home. derby are into the play off places after a late win over qpr. towards the bottom, there were wins for birmingham and wigan while relegation rivals reading's game against west brom ended goalless. portsmouth bolstered their bid for an automatic promotion spot from league one, coming from behind to beat coventry 2—1 at fratton park. second half goals from tom naylor and brett pittman has pushed them up to second for the time being at least. barnsley and sunderland can overtake them if they win their respective three o'clock kick offs. boxer kash ali has been given a six—month ban and fined £10,000 for biting david price during their all—british heavyweight fight. ali had his boxing licence suspended and his fight purse withdrawn after being disqualified in the fifth round of

the bout in liverpool last month. he apologised after the fight, saying his behaviour was not a "true reflection of who i am". ronnie 0'snooker is being made to work hard in the first round of the world snooker championship in sheffield. the world number one is up against james cahill, the first amateur to qualify for the event. cahill won the first frame, before 0'sullivan took the next two. the 23—year—old has had plenty of chances but 0'sullivan currently leads four frames to 3. 0n the other table, four—time champion john higgins ha started his bid to reach a third successive final here — after being runner up for the past two years. he's also been in a real battle against mark davis. currently higgins leads nine frames to seven. you can watch coverage right now on bbc two and on bbc iplayer, connected tv and online.

meanwhile, three—time champion mark selby will have to do it the hard way if he's to progress beyond the first round. he trailed zhao xintong 5—1 at one stage before taking the final two frames of the morning session. they'll play to a conclusion tonight. shaun murphy has completed only the second whitewash at the world snooker championship. the 2005 champion resumed this morning 9—0 up against chinese debutant luo honghao and rattled off the first frame to breeze through to the second round. murphy will face another former champ neil robertson in the last 16. snooker is a funny little game. really you can only really concentrate on yourself. i can only work on what i'm doing, worry about my game. if i make the most of the chances that come my way, i won't sit in my seat for 13 frames. i will get chances. if i make the most of them it could be a classic. british cyclist teo geoghegan hart has won the first stage

of his pro tour career, on the opening day of the tour of the alps. the team sky rider was front and centre of a select group into kufstein. he timed his sprint perfectly on the narrow streets to beat his team—mate chris froome — who finished sixth. that's all the sport for now. back to you. highly, but thank you very much. in ukraine, a comedian — volodymyr zelensky — has been elected the country's next president in a landslide victory against the incumbent petro poroshenko. he won 73% of the vote with no previous experience in politics, though he does star in a ukrainian television show as a fictional president. the european union says he can count on its strong support to fight corruption. from ukraine's capital kiev, here's our correspondentjonah fisher. this was the first time volodymyr zelensky was told he'd become president.

it was three years ago and the first episode of his television show. servant of the people. last night, fiction became fact and the music from the tv show was played as volodymyr zelensky was told for the second time. this time for real, that he was ukraine's next president. translation: to all former soviet countries, look at us. everything is possible. across town, president poroshenko conceded while muttering darkly that the kremlin would be celebrating the comedian's win. ukraine could be quickly returned to the russia orbit. relations with russia will now be the key issue for the soon to be president zelensky.

can we expect any change in ukraine's relationship with russia? the population is pretty decided upon towards what russia is. the vast majority sees it as an aggressor. so there's no real scope for president zelensky to try to strike some sort of deal over the conflict in the east or it negotiate over crimea, for example. he may try to do that but at the same time i think it would create a public outcry. what of the activists? from the street revolution. what do they make of ukraine's comic turn? when i'm looking at this from the angle of the change in the elite, ukrainians wanted change. and if only zelensky happened to be someone who can deliver this change... so we should work with what we have.

it's a step in the right direction, you think? i would say this is a step and we have to make it right! there are still plenty of unanswered questions about mr zelensky, not least his relationship with a controversial oligarch. but for now it's important to reflect on a peaceful campaign, a fair vote, and what looks set to be a smooth transfer of power. the world may be laughing at ukraine's comic choice of leader, but this country has lots to be proud of, too. well, a little earlier i spoke to our correspondents in both ukraine and moscow. jonah fisher gave us the latest reaction from kiev. the dust has been settling after an

extraordinary sunday here in the ukraine. and to be quite frank, i think enthusiasm, excitement is not really the word to describe what has happened here. there was not a massive groundswell of opinion, a lot of ranting behind mr volodymyr zelensky. we sell the combination of the deep held frustration that the ukrainians have for their political leaders, their politicians. a large pa rt leaders, their politicians. a large part of what we saw in the huge victory for volodymyr zelensky with a protest vote. people liked what they sell, seeing him on television. but what we sell principally, from talking to people, is that they wa nted talking to people, is that they wanted to deliver a message to the politicians that they have had enough of the way things have been. with it also be fair to say they we re with it also be fair to say they were completely ignoring the national interest peered they were

very much concerned about domestic issues. so russia has slipped on the agenda for ukrainians? look, volodymyr zelensky made —— the former president said if you choose former president said if you choose for volodymyr zelensky, you are voting for vladimir putin. i think that backfired pretty disastrously and even his advisers think that that marked a wrong turn in the campaign. what volodymyr zelensky offered an contrast with a softer, unifying image, bringing together russian language speakers and ukrainian language speakers underwent one warm embrace and people seem to respond to that in contrast to the angry rhetoric that we heard from the former president. this is the ukraine's firstjewish

leader, what sort of reactions has this received from our leaders?m has been welcomed by leaders around the world. one slightly bizarre thing is they don't simply need to be able to agree on how to spell his name. we have seen different versions being tweeted out around the world as they tried to guess how it is spelled. that will have to be resolved in the coming weeks before volodymyr zelensky gets inaugurated into office. a warm reception, russia seems to be rather withholding itsjudgement. the european union has already moved to invite volodymyr zelensky to a meeting with them, talking about supporting reforms in the ukraine. that will be a big part of volodymyr zele ns ky‘s that will be a big part of volodymyr zelensky‘s political platform. all indications is that europe is trying to bind him into the reforms that mr

poroshenko initiated in the hopes that he can in the early period be persuaded to continue and go faster with some of them. your twitter timeline is a lesson in how to spell volodymyr zelensky. we are going to ci’oss volodymyr zelensky. we are going to cross to moscow now and speak to steve rosenberg. how has this result been received by moscow. steve rosenberg. how has this result been received by moscowm steve rosenberg. how has this result been received by moscow. it is interesting, jonah said that world leaders have been queuing up to congratulate volodymyr zelensky. but one of our leader not doing that is vladimir putin. the kremlin made it clear that it was too soon to talk about congratulations on his election win. 0r about congratulations on his election win. or to talk about the two lea d e rs election win. or to talk about the two leaders working together. the kremlin said they would judge mr volodymyr zelensky by his concrete actions. they also questioned the legitimacy of the elections. seeing that —— saying that 3 million ukrainians living in russia did not

have the opportunity to take part in the election. that is not really in a brace. —— that is not really an embrace. if you look at the media here two things are clear. they are pleased that poroshenko has gone. in the second thing is, i think russia was hoping that with a different man in power in key avenue, then perhaps he could build bridges between russia and the ukraine. 0ne he could build bridges between russia and the ukraine. one of the pro—kremlin papers described volodymyr zelensky as a moderate and praised his restraint. coming from a pro—kremlin paper, that is praise indeed. while, we have just while, we havejust had an while, we have just had an update on what has happened on the moor. they are having problems, the fire

service peered they have tweeted this. as you can see on the screen. . . terrible conditions taking place in west yorkshire at the moment. 0ne man has been charged in connection with the fire there. the queen's 93rd birthday has been marked with gun salutes in central london. a 41—gun salute took place in hyde park at midday. and at one o'clock a 62—gun salute was performed at the tower of london. although her actual birthday was yesterday, tradition dictates that the salutes never take place on a sunday.

well we turn to the united states now. . . easter festivities are under way at the white house in washington. it's part of the annual easter celebrations hosted by the president and first lady. president trump welcomed hundreds of children to the south lawn of the white house to take part in an easter egg roll, races and other games. guests were greeted by a marching band and celebrations and children were invited to an easter egg hunt in the grounds of the white house. its been a warm day to day and people have been out in droves to the beaches, camber sands in east sussex as well as other attractions bringing in the clouds macro crowds. damages are likely to fall back to the seasonal average later this

week. lets get an update. good for some people, how is it looking? not ata some people, how is it looking? not at a body like this one weather and if you have a garden, you might well be in need of some rain. we will get some cool weather and rain by the time this week is done but what's last easter monday, still sunshine for the next few hours, we have also seen some for the next few hours, we have also seen some cloud in the sky, hints of change, mostly high—level cloud spreading northwards through the night but producing just the odd shower across the south—west of the uk. a mild night in the southend west, 12 degrees for cardiff, london and plymouth mightily a further used, but tomorrow it will bring more sunshine for most of us with wispy cloud turning hazy end times, one 01’ wispy cloud turning hazy end times, one or two wispy cloud turning hazy end times, one 01’ two showers wispy cloud turning hazy end times, one or two showers flirting with western parts, and this band moving across eastern scotland, aberdeen temperatures back to 12 degrees.

ta blet temperatures back to 12 degrees. tablet is a notch down on what we have been. have a look at the end of the neat, the promised cooler weather on the way, and with that, outbreaks of rain at times. this is bbc news. the headlines... police in sri lanka arrest 24 people — as the government blames a local islamist extremist group for a series of co—ordinated bomb attacks. it's confirmed that british mother anita nicholson and her two children are among the 290 people killed. her husband ben paid tribute to his "perfect wife" and "wonderful children" police say more than 1,000 people have been arrested after seven days of climate change protests. dozens of firefighters are trying to control a moorland fire at marsden in west yorkshire. now on bbc news — at 17

you're not quite an adult, but way past being a child. radio 1 newsbeat has travelled the world to find out what unites 17—year—olds around the world. being 17 has never been easy. no longerfeeling like a child, but technically not yet an adult. in most countries, you can't drive, drink alcohol or vote. but whether it's just hanging out with friends... ..spending time with family... ..practising religion, going to school, going to work orjust having fun... three, two, one! ..17 is one of our most formative years. we're following five 17—year—olds in five different countries to see how they spend a typical saturday. the nightlife is amazing. from thailand to uganda... when you tell people that we have school six days a week,

they are like, "what?!" ..lebanon to russia. what is it like being 17 and is it harder to be a teenager now than ever before? for lots of teenagers, saturdays are a day of rest. no school or work and a time to catch up on some much—needed sleep. but for ruth, saturday is just like any other day and work starts early. she lives about a 5—hour drive along the coast from the ghanaian capital accra with her 5—month—old daughter. ruth never knew her birth mother growing up, and with nowhere else to go,

she moved here to live with a family friend when her father passed away three years ago. around 14 people live with ruth in this compound in the village and on cooking day, everyone mucks in to prepare, cook and bag the chips ready to be sold. around 9am, it's time for ruth to leave. she will visit three markets today, helping to sell enough bags of chips to support both her and her daughter. south—east of ghana, in the ugandan capital kampala,

joy has already been awake for hours. it's saturday. i'm going to school and i have maths, technical drawing and physics today. joy leaves for school around 6am and it can take about an hour to commute through the heavy kampala traffic. when you go through school, you are more likely to succeed in life. for example, i want to be an architect. there is no way i am going to achieve that except if i do go through school. i do maths, physics and technical drawing and next year i will finish high school and i hope to go to university and study architecture. it starts from this top, then merges to this outermost... technical drawing is the smallest class thatjoy has, but there are still over 50 pupils. let me give you a rough example here. most people in my family,

they are doing arts—related careers and i'm the only one doing this science—related career. so, i chose it for myself. 4,500 miles east, there's no lie—in for ying either. ying's the oldest of six, and starts her weekend by helping her parents to look after her younger brothers and sisters.

# and all the roads that lead you there are winding... things are off to a more lively start in lebanon. it's mid—morning and tiffany is off to the beach. lebanon is a perfect mix of europe, arab — it's literally just a mix of everything. among me and my friends, we always talk in english, but sometimes we mix it with french and arabic,

it's really common to just mix these three languages together. lebanon is one of the most religiously diverse countries in the middle east with large muslim and christian populations. i'm a christian, personally, and religion here is a really big part of our lives. it's not enforced and it's not as strict as other places. we're serious about it, but it's not like in other cultures where you have to give your life to your religion. i have friends in dubai that can't even go out with guys, but i can tell you that more than 50% of my friends are all guys. it's just really open—minded, i like it a lot. everyone thinks it's dangerous, but to be honest, i'd feel more comfortable, personally, walking in the streets at night here than any other country. so, why do tiffany and her mates think lebanon gets a hard time? civil war between 1975 and 1990 defined the country

for a whole generation. and further violence in 2006 means that for many, it still has a reputation as a troubled nation. i always wanted my children not to go through this, but it seems we are never going to find peace in this region. but it's how close to syria and israel it is that many people find worrying now. in truth, lebanon has been largely peaceful for over a decade, and the capital, beirut, is trying to claim back its reputation as the paris of the middle east. with the warm mediterranean sea down the coast and a bustling nightlife, many visitors see it as a perfect mix of cultures. it hasn't been completely without trouble, though. the murder of british embassy worker rebecca dykes in 2017 made many foreigners in the country feel uneasy and there are some areas, particularly along the border with syria, where the british foreign office

advise against all travel. one, two, three! i think that people that have never come to visit lebanon has a really bad idea because of what they watch on the news. but when people come here, their whole idea changes. it's late morning, and the last 17—year—old to be up and about is katya in moscow. katya has organised a gig for this evening and herfriends are the headline act.

the band have travelled on the overnight train from st petersburg and are keen to see some of the moscow sights. russia is the largest country on earth, home to 142 million people. and it's had a turbulent relationship with the west for a long time.

for seven decades, it was a communist country, and russians had very little contact with people outside. communism ended in 1991, but adapting to a capitalist society has not been an easy transition. still now, fewer than a third of russians have a foreign passport and you don't have to look far to find negative stories about russia in the world's media. more is now known about the substance involved in the suspected poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter. vladimir putin has been the political face of russia either as the president or prime minister for nearly 20 years, and that means for teenagers like katya, he's the only leader they've ever known. katya's day may only justjust be starting, but forjoy, halfway through the school day, it's break time.

i have school six days a week. i would love to do other things on saturdays of course because you'd love to have that break, but now, the only break i have is sunday, and sunday is also a busy day. sunday is a church day. if i could have a saturday to myself to hang out, yeah, that would be good. i've gotten used to it. it's not so bad. by mid—afternoon, all across the world, it's lunchtime and whether that's some fast food on the beach in lebanon, a burger king in moscow, street food in bangkok or a school lunch in kampala, everyone is tucking in to something to eat. well, almost everyone. for ruth, she is still out selling.

sadly, at the moment, the chips aren't selling very well either. her daughter stays at home with her adoptive mother whilst ruth is working.

20 cedis isjust under £3, or around $3.80. it means ruth is earning more than the official absolute poverty line of $1.90 a day, set by the world bank, but she is still very poor. around a quarter of the people in ghana live below the national poverty line. but ghana is considered to be one of the more stable countries in west africa and was the first black african colony to declare independence in 1957. and it's a young country. of the 25 million people living here, 57% are under 25. english is the official language, but other african languages, like twe, akan and the language that ruth and her family speak, bantu, are all common. eventually for ruth, business starts to pick up. but despite a few sales, her takings today are still low. ruth is no longer with her daughter's father.

she says he has never seen his daughter and in her community it's not uncommon for people who have a child outside of marriage to suffer stigma. 0k, three, two, one, go! as the sun sets, tiffany and her mates move to a restaurant overlooking the sea. for dinner, we have tabbouleh, hummus and fatoush, that's usually the lebanese starters. and then we've got lebanese and fish, it is a mix. the lebanese are definitely the most open—minded. i can say that definitely. on the news, how they show our country is not how it is. they show violence,

we are not violent at all. conversation moves on to how lebanon compares with other countries. the foundation of everything is family here. that's what they focus on. that's very true. here, people are still 25 and living with their mum and dad. and it's not a problem. and if they get married the wife will usually still live there until they get a house. personally, i had a talk with one of my friends recently about, for the future when we get married and have kids, would we like to live somewhere else or in the country? i pick in the country because we are used to how we were raised here and we know how things work. ijust think that it's the best here. you can do everything. you can have lunch in nature and then go and party in beirut at night. you can do everything and everything is easy and fun. we are very western, i would say. open—minded. i've met people from other countries and they would say, oh, you know drake in lebanon? you listen to music?

they think we ride camels and stuff. when i moved here, they asked if we would have internet and light or live in tents. i moved from australia and they could not believe it. as night falls, 8500 miles away in bangkok, ying is also spending saturday night with her friends.

for katya and her friends, it's nearly time for the gig. seeing her friends from st petersburg has made katya reflect on how different life is for russians living outside of moscow.

by the end of the school day, it's rush hour again in kampala. joy and his best friend mark are walking straight to band practice. their band is called ypf, which stands for youth passion fellowship and is attached to the church. at the moment in the band we are doing mostly covers, but i'm working on some original music. over the years uganda has changed. right now there's more opportunities for women in school and workplaces. writing music is fun for me, and i hate being bored so i do all these things to keep active. the church and my spiritual life

are very important to me. # me love the way you handle me # me love the way you fight for me. # me love the way you do all the things for me. # i love the way you handle the situation # i love the way you fight for me # i love the way you handle my situation... # i love the way you fight for me # i love the way you handle my situation... the vast majority, around 85%, of ugandans are christian and spending a lot of time at church is by no means unusual for a lot of teenagers here. since its independence from britain in 1962, uganda has endured a military coup, a brutal military dictatorship and a five—year war that saw the current president, yoweri museveni, take power in 1986.

it means, for many ugandans including joy, he's the only leader they have ever known. often called the pearl of africa, around 1.3 million tourists visit uganda each year. many come to see the wildlife and go on safari. in recent years the country has been praised for its campaign against hiv and aids but also received a lot of negative international press for taking a hardening stance against the lgbt community. nearly 4000 miles away, music is very important to katya as well. slightly different genre, though. rock music plays.

as katya's gig carries on into the night, all over the world saturday night is well under way. even though she's already allowed to ride a motorbike, ying is hoping her dad will allow her to get a car license when she turns 18.

an ambition joy shares. once i'm 18 i will be able to drive legally. in ghana, ruth is hoping she can soon carry on with her education. as the night sets in, for most, saturday is almost over, but in lebanon the night is still young. usually here in lebanon the night life is amazing, so we won't even get back home before two or three in the morning. this is how we wrap our day. we alljust come here and take some drinks and chill, relax by the beach. it's amazing. the vibe, the people, the music, it's all really good. five teenagers, all on the brink of becoming adults. all from different places, all leading very different lives.

but, when it comes to priorities, teenagers around the world maybe aren't as different as it first appears. i would like to go and study abroad. i will visit other countries. but then eventually i would come back here, come back and stay in uganda. my plan, and i'm pretty sure that most of my friends' plans, is to go to college. here in lebanon, it's not common for us not to go to college.

hello, good evening. there is still time to get out and enjoy some sunshine this easter monday because it is not going to last. things changed significantly through the coming week, this is how it looks across the western isles of scotland early on, things have been changing further south more cloud in the sky, high cloud that hasn't been doing much more than turning sunshine hazy but it's produced one thunderstorm close to the south—west of england. cloud streaming into our direction on the satellite. with this in the upper levels of the atmosphere, some saharan dust which could make for some pretty impressive sunsets and sunrises over the next couple of dies. in the next couple of evening,

largely sunny skies, sunny kelly motor turning hazy, and 20 degrees in glasgow and similar temperature in london. through this evening and indeed tonight, we still see some bits of cloud pushing northwards, mostly innocuous but the odd shower for the south—west what may be into south—west wales and northern ireland. temperatures overnight for the most part holding up nicely, mild in southern england and south wales what may be chilly enough in parts of north—east scotland but a touch of frost most of us avoiding that. sunshine to combat high cloud turning sunshine hazy, the odd shower in cornwall, and a large band of cloud in eastern scotland, cladding open aberdeen, taking it to 12 degrees. more widely 20—22d, but still little down on where we have been. that trend of things changing is going to exhilarate to the middle

of the week, low pressure really sta rts of the week, low pressure really starts to dominate. all these weather fronts paired our way, starts to dominate. all these weatherfronts paired our way, each one brings a band of showery rain. wednesday, hefty bursts of rain across the south of on, into northern england and northern ireland, with thunder and lightning. in north scotland it stays predominantly dry, by the showery rain, things. return to cooler and thatis rain, things. return to cooler and that is the trend that takes us to the end of the week. we lose the last of the warm air and tap into a feed of much, much cooler airfrom the atlantic, a very different feel to the second half of the week. it will be temperatures we are expecting, down into the teens at best. outbreaks of rain at times and often it will be quite blustery. after a very windy, warm spell, i should say for that use to weekend, though windy weather and wet weather to come as we head through the next week.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 6pm. police in sri lanka arrest 24 people — as the government blames a local islamist extremist group for a series of coordinated bomb attacks. it's confirmed that british mother anita nicholson and her two children are among the 290 people killed — her husband ben paid tribute to his "perfect wife" and "wonderful children". dozens of firefighters are trying to control a moorland fire at marsden in west yorkshire. police say more than a thousand people have been arrested after seven days of climate change protests. gun salutes have taken place to mark her majesty the queen's

93rd birthday.