james landale, bbc news.n held around the world to celebrate easter sunday. here, the queen and prince philip attended a service in windsor castle, accompanied by several members of the royal family, including the duke and duchess of cambridge. meanwhile, religious and political leaders have been speaking out about the need to alleviate global suffering, and protect religious freedom. our religious affairs correspondent, martin bashir reports. st peter's square was resplendent as pope francis celebrated mass and delivered the fifth easter sermon of his papacy, but his message was sober, pleading for an end to what he called the horror and death in syria and asking that international leaders have the courage to prevent the spread of conflict. at canterbury cathedral, archbishopjustin welby drew attention to the plight of christians in egypt following twin bomb attacks on palm sunday that killed 46 and injured more than 100 people. and he said that suffering was not confined to war zones. christians in egypt li

, james landale, they were heading for what they thought was safety. villages had been under siege by rebel forces for two years. just a short bus ride from aleppo and a better life. but then this... from aleppo and a better life. a massive suicide bomb attack. a vehicle supposedly carrying food packed, instead, with explosives. carrying food packed, devastating the convoy of buses and cars. a potato truck, as they were very hungry, comes and offers for the kids potato chips, potato bags. so the kids, who were very hungry, some of them left the buses and went to the truck and as soon as they approached the truck, the truck exploded. as they approached the truck, and that is why it emerged today that among the 126 people dead were 68 children, according to british—based activists who monitor the conflict. according to british—based activists hundreds of others injured in the attack were rushed to hospital in aleppo. in the attack were rushed it is still not clear who was responsible for the attack, although local islamist rebel groups have denied any in

james landale, bbc news. collapse of a rubbish dump in the sri lankan capital colombo has increased to 26, including six children. hopes are fading that anyone else will be found alive. tonnes of rubbish fell on to more than a hundred homes on friday when heavy rain caused the dump to become unstable. 980 people have been displaced because of the disaster and 79 houses completely destroyed. testing children in primary schools has been on the agenda at the national union of teachers‘ annual conference in cardiff today. there was a heated debate among delegates, in which teachers criticised the way younger pupils are tested. delegates at the nut conference will vote tomorrow on whether to boycott the tests. 0ur education correspondent gillian hargreaves is at the conference. there was delegate after delegate after delegate this morning, saying how irritated they were by the testing regime in england's primary schools. one said the government is test obsessed. another said sats tests at the age of 11 are akin to

james landale, bbc news, near the border of south sudan.re than 270 schoolgirls by boko haram. rallies have also been held to urge the government to increase effo rts to urge the government to increase efforts to free them. most of the girls were abducted from the town of chibok are still missing. isa sanusi from amnesty international told me earlier that they wrote a report after the kidnappings, which had warned the government that something like this was likely to happen. at that time, we actually issued a statement, saying that the government received a warning before the mass abduction of the over 200 girls at that school, and almost everybody, every day, we get stories about abductions, all in places, one of the most unsafe... justjumping m, of the most unsafe... justjumping in, because i want to get as much i can, what is it that the government is not doing to help? well, the government is actually saying that it is doing a lot, and it is also saying that it is negotiating and some girls were rescued in october, and actually the gove

james landale, bbc news, near the border of south sudan.y of the birth of its first leader and founder, kim il—sung. there is the current leader, kim jong—un, who il—sung. there is the current leader, kimjong—un, who many people are worried he will authorise a nuclear test or potentially a missile test today, to coincide with this celebration. now, saturday does mark the so—called date of the sun. that is the anniversary of the founder's birth, the grandfather of the current leader, kim jong—un. north korea, it should be said, has seen a ratcheting up of tensions with the us in the recent week, but north korea, it should be said, is still technically at war with the south after their conflict back in the 1950s. that ended with a truce, but not a treaty, crucially, so those two countries are still very much on guard and that is why there isa much on guard and that is why there is a lot of worry in the south, in seoul, but also in many countries around the world, that there will be potentially a nuclear test or a missile test which is designe

james landale, bbc news, near the border of south sudan.a huge bomb on islamic state militants in afghanistan — 36 militants are thought to have been killed. the us also confirms it's assessing its military response to north korea's nuclear programme. china warns conflict could break out at any moment. priti patel has accused government and rebel forces in south sudan of deliberately blocking food aid. sport now, and for a full round—up, and the bbc sport centre. sebastian vettel looks like the man to beat at the bahrain grand prix. he was fastest in both practice sessions, three tenths quicker than lewis hamilton, despite his ferrari breaking down in second practice. meanwhile it has become firm to the 2009 world champion jenson meanwhile it has become firm to the 2009 world championjenson button will be making a brief comeback next month. he has agreed to replace fernando alonso from mclaren at the monaco grand prix. but britain is still contracted as it —— but it is still contracted as it —— but it is still contracted as a reserve driver

a crisis that many think will get worse before it gets better. that many think will get worse james landalef drivers began the bank holiday weekend stuck on the ma, after a lorry carrying compressed gas caught fire. the motorway was closed in both directions for a time between junctions i7 and 18 near chippenham in wiltshire. police say drivers should still try and find alternative routes as although the motorway has reopened, lane closures are still in place. reopened, lane closures former world champion jenson button says he's delighted to be making a one—off return to formula one. says he's delighted to be making he's agreed to race for mclaren at next month's monaco grand prix. button will replace fernando alonso. at next month's monaco grand prix. he's been granted permission to compete in the indy 500. the world—famous las vegas strip had to be closed last night after a fire broke out at one of the city's biggest casinos. huge flames were spotted near the roof of the bellagio hotel, which is at the centre of las vegas boulevard. emergency teams say they were able to bring it under con

james landale, bbc news. our political editor, laura kuenssberg, joins me again.nd to pick up on brenda's remarks there. there is clearly voter fatigue before we start? absolutely. she won't be the only one. when you talk to people close to theresa may they have been conscious of that for holding them back. does the country want another election? they are aware for many people it will be a sense of — oh, no, here we go again. it comes down to that calculation. they think what stands to be gained, for them, trumps that as one of the risks. they are aware there is a longries of reasons why some people might resent them going forward with this at all. seven weeks ahead, just about, i'm wondering how you think that will pan out in terms of issues? what kind of campaign will it be? it will be noisy, it will be quick, it will feel like it's going ata quick, it will feel like it's going at a rate of knots. morris than anything else, it will feel extremely different to the last general election. one male reason for that, there nt won't be tv debates. number ten made it cl

james landale reports on a period of unpredictable politics.s ago, britain's day of decision was over. in the past, politics seemed so certain. we used to go to the polls every four orfive years or so. when we were tired of one party, we'd give the other side a chance. but in the last few years, all that seems to have changed and the uk's now preparing to go to the polls for the third time in just over two years. we are encircled by multiple uncertainties to a degree we have never been before in anybody‘s lifetime, unless they were alive in the second world war. they are on all the fronts — the european question, britain's place in the world question, the scottish question, the very existence of the united kingdom as we recognise it and have grown up in it. all of these are, to a high degree, up in the air. who would have predicted nick and dave's coalition in 2010? or the referendum they held later on scotland's place in the union? few reckoned david cameron would win an outright majority in the general election in 2015. just as hardly anyone

this report from our diplomatic correspondent james landale contains some distressing images. thought was safety, thousands of civilians from government—held villages had been under siege by rebel forces for two years. just a short bus ride from aleppo and a better life. but then this. a massive suicide bomb attack. a vehicle supposedly carrying food, packed instead with explosives. devastating the convoy, buses and cars. a potato truck, as they were hungry, comes and offers for the kids potato chips, potato bags. so the kids who were very hungry, some of them left the buses, went to the truck, and as soon as they approached the truck, it exploded. that's where it emerged today that among the 126 dead were 68 children. according to british—based activists who monitor the conflict. hundreds of others injured in the attack were rushed to hospital in aleppo. it is still not clear who was responsible for the attack although local islamist rebel groups have denied any involvement. the people travelling in these buses were part of a deal between government and opposition forces to e

a warning that this report from our diplomatic correspondent, james landale, contains some distressingor what they thought was safety. thousands of civilians from government—held villages had been under siege by rebel forces for two years, just a short bus ride from aleppo, and a better life. but then this. a massive suicide bomb attack, a vehicle supposedly carrying food, packed instead with explosives, devastating the convoy of buses and cars. a potato truck, as they were very hungry, comes and offers for the kids potato chips, potato bags. so the kids, who were very hungry, they left, some of them left the truck, it exploded. among the 126 dead were 68 children, according to british—based activists who monitor the conflict. hundreds of others injured in the attack were rushed to hospital in aleppo. it is still not clear who was responsible for the attack, although local islamist rebel groups have denied any involvement. the people travelling in these buses were part of a deal between government and opposition forces to evacuate civilians from towns besieged by both sides. they were

with me now is our diplomatic editor, james landale.eneral election. exactly. he said this in the house of commons last tuesday, when there was a debate about the us military strike against the syrian government airbase that had allegedly been used for chemical wa rfa re had allegedly been used for chemical warfare attacks. sadly, as you say, the primers to announce the election so no one noticed. this is the established position that the foreign secretary has set out. it is significant for the following reasons. generally, the british have a lwa ys reasons. generally, the british have always gone along with the americans are always gone along with the americans a re lots of always gone along with the americans are lots of military action. i can remember ronald reagan asking margaret thatcher for the use of uk airbases to make strikes on libyan targets in 1986. john major and the first george bush in q8 in 1991, and tony blair and the next george bush in iraq later on. this is a trend, it is not surprising that the british say they will

our diplomatic editor james landale citizens in the uk.i may not be a household name in britain, but he matters, because his parliament matters. in brussels it will have a veto, a vote, on any deal over brexit between the uk and the european council. so he's a character whose voice we will come to know and we will need to listen to in the months ahead. after meeting the prime minister this morning he said something very interesting. since the prime minister called the election, most senior european figures have kept their heads down. the president of the european parliament, however, said that he really welcomed the prime minister's election because of the stability that he thought it would bring to the brexit negotiations. this is what he said to me. it was a difficult event. i think for the european union it's better to have stability in the united kingdom. to have the next two years the same interlocutor without problem, without internal problems. for us it's much better to have this negotiation with the new government than a government

his priority was the fate of eu citizens in the uk. 0ur diplomatic editorjames landale has been following the visit. jamessehold name in britain but he matters because his parliament matters. in brussels, it will have a beater, a vote over any deal between the uk and the eu. after meeting the prime minister this morning, he said something very interesting. since the prime minister colby election, most senior european figures have kept their heads down. the president however said he welcomed the election because of the stability that he thought it would bring to the brexit negotiations. this is what he said to me. positive impact. i think for the european union, it is better to have stability in the united kingdom than to have the same interlocutor without internal problems. for us, it is much better to have these negotiations with have this with the new government than a government before an election campaign. for us, it is much better. the other point that the european parliament president made was that in his eyes, the importance of securing an early deal for european residents living in the uk as part