sri lanka has ten yea rs of something else. sri lanka has ten years of relative calm.bative to say the least, we had the effort last year by the prime minister, the president to remove the prime minister until the supreme court intervened and slapped it down. that got very intense. is there a risk that the politics is such that an incident like this could cause some kind of overreaction? i think the risk is almost certain unfortunately. this incident will be politicised. inevitably in any country something on this scale of horror and shock will be put to work for different narratives. i think there is a strong discourse from the political opposition, the party aligned with the former president and his brother, who himself would like to become president. that constituency is already saying that this government is weak on security, not nationalist enough, too soft on the issues that you need to be hard about and to write friendly or not security conscious enough, so i think that camp is likely to seize on this as others with in other countries and say this as evidence, y

more than 200 people have died after a series of explosions at churches and hotels in sri lanka. at least 400 people are injured. i see this as a serious situation aimed at destabilising the country and the economy. sri lankan authorities say seven people have been arrested. they've imposed a nationwide curfew and restricted social media. christian worshippers in three churches were targeted as they celebrated easter. find out who is responsible behind this act. and also to punish them mercilessly. only animals can behave like that. there were blasts at four hotels. nine nationals from the usa, uk, netherlands and portugal are believed to have been killed. good afternoon. at least 200 people have been killed and hundreds more injured in explosions at churches and hotels in sri lanka — according to the authorities there. dozens died in blasts during easter services at churches in negombo and the eastern city of batticoloa. in colombo, worshippers were targeted at st anthony shrine. three of the city's major hotels were also hit — the kingsbury, the cinnamon grand and the shangri la

more than 200 people have died after a series of explosions at churches and hotels in sri lanka. at least 400 people are injured. sri lankan authorities say seven people have been arrested. three police officers have been killed in a raid on a house and authorities say seven people have been arrested. i see this as a serious situation aimed at destabilising the country and the economy. the authorities say most of the explosions were suicide blasts, it is not yet clear who is responsible. labour's deputy leader, tom watson, says the party must promise another brexit referendum to prevent nigel farage from gaining political ground. the queen has attended an easter service at windsor castle on the day she celebrates her 93rd birthday, she was joined by family members including the duke and duchess of cambridge. good afternoon. it is 7:30pm in sri lanka, a country under curfew after a series of explosions that churches and hotels in which over 200 people have died. dozens were killed in blasts in colombo. dozens died in blasts during easter services at churches in negombo and the east

meanwhile, sri lanka's telecommunications minister sasd a government memo circulated by sri lanka's top police official 10 days earlier warned of a possible attack but that the warning was ignored. after headlines, we'll go to colombo, london, and washington, d.c., for the latest. on capitol hill, house judiciary committee chair jerrold nadler has subpoenaed the justice department to turn over an unredacted version of the mueller report, along with all evidence obtained by mueller's investigators about russian meddling in the 2016 election. the subpoena came as president trump p and his media surrogates continued to insist the report showed no evidence that trump obstructed justice and that no one on the trump campaign committed a crime in 2016 when donald trump jr., jared kushner, paul manafort, and others met a russian lawyer promising dirt on hillary clinton. this is president trump's personal attorney, rudy giuliani, speaking on cnn on sunday. >> any candidate in the whole world in america would take information -- >> from a hostile foreign sosource? >>>> who says it is even a lega?

and pain to some churches and other places in sri lanka. the seed of money. i would like to express my heart felt closeness to the christian community and. which was attacked while gathered in prayer. and to all victims of such a cruel act of violence. when i entrust to the lord. who so tragically died and i pray for the wounded and all those who are suffering because of this dramatic event we've been to. let's get back to jamil announcement in covering the story on the ground. we've heard about explosions at churches and hotels in residential areas that this attack have a clear target. very easily when the attack it happened on sunday morning it took place in steve very popular churches across the island that is one talks and then police searching in capital colombo. best chance church in the. the capital and this leon first invested in the eastern province but initially what everybody assumed was that it was a catholic community with the father. but they're living a far better not been dead also marty but a second class appears in colombo over there for you

christians who were celebrating easter and target foreigners in high-end hotels across multiple cities in sri lanka including colombo which is their largest city. also an attack on the sri lankan economy, next month is the tenth anniversary of their quarter century civil war. the nation has struggled to bounce back from this and in recent years, a hot spot for tourism. obviously, now some people may be afraid. there are lots of people who are affected by terror attack, a coordinated attack such as this. the numbers are staggering in terms of their scope. at least 140 people confirmed dead. more than 560 people injured and we know 20 foreigners are amongst the dead and that was at the colombo national hospital. the scene that is being described so gruesome. at one location, st. sebastian church the blast occurred after easter mass and thousands of people attended that church. we were told there were 30 bodies lying in the church, pieces of flesh were thrown on the walls in the sanctuary and even outside of the church. as you mentioned, the sri lankan government is trying to keep people away from are

more than 200 people have died after a series of explosions at churches and hotels in sri lanka. 5 britishe been arrested in connection with the attacks. three police officers died during a raid in the capital colombo

the gov.uk website for anyone with concerns about friends or relatives who may be holidaying in sri lankahard—line groups could exploit the aftermath of these horrific attacks to stoke communal tensions. it's appealing for calm as condemnation continues to pour in from around the world. caroline hawley, bbc news. earlier i spoke to rajesh vegugopal — an assistant professor at the london school of economics who has written about ethnic politics in sri lanka. he told me that the attacks have shocked the country. the available information and i think what has to be careful about that make one has to be careful about speculating at this point. there was information of a possible attack. at that level, there has been some idea that perhaps something was being hatched. but at another level, there are no known extremist groups in sri lanka that are out there waiting to do something about this. this has really no basis in the landscape of sri lankan politics or recent history over the last decade or within the scale of what anyone could have anticipated so perhaps the intelligence of officials th

in sri lanka. there may be clergy right now what we're hearing is that security has been come to you can eat beef up two ways to maximum seven days a curfew in course everything is shocked into concrete nothing is open schools are not close he says a close close to stardom so close to conduct a close so i've been almost at the time of this country i do not know what to expect tomorrow morning but i can see that we are shocked and we are scared you know when you look at the pictures that we are streaming out to our audience you see security everywhere in this certainly here in the faces of some of the sri lankans on the street there what other measures are the words putting in place right now to safeguard the media in and around london. but basically are targeted have activity speaks three explosions took place today morning and the stuff that no one in fact i my parents very close to a muslim mosque and as soon as the explosions took place seem to churches today morning and there was a police prote

let's return to sri lanka.ties have arrested eight people, but we still don't know who was behind the attacks. sri lanka has seen a decade of relative calm since the brutal civil war which ended in may 2009. 0ur diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley looks at what might have led to these attacks. sri lanka's no stranger to violence, to civilian suffering, but this is completely different to anything it's seen before. christians now mourning en masse, after they'd come together to celebrate and pray. for almost three decades, the country was at war — a civil war between the government and tamil tigers, that killed tens of thousands of people. but ten years ago, that conflict came to an end and since then it's enjoyed a relative calm. this is how sri lanka would like to be known — for its beautiful beaches. tourism is vital to its economy, but there have been simmering political and intercommunal tensions. last year, buddhist mobs attacked muslim properties, and christians too have complained of being intimidat

how calm has sri lanka been in recent times?there were many years when it was beset by violence through the civil war. i think it it was beset by violence through the civilwar. i think it was it was beset by violence through the civil war. i think it was the tenth anniversary since the tamil tigers got into 409. since then, colombo has not witnessed... sri lanka has been used to this kind of violence before. this is the first kind of major attacks that has taken place in ten years, which has taken place in colombo. people are panicking, worried about who is behind these attacks. there are rumours of international terrorist groups behind it. there are a lot of unverified claims. racial tensions area unverified claims. racial tensions are a little bit higher because groups are blaming each otherfor these attacks. people are really worried, we were peacefulfor ten yea rs worried, we were peacefulfor ten years and now suddenly these kind of unexpected attacks, on a peaceful sunday, people wear in enjoying the local holiday, the trad

sri lanka needs a strong man for it to rise.t the sense of shock and grief and loss that this woman is feeling, so many are feeling here in sri lanka is now turning to anger, real anger at the authorities for not protecting them. as he calmly walks past a child, cctv captures the bomber who destroyed anusha's life and so many others. he walks into st sebastian church. it is packed. this is easter sunday. seconds later, he detonates. on this day of national mourning, sri lanka's prime minister warned that some extremists are still on the run and may be returnees from syria. there are a few people on the run, some are on the run, so we have to apprehend them... with the explosive. he was asked how many are on the run. i don't know. back in negombo, excavations for mass burials. the burning question after sunday's barbarity — will the killings bring this country together in grief or see the delicate balance of ethnic and religious fault lines here tear apart? it wasn't just colombo that was attacked. more than 25 people, many of th

sri lanka was booming. tourism was reaching on top.re waiting to see whether this was a pure element of extremism or also something to do with a political agenda behind it as well. we were named the number one destination. we were doing so well with top class hotels in the colombo city. so this brings a lot of avenues to venture in to and find out who actually are what are the reasons behind this, was it a political motive or a extremist motive? it's yet to be found out, but i'm quite certain will will find it. we named tomorrow national mourning day and the government has taken the entire funerals of the deceased to be taken by the government funding, and also to compensate them and to rebuild all the churches immediately. however, we could not be able to build the lives that are lost, and i hope everybody in the world will stand with sri lanka in solidarity. >> i do just want to ask one other question. it plays on to the mood there, but, you know, it delves back into the history, the history here i think important because ten years a

their thoughts are with the people in sri lanka.they are part of. —— many leaders. what is the sphere —like in paris so soon after that? well, among the christians, there is a strange feeling, it is a special easter, no question about that. spiritually for observant christians, notre dame was their home. countless people have been saying how they feel a sense of deep loss because the cathedral was a place they would go for moments of introspection, sadness and grief or the need for solitude. that is no longer with them, it is like a sister one of them said who has been taken away. the easter message is central to all of this and many people think it is no coincidence it happens at the beginning of easter week. it happened on monday, it seemed the world was coming to an end, the beloved building would be lost forever. by the end of the week it was clear that was not the case, the building has survived and will be reborn. the parallel with the easter message has escaped no one which is why the look on their faces is not despair but on

the common message is that it of sri lanka. the common message is thatitis of sri lanka.rough multifaith observations of this nature that we can inculcate the values, the human values which will discourage this type about break. that was sri lanka's permanent representative to the united nations, dr amrith rohan perera,, speaking to rico. it had long been rumoured, but now it's official, joe biden is running for us president. the former us vice president has launched his bid for the democratic party's nomination in 2020. it's the third time he's tried to get the top job, over the course of a long political career, as katty kay explains. joe biden became a politician in 1972. put that in context, in america was still at war with vietnam. i, richard millhouse nixon... and richard nixon was the country's resident. he has known his fairshare of country's resident. he has known his fair share of tragedy, losing his first wife and infant daughter in a car crash. how are you? in his many yea rs car crash. how are you? in his many years in politics, he became a champion of workin

world leaders have expressed their support for sri lanka.ents on twitter. the indian prime minister narendra modi has condemned the blasts, saying "there is no place for such barbarism in our region." pakistan's prime minister imran khan says his country "stands in complete solidarity with sri lanka in their hour of grief." the australian prime minister scott morrison has also condemned the attacks, calling them "devastating" and "horrific." and there's been reaction back home this morning, the prime minister tweeted to say "the acts of violence against churches and hotels in sri lanka are truly appalling, and my deepest sympathies go out to all of those affected at this tragic time." the archbishop of canterbury has also tweeted, saying: "on this holy day, let us stand with the people of sri lanka in prayer, condolence and solidarity as we reject all violence, all hatred and all division." the attacks came as christians gathered in rome to see the pope hold easter sunday mass. 0ur correspondent, james reynolds, is in the vatican. how has th

sri lanka is a land of contradictions.dibly violent ethnic war for 26 years, which was not a religious war, even though the main communities were of different religions. but it wasn't a religious war, it was a war about ethnicity, about share of resources, about power—sharing. and in many ways sri lanka is a very tolerant community or nation. this level of hatred is quite off the charts, i think. the foreign office have put out some advice if you are worried about british friends orfamily in sri lanka caught up in the incidents, please call the foreign office switchboard number: 020 70081500. let's take you to kiev where exit polls in ukraine suggest a comedian with no prior experience of politics has been elected as the country's president. he isa he is a man with very little policy, he has been running on criticism of the existing president, the chocolate billionaire, who became president five years ago. exit polls suggest volodymyr zelenskiy has taken the majority. the proportion of 75—25, roughly, three quarters of the

let‘s get more now on our top story, the series of explosions in sri lanka.an. tells what the focus of the investigation is. we knew that the number of dead is likely to rise. yes, it truly is horrific news eve ryo ne yes, it truly is horrific news everyone is waking up to one easter sunday. as you mentioned, we know there were at least six attacks, three at churches and three at high—end luxury hotels. the death toll is likely to rise throughout the day. we have been told by one hospital there will be a number of foreign casualties as well. this is an emerging story, we still have no idea, the government is not speculating either, about who might be responsible for these attacks. this drilling can finance minister said on twitter they were coordinated attacks. —— the finance minister. christian communities being targeted and foreign to this have been targeted in the high—end hotels. how close together that the explosions go off? some happened near the city of the capital city, colombo, and one of those hotels with actually close to the prime minister‘s house

the headlines: sri lanka grieves. with close to 300 people killed in sunday's bomb attacks, the first funerals are taking place. the shock and disbelief remain raw. even here outside, shattered glass everywhere, roof tiles that are broken. and all around a strong smell of blood and death. as the government imposes emergency powers, it's facing more questions about its failure to act on intelligence ahead of the attacks. hello. i'm ben bland in london. also in the programme: the us threatens sanctions on any country importing oilfrom iran after the first of may. tehran calls the move illegal. under the shadow of the skeleton of a blue whale, climate change activists take their protest inside london's natural history museum. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. it's midnight in london, and 4:30 in the morning in sri lanka, where there's growing concerns over a failure of communication in the lead—up to sunday's devastating bomb attacks that killed at least 290 people and injured more than 500. a festering row within th

why sri lanka? why today? why as this country has been trying to make steps out of the dark part, why has it been pushed back there today on easter sunday. >> thank you. now let's bring in dr. mahes mahesh gunsakara. dr. gunsakara, first of all, if you could give us a sense of what's happening there on the ground as you understand it. >> yeah. a number of explosions have happened. hello? >> dr. gunsakara, we have you on the line. the audio is not the best. again, just making sure our viewers understand. cnn has confirmed at this point seven, seven explosions in sri lanka. we are, of course, staying in touch with authorities as, you know, information develops. 140 people who have been killed. more than 560 people who have been injured as the latest report. dr. gunsakara, if we still have you on the line, if we're able to improve the audio here and hear from you, talk about what the response will be. because it seems that these attacks have happened over several hours and certainly from the images we see there w

at this moment the netherlands since their condolences to the sri lanka people. un secretary general's office said he's outraged by the attacks and on twitter he said i condemn that payment this-- heinous attacks on easter sunday, sacred day for christians and the un stands in solidarity with sri lanka community to fight hatred and extremism. holy sites must be respected. us ambassador to sri lanka also offered her condolences pleading deeply saddened by the senseless attacks today. our thoughts are with the victims and their family and we stand with the sri lanka people at this moment. just a few minutes ago that a statement from secretary of state mike pompeo who said at least several americans are among those wounded. arthel: thank you. eric: the aftermath of the mueller report. he will testify on the first week of the following month that amid revelations of the president and his behavior. democratic officials accusing the attorney general william barr of working to sway public opinion. they say it's convincing case that the president repeatedly tried to obst

still allowed in to find the good people and ended bodies you had a civil war in sri lanka of course that went on for years have you seen anything like this before. the hot seat after the similar vote really things have been very peaceful yeah then since two thousand and really we haven't seen any of this any of the things in this kind of things have been basic will be been really. pleased peacefully now really everybody has been really shocked what kind of injuries are you seeing and do you have adequate resources to treat the. injured this more clearly you know that it's. it's it's mostly a multiple threat as. blasting to these three eighty at the moment resources has been under and under control in the community emergency bradley to hospitals has been fully. mean the people who have been indian but really what they have done mostly first manage the acute situation in the hospital and in france but the patients do the close by hospitals for their problem do. for their put the care specific or leave in the event places where they need a seal present it is the union been a bed that h

different different places in sri lanka and some pretty sounding marshall even. the. nationals who set it up and i like. the effect on the violent extremist groups. there are so many. groups who are. insured and there could be. significant coming. time and this sort of i mean if you take the targeted attacks and b. and anthony surgeries one of the most publishers most of the christians who come in from the villages they come into. many victims from that church at that and many of the churches so the become competitive also he turned sixteen. the hoax happened again by. three actually lou but these are all right now they're all under investigation so we cannot conclude. actually behind it all right now the raids are going on that leo police officers. who are reported dead right now. actually he was on. the operation damaged area and. have been. raided and there's two things that we can do right now one is the. intelligence or need to be. very important that. nation should not be fighting thirty years or so on in the intelligence which is. a component of the society has

a church in eastern sri lanka was also attacked. hed to hospital is looking for loved ones. for hundreds, that search ended in heartbreak. sri la nka search ended in heartbreak. sri lanka is home to more than a million christians, a community that has been left shaken. i'd also like to ask the government to hold a very impartial, strong inquiry 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, described what happened. we could hear two loud bangs and shaking. i could see that a lot of guests have been taken to hospitals, a lot of casualties. for many, a holiday has turned into a nightmare. this 20—year—old is from america, he is being treated for his injuries. security forces raided a house where they believed some

they were on holiday in sri lanka. boys lost their mother when she was at breakfast in a five-swir hotel. >> m loved sri lanka. this was her favorite country. s she happy, and maybe it was her destiny to go back home. yogita: among the 8 britishs -- arekilled our anita nicholson, her son alex, and daughter annabelle. nicholsonment, then said "they had the ability to light up every room they entered." the vast majority of those dead are sri lankan. hundreds of famies in the country in grief. a popular chef and her daughter the right posted this photo just before they were killed at the shangri-la. some are still searching. today, a sri lankan minister apologized to his people. >> we are very, very sorry as av government, weto say, and ns have to apologize to the families and othertutions about the incident. begita: several people hav arrested, and the government has blamed a local hardline islamist groups for the attacks. there are questions about whether warnings were not passed on. >> intelligence never indicated it w

sri lanka has tension.he question of whether these bombings will draw people together, they were questioning -- they were targeting westerners, so whether they see this as an attack on themselves or outsiders, how they respond will be key. shery: it is interesting because in three decades of civil war we have rarely seen foreign tourists being targeted in this scale. what has changed? >> it is hard to know what is going on. this could be an international terrorist group operating in sri lanka against the west. this could be an attack not against the government. the sri lankan government was not focused on in this attack. it was it could be an outside terrorist group where there is a sri lanka component. we don't know. it is not typical here, at least in sri lanka. it used to be homegrown terrorism. we will see what happens. shery: the political situation in sri lanka, haslinda amin told us about this loan from the imf they had to take out to support their economy. >> obviously it is a dire situation of the

much more on the sri lanka attacks on oui’ much more on the sri lanka attacks on our website.'s other news. saudi arabia has executed 37 people in a single day on terrorism charges. all were saudi citizens and most, it's reported, were from the country's shia minority. the body of one was crucified after execution. amnesty international says one of the men was 16—years—old when arrested, and that many of the trials violated international standards and relied on confessions extracted under torture. in hong kong, 9 leaders of 2014's pro—democracy "occupy" movement have arrived for sentencing at west kowloon magistrates‘ court. earlier this month the defendants were found guilty on public nuisance and incitement charges, which carry a maximum jail sentence of 7 years. north korea's leader is heading to russia for his first meeting with president vladimir putin. security and protocol staff for kim jong—un have been spotted making final preparations in vladivostok, for the summit. the kremlin has confirmed the two will meet on thursday in the city, which isjust over 100 kilometres

thousand and nine when roger fox's government crushed at the peak so in my opinion what is happening in sri lanka has more on the ethnic lines down on religious lines the sri lankan prime minister says that these attacks were organized locally so far authorities they're not really revealing any more information about the attackers and who they have in a custody what radical groups do we know exist in sri lanka. well we can easily identify certain groups radical groups in sri lanka first of all there are. two separate. but they were defeated in two thousand and nine and they are not very powerful at the moment then you have radicalized buddhists interlinked. their dark muslims every known down this corridor because. then you have the radical islamist groups affiliates that are part of the global jihad movement like a guy there on islam existed in their affiliates and there are armed groups political groups but they want to establish the government so these are the groups so farmall on not as powerful to launch so many coordinated explode incidents longer do this groups are also not very powerful a

last year 2 million travellers visited sri lanka which isajump of travellers visited sri lanka whichf 400% from a decade ago. airlines and travel agents have said they would waive cancellation charges for people wanting to cancel travel plans. sharon, the country mourns the victims of the attacks. it does, mariko. tuesday was an official day of mourning, but the grief continues for so many who lost loved ones and family and friends here. we know of course these attacks had such a devastating impact, a terrible impact on the tourism industry. the nature of the attacks — we know of course churches and christians were targeted — but of course luxury hotels, some of them you can see behind me here, the shangri—la hotel and the kingsbury, for instance, along with the cinnamon grand hotel mother nature of the attacks that these assailants we re of the attacks that these assailants were going after tourists — of course we know 321 people have died —— and the nature of the attacks. it may likely rise. 38 of them were foreigners. and among the nationalities that died you had brits, you had in

business news live from berlin grief and outrage follow a wave of bombings in sri lanka on easter sunday seven blasts rif through luxury hotels churches and aid the explosion came during a police raid the death toll now stands at two hundred seven with hundreds more injured officials are blaming religious extremists and have made several arrests we'll have the latest from colombo. plus exit polls are showing comedians a lot of years of lenski has won a landslide victory in ukraine's presidential runoff race he played a president on television now he's the real thing incumbent petro poroshenko has conceded. i'm calm assman thanks for joining us we begin in sri lanka following a devastating wave of easter sunday bombings that killed at least two hundred seven people and wounded more than four hundred and fifty world leaders have condemned the coordinated attacks the targeted luxury hotels and churches where abortion purse had gathered for easter services police say thirty five foreign nationals are among the dead most of the eight bombings appear to have been suicide attacks the government

i think last year, we welcomed about 2.5 million tourists into sri lanka. of the tourism season. sri lankan new year was just last week. businesses are closed down, it's a very easy—going atmosphere. sri lankans are generally open to foreigners and welcoming to them. it has boosted our tourism industry. in a few minutes, we'll be speaking to thusiyan nandakumar from the tamil guardian newspaper. sport — and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's olly foster. amir khan says he's not a quitter and wasn't looking for an easy way out of his world title fight against terence crawford in new york. he lost the bout after being caught with a low blow from the wbo champion khan was outclassed from the very start at madison square garden and was knocked down in the first round. he was then caught by an accidental shot below the belt by the american, in the 6th. khan said he was in too much pain to carry on, but he also seemed to be struggling with an elbow injury. crawford, a three weight champion, who remains unbeaten, was ahead on all the judges sco

as we say an extraordinary day in sri lanka thank you michel fernandez also joining us from colombo muhammad ali somebody who is a senior lawyer at the president's council he is also a sri lankan muslim community leader thank you for your time and it's late in the evening now but tank me back to earlier in the day tell me about well what it was like when you first heard about this news you know thank you very much it was one of the that the us wants said it is in life the bush shot these this kind of this magnitude. we have not seen for a long long period of of course we have grown up this kind of terror for about thirty five thirty years but during that arse twenty years or so. they let you come you have good peaceful coexistence on and off there had been dumped already. violence judy we had a good calm and peaceful environment and we couldn't do was just all. be all but certainly you said what happened. i tack a new christians in church on easter sunday it is so very targeted so very obvious what has been done here what do you make of what could be a religious angle to this attack i know t

sharanjit leyl is in sri lanka. questions about intelligence warnings that weren't passed on. sri lanka's president says prior intelligence on the attacks wasn't even shared with him and promises a shake up of security services. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the south china morning post has the details on the parade marking 70 years since the founding of china's navy. it follows beijing beefing up its military presence in the south china sea, much to the alarm of china's neighbours as well as the us. the philippine daily inquirer leads on the latest on the earthquake that struck the main philippines island of luzon on monday. more than 90 people are believed to still be trapped beneath the rubble. and the international edition of the new york times leads on france's renewed efforts to identify and return artwork stolen during world war ii. french authorities have faced criticism for not doing enough to identify stolen pieces of art in the country's collections. nine leaders of hong kon

the third day of mourning and grief for many sri lankans and mourning and grief for many sri lanka nss mourning and grief for many sri lankans and others who have lost families and loved ones. more as a set to continue later today. tuesday, of course, we know was a national day of mourning. we saw a lot of the mass funerals take place, of course many others are due to happen to take place over the next few days. we know the government has blamed a small terrorist group here in sri lanka for these attacks but the so—called islamic state has also claimed responsibility. let's get some of the day's other news. there in the afternoon breeze they dancers as if heralding a fatal celebration. —— fete or celebration. but in sri lanka, white signifies death. they pray. a meditation on the life of christ and remembrance of the dead. in this house, open caskets contain four members of one family, murdered as they prayed on easter sunday. a mother, two girls and a boy aged seven. then the quiet reflection is broken. she shrieks. "my golden daughter, my small son, why are you like this?" she wails

make the decision this evening, telling all their citizens, british citizens, to stay away from sri lankautely necessary so the security investigation continues, they desperately are trying to piece together who the suspects may be. this is a nationwide operation and all the time, sri lankans who are trying to grieve and bury their loved ones, they are faced by this ongoing terror threat. nick beake in colombo. and rico will be speaking to sri lanka's permanent representative to the un on newsday a little later. but first let's take a look at some of the day's other news. cyclone kenneth has reached northern mozambique, with winds expected to exceed 200km/h. last month, cyclone idai caused hundreds of deaths in the region. forecasters predict catastrophic flooding and storm surges of up to 5m. mozambique‘s national institute of disaster management said 30,000 people had been evacuated from vulnerable areas. also making news today, world leaders are gathering in beijing for a summit on china's belt and road initiative which aims to expand global trade links. the project has funded trains,

they were on holiday in sri lanka. boys lost their mother, monique, when she was at breakfast in a five—star hotel. my wife loved sri lanka. this was her favourite country. she was so happy, and i think maybe it was her destiny to, um... to go back home, you know, to sri lanka. among the eight british nationals who have been killed are anita nicholson, her son alex, and her daughter annabel. in a statement, ben nicholson said his wife and children had the priceless ability to light up any room they entered and bring joy to the lives of all they came into contact with. also among the dead are a retired firefighter billy harrop, and his partner, sally bradbury, from manchester. the vast majority of those dead are sri lankan. hundreds of families in this country in grief. popular chef sha ntha mayadunne, seen here on the left, and her daughter nisanga, to the right, posted this photo just before they were killed at the shangri—la. some, like this woman, are still searching. today, a sri lankan minister apologised to his p

police counterterrorism command has dispatched teens to sri la nka command has dispatched teens to sri lankay liaison offices to support and assist families at british victims and their repatriation of deceased british nationals. a recent programme run by interpol and all that training at 30 sri lankan forensic specialist and police officers by uk experts in disaster victim identification, which we also hope will be of additional support. the government of sri lanka declared a state of emergency as investigations continue, more than 20 arrests had been made and they are likely to be more people involved in the planning of this attack. and they are still at large. large amounts of ied materials had been recovered, including 87 level explosive detonators recovered from a bus station. there are no verified claims of responsibility as yet. so far, a0 arrests had been made and counter terrorism activity continues. the sri lanka prime minister and president had both said publicly that there will be a thorough investigation into the incident and what information was handled correctly. and it's impo

we are especially thinking of our brothers in sri lanka who were massacred.orter: french president focusing on the rebuilding of notre dame today offered his condolences riding we are deeply saddened by the terrorist attacks against churches and hotels in sri lanka we firmly condemn these acts we stand by the people of sri lanka and we go out to the loved ones of easter sunday. just a few moments ago the eiffel tower went dark in tribute to the victims of the sri lankan attacks. jon: live from paris. it was miraculously spared during the inferno the world-famous oregon still will require repairs but the chief organist says the instrument and the 8000 pipes will have to be treated for water and smoke damage and it will need to be dismantled and transported outside of paris that could take years and cost millions of people around the world have their easter and passover celebrations a drastic drop in of church membership here in the united states a gallup poll finds those belonging to a religious institution has fallen 50 percent is still dropping we have detai

the civil war in sri lanka ended 12 years ago. be very unlike a group and their tactics ever to attack churches, particularly on such a holy day as well. it has the hallmarks, at the moment, it appears to have or is intended to have the hallmarks of islamist extremist you but these groups are unknown. the small community in sri lanka is a peaceful community. at the moment the picture is a confused one who may be responsible. what we are understanding, we have heard already from the president of turkey condemning and condemning this. one of those blasts going off as worshipers were leaving the church. clearly thee were coordinated and intended to kill maximum killing and maximum damage and maximum suffering to the christian community. this comes when we have heard world leaders the past week or so talking about how the christian community, particularly in the middle east, is going through a very difficult period of being essentially being targeted in many places. the picture at the moment remains one without clarity. >> it's import

the influences in sri lanka that made the international. terror has come to sri lanka and also that the government has been remiss in permitting this by relaxing security by not giving the media and the police the powers they need and that therefore the government is to blame for these international terror to come in to shoot out but what i find hard to figure out is why issued an international terror group want to strike three not god what is the benefit in it for them so. i say this because several of the attackers that have been identified appear to be so we said bombs suicide bombers i can't i'm going to let me stop you for just a moment just to be clear with our viewers we know at the time of this conversation this is a rapidly developing story at the time of this conversation and we do know that there have been some arrests but we don't have a lot of details on those people for now just to be clear with our viewers we don't have a full picture now but but to your point you're saying that if this was some sort of international attack y

more than 200 people have died after a series of explosions at churches and hotels in sri lanka. ve british citizens are among the dead. sri lankan authorities say eight people have been arrested in connection with the attacks. three police officers died during a raid in the capital, colombo. police say most of the explosions were suicide blasts, it is not yet clear who is responsible for the attacks. more than 960 people protesting in london about climate change this week have been arrested by police, a0 were charged. police in west yorkshire have arrested three men in connection with fires burning on ilkley moor. dozens of firefighters are still dealing with the blaze, which covers six acres. a comedian and actor — volodymyr zelensky — has won ukraine's presidential election defeating the incumbent, petro poroshenko who has conceded victory. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me arejohn rentoul, chief political commentator at the independent and the sun's chief sports reporter martin lipton. many of tomorrow's front page

more than 200 people have died after a series of explosions at churches and hotels in sri lanka. five british nationals are among the dead. i heard the explosion and then the roof fell in as. i took the children ran out the - door but when ran out the - i oor but when ran out the and iséééjut'whe'n'“ ' w ' ' ' ran out the and son ééé’jut'whe'n" ’ ' w ' ' ' ran out the and son oniut'whe'n'“ ' w ' ' ' brother—in—law and son on the ground. the authorities say eight people have been arrested and the prime minister says there might have been information received before the attack. this is a serious situation aimed at destabilising the country in the economy. i strongly condemn this attack. in other news, more than 960 people involved in climate change protests in london this week have been arrested by police — 42 have been charged. police in west yorkshire arrest a number of people in connection with fires burning on ilkley moor. dozens of firefighters are still dealing with the blaze covering six acres. ukraine's president poroshenko has conceded defeat to his rival — volodymyr zelen

our headlines: sri lanka ‘s president promises a shakeup of sri lanka ‘s president promises a sha keupnd police services. he admitted he was kept out of the loop on intelligence to puffs had of sundays bomb attacks. the atmosphere has turned from shock to anger as it emerged there had been concrete warnings about these attacks. we wake up today, realising that the president now says he also was kept out of the loop. the prime minister himself on sunday a few hours after the incident, also said that he and the cabinet of ministers were kept out of the loop in terms of intelligence. one question is really, is the government in control? the immediate reaction on sunday to the several attacks in colombo and outside was complete shock. sri lanka had not seen such a scale, such a magnitude of violence for over a decade. after a decade at the end of the war, we were suddenly woken up on easter sunday and what we saw is a complete rift within the government. lack of co—ordination, lack of communication, and this is not new, but what we did not realise was the security issues. the implications

so, where does sri lanka go from here?en a snapshot of some of the sorrow here that this country is feeling and some of the anger as well. what are your thoughts for the future? there is no doubt the country is facing yet another crisis but there is also the potential to unify a divided nation. at times of grief and sadness, people can come together, but it's all up to the political and religious leadership to work together so they can stop radicalisation and nationalism. but the ethnic fault lines of this country are very deep—rooted. there we re country are very deep—rooted. there were the tamil tiger rebels, the war with them ended in 2009 after decades of conflict. after woods many people expected them to reach out so reconciliation could happen. if you ask the tamils in the north and east, they will agree the war ended ten years ago but reconciliation has not happened. now it's for the political establishment to work together to bring communities together so they can defeat this invisible enemy of hatred. that's it. i