yogita limaye, bbc news, colombo. yogita limaye with that report from colombo, and we'll be hearing more from her in just a few minutes here on newsday. a few hours after the attack, a government minister, harin fernando, told my colleague martin stanford that sri lankan police were briefed about the threat of an attack 10 days ago but the prime minister wasn't informed. the report from the ministry investigation department, the security commission, had this political details. as you are aware, the law and order minister is the president, so therefore there was a problem of miscommunication, and this was raised by the cabinet ministers how this particular report was not taken seriously. the million—dollar question was, this was sent on the 11th of april and no proper government official actually had their hands on it. u nfortu nately, had their hands on it. unfortunately, none of the government members of the cabinet have security clearance like the president. they are hoping to meet the president tomorrow to see ho

yogita limaye, bbc news, colombo. yogita limaye with that report from colombo. a few hours after the attack, a government minister told bbc world news that sri lankan police were briefed about the threat of an attack 10 days ago, but the prime minister wasn't informed. the report from the military investigation department, the security commission, had these particular details. however it was not dealt properly and the pm was not informed. as you are aware, the law and order minister is the president, and the defence minister is also the president, so therefore there was a problem of miscommunication, and this was raised by the cabinet ministers how this particular report was not taken seriously. the million—dollar question was, this was sent on the 11th of april and no proper government official actually had their hands on it. unfortunately, none of the government members of the cabinet are in the security council except the president. they are hoping to meet the president tomorrow to see how this gap of communication really happened, because it is quite a ser

yogita limaye, bbc news, colombo. a 26—year—old man is in a critical condition after a suspected shooting in sheffield last night. south yorkshire police say they were called to sandstone road in the wincobank area of the city at 1:00am following reports of an altercation outside a pub. spain is holding its third general election in four years. the election was called by the socialist prime minister, pedro sanchez, in february after catalan separatists joined rightwing parties in rejecting his government's budget. for the first time since the end of the franco era, in 1975, a far—right party — vox — is among the main contenders. let's cross live to madrid, and join tim willcox. you have put yourfinger on it. all the discussion here at the moment on a beautiful sunny day is how well this hard right party vox might do in this general election. they haven't been formed for very long. they emerged out of the right—wing party that previously existed, which itself has tacked further to the right to try to appeal

from sri lanka our correspondent yogita limaye reports. the search continues for those behind sri lanka's horror. police have been carrying out raids across the country. on friday, they followed a tip—off to this house, in the eastern city of sainthamaruthu. armed men were inside who set off an explosion. a gun battle followed, and the house burned down. more than a dozen died. women and children were caught up in the violence. among them are believed to be the wife and child of this man, zahran hashim — the alleged ringleader, he was one of two suicide bombers at the shangri la hotel. in a separate raid, police found a huge cache of bomb—making material, a discovery that reveals how grave the threat of more attacks still is. this banner of the islamic state group, which said it carried out the easter sunday attacks, was also found. several suspects are still at large. these photos were released by the government earlier this week. newly released closed—circuit tv footage shows the bomber at kingsbury hotel in colombo the night bef

yogita limaye, bbc news, colombo. joining me now is dr rajesh venugopal, assistant professor at the london school of economics and author of ‘nationalism, development and ethnic conflict in sri lanka'. thank you for speaking to us. your reaction first to what the government, what has taken place, is it sufficient? the government has announced a curfew for the last few days, restrictions on the internet, i don't has been a significant amount of security sector led investigation of different hideouts of the kind that we have come across the last few days, and uncovering of several arms cache eight. why do you think sri lanka was the target? there has been a lot of questions about national, and how they have got from graffiti artists to these fatal bombings. it is an important question. the details are not clear. there is a lot of speculation, and i would urge people to stop and wait for proper investigation to reveal what actually the circumstances are. this was an obscure and tiny extremist organisation that operated

yogita limaye, bbc news, colombo. let's look at some other stories in brief. at least four people have been killed in seattle — and three more injured — when a crane fell and crushed six vehicles. two of those killed were crane operators and two others were in vehicles below. the crane fell across a building under construction and then landed on a section of road as it broke in half. reports from sudan say that military leaders and the opposition coalition have agreed — in principle — on a transitional council to lead the country back towards civilian rule. further talks will be held, but negotiators say they're optimistic that progress is being made. china's ambassador in london has declared that britain can and must work with the chinese technology company huawei in developing its 56 telecoms network. the ambassador‘s intervention, in a british newspaper article, follows a report suggesting that the british government was split over whether huawei was a threat to security. the united nations says many villages in northern mozambique have been entir

yogita limaye, bbc news, colombo. dr rajesh venugopal, assistant professor at the london school of economics, told me that the decision to give security forces extra powers has been causing concern and tension in sri lanka. this was an obscure and highly extremist organisation that operated within the south—east of the country as that was largely found to be a menace within the muslim community. time. that humidity had tried to report this organisation to the authorities, but very little action had been taken. i understand that was the sufis that had reported the leader, the alleged leader of this group. where would they have received the funding? once again it is speculation, there is a lot of speculation going around and rumours that it may have come from the middle east, perhaps from isis. once again there is very little hard evidence out there, so i would be very careful to add to that atmosphere of rumour. what were they after? because there is some description that they were part of the wahhabi tradition. what

yogita limaye, bbc news, colombo. let's get some of the day's other news. reports from sudan say that military leaders and the opposition coalition have agreed, in principle, on a transitional council to lead the country back towards civilian rule. further talks will be held, but negotiators say they're optimistic that progress is being made. pakistan has suspended a nationwide anti—polio campaign following several attacks on health workers. one was killed in baluchistan province, while others have been assaulted elsewhere in the country. the campaign — to give anti—polio drops to almost a0 million children under five — has been undermined by distrust and the spread of misinformation. a ceremony has taken place in the border village of pan—mun—jom to mark the first anniversary of the ground—breaking summit between the leader of north korea, kim jong—un, and the south's presiden,t moonjae in. the north did not accept the invitation to attend. in his address, president moon said peace remains the ultimate goal. china's ambassador in london has

yogita limaye, bbc news, colombo. stay with us here on newsday, we'll be talking to a security analyst a little later on the programme to get more on the organisation blamed for the attacks. the united states says any country importing iranian oil after may 1st will face us sanctions. it's placed further pressure on iran, after the us pulled out of the nuclear deal with tehran last year. it will affect china, india, south korea and japan, who were among the countries given waivers to buy iranian oil to limit disruption of markets. but washington now says market stability makes those waivers unncesssary. here's our state department correspondent barbara plett usher in november, when the sanctions against iran fell back into place, the administration here issued waivers to eight countries so they could continue buying iranian oil because the us was afraid there would be disruptions to the market. now officials are saying, after six months, they've made the calculation that the market can bear this sort of thing, so they

yogita limaye, bbc news, colombo. reports from sudan say that military leaders and the opposition coalition have agreed — in principle — on a transitional council to lead the country back towards civilian rule. further talks will be held, but negotiators say they're optimistic that progress is being made. you are watching bbc news. the united nations says many villages in northern mozambique have been entirely wiped out by cyclone kenneth which hit on thursday. the country is still recovering from cyclone idai, which killed hundreds of people further south last month. caroline rigby has the latest. where families once lived, now stand only shells. corrugated iron roofs contorted by the winds now litter the ground. these homes were ripped apart by the strongest cyclone to ever hit this region. jamaal‘s shop was just one of so many ravaged by the storm. translation: the wind destroyed the farms and the palm trees. the farms don't have anything. we lost everything. here in the village, as you see, 300 houses have b

yogita limaye, bbc news, colombo. as we've heard, 8 people have been arrested, 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 o

yogita limaye, bbc news, colombo. as we've been hearing, 15 people including six children were killed in eastern sri lanka yesterday, when suspected islamist militants blew themselves up after troops attempted to raid a house. the bbc‘s anbarasan etirajan has been to the site. this is the house where intense clashes took place between security forces and suspected islamist militants about 2k hours ago in eastern sri lanka in the town of sainthamaruthu. you can see signs of damage here. the steel gate has been damaged, broken windows. the police said after the three militants were killed in the shootout, the remaining people inside detonated their suicide vests, killing the rest of the members who were staying in this house. that also damaged the entire building. we also find another van here and the police believe this van belonged to members of this house. they suspected this could contain explosive devices and they say they didn't find any device but this van was also damaged in the fighting. 2a hours after the fi

yogita limaye, bbc news, colombo. meanwhile, their relatives and friends of some of those who died are still trying to identify some of the bodies. it is a grim and grisly task, as we have been finding out today. at the police morgue today, the living are looking for the dead. those gathered cluster around a giant video screen, as images appear. grotesque photographs of those they held dearest, still bloodied. it is a particular torment to learn notjust that a loved one has died, but to see how they died. some of the injuries mean visual identification is impossible. this woman survived the attack on st anthony's church. but herfriend in the picture is still missing. translation: i just saw smoke. then i grabbed my daughter's hand and we both ran. when we got outside, we saw dead people. there were small children, and i was covered in blood. it was a global tragedy. these are swiss diplomats trying to locate their missing citizens, as names and pictures are cross referenced against passport details. but it's sri lanka

yogita limaye sent this report from colombo. the search continues for those behind sri lanka's horror. police have been carrying out raids across the country. on friday they followed a tip—off to this house in the eastern city of sainthamaruthu. armed men were inside who set off an explosion. a gun battle followed and the house burnt down. more than a dozen died. women and children were caught up in the violence. among them are believed to be the wife and child of this man, zahran hashim, the alleged ringleader, he was one of two suicide bombers at the shangri—la hotel. several suspects are still at large. these photos were released by the government earlier this week. newly released closed—circuit tv footage shows the bomber at the kingsbury hotel in colombo the night before the attack. backpack full of explosives, he checks in at the front desk and goes to his room. in the morning he is seen leaving the elevator on his way to the hotel's breakfast restaurant. moments later he detonated his bomb. workers have begun to cle

yogita limaye, bbc news, colombo. sri lanka has declared tomorrow as a national day of mourning. many sri lankans are still searching hospitals and morgues for missing loved ones. clive myrie has been speaking to some of those hoping for news. at the police morgue today, the living are looking for the dead. those gathered cluster around a giant video screen, as images appear. grotesque photographs of those they held dearest, still bloodied. it is a particular torment to learn notjust that a loved one has died, but to see how they died. some of the injuries mean visual identification is impossible. this woman survived the attack on st anthony's church. but herfriend in the picture is still missing. translation: i just saw smoke. then i grabbed my daughter's hand and we both ran. when we got outside, we saw dead people. there were small children, and i was covered in blood. it was a global tragedy. these are swiss diplomats trying to locate their missing citizens, as names and pictures are cross referenced against passport details. but it's sri lanka that by far bears the heaviest

yogita limaye, bbc news. the latest on the hunt for the mastermind, potentially, of the attacks here. you talk to people here in colombo and frankly across the country, and they are left with several questions. 0ne the country, and they are left with several questions. one of them, how could a group of eight or nine people, including a woman, have been radicalised to a point where they we re radicalised to a point where they were willing to commit mass murder. with the authorities saying they had everything going in life, they were educated and wealthy. but also, again, how could it be that a paralysis at the very top of government here, and in the intelligence services meant that warnings two weeks ago that attacks we re warnings two weeks ago that attacks were being planned, were completely ignored. and now it looks like there will be senior resignations at the very highest levels of government. and of course, all those problems have led to people dying. i have seen have led to people dying. i have seen ove

this report from yogita limaye. another explosion near one of the bombed churches, in a country that's already on the edge. a van blew up when the police tried to defuse explosives inside. no—one was hurt. but on easter sunday, hundreds died, many of them here at st sebastian's church. it's believed to be the site of the deadliest bombing. the hall was packed with families who'd come here to pray. a priest who was at the altar has told me thatjust before the service ended, a person entered through one of the side doors and detonated a bomb. such was the impact that it destroyed everything inside. but even here outside, shattered glass everywhere, roof tiles that are broken. and all around, a strong smell of blood and death. people have begun to say goodbye to loved ones. the allen family is from thailand. they were on holiday in sri lanka. these 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 m

yogita limaye, thank you. the australian national rugby union team plan to sack one of its star players, israel folau, for homophobic remarks on social media. the full—back claimed on instagram that "hell awaits" gay people. he had been expected to be a key part of the wallabies' team at this year's world cup. joe wilson reports. in australian sport, no one has displayed ability quite like this man. israel folau. his —— he has represented his country in rugby union and rugby league, and played professional australian rules football and he also thinks that gay people will go to hell. israel folau's recent instagram post urges repentance for various behaviour that he deems sinful or else hell awaits. australia's rugby authorities have said they have tried in vain to contact him but he has been warned before about social media posts. now his career seems to be over. today, australia and new south wales rugby released a statement which reads... gareth thomas played 100 rugby union matches for wales. he is ga

the bbc‘s yogita limaye reports now from sri lanka. another explosion near one of the bombed churches, in a country that's already on the edge. a van blew up when the police tried to defuse explosives inside. no one was hurt. but on easter sunday, hundreds died, many of them here at st sebastian's church. it's believed to be the site of the deadliest bombing. the hall was packed with families who'd come here to pray. a priest who was at the altar has told me thatjust before the service ended, a person entered through one of the side doors and detonated a bomb. such was the impact that it destroyed everything inside. but even here outside, shattered glass everywhere, roof tiles that are broken. and all around, a strong smell of blood and death. people have begun to say goodbye to loved ones. this family is from thailand. they were on holiday in sri lanka. these boys lost their mother, monique, when she was at breakfast in a 5—star hotel. my wife loved sri lanka. this was her favourite country. she was so happy, and i think maybe it wa

from sri lanka, our correspondent yogita limaye reports. the search continues for those behind sri lanka's horror. police have been carrying out raids across the country. on friday, they followed a tip—off to this house in the eastern city. armed gunman were inside he set off an explosion. a gun battle followed and the house burned down. more than a dozen died. six are believed to have been linked to the bombings. several children we re to the bombings. several children were also caught up in the violence. in another house in the same city, police found a huge —— of bomb—making material. a discovery that shows how grave the threat of more attacks still is. this ban of the islamic state group, which has claimed responsibility for the easter sunday attacks, was also found. not far is the town where this man left, zahran hashim, the alleged mastermind of the attacks, believed to have been one of the suicide bombers himself. several suspects are still at large. these photos were released by the government earlier this week. perhaps the

bbc's yogita limaye has more from colombo. >> reporter: the search continues for those behind sri tnka's horror. police have been carrying out raids across the country. on friday, they followed a tip- off to this house in the eastern city of impara. armed men were inside who set sif an explosion. a gun battle followed and the house burned down. more than a dozen died. edx are believed to have been linked to the bombings. several children were also caught up in the violence. in another house in the same fty, police found a huge stash of bomb-making material, a discovery that shows how grave fhe threat of more attacks still is. this banner of the islamic state droup, which has claimed responsibility for the easter sunday attacks, was also found. perhaps the most inhuman of the bombings was at this church in batticaloa, because children were the target. young boys and girls who were attending sunday school. the bbc's tamil service spoke to spastor who recalls seek the bomber. a> ( translated ): he was wearing a shoulder bag and a amera bag. anwasn't aware of his purpose at that time. many c

yogita limaye reports from colombo. the search continues for those behind sri lanka's horror. police have been carrying out raids across the country. on friday, they followed a tip—off to this house, in the eastern city of sainthamaruthu. armed men were inside, who set off an explosion. a gun battle followed and the house burned down. more than a dozen died. women and children were caught up in the violence. the wife and child of this man, zahran hashim, the alleged mastermind of the bombings, are believed to be amongst them. in another raid in the same area, police found a huge stash of bomb—making material. a discovery that reveals how grave the threat of more attacks still is. this banner of the islamic state group, which has claimed responsibility for the easter sunday attacks, was also found. several suspects are still at large. these photos were put out by the government earlier this week. newly released closed—circuit tv footage shows the bomber at kingsbury hotel, in colombo, the night before the attack. backpack full of explosives, he checks in at the front desk

joining me now is the bbc‘s yogita limaye who is in hyderabad. this is one of the few cities spoke —— voting in the first phase. can you give us a sense of what the big issues are at play? i have been inking of some of the people lining up. —— thinking. this makes speaking. i meta up. —— thinking. this makes speaking. i met a first time voter, a 20—year—old who has a job in software. he said that for him, and national security was a big thing. that is something we have been hearing a lot in this election. the recent tensions in india and pakistan, india's claims it launched —— launched air strikes which attacked a policeman in indian administered kashmir. before that, the campaign of the opposition really was about questioning the economic record of the government. the minister narendra modi honest better powers when he came in 2014. there has been rise in unemployment and rural distress despite a fast pace economy. somehow, all of that seems to have been relegated to the background for many of the people who i have been speak

our south asia correspondent yogita limaye reports from colombo. this is where people had gathered to pray. but a bomb ripped through on easter sunday. dozens were killed here at st anthony's shrine in colombo. this amateur video is believed to show the moment when the explosion occurred. translation: the moment when the explosion occurred. translationzlj the moment when the explosion occurred. translation: i heard the explosion and then the roof fell on us. explosion and then the roof fell on us. we took the children and ran out from the rear door but when i came to the hospital, i saw my brother—in—law and son on the ground. at around the same time an explosion took place here, in this catholic dominated town just north of the capital colombo at a church which isjust down of the capital colombo at a church which is just down this street. we are not allowed to go past this point right now because of security reasons but this is believed to have been the deadliest of all the bombings. a church in eastern sri la nka bombings. a church in eastern

yogita limaye, bbc news, colombo. it is morning here, a new day in colombo, the capital city of sri lanka. and we know a nationwide state of emergency has been declared coming to effect at midnight, just a few hours ago. that will give the government sweeping powers to detain and arrest suspects. today is also an official day of mourning and we expect to see more funerals take place today, more outpouring of grief and shock that we've seen the city experience over the last two days. we know that this is the deadliest violence the country has witnessed since the end of the civil war in 2009. that was when the country was torn apart by ethnic strife. but sunday's blast will be adding a new dimension to that, bringing back memories many sri lankans would ratherforget. earlier i spoke to mia bloom. she is professor of communications at georgia state university and studies terror groups. i asked her what her thinking was behind this attack. it's a terrible tragedy and part of the reason the tragedy could have been avoided

yogita limaye is at one of polling stations in hyderabad this morning. the scale of the selection process is staggering? that is right and behind me you can see a crowd of people checking on a list to see which polling station they are meant to vote out. at the polling station there is a voting machine that is electronic and they enter their choice and when that is done there fingers are marked with ink to make sure nobody tries to cast a vote a second time. the biggest election in the world. the prime minister narendra modi and his party hoping they can win a second term. the prime minister campaigning on national security. tensions between india and pakistan were high a few months ago with india claiming it launched air strikes in the country and that is a factor for people here. i spoke to people who voted and they say it is a big factor. they also say rising unemployment, and auroral distress. those are the big factors for the election here. thank you. jack shepherd, the british man who spent ten months on the run after a speedboat crash in which a w

yogita limaye, bbc news, columbo. many are still searching for relatives and family members and friends who are missing but haven't been declared dead. their bodies still haven't been recovered and the grim task of identifying those bodies is particularly macabre. at the police morgue today, the living are looking for the dead. those gathered cluster around a giant video screen as images appear, grotesque photographs of those they held dearest, still bloodied. it is a particular torment to learn notjust that a loved one has died, but to see how they died. some of the injuries mean visual identification is impossible. this woman survived the attack on st anthony's church. but herfriend in the picture is still missing. translation: i just saw smoke. then i grabbed my daughter's hand and we both ran. when we got outside, we saw dead people. they were small children, and i was covered in blood. it was a global tragedy. these are swiss diplomats trying to locate their missing citizens as names and pictures are cross—refe

yogita limaye is in hyderabad. faces a public school which, for the day, has been converted into a polling booth, and people are queueing up outside to go inside and cast their votes. there are electronic voting machines where they will enter their choice, then they will enter their choice, then the fingers will be marked with ink to ensure that no—one to cast a vote for a second time. 91 of 543 constituencies will be voting today. prime minister narendra modi and his bj p prime minister narendra modi and his bjp party are hoping for a second term in power. one of the main rivals is the congress party, which suffered a humiliating defeat in 2014 and is trying to regain influence. at an indian election is about so much more than just the two national parties. here in hyderabad, for example, regional players are extremely popular, and if people vote for them, it could make a big difference to results. national security has become a big issue for the selection because of recent tensions between india and pakistan, a

here's yogita limaye. in 201a, he swept to power with the biggest majority in 30 years. for narendra modi, it had been a long journey to the top spot. born in a small town in the western state of gujarat, as a child, he helped his father sell tea at this railway station. mr modi begins to the hindu nationalist bjp party. a much adored leader, he enjoys an almost cult following. but he's also a divisive politician. he was the chief minister of gujarat when religious riots broke out in the state, accused of not doing enough to protect muslims. but his supporters credited him for putting india on the global map. and for the country growing at a rapid pace. while the numbers are disputed, they're a big part of his campaign pitch. modi takes on rahul gandhi — he's the latest in the gandhi—nehru dynasty to lead the congress party. devina gupta has more on him. politics is in the blood of a8—year—old rahul gandhi who joined the party in 200a. three generations of his family have served the country as prime minister, including his great—grandfather, jawaharlal nehru, w