Vigil at St Mary's Cathedral, Jaffna

Organisations and public bodies across the North-East held vigils for the victims of the Easter Sunday blasts which killed over 300 people in Batticaloa and Colombo.

British Tamils held a Hindu vigil at Ealing Amman temple in London earlier today, in tribute to the victims of the bomb blasts in Batticaloa and Sri Lanka.

MP Virendra Sharma, the representative of Southall and Ealing, spoke at the temple commemorating the lives lost.

The death toll was last confirmed at 290 although many remained missing or unaccounted for.

<p>The UK Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command has displaced a small team of specialists to aid Sri Lanka, including&nbsp;family liaison officers to assist the families of British victims and the repatriation of deceased British nationals.</p> <p>Acting Commander Alexis Boon, head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command requested any footage or images taken before, during or after the bombing for examination.</p>

<p>Human Rights Watch has called upon to follow “due process” ensuring that arrests are made according to international standards and that restrictions on the freedom of speech are done “for a legitimate reason” and are “proportionate”.</p> <p>This follows the Easter Sunday bombings in which close to 300 were killed and approximate 500 injured.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Tamil Civil Society Forum has condemned, 'with a heavy heart,’ the Easter Sunday bombings.</p> <p>In a statement released on Tuesday, the forum said ,</p> <p>“We fear that these attacks which occur 10 years after the end of the civil war, have the potential of further complicating and sharpening the deep divisions in this country”</p>

<p>The Islamic State news agency AMAQ claimed responsibility for the Easter Sunday suicide attacks that claimed the lives of over 250 people.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Sri Lanka’s leader of the opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa slammed the current government’s handling of national security, accusing it of weakening security measures after he lost power in 2015.</p> <p>Blaming the current government for allowing ‘terrorism to raise its head again,’ Rajapaksa went on to criticise attempts to repeal the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), a legislation that has been criticised by the UN and several rights group.</p>

Staff and students at the University of Jaffna held a vigil in tribute to the victims of the bomb blasts in Batticaloa and Colombo.

Attended by lecturers, students and campus staff, the vigil took place at the campus on Monday morning.

Business owners in Mannar town shut their stores and raised black flags in an act of mourning for the victims of the Easter Sunday bombs which killed nearly 300 people in Colombo and Batticaloa.

STF troops checking luggage at Jaffna bus stand

A man was arrested in Jaffna town while curfew was imposed on Sunday evening, and released after inquiry on Monday.

<p>US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has blamed the “radical Islamic terror” for the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka.</p> <p>The attacks have claimed the lives of close to 300 people and Pompeo has claimed that several Americans were amongst the casualties. At least 35 foreigners were among the fatalities.</p> <p>Speaking at a news conference Pompeo said:</p> <blockquote><p>

<p>For the second day in a row, Pope Francis condemned the attacks in Sri Lanka describing them as “terrorist acts, inhuman acts, never justifiable”.</p> <p>The death toll from the attacks is close to 300 with at least 35 foreigners among the fatalities. Sri Lankan police said 24 people had been arrested in connection with the blasts.</p> <p>A state of emergency is to be declared with 'anti-terrorism clauses' effective from midnight Monday.</p>

US President Donald Trump called Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today, as reports arrive that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is assisting with investigations.

Trump “pledged United States support to Sri Lanka in bringing the perpetrators to justice, and the leaders re-affirmed their commitment to the fight against global terrorism,” according to a White House statement.

<p>INTERPOL has deployed a response team to Sri Lanka to assist with investigations into the Easter Sunday bombings which left nearly 300 dead and 500 injured.</p> <p>The Incident Response Team (IRT) has been deployed at the request of the Sri Lankan government who will be aided with specialists “in crime scene examination, explosives, counter-terrorism, disaster victim identification and analysis”.</p>