COLOMBO - A wave of bombings that killed 290 people in Sri Lanka on Sunday was carried out with the support of an international network, officials said.
The government has blamed a little-known local jihadist group, National Thowheed Jamath, although no-one has yet admitted carrying out the bombings.
Another 500 people were injured in the suicide attacks on churches and hotels.
Police arrested 24 people in a series of raids and the president's office declared a state of national emergency.
The emergency declaration, which comes into effect from midnight (19:30 GMT) on Monday, will give police and military extensive powers to detain and interrogate suspects without court orders.
On Monday, another blast rocked a street near a church in the capital, Colombo. Police were attempting to defuse explosives in a vehicle used by the attackers when it blew up. It is not yet known if anyone was hurt.
Sri Lankan authorities were warned about a bomb threat from National Thowheed Jamath a full two weeks before the attacks, cabinet spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said at a press conference.
He said that the warnings were not passed on to the Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, or his cabinet. Mr Wickremesinghe acknowledged that security services had been "aware of information" but had not acted on the information.
Mr Senaratne said that authorities believed the bombers had international support. "We do not believe these attacks were carried out by a group of people who were confined to this country," he said, adding: "There was an international network without which these attacks could not have succeeded."
A later statement said President Maithripala Sirisena would ask for foreign help to track down the international links to the attackers.
"The intelligence reports [indicate] that foreign terrorist organisations are behind the local terrorists. Therefore, the president is to seek the assistance of the foreign countries," his office said.
A curfew is to be imposed from 20:00 (14:30 GMT) until 04:00 on Tuesday, the government said. A national day of mourning has been scheduled for Tuesday.
Sri Lanka's National Security Council said a "conditional state of emergency" from midnight would target "terrorism" and would not limit freedom of expression.
In another development, the US State Department issued revised travel advice urging greater caution, adding, "Terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Sri Lanka."(FA)

KABUL - Seven people were killed in an attack on the Afghan ministry of information in Kabul, officials said.
An explosion was heard at 11:40 local time (07:10 GMT) and sporadic gunfire continued for over six hours before officials declared the incident over.
A ministry source said one of the attackers got inside the building.
The attack comes a day after talks between Afghan officials and the Taliban were suspended, but the Taliban said they were not behind the assault.
Among the dead were four civilians and three police officers, while another eight civilians were wounded.
Although Kabul still sees fighting, this attack follows months of relative calm.
What's happening on the ground?
The attack happened in a busy area of central Kabul, near one of the city's most popular hotels, a couple of other ministries, and the presidential palace.
There were four attackers in total - all of whom were eventually shot dead by police officers.
The Serena Hotel, which is heavily fortified, is one of the few still used by foreign visitors.
At 18 storeys high, the information ministry building is believed to be one of the tallest in Kabul.
About 2,000 people were feared to have been stranded inside for hours, until they were eventually freed.
Footage broadcast on local TV showed a small cloud of smoke rising near the tower block, while people climbed out of the windows of one of the lower levels, AFP news agency reported.
Hundreds of civilians were evacuated from the building, the ministry said, but eight people were injured and taken to hospital.(FA)

WASHINGTON - US attorney general William Barr has been accused of "waging a media campaign" for President Donald Trump ahead of the Mueller report's long-awaited release.

Democrat Jerry Nadler accused Mr Barr of failing to let "the facts speak for themselves" over his plans to hold a news conference before the release.

The 400-page report is the result of an investigation into alleged Russian interference during the 2016 election.

A summary, released by Mr Barr, reveals it clears Mr Trump of any collusion.

However, it does not go as far as to completely exonerate the president of obstruction of justice.

Both Mr Trump's supporters and detractors are now eagerly awaiting the full - albeit redacted - report's release.

It will be sent to Congress between 11:00 and midday local time (15:00 GMT and 16:00 GMT). It will be published online sometime after this.

Mr Barr is due to hold a news conference at 09:30.

The report contains the findings of a 22-month investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign back in 2016.

It was led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who was chosen to run the investigation in 2017 following concerns from US intelligence agencies that Russia had tried to tip the election in Mr Trump's favour.

He also looked into whether Mr Trump obstructed justice when he asked for the inquiry into former national security adviser Michael Flynn to end, and later fired FBI chief James Comey.

Mr Flynn has since pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia - one of six former Trump aides and 30 other people, including 12 Russians, charged in connection with the investigation.(FA)

GENEVA - Doctors, journalists, students and farmers are among more than 60,000 Nicaraguans who have fled the country in fear of their lives since anti-Government demonstrations began last April, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, said on Tuesday.

Echoing concerns from the UN's human rights office, OHCHR, and others about the deteriorating situation in the Central American country, UNHCR said that families with young children are now taking extreme measures to cross the border.

"The kinds of reasons that people have been giving for fleeing are the fear of losing their lives, being attacked or kidnapped by paramilitary groups," spokesperson Elizabeth Throssell told journalists in Geneva.

According to OHCHR, hundreds of activists have been arrested in Nicaragua in recent months in protests, while some 300 people reportedly died between April and August last year alone, the Office said in a 2018 report.


Costa Rica's capacity, overstretched


She noted that of an estimated 62,000 people who had fled abroad, 55,500 had sought refuge in neighbouring Costa Rica.

"Some have received direct threats or have been persecuted; others fear for their lives because their communities have been a target of violence; or some, because their relatives are being sought," she said. "So, we do feel that it is overwhelmingly a refugee flow."

Latest information from the Costa Rican authorities indicates that at least 29,500 Nicaraguans have filed asylum applications to date. UNHCR has commended the country's open-door policy, but noted that capacity to shelter everyone remains overstretched, meaning that 26,000 others are waiting to have their claims formalized.


People 'hiding in trucks, amongst sacks, to escape'


"The people who are fleeing are coming from different parts of Nicaragua and they are travelling to the Costa Rican border, trying to avoid contact with the police and paramilitary groups," Ms. Throssell explained. "Some are travelling in trucks, hidden amongst sacks."

"Among those seeking asylum are students, former public officials, opposition figures, journalists, doctors, human rights defenders and farmers," she said. "A significant number arrive in need of healthcare, psychological support, shelter and food assistance."

Without a political solution to the crisis in Nicaragua, people are likely to continue to flee, UNHCR has warned.

Funds are urgently needed to strengthen the agency's humanitarian response to allow asylum-seekers in dire need of assistance to access aid, Ms. Throssell said, instead of having to resort to informal jobs to pay for somewhere to live, and food prices which are beyond their reach.


Bachelet warns authorities to refrain from violence on anniversary


With the anniversary of the protests looming later this week, the head of the UN rights office (OHCHR), Michelle Bachelet, said on Tuesday that the Nicaraguan Government needed to ensure its security forces give citizens to right to assemble peacefully, and express their views freely.

"I am concerned that the protests planned for later in the week may trigger another violent reaction," Ms. Bachelet said. "Violations over the past year include the criminalization and harassment of -- and attacks on -- student leaders, human rights defenders, journalists and others critical of the Government. The authorities have also resorted to media censorship, bans on demonstrations, and persistent use of excessive force and large-scale arbitrary arrests by the police," she added.

"Inevitably these actions, coupled with the lack of accountability for unlawful excesses by members of the security forces, have stoked rather than reduced the tensions in the country."

The UN human rights chief said she was also disturbed by reports of conditions faced by protesters who have been detained, noting that "severe conditions" in jails could amount to torture and ill-treatment.

She cited recent protests at La Modelo, a men's prison in Tipitapa, to the north-east of the capital Managua, where people were detained during the protests, who are being held alongside common criminals. The prisoners were reportedly violently repressed, through beatings, use of dogs and tear gas.

MANAMA - Bahrain's king has reinstated the citizenship of 551 people convicted by courts during a crackdown on dissent.
No reason was given for the decision and those affected were not named.
At least 990 Bahrainis have reportedly lost their citizenship through court decisions or executive orders since 2012. Most have been left effectively stateless, and some have been deported.
They have included many human rights defenders, political activists, journalists and religious scholars.
Last week, a court sentenced 139 men to between three years and life in prison, and stripped all but one of them of their citizenship, after finding them guilty of terrorism charges.
Prosecutors alleged that they set up a militant group linked to Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), detonated bombs and damaged property.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, expressed alarm at the court decision, saying she had "serious concerns that the proceedings failed to comply with international fair trial standards".
A large number of the accused were reportedly tried in absentia, and 17 of those convicted were believed to be minors aged between 15 and 17, she added.
Ms Bachelet also warned that the revocation of nationality could have serious consequences for the human rights of the individuals concerned and their families in all aspects of their daily lives, including the denial of the right to health, education and freedom of movement.
"Under international law, revocation of nationality is prohibited if it does not serve a legitimate aim or is disproportionate," she said.
Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "everyone has the right to a nationality" and "no-one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality".
The Sunni-ruled Gulf island has been wracked by unrest since security forces crushed pro-democracy protests led by the Shia majority community in 2011.
The authorities have accused Iran of backing militants who have carried out attacks on security forces. Iran has repeatedly denied the charge.(FA)

CAIRO - The Arab League has pledged to pay $100m a month to the Palestinian Authority (PA) to plug the gap left when Israel blocked tax transfers earlier in the year.
"We confirm that Arab countries will support the Palestinian state's budget ... [to] resist the political and financial pressure it faces," the League said on Sunday following a meeting in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
Israel collects taxes on behalf of the PA but withheld $138m in transfers in February over Palestinian payments to political prisoners jailed for attacks against Israelis.
The PA sees the payments as a kind of welfare system for families who have lost a breadwinner.
The freeze came as the Palestinians face major budget cuts made last year after the United States slashed funding for the UN's Palestinian refugee programme, UNRWA, and for development programmes in the Palestinian territories.
The UN's World Food Programme also cut back services due to funding shortages. The funding reduction is a major setback for the PA, which faces constant budget shortfalls.
The Arab League's move comes as US President Donald Trump's administration prepares to unveil a much-touted "deal of the century" for peace between the Palestinians and Israel in the coming months.
The Palestinian leadership, which has boycotted Washington over a series of moves including recognising the city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, says it can no longer trust the US as an honest broker.
Palestinian leaders perceive occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. The status of Jerusalem has been a sticking point in the conflict, along with the illegal expansion of Jewish settlements on Palestinian land.
The Arab League said the deal "will not succeed in achieving long-lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East".(FA)

BAGHDAD - A summit organised by Iraq brought together regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran on Saturday as part of a broader effort by Iraqi leaders to fashion the country's image as a friend among neighbours.
Scarred by more than three decades of war, Iraq is recasting itself as a mediator among neighbours who are often at odds over weighty issues, including the civil war in Syria and US sanctions against Iran.
The summit, hosted by Parliament Speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi, brought together top legislators of Iraq's six neighbours: Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Jordan, and Kuwait.
"Today, Iraq is building a promising strategic partnership with all neighbouring countries without any reservations or favouring any party," said al-Halbousi.
The regional meeting follows months of high-profile diplomacy that has involved Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and President Barham Salih to engage with the neighbours.
"The stability of Iraq is necessary in the stability of the region and contributes its return with all its political and economic weight and creative human resources to its Arab and regional environment," a final declaration said.
It emphasised "the importance of supporting moderation and combating extremism in all its forms, especially as it is the people of the region who pay the price of extremism".
Abdul Mahdi made visits in quick succession to Iran and Saudi Arabia earlier this year, emphasising that Iraq would not favour one or the other in the rivalry between them.
Instead, Iraq is looking to expand trade with both as it looks to rebuild itself, 16 years after the 2003 US invasion plunged the country into civil war. The country is seeking billions of dollars in aid and investment - particularly in energy and electricity - for reconstruction.
Iraq is also spearheading a regional initiative to bring Syria - which was suspended in 2011 - back into the Arab League, with President Bashar al-Assad surviving a 2011 uprising against his rule.
While Iraq remains a close ally of the US in the Middle East, Iraqi leaders have made clear they will not be constrained by US policy objectives to isolate Iran and Syria.
"Iraq is coming back to the neighbourhood," President Salih told The Associated Press last month.(FA)

DAMASCUS - Islamic State militants have killed 35 Syrian pro-government forces in desert attacks in recent days, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.
The UK-based monitoring group says the militants attacked in Homs and Deir al-Zour provinces.
IS media has spoken about the alleged attacks, but Syrian officials have not confirmed them.
It comes weeks after reports some IS militants had fled into the desert from Baghuz - their last stronghold.
The area was declared "freed" by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on 23 March.
Although the declaration marked the last territorial victory over the group's caliphate, experts warn it does not mean the end of IS or its ideology.
Thousands of fighters and their families captured from Baghuz, including foreign nationals, remain in camps nearby.(FA)