![The clock at Saint Anthony’s shrine stopped at 8.45am (03:15 GMT), the time the bomb exploded [Aanya Erinyes/Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/65f394b1f93542e6b721b782c5332944_18.jpeg?resize=570%2C380)
Island nation commemorates attacks that saw six churches and hotels bombed, killing more than 265 people.
Sri Lanka Bombing
![The attackers carried out bomb blasts at three churches and three luxury hotels on Easter Sunday (April 21, 2019), killing 279 people [Chamila Karunarathne/EPA]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/c1f093008c354f2988085eff80b22dbe_18.jpeg?resize=570%2C380)
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith told an Easter mass that ‘we offered love to the enemies who tried to destroy us’.
![Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa waves at his supporters as he leaves, after the presidential swearing-in ceremony in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka Nov 18, 2019 [Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/21fec95f8bdd49fea9479b1ac4a4f4ab_18.jpeg?resize=570%2C380)
The anti-Muslim sentiments that helped him get elected are likely to shape Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s...
![Police and election officials carry election materials to various polling stations before the presidential poll [Paula Bronstein/Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/45144c0074564e2295b32e89acfd57ae_18.jpeg?resize=570%2C380)
Shortly before polls open, gunmen fire on buses carrying mainly Muslim voters but no casualties are...
![A police officer looks on as people stand in a line to cast their vote during the presidential election in Colombo [Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/ec2a3fef3fc14b718657f1c7a2b2c77e_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
At least 139 violations, including two cases of assault and 41 of intimidation, reported by midday on Saturday.
![Sri Lanka goes to the polls on Saturday to choose a new president with security and the economy high on the agenda. [Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/07f657ca30404b909f443f580988ddd3_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Former defence chief Rajapaksa’s supporters stir ethnic tensions as he takes on the ruling party’s Premadasa.
![A view of a statue of Jesus splattered with blood from the Easter Sunday attack on St Sebastian's Church in Negombo, on display at the church [Asad Hashim/Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/71b12cbf9d2d49a8a033034391e53b88_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Attacks targeting Muslims, widespread arrests following Easter bombings, and a divisive campaign deepen community fears.
![The report accused President Maithripala Sirisena of 'actively undermining' national security apparatus before Easter bombings [File: Jewel Samad/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/57f7899da32f41759d96e452bf48a6d7_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Parliament inquiry says bitter feud between president and prime minister led to security lapses before attacks.
![Sri Lankan Muslim women walk past a roadside shop selling metal plaque engraved with phrases from the Holy Quran in Colombo [File: Eranga Jayawardena/AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2de3a79dde8d48718f219e471950df89_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Unfair treatment of Muslims after Easter attacks could raise sectarian tensions to dangerous levels, warns think-tank.
![Sri Lanka's president has not renewed an emergency decree that gave military and police sweeping powers to arrest and detain suspects [File: Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/18514cb8462b492fbbca90d6494db843_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Government was accused of unjustly arresting Muslim citizens under the decree, which gave sweeping powers to detain.
![Sister Noel Christine stands in front of scaffolding set in effort to rebuild St Sebastian's Church in Negombo [Adam Bemma/Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/80d1e23d9e3542469a3582ae8c9be0a2_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Sister Christine supports survivors in need and Muslims facing backlash following ISIL-claimed attack that killed 253.
![The suicide bombers targeted three churches and three hotels had no direct link to the foreign armed group [Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/90f26ffcf8a3449c92507808853386d4_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Attackers followed ISIL ‘ideology’ but had no link with them, investigator said.
![Jayasundara and Fernando are the first two state officials to be arrested for failing to prevent the attacks [File: Eranga Jayawardena/AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/f34f6df807e74618a00da00381307be3_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Police chief Pujith Jayasundara and ex-Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando were arrested for ‘crimes against humanity’.
![The coordinated Easter bombings that ripped through Sri Lankan churches and luxury hotels were carried out by suicide bombers which killed and injured hundreds of people [Chamila Karunarathne/AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/f32164e628104e8cb45c0ce56fb5649c_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Sri Lanka has drafted a new cybersecurity bill but experts warn country could be using political turmoil to pass laws.