Jacinda Ardern tells the news conference that the main suspect used five guns in the attack and that he did have a gun licence.

She confirms that, in the wake of the massacre, "our gun laws will change" - adding that, following previous attempts to get the law changed, "now is the time".

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern has confirmed that a 28-year-old man from Australia has been charged and that investigations are under way into two others who were arrested.

A fourth person who was arrested was "a member of the public" who was later released, she told a news conference.

The hashtag was started by games developer Rami Ismail who criticised insinuations in media coverage that most mosques aren't "peaceful".

Twitter users have used the hashtag to share positive stories of their experiences of mosques.

Facebook has issued a new statement on the video of the shooting that was live-streamed on its site before being widely duplicated and shared online.

In an updated statement sent to Buzzfeed journalist Ryan Mac, a spokesperson says they are working on finding and automatically removing copies of the video that are uploaded.

The site, along with other social media platforms including YouTube and Twitter, has been criticised for failing to control the spread of the footage.

US President Donald Trump has said he doesn't believe white nationalism is a rising threat.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he said: "I don't really. I think it's a small group of people."

The president also said he had not seen the document posted online in which the suspected Christchurch gunman praised Trump as "a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose".

The Guardian has published an editorial, external warning about the "rising danger" of right-wing extremism - pointing to social media, news outlets and politicians.

"The birth, growth and resilience of the far-right, which once festered in dark nooks and crannies, has been assisted by the in-group echo chambers of social media," the editorial says, before criticising media outlets that published the gunman's "manifesto".

"Such atrocities and the trail of media posts left in their wake are designed to generate searches via racist memes and language. It is public relations by mass murder."

Writing in a Sydney Morning Herald comment piece, external, terrorism analyst CJ Werleman says media outlets worldwide should think more carefully about how they deal with Islamophobia and racism.

"For years, tabloid newspapers in New Zealand, Australia, Britain and the US have published a stream of inaccurate stories about Muslims, while also deploying sensationalised headlines," he writes.

"Ultimately, [the gunman was] nurtured by a media that exploits the politics of hate and division. If the slaying of dozens of Muslims so close to home isn't a warning that Islamophobia and the rise of white supremacy must be taken seriously, then what is?"

Image source, Reuters

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel has spoken of her "shock" at the attacks.

She told a news conference: "The reason we've been targeted, and it was a deliberate decision to target our city, is that we are a safe city and a safe country.

"There are no words to describe the revulsion that I feel for the propaganda that he wanted to bring to us - and I will not give voice to that propaganda. His was the voice of hate, and the only way communities can respond to the voice of hate is to come together."

She added that flags will be flying at half-mast in the city.

US President Trump has tweeted American "solidarity with New Zealand" after a phone call with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

In a Facebook post, external, organisers said they had decided to postpone a gay pride event initially scheduled for 16 March.

"While we want to march in solidarity, to resist these acts of hate and intolerance and to tell terrorists they have no power in our country, we believe it is more important to honour the lives of those who were taken today."

In a tweet, the Muslim Council of Britain has "call[ed] on fellow Muslims to resist the temptation to roll up the banners in fear, as this attack was designed to do."

Secretary General Harun Khan also called on the UK government to "redouble its efforts to ensure mosques are protected."

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is expected to hold a news conference at 09:00 (20:00 GMT). She is then due to head to Christchurch, the New Zealand Herald reports.

For those just joining us, here is a quick reminder of what we have been reporting on.

Forty-nine people have been killed and 48 wounded in shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in the nation's deadliest attack.

A gunman identifying himself as an Australian live-streamed himself as he shot indiscriminately at worshippers inside at Al Noor mosque. He had espoused racist, anti-immigrant views.

Police say a man in his late 20s has been arrested and charged with murder. He is due in court on Saturday morning.

Image source, Getty Images

In a New Zealand Herald comment piece, external, security expert and former police officer Darren Morton says the country's "laissez faire environment" makes it easy for attacks to be carried out.

"New Zealand has now come to the hard realisation that our beliefs in our geographic location, way of life, global friend to all image and belief that what is happening in the rest of the world does not affect us, were our greatest threats all along," said Mr Morton.

"Despite our hope that we would remain untouched, it was always going to be a matter of when not if."

With a death toll of at least 49 people, Friday's attack killed more people in one day than are usually murdered in an entire year in New Zealand.

Latest police figures, external show that 47 people were murdered on average every year between 2007-17.

Police say these numbers may change as some investigations are still ongoing, but New Zealand still enjoys some of the lowest murder rates in the world.

Before moving to New Zealand, alleged shooter Brenton Tarrant reportedly travelled around the world with inheritance money after his father passed away.

Australian newspaper The Age, external reports that Tarrant wrote on Facebook that Pakistan was "an incredible place filled with the most earnest, kind-hearted and hospitable people in the world".

But he went on to assert his European heritage - even adding that he did not identify as an Australian.

The Auckland Hebrew Congregation says it has taken an "unprecedented step" of cancelling its service on Saturday - the Jewish sabbath - due to security concerns.

A message sent to worshippers said police had been "unable to guarantee us protection as they mobilise to support Christchurch as well as protect mosques throughout New Zealand.

In an earlier tweet, Jewish Agency chair Isaac Herzog had announced several synagogues were closing on Saturday.

An imam who was praised for his response to an attack outside a mosque in London has condemned the Christchurch shootings and called for greater action against far-right extremism.

Mohammed Mahmoud said "people who affect policy must realise that there is a portion... of blame on their shoulders for perpetuating the narrative of otherness" towards Muslims.

Imam Mohammed Mahmoud made headlines when he stood guard over a man who drove a van into Muslims in Finsbury Park, London, in June 2017.

The World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has condemned the attack.

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said: “On behalf of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community worldwide, I express my deepest sympathies and condolences to all those affected by the barbaric terrorist attack that has taken place in Christchurch.

“Such heinous and utterly inhumane attacks must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. It is a grave tragedy that dozens of innocent Muslims have lost their lives whilst joining together for worship. All people, no matter their faith or belief, have the right to worship peacefully.

“This tragic event should serve as a lesson and warning to other countries of the developed world that we must join together to tackle all forms of racial, ethnic and religious hatred with wisdom and with a firm hand.

“Our heartfelt prayers are with the victims of these attacks and all those who have been affected. May the perpetrators of this evil act be promptly brought to justice.”

UK Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted a video interview calling on communities to "come together and support each other".

"There is no place in New Zealand for these kind of events and no place in the world."