A team of BBC journalists are now on the ground in Colombo and other locations that were hit, including from the BBC's Sinhala language service and our South Asia correspondent Rajini Vaidyanathan.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera confirmed the sharp rise in the death toll to 290 from 207 victims. But he declined to give a breakdown of those killed and wounded at each of the three churches and four hotels hit on Sunday, Reuters reports.

The Sri Lanka Red Cross Society has just posted a statement on Twitter from its president, Jagath Abeysinghe, in which he expresses his sorrow over the attacks and his hope that "the faith you believe will now act as your guiding star".

He also calls for restraint, saying taking revenge on any group "just because of their faith and belief will never solve the issues we face".

He says there was hope in the carnage, in the sight of people from all backgrounds queuing up to give blood. "That is the brother and sisterhood of us all. And that should be what we take away from this horrific incident."

In honour of the victims of the Sri Lanka blasts.

Tulip Siddiq, a Labour party MP in the UK, has tweeted that a relative died in the attacks.

Our correspondent in Colombo, tweets:

Sri Lankan Maithripala Sirisena was out of the country on Sunday but has now arrived back home. He is due to meet Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe shortly in Colombo for crisis talks. Government sources told Reuters the president had convened a meeting of the National Security Council.

One of the first victims to have been identified last night was Sri Lankan celebrity chef Shantha Mayadunne.Her daughter Nisanga Mayadunne had earlier posted a picture of their family having breakfast in the Shangri-La hotel in Colombo very shortly before a blast went off there. One of their family members later posted on Facebook confirming that both Shantha and Nisanga had died, saying "no words can describe the pain".

The BBC's Azzam Ameen in Colombo tweets:

Reuters is reporting a significant increase in the death toll. Citing police, the agency says the number of confirmed dead now stands at 290.

The BBC's Pratiksha Ghildial is in Colombo to report on the deadly attacks. She posted these images of local newspaper front pages that Sri Lankans are waking up to this morning.

Officials in Sri Lanka say dozens of foreigners are among the people killed on Sunday. They included Danish, Turkish and Dutch citizens. Japan confirmed on Monday that at least one Japanese national was killed.

The Sri Lankan foreign ministry says this includes three Britons and two with joint US and UK citizenship.

The UK's Foreign Office confirmed there had been British casualties. The High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, James Dauris, said he had spoken with Britons in hospital "who have been affected by today's senseless attacks".

If you are just joining us here is a summary of what we know about the series of blasts in the capital, Colombo, and other towns

• Eight blasts happened in quick succession on Easter Sunday
• Three churches in Negombo, Batticaloa and Colombo's Kochchikade district were targeted during Easter services
• Luxury hotels the Shangri-La, Kingsbury and Cinnamon Grand in Colombo were also hit
• One blast hit near the zoo in Dehiwala in southern Colombo and another in the district of Dematagoda
• It remains unclear who is behind the attacks but police have arrested 13 people
• The prime minister has said officials received prior intelligence of possible attacks.

On Sunday, world leaders paid tribute to the victims of the Sri Lankan attacks.

• In his Easter Day speech at the Vatican, Pope Francis expressed his "affectionate closeness" with Sri Lanka's Christian community and with "all the victims of such cruel violence".
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the "cold-blooded and pre-planned barbaric acts", saying they were a "grim reminder of the most serious challenge posed to the entire humanity by terrorism".
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel said "religious hate and intolerance that have showed themselves in such a terrible way today must not win".
• UK Prime Minister Theresa May said the attacks were "truly appalling". "We must stand together to make sure that no-one should ever have to practise their faith in fear."
• US President Donald Trump sent his "heartfelt condolences" and said the US was ready to help.
• New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who is steering her own country through the aftermath of an attack on mosques, said it was "devastating" to see an attack on people in churches.

Image source, Reuters

No group has yet said it carried out the apparently co-ordinated attacks but police say they now have 13 people in custody.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that "so far the names that have come up are local" but that officials are investigating whether they had support or connections overseas, AFP reports. There is no other information about the detained people.

The prime minister has also acknowledged that police received intelligence about a possible attack before Sunday and that investigations are going on into "why adequate precautions were not taken".

People have been contacting the BBC to share their thoughts and experiences after the attack.

Julian Emmanuel, a Sri Lankan-born doctor who now lives in the UK, was in Colombo with his family. They were staying at the Cinnamon Grand, one of the hotels targeted, but were not hurt.

Dr Emmanuel said he had grown up through the years of conflict in Sri Lanka.

"It's really sad - I thought Sri Lanka had left all this violence behind us, but now it's sad to see that it's come back again."

You can read more witness reports here.

A total of eight blasts hit the country on Sunday. It was the worst violence in the country since the end of the civil war which left tens of thousands of people dead.

Six explosions hit sites in the capital, Colombo, including three top-end hotels - the Cinnamon Grand, the Shangri-La and the Kingsbury. Two churches were also hit. One in Negombo to the north of the capital, and in Batticaloa, on the east coast.

Three churches were attacked on Sunday. It was Easter Day, one of the holiest days of the year for Christians.

Christians are a minority in Sri Lanka, making up less than 10% of the population.

This was the scene late on Sunday inside St Sebastian's church in Negombo, north of Colombo, a focal point for the Catholic community. More than half of the deaths are thought to have happened here.

Image source, Reuters

The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka has identified two of the Indian victims of the bomb blasts.

Police said on Monday that a "homemade" bomb found close to the main airport in the capital, Colombo, had been made safe.

A police source told AFP that the device had been found on a road on the way to the main terminal at Bandaranaike International Airport.

The airport is still operating, but security levels are high.People travelling have been told expect lengthy checks.

Image source, AFP