Sri Lanka awaits funeral of minister

The funeral of the Sri Lankan cabinet minister killed in last Wednesday's suicide bomb attack is due to take place later today in the capital, Colombo.

The ceremony follows a day and night of public viewing of the body of CV Gooneratne, which saw large numbers of Sri Lankans queueing to pay their respects to the minister and his wife, who was also killed in the blast.

More than twenty other people died in the attack, which is being widely attributed to the Tamil Tiger rebels.

Seventeen people are now said to be in custody as the police continue their investigations.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service