this is bbc news. the headlines at four: a state of emergency has been declared in colombia after more than 250 people are killed in mudslides; many more are missing. police in croydon are treating a brutal attack on a 17—year—old kurdish—iranian boy as a hate crime. six people have been arrested. this was a cowardly and despicable attack. a teenager whose mother and brother were stabbed to death at home says the family is "devastated" — lydia wilkinson left flowers at the scene earlier. theresa may reassures gibraltar of britain's steadfast commitment and says she will work to secure the best possible outcome from brexit talks. also in the next hour, today's boat race will go ahead. a suspected world war two bomb has now been removed from the banks of the thames, meaning the university boat race gets the green light. celtic have won the scottish premier league with eight games to spare after beating hearts

5—0 at tynecastle. and coming up at 4:30pm, inside out looks at the plans to dig a tunnel beneath stonehenge. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. rescue teams in colombia are searching through mud and debris for survivors of huge mudslides which have killed more than 250 people. hundreds more are injured or missing. the mud engulfed the town of mocoa, where rescue efforts are being hampered by bad weather. keith doyle has the latest. a wall of water, mud and debris swathe large parts of the town of mocoa. thousands have lost their homes,

hundreds have lost their lives. this mountainous region has had unusually heavy rain in recent months. further downpours caused the mocoa river to unleash a devastating mudslide. witnesses say people were running for their lives as the mud pushed cars into buildings and ripped trees from the ground. streets were left littered with huge boulders and people have been picking through crumbled buildings, trying to find the missing and salvage any possessions. hundreds of people are still missing, many of them children. lists of their names and ages are scoured by anxious relatives. translation: we have lost a baby who has gone missing. the rest is as you can see. a little baby, we can't find him anywhere. translation: we do not know how many deaths there are going to be. we're still searching, but the first thing i want to say is that my heart, our hearts, the hearts of all colombians, are with the victims of this tragedy.

many roads have been washed away or are blocked, making it difficult to get aid into the area, which is without power and running water. troops and volunteers are searching for survivors. heat—seeking cameras and drones are being flown over the debris. the red cross says it's crucial to find survivors within the first 72 hours. three days on, the death toll is expected to rise. keith doyle, bbc news. earlier i spoke to arturo wallace from the bbc‘s spanish speaking service, bbc mundo, about the latest developments. the rescue operations continued all through the night, the rescue services were using drones with thermal imagery to try to locate survivors under the mud and the bridge that now covers large parts of mocoa. of course now with daylight they are redoubling their efforts, they know they have 72 hours,

more or less, to have good chances of finding people alive. so, it's still going on, it is still very difficult to bring all systems there because it's a very remote area, roads are not in a good state and bridges actually fell, but there is still hope although everybody knows the clock is ticking. the state of emergency was declared which meant that rescue operations could kick in. are they properly equipped to deal with this? yes, colombia sadly has a lot of experience in these sorts of tragedies and they prepared themselves very well for these sorts of things. the military is assisting in the operation and of course they're also receiving support from abroad. a lot of countries in the region send their support, not only words but they're sending and help with experts. the most important thing is time. of course, very soon it will be about dealing with the aftermath of what happened, there will be a lot of people probably trapped under the mud.

there is a risk of course for health, the local hospital completely collapsed, there's very little food and water, no electricity. things could become quite bad quite quickly, but yeah, in a way, colombia, it might be one of the best prepared in the region to deal with this sort of stuff. with people forewarned, because it had been raining for some time, hadn't it? it came a little as a surprise. the vulnerability of cities such as mocoa is well known. a lot of houses have been built next to the river and deforestation poses a big risk because it allows these things to happen with a little more intensity. on friday the rain that fell was quite surprising, the colombian president said that in one single day, mocoa got the equivalent to 30% of the monthly rain, so it was a surprise in a way.

six people are being questioned about an attack on an asylum seeker standing at a bus stop in south london. the 17—year—old boy, who's kurdish—iranian, was left with a fractured skull after being subjected to what police say was a ‘savage‘ attack. andy moore reports. the young man, believed to be kurdish iranian, was waiting at a bus stop late on friday night with two friends when he was approached by a group of about eight people. he was attacked after telling them where he came from. we believe it is a hate crime. prior to the attack taking place the young person was asked where they were from and when they said that they were an asylum seeker that is when that frenzied attack took place. police say the gang chased the young man around the corner into the street where they kicked him

in the head and left him on the floor unconscious. after that a number of members of the public came to help him. the attack only stopped when the sound of sirens was heard. the gang made off in the direction of this nearby pub. the young man was left with a fractured skull and a blood clot on his brain. he is said to be in a serious but stable condition in hospital. his two friends escaped the attackers and received only minor injuries. the local mp said croydon had generally very good relations between people of different backgrounds. he called the incident an appalling crime against somebody who had come to this country to seek sanctuary. the mp for croydon central, gavin barwell, said those who were responsible for the attack "should face the full force of the justice system". i think this was a cowardly and despicable attack, this is a young

man who has come to this country to seek sanctuary and it appears has been set upon by a number of people because of his ethnic background. it's a pretty shameful thing to have happened and i hope anybody who is watching that has any evidence goes to the police about that and that we find the police responsible and they face the full force of ourjustice system. what happened here is not representative of this community, croydon is one of the most diverse parts of london. breaking news, and darcus howe has died at the age of 7a. he moved to england to study law at middle temple, where he joined england to study law at middle temple, where hejoined the british black panthers. he was most well—known for organising the 20,000 strong black people's march in 1981,

best known in the uk for his involvement in channel 4's black—on—black series, also current affairs programme devils advocate. he leaves behind seven children. the government is facing pressure to guarantee that migrant workers will still be able to work in the nhs after the uk leaves the european union. a cross—party group of mps is warning that brexit will cause a critical shortage of doctors and nurses. it comes as the defence secretary, sir michael fallon, declined to rule out the possibility that freedom of movement could continue until the next general election and beyond. ellie price reports. the brexit negotiations got under way this week to great fanfare and letters. theresa may wrote to the eu to trigger article 50, the eu in return published draft guidelines on its negotiation strategy, but as expected there was no more detail on the content of the deal, and this morning sir michael fallon

would not be drawn on whether the uk would have full control over its immigration system by 2020. well, you're speculating about the course of the negotiations, which haven't even started yet. rule it out. we've made clear that we are not expecting to take advantage of the four great freedoms, including the freedom of movement of people, because we're not going to be members of the european union. i'm talking about transitionally, now you can't give me any timetable. we can't give a timetable on negotiations that haven't even started. the uk is set to leave the eu by the end of march 2019, just over a year later the country will have a general election. the government will want to avoid setting time limits on such a thorny issue as immigration. but today, a group of cross—party mps wrote an open letter calling on the rights of eu staff in the nhs to be protected. because we have 140,000 eu nationals working in our nhs

and social care sector, caring for our sick and elderly, we think they should be given an nhs guarantee that they will be able to carry on working in the nhs. they need that certainty and they need those rights. theresa may has made it clear she wants the rights of eu nationals in the uk and uk nationals living in the eu to be a priority in these negotiations. immigration was a key issue in the referendum campaign, it will be again. elli price, bbc news. the triggering of article 50 has also raised questions about the status of gibraltar. our political correspondent ellie pricejoined me a little earlier to explain more. theresa may wrote a letter triggering article 50 on wednesday in which she didn't mention the issue of gibraltar. that might not have been an issue had the eu not replied with its draft guidelines in which it said the spanish government would have a veto over any future

trade agreements that britain had with the eu specifically relating to gibraltar. what this has set in motion is a lot of newspaper headlines and lots of people talking about it. today we see downing street trying to dampen it down, theresa may has spoken to the chief minister of gibraltar on the phone to reiterate her position that the uk remained steadfastly committed to gibraltar, its people and economy. this morning we heard from the defence secretary, who was also reiterating that gibraltar is a key priority for britain in these negotiations. the letter was about notification, the formal notification, the formal notification we are living, and about the process of negotiation,

how we want the talks to be handled, but the letter referred to the brexit white paper and gibraltar is firmly in the white paper. you will find eight separate references to gibraltar in the white paper and all the different issues we have got to deal with are set out in that white paper, whether it's the position of the city of london or fisheries policy, gibraltar and everything else. gibraltar will not be used as a bargaining chip, the government saying these negotiations haven't started yet so let's calm down. then we had the former conservative leader michael howard seemingly ramping up the rhetoric again.|j think there's no question our government will stand by gibraltar. 35 years ago this week, another woman prime minister sent a task force halfway across the world to defend the freedom of another small group of british people against another spanish speaking country, and i'm absolutely certain that our current prime minister will show the same resolve in standing by the people of gibraltar. is mr howard really talking about going to war for gibraltar? that's how some of the critics have interpreted it. we

have the leader of the lib dems say it is unbelievable there are conservatives already discussing potential wars with our european neighbours. i suspect not but it is strong rhetoric from the former conservative leader and i suspect also these are comments which will be particularly welcomed by downing street today. the chancellor is to urge indian businesses to use the expertise of the city of london in the latest attempt by ministers to build trade links outside the european union. philip hammond's trade mission to delhi and mumbai is part of an effort to build a partnership with india as it tries to forge a future as a global manufacturing powerhouse. our business correspondent joe lynam has more. depending on how britain quits the eu, the city of london is set to lose thousands ofjobs in the coming years, as some banks and insurers leave to remain in the single market. now, the chancellor, philip hammond, is hoping to court new customers for britain's financial services expertise. he leads a delegation of business leaders, as well as the governor of the bank of england, mark carney, to india this week, hoping that

indian companies will use the city of london to fund the estimated £1.2 trillion of spending needed to modernise india's infrastructure. the government also hopes to use the trip to open new markets in india for companies like transferwise, part of britain's rapidly growing financial technology or fin—tech sector. all of this forms the backdrop for a comprehensive free trade agreement which britain hopes to sign with india once it formally leaves the eu. but that won't be easy — india has yet to sign any free trade deal with anyone and one stumbling block could be a demand by india to allow its citizens free movement to and from britain. the headlines on bbc news: a state of emergency has been declared in colombia after more than 250 people are killed in mudslides; many more are missing. police in croydon are treating a brutal attack on a 17—year—old kurdish—iranian boy as a hate crime — six people have been arrested. a teenager whose mother and brother

were stabbed to death at home says the family is "devastated". lydia wilkinson left flowers at the scene earlier. sport now, and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. it's been inevitable for months but the maths now means that celtic can call themselves champions. they have won the scottish prmeiership title with eight games to spare, that equals an 88—year—old record. they moved 25 points clear of second placed aberdeen after beating hearts 5—0. here's our scotland football reporter chris mclaughlin. yes, celtic started their league campaign here last summer and they have wrapped it up in some style. a 5-0 have wrapped it up in some style. a 5—0 win, pretty much indicative of

their season as a whole. they have been ruthless and efficient, and hungry under brendan rodgers. there will be talk about a lack of competition in scottish football, but take nothing away from the celtic side under the former liverpool manager. a massive gap between them and aberdeen in second place, and they have finished this with eight games to spare. in terms of their ambitions between now and the end of the season, they have two particular ambitions. the scottish cup would complete the domestic travel and they have the chance to go on unbeaten and become the invincibles. the way celtic are playing today and this season, you would not bet against it. there are two matches in the premier league today. a goaless draw wasn't much good for either swansea or middlesbrough down at the bottom. swansea had the best of the chances at the liberty stadium but couldn't find a way through. tom carroll had this first half effort miss the target but inches. rudy gestede perhaps should have won it for boro in stoppage time but his header also wentjust wide

of the post. the point leaves swansea 17th — a point clear of the relegation zone. middlesbrough stay second bottom — five points from safety. the day's other match is underway at the emirates. arsenal could climb to fifth if they beat manchester city. city could move above liverpool into third. liverpool into third and leyroy sane has given city a very early lead. it's the football trophy final at wembley. this is the competition for leagues one and two and this season 16 b'teams from the premier league and the championship also took part. coventry and oxford from league one are the finallists they are approaching full—time

and coventry are in control. saracens will be the only british side in the european champions cup semi—finals. that's after they beat glasgow warriors 38—13 at home. the reigning european champions will face munster in the last four. maz farookhi reports. saracens are the most impenetrable tea m saracens are the most impenetrable team in europe. they have made a fortress at their home stadium. some task ahead for glasgow then, and this team is fleet of foot and travel fast. but despite the flowing by travel fast. but despite the flowing rugby the early exchanges were all with the boot. the home side spent the first a0 minutes in glasgow's half but eventually the pressure told. the saracens took a deserved lead, but glasgow had never been

this far in europe before and weren't willing to leave without a fight. russell setting upjones. rather than bring glasgow back into it, the score seemed to encourage saracens. they moved further ahead again. there was still time for late scores but the difference was saracens' clinicalfinishing. the reigning champions are the team to beat. a quick update, manchester city still leading arsenal 1—0 after 20 minutes, and coventryjust a couple of minutes away from winning the league trophy against oxford, 2-1 the league trophy against oxford, 2—1 up in injury time. you can find all of that on the website. don't forget it is the boat race down on the river thames this afternoon, that's on bbc one. we will be back

with much more for you in the next hour. thank you. police have given the all—clear for this afternoon's oxford and cambridge boat races to go ahead. they say they've removed an unexploded world war two bomb from the thames after it was spotted near putney bridge, close to where the race begins. our sports reporter kate grey is in putney for us. kate, great news. yes, just 24 hours ago they were worried the race would not take place this afternoon but the emergency services cleared away any sort of dangers and now it is time for racing. just 15 minutes until the start of the women's race, the men's will be one hour after that and it is glorious sunshine here on putney embankment. they are expecting 250,000 people to turn up ina line expecting 250,000 people to turn up in a line along the course of the river. i am pleased to say i am now joined by a couple of spectators who have a personal connection to those involved. i have david and millie

hill who have a daughter in the cambridge boat, about to go in 15 minutes. how proud are you of your daughter to be involved in such a historic race? immensely proud, because they have worked so hard and it is such a major event for them. it is great to see them half fulfilment of that whether they win or lose. what training has she been doing, alongside her studies as well? they mixed training and work, they do additional training for other sports as well, holly and some of the other crew have been involved with gb rowing as well so they keep themselves incredibly fit, they work ha rd themselves incredibly fit, they work hard andl themselves incredibly fit, they work hard and i don't know how they fit it all in but they train two or three times a day and still get their work in. what are cambridge's chances? they are favourites with the bookies but as parents you will feel nervous. i think they would

feel nervous. i think they would feel upset if i put the kibosh on them, but they have trained really hard, the boat has been going well, they are happy as a group, they work well together, they seem very happy. holly wrote a couple of years ago in 2015, they are more confident now with more experienced. they think they are in with a good chance but they are in with a good chance but the river can do strange things and oxford have been training just as hard. millie, i know you are nervous, but it is such an historic race to be part of, what does it feel like being part of this special event? it is really exciting. we are big fans of the rowing, we have watched it on telly for years but only since holly has been involved have we made it to putney embankment. it is very exciting, and nice atmosphere and london is glorious in the sunshine. the men's

race will follow, have you got any preference race will follow, have you got any p refe re nce over race will follow, have you got any preference over who you might think will win that? preference, definitely cambridge all the way. once you are light blue, you are light blue. the cambridge women are favourites to win their race, the men know they have got to fight but it is never over until it is over. there were burning trees last year, it is never over until it is over. there we so iurning trees last year, it is never over until it is over. there we so t; can rees last year, g ‘chickens. g 'chickens. we are also joined by your chickens. we are also joined by dogs and spectators, you have probably heard, and as they say it is unpredictable what these races hold but the conditions are pretty perfect for racing. no wind and very smooth waters and you can follow both the women's and men's razors live on bbc one. the women will go in the next ten minutes, then the men an hour later. kate, thank you.

on the line we have the biographer of da rcus on the line we have the biographer of darcus howe, who has died at the age of 7a years old. good afternoon to you doctor bunce. tell loss micro about this loss. darcus was an amazing man. it was enormously respected and i think you can see that on social media right now. there has been an outpouring of grief, respect and affection for him. simply put, he was an outstanding black activist and a powerful voice for black rights in britain. he had an enormous experience of the movement and enormous routing in the caribbean and american and british intellectual traditions. a truly remarkable man and it is a very sad loss. the playwright bonnie greer has described him as upon a time ——

anodyne. he was enormously courageous, i guess that's what she's getting out. in 1971 he took on the metropolitan police, the home office and special branch in a trial as one of the mangrove nine taking on the police in the 1970s was an incredibly courageous thing to do and he was able to turn the tables on his future —— on his accusers. he also exposed police racism in the united kingdom as a result of that case. he was also a remarkable organiser, he organised the black

people's day of action in response the new cross massacre, and 20,000 black people and white coloured eyes took to the streets of london to raise racism in the media and police. so yes, he was a tremendous fighter in law court defending himself and on the streets, and of course in the media as well. he had a30 course in the media as well. he had a 30 year career in the media. again, there he was simply... who took the intelligent discussion of racism and multiculturalism to the prime mainstream media. very quickly, i know he is a survivor of prostate cancer that was diagnosed in 2007, do you know how he died? i'm afraid not. as you say he did have prostate cancer and he was 7a so he was getting on, but all the way to the end he had enormous intellectual energy. he was always

thinking of new things and campaigning. he was continually scrutinising british politics, so yes, his death is enormously sad but right at the end enormous intellectual energy. thank you very much. darcus howe, who has passed away at the age of 7a. in other news... a university student has paid tribute to her mother and younger brother who were stabbed to death in their home in stourbridge earlier this week. lydia wilkinson laid flowers outside the house, accompanied by her boyfriend. she said her mother tracey had always put others before herself. 23—year—old aaron barley, of no fixed address, has been charged with their murders and with the attempted murder of lydia's father peter. he is known to the family and will appear in court again in the morning. lydia wilkinson arrived at the family home where her mother and brother were killed clutching

flowers. she laid them at the makeshift memorial outside the property alongside floral tributes left by friends and family. each message, including her own, described how much mother and son we re described how much mother and son were loved and will be missed. overcome with grief, she was comforted by her boyfriend. the house in stourbridge remains a crime scene. it was here that lydia's brother and mother were fatally attacked. their father, brother and mother were fatally attacked. theirfather, a7—year—old peter wilkinson, was left critically injured but is now in a stable condition in hospital. today a 23—year—old homeless man appeared in court in birmingham where he was remanded in custody, charged with murder and attempted murder. in a brief written statement, lydia wilkinson described her brother is a fun loving boy and her mother as a woman who would always put others first. she asked that the family be

given privacy during a distressing time. glorious out there, let's find out how the weather is looking. good deal of sunshine, this is the satellite sequence from earlier, thicker cloud across eastern areas, the odd spot of rain, but for many of usa the odd spot of rain, but for many of us a lovely day, the sunshine by daytime translating to clear skies overnight and much like last night it will turn quite chilly. more breeze in the north—west, more cloud, patchy win in the western isles by the end of the night. that will keep temperatures up, rural spots will go low. should be a bright start for much of england and wales, more cloud and breeze and patchy rain for elsewhere.