this is bbc news. the headlines at 20:00: sri lankan authorities blame a local islamist extremist group for the series of co—ordinated bomb attacks that killed 290 people, including eight britons. it's confirmed that british mother anita nicholson and her two children are among those killed. her husband, ben, paid tribute to his "perfect wife" and "wonderful children". dozens of firefighters are trying to control a moorland fire at marsden, in west yorkshire. it's thought the blaze, which broke out last night and extends to over a square mile, was started by a barbecue. police say more than a thousand people have been arrested, after seven days of climate change

protests. we'll be looking at how our warming climate is affecting the environment around us. from birds to plants and trees, we'll investigate the challenges they face from our changing seasons. good evening. the authorities in sri lanka have blamed a local islamist group for yesterday's bombings which killed 290 people — with foreigners among the dead, including eight britons. 500 people were also injured. the sri lankan government says the militants must have had international support.

there has been another explosion today in the capital, colombo, as security forces were defusing a bomb inside an abandoned van, as our correspondent yogita limaye reports. another explosion near one of the bombed churches, in a country that's already on the edge. a van blew up when the police tried to defuse explosives inside. no—one was hurt. but on easter sunday, hundreds died, many of them here at st sebastian's church. it's believed to be the site of the deadliest bombing. the hall was packed with families who'd come here to pray. a priest who was at the altar has told me thatjust before the service ended, a person entered through one of the side doors and detonated a bomb. such was the impact, it destroyed everything inside. but even here outside, shattered glass everywhere,

roof tiles that are broken. and all around, a strong smell of blood and death. people have begun to say goodbye to loved ones. this family is from thailand. they were on holiday in sri lanka. these boys lost their mother, monique, when she was at breakfast in a 5—star hotel. my wife loved sri lanka. this was her favourite country. she was so happy, and i think maybe it was her destiny to, um... to go back home, you know, to sri lanka. among the eight british nationals who have been killed are anita nicholson, her son alex and her daughter annabel. in a statement, ben nicholson said his wife and children had the priceless ability to light up any room they entered and bring joy to the lives of all they came into contact with.

asos investor — billionaire anders holch povlsen lost three children in the attacks. the vast majority of those dead are sri lankan, hundreds of families in this country in grief. popular chef sha ntha mayadunne, seen here on the left, and her daughter nisanga, to the right, posted this photo just before they were killed at the shangri—la. some, like this woman, are still searching. today, a sri lankan minister apologised to his people. we are very, very sorry as a government. and we have to apologise to the families and the other institutions about this incident. several people have been arrested, and the government has blamed a local hardline islamist group for the attacks. there are questions about whether warnings about the bombings were not passed on. the intelligence never indicated that it was going to be an attack of this magnitude.

they were talking about one or two isolated incidents, not like this. and also, besides, there is no emergency in this country. we can't request the armed forces to come and assist us. we can only depend on the police, so we informed the police. for a people that have endured war, these attacks are a sudden reminder of more violent times. yogita limaye, bbc news, colombo. well, sri lanka has declared tomorrow as a national day of mourning. many sri lankans are still searching hospitals and morgues for missing loved ones. clive myrie has been speaking to some of those hoping for news. at the police morgue today, the living are looking for the dead. those gathered cluster around a giant video screen as images appear, grotesque photographs of those they held dearest, still bloodied. it is a particular torment to learn notjust that a loved one has died,

but to see how they died. some of the injuries mean visual identification is impossible. this woman survived the attack on st anthony's church. but herfriend in the picture is still missing. translation: ijust saw smoke. then i grabbed my daughter's hand and we both ran. when we got outside, we saw dead people. they were small children, and i was covered in blood. it was a global tragedy. these are swiss diplomats, trying to locate their missing citizens, as names and pictures are cross—referenced against passport details. but it's sri lanka that by far bears the heaviest weight of loss — local people who must try to make sense of all this, a christian community left flailing for answers. it's a very emotional

situation here. we are trying to console their hearts, to help these people who are really in tears, who are broken into pieces. there's been no violence on this scale since the end of the civil war a decade ago, with the years of peace a void of relative tranquillity for a tired people. many now pray yesterday's insanity isn't a harbinger of worse to come. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. joining me tonight, the conservative commentator tim montgomerie, and the journalist and author rachel shabi. the fire service in northern ireland say a "running wildfire" in county down has now been brought under control. hundreds of holidaymakers spent last night in emergency accommodation after the blaze forced them from their caravan park.

the wildfire happened in the mourne mountains, above the seaside town of newcastle, as chris page reports. 0n the mountainside, a firefront a mile long threatened some houses as it burned through the gorse. eyewitnesses described it as a running wildfire. 50 firefighters worked to bring the blaze under control. the flames came close to a caravan park. police went from one mobile home to another, telling people to get out quickly. buses took around 200 holiday—makers to a leisure centre. it wasn't how they expected to be spending their easter. very frightening. people were told to get into their cars, move the cars, evacuate, and then you were told to get out of the cars and run. to the front gates. the wind was blowing towards the caravan site. so once it hit one caravan, they were worried about the gas bottles. then it would have

made a chain reaction. they were allowed to return to their caravans this morning. the mourne mountains provide some of the most striking scenery in northern ireland. the hilltop scrubland adds to the rocky beauty. but when fires break out here, the wind and the terrain mean they spread rapidly. police believe this blaze was started deliberately. county down wasn't the only place in the uk where emergency services had to tackle fast—moving flames. at marsden moor, in west yorkshire, a helicopter has been scooping up water from reservoirs to deal with the blaze covering three square kilometres. it's thought the fire was caused by a barbecue. chris page, bbc news. in west yorkshire, dozens of firefighters are trying to control a moorland fire in marsden. it's thought the blaze was started by a barbecue. it's the sixth fire in the area so far this year. 0ur reporter sally hurst has spent the day there. flying through the fire line, this helicopter dumps

a tonne and a half of water onto marsden moor at each pass, but the fire, which started at seven o'clock last night, is spreading quickly across this tinder—dry moorland. 300 hectares have been burnt. conditions are really arduous. it's hot, it's smoky, it's dirty. the firefighters are working extremely hard to try and tackle this blaze. we're drafting in additional resources. we've asked for assistance from national resources as well. it is putting us under pressure. we are coping with it, but we are under pressure at the moment. this is the sixth fire on this stretch of moorland since the beginning of the year. a majorfire in february damaged 121 hectares. there've been four separate smallerfires since. and now this, thought to have been started by a barbecue at a popular nearby picnic spot. we're right behind the fire here. you can see the smoke billowing over. that's one of the problems the firefighters are facing, the wind keeps changing direction

and new flames keep coming up. we've just come from up the road and the fire has spread so quickly it's nearly reaching the road, so we've been asked to move out. it could take months, if not years, for the wildlife to recover fully — and with the fire getting into the peat underfoot, it could take several days yet for it to be fully extinguished. 0ur correspondent fiona trott has been assessing the impact that the fire is likely to have on wildlife living on the pennine moorland. just down there, on the left—hand side, is easter gate. that is where a lot of families come at times like this, bank holiday weekends, for picnicking. as you mentioned, it's thought that this fire was started a disposable barbecue. so the fire started down in that area. as you can see, this huge area, we think now around 400 hectares, which are completely blackened out now by these flames.

you can just see down below us there, march haigh reservoir, that is where a helicopter has been coming to to get water and dump it on the flames on this moorland. the pilot has been working since nine o'clock this morning. 15 fire appliances working here too at the moment. let's speak now to craig best, who is from the national trust. how are things looking at the moment? what is your strategy over the next few hours? we're going to stay with this fire, support the west yorkshire fire service. we fully expect this fire to burn into the night, and it will be no surprise if this fire is still burning in the morning. again, our rangers and volunteers will work with the west yorkshire fire service. we'll also deploy our helicopter as well, which picks up water from the reservoirs and deploys that onto the various flame heads. just explain to people how important

this area is for local wildlife. it's an sssi, which is a uk designation. it's also european recognised for ground nesting birds and the important blanket bog habitat, which is essentially a peat landscape. it's also a great place for people as well. loads of people visit the landscape, whether it's to walk or run or cycle. you know, we have birds here nesting at the moment. it's that important time of year. they are going to be devastated by this. yes, definitely. birds such as curlew, short—eared owl, definitely looking to nest. it's highly possible there are eggs on the ground that have been burnt, effectively. but it's notjust birds, it's small mammals as well. larger mammals such as hares have certainly been impacted. i was watching this earlier and the flames move at such a speed, it's frightening. there's no doubt that small mammals and hares would not have avoided being killed. a lot of money, a lot of investment has gone into this area as well,

and it's not, as we mentioned earlier, this is not the first fire you have had here at marsden, so how does this make you feel? we've been working with yorkshire water and moors for the future for many years, investing millions together to restore this landscape. this year, we've seen six wildfires, which is very unusual. but maybe we shouldn't be too surprised because for several months now, we've hardly seen any rainfall, which makes this landscape very dry indeed. craig, thank you very much forjoining us. of course, the message from the national trust this evening is to say to people if they are coming to enjoy the moorland over the bank holiday and times like this, not to bring disposable barbecues. this fire now has been going on for 22 hours and, as you heard, they are going to be here for some hours yet. meanwhile, fire crews are still tackling a fire on nearby ilkley moor, while flames have also spread to saddleworth moor in greater manchester.

three men were arrested yesterday on suspicion of arson and, today, one man has been charged, the other two have been released pending further investigations. the headlines on bbc news... sri lankan authorities blame a local islamist extremist group for the series of co—ordinated bomb attacks that killed 290 people, including eight britons. it's confirmed that british mother anita nicholson and her two children are among those killed. her husband, ben, paid tribute to his "perfect wife" and "wonderful children". dozens of firefighters are trying to control a moorland fire at marsden, in west yorkshire. sport, and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. here is gavin. hello. hello, thank you very much indeed. just one match in the premier league this evening. a win for chelsea over burnley would see them move up into third — at least, until tomorrow evening.

they're about 15 minutes or so into the action at stamford bridge. chelsea went a goal down through jeff hendrick but they have now taken the lead thanks to an equaliser from kante with 15 minutes gonein equaliser from kante with 15 minutes gone in that match. norwich city will have to postpone their premier league promotion party. they could only manage a 2—all draw at stoke this afternoon. the canaries needed a win to guarantee top flight next season, and had to hope that other results went their way. sheffield united are nowjust three points behind norwich, after a 3—0 win at hull. meanwhile, leeds united's hopes of automatic promotion have taken a blow this evening, after they lost 2—nil away at brentford. neal maupay scored the opener in the first half, before sergi canos bundled their second home. leeds stay in third, three points behind second—placed sheffield united. elsewhere, play—off—chasing middlesbrough and bristol city both lost away from home.

it means derby are now into the play—off places, after two very late goals against qpr. towards the bottom, rotherham and millwall are still in big danger of the drop — they both lost. reading gained a valuable point after their against west brom ended goalless. west brom secure their place in the playoffs. there's a shock in the making at the world snooker championship, in sheffield. 23—year—old amateurjames cahill leads ronnie 0'sullivan 5—4, in their first—round match. cahill is the first amateur to qualify for the event and gave an early signal of his intention as he took the first frame. the world number one fought back, but has looked as if his mind is elsewhere at times and has made plenty of mistakes. cahill has created plenty of opportunities and already appears to feel at home in the crucible. he'll return to the table tomorrow with a five frames to four lead in a best—of—19 contest. four—times champion john higgins was made to work hard, before finally coming through ten

frames to seven against england's mark davis. higgins is looking to make it third—time lucky, after losing the last two finals at the crucible. such a tough game to plate mark and mark didn't play great. he will let me off the hook a few times, i was made to feel the pressure near the end, but not a great win for me because i have not beaten mark for a while, so it was good. three—times champion mark selby is having a real battle with china's zhao xintong. 6—5 down. these are live pictures from the crucible. you can watch coverage of this match, or the first session between david gilbert and joe perry, on bbc iplayer, connected to tv and online. in rugby league's super league, leaders st helens ran in 11 tries to hammer hull fc 62 points to 16. adam swift and kevin naiqama scored a hat—trick of tries each. saints are still four points clear of warrington,

who also had a big win — 511—6 at hull kingston rovers. elsewhere, there were wins for huddersfield giants, wigan warriors and wakefield trinity. meanwhile, castleford tigers slumped to a heavy defeat in the south of france. catalan dragons ran in six tries, as they cruised to a 37 points to 16 win. that defeat means castleford slip down to fourth, behind wakefield, catalans are sixth. trainer willie mullins claimed a first irish grand national victory, as burrows saint took the win at fairyhouse. the 6—1 shot favourite, ridden byjockey ruby walsh, led at the final fence and had enough to hold off two of mullins' other horses in isle—of—hope—n—dreams and acapella bourgeois. mullins' historic win comes just a month after winning his first cheltenham gold cup. it is still too— one chelsea against burnley, 20 minutes gone in that match. —— 2—1.

that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in sportsday at half past ten. thank you very much indeed, gavin. friends of the young journalist who was shot dead last week in londonderry have daubed paint on an office used by political groups linked to dissident republicans. lyra mckee was killed while covering a riot involving dissident republicans on thursday night. mark simpson reports. the protest was by friends of lyra mckee. this building is used by political groups linked to dissident republicans. the protesters had publicised on social media what they intended to do. when they arrived, a number of men were waiting outside. the police were there, too. no arrests were made, but police did take the names of the women involved. that wee girl is dead. she is dead. nothing matters. take me to court, take me to jail, i don't care. i absolutely don't care.

the rest of us is all the same. we're strong women. we're not afraid. we are not afraid. i have my own children myself and i've got grandchildren growing up and i don't want it for them. i am proud to come from derry city, very proud, but i tell my children now, if you get a chance, a job out of here, get out. the funeral of lyra mckee will take place on wednesday, at st anne's cathedral in belfast. it will consist of a catholic priest and the church of ireland dean of belfast, and i think that's lovely, you know, because obviously, there will be a large contingent of the lgbtq community at the service and it's really nice to see them being welcomed. the police are pleased with the amount of information which has come from the community, but they say they need more. please come and talk to me. i don't need anybody to commit to anything today, ijust need to speak to people to understand what they know.

we can then start to look at, how do we capture that information in the best way possible, to protect those witnesses and to enable me to bring lyra mckee's killers to justice? in the wake of the shooting here four days ago, two men were arrested, an 18—year—old and a 19—year—old. they were both released without charge last night. as the police investigation into the murder of the young journalist continues, her friends and family say their focus is now on preparing for her funeral. mark simpson, bbc news, derry. a british charity worker has been killed in northern nigeria. faye mooney was shot dead on friday, along with a nigerian man, when gunmen stormed a resort in kaduna state, where she was visiting on holiday. three other people were also kidnapped. no—one has yet said they carried out the attack. here, 36 migrants — including a number women and children —

have been brought ashore, after three different boats were intercepted off the kent coast today. a home office spokesman says all 36 claim to be iraqi or iranian, but their nationalities have not yet been confirmed. from dover, our correspondent leanne lawless sent this update. with the glorious weather and, of course, the calm seas, there was an expectation that perhaps more migrants would be trying to make the crossing. and we know that the first incident happened just off the coast here, in the early hours of the morning, with 11 men found on board. then further down the coast, in dungeness, the lifeboat had to be called out to yet another boat with 15 people on board this time, including a number of women and children. then finally, a third incident again, just off the coast here in dover, where ten adults were found on board. all of the people are presenting themselves as either iraqi or iranian, and they will now be interviewed by home 0ffice officials. all of this comes as new home office figures show that there has been a 15% increase in the number

of crossings that have been intercepted, either by boat or on the eurostar between 2017—2018. the home office today have told us that they have increased the patrols across the border and they say that anybody who is trying to make this crossing is risking their own lives and, potentially, the lives of their children. climate change protesters, who've staged a week of demonstrations in london and edinburgh, have been holding talks to decide the next phase of their campaign. more than 1,000 people have been arrested since the protests began. 0ur correspondent caroline davies reports. central london, day eight of the protest. tents still lie in the middle of a road junction and banners and stages continue to block the streets, so the crowds gathered in marble arch. i think it's a very important time, and time we're running out of. i think it's important to give support. it's all about the numbers, so the more people who show support, the more echo it will create.

it's great to see so many people from all different walks of life getting involved and standing up for what we believe in. at the natural history museum, around 100 protesters lay on the floor under the blue whale, in a staged die—in. 0ver1,000 arrests have been made so far, with over 50 people charged. among those detained was former gold olympic medal winner canoeist etienne stott. it's a big step to take, but like i say, i think this is what it's come to for me. and i think if it's working, and i believe that it is, then i'm happy to have been counted at this point, because this could be the start, well, i believe it is the start of this turnaround. over 9,000 police officers have been deployed to the protests. the mayor of london has called for the group to allow the city to return to business as usual. the group behind me are currently coordinating what's going to happen next.

after over a week of disruption, they're not the only ones who want to know how this is going to continue. exactly what will happen next isn't clear. 0rganisers suggested that more direct action is planned for this week, but wouldn't reveal the details. caroline davies, bbc news. in the past few moments, the metropolitan police says it's aware of plans for an extinction rebellion protest in parliament square, in central london, tomorrow. the force says it has "a robust policing plan" in place. researchers in canada have developed a treatment that has restored movement in patients with chronic parkinson's disease. a quarter of patients experience difficulty walking as the disease wears on, often freezing and falling over. but researchers have found electrical stimulation to the spine has enabled some to walk more freely. pallab ghosh reports.

this parkinson's patient was barely able to walk for several years. now take a look at the same man a few months later. he's had an electrical implant fitted to the back of his spine. walking involves the brain sending instructions to the legs. researchers believe that parkinson's disease reduces the signals coming back, causing the patient to freeze. the implant boosts that signal, enabling the patient to walk. gailjardine had the implant fitted a few months ago. this is the first time she's walked with her husband, stan, for more than two years. because she would freeze, she had frequent falls. researchers monitor her progress using sensors on her suit and socks. i can walk better. i have more confidence. and overall, health feels better. i used to fall at least two times a day sometimes,

but now i haven't fallen in over two months. how do you feel, easier? the researchers here have been astonished at her progress. when i first met her, she had a lot of freezing and was much more off—balance. i think it's been a huge improvement, and it's just been two months. i hope to see more improvement, but what i'm seeing right now, i'm quite satisfied with. these scans show how the treatment has altered the brains of patients. this one is before the electrical treatment. these areas control movement, and they're red because they aren't working properly. three months later, the red areas have gone and the patient‘s walking has improved dramatically. 15 patients have taken part in this pilot trial. so, how well has it gone so far? beyond our wildest dreams. to be able to perform something like this, in patients that are so advanced, most of these patients have had

the disease for 15 years and have not walked for several years with any confidence at all. so to be able to make a difference in their quality of life, almost up to three years in some patients, has been remarkable. gail is confident that her improvement will continue, and that she will be able to go out to the countryside with stan more often. pallab ghosh, bbc news, london, ontario. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. good evening. it really has been the perfect easter break, hasn't it? once again, we have seen records broken today. the warmest easter monday on record across the uk, with several places seeing temperatures peaking at 25 celsius, 77 fahrenheit. a few rogue showers in the south—west by the end of the day and some of those will linger first thing on tuesday, affecting south wales as well. more of a breeze, it is going to drag a veil of high cloud across the country. so for tuesday, temperatures not quite as stunning.

a bit cooler as well on exposed coasts. but then it's all change on wednesday, with these areas of low pressure pushing in from the atlantic. it'll bring some rain, some of it heavy, across south—west england and wales, with rumbles of thunder into the midlands and the north of england as we go through the day. it should stay dry and warm for scotland, cooler and fresher behind. and that marks the change as we go into thursday. for the end of the week, it's cooler and showery, back to where we should be.