a state of emergency has been declared here in sri lanka, 290 people are now known to have died and 500 injured after easter sunday's bomb attacks. families across the country are in mourning, with many victims yet to be identified. our main target at the moment is to help these people who are really in tears, who are broken and broken into pieces. amongst the dead were eight britons, including a mother and her two children, and a retired firefighter, who was killed along with his partner. 2a people have been arrested

in connection with the attacks, —— and the authorities have declared a state of emergency. we'll have the latest on the investigation. the other headlines tonight. the fertility watchdog accuses some ivf clinics of targeting older women and "trading on hope" by using selective success rates. gunfire. we report from the front line in tripoli, where government forces say they're not just fighting for the capital, but for the future of libya. the new parkinson's treatment which meant this patient, who could hardly walk, was able to move like this just a few months later. good evening. the authorities in sri lanka have blamed a local islamist group

for yesterday's bombings, which killed 290 people, and 500 others injured. many of those killed include foreigners and britons, at least eight of them. the sri lankan government says the local group must have had international support to have launched the coordinated attacks. the first reports came in yesterday morning, at about 8:45am local time, of explosions at churches in negombo, batticaloa and colombo, along with three hotels in the city. two more explosions followed on the outskirts of the capital. later in the evening, a pipe packed with explosives was defused near the airport. this morning, detonators were found at a bus station in the city, and in the afternoon, another blast at a shrine as police were attempting to defuse explosives in a van. police have arrested 2a people in

connection with the attacks and a state of emergency has been declared. our correspondent yogita limaye has this report. 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 that 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. the allen family is from thailand.

they were on holiday in sri lanka. these boys lost their mother, monique, when she was at breakfast in a five—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. also among the dead, a retired firefighter, bill harrop, and his partner, sally bradley from manchester. the vast majority of those dead are sri lankan, hundreds of families

in this country in grief. popular chef shantha 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. 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. meanwhile, their relatives and friends of some of those who died are still trying to identify some of the bodies. it is a grim and grisly task, as we have been finding out today. 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: i just saw smoke. then i grabbed my daughter's hand and we both ran. when we got outside, we saw dead people. there 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, and broken into pieces. claiming the bodies of the dead and laying them to rest begins

the healing process. this man witnessed the aftermath of the explosion that killed his brother—in—law. and along with many others, it's the images of children that stick in the mind. translation: this is a terrible tragedy. it's unimaginable. there were bodies of small, small children. they were in such small pieces that you couldn't identify them. i can't tell you how sad ifeel. there's been no violence on this scale since the end of the civil war a decade ago. as his brother—in—law‘s body begins its finaljourney, many now pray yesterday's insanity isn't a harbinger of worse to come. the islamist group the government believes may have been responsible for all of those deaths is a local group called national thowheed

jamath, known up until now for desecrating and vandalising buddhist shrines, certainly not able to coordinate the kind of attacks we saw yesterday which is why the authorities firmly believe this group, if it is involved, must have had international help to launch all of those attacks. i will be back a bit later with a bit more from sri lanka. but with that, back to simon. thank you. older women are being exploited by ivf clinics who are "trading on hope". that's according to the head of britain's fertility watchdog. sally cheshire, chairwoman of the human fertilisation and embryology authority, has accused some private clinics of using "selective success rates" to persuade middle—aged women to undergo treatment. simonjones reports. susannah botting gave birth when she was 43, but only after seven rounds of ivf at several clinics, costing her £50,000. she believes she was talked into additional treatments that she didn't actually need, and haven't been proven to work. you are there yourself anyway

because you want to do the next round, you want to get pregnant. and again, i think it goes back to the hidden costs of the treatments that you may or may not need, that you just kind of go, "yes, i'll do it," because i want to get pregnant this time around. i don't want to go through another round. the fertility watchdog believes older women are being targeted by aggressive sales tactics, particularly by foreign clinics. they are trading on that hope and vulnerability because they know that most patients will do anything to have their much longed for family. the human fertilisation and embryology authority says women aged between a0 and 42, using their own eggs for ivf, had a success rate ofjust 9%, unless using eggs frozen when they were younger. women a year older saw their chances of getting pregnant fall significantly to 3%. and those aged 44 and over had a success rate of i%. that equates to just two live births a year in the uk. i'm not sure it's a widespread thing in the uk, but i think there is a risk that people end up doing more than perhaps is appropriate if they are not

careful, so i think the key to it is making sure they get good, professional advice about what is appropriate for them. but the regulator wants more powers to protect women like susannah botting, so their hopes and dreams aren't taken advantage of. simon jones, bbc news. residents of the libyan capital tripoli fear they are in danger of returning to the dark days of the revolution which ousted colonel gaddaffi in 2011. supporters of the internationally recognised government are fighting on the outskirts of the city with forces loyal to general khalifa haftar. a veteran military commander, he already controls much of the country, having expanded from a base in the east to take control of oil—rich southern libya earlier this year. britain has been pushing for a ceasefire resolution at the united nations security council, but general haftar has support from russia, the uae, egypt and saudi arabia. our international correspondent orla guerin has been to the front lines and sent this report. in tripoli, the spectre

of war has returned. instead of a planned un peace conference, there is a fight for control of the capital. we were taken to the front lines in the southern suburbs. this is ain zara, a key battle ground, deserted now except for the defenders of tripoli. and here they are. brigade 191. heavy gunfire. there are resounding echoes of libya's revolution. spot the barefoot volunteers. but they have been holding off general khalifa haftar the military strongman from eastern libya. here at this front line position, there is a very short distance between the two sides. the fighters here are telling us

that the nearest of general haftar‘s men are less than a mile away. now, these men are here fighting for the internationally recognised government. they tell us this isn'tjust a battle for control of tripoli — this is a fight for the future of libya. and a short distance away in martyrs' square, a sea of flags and a chorus of protest. among the crowds was this woman, born and bred in leeds. she now lives in tripoli. i think haftar is a war criminal. he is the spitting image of muammar gaddafi. he is walking in the same footsteps. he says he's going to free tripoli and then everything is going to be fine, it's going to be safe, but he's just going to be another muammar gaddafi. do you feel disappointed by the british government? i think theresa may is more caught up in brexit than any other thing in the world at the moment. if brexit wasn't here then maybe, but... many here feel abandoned by the international community, but insist they will stand together against the enemy.

i would like to say two words to haftar. haftar, these men here, we will break you! there is no way he will take tripoli. ! there is no way! he will never take it while we are alive! freedom! the general presents himself as the face of stability here. the man to crush islamic extremists. many libyans don't crush islamic extremists. many libya ns don't buy crush islamic extremists. many libyans don't buy it but he has support from regional powers. on the streets, protesters fear he could lead to theirfragile streets, protesters fear he could lead to their fragile country to all—out war and damage any hope of democracy. orla guerin, bbc news, tripoli. conservative grassroots campaigners have signalled their dissatisfaction with the prime minister, as mps prepare to return to westminster after the easter break. more than 70 local chairmen, angry at the government's handling

of brexit, have called for an extraordinary general meeting to discuss theresa may's leadership. our political correspondent ben wright is in westminster tonight. you and i haven't used the word brexit for about a week. i don't know about the prime minister, but theresa may has problems closer to home from tomorrow. she does. politics will snap back into action tomorrow after the east along with mps returning to westminster and the prime minister chairing a cabinet meeting in the morning. but the hurdles she faces at the same as they were before the break, namely a parliament that has so far refused to pass her brexit deal and a really fractious conservative party. it's clear many of the tory activists, the members, are livid brexit could be delayed until the end of october and they are calling for this special conference, hoping for a confidence vote. it's an unprecedented move and although it's only an expression of opinion, it could pile real pressure on theresa may in the next few weeks. tomorrow, some senior tory mps will sit down and ask themselves if there is

anything they can be doing to chifley theresa may out of number ten. she has some strong support in her parliamentary party and she seems was off to try to get the deal through but hopes rely on cross— party through but hopes rely on cross—party talks with the labour party. that cross—party deal, and those discussions will continue in the morning as well but so far there has been little sign of a breakthrough. ben wright, thank you very much. the bbc has learnt tonight that the white house is set to announce a state visit to the uk by president donald trump. with the details, let's cross now to our north america editorjon sopel. i understand in the next 48 hours or so, will come the announcement from the white house and from downing street. i will also mention brexit. these things are normally announced months in advance, planned even further ahead, but the reason for this is last—minute is because of brexit and the political uncertainty in the uk. as i understand it, donald trump will make a state

visit, a state banquet at buckingham palace. his visit will coincide with his visit to normandy to mark the 75th anniversary of d—day. will there be a joint address to both houses of parliament? that's uncertain. a carriage ride up the mall? again, those details haven't been nailed down but as things stand, this plan will go ahead for a state visit injune in a few weeks' time. jon sopel, thank you. there was one match in the premier league tonight. and chelsea have missed the opportunity to go third in the table, after being held to a 2—2 draw at home to burnley. austin halewood watched the action at stamford bridge. after a weekend of favourable results, the door was ajar for chelsea to break into the top four. but despite the heat of a scorching easter weekend, the blues came out cold. burnley‘s jeff hendrick with a screamer inside the first ten minutes. so chelsea needed a response and after passing a late fitness test, there was only one man to turn to. eden hazard with a trademark weaving run. n'golo kante on hand to finish.

desperate not to miss out on champions league football for a second year, now chelsea were in the mood. a rocket from gonzalo higuain blasting them into the lead. but it wouldn't last long. for all of chelsea's attacking promise, their defence was letting them down. ashley barnes was left too open and the finish all too easy. a frantic 24 minutes, in the end, was as good as it got. cesar azpilicueta, the man to go closest in a quiet second half. a point enough to take burnley to the brink of premier league survival. but despite going fourth, for chelsea, an opportunity missed. austin halewood, bbc news. 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. the 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. looks like they're having a little bit of a picnic. 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. let's return to sri lanka now, and my colleague, clive myrie. simon, there is a real sense here that this immediate crisis isn't over. yes, 24 people have been arrested but this investigation is very much in its early stage. now the whole nation is so shell—shocked by the suggestion by the news that

this attack could have been averted. authorities are trying to piece together what happened at local people are trying to identify the bodies of their loved ones. this is the most violent attack since the civil war ended ten years ago. this whole country remains in shock. there is continuing coverage of this story on the bbc news channel. here on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are. from sri lanka, goodbye. welcome to bbc london news. i'm geeta pendse. londoners returning to work tomorrow after the bank holiday break will still face disruption with climate change protestors continuing to block roads around marble arch. whilst other locations have been cleared, the police are aware of plans to demonstrate again at parliament square and say a robust policing plan will be in place.

tolu adeoye reports. this is now the last site to be occupied by extinction rebellion. marble arch and surrounding roads continue to be blocked. this is bbc news. the fire service in northern ireland say a running wildfire in county down has 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. on the mountainside, a fire front 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 and evacuate, and then you were told to get out of the cars and run. 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 caused 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. as chris mentioned, dozens of firefighters are trying to control that moorland blaze near marsden in west yorkshire. our 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? so, 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 mountain 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 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. 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. it's time for a look at the weather. good evening. for most of us, it has been

the perfect easter holiday, hasn't it, really? lots of blue sky and sunshine. yesterday was a little bit disappointing in the far north—west of scotland, not so on bank holiday monday, hardly a cloud in the sky. a few subtle differences though, a veil of high cloud arrived in the afternoon, it turned misty and murky as you can see across the south coast in falmouth. it was still dry and you were able to get on the beach. this high cloud will continue to spill its way steadily north and west overnight tonight, and we run the risk of a few isolated showers across the channel isles into cornwall and maybe through south wales as well. so, cloud and showers an issue overnight, that will prevent temperatures from falling too low. elsewhere, we will see clearer skies, temperatures down perhaps 6—8d. we start off tomorrow morning again on a dry, chilly note, a little more cloud, and double digits in the south west, and that high cloud could be more of an issue tomorrow. again, a good deal of dry weather, with a few isolated showers fading away in the south—west,

but with the sunshine turning increasingly hazy, a bit more of a breeze picking up. it won't be quite as warm. we will see temperatures perhaps peaking at around 22 degrees, always a risk of a bit cooler and fresher, particularly on exposed coasts. as we move out of tuesday into wednesday, that is when the real change is set to arrive, with this area of low pressure gathering out in the atlantic. and this weather front will bring some rain into the south—west, to start off with. first thing on wednesday morning, there will be some heavy rain across cornwall, across parts of south wales and stretching up across that south coast. so, as we go through the morning, that rain will continue to drift its way steadily northwards. we will see the potential for some thundery downpours across the midlands and into the north of england. it should stay dry throughout the day across parts of scotland. here, temperatures peaking at around 18 degrees, but a noticeable difference with the feel of the weather, particularly once that front goes through.