this is bbc news, the headlines at four: britain's fracking tsar quits after six months in thejob, blaming ministers for paying too much attention to the environmental lobby. from within, you can't do very much, and it means at the moment when you have government in such terrible paralysis, you do have to do something as dramatic as this in order to have your voice heard. a woman is shot dead and three people injured at a california synagogue. a man believed to have used an assault rifle has been arrested. still hoping britain won't take part in next month's european elections — the conservative party chairman, brandon lewis. security fears in sri lanka sees church services cancelled a week after more than 250 people were killed in the easter sunday bombings.

nicola sturgeon says no westminster government can stand in the way of scotla nd government can stand in the way of scotland choosing independence. he has run quicker than anyone else before, including himself in london. eliud kipchoge has won the london marathon for a fourth time. britain's sir mo farah finished fifth. kenya's brigid kosgei wins the women's race with a new personal best. america's daniel romanchuk wins the men's elite wheelchair event, and swiss paralympian manuela schar wins the women's.

good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the uk's shale gas commissioner has resigned after only six months in thejob, saying the government is paying too much attention to a small but noisy environmental lobby, and consequently there is a de facto ban on fracking. natascha engel was tasked with uniting communities over the controversial process, but says stringent rules are stopping the industry from being successful, as john mcmanus reports. is this a vision of the uk's future energy market? hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in this case at a site in lancashire. well, maybe not, because despite government support for shale gas exploration, the woman in charge of inspiring confidence in the project has just quit. certainly, since i first started six months ago, there was always an understanding that fracking was going to really struggle to develop if these really ridiculously low limits on earth tremors were going to be kept in place. the understanding was always that they would be reviewed and be raised when it was safe to do so, and that's not happening.

it means there is a sort of restriction placed on fracking that's not placed on any other extractive industry in the country. retrieving gas through fracking involves pumping water, sand and chemicals at high pressure into shale rock. when that rock fractures, the gas is released and brought to the surface. the industry says it is safe, but it can cause earth tremors. to reassure local communities, fracking must pause if those tremors reach a magnitude of 0.5. this site has had to stop work several times. natascha engel says that rule amounts to a de facto ban. those campaigners aren't just worried about tremors, they say climate—changing fossil fuels should stay underground. in scotland, fracking remains under a moratorium. holyrood still has not decided how to proceed. supporters in the usa say fracking there has lowered gas bills, but some states have still banned it. the government here maintains that shale gas is both environmentally and consumer friendly. now it needs to find somebody new to make that case. john mcmanus, bbc news.

the department for business, energy and industrial strategy have responded to natascha engel‘s resignation. a spokeserson said the government supported the development of the shale industry in the uk because "it could have the potential to be a new domestic energy source, and create thousands of well paid, qualityjobs." they also said the government was confident that current regulations "strike the right balance in ensuring the industry can develop, while ensuring any operations are carried out safely and responsibly." a woman has died and three people are in hospital after a gunman opened fire at a synagogue in california. a 19—year—old man has been arrested after the shooting outside san diego. our correspondent in los angeles, sophie long, reports. # we shall overcome...#

a community brought together in pain and multi—faith prayers for peace. they came to soothe each other‘s sadness and to pray for those suffering. for laurie gilbert kay, who went to worship on a sunny saturday morning and died hours later in hospital. for a child shot in the leg, and for two men, one a rabbi. i have been going here my entire life, and to see all these wonderful people come together from all these faiths, it's just absolutely amazing. we had one person today full of hate, one person. and look, there is a thousand people here tonight that are full of love. that is what it's about. this is not the first time a tight—knit community like this one have come together to try and help each other heal the wounds inflicted by a man with a gun. it's unlikely it will be the last. i am hoping this does not

become the new normal. places of worship are sacred, human life is sacred, and just the idea of every time we have to keep responding to acts of hate and acts of terror is really traumatising for the community. police have arrested a 19—year—old, john earnest. they are now investigating what made a young man take an assault rifle, shoot a child, kill a woman, and destroy lives in a place of peace and worship. sophie long, bbc news, poway, california. the scottish national party leader, nicola sturgeon, has warned the government in westminster not to stand in the way of a second independence referendum. earlier this week, the first minister said another referendum should be held by 2021 if the uk leaves the eu. our scotland correspondent lorna gordon is in edinburgh. lorna, we have just lorna, we havejust had next to lorna, we have just had next to ‘s

speech, was it all independence?m was, she touched upon policies, i think it is fair to say there were three broad themes to her speech, which lasted about 45 minutes or so and has just this which lasted about 45 minutes or so and hasjust this moment which lasted about 45 minutes or so and has just this moment come to an end with a standing ovation in the hall packed with around 2000 or so delegates. i think those themes were policies, process, the ideas behind them, the timescale for any legislation to do with a second independence referendum, and the strategy to build the support, the policies had the idea of intergenerational fairness policies had the idea of intergenerationalfairness behind much of them, and she talked of offering a £25,000 loan to first—time buyers, that would be implemented by the end of the year, declaring a climate change emergency in response to those climate change and strikers. when it came to process , and strikers. when it came to process, she announced that she

would introduce legislation for a referendum next month, with a plan to pass it at holyrood by the end of the year, and of course the most meaty part of the speech was to do with strategy, the strategy to build a consensus around independence for scotland. 0urjob now is to get support for independence surging and make sure i'io independence surging and make sure no westminster government can ever stand in the way of scotland's right to choose. applause conference, conference, iam applause conference, conference, i am setting out today our strategy to win our country's independence. we must recognise that these are different times and new circumstances. this isn't a re—running of 2014. the uk that existed then does not exist any more. our approach must be

different. we should not enter this campaign thinking of people as no voters or yes voters, remainers or leavers, but as fellow citizens who all want the best for ourselves, our families, and for scotland's future. applause we must acknowledge the ties of family and friendship across the uk and to step up to the challenge of answering people's questions. is so tipping they had to the change in strategy, she wants to build consensus in strategy, she wants to build consensus going forward, she talked ofa consensus going forward, she talked of a citizens' assembly for people to talk about the idea of what kind of scotland they wanted to be, and she announced the biggest campaign, she announced the biggest campaign, she said, on the economics of independence, a plan and a proposal to send to house in scotland, all

2.4 million of them, a leaflet on the economics of independence this summer. the economics of independence this summer. she was speaking to the converted in the hole behind me this afternoon, but unawareness from the leader of the snp, nicola sturgeon, that she has to build a broader base in favour of independence, not least of course because the government at westminster says they won't grant another referendum on independence, but nicola sturgeon believes, i think, that if she can build a consensus think, that if she can build a consensus in favour of independence, they will have no option but to grant that referendum. lorna gordon, thank you very much. spain is holding its third general election in four years. the election was called by the socialist prime minister, pedro sanchez, in february after catalan separatists joined rightwing parties in rejecting his government's budget. for the first time since the end of the franco era in 1975, a far—right party, vox, is among the main contenders.

let's cross live to madrid. tim willcox is outside the spanish parliament there for us, tame, as i said, a third election injust five yea rs, said, a third election injust five years, and it doesn't seem to be much confidence it will give a very clear result any more than the last three dead. no, ithink clear result any more than the last three dead. no, i think that is the fea rful three dead. no, i think that is the fearful spaniards, and indeed probably for europe as well, because we might return to the status quo ante, as it were, no single party is expected to get a majority, they need 176 seats at the congress to get a majority, so whoever gets the largest number, the polls predicting it will be pedro sanchez, leader of

psoe, he will need to form a coalition. maybe he will go to podemos, a far left party, they are not doing quite so well in the polls now, although five years ago they we re now, although five years ago they were the dazzling stars of spanish politics, grown out of the anti—austerity movement here in spain. pedro sanchez might go to the basques, the basque nationalists, but he has got to get 176 seats. the point, though, here is that the political system is fragmented, not only is the left scrabbling around for seats, but so is the right. you probably remember, seann, a few yea rs probably remember, seann, a few years ago spain was dominated by two political parties, and now the popular party has had a real dip in popularity, marina rajoy was ousted ina popularity, marina rajoy was ousted in a vote of no confidence, and they are now in a vote of no confidence, and they are now moving further to the right, along with the former centrist party, to try and match the

expectations that vox seems to be offering two spaniards. they are anti—separatists, they want to take back some of the powers of the semi—autonomous regions, their big rallying cry is make spain great again, they are talking about the re—conquest of spain, going back to 1492 when ferdinand and isabella kick to the moors out of spain, that is their rallying cry, and spain is the most decentralised country, one of the most decentralised in europe, with semi—autonomous regions, so there is a lot at stake here, along with the economy, which is not doing too badly, and immigration, 57,000 people came to spain last year, vox said they wanted all those migrants repatriated, and they are also talking — does this sound familiar? —— they are talking about building walls around two spanish enclaves in

north africa. but they are predicted to maybe get some 15 or 16% of the shower, and if there was a right—wing coalition, they would be potential kingmakers. briefly, when are we expecting results of the actual constituencies under someone before the deal—making has to follow? well, eight o'clock the pauls church, we will get exit polls then, we expect a clearer picture about ten o'clock local time. —— the polls shut. there important question you raise right at the beginning, you raise right at the beginning, you know, will any of these groups be able to form a coalition? it could be weeks, it could be months, it could be that at the end of the process , it could be that at the end of the process, n0 it could be that at the end of the process, no deal is done and we have another general election. the year of the two general elections, thank you very much, tim willcox. martine croxall will be here this evening with those results.

prayer services have been held in sri lanka one week on from the deadly suicide bombings carroied out by islamist extremists. at least 250 people, including many tourists, died in a series of co—ordinated attacks at churches and hotels on easter sunday. the archbishop of colombo called the atrocities "an insult to humanity". from sri lanka, clive myrie reports. seven days ago, st anthony's church was filled with the screams and cries of the dying. bells ring. and today, bells marked their passing. the bombers mainly attacked christians, but buddhists commemorated the horrors of last week too. it doesn't matter what they've done. we are coming from, like, buddhists, hindus, islamics, or whoever. we have to pray, then to live in harmony. inside st anthony's, members of the sri lankan navy tried to wash away the stain of violence, to restore this house of god.

this is the exact spot where the suicide bomber detonated his backpack to devastating effect. you can see the walls pockmarked with the holes of ball bearings and the roof in this area pretty much destroyed, and what happened here is destined to be passed down the ages to join all those other acts of religious intolerance that blacken history. god said we need the others. it is not good for man to be alone. the leader of sri lanka's catholics, cardinal malcolm ranjith, gave a televised mass, but some frightened parishioners stayed away. it is hard to see, to see this empty church. it is so sad that this kind of disaster has happened due to religion. several raids in recent days may improve public confidence. terror cells have been disrupted and huge quantities of bomb—making equipment seized.

but the hope is that the trauma of a week ago will unite this country in grief, rather than divide it in acrimony and retaliation. clive myrie, bbc news, colombo. ten's of thousands of runners have been taking part in today's london marathon, with a new record set in the men's race. joe wilson was watching. more than ever before began london's marathon. just a few came to win. mo farah may be many things, but as his coach said this morning, he's not an angel. after a week of disputes over hotel robbery and gym scuffle, today it was simple street talk. 26 miles of london's roads would measure his progress. meanwhile, a new force in wheelchair sport — american daniel romanchuk, aged just 20, outsprinted the rest. manuela schar of switzerland was over five minutes clear of the field when she won

the women's wheelchair race. the challenge was just starting for the eccentrics, the fundraisers and the brave, who make this event a mass expression of enthusiasm. but as the men's elite race passed halfway, where was mo farah? not in the leading group. kenyan eliud kipchoge was in control. no—one in the women's field could get near brigid kosgei. she made the whole thing seem almost easy. of course, it isn't. not far behind, britain's hayley carruthers was giving everything to try and break her personal best. everything. well done, hayley... she made the finishing line, and then the help arrived. hayley has just run a personal best. she's 0k... well, this is how eliud kipchoge finished — two hours, two minutes, 37 seconds. 0utside his world—record, but the fastest time ever in london. for mo farah, fifth place, and a little slower than his personal best. definitely disappointed, he said,

but no regrets about the build—up. this is lucas bates, who was aims to aiming to break the guinness world record for the fastest marathon dressed as a landmark building, which in his case was big ben. although he is a quantity surveyor, this seems to have caught him unawares, this seems to have caught him unawa res, because this seems to have caught him unawares, because this is what happened when he tried to get across the finishing line. i did say he is a quantity surveyor, but maybe that isa a quantity surveyor, but maybe that is a bit unfair, he has done a brilliantjob, raising is a bit unfair, he has done a brilliant job, raising money is a bit unfair, he has done a brilliantjob, raising money for dementia revolution. 30 years old, he is from maidstone in kent. he has run the marathon four times previously, and he wanted to do it with a bit of fun, have some fun, and he had a bit more fun than planned. i have to say, that is the most shared piece of video on the bbc website today, everybody loves

that. kate is down at the marathon, you have had your encounters with funny you have had your encounters with fu nny costu mes, you have had your encounters with funny costumes, with a tent, but it isa funny costumes, with a tent, but it is a lovely shot, the comic great to say he still managed to do it, like so say he still managed to do it, like so many others. yes, so many memorable moments with big ben being very iconic, i think we will remember that for years to come, i have just seen a rhino, the one was our finishing, have just seen a rhino, the one was ourfinishing, and have just seen a rhino, the one was our finishing, and it have just seen a rhino, the one was ourfinishing, and it is starting to peter out, the crowd is becoming much smaller, they have been running for five to six hours here, much smaller, they have been running forfive to six hours here, so much smaller, they have been running for five to six hours here, so an amazing achievement getting around the 26.2 miles, making their way past me, they gather their medals just here, which is thejingling noise you can probably hear, to really appreciate the achievement that they have made. plenty of selfies on the finish line, plenty of emotions as well, completely understandable, but one gentleman who has every right to feel emotional was steve planned, whose

wife was rachel bland, who sadly died to cancer last year, she was a presenter for 5 live and also on a bbc podcast, and when i spoke to steve, he was clearly very reflective. rachel was a really keen marathon runner, she did three herself, and we ended last year to run for macmillan, we deferred it to this year, she was really keen to run, and when she died in september, one of the first things we did was to say to macmillan, we will do it for you, we got a little team together, six of us, and we have raised loads and loads and loads of money for macmillan, a cause really close to our heart. they were a massive supported us in the last couple of weeks of her life, and it was, yeah, pretty emotional thing, you know, people knew what we were running for, and, you know, people were

shouting out, rachel would be so proud of you, and a girl called us up proud of you, and a girl called us up to proud of you, and a girl called us uptoa proud of you, and a girl called us up to a mile and said, you know, my boyfriend has cancer, i can't tell you how much the podcast means. so yeah, the whole experience has been really emotional, and then check in, you know, i had awful calf cramps at about 18 or 19 miles which have made the last six or seven a real struggle, so a bit of an ordeal! pleased to have finished. lovely to hear from steve, clearly he dug deep in those final stages, one of many inspirational stories here, we have heard from some of the dementia revolutionaries, one of the official charities here. we have not seen official charities here. we have not seenin official charities here. we have not seen in of the soap star is running for barbara windsor, there has been plenty of them coming in, we haven't seen plenty of them coming in, we haven't seen all of them just yet, but i am sure they will be finishing not too long now. it has been another memorable london marathon, as we

have heard from joe wilson, amazing time from eliud kipchoge in the men's release to raised, one of the fastest ever, he is one of the most successful marathon runners of all time. the weather has held off, and it will certainly be a london marathon to remember. is certainly well, not least for icons like big ben and indeed barbara windsor! let's get a full round—up of the rest of the day's sport with holly hamilton. have you got anything quite as colourful? yeah, a costume would not have done barely any favours in the premier league! but it does feel like it is edging ever closer to the finish line. manchester city are back at the top of the premier league after a narrow 1—0 win at burnley. city had a shout for a penalty turned down after the ball struck ashley barnes on the arm, but city did find the breakthrough after sergio aguero's shot just about crossed the line — confirmed using

goal—line technology. they're a point above liverpool with two games remaining. if they beat leicester and brighton, they will retain the title. arsenal's top—four aspirations suffered another setback as they lost 3—0 at leicester. arsenal had to play more than 45 minutes with ten men after ainsley maitland—niles was sent off before half time. leicester went in front just before the hour, youri tielemens with the header, before two late goals from jamie vardy sealed victory. three consecutive defeats for arsenal, who stay fifth. leicester are up to eighth. so manchester city go back above liverpool — just a point separates them with two games left. arsenal remain fifth after that defeat at the king power stadium. manchester united and chelsea will hope to capitalise on that when they face each other at old trafford at 4:30. live commentary of that game on radio 5 live.

chelsea were knocked out of the women's champions league after a terrific semifinal second leg against holders lyon. jo curries is there. the blues came close, but it wasn't to be, lyon just too strong. absolutely, this was always going to bea absolutely, this was always going to be a huge task for chelsea today, 2-1 be a huge task for chelsea today, 2—1 down from the first leg, up against the heavyweights of europe, in the end the defending champions we re in the end the defending champions were too strong for the battling side. they really did give it everything, lyon went ahead fairly early on, finding space in the box, and she found the back of the net with the ball bubbling under the goalkeeper‘s body. then chelsea had a breakthrough, a little bit of magic from the player known as the magician, a superb free kick catching the keeper rooted to the spot, perhaps there was a way back. chelsea had them on the run in the

second half, karen carney going agonisingly close, but she could only hit the post. heartbreak once again for chelsea in europe, they wa nt to again for chelsea in europe, they want to be here next season, they haven't qualified. lyon march on to the final in budapest next month, looking for a record consecutive fourth champions league title, and they will be up against barcelona, featuring england's toni duggan. thank you. the points were shared in the edinburgh derby in the scottish premiership. hibs took the lead in the second half, thanks to an own goal from hearts captain christophe berra. but hearts equalised six minutes from time through uche ikpeazu. the draw extends paul heckinbottom's unbeaten start as hibernian manager to ten league matches. celtic could be crowned champions if rangers fail to beat aberdeen at ibrox. but steven gerrard's have taken the lead in the last few minutes through a james tavernier penalty.

still around just under 25 minutes left in that one. sheffield united have been promoted to the premier league after leeds failed to beat aston villa in one of the most bizarre passages of play you'll ever see. leeds took the lead with about 20 minutes to go through mateusz klich, but chaos ensued afterwards with aston villa players and staff angry that leeds hadn't stopped with a player down injured. leeds boss marcelo bielsa then told his players to allow aston villa to score. both teams will be in the playoffs. following that closely in a sheffield bar were the sheffield united players. these the scenes at the final whistle at elland road to confirm the blades' promotion to the premier league. there might be a few sore heads tomorrow.

valtteri bottas is back out in front in formula 0ne's drivers championship after winning the azerbaijan grand prix. it was yet another one—two for mercedes with lewis hamilton finishing just behind his team—mate in baku. bottas started on pole ahead of the briton, and the finn just about kept hold of his lead going into the first turn. it turned into a tactical battle throughout the race with ferrari's sebastian vettel and charl leclerc briefly threatening, but neither could stop bottas and hamilton's dominance once again. bottas came out on top, and that gives him a point lead over hamilton in the standings. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. holly hamilton, thank you very much. the chairman of the conservative party says he still hopes that the uk won't have to take part in the european parliament elections next month. brandon lewis said he wanted to see the prime minister's brexit withdrawal agreement approved by parliament in the next few weeks,

so that the uk can avoid electing meps on 23 may. 0ur political correspondent jessica parker has more. will the uk soon be sending meps to take their seats here at the european parliament? many now suspect that it's inevitable, with the polling date just weeks away. but the conservatives are saying they're still aiming to avoid it. as a government, ourfirst priority is to not have to fight the european elections. i think we should be looking to do everything we can to respect that 2016 referendum. what of a cross—party deal? walking time and again into talks with the government, labour insist they're no bar to progress. the discussions so far have been productive. we have gone into a lot of detail. there seems to be a willingness on both sides to move towards some form of consensus. but as yet, we haven't seen the government move on any of their red lines. there are those who aren't fussed about finding a brexit deal. their focus, instead, stopping brexit altogether. but the liberal democrats left frustrated in their quest

to form a remain alliance. i think it is a shame that those remain—supporting parties aren't able, weren't able to come to an agreement to be fighting that together, but the wider aim of the securing of a people's vote to stop brexit is one where we are very still working together. but before any european poll, there are of course local elections this thursday, and after all the recent political turmoil in westminster, some conservatives are forecasting a difficult night for their party, because while bins and buses will no doubt be issues in these council contests, few think that the din of brexit willjust be drowned out. jessica parker, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz shafernaker. fairly quiet on the weather front today compared to what we had yesterday. tomorrow it is looking pretty good. a bright day on