reporting live from singapore, i'm steve lai. the headlines... a major setback for turkey's president erdogan and his governing party. with most of the votes counted in municipal elections, turkey's main opposition — the chp — scores major gains across much of the country. as major protests take place injerusalem, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu temporarily hands over power to his deputy — in order to undergoe surgery. as haiti faces a power vacuum filled by armed gangs — we have a special report. and king charles has attended an easter service in windsor, followed by a walkabout to greet crowds. it's his first major public appearance since being diagnosed with cancer. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it's newsday. it's 6am in singapore, and 1am in turkey — where initial results in municipal elections suggest the strongest ever showing for the main opposition chp.

with about 30% of the vote counted, it was ahead three quarters of the votes have been counted with the main opposition, chp, well ahead of the president's ak party. after securing just over 50% of the vote, the candidate has declared victory. he's viewed as the best place opposition candidate for the presidency in 2028. i'm joined now by onur erem, from the bbc turkish service in our london newsroom. it's past 1am in turkey, where do things stand at the moment? you'll make more than 8% of the votes have been counted, and the opposition is still leading and most of the cities —— opposition is still leading and most of the cities "— opposition is still leading and most of the cities --— of the cities -- 8096. they've won six of the — of the cities -- 8096. they've won six of the seven _ of the cities -- 8096. they've won six of the seven largest _ of the cities -- 8096. they've won six of the seven largest cities - of the cities -- 8096. they've won six of the seven largest cities in l six of the seven largest cities in turkey, and for the first time in years, they've managed to win more

municipalities than that akp. what municipalities than that akp. what does this mean _ municipalities than that akp. what does this mean for _ municipalities than that akp. what does this mean for president erdogan and his ak party? he does this mean for president erdogan and his ak party?— and his ak party? he was speaking half an hour _ and his ak party? he was speaking half an hour ago _ and his ak party? he was speaking half an hour ago and _ and his ak party? he was speaking half an hour ago and he _ and his ak party? he was speaking half an hour ago and he said - and his ak party? he was speaking half an hour ago and he said the i half an hour ago and he said the waters have warned us, and we will listen to this warning. he said this isn't the result we were expecting, but he added that this is not the end for his party, but a turning point instead. why have voters flocked to the oppoistion in istanbul and ankara? in the last few years, there is an economic crisis in turkey, and the cost of living crisis. so this has been one of the key issues not only in the local elections, but the general elections last year, as well. last year, the main opposition party, chp, was in an alliance with other opposition parties and, despite that, they couldn't be the

first part in the elections and they couldn't win the presidency. this year, without that alliance on their own, they managed to be the biggest winner in the mayoral elections. and this is a very big moral boost for them after last year's loss. the mayor of istanbul, ekrem imamoglu, in today's speech, he said, "this is not only an important day for istanbul and turkey, but the rest of the world. in the last decade, the authoritarian tendency was expanding in the world, and turkey showed that you can turn this around by democratic means with an authoritarian regime." find democratic means with an authoritarian regime." and he mentioned — authoritarian regime." and he mentioned that _ authoritarian regime." and he mentioned that the _ authoritarian regime." and he mentioned that the (hp - authoritarian regime." and hej mentioned that the (hp didn't authoritarian regime." and he i mentioned that the (hp didn't do authoritarian regime." and he - mentioned that the (hp didn't do so mentioned that the chp didn't do so well in the presidential elections last year, so it's changed then since that has led to all these successes in these municipal elections?— successes in these municipal elections? , , . ., elections? the biggest change in the

chp was their— elections? the biggest change in the chp was their leader. _ elections? the biggest change in the chp was their leader. there - chp was their leader. there presidential candidate and leader last year lost the party election in the autumn to a reformist candidate, who is now leading the party. and he changed some key players in the party, and also ekrem imamoglu, the mayor of istanbul, was supporting a change, as well, and now they have a different leadership of the party. thanks for getting us up to speed on those elements there. onur erem, from the bbc turkish service in our london newsroom. mansur yavas, the mayor of the capital ankara, also from the opposition — said this earlier. translation: dear ankara residents, i re eat the translation: dear ankara residents, i repeat the phrases _ translation: dear ankara residents, i repeat the phrases we _ translation: dear ankara residents, i repeat the phrases we used - translation: dear ankara residents, i repeat the phrases we used when - translation: dear ankara residents, i repeat the phrases we used when we | i repeat the phrases we used when we won the 2019 elections. we do not see these election results as a victory. there is no enemy against

us. we are all honourable members of this country, this city. our political views may differ, our view of the world may be different — but now the election is over, we will take off our badges and continue to serve 6 million ankara residence without discrimination. turkish president recep tayyip erdogan spoke about his party's defeat in this election. he told his supporters gathered in ankara that his party did not achieve desired result from local elections — but that this vote does not mean it is the end, but simply a turning point, in front of a rather quite crowd. i'm joined now by rumeysa kadak, who's an mp for the ak party in istanbul. what's been your main thought as you've watched the results come in, in favour of the chp? well first of all, i would like to congratulate those who have been elected. i really hope that they

will serve the people and fulfil their promises in the coming five years. and i also want to congratulate those who have campaigned on the ground from our political party, ak party, and also from those different clinical parties, i believe we have shown the world how vibrant and robust a democracy we have in turkey. that's very magnanimous _ democracy we have in turkey. that's very magnanimous of _ democracy we have in turkey. that's very magnanimous of you, _ democracy we have in turkey. that's very magnanimous of you, but - democracy we have in turkey. that's very magnanimous of you, but if- democracy we have in turkey. that's very magnanimous of you, but if we | very magnanimous of you, but if we can focus on your party, the ak party, what do you put your party's poor showing down to? we party, what do you put your party's poor showing down to?— party, what do you put your party's poor showing down to? we do respect the decisions — poor showing down to? we do respect the decisions of _ poor showing down to? we do respect the decisions of people. _ poor showing down to? we do respect the decisions of people. we _ poor showing down to? we do respect the decisions of people. we believe i the decisions of people. we believe we receive their message, we will have our inside discussions in our own political party, and we just need to work harder to reach more people. and what does this result mean for the future of the ak party, and by extension president erdogan? well, we need to listen to the

people — this is very early to make a speculation — about the results, about the reasons for the results. so we just need to listen to the people and get our inside discussions and work harder to reach more people and get our messages, and tell them what we have done for the people of turkiye and what we can do in the future. indie the people of turkiye and what we can do in the future.— can do in the future. we will leave it there, thanks _ can do in the future. we will leave it there, thanks very _ can do in the future. we will leave it there, thanks very much. - rumeysa kadak, mp for the ak party, in istanbul. to the middle east now — where thousands of protestors have gathered in cities across israel to call for elections, due to the government's handling of the on—going crisis in gaza. the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, said a vote would paralyse the country and stop efforts to beat hamas. he will go undergo surgery on sunday for a hernia his doctors discovered during a routine examination. mr netanyahu will be fully sedated during the procedure — his office says that deputy, yariv levin, will serve as acting prime minister during this time. mr netanyahu said he'll

be back to work soon, translation: my medical statement is transparent, it is known. _ sure, a lot of people are saying crazy things, but of course, no boundaries. my wife went to an appendectomy, and people said that she spent a whole week at a villa somewhere. and ijust had the flu, people said that i was — where was it? that i was at... absolutely no boundaries to the lies, ijust went through an examination — and thank you to all the people asking for my well—being. and i promise you that this operation that i'm undergoing tonight, i will also go through very quickly and i'll be back to my duties as fast as possible. jo floto is our middle east bureau chief, and has this analysis on what benjamin netanyahu was hoping to achieve.

look, i think he was appearing tonight as an act of both reassurance and warning to his friends and critics. so the reassurance that he was still vigorously in charge of his government, as he prepared to hand over the reins of power to his deputy — and a warning there to those people converging on towns around israel, but particularlyjust a few kilometres away outside the israeli parliament, calling for new elections and for him to step down, that those new elections would cause a paralysis in government, would hamper negotiations for the hostage release, and would be welcomed first and foremost by hamas. and to them, he was warning that no amount of pressure — not from the us or anywhere else — was going to prevent eventually a military assault on the southern town of rafah, where mr netanyahu believes hamas are still holding several thousand of their own militiamen, and also where the hostages are most likely to be held as well.

let's break down who those people are. so some of them are groups of hostages, families and their supporters who believe that mr netanyahu doesn't have the commitment to secure a ceasefire deal that would release their loved ones from from gaza. their point of view is that it's been four months since the last deal that saw a significant release of hostages — and since then, very little has happened in that regard. they've been joined by other people who object to mr netanyahu, on political grounds — and you'll remember last year, hundreds of thousands of people were paralysing the streets of israel every weekend, protesting against mr netanyahu's planned constitutional reforms. they have now coalesced to try and get mr etanyahu to step down and call new elections. he is very unpopular in the polls, but this war is still something that most israelis think is the right thing to be doing. king charles has made his first major public appearance since being diagnosed with cancer. king charles and queen camilla have attended the easter sunday service

at st george's chapel, in windsor. here they are, leaving st george's chapel, in windsor earlier — much to the delight of crowds who had lined up to see them. he wasn't expected to mingle, but he did — greeting well—wishers and thanking them for waiting out in the cold. the prince and princess of wales did not attend, as catherine is receiving cancer treatment. the king has continued some work since his diagnosis, but all engagements so far have taken place in private. so this attendance at the easter morning church service at st george's chapel will be seen as an encouraging sign about his health. our reporter charlotte gallagher has more. the king and queen arriving at the easter sunday service, and waves for the crowds at windsor castle. this is an annual tradition but this hasn't been a normal year for the royalfamily, with both the king and the princess

of wales diagnosed with cancer. prince william and catherine weren't at the service today. they are spending the easter holidays with their three children in private. this was the last time they were all seen together in public — christmas day at sandringham. today marks the king's first significant public duty since his diagnosis last month. happy easter. best wishes for the princess of wales. you are very brave to stand out here in the cold. a chance to say thank you to well—wishers. hello, how are you? many had travelled to windsor especially to see the royals. i hope you haven't got too cold standing here. happy easter, i hope you are doing well. they didn't expect to meet the king. happy easter, your majesty. remain strong. never give in. thank you very much.

he seemed in great spirits, really, he seemed very humoured and i said to him, would you give, you know, our best wishes from wales to the princess of wales, and i spoke to her majesty the queen camilla as well and, yes, it was a joyful occasion. it's hoped this could be the start of the king making a slow return to public duties. now, we are not expecting him to be immediately carrying out a full calendar of events. but we are perhaps expecting him to be seen more in public and you got a sense today that he has missed being out, meeting people, chatting, shaking hands, and doing a part of the job which he obviously enjoys. lovely to see you. this has been a difficult few months for the royalfamily, but today seemed a positive sign about the king's health and recovery. charlotte gallagher, bbc news. around the world and across

the uk, this is bbc news.

thousands of people have taken to the streets of haiti to mark easter weekend — the first major national holiday since the country's government collapsed. the caribbean island has been gripped by gang violence, with more than 1,500 people killed so far this year, and tens of thousands left homeless. the united nations, has described the situation as cataclysmic. nomia iqbal reports from cap haitien, in haiti. as haiti spirals into violence, people try to hold on to their traditions. thousands of worshippers walk through narrow, dusty roads in cap haitian praying for peace in a country whose capital has descended into lawlessness. in gang—controlled port—au—prince the city is still suffering with people fighting for basic supplies. most easter processions

were cancelled. there was a rare moment ofjoy, though, as children crafted colourful kites, an easter tradition. more than 100 miles away nun checks in with her family every day to make sure they are still alive. her father says there was a shooting today, everyone is ok. he tells her he feels broken, though. nun left port—au—prince because of the violence. her cousin was killed by a gang in the capital last year. i have friends that after school they decided to open a business or things like that and after some time either they got killed or they got robbed, so its two ways. either you stay and you fight or you go. even though i go i'll come back because i have a plan, i have a dream and that dream is happening in haiti. the country is now waiting to see exactly who will take on the gangs

in the fight for power. a presidential transitional council is in the works and the group's main goal will be to restore order and democracy to a nation that is at a crucial turning point in history. one of the country's most powerful gang leaders, jimmy cherizier, has said he is open to a ceasefire. known as barbecue, he and his coalition control much of the capital right now, but he wants a seat at the negotiating table. it will be hard to convince many haitians though to accept violent gangsters as future political leaders. translation: when gangs attack, they are terrorising people - and they don't have any compassion, theyjust kill. the population is dying, it's true, because it's the country which is dying. when the port is dysfunctional, the airport is dysfunctional and the hospital is dysfunctional, people will definitely die. haiti is a country with a lot of faith, but constant, overlapping crises have pushed it to the brink and with little

change so far, right now hope is all people have. nomia iqbal, bbc news, haiti. supporters of india's main opposition alliance have held a major rally in the capital ahead of next month's general election. it's the first meeting since the arrest of the chief minister of delhi, arvind kejriwal, on corruption charges ten days ago. opposition parties accuse the governing bjp of using investigative agencies to detain their leaders and prevent them from campaigning. the government denies this. our south asia editor anbarasan ethirajan has more. opposition supporters have gathered here and they are coming from delhi and other neighbouring states near the capital city. now they are calling for the release of the delhi chief minister. he was taken into custody ten days ago on corruption charges, which he denies. major leaders are addressing this rally, saying that india's democracy and constitution should be saved,

and that is the motive of this major rally here. the congress party says its bank accounts have been frozen and they have been asked to pay more than $200 million in fines for allegedly violating tax rules. but the government denies any political motive behind this action, saying the law will take its own course. india's elections are due to start on 19th april, and will be held in several phases. the campaign is going across the country for this mammoth exercise, but what the opposition is saying is that there is no level playing field. for example, they accuse the election commission of being biased towards the governing bjp and they said that investigating agencies are being used to cripple them, to stifle dissent, to prevent them from campaigning. however, the governing bjp denies these charges and the mammoth exercise

of india's general election, in which prime minister mahendra modi is seeking a third straight term, is starting on 19 april. the pope has delivered his traditional easter mass in the vatican, where he renewed his call for a ceasefire in gaza and the release of hostages being held there. pope francis also used his easter sunday message to warn countries against re—arming themselves. here's our religion editor aleem maqbool. when pope francis pulled out of some easter events, concerns about his health intensified. but the vatican said it was to conserve energy for today. and that seems to have worked. though a little out of breath, easter mass went smoothly. after which the 87—year—old went on a drive about, to greet what police estimated to be around 60,000 people who'd come to saint peter's square.

events culminated with the pope's easter message. in he renewed calls for access to aid in gaza, for the return of hostages held there, and for an immediate ceasefire. he also focused on what children in gaza have been witnessing. translation: how much suffering we i see in the eyes of these children. i those children in that area of war have forgotten how to smile. with those eyes they ask us, why? why all this death? why all this destruction? war is always an absurdity and a defeat. celebrations in the holy land this year, including at the church of the holy sepulchre at the site where christians believe jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead, was scaled down. palestinian christians talked of an easter tinged

with sadness and many foreign pilgrims stayed away. at canterbury cathedral, archbishopjustin welby did talk of foreign conflicts, but also prayed for the king and princess of wales and others he said were suffering the same way, and he talked of other struggles closer to home. whether it is the evil of people smugglers or county lines in our schools, or the pain and suffering in a family riven with grief or rage or substance abuse, jesus the god man who experienced every pain and temptation is calling you and me to love in action. the archbishop talked of the easter story, giving hope of bringing light to darkness, and here at the vatican the pope ended by saying it was also a reminder of the value of every human life. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in rome.

scientists say gulls should be seen not as pests but as clever, adaptable birds which are being forced into cities by the loss of their natural spaces. here's our environment correspondent, helen briggs. seagulls showing off their flying skills on a winter's day. they may be a common sight near the coast, but, hit by bird flu and the loss of wild spaces, some populations are in trouble. i don't think people realise that the numbers, especially of our breeding gulls, have been declining. perhaps they don't take so much notice of them and realise that numbers have been dropping off. they are quite a visual species. they are in our towns and parks in urban areas and we've become very familiar with them. three common gulls and 26 black—headed gulls. in january hundreds of volunteers took part in the first national survey of winter gulls in 20 years, to get a better picture of the six main species that spend the winter here. the tide is dropping and the gulls

are starting to gather. we've got black—headed gulls here, a few common gulls, and some herring gulls. the idea of today's exercise is to count them coming in, do a census, look at population change. not everyone is a fan of seagulls. some species, such as the herring gull, are notorious for raiding bins and stealing food. here in brighton, people have mixed views. i think people are very unkind and cruel to seagulls. they throw stones at them. i hate them. why do you hate them? the other day i ate a doughnut, and theyjust stole it right out of my hand. they love a doughnut, you can't walk around | with food in your hand, | that's the only problem with seagulls, but other. than that they are cushty. this scientist says seagulls aren't the problem, it's us. if you think of an animal as a pest it is a negative mindset. if we think of them as intelligent creatures, thriving in an environment that we forced upon them, then that should give us a more respectful outlook of herring gull behaviour.

the data from the survey will be used to draw up new conservation plans for seagulls, with the hope that we can learn to live better alongside each other. helen briggs, bbc news, on the south coast. it has been one of music sensations of the year — but some people say they have a problem with beyonce's new country album cowboy carter. # this ain't texas, ain't no hold �*em # so lay your cards down... fans say five tracks are missing from the vinyl version of the record. they include some of the best—received songs — like ya ya and spaghetti. more on the story on our website, check it out there. bye for now. hello there. we saw mixed fortunes of weather on easter sunday. a lot of cloud across large parts of england and wales, best of the sunshine across scotland and northern ireland. for easter monday, again, there will be some rain around through central parts of the uk,

top and tail of the country should see some sunshine, but there will be further showers. central parts of the country affected by this weather front, that is where the rain will be through the day on monday. some of it fairly heavy at times, north wales, north midlands, northern england pushing into southern scotland as well, maybe across the irish sea into the isle of man and north northern ireland. much of northern scotland should be dry with some sunshine, best of it in the west. the rest of england and wales, sunny spells, scattered showers, some of these may be heavy and also slow—moving. we will see top temperatures of 111—15 celsius in the southeast, still chilly across this northeast corner with a nagging northeasterly breeze coming in off the north sea. as we head through monday night, looks like the rain shifts northwards into much of scotland. could see a bit of snow on the mountaintops of scotland. elsewhere, largely dry with clear spells. again, a feww showers dotted around southern parts of england. temperature—wise, 4—8 celsius for many, still quite chilly, though, across northern scotland. for tuesday, we have a weakening area of low pressure, weather front moving northwards, but a new one arrives across

southern areas later in the day. so it means that england and wales could see quite a bit of sunshine around for tuesday morning. northern parts of the country, particularly scotland, will see outbreaks of rain continuing. again, a little bit of winteriness over the higher ground, but showers will develop across england and wales into the afternoon as temperatures rise. wetter and windy weather arriving across the far south of the country later in the day. again, those temperatures mid—teens in the south, still quite chilly in the north. as we continue to move through the new week, low—pressure system one after the other continue to hurtle in off the atlantic. that will bring spells of wet and windy weather, particularly windy towards the end of the week, you can see all the isobars here. in between there will be some sunshine and further showers. a very unsettled week ahead to come for much of the uk, like i mentioned, those areas of low pressure bringing spells of wet and windy weather. but it will be very mild on the flip side, particularly england and wales. towards the end of the week, we could be looking at highs of 17—18 celsius across southern

parts of the country, given a little bit of sunshine. but it is remaining unsettled.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk.

welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur and today i'm on the road — and on the water — in guyana, south america, a country of extraordinary ecosystems and of vast resource potential. the question is, which comes first? guyana has always been resource—rich. for decades, the rush was for gold. now it's for oil. guyana is fast becoming a petrostate, the fastest growing economy in the world. but new wealth has stoked old tensions. neighbouring socialist venezuela claims a vast chunk of guyanese territory. the stakes are suddenly very high. we shall never surrender an inch of our territory.

heavily forested guyana has always been a carbon sink.