israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu temporarily hands over power to his deputy, in order to undergo surgery. that she has been operated successfully on for a hernia. as a power vacuum in haiti is filled by armed gangs — we have a special report. and king charles attends an easter service — followed by a walkabout. 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 7am in the morning in singapore, and 2am in turkey — where president erdogan�*s party is facing losses in municipal elections across much of the country, including istanbul, the nation's largest city. three quarters of the votes have been counted,

with the main opposition chp well ahead of the the president's ak party in many big urban centres. the opposition�*s leading figure — istanbul's current mayor, ekrem imamoglu — has declared victory after securing just over 50% of the vote. this is significant because he's viewed as the best placed opposition candidate for the presidency in 2028. onur erem is from the bbc turkish service, and he gave us the latest. more than 80% of the votes have been counted, and the opposition is still leading in most of the cities, and especially the biggest cities. they've won six of the seven largest cities in turkey — and for the first time in the last 2a years, they've managed to win more municipalities than the government party, the akp. so what does this mean for president erdogan and his ak party? he was speaking half an hourago, 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, "this is not an end for our party, but a turning point instead." why have voters then flocked to the oppoistion in istanbul and ankara, and other major cities, as well? in the last few years, there's 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. but 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 morale boost for them after last yea r�*s loss.

and the mayor of istanbul, ekrem imamoglu, in today's speech, he said, "this is not only an important day for istanbul or turkey, but for the western world." he said, "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." and you mentioned that the chp didn't do so well in the presidential elections last year, so what's changed then since that's led to all these successes in these municipal elections? well, the biggest change in the chp was their leader. their 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. the leading opposition figure, istanbul's current mayor, ekrem imamoglu, said this at the party headquarters. translation: we have 9696 of the votin: data translation: we have 9696 of the voting data and _ translation: we have 9696 of the voting data and are _ translation: we have 9696 of the voting data and are leading - voting data and are leading with a difference ofjust over i with a difference ofjust over i million votes. as of this moment in the istanbul metropolitan municipal elections, we can say that 16 million people of istanbul have given us the authority for a new term. he told his party they did not receive the _ he told his party they did not receive the desired _ he told his party they did not receive the desired results i he told his party they did not receive the desired results inj receive the desired results in the election, but said this was

not the end for his party, but a turning point, in front of a rather quiet crowd. earlier, we heard from rumeysa kadak, who's istanbul mp for president erdogan�*s ak party. she had this to say about the results. 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 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 do respect 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 also what we can do in the future. 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 had surgery on sunday night

for a hernia and was temporarily replaced by his deputy, yariv levin. mr netanyahu said he'll be back to work soon, jo floto is our middle east bureau chief, and has this analysis. 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 particularly just 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 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 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. meanwhile, a hamas offical says israel and hamas are "too far apart" for talks to progress — discussions over a possible new gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal are expected to resume in cairo, according to egyptian media. meanwhile, at least four people have been killed and others injured. after the israeli military carried out an air strike inside a hospital compound in central gaza. this is the moment it happened.

the israeli military says it carried out the air strike on an islamichhad command centre in the courtyard of al—aqsa hospital, in deir al—balah. among those injured were seven media workers, including a freelance journalist working for bbc news. king charles has made his first major public appearance, since being diagnosed with cancer. along with queen camilla, he attended the easter sunday service at st george's chapel, in windsor. the prince and princess of wales did not attend, as catherine is receiving cancer treatment. 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 yearfor 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 royal family, 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 herfamily 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 it's 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. 0pposition parties accuse the governing bjp of using investigative agencies to detain their leaders and prevent them from campaigning. the government denies this. 0ur south asia editor anbarasan ethirajan has more. 0pposition 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 19 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. romania and bulgaria have become the newest members of the europe's schengen area of free movement — but only for air and sea crossings. land border controls will remain in place because of austria's opposition to the eastern european nations becoming full members of the zone. vienna fears an influx of asylum seekers if all border controls disappear. romania's interior minister, catalin predoiu, said joining schengen was an important moment for his country and its citizens. emer mccarthy has more from the newsroom. after a 13 year long wait, romania and bulgaria have officiallyjoined the schengen area of free movement. but there's a catch — the free movement only applies to air and sea crossings, that's after austria opposed their full membership. it's concerned about an influx of

asylum—seekers if all border controls were to disappear. these are the scenes from the airport on sunday morning. translation: it's translation: it's extraordinary, - translation: it'sl extraordinary, what translation: it's - extraordinary, what can i translation: it's extraordinary, what can i say? at the — extraordinary, what can i say? at the special feeling. i took out my— at the special feeling. i took out my passport for nothing! it's nice _ out my passport for nothing! it's nice to feel like a european citizen. translation: y , ., translation: it's very easy at the borders. — translation: it's very easy at the borders, i— translation: it's very easy at the borders, i have _ translation: it's very easy at the borders, i have no - translation: it's very easy at| the borders, i have no problems at alt _ the borders, i have no problems at all. , , ., at all. the president of the eumpean _ at all. the president of the european commission, - at all. the president of the i european commission, ursula at all. the president of the - european commission, ursula von der leyen, welcomed the news, posting on x... last month, the eu's border agency said it would triple the number of its officers and bulgaria to help stem the amount of people crossing into the block from turkey. both bulgaria and romania hope to complete the process for full membership by the end of the year. 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 see in the eyes of these children. 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. seagulls showing off their flying skills scientists say seagulls 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's 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. it's not clear whether all vinyls are affected, but fans have also reported that cd copies are missing four tracks. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. 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.

the battle for steel. plus the rise of hands—free driving, is the technology save or is it a threat to road safety? hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. we begin with the purchase of us steel, japan's industrial giant has defended its proposed acquisition of the united states second biggest steel producer. the deal was agreed in n'simba, but the white house said last month that the company should remain in domestic ownership. their incoming president has called for its deep roots in the united states to be recognised. here is our business reporter. here is our business reporter. here he is, the new president. here he is, the new president. he takes a post today and on the top of a tricky assignment from a $14 billion purchase of us steel. a deal has been agreed, but it's united these

two, president biden and