welcome to newsday. i'm babita sharma in london. the headlines: she is on the side of the british the british prime minister blames people, who are tired with the whole process. mps for delaying brexit. she says she's on the side theresa may has asked of the british people, the eu to extend the date who are tired of the whole process. britain will leave the eu to the thirtieth ofjune. theresa may now heads to brussels, the eu say they will only agree where eu leaders say to a delay if she gets the backing they will allow an extension of mps for her exit plan. to brexit, but only if the uk parliament backs her withdrawal plan. rescue teams are struggling to reach survivors i'm rico hizon in singapore, six days after cyclone idai also in the programme: hit southern africa. in the city of beira, aid workers say they have only two to three days of clean water left. rescue teams struggle to reach survivors six days after cyclone idai hit southern africa. and this video is trending on bbc.com: can you tell who it is? hundreds are feared to have died. it's one of the many and the grief of a democratic presidential candidates — it's supposed to be a huge sister and daughter. maryam gul speaks to us about her parents and brother, representation of beto o'rouke who died in the christchurch attacks. that's all. stay with bbc world news.

now it is time for hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. when it comes to brexit, the usual political cliches about end games and moments of truth are useless — theresa may has managed to turn brexit into the crisis that never ends. now she wants the eu to agree to a three—month extension to the departure deadline. it had been fixed for march 29. will the eu 27 agree? my my guest is the czechoslovakian foreign minister tomas petricek. what will they need in order to give britain in to sort out the mess it is in. tomas petricek, welcome to

hardtalk. thank you for having me. to describe what is happening in rich politics to date concerning brexit as chaos would be being very polite to. you havejust brexit as chaos would be being very polite to. you have just come from a meeting with the british foreign secretary. what do you as a foreign minister of one of the eu 27 nations make of what is going on in london? the problem for us is the uncertainty. we do not know what is going to be the outcome and for us it is important that we have is an orderly brexit. we do not want the no deal solution either. and if an extension may help we are ready to

consider it. but we need to see the light at the end of the tunnel. we will get to those details in a moment. but on a personal and political level, do you find what is happening in westminster, the british parliament, right now, as pretty much incomprehensible? we have negotiated with the uk over the last two years the deal and that was not easy for either the uk or the eu 27. it has been a delicate compromise at the end of the day. now we expected ratification to take place. but it did not happen and for us place. but it did not happen and for us it is important that there is a solution. we know what britain does not want. we do want to know what you do want. we don't have a clue what britain is positively accept

that —— prepared to accept. and i guess that is the crux of your problem. how frustrated at you? according to the words of an influential german mp who represents the free democrats, this morning he said this in the wake of the latest round of chaos with mrs may telling the eu she wants a three—month extension. he says that if there is nothing in london but shaking heads and screaming speaker of the house, chaos and domestic political misery, they cannot be a continuation because we would just be continuing this misery. do you feel pretty much the same way? the european council is going to discuss the request from prime minister theresa may tomorrow in brussels. we are ready to consider the request at the same time but we need to know more. is there a solution? is there a possibility to have an agreement in westminster on the mutual agreement?

she has written a letter, as i sure you know, a letter to the eu negotiators and to the council saying that, look, frankly we have not got a deal. i believe i can still get this deal through but i need more time. she is not offering a new deal, she is simply saying i am staying with the old plan and at some point i believe i can get it through but only if you give me more time. is that enough? if it creates a window of opportunity to reach agreement that the majority are in favour of the withdrawal agreement in westminster we should truly seriously considering —— consider extending it. ialso seriously considering —— consider extending it. i also saw the words ofjean—claude juncker that we have european elections at the end of may which may complicate things that we believe brussels will discuss that seriously this request because the timing is probably something that we

are missing at the moment. there are nine days until the former deadline. i hope that there will be an option to use the additional time to forge a majority in westminster. you are treading delicately around this. let me quote you just from the last few minutes, the words of the french foreign minister who said this in paris. he said that if theresa may can not offer sufficient guarantees about the credibility of her strategy, and i guess that basically means that she can guarantee she will get it through the british parliament, then the european council will turn down her extension request. the french are not being as delicate as you. they say they are minded to turn this down. there is a lot at stake. britain is not leaving europe it is only about withdrawing

from the eu. and britain will remain an important partner for from the eu. and britain will remain an important partnerfor my from the eu. and britain will remain an important partner for my country and for all the eu. and we want to have a good relationship in the future. the corner store now about —— the cornerstone of our approach to the brexit issue. we have prepared for a no deal brexit option as well. we have passed legislation that will allow british citizens to stay in the country. were preparing for the option that we do not want but we probably need to face reality. when it comes to extensions, i think that we should consider it. that this is a way how to give space for theresa may and others to try and accept a deal. to give space for theresa may and others to try and accept a deallj just wonder if this is a moment of truth not just just wonder if this is a moment of truth notjust what just wonder if this is a moment of truth not just what the just wonder if this is a moment of truth notjust what the main and the british government which is patently ina british government which is patently in a terrible mess but it will also bea

in a terrible mess but it will also be a very interesting moment for the eu 27. thus far, for the last two yea rs of eu 27. thus far, for the last two years of this complex negotiation, the 27 have remained united. right now because we are so intensely involved in the endgame, a cliche i try to avoid, maybe the unity is beginning to fragment. the french, it seems, will take a harder line then you take with me. unity at the end is based on compromise which needs to be discussed tomorrow in brussels. i believe that the eu 27 will remain united because what we certainly do not want is that individual member states form their own path. we have so far found compromise. the only thing i am saying to the public is that we will certainly consider the request. and

we are looking for options that may help us get to a deal. you will consider it but i do not hearfrom you anything specific that you say mrs may must deliver before you will approve an extension request. can you be specific about what you now need to see from the british government? we need to know what is the strategy. what does britain want? how prime minister may would like to reach the majority in westminster. because what i have discussed with my british partners is that nobody really wants in a no deal solution. what we want is to find a way to get an agreement and there is no indication of what the plan is but i believe that there will be scope to debate tomorrow and

theresa may will have to present it. theresa may will have to present it. the tomorrow with theresa may goes to the european council, she will not be able to guarantee that she can geta not be able to guarantee that she can get a deal is apparently set, through the british parliament. are you saying that they need to go back to london, she will need to win that vote for the eu, maybe in an emergency council on the eve of the march to nine deadline, could then ratify an extension. is that the way you see it playing out? it may be the way. i did not have a crystal ball, i could not guess. there is another problem here and you alluded to earlier, and that is that the eu parliamentary elections. as i understand it, mrs may was advised on the telephone byjean—claude juncker that she should not seek an extension before may 23 because, in his view, and we know it is the view

of the bureaucrats and the commission, if britain is inside the eu after may 23 then it is required to hold european parliamentary elections that take place on that day. it seems that mrs may has com pletely day. it seems that mrs may has completely ignored that advice from jean—claude juncker and she is seeking an extension or the way through to june 30. seeking an extension or the way through tojune 30. in your view is that another big problem? i don't think it is a big problem. at the end of the day. we have a solution for uk was drawing on the table so you are not participating in the elections, you are not going to participate in the creation of a new commission. that is european legislation that has already been put in place and in this context i believe that there may be an option that the elections until the end of

june but it is up to the prime minister and the presidents tomorrow. you have had some inside track today because you have seen the british foreign secretary, jeremy hunt. did he give you any assurances that the deal will now be put back before the british parliament in the next few days and that in his view it will be passed. what was he able to say to you in terms of guarantees and assure ra nters ? terms of guarantees and assure ra nte rs ? we terms of guarantees and assure ranters? we don't have guarantees at the moment. you don't? did he look uncomfortable in your conversation? we agreed on friday that no deal solution is not something that we seek. but there is a chance that the withdrawal agreement will be approved in parliament. but there are no guarantees at the moment. interesting that you have said several times that we do not want a no deal outcome. there are still

many brexiteers, that is those who are absolutely adamant that the british government should leave with no deal rather than accept the current deal, those people still, it seems, thinks that the onus is on the eu to provide more concessions and they seem to believe that the eu, fundamentally, is so alarmed by the prospect of no deal that at the last second of the last minute of the last hour why you and your collea g u es the last hour why you and your colleagues will blink and you will offer more concessions. what you say to them? as i said at the beginning, the agreement we have since last november is a delicate compromise. it is not a comp ice between the eu and the uk, it is a compromise with the eu 27 and we should approach it in this context. it would be harsh to open disagreement. hard, but not impossible? i believe it almost impossible. i don't see the option

that we are reopening the text of the agreement. that is off the table right now and what we want is to know the strategy that theresa may is taking to ratify the agreement. if no deal is the outcome, will you regard that as a profound failure, not just of the regard that as a profound failure, notjust of the politicians political in britain but a failure of the eu 27 as well? it is not time to look at who is to blame. i believe that if no deal is the end of the game then we need to focus on re—establishing the relationship between the eu and the uk. how frustrated are you that brexiteer sucking up so much time, energy and resources a cross sucking up so much time, energy and resources across the european union.

here we are on the eve of another council, and there may be an emergency council the week after, dominated by brexit. you have no idea what is going to happen, no idea what is going to happen, no idea of long—term impact on the eu economy. how frustrated are you the european —— as a european politician that this is dominating your agenda? first, i used to study in the uk and it isa first, i used to study in the uk and it is a pity that the uk chose to leave the eu and i would like would rather have you win the club. we have to face reality and the truth is that brexit has become such a huge expenditure when it comes to time and energy of the people in europe we see the fatigue settling in amongst the population and we face a lot of problems elsewhere. we are diverging our attention from issues of what to do with the

economy, global trade, security issues around us. we have instability in our neighbourhood. profound challenges. that is undoubtedly true. so let us just consider where the czech republic sits on one of the most challenging issues in europe today and that is migration. i choose that because the european elections are coming up and the influential hungarian prime minister says that these elections, and frankly all political debate in europe right now can be boiled down toa europe right now can be boiled down to a profound battle between the pro— immigration forces led by emanuel macron in france and the anti— immigration populist national politicians like orban and, possibly, like your president and prime minister who are both populist. how comfortable are you that the czech republic, being on

the side of the populace? the picture is much more complex, it's not and white and the czech republic has a population of ten million and we have more than 500,000 foreigners living in the country so we are not a closed country. we are not anti— immigration. foreign minister, if i may quote your own boss, he met with donald trump a short time ago. donald trump a short time ago. donald trump a short time ago. donald trump said, how mean migrants are you prepared to take as part of the european union? your prime minister andrej babis boasted to donald trump, he said, how many migrants ami donald trump, he said, how many migrants am i taking? zero. that is mr andrej babis's politics. we distinguish between immigration and we have always advocated regular migration as part of our daily life but we don't want illegal migration. there is also migration from the

south but also areas like vietnam's, eastern parts of europe, central asia and really we have 5% of the population living in my country are foreigners. we have a good track record... the eu commission has launched a legal action against all four so—called visegrad countries. we have quotas... which is why you are in dispute with the eu. it is not the way you will should approach the crisis. those that start with... they sure are. you talked about unity and solidarity in europe, you are breaking that. the debate is involved in more and more emphasis is put on tackling the route causes of the problem. we show measurable solidarity. however you slice it indicted, you are still in dispute,

you and the facts speak for themselves. the 2000 asylum seekers, you eventually agree to take 12, hungary and poland took precisely zero. you guys in the visegrad area, neighbourhood, are becoming the symbolic defenders of an anti—immigration populism which is threatening, and use that word and advisedly, threatening the coherence and unity of the european union. we are not against immigration. we clearly distinguish, if we are to face the problem we need to tackle the route causes. we need to limit the route causes. we need to limit the push factors also. we need to focus on issues like fighting this model in human traffickers, how to better protect our borders. these

are from details statements, understand they are important and our details, but come back to your comfort as a social democrat sitting ina comfort as a social democrat sitting in a coalition government, when you hear your own president, milos zeman, saying this, i do not believe there are moderate muslims and radical was things. the anti— civilisation spreading from north africa to indonesia is the enemy. there are 2 billion people living there are financed by selling oil in pa rt by there are financed by selling oil in part by selling drugs, that seems to me likea part by selling drugs, that seems to me like a form of islam phobia and it's coming from your head of state. again, are you happy with the czech republic sits in the current debate? i'm a social democrat. solidarity... are you appalled when your own head of state is something like that? that is democracy. answer my question. the president was elected in elections. i don't have to agree with every single thing he says.

it's a much broader, complex issue on the table. if you speak about migration, we are taking the burden but probably not in the parts of the world the media are covering right now. i suppose there is a challenge coming up because the commission has launched enquiries into the hungary and poland are challenging and threatening the values, the core values of the european union. now the european parliament has recently voted, funding could be withheld from countries that are deemed to be violating the rule of law and it will not necessarily have to involve a unanimity process at the eu level. the question is, will the czech republic in the future support measures to punish countries like hungary if they are found to be in violation of eu core principles? the rule of law, democracy, this is a

plus for the european union and november we will commemorate a0 yea rs november we will commemorate a0 years from the fall of communism in our part of the world and reporting from prague... you are quite right. it's a world revolution and i'm committed to what we wanted 30 years ago, which was to turn back to europe, become part of the democratic world. to respect the principles and values on which it stands. the rule of law is important to me. we need to discuss it. will you support actions taken against viktor 0rban you support actions taken against viktor0rban in you support actions taken against viktor 0rban in hungary, seen as a curbing of free expression and corruption. according to the european parliament which voted this way, it seems to be in violation of eu values. the european approach has been always based on dialogue and at the moment, the dialogue with

poland, there are changes in the law. asked about hungary. the same applies to hungary. first have a dialogue with hungry but also listen to the other side. i speak with my hungarian counterparts quite often. the way they wipe not be raising these issues. before using formal instruments. let's try to discuss theissues instruments. let's try to discuss the issues and try to find a solution to these discussions. final port because the european parliamentary elections are coming up. if we are talking about the rise of populist nationalism in europe, why is it that the social democrats are down at 78% of the vote were as andrej babis's party which is much more outspoken and populist is winning 30% of the vote. what is going on in the czech republic? why is this? that is probably a question

for the political scientists. i'm afraid we made some mistakes in the past. we have to learn from those mistakes. what i believe we achieved over the past year is that we stabilised our party, we are much more prone to face the populist movements, to face the populists in general in my country. the fact that we are now in a coalition, yes, we met with prime minister babis because he wanted to prevent the extremists taking more responsibility but governing my country. i believe as the president used to tell, step—by—step, everyday politics might be this back to the

right track. we know in britain, everyday counts. they could have been with us on hardtalk. it's a pleasure, thank you. hello. it was the spring equinox yesterday it felt like spring, particularly if you were in the sunshine. we had an abundance of sunshine across parts of east wales, the midlands and northern england so sheffield and harden, two of the areas to reach 19 degrees. the highest it's been since that warmth we had in february. these are the sort of weather watcher pictures we had sent in. the cloudier skies as well such as here and i think today on balance

we will have rather more cloud than yesterday. but it still should be, for many of us, dry. however, there is always an exception to the rule. for scotland we have this weather front. bring this persistent vein to the highlands and islands. quite a wet spell here for the next couple of days. that south—westerly wind maintains the wild weather through the night, just the holes in the crowd fill in with mist and fog. it could be quite murky first thing. that fog should lift except on the hills and coasts around the south and west of england and wales, scotland too where it remains quite dreary and damp. even though the rain makes its way further northwards, you can see it has drifted into central parts of scotland so a different complexion to the weather here. if we do see some brightness, potentially up in the north—east england, temperatures again 16, 17 degrees. for most of us, less sunshines, just a lot of cloud, still largely dry weather. through the evening that rain gets pushed away on a strengthening wind and we watch the next weather front hot on its heels through northern and western areas so through the night into friday, it turns very wet once again

so parts of north—west scotland could have a considerable amount of rain in the next day or two. it does freshen up and dry up behind and sunshine returns but ahead of it on friday, for many, still be largely dry but rather cloudy and mild. it's a difference, really. we are changing our mild atlantic south—westerly winds press lightly cooler north—westerlies. mild, but temperatures will dip back to where they should be for the time of year and we'll see the sunshine returning. it could be disappointingly cloudy across southern areas on saturday. a third or fourth day of cloudy weather here. eventually, that brighter weather will win through and temperatures you can see are down, significantly so. we are back into that chilly air and we have some wintry showers. friday, thursday night, friday, looks like the chillier spell, we will keep the brisk wind coming in through the weekend. that will accentuate the chill. as for next week, we keep

the high—pressure close to the south. temperatures recovering a little, i should say, with some spring sunshine. bye— bye.