i'm kasia madera, in london. the headlines: follwing hours of talks, the european union unanimously agrees to give britain more time to prepare for brexit, but on condition that the uk parliament agrees to theresa may's deal. this closes and complete the full package. there is no more that you can have. we are hopeful that the agreement will be adopted by the house of commons. theresa may says that, while she understands the frustration of british mps, it's time to put an end to the uncertainty. i hope we can all agree we are now at the moment of decision and i will

make every effort to make sure we can leave with a deal and move our country forward. i'm rico hizon, in singapore. a week on from the mosque attacks in christchurch, events are being held to remember the victims. it has been a week sent the country's worst mass shooting. commemorations will begin shortly to remember the victims. and as thailand prepares to head for the polls, we hear how candidates prepare to woo the seven million first—time voters. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news — it's newsday. it's midnight in london,

8am in singapore, and 1:00 in the morning in brussels where european leaders have agreed to give britain two more months to prepare for its departure from the european union. but if british mps do not pass the withdrawal agreement, brussels will give london only two extra weeks before it leaves the bloc, possibly without any deal. mps are due to vote for a third time on prime minister theresa may's negotiated exit strategy next week. this is what the eu council president, donald tusk, said about the agreement. the european council decided to approve the agreement with regards to the extension. our decisions envisage two scenarios. in the first scenario, if there is no agreement passed by the house of commons next week, the european council agrees to

an extension until the 22nd of may. end the second scenario, if the agreement is not approved by the house of commons next week, the european council agrees to an extension until the 25th of april... 12th of april laughter while expecting the uk to indicate a way forward. what this means in practice all options will remain open until that day and the cliff edge date will be delayed. speaking after tusk, theresa may emphasised her desire to now work with mps in parliament in order move forward while the decision today underlines the importance of the house of commons passing a brexit deal next week so we can bring an end to the

uncertainty in a smooth and orderly manner. tomorrow morning i will be returning to the uk and working hard to build support forgetting the deal through. i know mps on all sides of the debate have passionate views and i respect those different positions. last night, i express my frustrations and i know that mps are frustrated also. they have difficult jobs to do. i hope we can all agree we are now at the moment of decision andi we are now at the moment of decision and i will make every effort to ensure we are able to leave with the deal and move our country forward. well, my colleague christian fraser has been monitoring developments in brussels all evening. here he is, a short while agojust after that newsconference by theresa may. the prime minister at the end of a very long day here in brussels. she does have her extension but tonight

she is a saying it is now the moment of decision and i think everybody can agree with that. it is going to bea can agree with that. it is going to be a busy week and most people say, when you look at the numbers in westminster, there is no majority for her deal. chris mason is in westminster and chris morris is here in brussels. i am looking at the lease. obviously she wants her deal. she is not going to revoke. it does not sound to me like she wants to extend because she does not want to be in the european elections which means deal or no deal. we saw her framing her arguments yesterday wanting to put her deal forward framing her arguments yesterday wanting to put her dealforward or the prospect of the uk living without a deal or certainly not living in a situation with further delay when she is still prime minister. it is worth repeating the

key dates. the news conferences in the last half hour say there is an extension until the 22nd of may, if the prime minister can get the deal through the commons. or to the 12th of april if she cannot. clearly the prime minister was making the argument — a familiar argument — that she wants to leave with a deal she has been trying to sell for months on and down. it is worth mentioning, it is striking listening to the news conferences, that is as close as you get to theresa may slamming on the brakes on the message that was taken away by mps from this statement last night. she was going out of the way to heap

praise on mps. they have a difficult job to do, she acknowledged she was very grateful not to those mps who supported the deal and those that have come around but also those who are still concerned about the deal. in other words, translator, every single mp. that was more than just an olive branch. her reaching out and acknowledging the framing which went down spectacularly badly with so many mps that she needs to reach out for them. she needs to persuade rather a lot of them. otherwise she has no prospect of winning next week. we will have more on the brexit deal later on newsday. it's now exactly a week since a horrific attack on two mosques in christchurch new zealand, in which fifty people died. it is thought the attacker modified his weapons, so they could hold more bullets. new zealand's prime minister, jacinda ardern, has announced that all types of semi—automatic weapons and assault rifles will now be banned.

mariko oi is there for us. they have been many tributes to honour the victims there? that's right and we are outside the mosque where 42 people lost their lives. eight others were gunned down in linwood mosque. iam eight others were gunned down in linwood mosque. i am wearing a headscarf to show respect to those who will start their friday prayers very shortly. roads have been blocked. many armed police officers. we are expecting hundreds, possibly thousands of people attending the memorial service about to start in 20 minutes' time when the call to

prayer will be broadcast nationally followed by a two minute's silence. anna fifield is an international foreign correspondent for the washington post. you have been covering this event all week but you are also from new zealand. how has it been to cover such tragedy chris make it felt very important for me asa make it felt very important for me as a new zealander who has been abroad for 20 years. it is such a shocking event. any terror attack is devastating but the fact that new zealand, at the bottom of the pacific ocean, isolated in many ways from the outside world and has never seen from the outside world and has never seena from the outside world and has never seen a terror attack of this sort before plus the fact that the death toll is so huge, it is harder to exaggerate the level of shock felt by new zealanders as a result of this. you have written a moving piece about how people think new

cylinders are very tolerant and peaceful but this highlights something people do not realise. new zealand has changed so much in the 20 years, now one in four new zealanders have been born outside the country, 20 ethnicities representing the country. it is a very diverse and multicultural country on the surface and in many ways free daily lives but this has caused reflection and introspection and people are asking whether we have managed to change attitudes as quickly as the demographics have changed. a lot of people talking about casual racism and whether there is something about new zealand that enabled this gunmen come here and train. —— gunman. he was australian and he chose new zealand specifically because it would be so

shocking. the fact is he trained here and was given some support here and it has caused a lot of reflection. the government reaction, especially the prime minister's handling of the crisis has won many praises abroad, especially when she changed gun laws, comparing it to other countries in the world. what has been the reaction to how the government has been handling this? it is striking to see just how much consensus there is of these assault weapons ban. everybody supports this. it is quite astonishing, especially having been in america and seem gun debate here, just how much unity varies. military style weapons are not necessary for the kind of gun sports and hunting that happened in new zealand. as well a lot of new zealanders, who may not

have supported the prime minister jacinda adern before have seen as a compassionate leader and has led by example. we will be back at half past the hour when the call to prayer will be broadcast nationally followed by a two minute silence to remember the 50 people who were killed in the attacks last friday. remember the youngest victim was only three years old, many of them had moved to new zealand, many refugees from syria, looking for a better life and a safe place to live, who were attacked and killed in those shootings last friday. we will have more shortly but for now back to you. thank you so much. let's take a look at some of the day's other news: president trump has said it's time the us recognised israel's sovereignty over the golan heights, which it captured from syria in 1967. in a tweet, he said the territory

was of critical strategic and security importance to the state of israel and to regional stability. golan heights when captured in 1967 and in1991 golan heights when captured in 1967 and in 1991 israel annexed the territory but that decision was not recognised by the international community. and so that is according to un resolutions and international law and that has been the position until now. the occupied golan heights israeli and the status would have to be decided in negotiation with syria. that has been the us policy for decades so mr trump has in effect upended years of us policy on the golan heights. also making news today:

as many as 100 people have died in iraq's worst transport accident for decades, when an overloaded ferry sank on the tigris river near the city of mosul. the ferry was packed with families celebrating kurdish new year. many were crossing the tigris to go to a popular picnic area, on what's a national holiday. it's thought that at least 19 children were among those who died. the former president of brazil, michel temer, has been arrested on charges of corruption. the 78—year—old has been detained in connection with a long—running investigation known as operation car wash, which has seen many politicians and business leaders in the country convicted or charged. mr temer denies any wrongdoing. six people have been killed and dozens more injured following a huge explosion at a chemical plant in china. the windows of houses and a school were shattered by the force of the explosion, and residents were evacuated amid concerns about toxic fumes, according to local media. the blast happened on thursday at a pesticide factory in yancheng, jiangsu province.

you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: we head to thailand where preparations are underway for an election at the weekend, where seven million young people will be voting for the first time. today, we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway passengers were affected. it will be no more war and bloodshed between arabs and israelis. with

great regret, many have decided that south africa is to be excluded from the 1970 competition. streaking across the sky, the white hot wreckage from mir true casks from onlookers on fiji. this is newsday on the bbc. our top stories. eu leaders in brussels give britain two more months to prepare for brexit. if mps do not pass the withdrawal agreement, then that will change to two extra weeks.

a week on from the mosque attacks in christchurch that killed 50 people, events are being held to remember the victims. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. we start with the south china morning post who are looking at china eu relations as president xi jingping lands in italy on a vistit. they say china are very keen to quell eu fears about their growing influence in the trading block. in the new york times they are focusing on the israeli elections. they say the race is so close that the arab voters — only a fifth of the population — may hold president netanyahu's fate in their hands. and in the international addition of the japan times the start of the cherry blossom

season has officially begun in tokyo. the world famous blossoms have opened five days earlier than average and are expected to reach full bloom in about seven days. there will be 7 million first—time voters in thailand's election on sunday. a new party called future forward is attracting their attention, with radical policies to deal with inequality and the influence of the military. but the military itself has set the electoral system, putting its own party in pole position. and it wants youth support too, as our correspondent jonathan head reports. canvassing jonathan head reports. on two wheels. when you canvassing are jonathan head reports. on two wheels. when you canvassing are young jonathan head reports. on two wheels. when you canvassing on two wheels. when you are young and new to politics, this is perhaps the best and certainly the most affordable way to connect with voters. i was following him around the bangkok constituency he hopes to represent. he says he's a lwa ys hopes to represent. he says he's always been a bit of a rebel and he

isa always been a bit of a rebel and he is a founder member of a brand—new party, future ford, which is promising changes for thailand. new candidate? so i told him and surprisingly, he would come. what made you decide to become a politician? if it sound so bad, i wa nt politician? if it sound so bad, i want power, but power to change. his party and the radical young millionaire who funds it has generated a lot of excitement, especially among younger ties. he has become a social media star although he knows that is not enough. work on the ground as much as you work on line. on line campaign, you get popularity. on

ground, you get results. the military drafted electorate system is stacked against him but there are 7,000,0015t time is stacked against him but there are 7,000,001st time voters. he will first help his party to do better than expected. that presents a bit ofa than expected. that presents a bit of a problem for the man who seized power in approved coup five years ago. general prayuth wants to keep the prime minister ‘sjob and has formed a party to a spade voters thatis formed a party to a spade voters that is a good idea. they've recruited young and telegenic candidates, like this one, who is also on two wheels, percy she has much more backup on her party than future forward. but how do she feel campaigning fora coup future forward. but how do she feel campaigning for a coup leader?” like him in terms of being efficient andi like him in terms of being efficient and i feel that but that the he is not democratic, is he? it's the way you get to the power. he can do

things a lot of government can do. efficiency and stability. that is the military party's core message. how well it plays with younger ties, we will find out this sunday. —— younger people in thailand. more on our top story now — eu leaders have agreed an extension to the brexit date until may 22, but only if uk prime minister theresa may's deal gets through the british parliament next week. if it doesn't, the cut off date will be april the 12. joining me to talk more on this now here in the studio is georgina wright. she is a senior researcher on the brexit team at the think tank

the institute for government. you would have to change the date. everything hinges on how the vote next week goes. in terms of what happens next week, looking forward, how do you see it happening? what is the order of events. meaningful vote three. that's certainly what we've heard from brussels this evening. they have said, we are open to an extension of what kind of extension. they expect a meaningful vote three, absolutely. when it comes to theresa may's press conference earlier on, we finally got some decisions, she was pretty adamant. if there is an extension, the uk will have to take pa rt extension, the uk will have to take part in eu elections. well, not quite. she said basically, if the deal is rejected next week, then the

government would have to go back to brussels and present a plan. now, we don't know what that plan would be. there would have to be debates within the uk parliament as to what that looks like that one of the options she can table is, we want a longer extension and a longer extension that goes beyond may would stop the uk taking part in uk parliamentary elections. just explain. we were talking about why the eu must have the uk taking part. these are really important elections for the eu. they let the european parliament, which scrutinises all the legislation which comes out of the legislation which comes out of the eu commission, you couldn't have the eu commission, you couldn't have the uk has a member state, an eu country, without representatives in the eu parliament. if they agree to an extension until the 30th ofjune, but then the uk government said, we need more time, that new european parliament which carries out its

activities takes place on the second ofjuly, couldn't activities takes place on the second of july, couldn't carry activities takes place on the second ofjuly, couldn't carry out its activities unless uk was represented. there are all sorts of issues. the eu has said clearly on multiple occasions, look, if you're going to stay and member state past mate, you really need to hold your opinion. it leads us nicely to the dates, the 22nd of may was chosen if we get the deal through because of course, on the 23rd and 24th, that is when the parliamentary elections ta ke is when the parliamentary elections take place. why the 12th of april? they weren't very clear on why that was but it's got to do with the european parliament elections so at the moment, there is a decision, the eu have come together and said, if the uk is no longer a member state, we need to reduce the number of seats and we will redistribute some of the british seats among some of the member states. if the uk decides

to ta ke the member states. if the uk decides to take part in those have to stop that configurations and hall to it and we would need to know now and they are drawing up their party list, organising their election campaigns. we need to know now if the uk are going to take part. in terms of the next thing, going forward, it's meaningful vote number three. absolutely, that is the one to watch out. we don't know when it's going to take place, monday or tuesday, and certainly what you are hearing from brussels, they would like to take place sooner than later. we are now seven days in fa ct to than later. we are now seven days in fact to brexit. we certainly are. i think we would all like to see it end sooner rather than later. many thanks tojoining end sooner rather than later. many thanks to joining us sierra end sooner rather than later. many thanks tojoining us sierra newsday. you have been watching newsday. in a few minutes we'll be live in christchurch where the nation is paying respects to the victims of last week's mass shooting.

that will be followed by asia business report. that's all for now — stay with bbc world news. 18 degrees in the sunshine in yorkshire on thursday that the much of the uk, it may have been mild but it was cloudy and that cloud is with us as it was cloudy and that cloud is with us as it begins. there are changes in the way. is this weather front moves southwards, it will bring cooler conditions but more of us will get to see some sunshine over the weekend. this is how friday starts. cloudy, damp, drizzly and places, misty and murky but very mild. there is the rain from the weather front, wins strengthening, northern england, northern ireland scotland. the strongest wind gusts in of a0 miles per hour. here is the rain from that front moving across scotla nd rain from that front moving across scotland and northern ireland. later towards north—west england and north

wales. look how it clears up behind the front. some sunshine appearing, blustery showers, increasingly wintry but maybe notjust on hills as we go into friday night. ahead of the weather front, clouds and sunny breaks, north—east england, yorkshire, along south coast, still mild. the front moves south on friday evening and night, becoming increasingly light and patchy. the front slows to a grinding halt across southern england into east anglia and by the end of saturday night, it keeps the temperature up, maybe that of light rain and drizzle. elsewhere, clearerskies, a touch of frost. further blustery showers, wintry nature. this weather front, and this is the picture at the start of the weekend, it's had quite an impact. it will have cleared things up, cooler, fresh around. but the front is lingering close to south—east england on saturday. it could keep a good deal of cloud and maybe some drizzle but elsewhere, good sunny spells, lastly, wintry showers. one or two

across northern ireland. i is mostly in the range of 9— 12 degrees. a greater chance of frost into saturday night and sunday morning, some or prolonged downpours. later reaching parts of northern england. the rest of england and wales staying mainly dry and brighter across southern england as well. still very blustery across northern scotla nd still very blustery across northern scotland in particular so over the weekend, it is going to be cooler. the knights will deliver a risk of frost. more of us will get to see some sunshine. blustery showers, especially in scotland.

you are watching bbc news. live in christchurch. we are breaking away from our normal programming to bring you all the latest live events... apologies. we have lost the line to christchurch but, of course, loads of memorial events taking place in new zealand in memory of all of those who were killed in the horrific attack at the masjid al noor mosque. we have some problems with the line but we are expecting press services, memorial services and the prime ministerjacinda adern to speak and two minute's silence.

thank you. live from christchurch, we are bringing you all the live events. it has been exactly a week since the country's worst mass shooting. behind me is the al noor mosque. a2 people lost their lives. the youngest victim was three years old. the call to prayer is about to start. let's listen in. islamic