i'm kasia madera with bbc news. our top story: an agreement has been agreed by eu leaders for the british prime minister to delay brexit. the uk government has been given two more months to prepare for brexit, but if mps do not pass the withdrawal agreement, then that will change to two extra weeks. i'm kasia madera in london. our headlines: a week on from the horrific attacks on two following hours of talks, mosques in christchurch, the european union unanimously new zealand, the country has gathered to remember the 50 victims. agrees to give britain more time to prepare for brexit, but on condition that the uk later, a mass burial will be held. parliament agrees to theresa may's deal. and this story is trending. this closes and completes the full package. nagasaki became the first city there is no more that we can have. injapan to announce that cherry blossoms have started to bloom. we are hopeful that the agreement will be adopted by the house of commons. it's believed to be four days earlier than average, due to warmer temperatures. the blossom, or sa kura, and theresa may says that is one of the world's most stunning while she understands the frustration of british mps, seasonal wonders. it's time to put an end to the uncertainty. i hope we can all agree we are now at the moment of decision that is all for me, do stay with us and i will make every effort to ensure we are able to leave hugh on bbc

with a deal and move our country forward. i'm rico hizon in singapore. also ahead: a week on from the mosque attacks in christchurch, the country has come together to pay tribute to the victims. and as thailand prepares to head for the polls, we hear how candidates prepare to attract the 7 million first time voters. live from our studios in london and singapore, this is bbc world news. it's newsday.

hello and welcome to the programme. it's one o'clock in the morning in london, 9am in singapore and 2am in the morning in brussels, where europe's leaders have finished their marathon talks on what sort of extension to offer the uk, as it heads towards brexit. later, we'll have more on that, but first we're you to new zealand, where the country has been holding a number of events paying respects to the victims of the mosque attacks, which claimed 50 lives. the pairs are taking place, as you can see. my colleague mariko oi is there for us. we were hoping to speak to mariko. she has been covering this story for us she has been covering this story for us that we will speak to her little bit later on, two minutes silence has taken place and jacinda ardern is due to speak a little bit later on. of course, 50 people were killed in the horrific shootings that took place at two mosques in

christchurch, and jacinda ardern was very much praised after the country was shocked by these brutal attacks in her reaction to it, bringing the country together and welcoming in people of all faiths and denominations. so prayers are taking place. these are events taking place right now in christchurch, these are live images. a little bit earlier on, we had two minutes silence take place and jacinda ardern, as i say, is due to speak. we are expecting her to speak and of course, the moment that she does that, we will bring that to you live. but of course, as i was saying, she was very much praised after the way that she handled this horrific attack, but no need of any country would wa nt to but no need of any country would want to experience. she very quickly started talking about changing the gun laws in new zealand. the gun laws, in terms of how it compares to other countries, are quite interesting. she described that they

there were loopholes in new zealand's gun laws in the sense that the guns themselves are licensed with the owners of the guns are not registered. —— that there were. and the person who owns the gun has to be deemed fit for purpose only gun and therefore then gets a licence but the guns are not registered, so it is very difficult to know exactly where and how many guns person has, so where and how many guns person has, so that is certainly something that she is keen to investigate on, but also semiautomatic rifles are something that had been banned in new zealand because that is something that had been allowed, semiautomatic rifles, which fire off a number of rounds, something that is really, that was then brought into the spotlight, the gun laws in new zealand. and so she was stressing very soon after this horrific attack in which 50 lost

their lives, the youngestjust three yea rs their lives, the youngestjust three years old, jacinda ardern saying that the gun laws were looked at stringently and like i say, semiautomatic rifles were of deep concern. they have since been banned. so these are prayers taking place right now at the hagley park, which isjust opposite place right now at the hagley park, which is just opposite al noor mosque, one of the mosques that experienced this horrific attack. we are expecting jacinda ardern, the leader of new zealand, to speak and... let'sjust dip in and have a listen to see, to hear what is being said. as-salamu alaykum... our imams summed up in new zealand, the muslims of new zealand and our country, new zealand. so i'm not

going to take any more of your time because from here, we're going to go and start our own burials. i would like to conclude in the language of the people of new zealand. i will use the words of love, aroha, aroha, aroha... use the words of love, aroha, aroha, aroha. .. so use the words of love, aroha, aroha, aroha... 50 events live use the words of love, aroha, aroha, aroha. .. 50 events live taking place in the parkjust opposite the al noor mosque, where we are expecting jacinda ardern to speak. my colleague mariko oi is therefore us. of course, very poignant there in christchurch. —— there for us. indeed, and we seeing live pictures from the event, where you can see thousands of people from the local community are attending friday prayers. this is the exact event that the attacker targeted last

friday, killing 50 people. you can see prime ministerjacinda ardern meeting people there. some, most of the victims were immigrants from around the world, including refugees from syria. 50 people died, many others injured as well. we had a call to prayer being cast nationally, followed by a two minutes silence. and we are expected to hear from the minutes silence. and we are expected to hearfrom the prime minister any minute now. she has announced some major changes to the country's gun laws to ban all the weapons that we re laws to ban all the weapons that were used in the attacks last friday. well, let's bring in anna fifield, she is a foreign correspondent for the washington post. she is from christchurch and she has been covering the event all week and we are expecting to hear from the prime minister any minute

now. her, iguess, from the prime minister any minute now. her, i guess, very quick action has been praised at the same time, a lot still needs to be done to change the gun laws but also to address some of the society's issues as well. yes, that's right. she has got a lot of praise of acting so swiftly. only six days after the attacks, she announced an assault weapon ban, which is a big deal in itself but the problem there is that new zealand has no gun registry, so the government does not know how many assault weapons their own new zealand, so this buyback and surrender. we'll be really reliant oi'i surrender. we'll be really reliant on people to be honest and to come forward and give up their weapons, so forward and give up their weapons, so that is going to a challenge for the golf going forward. but of course, today is all about the victims, the 50 people who lost their lives last friday. he came as a complete shock, i presume, to the local community, many of whom had been expressing their love and support for the local community. yes, that is right. it is very

moving to be here and to see thousands of people coming together to mark the friday prayer. i think the mosque is here behind us, sol think even a week ago, many people would have driven past it without realising that it was there, so there is a much greater level of consciousness in the community about this segment of new zealand, the refugees and immigrants, like you have said, and it is really sort of overwhelming as new zealander be here and see how all new zealanders have come together to support this pa rt of have come together to support this part of our community. —— to be here. and we are wearing a headscarf asa sign here. and we are wearing a headscarf as a sign of respect to those paying, and i noticed female police officers also wearing a headscarf earlier. yes, it is really surprising. the front cover of the christchurch newspaper this morning was blank except for the word salam, peace and arabic. women police officers, the prime minister wearing

huabs officers, the prime minister wearing hijabs in support. it is really important to show that they are part of us, part of the community, is the catchphrase out there. very moving, but at the same time as you wrote a very moving piece herself, a lot of new zealanders asking how could this have happened 7 new zealanders asking how could this have happened? i mean, is it fair to say that most new zealanders would not have known that anyone could have accessed these weapons?” not have known that anyone could have accessed these weapons? i think a lot of people were surprised to discover that these kind of military style assault weapons were available in new zealand and were relatively unregulated. and also, i think there has been a lot of acceptance of refugee communities, new zealand has become much more obviously diverse over the past generation or so but there is still a history of some institutional racism in new zealand, particularly with our indigenous population, the maori, and people are really stopping to pause and

reflect and think about how we become as inclusive as we think we are? is there some casual racism? is the institutional racism that we could be dealing with and doing better on? so this is really a moment of introspection for new zealand. what really struck me was how the prime minister said that she is not going to name the suspect, and we have not been saying his name too often either. and compared to other mass shootings, similar incidents around the world, the suspect remains somewhat faceless and nameless. that is right, i think, i mean there has been a lot of evidence in the past that people who carry out these kind of mass shootings seek notoriety, they want notoriety that comes with this kind of event, they want everybody to have their name in their face and the prime minister made a decision never to say his name. i think a lot of the media reporting he has not been focused on him, and we have also heard that he has no access to media inside the jail, so he does

not know what is being said about him, so it is quite a conscious effort i think to deny him the notoriety that he wants. anna fifield from the washington post, thank you so much forjoining us on a very tough day. so, as you have been hearing, friday's prayer has just concluded. thousands of people from the local community here in christchurch attended the event and it is not just christchurch attended the event and it is notjust here in christchurch, mosques across new zealand have invited the public to friday prayers to remember the victims, the 50 people who were killed last friday. many thanks, thank you. of course, on our website we also have an article just describing a little bit more about some of the thames, so do have a look at that. now let's bring you up—to—date with the latest brexit developments. 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 only give london 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 strasbourg agreement as regards the extension, our decisions envisage two scenarios. in the first scenario, if no agreement is passed —— in the first scenario, that if the withdrawal agreement is passed by the house of commons next week, the european council agrees to an extension until the 22nd of may. in the second scenario, that if the agreement is not approved by the house of commons next week, the european council agrees to an extension

until the 20th of april... 12th, 12th of april... laughter ..while expecting the uk to indicate a way forward. what this means in practice is that, until that date, all options will remain open and the cliff edge date will be delayed. speaking after mr tusk, theresa may emphasised her desire to now work with mps in parliament in order move forward. what the decision today underlines is the importance of the house of commons passing a brexit deal next week, so that we can bring an end to the uncertainty and leave in a smooth and orderly manner. tomorrow morning, i will be returning to the uk and working hard to build support for getting the deal through. i know mps on all sides of the debate have passionate views and i respect those different positions. last night, i expressed my frustrations and i know that mps

are frustrated too. they have difficultjobs to do. i hope we can all agree we are now at the moment of decision and i will make every effort to ensure that we are able to leave with the deal and move our country forward. theresa may. earlier, i spoke to georgina wright, senior brexit researcher for the independent think tank, the institute for government. i began by asking her why, despite these developments, march 29th still remains the official uk brexit date. in british law, it is still the exit 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 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 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 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 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 take part in those elections, we 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 fact to brexit. 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 7 million young people will be voting for the first time. there will be no more war and bloodshed between arabs and israelis.

very good. so proud of both of you. with great regret, the committeee have decided that south africa should be excluded from the 1970 competition. (chants) streaking across the sky, the white—hot wreckage from mir drew gasps from onlookers on fiji.

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, the country has come together 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 xijingping 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 edition 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 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.

it is a good time for the new party... i was following taopiphop limjittrakorn around the bangkok constituency he hopes to represent. tao says he's always been a bit of a rebel and he is the founder member of a brand—new party, future forward, which is promising big changes for thailand. they think, oh, a new candidate? i'm just 30 years old, i told him, and a law graduate. surprisingly, he would come. what made you decide to become a politician? honestly, it sound so bad, i want power, but power to change. and powerfrom ordinary people. i want to represent ordinary people. people who suffer like me. people whose parent went to the same hospital, like my parents. do go

home, like me, on the same bus, the crowded bus, so i want to represent those people. his party and the radical young millionaire who funds it has generated a lot of excitement, especially among younger thais. he has become a social media star although he knows that is not enough. work on ground as much as you work online. online campaign, you get popularity. on ground, you get votes. the military—drafted electoral system is stacked against him but there are 7 million first—time voters. who could yet help his party to do better than expected. new policies, ending dictatorship and something new in politics is what these students say is important to them. that presents a bit of a problem

for the man who seized power in a coup five years ago. general prayuth wants to keep the prime minister'sjob and has formed a party to persuade voters that is a good idea. they've recruited young and telegenic candidates, like pada vorakanon, who is also on two wheels, though she has a lot more back—up on her party than future forward's tao does. but how does she feel campaigning for a coup leader? i like him in terms of being efficient. in his work. but he is not democratic, is he? it's the way you get to the power and i don't care. he can do things a lot that other government can't do. efficiency and stability. that is the military party's core message. how well it plays with younger thais, we will find out this sunday. jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok.

you have been watching newsday. stay with us. 18 degrees in the sunshine in yorkshire on thursday but for much of the uk, it may have been mild but it was cloudy and that cloud is with us as it begins. there are changes on the way. as this weather front moves southwards, it will bring cooler conditions but more of us will get to see some sunshine over the weekend. ahead of that weather front, this is how friday starts. cloudy, damp, drizzly in places, misty and murky but very mild. there is the rain from the weather front, winds strengthening, across northern england, northern ireland, scotland. the strongest gusts in excess of a0 miles per hour.

more than 60 across the isles. here is the rain from that front moving across scotland and northern ireland. later towards north—west england and north wales. behind the front, land appears. 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 a bit of light rain and drizzle. elsewhere, clearer skies, a touch of frost. further blustery showers, wintry nature. 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. temperatures mostly in the range of 9—12 degrees. a greater chance of frost into saturday night and sunday morning, some more 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 scotland in particular so over the weekend, it is going to be cooler. the nights will deliver a risk of frost. more of us will get to see some sunshine. blustery showers, especially in scotland.