this is the business briefing. i'm samantha simmonds. britain buys more time, as firms warn neither the eu or the uk are ready for a no—deal brexit. plus — hot pants! this is the briefing. levi strauss soars on its return i'm samantha simmonds. our top story: to the new york stock exchange — trousering a 31% gain. theresa may returns to britain we hear from the boss. after convincing the eu to agree to a brexit delay, but will it make and on the markets: asian shares rise after wall street a difference in westminster? was boosted by positive economic data — a bigger than expected fall i hope we can all agree, we are now injobless claims easing some of the fears about a weakening us economy. a small recovery in the pound, at the moment of decision and i will but traders still very make every effort to ensure we are cautious about brexit. able to leave with a deal and move oui’ able to leave with a deal and move our country forward. the eu has given the uk a small window to buy account once and for all what kind of accident it can pass through parliament — — what kind of brexit. islamic adhan (call to prayer). one week on from the deadly mosque

attacks in christchurch, new zealanders come together in their thousands to pay tribute as many of the victims are laid to rest. donald trump overturns decades of us policy, saying america should recognise israeli sovereignty over the occupied golan heights. in business, britain buys more time, as firms warn neither the eu or the uk are ready for a no—deal brexit a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. today we're putting the ‘pink tax' on toiletries to the test and asking if there's any justification for women's toiletries costing more than men's? tell us what you think. just use the hashtag bbc—the—briefing

the british prime minister has convinced eu leaders to grant her an extension to try and get her brexit deal approved by parliament. but it's not for as long as she wanted, and it is still possible the uk could leave the european union next week, with no withdrawal deal in place. live to brussels now and my colleague david eades. it was a marathon old effort to work out precisely what european union leaders were prepared to offer britain and it is not everything that theresa may was asking for and yet, in one sense, it has given a little bit of a window to work out ifa little bit of a window to work out if a vote takes place next week on theresa may's deal, what britain wa nts to theresa may's deal, what britain wants to do next. perhaps it is one

step short of utter pandemonium because there is a leeway, april 12, at the point countries declare they wa nt to ta ke at the point countries declare they want to take part in european union elections. what sort of opportunity, what sort of extension they are prepared to give. chris mason wraps up prepared to give. chris mason wraps up another hectic day. you know it is rather late when the prime minister offers this greeting at the end of a long evening. good morning. yes, agreeing adelaide to brexit had gone on. i hope we can agree we are at the moment of a decision and i will make every effort to ensure we are able to

reach a deal and make a country move forward. the eu saying if the uk does not want to sign up to the withdrawal agreement it has until april 12 to work out what it wants. what this means in practice is all options will remain open until that date and the cliff edge date will be delayed. the uk government will still have a choice of a deal, no deal, along extension or revoking article 50. revoking article 50 means cancelling the brexit process, an idea which has attracted more than 2 million signatures on the parliament website but the government has flatly rejected the idea. for the prime minister this morning, a series of dilemmas have been postponed but not resolved.

there are still no easy answers for her. chris mason, bbc news. and still no easy reception in brussels for theresa may. this has been a hardfought deal and there are hardliners, emmanuel macron key among them, people prepared to say that if it is not work it is going to be an ideal brexit and that is your lot. perhaps that is not the general consensus your lot. perhaps that is not the general consensus but as chris made it clear, the clock is ticking. it may be slowing a little bit and giving a little window of opportunity but next week, back in westminster, the pace of change, the pace of movement with it will be frantic. according to the papers, a lot of frustration from eu leaders. if this doesn't work, theresa may does not have a plan b. there are

plenty of other plans and plenty of other people putting forward other plans and that is what they are trying to do here by extending to april 12 the deadline. it sort of ta kes a april 12 the deadline. it sort of takes a little bit of the pressure off if there is another vote that does not get through on theresa may's plan. it is up to you, uk, thatis may's plan. it is up to you, uk, that is the message. we do not want to be coming back after every hitch and problem with another key issue and problem with another key issue and key decision to make and hence the extension. off you go, have a look what you can get through parliament then come back to us. do we know if is going to be any change to what theresa may offers mps quest

quest make. that is the basis on which the speaker of the commons says there is no reason for another vote. i suppose there is an argument to say we have a different timeframe. perhaps that would work toa timeframe. perhaps that would work to a certain extent. if the order of business beyond the vote was understood to provide further debate about all these other options, donald tusk was running through a list of them, but there are plenty of them to give indicative notion of what could form a majority and that might be seen as a recognition that there is another step to be taken here but that is still a battle that has to be fought and won by theresa may before we know precisely what is going to happen next week. clearly a lot of frustration with the eu leaders about how long it is taking and the fact that it is coming down to the wire but clearly they do not

wa nt to the wire but clearly they do not want the uk to crash out with no deal. of course, they do not. that hurts the eu as it is going to hurt the uk in economic terms as well. but there are those who are frustrated and have lost patience. let's not overlook this point, the european elections are looming and that brings into play what position british meps are going to play. one thing the eu is not prepared to do is to bend so much that it does impinge on the eu way of life that will continue. for them, the elections are critically important, the way in which they manage, the political message coming in and out with regards to the popularity of the eu will be part of that. they are the eu will be part of that. they a re clear the eu will be part of that. they are clear and they are not giving ground on the fact that those elections are not going to be impacted by britain's brexit

dilemma. thank you. let's get the financial view on the brexit crisis now. fears the uk might have to leave the eu without a deal saw the pound have its worst day this year, although it has recovered slightly on that offer to delay brexit. and there's been an increasingly panicked response from business. firms across europe have warned neither the uk nor the eu are ready for a no—deal brexit, according to a letter seen by bbc newsnight. with me in the studio is james hughes, chief market analyst for axi trader. good morning and welcome. writing to the european commission that an ideal plan for short. a stark warning. it is not the first warning we have had. we have been hearing warnings for what seems like years. we know, from a financial and market

point of view, notjust economically but how the markets react, this massive uncertainty has always been an issue and going forward there is a lwa ys an issue and going forward there is always been the view from the market and trade a point of view, as we go on something will happen and we get more details but as we get closer and closer we have no idea. from sterling point of view and the way the pound has reacted, we almost got a bit of brexit fatigue where the market was ignoring the story because we thought something would happen but we're not getting any of and the market hates any sort of uncertainty and now we're seeing it move a little bit more erratic. yesterday a big fall on the pound. we have seen a bigger, more monumental days for brexit but yesterday was a big fall because we are getting closer, the moves are bigger and the market is more nervous about it. thank you. we will see you when we look at the paper is a little later. a crowd of 20,000 people

observed two minutes' silence in memory of the 50 victims of the mass shootings in new zealand last friday. they gathered in a park opposite the al noor mosque in christchurch where the killings began, one week ago today. the bbc‘s mariko oi is in christchurch for us. we were outside the al noor mosque earlier today. we saw thousands of people gathering for the event. the number was 20,000 people — 5000 muslim worshippers and 15,000 people coming from the community to pay their respects to the victim and to express their support for the muslim community. a call to prayer was broadcast nationally, followed by a two minute's silence and we saw the support of the community. we saw female armed police officers wearing

headscarves as a sign of respect for those praying around her. the support of this local community, how new zealanders are trying to deal with this tragedy in a manner of love and compassion. there is obviously a time for reflection and also people paying their respect from around the country, from different communities. what now is of the government response following the change to the gun laws, what happens politically? the prime ministerjacinda adern announced changes to gun laws yesterday, only on the sixth day since the worst mass shooting in the country. that one a lot of praises internationally, of course. still the details need to be ironed out but so far her response has been

praised by the muslim community. i was speaking to doctor ghani from the muslim association and he said he was very impressed and at the same time he said a lot needs to be done, addressing issues of racism, whites are premises. a lot of work needs to be done. —— supremacist. what are people saying to you about why they have come there today and what they want to see changed now to bring communities together in the future? i think people, bring communities together in the future? ithink people, as bring communities together in the future? i think people, as you can see behind me, people have been coming here to pay their respects as well, outside the city ‘s botanic gardens, you can see personal messages, floral tributes, toys for the children. five of the victims we re the children. five of the victims were under 16 and at the youngest

was three years old. people have been singing, hugging, telling their story and telling us how they want to share their support. less than 1% of the population in a new zealand are muslim but they want to show their support. that they are part of new zealand and this hatred, this crime, is not something they want to tolerate. thank you. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news: at least 44 people have been killed and dozens more injured following a huge explosion at a pesticide plant in china. the windows of houses and a school were shattered by the force of the explosion, and local people were evacuated amid concerns about toxic fumes. france's highest constitutional authority has approved the use of bone tests, as part of efforts to determine the age of young migrants. the x—ray tests are used to try to work out if migrants without official identity documents are entitled to child welfare services.

venezuela's opposition leader juan guaido says his chief of staff is missing after intelligence agencies detained robert marrero in a raid on his home. the us has repeatedly warned president maduro not to arrest mr guaido or his aides and called it a "big mistake" that would not go unanswered. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: it all began in britain 50 years ago — now metalheads from all around the world are gathering in london to celebrate a musical genre that's as popular now as ever. let there be no more war or bloodshed between arabs and israelis. very good. applause so proud of both of you.

with great regret, the committeee have decided that south africa should be excluded from the 1970 competition. streaking across the sky, the white—hot wreckage from mir drew gasps from onlookers on fiji. onlooker: wow! you're watching the briefing. our headlines: the european union has agreed to theresa may's request to give britain two more months to prepare for brexit. if mps don't pass her withdrawal

agreement, that will change to just two extra weeks. thousands of people have gathered in christchurch and around new zealand to pay tribute to the victims of last week's mosque shootings. donald trump has overturned decades of us policy by saying it's time for washington to recognise israeli sovereignty over the golan heights which it captured from syria in 1967. speaking in jerusalem, israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, said president trump had made history. a senior palestinian official, saeb erekat said the policy change was a recipe for conflict between palestinians and israelis donald trump's move comes ahead of a general election in israel next month. our state department correspondent barbara plett—usher is follwoing the secretary of state mike pompeo on his middle east tour. she gave us this update from jersulem the golan heights was captured by isrealfrom syria in 1967, and then in 1981 israel, in effect, annexed the territory,

but that decision was not recognised by the international community, because you can'tjust annex territories you captured, there has to be a negotiating process. and so that is according to un resolutions and international law. so that has been the position until now. that is, the occupied israeli golan and the status would have to be decided in negotiation with syria. there have been various attempts to do that and that has also been the us policy for decades. so mr trump has in effect upended years of us policy on the golan heights. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. the funerals will take place in the next few hours in county tyrone, northern ireland for the three teenagers who died in a crush at a st patrick's day disco. later in chicago, the pre—trial hearings will take place ahead of r kelly's trial on sex abuse charges. and in san fransisco, almost 30,000 people are expected to attend the game developers conference — shaping the future of the gaming industry. now it's time to get

all the latest from the bbc sports centre. this is your friday sport briefing and it was a big evening in brussels on thursday off the pitch with action on it as well. belgium's euro 2020 qualifiying campaign got off to a winning start in group eye as they beat russia 3—1. —— in group i as they beat russia 3—1. youri tielemans scored the first for the hosts in the 14th minute and despite a goalkeeping howler from thibaut courtois which allowed russia to equalise shortly after, a eden hazard penaltyjust prior to half time and another goal late on for the captain saw the world's number one ranked team take the win. chelsea will take a 2—0 lead into the second leg of their women's champions league quarter final against paris saint—germain next wednesday. hannah blundell and erin cuthbert goals proved enough for the english champions in london on a night that saw up to 50 away supporters denied entry after police discovered weapons, fireworks and drugs now to tennis, and three—time champion venus williams is through to the second round of the miami open after a straight sets win over slovenian delila jakupovic. playing the tournament for a record

20th time and unseeded for the first time since 2012, williams was pushed hard in the first set by the 27—year—old but came through 7—5, 6—3 and now faces spain's carla suarez navarro, who was a beaten finalist in 2015. england manager gareth southgate has said his main criteria for picking players for the national team are "ability and mentality" — this comes ahead of their opening two qualifiers for euro 2020 — against the czech republic at wembley on friday, then away to montenegro. southgate has named another young squad, which includes west ham's declan rice, who has now declared his allegience for england having been capped in friendlies for the republic of ireland, and chelsea teenager callum hudson—odoi. southgate is keen to maintain the form shown in 2018.

we were the only team to backup a final last summer with a semi—final. we were in a group that was tough and that has got to be a motivation right through. we are still a young group, there is still plenty of opportunity to improve and we need to be hungry for that to dig the milwaukee bucks return to the court on friday aiming to make amends for their surprise loss to cleveland on wednesday. milwaukee has more wins than any other nba team so far this season, and will be keen to hold off the toronto raptors and claim top spot in the eastern conference ahead of the play—offs. a few star names return against miami heat — who themselves need the win to keep their play—off hopes alive. people in los angeles got to see something special as a wingman flew over the city on a night the last supermoon of 2019 also hovered over it. jon devore flew through the californian buildings as people watched on and were

possibly left wondering if it was meteor or even if batman had actually come to life in the real world. sadly the answer was no... you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me and the team that is your friday sport briefing it began 50 years ago in birmingham, england, and has gone on to spread to every corner of the world. now — bands and fans from across the globe are gathering in london to celebrate a great british invention. david sillito now reports on the first ever world metal congress — a celebration and critical analysis of heavy metal. the world metal congress. it is the

first ever global gathering of musicians from around the world to celebrate the good and the great of metal culture. it has been 50 years since the birth of heavy metal if you count the first record by black sabbath as ground zero to dig it began here in birmingham. black sabbath in 1969 and a culture that has now truly spread around the world and is today gathering in london. this is japan's and don and they are rather loud.

and they are not alone. there are now metal bands in over 140 countries. to my mind i never expected heavy metal to come from places like botswana or indonesia or nepal or syria. all countries that will be represented this weekend. lam from i am from syria, damascus. and he and his group are more thanjust i am from syria, damascus. and he and his group are more than just one ofa and his group are more than just one of a dozen metal bands in a city that has now endured eight years of conflict to dig what is it like playing a gig in damascus when the war is on? ok. iwill tell you playing a gig in damascus when the war is on? ok. i will tell you this. all the gigs we did in damascus, mortar shells were dropping. i won't

even mortar shells were dropping. i won't eve n ex press mortar shells were dropping. i won't even express how it is. so what explains the global appeal? volume isa explains the global appeal? volume is a part of it. heavy metal has to be loud. but it is also a way of life to dig a community. heavy metal gets a bad rep. it revels in the imagery of firebreathing dragons and that sort of stuff but it is welcoming and inclusive. we really are. but i think the fact that we are. but i think the fact that we are is what makes it such a wonderful genre and culture because eve ryo ne wonderful genre and culture because everyone is invited to dig so 50 yea rs everyone is invited to dig so 50 years on, a celebration of the global appeal of a great british invention. # god bless you all. we should all celebrate with some headbanging. but maybe not

now. stay with me on bbc news, i'll be back with the business briefing in just a few moments. stay with us here on bbc news — so much more to come. 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. 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, northern england, northern ireland, scotland. the strongest wind gusts of 40 miles per hour. here is the 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 a bit of light rain and drizzle. elsewhere, clearer skies, 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 air 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.