hello, welcome to bbc news. our top story: parliament in the uk gets ready to vote on alternatives to the prime minister's brexit deal which has been defeated three times. they will consider a range of alternatives, including a closer tie to the european union and whether to allow a referendum on the final deal. president erdogan's governing party in turkey has lost control of several big cities in local elections, i'm kasia madera in london. including the capital ankara. the headlines: here in the uk mps are getting the opposition is also ready to vote on a range of alternatives to the prime minister's brexit deal. losses for turkey's governing claiming victory in izmir. party in local elections. the opposition wins in the capital ankara for the first time in 25 years. and this story is trending on bbc.com. a comedian who plays a fictional president on tv i'm rico hizon in singapore, is on course to win the first also on the programme: round of ukraine's election. exit polls give the satirist a comedian who plays volodymyr zelenskiy a clear lead a president on tv is on course over the incumbent petro to win the first round of ukraine's election. i am very happy i am here, poroshenko, by 30%—17%. but this is not the final action. so the final will be what i saw, but we will see the result. this is the exit poll. that's all. new york, paris, milan. stay with bbc world news. now the fashion world is watching shanghai as designers try to crack the lucrative chinese market.

it's 8:00 in the morning in singapore and 1am here in london, where british mps are once again getting ready to vote on alternatives to theresa may's brexit deal. the prime minister has been urged not to ignore them if they back a softer brexit later. mrs may's deal has already been rejected three times. here's our political correspondent iain watson. chanting: shame on you! the original brexit day has been and gone, and the protests carry on. chanting: give us all a final say! this week, crucial decisions will have to be taken if mps

are to avoid leaving with no deal by the new deadline of 12 april. tomorrow, parliament will debate alternatives to the prime minister's proposals, and this cabinet minister made it clear he could live with a closer relationship to the eu, if that's what mps want. if parliament is voting overwhelmingly against leaving the european union without a deal, but is voting in favour of a softer brexit, then i don't think it's sustainable to say, well, we'll ignore parliament's position and therefore leave without a deal. was the prime minister seeking divine intervention today to break the deadlock? she could resurrect her defeated deal, and hold a fourth vote on it this week, if it appears to be more popular than any of the alternatives. up to nine different options could be discussed by mps tomorrow. some would see the uk retaining

close links to the eu, such as a customs union, making trade easier with the european union, but more difficult to strike trade deals with other countries. and single market membership — again, easier trade, but less control of immigration. but some mps are still pressing for no deal, and others say that any deal should be put to a new referendum. and that is the option favoured by labour's deputy leader. we need to move beyond brexit, and it seems to me the only way we can do that now is with a people's vote. a people's vote is the solution, not an option. theresa may faces some tough choices this week. there is no question of her cancelling brexit, or as it's known in the jargon, revoking article 50. but some other options favoured by mps, a customs union, for example, also run counter to the conservative manifesto. if she goes along with that, she could lose some of her top team around her cabinet table. or she could take a different option and call a general election. a senior conservative has said that pragmatic preparations are under way for a possible election,

but that prospect has horrified many in the party, and a former occupant of number ten. i think a general election will solve nothing, at this moment. so what is his solution? in the interests of ending the chaos we have now, and that could continue, we must have a government that has a working majority, and that is the only reason for a time—limited unity government. so a cross—party government to unite a sometimes very cross country. not likely, but these days, normal political rules don't apply. iain watson, bbc news, westminster. and staying with the uk, the former opposition labour mp gisela stuart — a key figure in the pro—brexit vote leave campaign, has failed to apologise for the group breaking electoral spending rules. the organisation dropped its appeal against a fine after it was found to have exceeded spending limits during the referendum.

our biggest problem in the end was that we destroyed all our data and therefore some of the evidential basis that people were asking for. all i can tell you, andrew, is that in every stage, in terms of processes , we in every stage, in terms of processes, we did our level best to be in compliance with the rules. if they were interpreted in a way that was different from the advice that we got at that time, so be it. regulators always have the final word. the former us vice president, joe biden, has denied claims by another democrat that he behaved inappropriately towards her. lucy flores said that during campaigning in 2014 he placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed the back of her head — making her feel uncomfortable. the trial of vietnamese doan thi huong, one of two women charged with murdering the estranged half—brother of north korea's leader, is due to resume shortly. malaysia's attorney—general rejected vietnam's request to free her. huong and an indonesian woman were charged with killing kim jong nam by smearing his face with poison at kuala lumpur airport in february 2017.

liverpool have returned to the top of the english premier league after a dramatic late goal against tottenham hotspur. the two sides had been drawing at anfield until the closing minutes when an own goal gave them a dramatic win. we'll have much more reaction to that game coming up on sport today in half an hour's time. here in the uk, we're expecting another eventful week regarding brexit. our political correspondent iain watson has been explaining what will happen. well, on monday mps, members of parliament here at westminster, will seize control of the agenda from the government. they'll come up with their own

alternatives to theresa may's deal. they will be discussing up to nine different options. now, some of those involve what's called a so—called soft brexit, something around a customs union with the eu, a closer economic relationship, perhaps even staying in the single market. now, the last time we seized control, we did this once before, the voice of parliament was reduced to a croak, because they couldn't actually agree on any alternative amongst themselves. at the moment, people assume they're about to get a bit more agreement around this so—called soft brexit this time around. but, if they do, whatever they decide isn't binding on the government. so what they would have to do next is pass a law in parliament, probably on wednesday, instructing the prime minister, whether she likes it or not, to go back to brussels, ask for a longer delay to brexit, so they can get some kind of alternative plan, whether it's this idea of a closer economic relationship, or even a referendum, but then get the time needed for that plan to be negotiated and worked up. so that is effectively what theresa may is facing now.

but, of course, she has always said she is against both a referendum and the customs union. indeed, the manifesto her party stood on specifically excluded it. and are those the two front runners, in your opinion, when it comes to these indicative votes? that's right, certainly from the votes last week, it looks as though those were most likely. every single one of them fell short, but those that were least unpopular, shall we say, was firstly a confirmatory referendum on any deal that parliament negotiates, and secondly on a customs union, a straight customs union proposal. there was a third proposal which was more complicated than that, a little bit more like the situation that norway has, staying inside the single market, and also a customs arrangement. but it looks as though quite a few of the options are quite close together, so if mps bang their own heads together, they might be able to reach that agreement. but it's not an agreement that immediately, i think, theresa may would say that she would take on board. some of her ministers are urging her to do so. but if she does, and if she goes

against her own stated policy, for example on a customs union, then other ministers, other people around her top table, the cabinet table, could say we can't live with this. so we could actually see quite high resignations, and at that stage, then you have to question the prime minister's own position. would she herself choose to resign, or perhaps call an election, rather than see the very top of her party fall apart? the bbc has learned that more than fifty british is fighters have been captured in syria in the last three months. one of those men, a former police cadet from west london spent five years with the extremists. our middle east correspondent quentin somerville has been speaking exclusively to hamza parvez who was captured in the last is stronghold of baghouz in eastern syria: a lot of the westerners were kept their distance from one another

because of targeted drone strikes. people wouldn't really want to be associated with one anotherjust in case, because we didn't actually have a list of who was on the drone list or not so we would be scared of, 0k, list or not so we would be scared of, ok, this guy might be, this guy might be. but this is an extraordinary thing. for anybody else, if you realised you were on a drone hit list, you might actually question what the hell you are doing in rucker and why were you a member of the is. —— raqqa. in rucker and why were you a member of the is. -- raqqa. yes, there were many times i wanted to pack up and i did try to. the reality was, it wasn't as easy as it sounds. it's a small group of very big fish which make all the decisions for all the people. it could be life or death decisions, decisions that change people lives completely. yes, but

you joined that group completely. but willingly. the horrorfor you joined that group completely. but willingly. the horror for many people if they had no choice. assyrians, iraqis, yazidis, they are all displaced, raped, murdered by the islamic state. they does make you willingly joined the islamic state. they does make you willinglyjoined that group, they had no choice. if someone asked me ifi they had no choice. if someone asked me if i was willingly going to end -- join me if i was willingly going to end ——joina group me if i was willingly going to end —— join a group that was part of one, two, three, four. murder, genocide... nobody in their right mind would join the group. are you not in your right mind?” mind would join the group. are you not in your right mind? i didn't know there was something waiting for me, most of the foreign fighters when they do step in and you do talk to them, the first thing they will say is we would have never come if we had known what they were doing.

captured is fighter hamza pa rvez speaking to our middle east correspondent quentin somerville. in turkey's local elections, the opposition has made some big gains, taking ankara. this is the first time in 25 years that president erdogan‘s ak party has lost control of the turkish capital. in the country's largest city, istanbul, mr erdogan‘s party was leading by fewer than 3,000 votes when the official tally by the state news agency was stopped. the opposition candidate says he has won. from istanbul, the bbc‘s mark lowen has the latest. president erdogan has lost control of ankara for the first time in a quarter of a century. here in istanbul an unbelievably close race. fewer than 3,000 votes stand between the two sides, the governing ak party and the opposition. and what has happened here in istanbul is that the official count, or the official figures released by the state news agency, has stopped at 99.9 — 99.89% of the votes counted, so about one and a bit per cent left

of votes left to count, and just over 3,000 votes between them. so the opposition is saying that is an attempt by the government and the levers of power that it controls to snatch victory from the opposition and to deny the opposition a victory. in ankara, losing that city is a major blow. they have also lost several other cities as well as president erdogan‘s usually loyal conservative voter base has deserted him in large areas of the country because of a major economic crisis here now, with turkey and recession and inflation at 20%. so all eyes now on what happens over the next few hours in istanbul, both sides claiming victory here. mark, of course, you will keep us posted. when it comes to further developments, of course, this is a big blow to president erdogan. but he will, as you say, he's playing it as a victory of sorts. because, of course, when it comes to the presidential elections, they are not for quite some time yet. no, but, i mean, local elections are important here,

because it is where parties build their support through patronage, through grassroots movements. remember, president erdogan was mayor of istanbul, and that's what propelled him to take power of national level. so they are important. and it is a significant blow to him. really i think what we have seen tonight is that president erdogan for many years was seen as unbeatable, infallible, with a moribund opposition. and tonight, finally, that image is beginning to change and that will breathe i think a bit of fresh life into the opposition here, that they might at some point just be able to get control back of turkey. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: the comedian who plays a fictional president on ukrainian tv could be on course for getting the realjob. also on the programme: we meet the indonesian rickshaw driver who turned his vehicle into a mobile library for children.

the accident that happened here was of the sort that can at worst produce a meltdown. in this case the precautions worked, but they didn't work quite well enough to prevent some old fears about the safety features of these stations from resurfacing. the republic of ireland has become the first country in the world to ban smoking in the workplace. from today, anyone lighting up in offices, businesses, pubs and restaurants will face a heavy fine. the president was on his way out of the washington hilton hotel, where he had been addressing a trade union conference. the small crowd outside included his assailant. it has become a symbol of paris. 100 years ago, many parisians wished it had never been built. the eiffel tower's birthday is being

marked by a re—enactment of the first ascent by gustave eiffel. welcome back. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm rico hizon in singapore. and i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories this hour: in the uk, parliament is getting ready to vote on a range of alternatives to the prime minister's brexit deal. losses for turkey's governing party in local elections. the opposition wins in the capital ankara for the first time in 25 years. let's now take a look at some of the front pages of publications from around the world. we start off with the front

page of the japan times, we can see that the country has opened its doors more widely to workers from abroad on monday. the revised immigration control and refugee recognition act has now taken effect. as part of the change, the government has put forward an action plan that focuses on creating a better living environment for foreign residents. let's now take a look at the straits times, and facebook‘s mark zuckerberg's comments are on the front page. the founder says regulators and governments should play a more active role in controlling internet content. he's calling for new laws to cover harmful content, election integrity, privacy, and data. and finally, hong kong's south china morning post reports that thousands of people marched to protest against a controversial proposed law, that would allow the extradition of suspects to china. activists were chanting "stop the evil law".

those are the papers. many thanks, as always. a comedian in ukraine, who's made his name playing the president in a satirical tv show, is favourite to take on the role for real. volodymyr zelenskiy is expected to beat the incumbent president, petro poroshenko, in the first round of voting, which is taking place today. jonah fisher reports. fact is very quickly catching up with fiction in ukraine. this was the moment that a comedian who plays the president in a tv show found out that he was beating the real president by more than ten percentage points. these are just exit polls, but the political establishment here has been shaken. what's your reaction to these exit polls? great! this is the first fight. i'm... i'm very happy. but this is not the final actions. and you sure you'll win in the second round? i think so. we'll see, we will see!

i spent a day with mr zelenskiy during the election campaign. at the time, his grasp of politics was weaker than his understanding of british comedy. benny hill. benny hill? benny hill, yes, it's more understandable than monty python. for me, monty python is better, i'm sorry. ukrainians feel they know how mr zelenskiy would perform as president because they've seen him star in a television show, as a teacher called vasiliy goloborodko who turns into a principled, honest president. this is the man mr zelenskiy looks set to face in the second round. are you feeling confident, mr president? ukraine's real president, petro poroshenko. five years ago, the billionaire was swept to power in the aftermath of a street revolution.

but he looks to be paying the price for the slow pace of change. the big loserfrom today looks to be yulia tymoshenko, the darling of revolutions past, this will be the third time she's missed out on the presidency. whoever ultimately wins will be confronted with ukraine's very serious problems. not least, relations with russia and a war in the east that's killed 13,000 people. this election isn't over yet and there's still a second round to come, but tonight, here in ukraine, it feels like a political earthquake. voters rejecting the old in favour of something new, entertaining, and almost completely undefined. jonah fisher, bbc news, in kiev. london, paris, new york — now, it's china's turn

to put its best and most fashionable foot forward, as designers look to shanghai to crack an extremely lucrative luxury market. big brands are looking for even bigger business at the shanghai fashion week, alongside local designers. casey hall, the asia correspondent for the industry publication the business of fashion, told me that brands hoping to make inroads in china will need to address the disconnect between fashion and feminism. 0ne one thing that international brands should certainly do is start listening to the local china teams. i think some of the biggest missteps happen when international brands send messaging or marketing from their headquarters in europe or in america and do not listen to the input from china teams telling them what is happening on the ground here. i think that is still quite endemic in the luxury industry in particular. some of the rising chinese brands that we are seeing here at shanghai fashion week, i think i particularly well placed to ta ke think i particularly well placed to take advantage of this because they have a natural advantage and understanding local culture and

local history, and what is happening in terms of, especially for women, ofa in terms of, especially for women, of a new sense of empowerment among younger, female consumers. and a lot of international brands had some missteps in terms of advertising their brands over the past years, what sort of opportunities does the shanghai fashion week present to new and old designers?” shanghai fashion week present to new and old designers? i mean, it shanghai fashion week really over the last five years has concentrated its efforts on promoting local talent, which i think has been a really smart move for them. prior to that, there were a lot of international brands showing at shanghai fashion week, they were the real headliners but more recently, the stars of the show have been these young, up—and—coming, independent chinese designers, many of whom have gone aboard and been educated at some of the best fashion schools in the world and then they come back to china to launch their own brand, they showed shanghai fashion week, they meet local designers and they meet local buyers in the market here. that does not

mean that there isn't a place for international brands in the shanghai fashion week, the opening show for this addition was actually 43, obviously a global brand and they are obviously using shanghai fashion week as a platform to help lose their presence in the chinese market, so there is a place for international brands at shanghai fashion week but i would definitely say they are not the focus anymore. jakarta is one of the world's busiest and most crowded cities — getting around isn't always easy. once upon a time you might‘ve used a small, motor—powered rickshaw. but two years ago, they were banned by the indonesian government. now — one former driver has come up with a new way to use his old vehicle. the bbc‘s tim allman explains. he isa he is a man on he isa man ona he is a man on a mission. he used to

drive a bemo around jakarta. now he has set up a library and it is the minds of the young he really wants to broaden. when i first started, i could never imagine i would inspire that many young children after a few yea rs of that many young children after a few years of driving abound, began to see the positive benefit. it is my responsibility to be a good human being and help others. bemos used to being and help others. bemos used to bea being and help others. bemos used to be a regular site injakarta, for decades they buzzed around the street, weaving the traffic, but they were not always safe and they we re they were not always safe and they were not exactly good for the environment, so eventually they were banned. his novel use of his vehicle is just banned. his novel use of his vehicle isjust one banned. his novel use of his vehicle is just one example of a larger movement, aiming to make indonesians learn to love books. translation: our challenge is how to instill an interest in reading in children during the age of technology. we believe it is important that our

volu nteers believe it is important that our volunteers teach children to understand the importance of learning. from what we have seen, indonesia's education system is moving ina indonesia's education system is moving in a positive direction and we are grateful for that. he hopes he can help transform these children past lives and he says this journey has taken him to places he never thought possible. tim allman, bbc news. what a fantastic idea. you have been watching newsday. i'm kasia madera in london. a great idea, very innovative. i'm rico hizon in singapore. coming up — the new zealand prime minister arrives in beijing to patch up differences with her largest trading partner, what challenges are they facing? rico, we're going to end the programme with some rather lovely images of iconic cherry blossoms in full bloom in china. thousands of people are flocking to parks across the country, including this one, the tianshi cherry blossom park in guangzhou, which holds a special cherry blossom festival every year. it has one of the largest plantings of the trees in south china.

and it looks stunning. bye— bye. hello again. we're going to see some big changes in our weather over the next few days of this week. not much snow on the mountains in scotland at the moment in this weather watch picture, sent to us by "colliestun". but you got a sense that that's going to change in a big way for scotland over the next few days as our weather turned significantly colder. now, on the satellite picture, we've got a streak of cloud to the north—west of the uk. and that's a cold front that's working in towards our shores. but if you're heading outside over the next few hours, the only place you're likely to come across rain is northern ireland, and even here the rain will be patchy in nature. clear spells further east allowing some frost, so it will be quite a chilly start for a number of us first thing in the morning. there's our area of high pressure slipping away to the continent.

and here comes our cold front, bringing that thickening cloud, and eventually outbreaks of rain. so the rain will return heavy and steady through the day for western scotland and for northern ireland. but for eastern scotland, for most of england and wales, actually, we have got another fine day coming up with some spring sunshine, the best of it across southern counties. it might be april the first, but don't be fooled by those rising temperatures in cardiff, highs up to 16 degrees. there is only one direction of travel for the weather, and that is for things to get much colder. now through monday evening and night—time, we'll see the band of rain, our cold front sinks southwards, taking the rain across northern ireland and scotland, into parts of england and wales through the night. ahead of the front, seven degrees in london. we're starting to get the colder air tucking in across scotland and northern ireland — the shape of things to come. so really from tuesday onwards, it's then that we'll start to see the cold air digging in. turning colder, rain or showers, be cold enough for some hill snow and some overnight frost as well.

this area of low pressure is going to be slipping southwards during tuesday, dragging in cold winds, coming all the way from within the arctic circle. our cold front by this stage will be pushing eastwards, taking the rain with it on tuesday. the colder air following. sunshine and showers — some of the showers heavy with some hail and thunder and yeah, there will be snow on the hills as well. now a look at the temperatures. highs of seven degrees in belfast. factor in those strong northerly winds, it really is going to feel quite cold, especially compared with the weather we've seen over recent days. low pressure then stays with us through the rest of the week, really. this area of low pressure in the north sea bringing rain and potentially some significant mountain snow across scotland and perhaps also the pennines as well for a time on wednesday. elsewhere, another day of sunshine and heavy showers. and the thing with the showers is, when they come along, they could drop the temperatures over a short period of time by four orfive degrees, so it is going to feel pretty chilly out and about.