welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. julian assange as an extradition my name is mike embley. our top stories: battle begins following his arrest. he was taken into custody when ecuador withdrew the protection american prosecutors announce charges againstjulian assange, of its embassy in london of wikileaks, arrested in london after nearly seven years. british prime minister theresa may after seven years in hiding. his lawyer says they'll fight extradition to the us. said no—one is above the law. this sets a dangerous precedent for all media organisations thousands of protestors have and journalists in europe held rallies in sudan, despite attempts to impose a curfew, following the military coup which saw the removal and elsewhere around the world. of longstanding president omar al—bashir. it was an abrupt end to 30 years defying a curfew — of his dictatorial rule. huge crowds take to the streets a military council is now of sudan's capital as the military seizes power after 30 years of dictatorship. in charge in khartoum. theresa may has been defending after a decade of legal battles, the six—month extension to brexit negotiated in brussels on wednesday. a french cereal farmer wins his case against the us agricultral firm monsanto over the safety of its weedkiller. the uk was due to leave the eu without a deal but now has until october 31st to reach an agreement. critics accused her of "abject surrender" and have called on her to resign. well, we didn't make it, now on bbc news, thursday in parliament.

hello, and welcome to the programme. coming up, theresa may reports back to mps after the eu grants a six—month extension to brexit. i never wanted to seek this extension and i deeply regret we have not been able to secure a deal in this house that would allow us to leave in an orderly way. labour says it will keep talking to try to find a way forward but some of theresa may's own mps are furious brexit has been put off again. does my right honourable friend the prime minister appreciate the anger that abject surrender last night has generated across the country? mps react to the arrest of the wikileaks founder julian assange after seven years in the ecuadorian embassy. and labour calls for a ban

on gambling using credit cards. i met a young woman who wracked up a crippling debt of over £100,000 using nine different credit cards in two days. first, eu leaders talked long into the night thrashing out exactly how long an extension to the brexit timetable to grant the uk. in the end they settled on october the 31st, although the uk could leave before that if a deal is agreed at westminster, and would leave without a deal at the start ofjune if uk voters do not take part in european parliament elections. after a few hours‘ sleep theresa may came to the commons. the date of our departure from the eu and our participation in the european parliamentary elections remains a decision for this house. as president tusk said last night, during this time the course

of action will be entirely in the uk's hands. the choices were stark and the timetable clear, she said. she said there would be more talks with labour to try to find a way forward. however challenging it may be politically, i profoundly believe in this unique situation where the houses deadlocked it is incumbent on both front benches to seek to work together to deliver what the british people voted for. i know the whole country is intensely frustrated that this process has not been completed. i never wanted to seek this extension and i deeply regret we have not yet been able to secure agreement in this house for a deal that would allow us to leave in a smooth and orderly way. i know this whole debate is putting members on all sides of the house under immense pressure and we need to resolve this. use the opportunity of the recess to reflect on the decisions that will have to be made swiftly on our return after easter and let us resolve to find a way through this impasse. they said the talks between labour

and the conservatives had been constructive, but if they failed... we believe all options should remain on the table including the option of a public vote. there was speculation about how long theresa may would stay in power. we have no idea who may succeed her, so with that in mind we have to entrench any agreement because some of those already throwing their hats into the ring have said they would scrap the human rights act, they would rip up burdensome regulation, or they would even prefer to leave without any deal at all. it is the european union that has got the uk out of this mess. let that be a lesson for members in this place. it is the eu that has put the interest of our citizens in the uk first, our businesses, our farmers and fishermen. we should not be lambasting the eu,

we should be thanking them. does my right honourable friend the prime minister appreciate the anger that her abject surrender last night has generated across the country, having broken promises 100 times not to extend the time? would she resign? i think you know the answer to that. until yesterday the eu was saying very clearly it would not grant an extension unless there was a credible plan, either an election, a referendum or the prospect of getting their withdrawal agreement soon, they would not grant an extension, and if it did there will be stringent conditions. neither of those things were held to by the european union. when they were faced with the unpalatable choice of an no deal they backed down. will the prime minister

learned the lesson of that? the government continues in office next to the support of our confidence and supply partners. in the event the withdrawal agreement is pushed through unamended over the heads of those partners, will the prime minister be seeking the confidence of the labour party? theresa may laughed that of saying she wanted to see the house voting with a majority to see them leaving with a deal. a number of honourable members have heard the words of the prime minister when she speaks about compromise. but she still has refused, or is unable to tell the house, what is her compromise? what are the red lines that she set down which he now intends to rub out? prime minister, please answer those questions. which of your red lines are you now prepared to rub out?

i would say to the right honourable lady that the whole point of sitting down and negotiating and trying to come to an agreement is that both sides are exploring where that point of agreement may be. could i urge the prime minister to ignore the bullies on our back benches and stick to your guns? 27 leaders decided the uk's fake last night was the prime minister waited for their decision outside. seven of those leaders represent countries whose populations are smaller than that of wales. yet we are told in westminster that wales is too small, too poor to have a seat at the table. does she acknowledge, even if it is not what she wants, putting her withdrawal agreement to the public is the way to break this brexit deadlock and get the resolution our country desperately needs? i genuinely believe that the way to break the brexit deadlock is for this house to be able to agree on a deal that will deliver on the vote of the british people. when two years ago the prime minister was devising a brexit that

reflected the will of the people, i assume it did not include many elements of labour policy. if the prime minister agrees a new brexit with the leader of the opposition, it cannot by definition reflect her interpretation of the will of the people. does that not make the case for a people's vote the best? we are working to see if we can get a majority across this house. after seven years in the ecuadorian embassy in london the co—founder of wikileaks, julian assange, has been arrested. he took refuge in 2012 to avoid extradition to sweden over a sexual assault case that has since been dropped. he also faces charges in the us related to one of the largest ever lea ks of secrets from the government. he set up wikileaks in 2006 with the aim of obtaining confidential documents and images. the home secretary praised the ecuadorian decision. i am pleased the president has taken

this decision and i extend the uk's thanks to him for resolving the situation. they recognise the uk criminal justice system is one in which rights are protected and in which contrary to what julian assange and his reported claim, he and his legitimate interests will be protected. this also reflects the improvements the uk relationship with ecuador under the present government. we should recall what wikileaks disclosed. who can forget the video footage of a missile attack in iraq which killed 18 civilians and two reuters journalists in 2007? it is the monumental amount of leaks that lifted the affair on a us led military operation in a variety of theatres, none of which has produced a faithful outcome for the people of those countries. he is not being pursued to protect us national security. he is being pursued because he has exposed wrongdoing by us administrations and

their military forces. it is right nobody is above the law and in many ways one deadlock has been broken today and that is important from a health and well—being point of view. but at the same time human rights under the law are inviolable and the treatment he receives must take place with appropriate due process and with respect to the protection of his right that the home secretary stresses. can he confirm nobody should be extradited from the uk if they face an unfair trial or a cruel and unusual punishment in the destination country? this country has a long and proud tradition of human rights and when it comes to extradition requests, it is right the courts and the government consider

an individual's human rights. the transport firm stagecoach is up in arms after being rejected for three franchises. they applied for the east midlands and the south—eastern franchises and to renew its west coast agreement. but it has been told by the department for transport its bids have been disallowed as they did not meet pension rules. the minister explained why. they put in a noncompliant bid which resulted in their disqualification in line with the terms of the published invitation to tender. that said, stagecoach have played an important role in our railways and we hope they continue to do so after the conclusions of the rail review, but it is for stagecoach and their bidding partners to explain why they decided to ignore established rules. labour had a raft of questions.

could he explain when was a requirement over pension costs first introduced? was this the first franchise it was introduced for? why was it applied and how much in total are the government tried to cover in costs through the franchising process? are any other company is refusing to cover such costs? are any other franchises affected? if they are, what will be the effect on competition in the franchising system? what would happen if all companies refused to cover these costs in terms of future competition and in costs the government is trying to seek to recover? the ministers put the blame fairly and stagecoach‘s door. they acknowledged they had bid noncompliantly. we have received offers from other bidders that are fully compliant in providing pension arrangements for railway workers. to answer the question does this mean that the bid process is falling as others are refusing?

they are not doing that because we have a compliant bid which was won in good form today. stagecoach is experienced and they are fully aware of the rules and it is regrettable they submitted a noncompliant bid which breached the rules and they are responsible for their own disqualification. i am surprised at the late withdrawal or firing of stagecoach from this particular franchise. it seems to have come right at the end and therefore it is odd that my honourable friend is saying that somehow they knew they were noncompliant. if the department knew soberly they were noncompliant one would have thought they would have been told long ago. these franchises are not cheap to make a bid for and they are expensive on the company.

a conservative backbencher criticised the company abelio. they are hopeless. the minister will recall an adjournment debate he had with a number of mps are a couple of months ago, and the business collapsed early, so lots of us piled in. six or seven essex members of parliament whose constituents suffer this company every day got up one after the other to tell the minister how useless this company are. we have been waiting for years for new trains and still they do not turn up. they are dutch japanese owned and they do not give a monkey's about the passengers. this is a massive mistake and yet another cock—up. ministers have called for the transport secretary to resign. in another week the transport secretary threatened the prime minister to resign over her position on europe. will he follow through on his bed or will the government take action and make the secretary resign?

i am disappointed the secretary of state who was here earlier was not able to take this question. franchising is one of the key planks of the government's railway policy. labour's front bench took issue with the whole franchise approach. surely even this beleaguered government can see what is staring them in the face, that the franchise system is in complete collapse and they need to respond to long—suffering passengers and do what the next labour government will do, which is to bring track and train back together in a state ownership. but the minister said the system brought billions of pounds of investment into the uk's rail network and mps should celebrate the positives. you're watching thursday in parliament. you can follow me on twitter at the bbc.

the house of commons has been monumentally divided in recent months, but for a0 minutes there was an atmosphere of unity as the government set out what it was doing to tackle racism in football. recently, there's been an upsurge of reports of racist abuse in matches at home and abroad. high profile black players have spoken out about the chanting they're subjected to. the government is concerned about the recent rise in racist abuse in football, which threatens to overshadow everything we love about our national sport. last weekend the english football league said it was saddened, disappointed and angered after a weekend of fixtures that were blighted by four separate incidents of alleged racism against players. putting a stop to this is a challenge that affects all fans, all clubs, all football agencies at all levels. this government is determined

to help in tackling this problem. hardly a week goes by without an example of discrimination. we were all shocked by the blatant racism during the game against montenegro last month. hearing danny rose say after that match that he can't wait to see the back of football because of racism is deeply depressing. but sadly not surprising, because when young players face abuse time and time again, who can blame them for wanting to walk away? the bravery shown by those players is commendable but they should not have to be brave. they're just trying to do theirjobs. a crystal palace player, wilfried zaha, was sent racist abuse online after his team beat newcastle united. one of the city's mps condemned that. she was at the match and heard no racist chanting. that would not have been

the case 30 or a0 years ago, when i would avoid saintjames‘ park because of the racists there. the fans came together to kick racism out and that has not happened in other european countries. could the minister look at taking uefa to the european court of human rights? footballers are working when they are playing the beautiful game, they have a right to work in an atmosphere where abuse is absolutely not tolerated. we must get to a position whereby those that utter racist abuse at football matches are identified, ejected, charged for their crime, and the good fans, who don't want to see this happen, are not punished as a result of the bad fans, who are disgraceful. the world cup will happen shortly in qatar, a country that should never have got the world cup in the first place, and where it is illegal

to be homosexual. we need to take stronger action against those countries and consider withholding teams going to those countries to send the strongest message. we applaud the likes of raheem sterling and john barnes, but does the minister not agree with me that in order to tackle racism within football we need to tackle racism in the wider society? i think the two go together. we can tackle the ills in the wider society by rooting out the trouble that people... sorry, rooting out the cloak that they use of football to explain bad behaviour in the wider society. don't use football to have intolerance, we don't want it, get rid of it. the culture secretary says he has a good deal of sympathy with labour calls to prevent credit card gambling. jeremy wright told mps the government intends to take action on

the back of mps's questions on the issue. his comments came in answer to a question from his labour shadow. yesterday, i met a young woman who racked up a crippling debt of over £100,000, using nine different credit cards in just two days, whilst gambling online. the operators which took her bets should be held responsible for their disgraceful conduct. will the secretary of state agree to meet the young gambler? and does he agree with me that it's time to ban credit cards in gambling? no one should go into debt to place a bet. secretary of state. mr speaker, first of all, i have a good deal of sympathy with what the honourable gentleman has said and huge sympathy with those who find themselves in the position of the individual he has described and of course, i will meet her and i will try to meet others who have been affected

by this kind of gambling. it is important that not just gambling companies, but all of us, take an interest in the way in which this kind of problem gambling is developing. and it is very clear that those who are gambling with money they haven't got find themselves very quickly in very serious trouble. he will know the gambling commission is at the moment looking at the specific question of gambling on credit, that is a process that we have encouraged. i look forward to their conclusions and the government will intend to take action on the back of what they say. the government has cut the maximum stake that can be placed on fixed odds betting terminals. they were widely condemned as the crack cocaine of gambling, as users could bet hundreds of pounds a minute on the machines. mps accuse some firms of trying to bypass the new rules. on the very day, that this

restrictions was introduced, we discovered the bookmakers have found a way to bypass that reduction. what promises can the secretary of state make that the industry will not be allowed to, in pursuit of their exploitation, to allow this to happen? i agree with the honourable lady and i think that the actions of those who tried to find a way around the procedures of banning the things that we across this house have decided should be banned were disgraceful. and what happened thereafter, as she knows, is the regulator took immediate action and those particular products were withdrawn. i hope that lesson will be learned by all those across the industry who attempt to try it again. over in the lords, peers wanted the government to say what more could be done to help cabbies who were caught short in their cars. many london hotels have stopped black cab drivers using their facilities and local authority toilets are few and far between.

london's provision of public loos is lamentable, both in terms of availability and cleanliness. this impacts on our tourists, the young, the elderly, disabled, but also on our london cabbies, a disproportionate number of whom suffer from kidney problems. many hotels have now stopped allowing taxi drivers to use their facilities, although i do commend pret a manger for their policy of allowing cabbies to access theirs. can i ask the minister what further actions he will take to restore and maintain decent public loos? if i canjust pick up two points in relation to points that she's raised. first of all, changing places, which helps with the provision of disabled lavatories, we have got about 1100. she also mentioned pret a manger and if i can give a shout out to them, they are helping in making their lavatories available

in their community schemes, which we are promoting up and down the country, first atarted in richmond upon thames in 2004, in addition to pret a manger, local businesses make their lavatories available and that is advertised locally and on apps in this area. i come from a family of london cab drivers and i welcome this question very, very much. does the noble lord join with me in welcoming the british toilet association's use our loos campaign, where pubs and cafes allow people to use their toilets, not just for customers? does he welcome the trends of our mainline stations, charing cross and st pancras, the toilets are free, and i am waiting for waterloo and king's cross to join in as well. first on the cabbies's business,

i note the noble lord drove past me the other day. in relation to the british toilet association being supportive of, i think it's a very important campaign. unfortunately it's advertised on their website as an open doors campaign, but they have got — the open doors does appear in inverted commas, so that is useful. seriously, it is a worthwhile campaign. good news on waterloo. all of the mainline stations in london now have free entrance, which is a good thing, and the department for transport, i understand, is encouraging other train operators to do similarly. mps and peers have gone off for their easter recess and they will be back on the 23rd of april. but with a few days‘s long awaited

rest on the horizon, one conservative had a suggestion for the pm. i have nothing left to say on brexit until at least another week is past. so will she join the rest of the house in having a few days off next week? before she leaves this place tonight, will she suggest to the chief whip that he has 12 hours solid sleep as well? theresa may said she was making sure that everyone would have a good few days off from westminster. that's not quite it from us this wekk. join us on friday night at 11pm for another roundup of a key brexit week. shocking if you are exhausted and cannot stay up, just search for us on the bbc iplayer. but for now, from me, goodbye. hello. the calendar‘s taking us forward

into mid april but the weather seems to want to go backwards, more of a hint of winter rather than spring in the weekend to come. for the day ahead, plenty of dry weather, although there will be a bit more cloud in the sky than we've had recently, we're going to see some sunny spells. it's high pressure in control, blocking atlantic weather systems, keeping things settled, though things are fairly cool coming around that area of high pressure and an increasingly chilly, and strong wind this weekend. there will be frost around despite the start, plenty of sunshine for early risers but the chance of catching one or two showers towards eastern parts of scotland, and for the cloud building into east anglia and the south—east, there could be the odd shower around here during the morning and afternoon, before somewhat drier air returns to the eastern counties of england to give some sunshine to end the day. elsewhere, we will start to see some sunshine, some cloud building but it

will stay mainly dry. this easterly breeze is stronger than it's been in recent days, keeping temperatures in the east around seven to 10 degrees. maybe ten to 12 degrees again in north—west scotland, that's what we have had for the past few days. the wind direction is favourable for a bit of warmth, a bit of shelter here. through the night into saturday morning, some areas of cloud around, maybe still the odd shower feeding down towards the far south—east. but on the whole, a lot of clear weather, and yet again, gardeners and growers need to be aware there'll be a frost for many of us as the weekend begins. i love this view, it's high pressure, low pressure at loggerheads, for control of the weekend weather, it's high pressure maintaining its control, winning the battle and it stays with us for the weekend, with a strong wind coming from the east. that's going to be more noticeable, there'll be some sunshine abound, some cloud building as saturday begins and while most places

will stay dry, still for south—east england and east anglia, the passing shower could include some hail, particularly over higher ground, and it will feel a bit colder. the wind in the west is picking up over the weekend, noticeably so, some gusts over northern ireland. more cloud on sunday here, maybe a bit of rain in the far west, into the isles of scilly as well. cloud building after a sunny start elsewhere, but sunny spells, still most places staying fairly dry and still coldest in the east, but no—one is particularly warm for the time of year. temperatures are well below average now. this is what we're expecting this weekend, dry, some occasional sunshine, stronger wind. it will feel colder, frosty nights, it is next week that temperatures are on the up again.