>> this is "bbc world news america." >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, and judy and peter blum-kovlerfo dation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. >> wow, that is unbelievable. ♪ >> i'm flying! ♪ >> stacurious. ♪

[applause] >> and now, "bbc world news. laura: this is "bbc world news america." reporting from washington, i amv laura yan. pushing for a delay and waiting for an answer.pr britain'e minister makes her case for a brexit extension brussels, still saying the earlier of the exit, the bter. prime min. may: i wanted to be able to leave the european union in a smooth and orderly way as soons possible. laura: the u.s. attorney general declares that the trump campaign was spied , and he is going to review what happened and why. plus, behold the first-ever images of a black hole. this picture from a distant galaxy has scientistexcited about what it could reveal.

laura: welcome to our viewers on public television anre in americalso around the globe. european leaders are debating whher to give britain an extension for brexit, as the u.k.'s prime minister waits on the sidelines. theresa may went to br to ask for brexit to be postponed until the end of june. all 27 members must agree to the delay. just onebjection could veto the whole thing, and then britain would crash out of the eu in two days time. urkuenssberg has the latest. laura k.: one of the most important conversations of her career started with a laugh. angela merkel sharing an online gag on their almost identical wardrobe choices today. we don't know what else the leaders had in common tonight.

here she is ready to persuade the rest of the room on the case for delay. are you embarrassed to be asking rsr another delay? prime min. may: of all, obviously, i'm here with fellow leaders to talk about the request put in for short extension to article 50, and i ow many people have been frustrated that the summit is taking place at all because the u.k. should've left the eu by now ani greatly regret that parliament h not been able to pass a deal. laa k.: the decision of the length of the delay isn not your hands. you said as prime minister you a delay counten beyond the 30th. what will you do if they ask fo nger delay? prime min. may: i'm working to ensure that we can leave the european union -- i want to beo ableave the european union in a smooth and orderly way asss soon as pole, and that is what i am going to be working for. thank you. lanta k.: she doesn't wao answer that yet. her eunterparts will take som convincing of what sheld do

with a short pause. >> an extension in itself does not solve this problem. givethe british side more ti and space to find a solution, i think it is worth trying. at the same time, it is frustratg. laura k.: the french president the most resistantsaying he needs more clarity. and repeated "nothing, nothing is decided." >> the consensus in brussels a ross the european union will be to give the the united kingdom a little bit more time for the cross party talks to conclude. we can review the situation nt a few ' time. laura k.: the u.k. iill walking this red carpet because at home the government failed to win the case for the brexit deal in parliament. pr order. question to the ime minister. laura k.: the proposal even for a delay of three months is hated by many on her own side. >> rather than deliver a d iuted deal whiunrecognizable to

many of us who voted to ave, go with wto rules, we should grab the opportunity and believe in the ability of the british people. laura k.: yet for those who would rather stuff it altogether, a likely longer wait is the chance to ask all of us again.>> n her final days as prime minister, will she accept the eu offer of the long extension, accept that the only choice now is to put this back to the people? laura k.: her only answer to them all is to go on. prime min. may: and i am continuing to work to ensure that we can deliver brexit and can do that in a wayworks for people across the country. ofura k.: knowing the day ur eventu departure from the eu is tied to her own exit, too. >> the prime minister has reed i was in discussions with her. she has given a period for that. she has hinged it to the ssage or ratification of a deal.

but i think the reality now is that is becoming a fte for departure, end of may, june. laura k.: discord at home watched so closely here, a bigre ason why this process has stumbled again and again. s voicesmming the prime minister's leadership, or lack of it, never far away. the prime minister is back here, arguing for more time to stay, because the politics of getting out have proved impossible so far. now theresa may is trying to persuade the eu that she can make it happen by finding common ground with labour. but as yet, there is simply there is no hard proof she will ever be able to ma that work. tonight's plea is about avoiding the turmoil of leaving without a deal at all. on its own, more time does not remove the same dilemmas staring the country in its face. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, brussels.

is a formerining us board member ofio the internl fund. tries have spoken out in favor of a longer extension to brexit assuming tha happens, what is the political risk for mrs. may? >> 17 is not 27, and it takes 27. as far as we know at this point, there is not a consensus. i think we all agreed it will be an extensi. there will be an extension of potentially a longer piod, but that is not a done deal. esif it do get to the point where the consensus is longer extension, then that keeps thingsel like generations, second referendum all of these broader outcomes on the table. not necessarily very good for prime minister may. if it is a shorteren extension, hat basically says that france and some of the others that are like-minded are saying

that the only way the u.k. will resolve this is under enormous, acute pressure. we will keep the pressure on and you have got a get something done now, and if you don't, this looming threat of the heart brexit remains. neither one of those is go for theresa may. laura: what is the economic impact of all of this uncertainty on britain? douglas: what we know is that everything has suffered under the uncertainty over thet p two and a half years. lack of investment, lack -- overall flight of investments that would have come to britaing hae elsewhere. there has been paralysis. one we also saw from the imf this week is different britain goes down the route of a hard brexit, no-deal bbexit, it woulramatically worse for the u.k. then eu counterparts. the imf has quantified that as seven times worse for the uk's and the eu.

there are those in germany and elsewhere that will take a hit. the eu doesn't want this. on the other hand, the argument that they will create the economic motivation to come to the table seems to be because it was free. -- casuistry. laura: you have argued they failed to educateeo thee of britain about the process. locatedoo difficult or, -- or complicated? douglas: we are seeing in april 20 1980's everyone a lot of us said was going to happen -- april l 2019 exactly what of us said was going to happen two years ago. they were miss portrayed and misunderstood by the british political system to the british public, promising a set of outcomes that were unrealistic. as the year progressed, 2018 to 2019, they failed to go back and say, ok, everyone, here ishat is going on, here is the

dynamic. as a result when you get to the point we are now,he british public is a price to find that the eu is cohesive and keeping its negotiating posture consistent, and the u.k. has been negotiating with itself. laura: s thank ymuch for joining us. douglas: thank you. the u.s. attorney general declared today that he believes the trump campaign was spied on. william barr was speaking toon lawmakerapitol hill. though he wouldn't explain why he thought spying occurred, he said it should be reviewed. the bbc's nick bryant has more. nick: springtime arrives in washington with a cherry blossom but of color and fragrance but the toxic cloud of the mueller investigation into russiameddling still poisons the political air. the report cleared donald trump of collusion, and today he claimed again the investigation was not just a witch hunt, but part of a coup attempt against his presidency.

pres. trump: this was an attempted coup. this was an attempted takedown of a president. and we beat them. we beat th. what they did was treason. what they did was terrible. what they did was against our constitution and everything we stand for. nick: donald trump's new g attorneral expresses himself less colorfully, but the carefully chosen words on capitol hill were nonetheless explosive. atty. gen. barr: spying on a political campaign is a big deal. >> you are not suggesting, though, that spying occurred? atty. gen. barr: i think spying did occur. yes, i tnk spying did occur. nick: there will now be a review as to whethesecret surveillance of the trump campaign was improper or illegal. we are awaiting the public release of the mueller report. so far we have only seen a four-page summary prepared by epe justicetment.

in the meantime, donald trump has vowed to fight back againstc hisers, and in his new attorney general, he appears to have a loyal ally.an nick b bbc news, washington.he laura: amongenators questioning the attorney general today was democrat chris van hollen from maryland. he joined my colleagues christian fraser and katty kay 10for their program "beyon days." katty: what did you make of what the attorney general said about the possibility that the trump campaignas spied on by u.s. intelligence services during the campaign? sen. van hollen: here we have an attorney general who has not even delivered the mueller report to the unit states congress and is talking about redacting major parts of it, and instead of making sure he does that, he said he is going to look into what he said was spying on the trump ca. but he then acknowledged he had

no specific evidence. clearly he is doing the president's bidding. the president has been tweeting about this for months, maybe even years now. o is very, very worrisome have an attorney general who on the one hand has not been fully forthcoming with the mller report and on the other seems to be doing the president's bidding and launching a fishing expedition intthe unfounded areas. katty: what role should the u.s. attorney general bplaying in a special prosecution of this nature? sen. van hollen: well, first of all, with respect to the mueller report, he should be delivering e report to congress, and he needs to do that right away.am thican public deserves to see it. with respect to issues regardina the clintoaign, as you haow, we already knew that there

was a fisa warranthad been issued under due process of law. the attorney general again said wtoday that there was no evidence that would leave him to open an investigation, which obviously ads you to the conclusion that he is just responding to political pressure from the white house. that is definitely not the appropriate role of a united states attorney general. they are not supposeidto do the prt's political bidding. they are supposed to abide by the rule of law. not go off on fishing expeditions. maryland senator chris van hollen speaking earlier. new zealand's parliament has voted to change the country's gun laws following last deadly terror attack on two mosques. lawmakers voted almost unanimously to tighten regulations. australian brenton tarrant has been charged with 50 counts of murder follong the attacks in christchurch. at least two people have died

d 16 injured in a shoppi center fire in bangkok. the complex which includes a mall and offices and a hotel was evacuated. some people were reportedly forced to jump from a burning building. the cause of the fire is not yet known. the spiritual leader of ti the dalai lama, has been admitted to hospital in delhi. reports suggest he is suffering from a chest infection. he is said to be in stable condition. a spokesman for the 83-year-old nobel prize winners said he is expected to remain in hospital the next few days. israel's prime minister has declared a colossal victory in what was a closely fought election. benjamin netanyahu is set for a.

record fifth t his main rival, former military chief benny gantz, conceded defeat. mr. netanyahu has the task of forming a governmeio with a coalof smaller parties. i spoke to lyse doucet in jerusalem. what roadblocks does mr. netanyahu face in forming a coalition? lyse: when it became clear that even though benjamin netanyahu came to a time with hi challenger, benny gantz, 35 seats each for the parties in the knesset, but that he would have the backing of the right-wing and the religious parties to forthe government, many asked whether that would be easy, because he created so much anger among some of ese right-wing parties when during the election, 48 hours befe the polls, he panicked that benny gantz was leading in the basically urged israeli voters to throw all their support behind likud, to leave their backing for thert smaller s. but now after the votes have been counted, one right-wing regious leader after anoth is pledging support to the prime minister in waiting and saying they will join his con government. laura: lyse doucet in jerusalem, thank you. you are watching "bbc world news america."

still to come on tonight's program, voting is set to begin across india with voters young and old and even the oldest ready to cast their ballots. jack shepherd, a london designer who spent 10 months laying low in georgia after his state, 24-year-old charlie brown was killed in a speedboat accident, has made his way back to the u.k. ahead of a court appearance huon tday. sarah rainsford has more for us on the story. sarah:ca the so-ed speedboat killer left georgia tonight, escorted by police on to this flight. >> why did you run? >> fear. sarah: he is heading back to britain to face justice. it was just a case of being fear and animalistic

jumping on a plane. sarah: it is over three years since his boat was found capsized in the thames after a first date ended in tragedy. this was filmed by charlotte own shortly before the crash that killed her. at some point, jack handed her e controls. boat it an obstacle at high speed and overturned. e charloown was discovered in the icy water. she died later in hospital. hait is morea year since jack shepherd arrived in hgeorgia, whewas living discreetly but not in hiding. ckhe is now heading rom here to the u.k. to begin serving a sentence for manslaughter. it wasn't until janrnry that he tu himself into georgn police after securing the right to appeal against his conviction. in court, jack shepherd described charlotte's's death as eatest regret. but he has since made clear he does not believe he is fulr

responsible e crash. his georgia lawyer told me he fled before his trial because he was depressed, even suicidal. charlotte brown's family want jack to take responsibility for charlotte's death, saying his appeal will ly prolong their pain and suffering. sarah rainsford, bbc news. india --ldiers across voters across india head to the polls tomorro and the largest democratic election the world has ever seen. around 900 million people are eligible to vote, and the process will last more than a month. 'the country'current prime minister, narendra modi is ghting for a second term to continue what he calls his mission to transform india. our south asia correspondent rajini vaidyanathan has more. rajini: the foundations of modern india were built on one basic principle, the right to vote.

over the coming weeks, pernle in every of this land will decide on its future. we traveledeep in the himalayas to visit the border this mana.to meet t 102, he is india's oldest voter. for him, this election matters more than most. >> india hasn't progress enough. to grow, we need unity and everyoneeeds equal rights. rajini: he voted in everyol since the country gained independence. but this election shows india at a crossroads. nationalismcreasing and division. some say the very idea of india is at stake. some more than a thousand ,sles eastfrom old to young

many wonder if thi country has become less tolerant. these first-time voters are part of the country's gring street rap scene. with more than half of india under change 25, the voice of the millennial majority matters more than ever. he focused on growing religious tensio h betwedus and muslims. ippearing.ddi i don't want my india to be a country where indians are fighting each other." some blame prime minister narendra modi for the country's divisions. ln bjp party swept to power 2014 and adslide victory. this election is seen as a referendum on his time in office. his supporters say he has been a strong man who has protected india's interests at home and abroad.

others say the better days he promised never arrived. every shack in this will cut a slum tells the -- kolkata slum tells the story of struggle. rashida lives in this one room with six members of her family. she works as ake p because she cannot find another job. t in the lve years, unemploymentse in india has to the highest in nearly half a century. shewant decent jobs," tells me. "during the election politicians promised to help the poor, but afterwards nobody bothed to check on us." even so, thiadcountry has nced under prime minister modi. it is the world's fastest-growing major economy, said to overtake the u.k. but india is characterized by deep divides.elections are the one time the country's powerless can send a message to those in power.

are they happy with the way things are going, or will they hangefor rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, kolkata. laura: it is stunning and compelling, the first-ever image of a black hole in space. scientists hope this will help our understanding of the cosmoso angalaxies are formed. until now, black holes have been considered the most mysterious objects in the universe. the bbc's science correspondent >> this is the nucleus of the galaxy, m87, and this is the first ever image of a black hole. world, unveiled to the this black hole is 3 million times the size of the earth and deuring material that falls into it. it is being described as a monster at the heart of the galaxy. on top of a mountain in southern spain smingly touching the clouds is one of the instruments

astronomersto useake the picture. radio telescopes around the world that was pointed towards a distant galaxy 300 million trillion miles away. together, they scanned the center for 10 days and were able to take a picture of the e at its black h hear astronomers have used a global network of dishes heom all acrossorld and linked them together. no single teleope is powerful enough to see the black hole. but by adding togeth the information from each of them, the image gradually becomes sharper. >> you can see black holes. beyond what we can be doing. this is the ser heavyweight champion among the black holes in the universe. pallab: they are important because they are at the heart of every galaxy, and probably the reason tt stars and planets form around them. gravity is s strong close to a black holes that even orderw

time flows, making it seem to pass slowly. it is not known what is on the other side of a black hole eculate there may be a doorway -- some speculate there may be a doorwa this image proof that black holes exist, and it is hoped that it will help astronomers learn more about space, time, and our own existence. >> what is so exciting is that we are taking our knowledge of black holes, which is focused on the theory, simulating how the environment of a black hole looks. now having the data, seeing is, it turns the bible into something tangible, something thatou can see -- it turns the black hole into something tangible, something you can see, and there is so much we cas. learn from t pallab: researchers are recalibrating their instruments to take another black hole, this time at the heart of our own galaxy, the milky way. , inab ghosh, bbc newsn.

sp laura: albert einstein was right oles allose black alon remember, you can find sl the day' news on our website. i am laura trevelyan. thank you souch for watching "bbc orld news america." >> with the bbc news app, our vertical videos are designed to work around your liftyle, so you can swipe your way through the news of the day and stay up-to-date with the latest headlines you can trust. download now froselected app stores. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, and judy and peter blum-kovler foundation, pursuing solutionsr erica's neglected needs.e >> what u doing? >> possibilities. your day is filled with them. >> tv, play "downton abbey." and pbs helps everyone

diover theirs. anytime, awhere. pbs. we are with you for life. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, losngeles.

captioning sponsored by newshourroductions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonighthe votes are tallied in israel, prime minister benjamin netanyahu is set to return for a record fifth term in office. then, a scientific milestone-- researchers reveal the first image ever captured of a black hole. plus, our next report from the bottom of the world. the ice in antarctica is melting at an accelerating pace, threatening coastal communities thousands of miles away. >> in areas around some of our biggest cities, new york, boston, miami, whereou've got a lot of development, very close to sea level-how do you defend those? >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.