BBC News with Sue Montgomery
Francesco Schettino, the captain of the cruise ship Costa Concordia which ran aground off the Italian coast three years ago, has been found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Thirty two passengers and crew died when the ship hit rocks off the Italian island of Giglio. Allan Johnston reports from outside the court.
Francesco Schettino attended to take his huge ship very very close to the island of Giglio. He was on the bridge and in command when she ran a reef and sank on that winter's night. Thirty two people drowned. Now Schettino has been convicted of their manslaughter and of abandoning ship, saving himself while many of his passengers were still in danger during a chaotic evacuation. Schettino had denied the charges. He's always argued that others should share the blame for what happened.
President Obama has asked the US Congress to authorise a three-year military campaign against Islamic State militants. The plan could include limited ground operations by American forces. The president says he already has the statutory authority to attack IS, but he wants the clear backing from Congress. Mr Obama said he was not requesting the deployment of US ground forces to Iraq or Syria.
"It is not the authorisation of another ground war like Afghanistan or Iraq. As I said before I'm convinced the United States should not get dragged back into another prolonged ground war in the Middle East. It's not in our national security interest, and it's not necessary for us to defeat Isil."
The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France have begun talks in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, to try to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine. President Poroshenko and President Putin briefly shook hands at the start of the meeting. Mr Poroshenko has warned that achieving a ceasefire is essential to prevent the situation getting out of control. Lyse Doucet is at the talks in Minsk.
There is still a huge and very dangerous gap between all the sides, most of all between the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who represent two very different sides in this escalating war. Petro Poroshenko wants to regain the territorial integrity. He is talking about greater autonomy, but the rebels want to control the areas. They are talking about federalism and decentralisation.
Thousands of people are taking part in rallies in Greece in support of the new government's anti-austerity policies. The demonstrations were timed to coincide with the meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels to discuss changes to the international bailout, which Greece says is unsustainable. Before the meeting, the head of the IMF Christine Lagarde praised Greek officials.
World News from the BBC
The army in Niger says it spoiled an attack by a female suicide bomber in the town of Diffa. An army spokesman said a military vehicle followed a veiled woman who'd been asking for the whereabouts of soldiers. He said when she failed to give herself up they shot her dead, and then found a belt of explosives on her. The violence on Nigeria's borders with Niger and Cameroon has intensified as regional armies mobilise to fight Boko Haram militants.
American diplomats have flown out of Yemen after the closure of their embassy as rival demonstrators took to the streets of capital Sanaa. The State Department confirmed that the diplomats' vehicles had been seized apparently by Houthi rebels. The Houthi advance into Sanaa led to the resignation last month of President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, a US ally.
Ivory Coast's government is to reward its football team with millions of dollars in prizes for winning the Africa Cup of Nations. The team beat Ghana in the final in Equatorial Guinea. Here is Richard Hamilton.
President Alassane Ouattara is giving each member of the 23-man squad a house worth about $50,000 and the same amount in cash. There will also be six-figure rewards for the football federation and technical staff. In total the government is spending more than $3m on its celebrations, which included Monday's National Holiday. Some might question the wisdom of this expenditure in a country that had been ravished by civil conflict, but there is undoubtedly a feel-good factor in Ivory Coast.
The European Space Agency says its prototype miniature space plane has splashed down successfully in the Pacific Ocean in an experiment to help scientists develop reusable spacecraft. The plane reached an altitude of about 400km before descending rapidly. The flight will allow scientists to analyse the strains of returning through the atmosphere at great speed.