BBC News with Jerry Smit.
Supporters of Muhammadu Buhari are celebrating his victory in the Nigerian presidential election. Mr. Buhari issued a statement thanking Nigerians for voting for him, but he urged his supporters not to harm opponents or destroy their property. Will Ross reports from Abuja.
“Finally, the long wait is over. The opposition's General Muhammadu Buhari has won this pivotal contest. His party says President Goodluck Jonathan has called to concede defeat. Never before has a sitting President lost an election, and it feels as though Nigeria has turned a corner. The outcome may be disputed by some, and there is still a fear of violence. But many Nigerians feel, for the first time, they have the power to vote out a government that's not performing well.”
The Turkish security forces have stormed a courthouse in Istanbul where a prosecutor was being held hostage by members of an outlawed Marxist group. The prosecutor was in charge of the inquiry into the death last year of a teenager, Berkin Elvan, who was hit by a teargas cannister during anti-government protests. Our correspondent, Salin Garrett, was outside the courthouse.
“The prosecutor who was held hostage for over 7 hours was taken seriously-wounded to hospital. The President made an announcement saying that he was shot three times in the head and he got two shots in the body. The Police Chief made an announcement after the operation ended, and he announced that the two militants who held the prosecutor hostage have been killed. He said the operation started once they heard gunshot, a gunshot being fired in the prosecutor's room, although the negotiations were being held.”
International talks in Switzerland on Iran's nuclear program are to continue beyond a self-imposed midnight deadline. The U.S. State Department says several difficult issues remained, but enough progress have been made to merit going-on into Wednesday. Barbara Plett Usher reports from Lausanne.
“The foreign ministers have huddled in meetings all day. A senior State Department official said they were making progress. They are trying to reach a framework agreement, setting out the political parameters of a deal, which would be used as a guideline for technical experts to work out the practical details. Despite 18 months of negotiations, disputes have persisted on key issues, such as limits to Iran's nuclear research program, the timing and scope at which sanctions would be lifted, and what would happen to Iran's stockpiles of enriched uranium.”
The Vatican has defended the appointment this month of a bishop in Chile, who's been accused of covering up sex abuse by a priest. A spokesman said Bishop Juan Barros's record had been carefully examined, and there was no objective reason to prevent his ordination. Noisy protests were staged inside the church during his ordination ceremony.
World news from the BBC.
Iraqi government forces say they've made significant gains in their battle to drive Islamic State fighters out of the city Tikrit. The Prime Minister, Haider al-abadi, was quoted as saying that it had been liberated after the army and its militia allies captured a complex of government buildings. But reports from the city itself suggest that the fighting is continuing. Mike Wooldridge looks at the Iraqi bid to recapture the city.
“The military challenge of recapturing Tikrit intensified as they moved towards it over the past month. And there were increasing reports that the IS militants have planted hundreds of booby trap explosives in and around the city. Then it's been complicated politics over Iranian-backed Shiite paramilitary groups supporting the Iraqi government forces. These groups suspended their operations when Iraqi Prime Minister requested the help of U.S. airstrikes last week. Such controversies may now have been overtaken on the ground, if the government's triumphal pronouncements today are taken a faith value.”
The United States has made a formal promise to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by up to 28% over the next decade compared with 2005. The pledge is part of the process designed by the U.N. to help strike a worldwide deal on global warming at a summit in Paris in December. The European Union has made similar commitments to cut its carbon pollution, while China has given informal commitments.
Some news just in. The Turkish prosecutor who was taken hostage by far-left militants has died of his injuries. He was shot several times during an operation by the security forces to relieve a day-long siege at a courthouse in Istanbul.
The South African comedian, Trevor Noah, named as the new host of the popular American TV program, the Daily Show, is being heavily criticized on social media for making controversial jokes. In Tweets posted over several years, he's targeted women, Jews and victims of Ebola.