Turkey's governing AK Party looks certain to win back its parliamentary majority after a stronger-than-expetced performance in snap elections. The Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu declared the victory after preliminary results showed the AKP had taken about 49 percent of the vote. These supporters were delighted. I feel very good on Turkey. As I feel very happy, so happy. Very good man, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, very good man. I'm very very happy. The pro-Kurdish HDP has more than 10 percent of the vote, enough to claim 59 parliamentary seats, 21 fewer than it won in June's election. Mark Luis reports from Ankara. They can barely contain their delight here at the AK Party headquarters in Ankara. The results have far exceeded all opinion polls, the marginal victory higher than almost anybody expected. The party founded by president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won back the majority it lost in June's election and will now be able to govern alone. The tactics of the party and president to reject a coalition last time and push for a rerun has paid off.
A Russian government plane is on its way to St Petersburg carrying the bodies of more than 160 victims of Saturday's air crash in Egypt. All 224 people aboard the airbus A321, most of them Russians, were killed when it came down in the sinai Peninsula. The head of the Air Transport Agency in Moscow Aleksandr Neradko said the airliner had disintegrated. He was speaking on the Rossiya-24 news channel. The crash site covers a very large area, over 20 square kilometers. Parts of the aircraft had been dispersed across an elongated strip of about 8 kilometers by 4. All the signs are that the aircraft disintegrated at a high altitude.
Reports from Syria says rebels are using captured soldiers as human shields. The move is an apparent attempt to ward off attacks by president Bashar Assad's forces. Allen Jonson reports. Videos have emerged of men and women being held in large metal cages. These have been put on the back of lorries and they're been driven slowly through streets that have been smashed in earlier bombardments. One of those in the cage tells the camera that he is a captured army officer and appeals for an end to government attacks on the area.
The new speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan has ruled out working with Obama administration to reform immigration policy. In his first serious interview since his election, the republican politician said the president couldn't be trusted on the issue. World news from the BBC.
Loyalists of the president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev appeared to have swept the board in parliamentary elections which were shunned by opposition candidates and international observers. The head of the Central Election Commission said the politicians from the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party had won the majority of the 125 seats in the country's parliament. The main opposition party's boycotted the poll, accusing the government of suppressing dissent.
Pope Francis has announced he'll make his official visit to Mexico earlier next year. The Vatican says the Pope's 8-day trip will begin on February 12th. Our America's editor Leonardo Rocha has more. Pope francis drew millions of people to the streets of four other Latin American countries earlier this year including Cuba. He'll certainly get a warm reception in Mexico where more than 80 percent of the population are Catholics. According to the Catholic church in Mexico, the pope will not avoid difficult or controversial issues such as poverty, violence and Mexico's notorious drug gangs. The Archbishop of Mexico city Norberto Rivera Carrera said Pope will call for solidarity and understanding towards migrants who look for a better life in the United States.
The head of the Council of Europe is to urge politicians and religious leaders to speak out for tolerance and inclusion.Thorbjorn Jagland who is a former Norwegian prime minister will make his call at the speech in Sarajevo on Monday. Mr Jagland will say that those who wish to banish Islam and other religion risking stoking extremism instead.
The Mexican Grand Prix has been won by Nico Rosberg. He controlled the race from the start, edging out his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton who has already secured the formula one drivers world championship. But Rosberg's victory denied Hamilton's bid to tie the record for 13 victories in a season. BBC news.