BBC news with Marion Marshall.
Votes are being counted in the Spanish region of Catalonia after an election that's called into question the unity of Spain. Chris Morris reports from Barcelona.
It’s early days, but the exit polls suggest a clear trend. Parties that support Catalania independence and the idea of holding a referendum or public consultation on it look set to win a clear majority in the next regional parliaments. The exit polls suggest the number of seats held by the CIU, the party led by the Catalan President Artur Mas, will fall. But the big winner could be another pro-independence party on the left. Mr. Mas called this early election after failing to negotiate a new financial settlement with the central government in Madrid. His critics say he is trying to exploit the economic crisis, but his supporters say the demand for independence in Catalonia can no longer be ignored.
The Nigerian military says there has been a double suicide bomb attack on a church inside an army base near the northern city of Kaduna, at least 11 people were killed and 30 wounded. The Nigerian army blamed the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Our reporter Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar is in Kaduna.
According to residents of the Jaji military cantonment, about noon two suicide bombers came into the facility and headed for the St. Andrews Protestant Church, where the first suicide bomber detonated his bomb. The residents said there was no impact as it didn't kill anyone, but people gathered to see what was going on when the second suicide bomber detonated his own bomb that killed at least 11 people, according to the authorities.
A statement from the Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi has reiterated that his surprised decree giving himself sweeping powers is only temporary. Egypt's highest judicial authority has said the decree should be limited to what it called sovereign matters. Jon Leyne reports from Cairo.
After several days of sometimes violent protest and a big fall in the Egyptian stock market, President Mursi is reaching out to his opponents. The new statement said the decree was necessary in order to hold to account, they are responsible for corruption and other crimes. President Mursi said he was committed to engaging all political forces to reach common ground on the constitution. However, several of the main opposition leaders, including the Nobel Peace Prize winner(2005) Mohammed ElBaradei, have said they will not engage in dialogue with the president until he rescinds his decree.
Israel says it has successfully tested a new defence system intended to intercept missiles with ranges of up to 300 kilometers. Official said the system, known as David's Sling, shot down its first missile in a test last week. It will become part of a multi-tiered missile shield that includes the Iron Dome, which the Israeli Defence Ministry says shot down hundreds of rockets fired from Gaza during the recent conflict.
BBC news.
Motor racing Sebastian Vettel drove his way from the back of the field to win the world Formula One championship in the final race of the season in Brazil. A collision in the first lap damaged Vettel's car and left him lying last. But the German driver powered his way through the rain to finish six and take(took) the world title for Red Bull, just ahead of the Spanish driver Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari.
Second place goes to Alonso. Massa finishes third. But with sixth place, Sebastian Vettel is the 2012 F1 world champion. He is the youngest ever three times world champion and only the third driver in history who have taken three titles in a row.
The former prime minister of France, Alain Juppe, says he has failed to resolve a leadership dispute that threatening the future of the right-wing opposition party, the UNP. From Paris, here's Hugh Schofield.
With every new twist in this embarrassing political saga, the prospect of France's main right-wing party splitting into opposing factions comes closer. Perhaps the last chance for compromise between Jean-Francois Cope and Francois Fillon came with a meeting between the two rivals at the National Assembly building, a meeting chaired by the party's elder statesman, Alain Juppe. But after just 45 minutes, Mr. Juppe emerged to tell journalists he was throwing in the towel.
Forensic experts in Mexico have found 19 bodies and mass graves in the northern state of Chihuahua. They said 11 of the bodies have probably been buried two years ago, while the remaining eight appeared to have been tortured and killed only days ago. All the victims were male.
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has said it won't negotiate with the M23 rebels until they pull out of the eastern city of Goma, which they captured last week. A rebel spokesman said any retreat from Goma would come as a result of peace talks but couldn't be a precondition.
BBC World Service news.