BBC News with Iain Purdon
Parliament in Cyprus is voting on measures aimed at raising the $7.5bn the country needs to secure an international bailout. Among bills passed already by the assembly are the creation of a solidarity fund and a law giving the government powers to impose capital controls on banks. A number of bills are still being considered. Eurozone finance ministers are expected to meet in Brussels on Sunday to discuss the proposed bailout. The European Central Bank has said it will cut off emergency support to Cyprus’s financial institutions on Monday if no satisfactory deal is reached.
Turkey and Israel have agreed to restore diplomatic relations after Israel apologised for any mistakes made when Israeli troops stormed a Turkish ship carrying aid to Gaza in 2010 leaving nine activists dead. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to compensate Turkish families for their loss. Kevin Connolly reports.
After almost three years of refusing to apologise for a military assault on the Mavi Marmara that left nine Turkish political activists dead, Benjamin Netanyahu’s change of heart is a clear indication of the diplomatic clout that the United States still wields with its two key allies in a turbulent region. Mr Netanyahu’s call to his Turkish counterpart was apparently made from a trailer at Tel Aviv airport while Air Force One sat on the ground waiting to depart. The unglamorous setting and the last-minute nature of the call suggests the deal may not have been easy to broker.
The Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati has resigned after his divided cabinet was unable to agree on forthcoming elections. Jim Muir reports from Beirut.
Announcing his resignation Mr Mikati said he had almost resigned twice before since taking office two years ago. The cabinet failed to agree on two important and hotly-contested issues: one was the establishment and membership of a commission to oversee general elections which are supposed to be held in June; the other was his request that the mandate of the chief of internal security should be extended to avoid a dangerous vacuum which Mr Mikati said would now occur. He hoped a new government of national salvation could be formed to save the country from going over the brink.
President Obama says he’s very concerned about Syria becoming what he called an “enclave for extremism” because of the conflict raging in the country. Mr Obama was speaking in Jordan. From Amman, Yolande Knell reports.
This was an important final stop-off for Mr Obama recognising what he called an invaluable ally. But it was also a chance to hear first-hand how the war in Syria has spilled into neighbouring Jordan. King Abdullah told him that the arrival of 460,000 Syrian refugees was a heavy burden and predicted numbers would double by the end of the year. The president promised to ask Congress for another $200m in humanitarian support.
World News from the BBC
Government forces in the Central African Republic say they have halted a rebel advance towards the capital Bangui. A BBC reporter in the city said he saw a military helicopter heading out of the city. Earlier rebels forced their way through a checkpoint 70km north of Bangui. Our reporter says fighting is continuing in Demara and that the atmosphere in Bangui is very tense.
Tributes have been paid to the Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe who has died at the age of 82. He was most famous for his first novel Things Fall Apart. Richard Hamilton reports.
Chinua Achebe’s family spoke of the loss of a husband, father and grandfather, describing him as one of the great literary voices of his time. A spokesman for the governor of Nigeria’s Anambra state, where the author’s Things Fall Apart was born, said the world had lost one of its finest writers and Africa had lost a literary gem. A statement from the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory offered its condolences to the family. The centre referred to a previous quote by the former South African president who spent 27 years in jail, in which he said “Professor Achebe was a writer in whose company the prison walls fell down”.
Police in Brazil say 16 people will face criminal charges in connection with a deadly fire at the Kiss nightclub in January. Two hundred and forty-one people were killed when insulation foam caught fire and spread toxic fumes through the packed venue in the southern town of Santa Maria. The singer, the band’s producer, the club’s owners and two officials responsible for fire safety will be charged with manslaughter.
Croatia has beaten Serbia 2:0 in a football World Cup qualifier played under heavy security and a hostile atmosphere. The Serbian national anthem was booed at the start of the match and the home crowd in the Croatian capital Zagreb continued with songs aimed at offending the guests.