BBC News with Jim Lee
After a day of intense diplomacy in Beijing, the United States and China have said they’ll work together to try to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. The US Secretary of State John Kerry, who’s been holding talks with the Chinese leadership, warned that the stakes were high as the North continues to threaten another missile launch. Here’s Damian Grammaticas in Beijing.
Side by side Mr Kerry and China’s foreign policy chief Yang Jiechi said both nations are determined to see North Korea give up its nuclear weapons in a peaceful manner. Mr Kerry added that further talks will focus very quickly on how to accomplish the goal. Mr Yang said China wants the issue handled peacefully through dialogue and will work with the US. It’s a clear signal of China’s displeasure with North Korea. China is North Korea’s only ally and isn’t going to stop supporting the North, but wants it to calm things down.
In a separate development, China and the United States have agreed to set up a working group on cyber security. The issue has embittered relations in recent months as the two countries traded accusations that the other carried out major hacking attacks on government and business computer networks.
The opposition in Venezuela has made a formal complaint to the electoral authorities that the acting president has broken the law by continuing his campaign after the Thursday deadline. The opposition candidate Henrique Capriles has accused his opponent Nicolas Maduro of what he called a shameless violation of electoral rules. This report by Will Grant.
Although campaigning in Venezuela officially ended on Thursday, both candidates have broken the media silence known as the period of reflection to some extent. However, the opposition claimed that the acting president, Nicolas Maduro, has flouted electoral rules by urging his supporters to vote on state television. The argument comes ahead of Sunday’s election and on the anniversary of Hugo Chavez’s return to power after an ill-fated coup in 2002.
The Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has resigned. He submitted his resignation to President Mahmoud Abbas during a 30-minute meeting at the president’s office in Ramallah. It follows weeks of speculation about Mr Fayyad’s future. He’s been at odds with President Abbas over the territory’s economic policy. Wyre Davies in Jerusalem has more.
Although Salam Fayyad is regarded as a moderate favoured by Western governments and is credited with resurrecting some parts of the Palestinian economy, his recent relationship with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has not been easy. After having threatened to quit on several previous occasions reportedly over the direction and handling of economic policy, Mr Abbas has now accepted his prime minister’s resignation. Mr Fayyad’s departure will be a blow to those in the international community who see him as a key figure in the attempts to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
World News from the BBC
The Tunisian government has published the names and photographs of five people it suspects of involvement in the killing of the secular leftist politician Chokri Belaid. Mr Belaid’s murder in February triggered the worst unrest the country has seen since the overthrow of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali two years ago. The prime minister has been undergoing pressure to get to the bottom of the killing thought to be the work of an ultra-conservative Islamist group.
The governor of Puerto Rico has signed a law which will protect a swath of land on the island’s north-east coast that is a major nesting site for the world’s largest turtle species, the Leatherback turtle. The law ends a 15-year fight that environmentalists and celebrities have waged against developers eager to build hotels, golf courses and luxury homes in the vicinity.
A huge manhunt is underway in northern France for an armed robber who blasted his way out of jail using explosives, taking hostages on the way. Redoine Faid, once France’s most-wanted man, set off several separate explosions at a prison near Lyon. From Paris, Hugh Schofield reports.
There were five explosions at the Sequedin prison as Redoine Faid broke through a series of doors. Taking four guards hostage, he fled in the first car which he abandoned and set fire to, then in a second car. The hostages he released one by one as he secured his escape. Police warned that Redoine Faid is armed and dangerous. They suspected that he was given the explosives earlier in the morning when he had a meeting with his wife in the prison visiting room. They believe she passed them over hidden in paper handkerchiefs.
A television presenter in Nepal has set a new world record for hosting the longest TV talk show. Rabi Lamichhane began his marathon broadcast on Thursday, interviewing politicians, celebrities and journalists for 62 hours in total. Nepalese called in from around the world to discuss the theme “Buddha was born in Nepal”. Mr Lamichhane ate on camera and started to grow a beard during the programme.