BBC News with Stewart Macintosh.
Ukraine's interim President Alexander Tuchinov has called an emergency meeting of his security chiefs to deal with growing unrest in the east of the country. Pro-Russian demonstrators seized government buildings in 3 major cities. From Kyiv, David Stern reports.
Mr. Turchinov cancelled a planned visit to Lithuania. His press service said he was personally following the unfolding events in the east of the country. About 50 pro-Russian protesters seized the local administration building in Donetsk and raised the Russian flag. Pro-Russian protesters also seized a government building in Kharkiv. And in Luhansk they stormed the local building of Ukraine’s state security agency. Demonstrators called for a referendum to be held whether to grant the eastern regions increased independence from Kyiv. Russia’s president Vladimir Putin has said Moscow has the right to intervene in east Ukraine to protect the Russian speaking population there.
Partial results in Hungary’s parliamentary election showed that the right of center Fidesz Party of the Prime Minister Viktor Orban is heading for a clear victory. With nearly half the votes counted Fidesz leads with almost 47%. Nick Thorp reports from Budapest.
On the basis of the real votes counted, Fidesz appears to be coasting to victory in this election and probably to another 2/3 majority in parliament. Four years after winning a landslide victory, this result is a tribute to the leadership powers of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, according to Fidesz’s supporters. While opposition parties have accused him throughout the campaign of undermining Hungarian democracy in order to stay in charge. These partial figures also suggest a strong showing for the far right Jobbik Party. It now seems likely that they will be the 2nd largest party in the new parliament.
Nigeria has declared its economy to be the biggest on the continent, overtaking South Africa for the 1st time. Will Ross reports from Lagos.
After the statisticians had been hard at work, it only took a press conference for Nigeria’s economy to almost double in size and become by some distance the biggest in Africa. Much has changed since 1990 when the economy was last properly assessed, but no one had realized how much the economy had been under-valued. Now worth around 510 billion dollars, it’s the 26th largest in the world. Nigeria may now have claimed the No. 1 spot, but South Africa has a far smaller population and average incomes are still considerably higher there.
The Libyan government says the 8-month-old blockade of 2 of the 4 main oil terminals held by rebels in east of the country has been lifted. The Libyan Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani told journalists that 2 terminals, Sutina and Hariga, are now under government control after an agreement was reached. Mr. al-Marghani said more negotiations were needed with the rebels to re-open 2 larger oil ports.
This is the world news from the BBC.
Clashes have intensified in southern Egypt between rival Arab-Nubian clans in which 25 people have been killed since Friday. Reports from the city of Aswan say gunfights broke out close to the hospital and the morgue near 2 tourist hotels and the market. Arabs are reported to set fire to Nubian-owned houses.
The UN’s refugee agency says it’s dismayed by an outbreak of violence in the Zaartari refugee camp in Jordan. A Syrian refugee died and many people were wounded as tents and vehicles were set ablaze and shots fired. The agency said Jordanian police fired teargas to restore order after they were attacked by hundreds of refugees following the detention of a driver and a refugee family he was attempting to smuggle out of the camp.
The US navy has rescued a family with a seriously ill baby from their disabled sailing boat hundreds of kilometers off the coast of Mexico. The family had just begun on an attempt to sail around the world. Peter Bowes in Los Angeles has the story.
Charlotte and Eric Coffman, both experienced sailors, were heading to the South Pacific after setting sail from San Diego. But within days their dream journey had turned into a nightmare. With their daughters Lira who’s one and her 3-year-old sister Cora on board, the 12-meter boat lost the ability to steer and communicate. When Lira developed a fever and a rash covering most of her body, her parents contacted the US coastguard using a satellite phone. Sailors rescued the family and transferred them to a navy ship so the little girl could get medical treatment. She’s understood to be in a stable condition.
Sri Lanka have won the T20 cricket world cup for the 1st time. They beat India by 6 crickets in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. India batted first and scored 130 runs, but the Sri Lankans beat them with 13 balls to spare. Sri Lanka’s veteran batsman Kumar Sangakkara scored 52 and led the team to victory.