BBC news with Sue Montgomery.
Syria activists say more than 76 000 people were killed in the country last year, making it the deadest as 12-month since the conflict begun in 2011. Syrian observatory for human rights, a UK based monitory group, said about 1/4 of dead was civilians. Our Middle East editor Ellan Johnston reports.
Syrian observatory for human rights draws on sources all across the country it works to build up a picture the damage has been down its conflict. At it's overall figure of some 76 000 dead, more than 20 thousands were soldiers or pro-government militia man. The forces opposing the government lose more than 30 000 fighters. At all the time, civilians were been counted up in the carnage. There are accounted for about 1/4 of Syria's dead last year.
The Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has been sworn-in for a second term promising to keep start the economy and tackle corruption. In her inaugural address, Mrs. Rousseff said her government would invest new goals including better education, health services,and security. Julia Carneiro reports from Rio de Janeiro.
The start of inaugurate event in Brazil took placed under a scorching sun, President Dilma Rousseff waved to supporters from the top of the presidential rose ? and took the oath of office in Congress. At the first speech of her second term, she said this was a new step and historical changes that the workers' party is bringing to Brazil. The Rousseff's biggest challenges in her second term were low growth rate, and inflation on the rise, and a major corruption scandal that has hit Brazil's oil giant Petrobras.
Reports from the Gambia say dozens of people have been detained following Tuesday's suspected coup attempt against the country's leader Yayha Jammeh. The French news agency AFP said both military personnel and civilians have been arrested. Troops loyal to president are reported to being conducting house to house searches for opponents. Earlier, president Jammeh accused dissidents backed by unnamed foreign powers of being behind Tuesday's attack in the capital Banjul.
The Nigeria president Goodluck Jonathan has condemned a series of attacks in northeastern Nigeria which is blamed on Boko Haram militants. He said Boko Haram had unleashed pain and agony on the country, but they would not get away with such atrocities.
World news from the BBC.
The first funeral for a victim of the Air Asia plane disaster has taken place in Indonesia. Hayati Lutfiah Hamid was one of 9 people, people whose bodies have been so far pulled from the sea following the crash. The aircraft crashed into the Java sea as it flew from Surabaya to Singapore, with 162 people on board. The search for bodies and wreckage has continued despite bad weather which is expected to continue for the next a few days.
The leading French economist Thomas Piketty has turned down his country's highest award. His book “capital in the 21 century”, became an unlikely best seller in 2014.
Thomas Piketty's book caused a concession last year especially in the English-speaking world. Based on usually this was a left wing economist on the Frenchman tabooed who top the New York's bestseller list explaining why the gaps between rich and poor get wider. In France, he's one time supporter of president Hollande until now attacks government policies. And that presumably explains why he now lead the very rare move of turning down the rank of knight in the Legion D'Honneur. In the brief state, he said that rather than dishing out honor the government would do better to focus on getting back economic growth.
The US has expressed deep concern about the detention of a leader of Bahrain's main Shia opposition group. In a statement, the state department said the arrest of Sheikh Ali Salman could flame tensions in the Sunni government Gulf Kingdom.
Amateur treasure hunters have uncovered one of the biggest hoards of ancient coins ever found in Britain. A group using metal detectors found more than 5,000 perfectly preserved coins, burying the heads of Anglo Saxon kings, buried in a left bucket of field. If the coins are legally declared treasure, the individuals who found them could share a of up to a million and a half dollars.