BBC news with Natalia Royston.
A court in Turkey has ordered a block on websites carrying the cover of the first issue of Charlie Hebdo to come out of last week's Islamic attack on the
French magazine. The cover shows the prophet Muhammad mourning the 12 victims, but the judge describes it as criminal and blasphemous. The secular newspaper
Cumhuriyet Daily has published a four-page selection of material, the paper's editor Utku Cakirozer defended his decision.
“We prepared the selection of these cartoons and decided to publish it on the same day the latest edition went on sale. We did this merely to show our
support for freedom of expression. We did this to give the message that freedom of expression should be maintained and that shouldn’t be precluded by
terror.”
The police in Sri Lanka have opened an investigation into allegations that former president Mahinda Rajapaksa defeated in election last week tried to retain
power with the help of military. Charles Haviland reports.
“By all experiences, Mahinda Rajapaksa was quick to concede defeat and depart from his residents early on Friday. The election victor Maithripala Sirisena
thanked him. But from Saturday, president Sirisena’s colleagues started alleging the former leader plotted to disrupt the counting and declared a state of
emergency. They say the security force chiefs refuse to cooperate. Police are now investigating the claims. But Mr. Rajapaksa has denied them in all possible
terms.”
Five men suspected of involvement in last month massacre at a school in Peshawar in Pakistan have been arrested across the border in Afghanistan. The arrests
came after Pakistan's supplied information to the government in Kabul, 149 people died in the attack. Relatives of the victims have held a protest against
cricketer-turned-Politician Imran Khan, who’s paid the visit to the school. The protestors complained that it taken Mr. Khan 4 weeks to visit the scene in a
province which is controlled by the political party he leads.
The Spanish Supreme Court has agreed to examine a paternity claim against the former monarchy king Juan Carlos. The plaintiff Ingrid Sartiau a Belgium
citizen, who alleges she’s the king's legitimate daughter. From Madrid, Tom Burrage.
“Mrs. Sartiau claims her mother had an affair with King Juan Carlos in the 1960s after he married his now wife Queen Sophia. The case can only now be
considered by Spain Supreme Court, because King Juan Carlos lost his immunity from any illegal proceedings when he abdicated last year in favor of his son
Felipe. A separate paternity suit by a Spanish waiter called Alberto Sola who claimed his mother also had an affair with the king has not been accepted by
the Supreme Court.”
This is Natalia Royston for the latest World News from the BBC.
At least 10 people have died in the American state of Texas after a bus carrying 15 prisoners and prison staff skidded off an icy bridge on Wednesday
morning. Kim Ghattas is in Washington.
“The bus was carrying 12 prisoners who were being transferred from one prison to another in Texas, also on board was three correction officers. The white
bus was almost half way through its 6 hour journey from Abilene to El Paso on the border with Mexico. It slid on the icy roads at seven thirty in the
morning, just west of the town of Odessa slip down in an embankment and then hit a freight train before landing on its side. Eight prisoners and two
correction officers died. The other five passengers were injured and taken into hospital.”
The wife of Raif Badawi the Saudi blogger sentenced to 10 years in jail in 1000 lashes has compared Saudi Arabia's action in publicly canning her husband to
that of the Islamist militants who killed journalists at the Charlie Hebdo magzine. The public floggings started on Friday when Mr. Badawi was led into a
square and given the first installment of 50 lashes.
NASA has asked the crew on the international space station to return to the American side of the complex. Earlier on Wednesday the US crew put on breathing
equipment to move to the Russia module after an alarm board suggested that there could have been an ammonia leak, data received and analyzed during the day
suggested there was no leak and the alarm was caused by a transient error message.
Organizers of the world's biggest cycling event the Tour de France say that that for first time an African team will take part in the competition this year.
The team MTN Qhubeka is from South Africa. But it has cyclists from many other countries including Eritrea, Rwanda and Algeria. The Tour de France's director
said he hoped the participation of African team would help boost cycling on the continent. The Tour de France begins in July.