Hello, I'm Illy McKue with the BBC News.
The BBC has learned that the sportswear manufacturer Adidas plans to end its multi-million-dollar sponsorship deal with athletics world governing body in the wake of a
doping scandal. Neither Adidas nor the IWAF have commented. Mark Dummett has this report.
“The BBC understands Adidas informed the IWAF in November that it was considering ending their relationship early as a result of a World Anti-doping Agency report
into states-sponsored doping in Russian athletics. When a second report was published earlier this month alleging the IWAF had covered up doping. And the decision was taken by Adidas to terminate the relationship as it believed the IWAF was in breach of its agreements. The11-year sponsorship deal was due to end until 2019, and was reportedly worth around 33 million US dollars.”
The President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani has warned that if peace talks with the Taliban don't start by April, the conflict would intensify. He said such eventuality
would have consequences across the region. Speaking to the BBC,President Ghani urged Pakistan to engage with his government in fightingTaliban.
“The war in Afghanistan is just one component of a war. Paksitan is at war. And you need to cover this. Daily, the Pakistani army is using force. But force, the
problems, because the problems are interrelated, it cannot be solved by use of force in one country.”
Amnesty International says Egypt is suffering from a human rights crisis of huge proportions five years after mass protests toppled President Hosni Mubarak. The
campaign groups says that in recent days security services have raided about 5,000 homes in Cairo looking for people who may be planning to take to the streets on
Monday to mark the overthrow of Mubarak. Amnesty says Egypt has reverted to a police state.
Millions of people across the eastern United States are clearing up after one of the biggest winter storms in recent decades. They have been digging out their cars and
clearing pathways of snow, which reached a depth of a meter in some areas. Drivers have been urged to stay off the roads while they are cleared by snow plows. As the
clean-up continues, children, adults alike, have been enjoying snowball fights and sledging.”
The former Prime Minister and President of Israel Shimon Peres has been take nto hospital a week after he was treated for a mild heart attack. Mr. Peres's physician is
Raffi Waldon.
“When he was resting at home, and we found some vague discomforts. And to be on the safe side, we took him to the hospital where we diagnosed a slight disturbance in the region of the heart, and in fact without even need a treatment. So he's really perfectly well now, and will be under observation until tomorrow morning. And then
we'll make an assessment to decide when to discharge him.”
This is the world news from the BBC.
The Islamic State militant group has released a video purporting to show nine of the gunmen who attacked Paris last November. The footage appears to show some of the men be held prisoners and conducting military training in the Middle East before the atrocities in Paris. Nine of those who took part in the Paris attacks died that
night or in the immediate aftermath. Two other suspects are still at large.
The center-right politician and TV pundit Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is close to securing victory in Portugal's presidential election. With nearly all the votes counted,
he looks set to win more than the 50% needed. Here is Alison Roberts.
“Mr.Rebelo de Sousa is to take over in March at a time when a minority socialist government is implementing legislation to reverse four years of austerity by the
previous right-center government, which included the Social-Democratic Party that he once led. Many observers suspect that the deals in Parliament,the Socialists, with
the radical left and communists to ensure the new government's survival will come apart within a year or so. So the normally ceremonial figure of president, who has
the power to dissolve Parliament at will, could soon end up playing a more active role.”
Iraq's Foreign Ministry has summoned the new Saudi Ambassador to Baghdad to protest over what it considers as its interference in the country's internal affairs. The
Ambassador Thamer al-Sabhan provoked anger among Iraq's Shiite politicians by saying a coalition of Shiite paramilitary groups, backed by Iran, should leave the battle against Islamic State militants to the army.Rivalry between the Saudis and Iran has intensified in recent months.
The President of Costa Rico Luis Guillemo Solis has announced a day of mourning on Monday for 13 Costa Rican tourists, who died when a passenger boat capsized in bad weather off the coast of Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan Navy said it was ferrying 32 people between the Corn Islands on Saturday when it went down.