Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych and opposition leaders have signed an agreement on ending the political crisis there. Under the deal mediated by European Union foreign ministers, a caretaker government will be installed and elections will be brought forward to December. Tim Wilcox has more from Kiev.
After an all-night session involving three foreign ministers from Germany, France and Poland, President Yanukovych finally signed an agreement with the opposition and what a humiliating agreement that is. It sees a reduction of his presidential powers, a return to the constitution of 2004, and a few hours ago, the parliament here voted to release the opposition leaderYulia Tymoshenko. She has been imprisoned now for 2 years. That has to be ratified by the president and the speaker of the parliament. Well it is yet another clamp-down and humiliation for president Yanukovych.
On Independence Square in central Kiev, thousands of demonstrators jeered opposition leaders when they appeared on stage after signing the deal. A BBC correspondent there says one group of protesters has threatened to storm government buildings if President Yanukovych does not resign on Saturday. The agreement has been welcomed internationally.
Italy's Prime Minister designate Matteo Renzi has named his cabinet after formally accepting the mandate to lead a new government. Half of the posts have gone to women. From Rome, Alan Johnston reports.
Mr. Renzi has come to power talking of the need for rapid and sweeping reforms. And now he has the team that he hopes will deliver all the change that he has promised. The country is mired in severe economic trouble. And nothing will be more important than the performance of the new finance minister, Mr. Padoan. He has been a critic of the budget cuts and austerity measures that were imposed here in the past. Among the women appointed at the cabinet is a former mayoress of a town in the south. She was forced to quit after coming under threat from a local mafia.
The city of Detroit has found a plan to rescue from bankruptcy and restructure its huge 18 billion dollar debt under the plan which still needs court approval. Retired city employees could see their pensions cut by 30%. Beth McLeod is in Washington.
When Detroit was granted protection from its creditors in December, it marked the biggest public bankruptcy in the American history. The roadmap for how to tackle it has been long-awaited by city workers, pensioners and creditors. This plan proposes to reduce benefits for retired city employees. These cuts aren't as deep as some feared, but will still be contested in the courts by those who face losses. On the other side, the city's creditors, including Wall Street banks, the plan proposes to give some of them only about 20% of the money they claim.
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United States says President Obama has reiterated his strong support for the protection of human rights in Tibet during a meeting with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Mr. Obama also encouraged the resumption of direct talks between China and Tibetan representatives. China had warned the US against the meeting.
The Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni says he wants to put a controversial anti-homosexuality bill on hold to give scientists a chance to investigate whether homosexuality is genetic or behavioral. The bill introduced in 2009 initially proposed a death sentence for homosexual acts but was amended to prescribe jail terms instead. Richard Hamilton reports.
President Museveni is trying to please a conservative local constituency while avoiding alienating Western aid donors,particularly the United States. On Sunday, President Obama said the bill was a step backwards for all Ugandans and warned it would complicate Kampala's relationship with Washington. Mr. Museveni who is a devout evangelical Christian has also signed into law anti-pornography and dress code legislation which outlaws provocative clothing, bans scantily-clad performance from television and monitors what people watch on the Internet.
Two athletes at the Sochi Winter Olympics have been disqualified after failing doping tests. A German biathlete Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle and an Italian bobsledder William Frullani both tested positive for a banned stimulant. They have been expelled from the Sochi Games.
New York's Mayor Bill de Blasio has been accused of hypocrisy after his convoy was caught breaking traffic laws days after he announced he was getting tough on motoring offences. On Tuesday, Mr. Blasio put forward plans to reduce the speed limit across the city amongst other measures. Two days later, journalists filmed his official vehicle speeding, ignoring stop signs and changing lanes without indicating.
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