The resignations come after the party leader was caught on tape offering contracts to an oligarch's niece. Also: White House tells ex-aide not to testify, and French court reverses life support ruling.

President Volodymyr Zelensky makes election announcement in first speech in parliament. And he pledges to resolve stand-off with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.Also, at least 32 people killed in riot at prison in Tajikistan, and US billionaire philanthropist clears 400 student loans.

In a strongly worded tweet, President Trump said if Iran wants to fight, it will be the official end of the country. Also: India exit polls suggest Modi re-election, and could artificial intelligence become more creative than humans?

Sebastian Kurz calls for an early election after his deputy resigns over a corruption scandal. Also: Australian PM celebrates 'miracle' win and Tel Aviv hosts the Eurovision Song Contest.

The duties had delayed the ratification of a new North American trade agreement, which also includes Mexico. Also, a German museum says it will return a stone cross to Namibia and the result of a TV talent show in Russia has been annulled after complaints of vote rigging.

There were shouts of joy and some tearful embraces as the result was announced. However, conservative opponents were angered by the vote. Also, talks in Britain to try to end the Brexit deadlock collapse. Plus, an Australian rugby star and committed Christian is sacked over an instragram post - we'll ask our Religion Editor about sport and faith.

President Trump has unveiled proposals to reform immigration to the United States, Venezuela's embattled Government says it has been holding talks with the opposition in Norway, and evidence emerges that bed bugs were around far earlier than previously thought.

Residents say the airstrikes targeted nine military sites in and around Sana'a as well as hitting several houses. Also, China has said it will hit back after the United States imposed restrictions on the telecoms giant Huawei. Plus, remembering the former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke who has died at the age of eighty-nine.

President Trump bars overseas telecommunications that threaten national security, US tech giants commit to combat extreme online violence, And the farmer who cut off his own leg with a pocket knife.

The two sides finalise conditions for a three year period leading to a civilian administration. Also, Women's rights activists in the US vow to challenge a new law in Alabama banning almost all abortions, and how Africa's vultures are disappearing

High-level talks between Russia and the United States intended to rebuild links have underlined deep divisions on a range of issues. Also: Sudan's military is accused of shooting dead at least six protesters, and the WHO has described the battle against dementia as one of this century's greatest global challenges.

WhatsApp says attack was by 'private company working with governments on surveillance'. The surveillance software involved was reportedly developed by Israeli firm NSO Group.Also, talks in Russia aim to reduce risk of confrontation between US and Iran, and was Harvard University right to get rid of legal expert who was on Harvey Weinstein's defence-team ?

Sri Lanka has imposed a night-time curfew across the country amid an upsurge in anti-Muslim violence. Also: China hits back in trade war with US, and Sudan's ousted President Omar al-Bashir charged with incitement and involvement in the killing of protesters.

Prosecutors resume investigation into rape allegation made against Wikileaks co-founder. The inquiry has been revived at the request of the alleged victim's lawyer.Also, several commercial ships reportedly targeted by 'sabotage attack' off the United Arab Emirates, and renowned Hollywood legend Doris Day has died aged 97.

But some government officials say it’s a fake withdrawal. Also: One of Donald Trump's top advisers has admitted that much of the cost of tariffs on imports from China is being paid by Americans, and we hear more about the "sex strike" by women in protest against a new abortion law in the US state of Georgia.

A struggling economy and corruption have eroded the ANC's popularity in South Africa. Also: French hostages praise rescue 'from hell', and pets are big business in China.

The United Nations has said that the African migrants died after their boat which set off from Libya capsized. Also: talks between the US and China to try to end their trade war break up without agreement, and the girl from China who got an octopus stuck to her face when she tried to eat it alive.

The US president's comments come after Washington raised tariffs on $200bn of China's products. Also: scientists in Cambridge set up a research plan to repair the Earth's climate and welcome Mr Bond to the International Spy Museum.

The world’s biggest two economies meet for eleventh hour talks to stave off higher tariffs. Also, the case for cutting Facebook down to size - and tackling drug dealing in Berlin.

Two short-range missiles are reportedly fired as a US envoy visits the region to revive nuclear talks. Also: Montenegro jails 'Russian coup plot' leaders and can you really buy an unbreakable guitar?

President Donald Trump has asserted executive privilege over the report, shielding it from public view. Also: Polling draws to a close in elections in South Africa, and as Britain is introduced to Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, we ask what’s in a royal name?

Iran suspends commitments under 2015 international nuclear deal. Teheran's announcement comes a year after the US abandoned the deal.Also, Asia Bibi leaves Pakistan after acquittal on blasphemy charges, and the first public glimpse of Britain's new royal baby.

A week after the opposition leader, Juan Guaido, failed to spark a military uprising, Venezuela’s supreme court has said six pro-Guaido lawmakers should be brought to trial. Also: Botswana makes the case for overturning the ban on the ivory trade; and in London, homeless children take to the pitch at the first ever Street Child Cricket World Cup.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo spent more than 500 days in prison for their reporting on the Rohingya crisis. They were released unexpectedly after a presidential amnesty. Also: Indian female activists have been detained for protesting outside the Supreme Court in Delhi, and is social media actually less harmful for teenagers than we thought?

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party questioned the slim win by the opposition CHP, claiming there were "irregularities and corruption". Also: Democrats in the US Congress are to begin contempt proceedings against the Attorney-General William Barr, over his handling of the Mueller report, and it’s practiced by millions worldwide, but how was Pilates invented?

Scientists say human activity is destroying nature at a speed never previously seen. Also, secondary schools across Sri Lanka have reopened amid tight security following an extended break prompted by the Easter bombings and Prince Harry has announced that his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has given birth to a baby boy.

Also: death toll mounts amid Gaza violence, and is there a shortage of Egyptian television soap operas for Ramadan?

Israel carries out air-strikes on the Gaza Strip, after militants fired more than two hundred rockets into Israel. Also: Thailand's King Vajiralongkorn crowned and investigating the warming of the Arctic in the archipelago of Svalbard.

Officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo say hostility to medical staff is hindering efforts to tackle the deadly disease. Also: more than a million people in India shelter from the onslaught of Cyclone Fani, and a student now models a dress she was once told she looked 'awful' in.

The area is being battered by the worst summer cyclone for forty years. Winds reached speeds of more than two hundred kilometres an hour. Plus a study of gay men in Europe finds that exposure to the right drugs could dramatically reduce the spread of the HIV virus that causes AIDS. And the lemurs of Madagascar under threat.

William Barr refused to testify to Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee. Also: Facebook bans 'dangerous individuals' and a comedian gives her family informational pamphlets before going on a date.

As Israel marks its Holocaust Memorial day, how Instagram is bringing the story of one young victim to life. Also Human Rights Watch says the Chinese authorities have developed an app to monitor behaviour in Xinjiang, where a million Uighurs have been detained. And an exclusive report on how traffickers are using social media to loot antiquities from the Middle East.

The UK defence secretary Gavin Williamson was sacked following an inquiry into a leak from a top-level National Security Council meeting. The leak was over plans to allow Huawei access in the UK's new 5G network. Also: The US Attorney General William Barr is under scrutiny from a Senate panel regarding his conclusion of the Mueller report into Russian interference in the 2016 Trump election campaign, and we'll hear how a Chinese man failed a breathalyzer test after eating too much durian fruit.

South African Olympic gold medallist, Caster Semenya, is considering an appeal after losing her legal challenge against rules that would force her to reduce testosterone levels.Also: Maoist insurgents in central India have killed at least fifteen police commandos by blowing up their vehicle, and remembering Senna - 25 years on.

Venezuelan authorities say they are putting down a small coup attempt after opposition leader Juan Guaidó announced he was in the “final phase” of ending President Nicolás Maduro’s rule. Also: President Donald Trump and Democratic congressional leaders agree to work together on a $2 trillion infrastructure package, and Facebook has revealed a series of changes to the firm's portfolio of social platforms.

Opposition leader says he's in 'final phase' of ending President Maduro's rule. Mr. Guaidó has appeared in video with uniformed men, claiming to have military support in struggle to oust the President.Also, Japan's Emperor Akihito announces his abdication, a report on Iraq's worsening water-crisis, and the Indian Army is mocked over its claim to have found footprints of the Yeti.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appears in a new video, which is yet to be verified. In the footage he acknowledges defeat at Baghuz, the group's last stronghold in the region. Also: Boeing’s CEO apologizes for the company's role in two deadly plane crashes and Japan gives its emperor a warm send off before he abdicates.

Socialists polled 29% and will need help from other parties to form government. The far-right party Vox also won seats - the first time a significant far-right group has done so in decades.Also, why Indonesia's president wants to move the capital to a new location, and how dish based on rotting fish became part of Egypt's springtime celebrations.

Pedro Sanchez's party will need the help of either left-wing Podemos and regional parties or the centre right to form a government. Also, aid workers in northern Mozambique say they've not yet been able to reach many of the people affected by Cyclone Kenneth and the Kenyan athlete, Eliud Kipchoge, has won the London Marathon in the second fastest time.

A man has been arrested after an attack at the synagogue near San Diego, California. Also: Cyclone Kenneth 'wiped out villages' in Mozambique and 'Fake Lego gang' dismantled in $30m Chinese raid.

Nearly seven hundred cases of the highly infectious disease have been reported in the US. Also: new Northern Ireland political talks process announced, and are people around the world getting more stressed and angry?

Mr Sirisena said Zahran Hashim, a radical preacher, died at the Shangri-La hotel in the capital, Colombo. He also said that the intelligence services believed around 130 suspects linked to the IS group were in the country and that police were hunting 70 who were still at large. Also, a US judge is charged with helping an illegal immigrant dodge arrest. And Taiwan’s richest man puts himself at the centre of a sexism row.

Sri Lanka now believes 253 people died in the Easter Sunday attacks, down from 359, blaming a calculation error. Also: new cyclone batters Mozambique and Rami Malek to play James Bond villain.

The 76-year-old enters a crowded race for the 2020 Democratic nomination. Also Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meet near Vladivostok in Russia's far east. And details of the dispute that's blown up between two of the world's greatest athletes - Mo Farah and Haile Gebrselassie.

An official says the Sri Lankan government must answer for its failure to prevent the Easter Sunday bombings. Also: Russia eases passport rules for those living in eastern Ukraine, and an "exhilarating" implant turns thoughts to speech.

Police say one bomber was a woman and most were 'well educated' and 'middle class'. Around 60 people have now been detained in connection with the deadly attacks.Also, victims of Japan sterilisation law to receive compensation and apology, and why a 'swim with dolphins' tourism scheme in Jamaica is provoking controversy.

PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said the government believed Sunday's attacks could not have been carried out without help from terror groups abroad. Also: The UN Security Council has adopted a reduced resolution on preventing sexual violence in conflict, and how a pacemaker tested on pigs could revolutionise how the devices are used.

The state defence minister, Ruwan Wijewardene, says the initial investigation has revealed the suicide bombings may have been carried out in revenge for the shootings at two mosques in New Zealand last month. Also: An advanced experimental vaccine against malaria is launched in Malawi, and they cause so much waste but would you drink from a bottle with a lid made from a recycled nappy?

The US is to end exemptions over Iran's oil sales. It will target countries, including China and India, that currently benefit from waivers to sanctions. Also: Billionaire brothers arrested in Algeria and marijuana's effect on the waistline.

Government sources say lethal attacks carried out by local Islamists with foreign support. 290 people have been confirmed killed and 500 injured in suicide-attacks on churches and hotels.Also, reunion of Thai schoolboys with the divers who rescued them, and how two gorillas 'posed' for selfie with anti-poaching unit in DR Congo.

More than two hundred die and hundreds more are injured in eight blasts which targeted busy luxury hotels and Easter services at churches. Also: a comic actor has won Ukraine's presidential election run-off, and there’s mistrust in Sudan over who will rule the country after months of unrest.

What is going to happen in 2017? President Marine Le Pen of France? The end of the Iran nuclear deal? Some of the BBC’s most senior correspondents forecast what might or might not happen during the next 12 months. Make your own predictions and join the discussion on the World Service Facebook page.