Emily Taylor

Syria’s President Assad claims his government has gained the upper hand in the civil war which has raged for more than three years.
BBC News – Middle East

A large and moving forest fire kills at least 12 people in Chile’s port city of Valparaiso and forces more than 10,000 people to evacuate.
BBC News – Latin America & Caribbean

Russia urges Kiev to avoid force in eastern Ukraine, as the UN discusses the crisis hours before a Ukrainian deadline to pro-Russian militants.
BBC News – Europe

UK drug company GlaxoSmithKline is facing a criminal investigation in Poland for allegedly bribing doctors, BBC Panorama discovers.
BBC News – UK

At least three people are shot dead at a Jewish community campus and a retirement home in Kansas City in the US Midwest.
BBC News – US & Canada

A senator from north-east Nigeria tells the BBC that 135 civilians have been killed by gunmen there since Wednesday.
BBC News – Africa

The US urges other nations to contribute more to the economic rescue of Ukraine, as Russian President Vladimir Putin moves to assure the EU it will not cut gas supplies.
BBC News – Business

Iran insists it will not replace its new envoy to the UN after the US refuses a visa to the diplomat over alleged links to the 1979 hostage crisis.
BBC News – Middle East

A huge police operation to evict hundreds of families from abandoned buildings in Rio de Janeiro has ended with violent clashes and some injuries.
BBC News – Latin America & Caribbean

An exchange of fire breaks out in the eastern Ukraine town of Kramatorsk, says the country’s interior minister, amid continuing pro-Russia protests.
BBC News – Europe

Scotland’s first minister attacks the “miserable, negative and depressing” pro-Union campaign and champions the “positive, uplifting and hopeful” message of independence.
BBC News – UK

The US National Security Agency denies it knew about or exploited the Heartbleed online security flaw.
BBC News – US & Canada

Kenya’s government suspends five officials from the wildlife service, amid growing alarm over the poaching of elephants and rhinos.
BBC News – Africa

The Co-operative Bank has confirmed it has made a loss of £1.3bn for 2013 and said it will not pay out £5m to former executives.
BBC News – Business

The US Congress passes a bill that would bar Iran’s pick for UN envoy from entering the country, as the White House signals opposition to the choice.
BBC News – Middle East

Venezuela’s president meets opposition leaders in crisis talks aimed at quelling weeks of protests, in which dozens have died.
BBC News – Latin America & Caribbean

Ukraine’s interim PM Yatsenyuk offers more powers to the turbulent east, where armed pro-Russian protesters are defying the government.
BBC News – Europe

A man accused of murdering 29 people in the 1998 Omagh bombing is remanded in custody.
BBC News – UK

US Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius resigns following problems with the launch of President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law.
BBC News – US & Canada

The prosecutor presses Oscar Pistorius at his murder trial to clarify evidence his home alarm was turned off the night he shot his girlfriend.
BBC News – Africa