Real World News

Syria air strikes 'kill 26 civilians' 7 December 2015 From the section Middle East Image copyright Getty Images Image caption British jets have joined the coalition's operations against IS in Syria Syrian activists say at least 26 civilians, including children, have been killed in the north-east of the country by air strikes possibly carried out by the US-led coaliti…

Pegida UK – the 'Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident' - is a UK branch of a German right-wing movement Independent leader Tim Scott resigns following 'car-crash' interview

COP21: Carbon emissions 'to stall or even decline' this year By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News, Paris 7 December 2015 From the section Science & Environment Image copyright SPL Image caption The burning of coal for power is a large contributor to atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases Global emissions of carbon diox…

Vatican leaks scandal: Pope's advisers to be called as witnesses 7 December 2015 From the section Europe Image copyright AP Image caption Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin (at centre), seen with Pope Francis, may be called as a defence witness A Vatican judge trying five people over the leaking of secret documents has agreed to let some of Pope Francis's seni…

China pollution: Beijing issues first red smog alert 7 December 2015 From the section China Image copyright AP Image caption A street vendor waits for customers at a smoggy Jingshan Park in Beijing Schools in Beijing are to close and outdoor construction to stop after the Chinese capital issued its first "red alert" over smog levels. The red alert is the highest pos…

Migrant crisis: Germany heads for 1m asylum-seekers in 2015 7 December 2015 From the section Europe Image copyright AFP Image caption German Chancellor Angela Merkel has faced criticism over her open-door policy towards refugees Germany has registered 964,574 new asylum-seekers in the first 11 months of the year, putting it on course for more than a million in 2015. …

France elections: Le Pen says political elite 'crumbling' 7 December 2015 From the section Europe Media captionAs Lucy Williamson reports, the National Front is ahead in six of the 13 regionsThe triumphant leader of the far-right National Front (FN), Marine Le Pen, says French voters rejected the "old political class" in regional elections that put her party top. Nearly one-third of voters backed the anti-immigration FN, which won in six out of France's 13 regions. Despite the FN surge, a second round on 13 Decembe…

Venezuela opposition wins parliamentary majority 7 December 2015 From the section Latin America & Caribbean Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Opposition leaders, including Lilian Tintori (centre), wife of jailed politician Leopoldo Lopez, celebrated the result The opposition in Venezuela has won a majority of seats in the National Assembly, overturning n…

Storm Desmond: Schools and hospitals closed as more rain forecast 7 December 2015 From the section UK Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Hundreds of residents in Carlisle have been evacuated by emergency service boats Schools and hospital services have been closed in parts of northern England as emergency services continue to battle against the effects of Sto…

San Bernardino attack: Obama gives rare Oval Office address 7 December 2015 From the section US & Canada Media captionPresident Obama: "We cannot turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between America and Islam"US President Barack Obama has made a rare Oval Office address on the San Bernardino shootings that left 14 dead. He said the killings were "an act of terrorism" designed to kill innocent people. But "freedom is more powerful than fear," said President Obama, warning that divi…

Iraq threatens Turkey with UN action over troop deployment 6 December 2015 From the section Middle East Image copyright AFP Image caption The Turkish troops have been deployed to train Iraqi Kurdish forces Iraq has threatened to go to the UN if Turkey does not withdraw soldiers it sent to areas near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul within 48 hours. Baghdad said the …

Sepp Blatter declined to respond to any allegations put to him 6 December 2015 Last updated at 22:00 The FBI is investigating the role played by Fifa president Sepp Blatter in a $100m (£66.2m) bribes scandal, a BBC investigation has discovered. Sports marketing company ISL paid a total of $100m to officials including former Fifa president Joao Havelange and ex-Fifa executive Ricardo Teixeira. In return, ISL was granted lucrative televisio…

Jimmy Carter says his cancer is gone 6 December 2015 From the section US & Canada Image copyright Reuters Image caption Jimmy Carter revealed his illness in August Former US President Jimmy Carter has said that his brain cancer is gone. His grandson Jason Carter told AP news agency that his grandfather said doctors "couldn't find any cancer in his most recent sc…

Syria conflict: Raqqa air strikes 'kill 32 IS militants' 6 December 2015 From the section Middle East Image copyright Reuters Image caption French fighter jets are among coalition planes targeting IS in Syria Air strikes on the city of Raqqa in northern Syria have killed at least 32 members of the Islamic State (IS) militant group and wounded 40 more, an activist gro…