BBC News with Stewart Macintosh
Anti-government protesters in Ukraine have toppled the statue of the Russian revolutionary leader Lenin during the huge demonstration in the capital Kiev. One of the demonstrators, Christian Empub watched as the statue fell.
A few minutes ago, the monument of Lenin had fallen down since the people who were here. And I think it happened because people just tired of this government and all of the things which happened in our country.
Independence Square in Kiev was packed with hundreds of thousands of people expressing frustration at President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to reject to trade deal with the European Union in favour of forging closer links with Russia. Our correspondent David Stern is in Kiev.
The tensions between the protesters between the opposition and the government are rising after today's protest. This was one of the largest protests has been seen since the 2004 Orange Revolution. It was mostly peaceful but now with toppling of the statue, things seem to be growing more tense.
More details have been emerging about atrocities in the Central African Republic where French troops are trying to restore order after the violence that left hundreds dead. In the capital Bangui, aid agencies say fighter stormed a hospital to shoot wounded Christians. Thomas Fessy has visited the Muslim quarter in the northern town of Bossangoa where many civilians have been killed.
It is a walk of death and desolation. The Muslim teenage girl was killed across the raid. We were told her body was then eaten by pigs. On the day the fighting broke out, dozens of people from the Muslim neighbourhood fled to the Imam's house. When the former soldiers attacked his house, panic in shoots. The attackers chased people down, three men were shot dead just before they could make a turn in escape. Another man left bloody handprints on the doorstep of a house, he was executed in the front room.
A war crimes court in Bangladesh has ordered prison authorities to hang an Islamic leader a month after he was sentenced to death. The court issued an execution warrant for Abdul Kader Mullah of the Jamaat-e-Islami party who was found guilty of crimes against humanity during Bangladesh's Independence War in 1971. Mr. Mullah could now be hanged at any time unless he's pardoned by the president or the Supreme Court intervenes. The Jamaat-e-Islamic party has called for a nationwide shut down on Monday in protest.
The South African authorities say about 60 heads of the state and government will attend memorial services for Nelson Mandela this week. The former President's funeral will take place next Sunday in Qunu - the village where he grew up. Today, millions of South Africans have been remembering Mr. Mandela in a national day of prayer.
This is the world News from the BBC
Police in Singapore have arrested 27 people after clashes between rioters and officers near the city centre. The trouble began after a migrant worker was knocked down and killed by a bus in the area. From Singapore Ashleigh Nghiem.
Four hundred people took to the streets of a district called Little India hurling glass bottles and railings at police and setting fire to police vehicles and ambulances. Three hundred police were sent to the scene and it took them just over an hour to regain control. Sixteen people were injured, most of them police. Singapore's police commissioner says it was the first riot in more than 30 years and has condemned the mob attack as intolerable, wanton violence.
The Farc rebel group in Colombia has announced a month-long ceasefire starting next Sunday. A Farc negotiator of peace talks in Cuba Pablo Catatumbo said the group hope the government would also agree to halt hostilities.
We sincerely believe that the fatherland doesn't deserve this bloodshed. And because of this, unilaterally, we are proceeding to order all our guerilla units and militaries to cease fire in hostilities for 30 days beginning from midnight on December 15th, in response to a deep national outcry. We hope that the national government matches our gesture and orders a halt to its offensive.
The announcement comes a day after nine people were killed in a Farc bomb attack in southern Colombia. The government has always said it will stop fighting the left-wing rebels only when a final peace accord is reached.
Egyptian police have recovered a statue of Tutankhamun's sister which was stolen during unrest in August after the ousting of the Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. The head of the Egypt's museum sector said detectives tracked the ancient artefact down to a coffee shop owner in a district of Cairo,he says the statue of Tutankhamun needs some restoration ,but it is in otherwise good condition.
