BBC News with Sue Montgomery

A deal to calm tensions in Ukraine has been reached at multi-party talks in Geneva. The American, The European Union, Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers agreed that all illegal military formations in Ukraine should disband. From Geneva, Imogen Foulkes. “The measures agreed, include disarming all illegal groups in Ukraine and handing back police stations and other public buildings occupied by them. The US and the EU say they expect Russia to do its uttermost to encourage pro-Russian

groups in Ukraine to lay down their arms. Meanwhile, Ukraine said it was committed to inclusivity with the suggestion that ethnic Russians may be granted more autonomy.” A joint statement from ministers said Europe Security organization, the OSCE, would start helping to implement de-escalation measures where  they were needed most within the coming days. The US Secretary of State John Kerry called it a good day's work, but said he’d have no choice but to impose tougher sanctions in Russia if Moscow shirk its responsibilities.

The Colombia author and the Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez has died at his home in Mexico City, members of his family have told Colombian media, he was 87. Garcia Marquez was considered one of the greatest Spanish-language authors of all time, best-known for his masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitude. Nick Higham looks back at his life. “Gabriel Garcia Marquez was living in an exile thanks to his left-wing political views and driving his family to the coast when he got the idea for what became One Hundred Years of Solitude. He turned round, went home and locked himself in a room with six packets of cigarettes a day for 18 months. He emerged to find his family deep in debt, happily, the book became a worldwide best seller. His literary status was later confirmed by another successful work "Love in the Time of Cholera". He was a pioneer in what became known as magic realism, his books blended

history and legend, the mundane and the marvelous in a dreamlike style.”

The UN's top aid official in South Sudan, Toby Lanzer, has told the BBC that dozens of civilians have been killed in an attack in a UN base in Bor, the capital of Jonglei state. Mr. Lanzer said some 300 youth have approached the base mid-morning, apparently with a petition. “As they approached the gate, they managed to force the gate open, they came in and started shooting, but indiscriminately. We returned fire providing warning shots, and you can imagine panic infilled. And the youth became increasingly violent and opened fire on the civilians who have been seeking the protection of the United Nations over the past few months.”

World News from the BBC

French troops in Mali have freed five local aid workers who were kidnapped in February in the north of the country. A joint statement from the Presidents of France and Mali said the hostages were freed near the northern town of Timbuktu. The statement said they were in good health.

The trail of the controversial Islamist cleric Abu Hamza has started in the United States where he was extradited from Britain in 2012 after a long legal process. The prosecutors say Mr. Hamza was a trainer of terrorists who used religion as a cover. He said he had played a vital role in the kidnapping of western hostages in Yemen in 1998. The defence rejected the prosecution's allegations and said Mr. Hamza's role in the Yemen crisis had been that of an intermediary.

Astronomers have discovered what they say is the most earth-like planet yet detected. Dubbed Kepler-186f is located within what sometimes called the Goldilocks zone of another star, at a distance to be neither too hot nor too cold for life. With more here's Rebecca Morelle. “Kepler-186f is the most promising candidate yet in a search for planets like our own. The alien world is a little bigger than Earth and scientists believe it has a similarly rocky surface. Most important, though, it has the potential to hold water, that’s because it is not too close to its star for the liquid to boil away or so far out that it would freeze. However, confirming whether it has this essential ingredient for life would be tricky, it's located 500 light years away from the Earth.”

The United States has taken steps to release frozen Iranian funds confirming that Iran has kept its commitments under a landmark nuclear pact agreed with six world powers last November. Earlier, the International Atomic Energy Agency verified that Iran had diluted half of its high grade enriched uranium in line with the interim deal agreed in Geneva.

BBC News

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