benin, we see that this new president will develop the country. >> the people of benin are winning inhis election. they will change. ballots still need to be confirmed by the .onstitutional court " inor: that is "france 24 benin. in need share, voters headed -- niger, voters headed to the polls for the first ever presidential election. the opposition called a boycott. the outright majority was failed to be clenched to avoid a second round of voting. results will come out shortly. voters in senegal cast their ballots in a referendum on reducing presidential terms from seven years to five years. president said the measures are needed to bolster democracy. the senegalese president himself have been criticized for not proposing to cut his own term. >> in a region better known for leaders who cling to power, senegal as long bucked the trend. presidential terms will be cut from seven years to five years, a problem -- promise that propelled the current president to victory. opposition candidates will be more chances for power. >> as you know, my dear compatriots, this referendum has been pro

votes are being counted in benin. the residential election there saw a record 33 candidates in the first round. now for our business news with stephen carroll. you are starting with the french energy company edf, which has seen shares plunge. stephen: that is right. they got hammered on the market today after their chief financial officer resigned over the weekend. he is thought to have left the company over opposition to its hinkley pointthe nuclear reactor in the united kingdom. according to reports, he thought it would put too much pressure on edf services. >> more trouble for edf. the french utility company's finance chief resigned after an internal disagreement over the planned nuclear reactor at hinkley point in u.k., a product more -- worth more than 23 billion euros. it was suggested the company should wait three more years to decide whether or not to go through with this investment. the government is eager to see -- to seal the deal. edf is financing two thirds of the project, with another third coming from c

. >> benin people decide today to for patches --t patrice talon. he is going to give many jobs for our people. doesn't live here. he doesn't even know the problems we have in this country. he has not lived here for six months. he does not know what our food tastes like. >> he is going to go all over the world where people trust him to make them carry out development projects in benin. if these projects are carried out, the only people who will benefit from the are the people of benin. reporter: so you have got lionel issou, who for many people the face of the political astonishment, as well as patrice talon, the country's richest man. but in the second round of voting there is another face, that of sebastian avajon, known as the chicken king. he will be playing the king maker people what to see where he throws his support on march 20. catherine: now, the russian tennis star maria sharapova is paying at the price, literally, for her admission on monday that she failed drug test. a string of high-profile sponsors have announced they are cutting ties

on the road that links cotonou, the capital of benin, to togo.hese are the oranges that my aunt sells to customers at her refreshment stand. my uncle works as a mechanic. this is his workshop where he repairs motorcycles. this is my mother. she's a housewife in grand popo. her name is acolatier apolis. this is my father. his name is eclou daniel. he's a driver in grand popo. he gets up early in the morning and i don't get to see him every day. he's strict with us so that we'll do well in school and we can make something of ourselves. to wash, i go to the well, lower a bucket into it and then i can shower. we're on the beach here. there are flowers everywhere, but also litter that pollutes the environment and the sea. the plastic waste products get washed out to sea and kill the turtles. the turtles mistake them for food. >> 16 years since the start of the millennium -- 16 years of life. global is visiting young people around the world who were born in the year 2000. >> i love dancing. >> what's important to angel from the seychelles? and what doe

competing as president hands over power. 5 million people are eligible to vote in the stick ken country of benin. >>> people in ben way state are the worst affected. >> it's been six months since he was paid his pension of around $150 a month. he's angry that after 30 years in the civil service, he and other pensioners are facing this situation. he has two wives and several grandchildren to look after. >> nigeria owes more than $190 million in back payment. this group organized a protest outside the governor's office to demand their pensions. they say the state unfairly left them out of a government financial bailout. >> most pensioners across nigeria face the same problem, 18 out of 36 states can't make pension payments, saying the federal government bailouts given to meet budgets don't cover pensions. theyness they are doing all they can to try and find the money. >> the government said the bailout for the entire state was only $42 million. he's taken the problem to the president. >> he'll find ways of seeing what can be done to help the pensioners. it is quite a pitiful situation. >> people i

opposition leaders say if the president wins, they won't accept it >>> meanwhile benine's p.m. has been elected. the president is stepping down after two five-year terms >>> zoos in the gaza strip are struggling to keep their animals alive. around 20 animals have died since 2014 because of restrictions on food and water. >> reporter: this tiger is about to be fed for the first time in four days. any longer without food and he could die. he is one of the few animals still alive in the zoo. >> translation: in the beginning it was a successful one because many children and families visited our zoo and the income was good, but during the 2014 israel war, we couldn't reach the zoo to take care of it. most animals died from hunger and lack of medical care. 200 animals have died in the last two years. restrictions on power and water in gaza are getting worse. so people struggle to look after themselves, let alone animals. this displace is an attempt to prefb some of the dead animals, a kind of educational exhibit. there are other zoos in fa glaz a. one wants the tiger. >> translation:

> i'm rosemary connors in north philly, students are remembering a classmate who died of bacterial benin gimeningitis. they released balloons into the sky for his memory. >>> we now know that pennsylvania governor tomorrow wolf plans to treat prostrate cancer with radioactive seeds. doctors insert seeds near the cancer and they release radiation to kill cancer cells but spare healthy tissue. wolf will continue with his regular schedule and duties. >>> sounds you make when you eat could help you lose weight. >> we'll explain that new discovery, next. >>> the change you can expect on your instagram feed. >>> all new on nbc 10 news at 5:00, local teachers prepared to strike within days. why the district they work for says their actions might be illegal. lemme get a mcpick 2. check out the fresh new look on mcdonald's mcpick 2 menu! ♪ lemme get a mcpick 2 now, choose any 2 delicious mcdonald's classics for just $5 bucks. ♪ mix n match ♪ share n savor ♪ 2 for $5 name your flavor ♪ pick any 2 iconic tastes- a big mac made with 100% beef, flaky filet-o-fish, seared on the grill quarter pounder

. >>> the people of benin in west africa are choosing a new president. a record number of independent candidates are competing for the presidency as tomas bonnie hands over power after two terms in office. just under 5 million people are eligible to vote. a runoff poll will be held if no one wins a clear majority. >> one of the most important political figures in sudan's modern history has been laid to rest in kartoum. he helped bring president bashir to power in a coup. the united states called him the in carnation of the devil. stephanie decker reports. >> thousands turned you the for his funeral. he was one of the most influential men in sudanese politics. >> it is a big loss for sudan and the islamic nation which has lost a man who devoted all his effort to serving our homeland. >> we are following his approach and his path. he has been a pioneering character. >> in a career spanning decades to help orchestrate the crew that brought him to power in 1989, 10 years on, the relationship had soured. he formed his own political movement, the popular congr

are starting to see some showers intensify in the north if you are in the mountains mountains from benin to jefferson of there. we have seen good storms. we haven't seen a whole lot of of -- but these storms have potential to cause hail potentially large hail. what i'm more concerned about whether it's been -- around greenbelt and now it's out of our view here but wjzy but a storm system did have severity to it and it was pushing our direction. i will track that for you coming up a little bit later on in the how long these storms plan to stick around as well. kayla: thank you brian. breaking news coming in late this afternon. the former mayor of charlotte patrick cannon is set to appear in court on wednesday in mecklenburg county events when the district attorney said cannon will be arraigned on voter fraud charges. the former mayor is currently serving a 44 month term in a federal prison in west virginia for corruption. he's accused of attempting to vote after his felony conviction which is illegal. bill: a 19-year-old accused of trying to join isis was arraigned on murder charges. just

>> well, i've already had some wonderful conversations with president benin aquino about the climatetrange. i mean, there is no question that the continent from mexico to the you'd to canada together working on energy issues, on addressing environmental concerns and figuring out how to get things right here will make a significant dent, not just in global emissions, but in the narrative that we engage with the world on. and if we can develop the kinds of solutions that, quite frankly, developing countries around the world, from the big ones like india and china to small caribbean and pacific island states, we can make a tremendous impact. in fact, we have to if we're going to keep warming to under two degrees and perhaps even reach the great target of 1.5 degrees. but in order to do that, we need to be a lot more collaborative with our neighbors and re-engaging in a positive way with our nafta partners, making sure that irritants like the mexican visa requirement on business to canada is done away with, coordinating, collaborating and looking at the integration of our manufacturing s

in their contributions in defense of our country and how far the military has come with respect to benin and service and of this real need -- easter remain strong and move forward for the future. we have all combat career fields into female four-star generals the last month we had the undersecretary of the air force confirmed the first time in history that one of our military services was led in the two senior civilian post by women. all in all it is of a good start for the month of march witches' women's history month misstated the air force is a little more than six months in what has happened. to launch the first airstrikes in syria and as well as lebanon and here at home also tied a landed in aircraft on a newly built runway in the south china sea and then installed a certain missile system than a few weeks ago ruth retested a nuclear weapon. meanwhile in afghanistan the taliban and other government groups continue to conduct attacks undermine security to create challenges as they work to develop a more secure and prosperous nation. and i'm sure you have heard on saturday we conducte