mark lowen, bbc news, istanbul.a moment but we will have all the business news in just a moment but first... we arejust going in just a moment but first... we are just going to talk about algeria. the outgoing president of algeria, abdelaziz bouteflika, has asked for "forgiveness" in an open letter to the country's citizens. the president, who has been in powerfor 20 years, has stepped down following weeks of anti—government protests. our correspondent, sally nabil, in the capital, algiers, told us what the mood is like there at the moment it's a very cheerful mood. the people here are very happy that president bouteflika has finally left, but still they feel that they have not achieved all of their goals yet because to them it is not about the man any more. it is about the system and it is about the ruling elite, which includes powerful businessmen, powerful politicians... they hold this ruling elite accountable for what they say is corruption and oppression and high unemployment rates, and they say that it's notju

mark lowen reports from istanbul.e he has done it, taking control of the country's economic powerhouse, istanbul. ekrem imamoglu seems to have won the city byjust a few thousand votes and he's savouring it. it went down to the wire last night. the governing ak party candidate, a former prime minister himself, claimed victory here prematurely. there is a turkish saying — whoever wins istanbul, wins turkey, and losing this city will be an agonising blow to president erdogan. but his pain didn't stop there. in the capital, ankara, the opposition celebrated a win after a quarter of a century, gaining several other cities, too, as the tide turns in their favour. it was a chastened mr erdogan who addressed his supporters at the party hq — not the combative triumphalism of the past, but an acknowledgement that he's losing his base. translation: starting tomorrow morning, we will begin our work to identify our shortcomings and begin to make up for them. with early morning, a parallel reality. the government has put up billboa

mark lowen, bbc news, istanbul.in the opening round of the presidential election in ukraine. volodymyr zelenskiy plays the ukranian president in a tv show, and now exit polls suggest he has a clear lead over the incumbent, president poroshenko. the two men are likely to face each other in a run—off in three weeks' time. a vietnamese woman accused of murdering the half—brother of the north korean leader in malaysia has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. doan thi huong was sentenced to just over three years after she admitted "causing injury" to kim jong—nam. he died when a nerve agent was smeared on his face at kuala lumpur airport in 2017. she could be released as early as next month. the grammy—nominated rapper nipsey hussle has been shot dead in los angeles. reports say he was shot several times at close range outside the clothing store he owned. hours before his death, hussle himself tweeted that having strong enemies was a blessing. his death has sparked an outpouring of grief from fellow celebrities as the city

mark lowen reports from istanbul. there is a saying in turkish — whoever wins istanbul wins turkey.e in the local elections is too close to call, with fewer than 3,000 votes between the governing ak party and the opposition chp, in a city of 18 million people. while both sides have declared victory, the official tally by the state news agency has stopped, with over 1% of votes still to count, which the chp have claimed is the government's way of stealing the result. in the capital, ankara, the opposition has won back control after a quarter of a century. if it takes istanbul too, it would be an astonishing result, in a country where 90% of the media is pro—government, and president erdogan has branded his opponents terrorists. speaking to supporters in ankara, there was none of the usual triumphalism from the president, but instead a call to wait for official results to be published, and remarks that seemed to be an acceptance of defeat in several parts of the country. translation: i believe the only reason we couldn't get the results we wanted in some cities is that we couldn't exp

mark lowen reports from istanbul. there is a saying in turkish — whoever wins istanbul wins turkey.e biggest prize in the local elections is too close to call, with fewer than 3,000 votes between the governing ak party and the opposition chp, in a city of 18 million people. while both sides have declared victory, the official tally by the state news agency has stopped, with over i% of votes still to count, which the chp have claimed is the government's way of stealing the result. in the capital, ankara, the opposition has won back control after a quarter of a century. if it takes istanbul too, it would be an astonishing result, in a country where 90% of the media is pro—government, and president erdogan has branded his opponents terrorists. speaking to supporters in ankara, there was none of the usual triumphalism from the president, but instead a call to wait for official results to be published, and remarks that seemed to be an acceptance of defeat in several parts of the country. translation: i believe the only reason we couldn't get the results we wanted in some cities is that w

from istanbul, the bbc‘s mark lowen has the latest.nkara for the first time in a quarter of a century. here in istanbul an unbelievably close race. fewer than 3,000 votes stand between the two sides, the governing ak party and the opposition. and what has happened here in istanbul is that the official count, or the official figures released by the state news agency, has stopped at 99.9 — 99.89% of the votes counted, so about one and a bit per cent left of votes left to count, and just over 3,000 votes between them. so the opposition is saying that is an attempt by the government and the levers of power that it controls to snatch victory from the opposition and to deny the opposition a victory. in ankara, losing that city is a major blow. they have also lost several other cities as well as president erdogan‘s usually loyal conservative voter base has deserted him in large areas of the country because of a major economic crisis here now, with turkey and recession and inflation at 20%. so all eyes now on what happens over the next few hou

mark lowen, bbc news, istanbul.ad only ever intended to build a "human connection", rather than make anyone uncomfortable. i have always believed life is about connecting, about connecting with people. that won't change but i will be more mindful and respectful of people's personal space. and that's a good thing. that's a good thing. it sounds like something from a science—fiction film, but medical researchers have found a way to grow tiny human organs on a microchip, to measure how disease attacks the human body. the scientists at the university of cambridge say it could help fight against diseases such as cancer, and reduce the need for animal testing. richard westcott reports. this is how you grow tiny three—dimensional human organs in a laboratory. first you freeze—dry a specially developed sponge for 18 hours. it acts like a skeleton. cells from a human organ are put onto the sponge, which then sits inside this electronic chip. then they are fed with nutrients. what you end up with, if you can get your head aro

our turkey correspondent mark lowen spoke to ekrem imamoglu in istanbul.ning ak party, thanking istanbulfor their local governing ak party, thanking istanbul for their local election victory. president erdei gun will not let go of turkey's economic powerhouse that he run —— once ran. —— erdogan. the government has challenged the re—count. to the man who says he is the new mayor, i put the party claimed that the election is the biggest stain in turkey's democratic history. of course, i don't agree with that. just recently the government was praising the fact that they had the most secure voting system and there was no problem with tu rkey‘s system and there was no problem with turkey's elections. 1 million people we re turkey's elections. 1 million people were on duty in the polling stations that day, so the only explanation i haveis that day, so the only explanation i have is that they are making excuses for their failure. but you yourself admit that there are invalid votes and irregularities at the ballot box, so they have the right to challenge this, don

our corresopndent mark lowen is in istanbul. it isa it is a shock for the president, mark.n had been an agonising blow for him —— president erdogan. he lost ankara for the first time in a quarter of a century and in istanbul it looks like he's about to lose it, the head of the electoral council now says just 28,000 votes are between the two candidates but the opposition is ahead by those 28,000 votes. it has gone down to a whisker in a city of 18 million people, a clear depiction ofa 18 million people, a clear depiction of a polarised country, well, there barely is one. what has happened right across turkey is president erdogan‘s normally loyal pious supporters have punished him for an economic crisis here, turkey went into recession last year, inflation at 20% and the turkish currency diving by a third. what the impact of all of this is, well, local politics are important here, it is where parties build their national support base, and really president erdogan cultivated this image during 16 years in power of being unbeatable, the opposition being moribund and undivided. t

mark lowen reports from istanbul.he city byjust a few thousand votes and he's savouring it. it went down to the wire last night. the governing ak party candidate, a former prime minister himself, claimed victory here prematurely. there is a turkish saying — whoever wins istanbul, wins turkey, and losing this city will be an agonising blow to president erdogan. but his pain didn't stop there. in the capital, ankara, the opposition celebrated a win after a quarter of a century, gaining several other cities, too, as the tide turns in their favour. it was a chastened mr erdogan who addressed his supporters at the party hq — not the combative triumphalism of the past, but an acknowledgement that he's losing his base. translation: starting tomorrow morning, we will begin our work to identify our shortcomings and begin to make up for them. with early morning, a parallel reality. the government has put up billboards thanking istanbul for its victory. they have now been taken down as residents take in a momentous result. trans

mark lowen is the bbc‘s correspondent in turkey.y his usually loyal conservative pious supporters for the economic crisis that turkey is now in. it's an economy in recession, inflation is at 20% and the turkish currency has plunged by a third over the last year. what it means is that there will be perhaps renewed talk of a split within his party. we know that several high—level figures are unhappy at his increasingly authoritarian line. and it appeared for his 16 years in power that he was almost unbeatable, invincible, and that he towered over a moribund, divided opposition. finally, after these local elections, it appears that the image has changed. stay with us on outside source — still to come... we'll go to ukraine, where a comedian with no political experience has won the most votes in the first round of the country's presidential elections. two million workers in the uk are getting a pay rise from today, as the minimum wage goes up. but utility bills and the cost of the tv licence are going up as well. our correspondent, simo

our turkey correspondent mark lowen has written this piece for our website describing istanbul as a " in their democratic history. translation: biggest gain in their democratic history. translationzlj biggest gain in their democratic history. translation: i did not agree with that, only recently the government was facing the fact they had the most secure voting system and there was no problem with their elections. 1 million people were on duty in the polling stations that day. so don't —— the only explanation i have if they are making excuses for their failure. that you yourself admit that they are invalid votes and irregularities at the ballot box, they have the right to challenge it. we have official procedures in turkey. there are people who run polling stations. if they had any concerns there, the person who writes the report, going through them or doing individual reconnaissance is fine, but saying let's count all the invalid votes in istanbul is a bottomless pit, by loss, it's not in my character to hide it. i'm so sure of myself because i know i have one. hide it. i'm so sure o

mark lowen reports from istanbul.bul. he seems to have won the city byjust a few thousand votes and he is savouring it. it went down to the wire last night. the governing party candidates, a former prime minister, himself claimed victory here prematurely. there is a turkish saying, whoever wins istanbul, wins turkey, and losing the city will be an agonising blow to president erdogan. but his pain did not stop there. in the capital, ankara, the opposition celebrated a win after a quarter of a century, gaining several other cities, too, as the tide turns in their favour. it was a chastened mr erdogan you address to supporters at the party hq, not the combative triumphalism of the past, but an acknowledgement that he is losing his base. translation: starting tomorrow morning, we will begin our work to identify our shortcomings and begin to make up for them. go smoke with early morning, a parallel reality. the government has put up billboards thanking istanbul for its directory. they have now been taken down as residents