it s seven in the morning in singapore, and two in the morning in turkey where voting has closed in one of the most critical elections. the country is deciding whether president erdohan remains in power after 20 years. it is expected to be a close race between him and an opposition leader kemal k l cdaroglu. he is a former civil servant who heads an alliance of six opposition parties, both secular and islamist. he promised to scrap many of the powers acquired by mr erdogan and return turkey to a parliamentary system. and also called for better relations with the west including renewal of turkey s bid for membership of the eu. the current leader recep tayyip erdogan first came to power as prime minister in 2003 and became president in 2014. under him turkey enjoyed strong economic growth, but it s been hit by high inflation, and the recent earthquakes in which tens of thousands died. he s also become increasingly authoritarian with more powers in the hands of the president
if president recep tayyip erdogan should remain in power after 20 years may end in a run off vote. the islamic party of the incumbent president erdogan is being challenged by a secularist candidate, kemal kilicdaroglu. both men have dismissed the other side s claims to be in the lead. counting has continued throughout the day. this is one of the country s most critical elections. the country is dealing with soaring inflation, and is still reeling from two earthquakes in february in which more than 50,000 people died. these are live pictures from the streets of turkey where people are awaiting a result. let s cross live to our middle east corrrespondent anna foster, who joins us from outside the governing ak party s headquarters in the turkish city of adana. voting has been going on for quite a while now, we have had one side claiming they are in the lead and then the other side, so i suppose it shows usjust then the other side, so i suppose it shows us just how tight it is? i
palace. he s meeting his french counterpart, emmanuel macron. a statement from the elysee palace said mr zelensky and mr macron will discuss french military and humanitatian support for ukraine. it s mr zelensky s third visit to a major european power this weekend. he was in germany earlier and on saturday he was in rome meeting italian leaders. live now to france where we can join hugh schofield our paris correspondent for more on zelensky s visit. we heard a big announcement from germany about nearly $3 billion worth of aid on his visitjust before his visit to germany but are we expecting anything similar, any similar announcements from france? not that we have been led to believe, that is all i can say. there will be some kind of official press statement at the end of this dinner in a couple of hours and it may be that there is mention of more munitions and arms from france to ukraine but we have not been led to suspect that will happen in any major way. suspect that will
one of turkey s most critical elections which will decide if president erdogan should remain in power after 20 years. president erdogan faces his biggest challenge yet, with turkey in the midst of soaring inflation, and the country still reeling from two earthquakes in february in which more than 50,000 people died. the poll is one of the most consequential in the country s modern history, with mr erdogan s islamic party challenged by an opposition set on a more secular course, and promising closer ties to the west. his main rival is kemal kilicdaroglu who is backed by a broad opposition alliance and has promised to scrap many of the powers acquired by the president. 0ur senior international correspondent, 0rla guerin, reports from the turkish capital ankara. people talk excitedly. a tense moment in a tight election. here in ankara, voters spotted two people in one polling booth. the police were called in. the ballot box matters in turkey, and the opposition are on the look
following the death of 16 year old brianna jie in warrington. and a big revealfrom rihanna during last night s super bowl half time show confirming that she s expecting her second child. more on all the super bowl action from sport at half past. hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. it s now a week since devastating earthquakes hit parts of turkey and syria, causing massive damage and destruction. almost 36,000 people are now known to have died, as rescue workers continue to search through collapsed buildings. the head of the un s relief mission says the death toll could more than double, with the rescue phase in syria now coming to a close . and he s warned that people in parts of rebel held north west syria are being failed by a lack of support and aid. these pictures are coming to us live from gaziantep in southern turkey, not far from the epicentre of the first quake that hit a week ago. 0ur correspondent, laura bicker is in the turkish ci