Hello, this is Charles Carlow with the BBC news.

The United Nations' Security Council has approved some of the harshest sanctions it's ever imposed in response to North Korea's recent nuclear test and rocket launch. The US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power described the new measures as the toughest sanctions against any country in the past twenty years. More from Nick Bryant in New York.

This is a major upgrade at the existing sanctions regime targeted North Korea. All cargo going to and from North Korea must be inspected. The resolution strengthens the existing arms embargo, closing a loophole that existed for small arms and light weapons, an annex to the list of banned luxury goods. So now it includes expensive watches, snowmobiles and recreational sports equipments.

One of the candidates vying for the Republican Party's nomination for the US presidency Ben Carson has indicated that he's preparing to pull out of the race. Mr Carson, a retired surgeon, said that he did't see a political path forward. Barbara Plett-Usher has more.

Ben Carson did't explicitly suspend his bid for the White House. He promised more details on Friday but in fact his campaign is over. The doctor stood out as a conservative black Republican, the only one. He ran as an anti-establishment candidate and for a few months, his autobiography of Poverty To Fame brought him unexpected popularity, propelling him into second place and giving Donald Trump real competition. But he struggled to maintain the momentum and by Super Tuesday he was no longer a serious contender. Doctor Carson's exit will reduce the Republican filed to four candidates although Mr Trump remains the clear leader. Senior Republicans have stepped up their criticism of Donald Trump after he consolidated his position in the Super Tuesday polls. The South Carolina Lindsey Graham said it appeared the only way to stop Donald Trump was to rally around Ted Cruz and he was not sure that would work.

A Brazilian mining company has agreed to pay around 1 billion dollars over three years to help clear up one of the biggest environmental disasters in the history of the country. It killed 19 people and destroyed entire villages. From Brazil, here's Daniel Galas.

The accident in the town of Mariana last November wiped out entire communities and polluted a major river in southeast Brazil. The answers to the questions of who is to blame and how much will be paid in compensation are only now beginning to emerge. Today the mining companies Vale BHP and Samarco announce they will pay 1 billion dollars to assist the communities and restore the environment. That money will be paid over three years but after that they will negotiate on a yearly basis new installments depending on how much reparation is still needed.

Tunisian security forces say they've killed five suspected Islamist militants who crossed the boarder from Libya. They say the jihadists were killed in a fierce gun battle after they took refuge in a house near the town of Ben Guerdan. One civilian was also killed.

World news from the BBC.

An attempt by Spain's Socialist Party to form a government to end the political stalemate following an inconclusive election in December has failed. Here's Jess Reynolds.

Inside the parliament building in front of me, Spain's MPs stood one by one to call out their votes. The Socialists were joined by the central Ciudadanos or Citizens Party in calling out Si or Yes 130 times. But the other parities called 219 No votes. The Socialists failed to win a majority. Many Spaniards expected the information of a new government to take more time.

Turkey's constitutional court has issued a pointed response after president Erdogan said that he had no respect for its decision to release two journalists from prison ahead of their trail. The head of the court Zuhtu Arslan said that its rulings applied to everyone with no exception. The journalists face charges of revealing state secrets.

The jailed Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman has asked his lawyers to speed up his extradition to the US in the hope that he will receive better treatment in prison there. His lawyer Jose Refugio Rodríguez said that guards at a Mexican maximum-security prison would not let his sleep and he was fed up with their behavior.

Due to desperation after having filed appeals and complaints to the human rights commission and because the authorities are not stopping their arbitrary treatment towards him, yesterday he asked me to find a way to negotiate with US government to extradite him as quickly as possible.

Prison authorities say Mr Guzman is woken every four hours as part of their security measures.

And police in the United States say that a tycoon from the energy industry has died in a car crash a day after he was charged with conspiring to rig gas and oil contract bids. Aubrey McClendon was cofounder of the Chesapeake Energy Cooperation.

BBC news.