Hello, I'm Jerry Smit with the BBC news.

There have been protesters in several Brazilian cities against the appointment by president Dilma Rousseff of her predecessor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as chief of staff. In the capital Brasília, riot police fired pepper spray at thousands of protestors gathered outside the presidential palace. Mr Lula da Silva is being investigated in a corruption scandal. Julia Carneiro reports.

Brazilian judge Sergio Moro has made public a tapped phone conversation between former president Lula and current president Dilma Rousseff. They seem be be discussing a way to avoid an eventual arrest by Lula before his official appointment, which could suggest an attempt to obstruct justice. Lula is being investigated by police and the move to bring him into government is seen by many as an attempt to shield him from charges.

The head of today's European Union summit on the refugee crisis, the German chancellor Angle Merkel has criticized EU member states for not doing enough. Ms Merkel said Europe had not covered itself with glory and how it struggled to share the burden fairly. EU leaders will discuss a proposed agreement with Turkey to end illegal migration to the Greek islands.

Australia has held its controversial policy of turning back boats carrying asylum-seekers, saying this week would mark the 600th day since a people-smuggling vessel reached its shores. Jon Donnison reports.

It's two and a half years since the conservative coalition government here launched its Operation Sovereign Borders, pledging to stop the boats. Today the immigration minister Peter Dutton declared it a success. But the tough policies have been widely criticized by human rights groups as well as the United Nations. Last year, in response to that criticism, Australia agreed to take in an additional 12,000 Syrian refugees through legitimate channels. Today Mr Dutton acknowledged only 29 Syrians have been successfully resettled here since that pledge was announced.

Human rights activists in Honduras have protested against the killing of another high-profile activist. Berta Cáceres was shot by police during an operation to evict indigenous families from private land in the north of Honduras.

A group of British politicians who are campaigning for the UK to leave the European Union have written to president Obama, asking him not to interfere in the debate. Mr Obama wants Britain to stay in the EU. A referendum on Britain's membership takes place in June. Keith Doyle reports.

The letter which has been sent to the White House warns the president that interfering in the issue would be an unfortunate milestone at the end of his term in office. The MPs including Kate Hoey for Labor and the Tory Peter Bone say it is understandable for Mr Obama to speak out in the interest of the US but they insist it is imperative that British voters are allowed to decide the referendum issue for themselves.

World news from the BBC.

French investigators are revisiting the Bataclan concert hall in Paris as part of an inquiry into the response of the authorities to the attacks by IS militants in November. Gunmen killed 89 people in the Bataclan and the investigators will now reconstruct the movements of the police officers who confronted the attackers.

The incoming government in Myanmar has announced dramatic cuts to the size of the new administration which will take office next month. Myanmar's new government led by the National League for Democracy is the first democratically elected administration in more than 50 years. Jenna Fischer reports from Yangon.

These cuts are being made to streamline what Aung San Suu Kyi sees as a bloated and inefficient government structure. 16 ministries have either been consolidated or axed entirely and one new position has been created, a minister of ethnic affairs. Over the next few days, the names of the new ministers are expected to be announced. Ms Suu Kyi has in the past spoken of creating an inclusive government so it'll be interesting to see how many people she includes from other political parties.

The Japanese authorities are studying a video that has emerged of a journalist who went missing in Syria in June last year. In the footage, Jumpei Yasuda asked for help in securing his release but he does not say who's holding him or what demands have to be met. Japanese media say he is being taken hostage by the al-Nusra Front, a rebel group affiliated to Al-Qaeda.

Reports from Jordan say 14 Palestinian pilgrims were killed when their bus overturned in the south of the country. 36 others were injured. Reports say the driver lost control of the bus near the border with Saudi Arabia.

The American singer Frank Sinatra Junior who carried on his father's legacy with his own career in music has died. He was 72. He suffered a cardiac arrest in Daytona beach in Florida where he was due to give a concert.

BBC news.