BBC在线收听下载:刚果与孟加拉举行大选

Hello, I'm Nick Kelly with the BBC News.

Polling stations have opened in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo for the country's long delayed presidential election. It could result in the country's first peaceful transfer of power. President Joseph Kabila is stepping down after seventeen years. From Kinshasa, Louise Dewast reports.

As polling stations open across this vast country, almost the size of Western Europe, tensions are high. It's still unclear if all polling stations are ready. For the first time, voting will be done using electronic voting machines despite concerns they could be used to rig the vote in favor of the ruling party's candidate. The front runners are Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, a close ally of President Kabila, and two opposition candidates Martin Fayulu and Felix Tshisekedi.

Bangladesh is holding a general election with more than a hundred million people eligible to vote. Heavy security is in place after a campaign marred by violence and allegations of a crackdown against the opposition. The Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is seeking a third successive term. Yogita Limaye is in Dhaka.

Even before eight am when polls opened, there were lots of people waiting outside. It is still largely a paper ballot, so it's on a piece of paper that they will make their choice. But for the first time in a national election in Bangladesh, electronic voting machines are also being used in six constituencies. In the run-up to this election, we've seen several violent instances, several people being killed, scores being injured. And so there's a heavy security deployment all across the city as well as the country and in fact, even mobile internet has been slowed down for security reasons.

The Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo says his government is investigating a possible plot to assassinate the President Ivan Duque. He said investigators were trying to establish where the three Venezuelans arrested earlier this month in Colombia with military weapons are connected to the alleged plot.

For several months, intelligence services have been investigating possible attacks on the life of the president. On top of this, we have the recent capture of three Venezuelan citizens who were found with weapons of war. This increases the concerns of the authorities in this matter.

President Duque is due to meet the US Secretary of State next week to discuss escalating tensions with Venezuela. He's asked countries not to recognize the new government of the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

World news from the BBC.