BBC News with David Austin

A new Congress has convened in Washington after mid-term elections in which President Obama's Democratic Party suffered heavy losses to the Republican Party. For the first time in more than four years, the Republicans are in control of the House of Representatives. From Washington, here's Paul Adams.

Washington's power shift has just taken place, the outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, passing a comically outsize gavel to her Republican replacement John Boehner of Ohio. Mr Boehner, now the third most important politician in the country, was clearly relishing the moment, entering the chamber to rousing cheers from his party colleagues and pausing occasionally to wipe tears from his eyes. He spoke of the tough decisions that lie ahead for the 112th Congress.

The people, he said, had voted to end business as usual; today Congress would start to carry out their instructions.

The militant Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has returned home from his three-year self-imposed exile in Iran. Thousands of people lined the streets of his hometown Najaf, south of Baghdad, to welcome him. From Baghdad, here's Jim Muir.

Residents of Najaf say the city was thrown into turmoil by the sudden return of Moqtada Sadr to his birthplace and stronghold. His movement shrouded in mystery, he disappeared to Iran over three years ago. In 2008, his Mehdi Army militia collided with government forces commanded by the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Many were arrested. After a long breach with Mr Maliki, Moqtada Sadr announced in October that he was backing him for a second term of office, and his movement has seven ministers in the new Iraqi cabinet. So Moqtada Sadr's arrival in Najaf is another sign of normalisation, though it's not yet clear whether he's home to stay or just visiting.