Dallas hostage crisis ends peacefully

A gunman who had been holding hostages in a daycare centre in the American city of Dallas has surrendered to police after releasing his two remaining captives, his son and stepson.

The man originally took more than seventy hostages, mainly children, on Wednesday afternoon, before freeing most of them following negotiations with police.

According to the authorities, the gunman's actions were apparently triggered by a dispute with his wife.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service