gavin hewitt, bbc news, berlin. last night we broke the news to you that twitter is going to pursue an initial public offering of stock. 24 hours later, the news is still talk of the tech world. the short messaging service celebrated its seventh birthday and will now join the likes of facebook in seeing if his popularity with users can translate to wall street success. the bbc's technology correspondent has all the details. stars, presidents to pop from footballers to royals, they have all decided a tweet is the best way to speak to the world. publicize your latest album, announce an impending birth -- even the pope now uses twitter, sending messages to almost 3 million followers. >> it is their instant news channel to spread the world about what they are doing. it allows them to connect to their fans, build a huge fan base, and ultimately sell stuff. >> twitter has become the way all kinds of news breaks. when a plane landed on the hudson river, the first photograph was tweeted by witness. the hunt for osama bin la

gavin hewitt, bbc news, berlin. last night we broke the news to you that twitter is going to pursue an initial public offering of stock. 24 hours later, the news is still talk of the tech world. the short messaging service celebrated its seventh birthday and will now join the likes of facebook in seeing if his popularity with users can translate to wall street success. the bbc's technology correspondent has all the details. stars, presidents to pop from footballers to royals, they have all decided a tweet is the best way to speak to the world. publicize your latest album, announce an impending birth -- even the pope now uses twitter, sending messages to almost 3 million followers. >> it is their instant news channel to spread the world about what they are doing. it allows them to connect to their fans, build a huge fan base, and ultimately sell stuff. >> twitter has become the way all kinds of news breaks. when a plane landed on the hudson river, the first photograph was tweeted by witness. the hunt for osama bin la

gavin hewitt has been following the campaign and has this report from munich. ♪ >> a main square in munich tonight, one of the last campaign stops for chancellor angela merkel as she made her final pitch to the german voters. the most powerful politician in europe is expected to win a third term sunday, when germany votes. but the polls have narrowed. has built her campaign around having shielded germany from europe's financial crisis. but she told the crowd the election was a fight down to the wire. in justs and gentlemen, a few more hours we are pleading with you to choose. i want to be your chancellor for more years. she commandseets, respect, there is also an appetite for change. not be that charismatic, but she did a great job. >> she is our chancellor and she is doing her work really well, but i'm thinking it is time for a change. it's time for new party to come to power. >> her main opponent is steinberg from the social democrat party. in recent days, he has attacked angela merkel for dithering, for caution. has she done anything about the infrastructure, he asks. no, shouts the cro

gavin hewitt has been following the campaign and has this report from munich. ♪ >> a main square in munich tonight, one of the last campaign stops for chancellor angela merkel as she made her final pitch to the german voters. the most powerful politician in europe is expected to win a third term sunday, when germany votes. but the polls have narrowed. has built her campaign around having shielded germany from europe's financial crisis. but she told the crowd the election was a fight down to the wire. in justs and gentlemen, a few more hours we are pleading with you to choose. i want to be your chancellor for more years. she commandseets, respect, there is also an appetite for change. not be that charismatic, but she did a great job. >> she is our chancellor and she is doing her work really well, but i'm thinking it is time for a change. it's time for new party to come to power. >> her main opponent is steinberg from the social democrat party. in recent days, he has attacked angela merkel for dithering, for caution. has she done anything about the infrastructure, he asks. no, shouts the cro

gavin hewitt, bbc news, hamburg. >> that result is being watched around europe as well as in germany. our 24-hourching on channel. thanks so much for watching. tune in tomorrow. >> make sense of international news -- at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> ifill: defense secretary chuck hagel ordered a full review of security procedures and clearances at military facilities worldwide in the wake of the massacre at washington's navy yard. we have an exclusive interview with secretary hagel tonight. >> the hig