The spiralling crisis surrounding the Zika virus is due to decades of policy failures on mosquito control and poor access to family planning services, the World Health Organisation said today.
	"The spread of Zika... (is) the price being paid for a massive policy failure that dropped the ball on mosquito control in the 1970s," WHO chief Margaret Chan told the opening of the UN health agency's annual assembly.
	Those failures have allowed the mosquito-borne virus to spread rapidly and create "a significant threat to global health," Chan told some 3,000 delegates gathered from WHO's 194 member countries.
	Experts agree that Zika is behind a surge in Latin America in cases of the birth defect microcephaly -- babies born with abnormally small heads and brains -- after their mothers were infected with the virus.
	The virus, which also causes the rare but serious neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome, in which the immune system attacks the nervous system, is mainly spread by the ...

Zika crisis fuelled by 'massive policy failure': WHO chief

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Iraqi forces battled the Islamic State group today in the opening stages of an operation to retake Fallujah, one of the toughest targets yet in Baghdad's war against the jihadists.
	As Iraqi forces struck targets in and around the jihadist bastion, which saw deadly battles in 2004 between insurgents and American forces, IS claimed bombings in neighbouring Syria that killed at least 148 people.
	The jihadist group has increasingly turned to its traditional tactic of killing civilians in bombings as it faces battlefield losses, and spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani appeared to acknowledge in a recent statement that IS would probably lose more ground.
	"In the early hours of the morning today, the heroic fighters advanced from different sides" to retake "all the areas occupied by (IS) around Fallujah", Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced Monday in televised remarks.
	Abadi said the operation was supposed to start earlier, but "political problems and also the events... ...

Iraq forces begin assault on IS bastion Fallujah

US industrial conglomerate General Electric said today it would invest USD 1.4 billion in Saudi Arabia in support of the kingdom's recently unveiled plan to diversify the oil-dominated economy.
	Jeffrey Immelt, the GE chairman and chief executive, announced a raft of strategic partnerships and initiatives, including with state oil giant Aramco, during his visit to the kingdom.
	"We are a committed partner in supporting the kingdom's transformational and diversified growth, underscored by our 80 years of presence in Saudi Arabia," Immelt said in a statement.
	GE said it is investing USD 400 million in a forging and casting facility that will supply the marine and energy industries, teaming up with Aramco and another company. The plant was expected to become operational by 2020 and create more than 2,000 new local jobs.
	GE also signed a letter of understanding with the Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company to co-invest USD 1 billion in strategic sectors such as oil and gas, ...

GE announces $1.4 bn investments in Saudi Arabia

Israel's foreign media union condemned a demand for a photographer to submit to a strip search before entering Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office today.
	"The Foreign Press Association is disturbed and disappointed to hear once again that a photographer covering an event today with the prime minister was asked to take part in a humiliating security check before being allowed to attend," the FPA said in a statement.
	Atef Safadi, a journalist with the European Pressphoto Agency, was attending as the FPA representative to take photos of a meeting between Netanyahu and French Prime Minister Manuel Valls that would have been shared between media.
	Before entering he was asked to remove his clothes as part of a security check, a request he refused.
	As a result he left, resulting in no photos for foreign media of the event, including AFP.
	"The FPA again calls on security agencies to respect the right of journalists at such events, who already hold Israeli government press ...

Foreign media union slams Israel strip-search demand

Brazil's interim government was rocked today by a new corruption scandal in which a key minister allegedly discusses using impeachment of president Dilma Rousseff to halt a massive probe into embezzlement.
	Folha newspaper published what it said were excerpts of secretly taped conversations in March between Planning Minister Romero Juca and Sergio Machado, an ex-president of Transpetro oil company, both of whom have been caught up in the corruption probe.
	In the conversations, Juca allegedly calls for a "national pact" to stop the probe, known as Operation Car Wash, in which dozens of top ranking politicians and business executives have been charged or already convicted for participation in a giant bribery and embezzlement scheme centered on state oil company Petrobras.
	Transcripts of the conversations show him urging impeachment of Rousseff, saying "we need to change the government to stop this bleeding."
	In comments immediately taken up by Rousseff supporters as evidence for her .

Corruption claim engulfs new Brazil government

More than 148 people were killed today in bombings claimed by the Islamic State group in northwestern Syria, the deadliest attacks yet in the regime's coastal heartland.
	Seven near-simultaneous explosions targeted bus stations, hospitals and other civilian sites in the seaside cities of Jableh and Tartus, which until now had been relatively insulated from Syria's five-year civil war.
	The unprecedented attacks on strongholds of President Bashar al-Assad's regime came as IS faces mounting pressure in both Syria and Iraq, where Baghdad's forces on Monday launched a major offensive to retake the jihadist-held city of Fallujah.
	A hundred people were killed in Jableh and another 48 in Tartus to the south, at least eight of them children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.
	Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said they were "without a doubt the deadliest attacks" on the two cities since the start of the war.
	IS claimed the blasts via its Amaq news ...

IS blasts in Syria regime heartland kill more than 148

Austria's Norbert Hofer narrowly failed today to become the EU's first far-right president, after his ecologist rival scraped victory in a knife-edge election that was a rude wake-up call for the continent's established parties.
	The interior minister said that Alexander Van der Bellen won 50.3 per cent of the vote in Sunday's election, compared to 49.7 per cent for Hofer, presented as the friendly and moderate face of the anti-immigration, populist Freedom Party (FPOe).
	"Of course I am sad," Hofer said on Facebook as he conceded defeat. "I would have loved to have looked after this wonderful country for you as president."
	He added: "Please don't be disheartened. The effort in this election campaign is not wasted, but is an investment for the future."
	Preliminary results late Sunday had put Hofer 3.8 percentage points ahead in the runoff for the largely ceremonial but bitterly fought-over post of Austrian head of state.
	But this paper-thin margin was erased after a record 700,000 .

Austrian far-right narrowly loses presidential election

Negotiations to bring a hardline nationalist party into Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition have reached a "dead end", the head of the party said today.
	Netanyahu, however, said talks were continuing and expressed confidence that a deal with former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu would be reached.
	The premier has been seeking to expand his one-seat majority in parliament by five by adding the ultra-nationalist party to his coalition.
	Under the deal, Lieberman is expected to take over the key role of defence minister, further tilting to the right what is already one of the most right-wing governments in Israeli history.
	"We are at a dead end," Lieberman told reporters. "We're waiting for different proposals."
	He added that "if there's good will, we can solve things".
	Lieberman signalled he had backed away from his demand that the government approve the death penalty for "terrorists" as a condition for joining the coalition, focusing ..

Talks to expand Israeli government hit 'dead end'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a multilateral French peace initiative as he met his French counterpart today, offering instead to hold direct talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in Paris.
	French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he would speak to President Francois Hollande about the proposal while an aide to Valls later said there was little new in Netanyahu's remarks.
	"It can still be called the French initiative because you would host this genuine effort for peace," Netanyahu said.
	"But here's the difference: I will sit alone, directly, with president Abbas in the Elysee (French presidential) palace or anywhere else that you choose. Every difficult issue will be on the table."
	Netanyahu, who has repeatedly expressed his opposition to the French proposal, said "this initiative can still take place in Paris, because that would be a marvellous place to sign a peace accord. It's a marvellous place anyway."
	Valls is visiting Israel and the Palestinian ..

Netanyahu rejects French peace initiative,offers to meet Abbas

Stan Wawrinka avoided becoming the first defending champion to lose first round at the French Open on Monday when he battled past combative Lukas Rosol in five tough sets.
     Third seed Wawrinka fired 56 winners but committed 46 unforced errors and saved eight break points to book a second round clash against Japan's Taro Daniel.
     Wawrinka, 31, had defeated 59th-ranked Rosol in the semi-finals of the Geneva clay-court tournament just last Friday.
     But Rosol went into the match on a chilly Court Philippe Chatrier with the pedigree of having famously stunned Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2012.
     That free-swinging masterclass almost paid dividends again Monday but once he had let slip two break points at 2-2 in the fourth set, his hopes slowly slipped away.
     Spanish fourth seed Garbine Muguruza was also struggling on Court Suzanne Lenglen, coming back from a set down to defeat Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
     Muguruza, who has made the ...

Wawrinka escapes historic blow, Muguruza struggles

Chinese authorities are exploring new ways of imposing controls on the Internet, state-run media cited experts as saying today, after reports said state-owned enterprises may be encouraged to take stakes in video streaming websites.
	The Communist country restricts access to foreign websites including Google, Facebook and Twitter with a vast control network dubbed the Great Firewall of China, and under President Xi Jinping it has tightened its grip on broadcast, print and online media.
	Content deemed politically sensitive, violent or morally "unhealthy" is regularly blocked.
	New regulations being considered by China's censorship authority would allow a select list of SOEs to buy "special management stakes" of up to 10 per cent in the country's popular video streaming websites, giving them the right to oversee production and decision-making, respected business magazine Caixin reported.
	The Chinese-language report was later removed from Caixin's own website, although the text was ...

China mulls new ways to control video websites

The controversial boss of Chinese solar energy firm Hanergy Thin Film Power Group -- once listed as China's richest man -- has stepped down as chairman and executive director, the company said, almost a year after its shares imploded.
	Li Hejun stepped down from Friday "for the reason of strengthening corporate governance", Hanergy said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange, where its shares have been suspended since May last year after plunging 47 percent in less than half an hour, wiping USD 19 billion off its market capitalisation.
	The territory's securities regulators also announced a probe into the company.
	Hanergy had captured the attention of investors after growing more than sixfold to became the world's largest solar power company by market value before the collapse, amid questions over the firm's share price and revenue sources.
	The meteoric rise in share price once gave Li the title of China's richest man, according to one wealth survey, but he has since fallen .

Boss of China solar firm steps down after losing billions

German Chancellor Angela Merkel today said she had told Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of her "deep concern" over a law lifting immunity for Turkish lawmakers that critics believe is aimed at evicting pro-Kurdish lawmakers from parliament.
	"Of course, the lifting of the immunity of one quarter of the deputies is a source of deep concern. I expressed this to the Turkish president and we discussed these questions very openly," she said.
	"Not all my questions have been answered, we will have to watch developments closely," she told reporters at the German consulate after the talks.
	Turkey's parliament on Friday adopted a highly controversial bill that would lift immunity for dozens of MPs, which the opposition pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) fears is aimed directly against its lawmakers.
	The move could see dozens of HDP deputies facing criminal prosecution and losing parliamentary seats on accusations of supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), ...

Merkel:Told Erdogan of deep concern over lifting MP's immunity

The Austrian government today confirmed that green-backed candidate Alexander van der Bellen narrowly beat his far-right rival Norbert Hofer to the presidency after postal votes broke a tie in the closely watched race.
	Van der Bellen beat Hofer of the anti-immigrant, populist Freedom Party with 50.3 per cent to 49.7 per cent -- "a difference of 31,026 votes," Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka said during an official announcement in Vienna.

Austria gov't confirms ecologist won presidential election

The US Supreme Court today overturned the death sentence imposed on an African American man, finding bias in the all-white jury that convicted him of the murder of an elderly white woman.
	The justices ruled in favour of Georgia death row inmate Timothy Foster by a vote of 7-1, with Justice Clarence Thomas, the court's only African American member, dissenting.

US SC overturns black man's death sentence by all-white jury

West Indies star Chris Gayle has insisted controversial comments he made to a female television reporter earlier this year were "just a little fun" as he turned on critics including Andrew Flintoff and Ian Chappell.
     Gayle, 36, came under fire for asking Australian broadcaster Mel McLaughlin out on a date in a live television interview during a Big Bash Twenty20 game in January.
     "I wanted to see your eyes for the first time, hopefully we can win this game and then we can have a drink after as well," said star batsman Gayle, before adding: "Don't blush, baby."
     Chappell and Flintoff, former captains of Australia and England respectively, were among those to criticise Gayle's conduct.
     But Gayle, in an extract from his autobiography published in The Times on Monday, said of his remarks during the Melbourne Renegades' match against Hobart Hurricanes: "I meant it as a joke. I meant it as a little fun.
     "I didn't mean to be disrespectful and I didn't mean it to be ...

Gayle says sexism row was just a 'little fun'

The spiralling crisis surrounding the Zika virus is the result of decades of policy failures on mosquito control and poor access to family planning services, the World Health Organization said today.
	"The spread of Zika ... (is) the price being paid for a massive policy failure that dropped the ball on mosquito control in the 1970s," WHO chief Margaret Chan told the opening of the UN health agency's annual assembly.

Zika crisis fuelled by 'massive' mosquito control failures'

Pope Francis met the grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque at the Vatican today in a historic encounter that was sealed with a hugely symbolic hug and exchange of kisses.
	The first Vatican meeting between the leader of the world's Catholics and the highest authority in Sunni Islam marks the culmination of a significant improvement in relations between the two faiths since Francis took office in 2013.
	"Our meeting is the message," Francis said in a brief comment at the start of his meeting with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Vatican officials told a small pool of reporters covering the event.
	In a statement on the trip, Al-Azhar, an institution that also comprises a prestigious seat of learning, said Tayeb had accepted Francis's invitation in order to "explore efforts to spread peace and co-existence."
	The "very cordial" meeting lasted around 30 minutes, the Vatican said in a statement after the talks. In all, the imam spent just over an hour at St Peter's.
	Tayeb's decision to fly to ...

Pope and top imam embrace in historic Vatican meeting

Zika crisis fuelled by 'massive' failures on mosquito

Pope Francis met the grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque at the Vatican today in a historic encounter that was sealed with a hugely symbolic hug and exchange of kisses.
	The first Vatican meeting between the leader of the world's Catholics and the highest authority in Sunni Islam marks the culmination of a significant improvement in relations between the two faiths since Francis took office in 2013.
	"Our meeting is the message," Francis said in a brief comment to a small pool of reporters present at the start of his meeting with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb.
	In a statement on the trip, Al-Azhar said Tayeb had accepted Francis's invitation in order to "explore efforts to spread peace and co-existence."
	The "very cordial" meeting lasted around 30 minutes, the Vatican said in a statement after the talks.
	Tayeb's decision to fly to Rome, unexpectedly announced last week, followed the easing of serious tensions that marked the reign of of Francis's predecessor, Benedict XVI.
	Ties were ...

Pope and top imam embrace in historic meeting at Vatican

More than 120 people were killed today in two Syrian regime bastions in a spate of bombings claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.
	Seventy-three people were killed in the city of Jableh and another 48 died in Tartus further south, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.
	Seven bombs -- most of them suicide attacks -- hit Jableh and Tartus almost simultaneously today morning.
	Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said they were "without a doubt the deadliest attacks" on the two cities since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011.
	IS claimed the attacks via its Amaq news agency, saying jihadists had attacked "Alawite gatherings" in Tartus and Jableh.
	Both cities are strongholds of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad whose family hails from the village of Qardaha, just 25 kilometres (15 miles) east of Jableh.
	Their populations are mostly Alawite.
	IS is not known to have a presence in Syria's coastal provinces, where its jihadist rival and Al-Qaeda's ...

AFP

AFP

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