Slovenia is the latest European Union member to have closed its border to migrants. The Slovenian government said restrictions came into effect from midnight local time. The Interior Ministry said that entry would be considered only for migrants wishing to claim asylum or those with clear humanitarian needs. In response to Slovenia's announcement, its southern neighbor Serbia, which is not an EU member, imposed similar restrictions, this report from Bethany Bell. Slovenia's Prime Minister Miro Cerar said the Balkan route for migrants was shutting down. He said all countries along the route, including Greece, and with the cooperation of Turkey, would now turn back all irregular migrants. Slovenia, which is a member of the EU,has been used as a transit country for migrants trying to reach Germany and Northern Europe. The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has said the EU's deal with Turkey will help stop, what he called, the unbearable flow of people trying to reach Europe. Greece is the main entry point for migrants and under the deal Turkey will take back those arriving illegally on Greek islands. Mr. Tsipras said Europe could not accept large numbers of people from countries not at war. He wanted potential migrants to think again. I'd like to stress that the implementation of the readmission agreement sends a clear message to migrants coming from third countries. It would give the following message to those who were coming from West African countries. There is neither the political will nor the ability to cross to Europe with the measures we are taking.
The World Health Organization has advised pregnant women not to travel to areas in Latin America affected by Zika because of growing evidence of a link between the virus and birth defects. Zika, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, has been linked to a big rise in microcephaly, a condition causing underdeveloped brains in babies. The advice comes just five months before Brazil is due to host the Olympic Games. The WHO also said reports from several countries show sexual transmission of the virus is more common than previously thought.
US officials said they have targeted and probably killed a top Islamic State commander in a coalition airstrike in Syria. The Pentagon said Omaral-Shishani whose real name was Tarkhan Batirashvili, is likely to have been killed in the attack. There has been no confirmation of his death. From Washington, Gary O'Donoghue reports. A Georgian by birth, al-Shishani was also known as Omar the Chechen, a veteran jihadist with a flowing red beard who'd fought Russia in both the Caucasus and in the breakaway region of South Ossetia. The US had placed a five-million-dollar bounty on his head after he pledged allegiance to the IS leader Abu Bakral-Baghdadi. Friday's strike conducted by both manned and unmanned aircraft took place close to the town of al-Shaddadi, which was recently captured from IS by opposition forces. Gary O’Donoghue reporting. You'relistening to the world news from the BBC.
US voters are casting their ballots in presidential primaries in several states including the key industrial battleground of Michigan. Opinion polls suggest that Republican front-runner Donald Trump has a double digit lead over his nearest rival Senator Ted Cruz. Our correspondent Nick Bryant says there are signs the anti-Trump movement within the Republican Party is gaining ground. What we are looking forward today is evidence that Donald Trump has peeved that the anti-Trump forces in the Republican Party are impeding his progress towards the Republican nomination. They are not gonna halt it in the races that take place today in the Republican side in Michigan, Mississippi, Idaho and Hawaii, but they are hoping to slow it down. There is evidence, of course, that is happening already over the weekend, he got disappointing results. In the Democratic Party race, the front-runner Hillary Clinton appears to have stronger support than her competitor Bernie Sanders.
Reports from Zimbabwe say the government is drawing up plans to compensate mainly white farmers who lost land during state backed farm invasions 16 years ago. The Bloomberg News Agency says the Zimbabwean Finance Ministry has issued a briefing paper stating that the farmers would receive funds to cover land and equipment losses. Correspondents say the move, if confirmed, would amount to a reversal of President Mugabe's position that there should be no compensation for the land.
One of Brazil richest businessmen the construction magnate Marcelo Odebrecht has been jailed for 19 years for his role in a corruption scandal. A federal judge ruled that Mr. Odebrecht had paid more than 30 million dollars in bribes to officials of the state oil company PetroBras in exchange for contracts and influence.
Millions of people across parts of Asia and the Pacific are experiencing a red total solar eclipse. The moon is passing directly in front of the sun blocking direct sunlight and creating a nighttime effect. The darkness would be total across a 150km wide strip from Western Indonesia through the Central Pacific to Hawaii. BBC News.