Hello, I'm Julie Candela with the BBC News. A key minister in Brazil's new government is stepping aside, after he was caught on tape allegedly conspiring to obstruct the country's biggest-ever corruption investigation. Romero Juca was a close ally of the interim President, Michel Temer, says his comments were taken out of contexts, and he supports for corruption probe. Julia reports. In a conversation with a fellow politician, Romero Juca implied he would act to deter the massive corruption investigations, known as the Carwash scandal, a billion-dollar bribery scheme which allegedly involves dozens of politicians, including himself and other members of the PMDB, the now governing party in Brazil. In the leaked audio, Mr. Juca said the impeachment of President Rousseff was necessary to staunch the bleeding, and that a political pact has to be reached to stop things where they were. The contents were disclosed by a Brazilian newspaper, and triggered outrage. European leaders have expressed relief at the outcome of Austria's presidential election, in which the far-right Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer, was defeated by the narrowest margins. The German Foreign Minister Frank said all in Europe was breathing more easily. The French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, said it was a relief to see Austrians reject extremism. From Vienna, Bethany Belle reports.
The presidential campaign has exposed deep foot lines in Austrian politics, and the increasing weakness of the establishment parties of the centre-left and centre-right.The new president is another outsider, Alexander, who used to be head of the Green Party. He said it was important to recognise the strength of feeling in Austria. Support for the far-right has risen in recent years, because of concerns about the economy, and frustration with the coalition government. Football's world governing body, FIFA, has fired its Deputy Secretary-General, Cartner, the latest staff at the shock of the corruption scandal that's all the resignation of its long-time President, Sepp Blatter. Here is Conway.
Cartner was FIFA's Finance Director, but has more recently served as its Acting Secretary-General. FIFA say an internal investigation uncovered breaches in connection with its employment contract. It's believed Mr. Cartner received hidden bonus payment amounting to millions of dollars. The payments are understood to have remained hidden from FIFA's financial oversight committees and only came to light in the past few days. His dismissal comes as the governing body is attempting to implement a series of reforms, designed to restore its image and integrity.
The Italian authorities say at least 2,000 mainly African migrants were rescued from unseaworthy boats off the coast of Libya in the past twenty-four hours. Coast Guard officials said their ships worked alongside those of the aid agency, MSF, and the Irish Navy. Another 600 migrants were rescued in Maltese waters.BBC News.
The Syrian government has accused Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia of being behind a wave of bombings in the cities of Tatous and Jableh. It said the attacks constitute a serious escalation, and were aimed at derailing peace efforts. The self-styled Islamic State has said it carried out the bombings, which killed dozens of people in President Assad's coastal heartland. The United Nations has called for the urgent provision of safe corridors to allow civilians to leave the besieged Iraqi city of Fallujah. Thousands of government troops and militia have started a military offensive to rest Fallujah from more than two years of IS control. A U.N. official said an estimated 50,000 civilians were trapped and in dire danger.
Chinese scientists say they've developed an experimental new treatment for blindness. They are transplanting parts of the eyes from pigs into humans. Our global science correspondent, Rebecca, reports. These are the pigs helping China's blind to see. Scientists are using the animals' corneas, the thin films that cover the front of the eyes, and transplanting them into patients. The new procedure could ease the country's organ and tissue shortages. Up to five million people in China are estimated to have damaged corneas. But there are only 5,000 transplants from human donors each year.
Police in South Africa have declined to prosecute the Cape Town leader of the governing African National Congress after he was suspended over sexual harassment allegations. The alleged victim's legal team said prosecutors had told them via the What's Up App messaging service that there wasn't enough evidence to proceed. Mr. France had denied the allegations. A twenty-one-year-old employee, who said he'd forced to sleep in his bed during an ANC event in January, has waived her anonymity. Louis said she was shocked, and would consider her options. BBC News.