Malaysia reports first pregnant woman Zika case

Here is a round-up of global news developments:

• The Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution has slammed silence on the last year’s deadly stampede during the hajj pilgrimage as a scourge for the Muslim world. Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Saudi Arabia’s incompetence regarding the killing of thousands of Hajj pilgrims in the Mina tragedy is a crime.
   
• President Hassan Rouhani has also called on the Muslim world to coordinate punitive measures against Saudi Arabia over the tragic incident. Rouhani says Iran will continue to pursue the issue through legal and political channels to reclaim the rights of the victims.
   
• The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria has warned about increased militarization in Syria. The commission says it has reliable information indicating the use of chlorine gas in the city of Aleppo. The latest report has also recorded a wide range of human rights violations, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians and medical workers.
   
• Saudi Arabia has targeted residential areas in Yemen’s Sa’ada province, killing a little girl and injuring four others. The fatality came from Saudi artillery fire on the Razih district of Sa’ada province. Saudi fighter jets also hit several other areas in the province, including a school.
   
• The UN’s children agency has warned that conflicts and poverty have displaced nearly 50 million children worldwide. UNICEF says children account for nearly half of all refugees. According to the agency, many of these children are at particular risk of abuse and detention, because they have no certain legal status.
   
• Native Americans protesting an oil pipeline project in the US state of North Dakota have accused the government of deception and oppression. They say the government should fulfill its commitments in protecting their ancestral lands. The natives have staged their largest rally in over a century to push their case.
   
• A police helicopter has gone down in western Mexico, killing the pilot and three officers. It was initially reported that the aircraft was downed by a drug gang in the troubled state of Michoacan. But now, authorities say they can’t confirm the report and that the case is under investigation.
   
• Malaysia has confirmed its first case of the Zika virus in a pregnant woman living in a southern city close to Singapore. It’s not yet clear whether she contracted the virus locally. The country has already recorded 275 cases but there was no pregnant case among them.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk