Australia PM warns about anti-Muslim extremism

Here is a round-up of global news developments:

• Syrian TV says tens of terrorists were killed in the government’s airstrikes in Hama province. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has put the toll at 17, saying civilians also died in the raids. The attacks were launched to regain areas recently captured by the foreign-backed terrorists.
   
• Bahrain intensifies its crackdown on protesters who are angry at Manama for revoking the citizenship of the country's top Shia cleric Ayatollah Isa Qassim. Courts sentenced three Shia clerics and a TV producer to jail over charges related to a sit-in outside Ayatollah Qassim’s residence in Diraz.
   
• The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization says the country will build two new nuclear power stations with assistance from Russia. Ali Akbar Salehi said the operations to build the new power plants in Bushehr will start in September and will take 10 years to complete.
   
• A huge car bomb outside a government office in the Afghan province of Logar has killed two people. Officials blame the Taliban for the attack. Police and militants engaged in clashes following the blast. Taliban militants have intensified their attacks across Afghanistan in recent months.
   
• Malaysia confirms its first case of Zika infection. A woman, who recently travelled to Singapore, has tested positive for the disease. Singapore announced the first locally contracted case of Zika on Saturday. The mosquito-borne disease, which exploded across Latin America last year, is particularly dangerous for pregnant women.
   
• Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has warned about rising far-right extremism directed against Muslims. He said creating division and fomenting distrust of Muslims will make violence even more likely. Australian lawmakers are pressuring Turnbull to ban Muslim immigration and water down anti-discrimination laws.
   
• Gabon's president has called for reconciliation as post-election tensions continue in the country. Ali Bongo invited his opponents to help the government build Gabon. Violence erupted in the country after the opposition accused Bongo of vote-rigging in presidential election.
   
• Police in the Danish Capital Copenhagen say they have arrested an armed man suspected of shooting two officers and a civilian. One officer has suffered a head wound. The other officer and the civilian were shot in the leg. The assailant was reportedly known to the police.

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