AP, Italy
Pope Francis has arrived in Italy’s northern Emilia Romagna region, which was hit by deadly quakes in 2012, on a visit to signal hope to central Italy, which was struck by more devastating temblors last year.
The pope will meet with survivors of two quakes that killed 28 people during the daylong trip that will include an open-air Mass, a meeting with priests, nuns and seminarians and a stop at the quake-damaged Duomo cathedral in Carpi.
China reports six new bird flu cases
Reuters, Beijing
China reported six new cases of H7N9 bird flu including one death in Hunan after live poultry markets in the province were shuttered last month.
The infections were reported in the last week of March by the provincial center for disease control and prevention, according to a report by Xinhua news agency on Sunday. A total ban on live poultry trading in the provincial capital of Changsha has been in effect since March 17 and will continue for another five days, the agency said.
Serbia PM favourites to become President
Reuters, Belgrade
Conservative Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic is runaway favorite to win Sunday’s Serbian presidential elections despite opposition warnings about the extent of his domination over the Balkan country, balanced between the West and Russia. Most polls see Vucic, 47, winning in the first round with more than 50 percent of the vote, trailed in the low teens by a former rights advocate and a white-suited student whose satirical portrayal of a sleazy political fraudster has struck a chord with some disillusioned voters.
Abducted Somali newsman freed after torture
AP, Somalia
A colleague says that a Somali journalist who was kidnapped on Saturday was found tied up and alive in the agricultural town of Afgoye, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Mogadishu, the capital, after he was tortured and released by his captors. Ahmedwali Hussein, an editor at Goobjoog radio and television station, said a farmer found Hanad Ali Guled lying in his field with hands and legs tied behind his back.
