BBC News with Ally Macue.
Iraqi officials say that Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, thought to be the last leading member of Saddam Hussein's regime still at large, has been killed. He's believed to had played a significant role in the rise of Islamic State in Iraq. The BBC has not yet received confirmation of Mr. al-Douri's death from the government. But photographs and alleged details have been widely circulated. An Iraqi MP and former Iraqi National Security Adviser, Mowaffak al Rubaie, told the BBC if test confirmed that it was the body of Mr. al-Douri, it would be a major victory over insurgents in Iraq.
“We believe that getting him out of the way, we'll deal a major blow, psychological, moral blow, to the ISIS fighters and the Arab Baath Socialist Party fighters. We believe that although he was not very active in the organisation of activities of ISIS, he was a symbol of, if you like, the resistance among these jihadists in Iraq.”
Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, has warned that the problem of thousands of Africans risking their lives to sail to Europe can only be solved if civil war ends in Libya. Most of the migrants start their journey across the Mediterranean from Libyan shores. Mr. Renzi, speaking at a joint news conference with President Obama in Washington, said the key was restoring stability to Libya, where rival armed factions are battling for control. Mr. Obama said the U.S. would work with regional allies on the issue.
“We are consistently looking where terrorist threats might emanate, and Libya, obviously, is an area of great concern. ISIL's been very explicit about wanting to use the chaos inside of Libya as a potential justification for putting their, some of their personnel there. And so the coordination with Italy and with other of our key partners is gonna be very important.”
An emotional service of remembrance has been held in Cologne Cathedral for the victims of the Germanwings plane crash in which 150 people died. The German President, Joachim Gauck, spoke about the difficulty of coming to terms with the evil of the German co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, who is believed to have deliberately crashed the plane into the French Alps. Jenny Hill was at the Cathedral.
“Five hundred bereaved relatives joined the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and representatives of the French and Spanish governments at the state memorial service. During the service, small, carved angels were handed to representatives of the families, the recovery teams and the Airlines involved. Later, a young woman, named only as Sara, led a prayer. She lost a relative in the crash. For all those missing their loved ones, she said：Oh Lord, dry their tears.”
World news from the BBC.
Hundreds of Zimbabweans have demonstrated outside the South African Embassy in Harare, calling for an end to anti-immigrant attacks in South Africa. Riot police were deployed after the protesters tried to destroy the Embassy gates. The violence started after the Zulu King, Goodwill Zwelithini, said foreigners should leave South Africa.
The American Hispanic TV channel, Univision, has announced the end of the longest-running weekly TV variety show in history. Sabado Gigante, or Giant Saturday, is to end in September. Ganders Piet has this report.
“Hosted by Chilean talk show host, Mario Kreutzberger, known on the show as Don Francisco, Sabado Gigante was first aired in Chile in 1962. It has millions of Hispanic viewers for the 3-hour weekly show across the Americas and the US. The audience loves its mix of wild comedy sketches, tearful family reunions, eccentric amateur talent shows and scantly-clad dancers. Univision did not say why the show was ending.”
Cardinal, Francis George, who played a significant role in pushing the Catholic Church to confront sex abuse by clergy, has died at the age of 78. As the archbishop of the U.S. diocese of Chicago at the height of the crisis in 2002, he led attempts by bishops to persuade the Vatican to remove guilty priests.
3 zebras have gone on the loose in the Belgian capital, Brussels, forcing police into an unlikely car chase. The animals, which escaped from a nearby ranch, brought a new meaning to zebra crossings, weaving their way along a canal, over a bridge and through a tunnel before cantering along the streets of Brussels. The group of zebras, known as a dazzle, was pursued by several police cars and eventually rounded up.