8 May 2019; DW: The World Health Organization has said more than 34,000 people across Europe caught measles in the first two months of 2019. Just this week, Germany proposed a fine for parents who don't vaccinate their children.

The World Health Organization on Tuesday said there had been a sharp rise in the number of measles cases across Europe in January and February of this this year, with more than 34,000 people catching the disease.

MOSCOW, May 8. /TASS/: Russia’s strategic bombers Tupolev-160 and Tupolev-95MS are being equipped with new instruments that will let them carry the latest types of cruise missiles, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a distance conference on Wednesday.

"Number one question on the agenda concerns the strategic bombers Tupolev-160 and Tupolev-95MS. Currently they are being equipped with new instruments that will let them use advanced air-launched cruise missiles," he said.

BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhua): China and Japan will hold their 11th round of high-level consultations on maritime affairs in Otaru, Japan, from May 10 to 11, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.

Spokesperson Geng Shuang told a routine news briefing that officials from foreign ministries, defense ministries, maritime law enforcement and management departments of both counties will attend the talks.

China expects to fully exchange views with Japan on maritime issues of common concern to strengthen mutual understanding and trust with Japan, Geng said.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration can make asylum seekers wait in Mexico for immigration court hearings while the policy is challenged in court, handing the president a major victory, even if it only proves temporary.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — a frequent target of the president’s complaints — reversed a decision by a San Francisco judge that would have prevented asylum seekers from being returned to Mexico during the legal challenge.

Johannesburg, May 8 (AFP) South Africans go to the polls on Wednesday in national elections which the ruling ANC party, in power since 1994, is the favourite to win despite corruption scandals and sluggish economic growth and record unemployment.

The ANC has won all the past five elections, but Wednesday's vote is set to be an electoral test on whether the party has staunched a decline in popularity.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco officials voted Tuesday to require brick-and-mortar retailers to take cash as payment, joining Philadelphia and New Jersey in banning a growing paperless practice that critics say discriminates against low-income people who may not have access to credit cards.

The vote by the Board of Supervisors was unanimous.

Supervisor Vallie Brown, who introduced the legislation, said it “will go far in ensuring all San Franciscans have equitable access to the city’s economy.”

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The U.S. has lifted sanctions on a top Venezuelan general who broke ranks with President Nicolás Maduro, trying to help the opposition regain momentum in the face of a government crackdown following last week’s failed uprising.

Vice President Mike Pence said in a speech Tuesday that the immediate lifting of financial sanctions for Gen. Manuel Figuera, who was Venezuela’s spy chief, is intended to encourage others in the military to abandon their support for Maduro.

SYDNEY, May 8 (Xinhua): The first-ever commercial flight to produce "zero waste" has taken to the skies on Wednesday, as part of a new initiative from the Australian airline Qantas to cut single-use plastics that end up in landfill.

Flying from Sydney to Adelaide, all products and packaging onboard QF739 will either be reused, recycled or disposed of as compost.

Lahore, May 8 (PTI) Pakistan's deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif has returned to prison to serve his sentence in a corruption case after the end of his six-week bail which was granted to him on medical grounds.

On March 26, the Supreme Court suspended Sharif's seven-year sentence in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case and granted him bail for six weeks with a condition that he would not leave Pakistan.

Thane, May 7 (PTI) Five members of a family have been booked for allegedly torturing a 26-year-old woman for dowry in Thane's Ulhasnagar township, police said Tuesday.

The complainant, a resident of Haweli area in Pune, has told police that her in-laws, husband and their kin would inflict burn injuries on her with hot oil, police said.

Srinagar, May 7; GANASHAKTI: The indiscriminate arrests of youths across Kashmir and particularly in southern districts of the Valley in the recent times will erode people’s trust in the government further and widen the gulf which would be difficult to bridge.

New Delhi, May 8 (PTI) The Supreme Court Wednesday asked the Election Commission to examine grievances raised by sacked BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav, whose nomination against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varansai, was cancelled.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked the counsel for EC to seek instructions and apprise it by tomorrow.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for Yadav, referred to an earlier verdict to the court and said election petitions can be filed during the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct.