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BBC news 2015-08-18

Hello, I am Fiona MacDonald with the BBC news.

Egypt's president has approved stringent new counter-terrorism measures seeking to strengthen the country's ability to respond to the Islamist militant insurgency. Rihgts group say president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will use the legislation to crash dissent, lock up his opponents and impose further restrictions on freedom of expression. Ben Lowings reports. “Since Abdel Fattah al-Sisi over through President Mohamed Morsi two years ago, Egypt military has increased its grip on the country. In that time Egypt has also seen a considerable deterioration of its human rights record. President Sisi is under pressure to quell the insurgency in Sinai and combat what he sees as the political threat from the Muslim Brotherhood. The trial process for suspected terrorist leaders will now be speeded up and those found guilty face the death penalty. Any journalist who now contradicts an official account of militant attack can expect a fine of at least 25000 dollars.”

Antigovernment protesters in Brazil have been demanding the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff in demonstrations across the country. They are blaming President Rousseff for economic downturn and for one of the biggest corruption scandals in Brazil's history. Prosecutors alleged that firms picked corrupt politicians from the governing Workers Party to get lucrative contracts with the state owned oil giant PetroBras. President Rousseff who at the time chaired PetroBras has not been accused of doing anything illegal. These protesters explained why they were marching. "The people want good government because nobody can tolerate the way things are. All the social classes are suffering in this country." "This is a non-partisan demonstration of the people without political parties. We are here, people from the right and left, indignant people who want real change." "What I want is a better Brazil. I want the Brazilians to make a better choice in the next selection because we've had enough of the Workers Party."

Security has tightened polling stations across Sri Lanka as voting gets under way shortly in the general election. Four people have died in violent incidents during the month long campaign although monitors are reported less violence in previous elections. The former president Mahinda Rajapakse, who lost power to his onetime health minister Maithripala Sirisena earlier this year, is seeking to return as prime minister.

The United States federal aviation authority the FAA has said a recent software upgraded an air traffic control center in Virginia may have led to the cancellation of more 400 flights on Saturday. Tens of thousands of passengers up and down the East Coast have their journeys disrupted. The FAA said new features in the upgraded had been disabled while they were being assessed. World news from the BBC.

The warring parties in South Sudan are duo to hold further negotiations in Ethiopia on Sunday. It will be the final day of peace talks before international sanctions are due to be imposed on both sides over their failure to reach an agreement. But South Sudan's government and rebels say they might need more time to resolve key issues such as power sharing in a transitional government.

There’re reports of gunfire in a number of locations in eastern Ukraine along lines dividing Ukrainian government forces and Russian backed rebels. Residents in the port city of Mariupol have reported artillery fire to the east. The InterFacts news agency says shells are fallen on a residential area. Heavy rocky fires are also reported in and around the rebel held stronghold of Donetsk.

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Scientists studying how owls are able to swoop on their pray undetected have discovered that unlike other birds, they are able to suppress the noise of flying. The researches from Dalian University of Technology in China described the owls as the king of acoustic stealth. Rebecca Joe reports. “It was already known that owls have feathers that absorb aerodynamic sound when gliding, but the new study found that they also suppressed the mechanical noise caused by their vibrations that occurred when the owl flapped its wings. The reports’ authors say their findings could help engineers develop special materials in structures to help reduce noise created by machines such as wind turbines.” BBC news.