Up to 17 big storms likely to hit US Atlantic coast

MIAMI • More storms are expected to roil the Atlantic this hurricane season, with as many as 17 big ones, US officials have said in an updated mid-season forecast.

As the peak of the storm season approaches, experts expect a "70 per cent chance of 12 to 17 named storms, of which five to eight are expected to become hurricanes".

Two to four of those could be "major hurricanes", meaning that they could reach Category 3 or higher, with wind speeds of 178 kmh to 208 kmh, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on Thursday.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Italian had Zika virus in sperm for 6 months

ROME • An Italian man carried Zika in his sperm for six months after showing the first symptoms of the virus, twice as long as in any previously reported case, according to a new study.

Doctors at the Spallanzani Institute for Infectious Diseases in Rome said their monitoring of the now-recovered patient pointed to the possibility of the little-understood virus reproducing itself in the male genital tract.

As a result, the potential for sexual transmission of a virus linked to babies being born with shrunken brains and skulls may be greater than previously thought.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

32 Turkey diplomats still missing despite recall

ANKARA • Turkey has said 32 Turkish diplomats were still missing despite being recalled by Ankara in the wake of last month's failed coup seeking to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu yesterday told reporters that 208 diplomats were recalled but 32 of them did not return to the country.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE