News | 22 May 2017

Trump visits Israel +++ Cholera outbreak in Yemen +++ Internally displaced outnumber refugees

Trump visits Israel +++ Cholera outbreak in Yemen +++ Internally displaced outnumber refugees +++ Coup trial opens in Turkey +++ Bomb attack at Thai military hospital +++ The Weather

News | 22 May 2017

Trump visits Israel

The US President Donald Trump has arrived in Israel for a visit expected to focus on ways to revive the Middle East peace process. He'll hold talks with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Trump has said that ending the Middle East conflict could be easier than people have thought. He's also moved from the often stridently pro-Israeli views he expressed during last year's presidential campaign. There's been speculation that he might demand concessions from the Israeli side, to allow talks to resume. Meanwhile Iran has strongly rejected comments from President Trump that it is fuelling sectarian conflict across the Middle East. Trump made a speech in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, in which he criticised Iran: "No discussion of stamping out this threat would be complete without mentioning the government that gives terrorists all three: safe harbour, financial backing, and the social standing needed for recruitment."

Cholera outbreak in Yemen

The World Health Organisation says the cholera outbreak in Yemen is spreading at alarming speed and could soon become a major epidemic. Almost 250 people died in the last month. Yemen's health system is on the brink of collapse, due to the continuing conflict there.

Internally displaced outnumber refugees

A new report estimates that 31 million people were forced to flee their homes last year because of armed conflicts and natural disasters. The survey, by the Norwegian Refugee Council and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, shows that internally displaced people - those who are homeless in their own countries - outnumber refugees by two to one. Jan Egeland is the Council's secretary general: "These recent years have been just horrific... one year after the other. Last year, 2016 alone, nearly 7 million people were forced out of their homes by conflict and violence."

Coup trial opens in Turkey

The biggest trial so far resulting from last year's coup attempt in Turkey has opened in a special court at a prison complex outside Ankara. 221 defendants are on trial, including the former air force commander and several generals. Many onlookers have demanded death sentences - although this is not allowed in Turkey. Charges include murdering 250 civilians in an attempt to overthrow the government.

Bomb attack at Thai military hospital

Thai police believe an explosion at a military-run hospital in Bangkok was caused by a small bomb. More than 20 people are reported to have been injured, most of them from flying glass. The blast comes exactly three years after the military took control of Thailand in a coup.

The weather

Warm and partly sunny this afternoon - with some thundershowers in the Alps and in the south. Top temperatures ranging from 17 to 26 degrees.

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