News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Tensions increase on the Korean peninsula

The South Korean media are reporting that North Korea has moved two intermediate range missile launchers to its east coast, as tensions continue to run high on the peninsula. In recent weeks North Korea has threatened to attack South Korea and the US, prompting both countries to deploy anti-missile systems.

Markets closed in Shanghai amid bird flu fears

The Chinese city of Shanghai has shut its markets and ordered a mass slaughter of poultry, following an outbreak of a new strain of bird flu, not seen before in humans. At least six people have died from the H7N9 virus along China's east coast. The World Health Organisation says there's no evidence of human to human transmission. Virologist Dr Hugh Pennington says the virus appears similar to the last major strain of bird flu to affect humans, H5N1. “These cases are much more like the H5N1 that we’ve heard about, which still occurs in many parts of the world on a low level, but people in very close contact with poultry can get a very severe pneumonia.”

Iran nuclear talks open in Almaty

A new round of talks on Iran's nuclear program have opened in the Kazakh city of Almaty, with Iranian negotiators strongly defending the country's right to nuclear technology. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany are expected to offer to ease international sanctions against Iran, if Tehran agrees to stop work on uranium enrichment, which the west fears could be used to develop nuclear weapons.

World Bank head in poverty push

The head of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim has called for the eradication of extreme poverty by 2030. Kim said, to achieve the goal, the focus would need to extend beyond just the world's poorest countries. “The World Bank is very focussed on poor countries, but by setting a poverty target for the world, what we’re saying is, we’re not just concerned about poor countries, we’re concerned about poor people everywhere.”

Deadly building collapse in Mumbai

A building, which was under construction, has collapsed in the Indian city of Mumbai, killing at least 40 people, including 11 children. It's not clear what caused the collapse, but officials say the construction company hadn't obtained the necessary building permits.

Taliban victim launches charity

The Pakistani schoolgirl activist Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban last October for advocating education rights for girls, has launched her new charity. Speaking at a ceremony in New York via video link, Malala said the charity would begin by funding the education of 40 girls in Pakistan, in the hope that it would eventually have a much broader impact. “In the Swat Valley, in my motherland, we are going to educate 40 girls. And let us turn the education of 40 girls into 40 million girls.”

The Weather

Conditions this afternoon will be mostly overcast with showers moving in from the south. Top temperatures will range from 4 to 12 degrees.

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