News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

PKK withdraws from Turkey

The Kurdish rebel group, the PKK, has begun the process of withdrawing its fighters from Turkey to their safe havens in Iraq. The move is a major step towards ending almost three decades of conflict – in which at least 40,000 have been killed. The imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called for the withdrawal in March, following secret talks with the Turkish government.

Police question Cleveland suspects

Police in the United States are preparing to charge three brothers with kidnapping and imprisoning a group of young women. The three women, who had each been missing for around a decade, were found alive in Cleveland, Ohio at the home of one of the brothers, Ariel Castro.
Local journalist, Regina Brett, says questions are now being raised as to how the police failed to find the women: “The three women that were in the house all started off as teenagers who were missing. And I just don’t know if they (the police) worked hard enough right at the start and looked at them as kidnappings and not runaways.”

Deaths as ship rams Genoa tower

At least seven people are dead and two others are missing after a container ship crashed into a control tower in the Italian port of Genoa.
The cause of the crash has not yet been confirmed – and police are questioning the ship’s captain.

Imran Khan recovers from rally fall

Doctors treating the Pakistani politician and former cricket star, Imran Khan, who was injured at an election rally yesterday, say that he needs rest and won’t be able to take part in the final two days of official campaigning. Khan fell off a makeshift lift that was taking him onto a stage at the rally in Lahore.

Austria remembers victims of the Nazis

The Austrian army is holding a vigil in Vienna’s Heldenplatz for the first time to mark the country’s liberation from the Nazi regime and the end of the Second World War. The Defence Minister Gerald Klug of the SPÖ says the move is important because the military is choosing to remember the victims of fascism on the same square where far right student fraternities have previously mourned the defeat of the Third Reich.

Big jump in US military rape cases

The United States military has reported 34,00o sexual assaults in 2012 - an increase of 30% over the previous year. President Obama has condemned the findings: “Whoever carries it out is betraying the uniform that they’re wearing. And they may consider themselves patriots but when you engage in this kind of behavior, that’s not patriotic that’s a crime.”

Alex Ferguson quits

One of the biggest names in football… Alex Ferguson… has announced that he’s stepping down as manager of the English side… Manchester United at the end of the season. During Ferguson’s 26 years in charge, United won 13 league titles, two Champions League crowns and five FA Cups.

The Weather

Mainly overcast and humid with the most of any sunshine in the west. Rain and thundershowers will build as the day goes on… with severe weather warnings in the east and south-east. Highs will range from 18 to 25 degrees.

Übersicht

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