News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Eastern Austria remains on flood alert

Dams have been reinforced in Lower Austria as many communities remain on flood alert. Flood levels are expected to peak today on the Danube in Lower Austria, with levels in the Wachau expected to match the same levels reached during the floods of 2002. In the town of Mautern near Krems, a barrier was breached today after which the local fire service pumped the water back into the Danube. In Dürnstein, roads remain closed and the town can only be reached by train. The town’s local water supplies have been turned off because of flooding from the river. A dam where the Krems river flows into the Danube has been reinforced and raised with sandbags. Meanwhile, in one of the worst-hit areas, Schärding in Upper Austria, the waters of the Inn River have started to recede. In Bavaria, water levels in Passau, which was also badly flooded, have started to come down. In eastern Germany, flood levels are expected to peak tomorrow and flood alerts remain in effect in Saxony and Thuringa. In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has called out more than ten-thousand soldiers, police and rescue workers as the Danube’s floodwaters move south and are expected to reach Budapest later in the week. Floodwalls and sandbags are being erected as Hungary prepares for what could be the highest river levels in decades.

UN says chemical weapons used in Syria

United Nations investigators presented a report today in Geneva accusing both sides in Syria’s civil war of using chemical weapons. Karen Abuzayd is one of the investigators: “There are reasonable grounds to believe that chemical agents, toxic chemicals have been used in the Syrian conflict by both sides. We have four cases on the government side and one case on the opposition side.” The report also said that war crimes and other human rights violations continue to be widespread in the conflict and that the government of President Bashar al-Assad must be held accountable for a policy which includes bombing cities and executing civilians.

Unrest continues in Turkey

Anti-government protests continued in Turkey last night. One protester was shot and killed during a rally in the town of Antakya near the border with Syria. Meanwhile, a Turkish trade union confederation has called a two-day strike in support of the protests against the government of Prime Minister Tayyip Recip Erdogan. His critics accuse Erdogan of becoming increasingly authoritarian and of moving Turkey away from the secular policies of the Turkish republic’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Hundreds of protesters and police have been injured since the unrest began last Friday. Eid Begloygu is one of the protesters: “We demand that the park remains as a park, that the governor and the head of the security forces resign, the release of all detainees, and to expand the freedom of association and demonstration. That’s what we demand.”

Pistorius trial postponed

The murder trial of South African Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius has been postponed until August 19th. A judge in Pretoria today announced the postponement. Pistorius admits shooting to death his girlfriend Reva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day, but says her killing was an accident and that he mistook her for a burglar. Pistorius is a double amputee who became famous for competing on blade-shaped prosthetics.

The weather

Eastern Austria this afternoon will remain mostly cloudy with some light rains. The rest of the country will be increasingly sunny. Highs today are ranging from 10 to 22 degrees.

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