News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Austria withdraws from UN Golan mission

The UN Security Council will hold a special session later today to discuss the situation on the Golan Heights. The meeting follows Austria's announcement that it was withdrawing its 380 peacekeepers from the UN's observer mission following fierce battles between Syrian troops and opposition forces around a Golan border post. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon says the UN is now urgently seeking troops to replace the Austrians. Kieran Dwyer is the spokesman for UN peacekeeping operations: "With the fighting becoming more and more intense, this is a really serious risk regarding the regional spill-over of the conflict inside Syria. So rather than talking about the mission not becoming viable, what we're focussing on is making sure it remains viable."

North Korea re-opens hotline with South

North Korea has restored a key communication hotline with South Korea. The neighbours are also to hold talks on re-starting operations at their jointly-run industrial zone. Ties between the two Koreas deteriorated earlier this year in the wake of the North's nuclear test and annual military drills between South Korea and the US.

Debate grows over surveillance in the US

In the US, the chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee has been defending the government's anti-terror surveillance programme. This follows media reports that intelligence agencies had been collecting millions of phone records and tapping into the servers of internet companies. Congressman Mike Rogers says the surveillance is necessary: "within the last few years this programme was used to stop a terrorist attack in the US. We know that." But Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Centre says surveillance has gone too far: "This is simply unbounded surveillance. It's against the critical principle that exists in the US Constitution and the Fourth Amendment."

Turkish government calls for end to protests

The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for an end to protests which have been going on for a week. Tens of thousands of protesters have held anti-government demonstrations in several cities across Turkey. Three people - two demonstrators and a policeman - have died in the unrest and thousands have been wounded.

Austria's flood crisis eases

The flooding crisis in Austria is continuing to ease with water levels along the River Danube in the east going down. However, dams are still being closely monitored. Meanwhile, the Hungarian capital Budapest is now on high flood alert. And in Germany, the River Elbe has peaked in the city of Dresden - causing widespread flooding, but sparing the historic city centre.

The weather

There'll be occasional sunshine, most of it in the West. But showers and thunder storms are also forecast, especially in the mountains and hilly areas. High temperatures will be ranging between 18 and 26 degrees.

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