News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Syria meeting in London

International leaders are meeting senior Syrian opposition figures in London today to try to persuade them to take part in planned peace talks in Geneva next month. A key opposition group - the Syrian National Council - has said that it has no faith in negotiations with the Assad government and won't participate. The British Foreign Minister William Hague says the peace talks are crucial: "the longer this conflict goes on, the more sectarian it becomes, the more extremists are able to take hold. That is why we are making this renewed effort to get a Geneva peace process going."

Rights groups criticise US drone strikes

Two human rights organisations that investigated US drone strikes have accused Washington of violating international law by killing civilians. Drone warfare has become common in the US pursuit of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Amnesty International says drone attacks in Pakistan have been responsible for unlawful killings. Human Rights Watch came to a similar conclusion about such strikes in Yemen. Amnesty spokeswoman Polly Truscott described one case: "a 68-year old woman who was picking vegetables in the field was blown apart and her children were also injured in that attack. We're not saying that all strikes are unlawful - what we're saying is that some are. The US has not even acknowledged that it has even killed this woman. That family's life has been blown apart - they deserve some justice."

Wildfires continue in Australia

Fire-fighters in Australia are continuing to battle massive wildfires in the mountains west of Sydney. Over 200 homes have been destroyed in New South Wales over the last five days.

Local Australian parliament allows gay marriage

The regional parliament in the Australian Capital Territory has become the first part of Australia to legalise same-sex marriage. However, the national coalition government of Prime Minister Tony Abbott is expected to challenge the move.

Bolshoi Ballet trial begins

A dancer for the Bolshoi Ballet is going on trial in Moscow over an acid attack on the company's artistic director in January. Pavel Dmitrichenko is accused of organising the assault on Sergei Filin, whose eyesight was badly damaged when acid was thrown at him outside his Moscow flat. Dmitrichenko denies arranging the attack. Also on trial are the man accused of throwing the acid and another accused of driving a getaway car.

Austrian coalition talks underway

The first official round of coalition talks between the Social Democrats and the ÖVP in Austria are getting underway in the wake of last month's election. The negotiations are expected to last around two months.

The weather

Much of the country will be mainly sunny and relatively warm. But there'll also be some persistent fog around in places in Lower Austria, Vienna and northern Burgenland. There'll be a föhn wind in the West. Highs: around 13 where it's foggy, elsewhere between 16 and 25 degrees.

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