News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Pope disciplines “Bling Bishop”

It was announced a short time ago that Pope Francis has ordered the German Roman Catholic prelate known as the "Bling Bishop" to withdraw from his diocese for an unspecified period to reflect on his luxury lifestyle. The action, which is just short of a resignation, comes during a period under the new pope in which austerity is being emphasized. The Bishop of Limburg has made headlines for spending more than 30 million euros on his residence and flying first class on missions to visit the poor in India.

Greece cuts off money to far right

The Greek parliament has voted overwhelmingly to suspend state funding for the far-right Golden Dawn party. A new law allows an indefinite funding freeze for parties whose leadership has been charged with involvement in a criminal group or terrorism. Golden Dawn's leader and two MPs are in custody awaiting trial on charges of being part of a criminal organization. Their arrests follow the murder of an anti-fascist musician, allegedly by a supporter of Golden Dawn - the party has denied any link with the killing.

Progress against blazes in Australia

Authorities in Australia, who are battling dozens of wildfires on the outskirts of Sydney, say they've made significant progress on what was feared to be the day when a mega-fire could have formed. Hundreds of homes have been lost in Australia's most populous state of New South Wales. But, so far, no lives have been lost because of the fires and many communities have been saved. Mark Greenhill, the mayor of Blue Mountains, gave full credit to firefighters: "The latest information is that we got through the predicted worst day and that is just marvelous. We have another windy day ahead so we can't be complacent. But I to say to our wonderful emergency services what a great job they've done protecting our community through this horrible day."

Boston bomber implicated in murders

Federal Prosecutors say the Slain Boston Marathon bombing suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, took part in a 2011 triple homicide just outside of Boston. An acquaintance of Tsarnaev has told investigators Tsarnaev participated in the murders of three men found stabbed to death in September of 2011. The latest disclosure about Tsarnaev came in papers filed by lawyers working for his younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is awaiting trial on federal charges related to the marathon bombing.

Gold grows on trees

Scientists exploring for more efficient methods of gold mining in Australia say leaves and branches of trees may indicate deposits. Eucalyptus trees have been found to draw up water containing gold particles. Dr. Mel Linden is one of the scientists working on the project: "They have these very deep roots. They're able to maximize the water intake into the tree. And when they're doing that they're actually picking up very small amounts of dissolved gold working like a hydraulic pump, up through the trunk, up into the foliage."

The weather

While fog will continue to affect parts of the east, sunshine is forecast for most of the country this afternoon. But, in the coming hours, increasing cloud cover will bring some rain to the far west.

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