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8. April 2017, 21:58

Hundreds of Turkish police sacked

Turkey's state-run news agency is reporting that over 350 police officers have been removed from their posts in the capital, Ankara, as the government continues to battle a corruption scandal. The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed he is the target of a conspiracy.

US accelerates military support to Iraq

The Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has urged residents and tribes in Fallujah to drive out al-Qaeda-linked fighters to avoid an all-out battle in the besieged city. Militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant last week seized key towns in Anbar province, in the most direct challenge to al-Maliki's government since the departure of American forces two years ago. The United States is accelerating its deliveries of military equipment to Iraq to help the country fight the militants

Yellen confirmed as US Federal Reserve head

The US Senate has confirmed Janet Yellen to lead the Federal Reserve, the world's most powerful central bank. A professor of economics, she is the first woman to lead the bank in its 100-year history.

Freezing weather approaches US north-east

People on the US north-east coast are being warned to prepare for a so-called polar vortex, a cold front sweeping in from the Midwest. Temperatures, with the wind chill factor, have plummeted to minus 45 degrees Celsius in Minneapolis, the coldest in two decades. Minneapolis surgeon Dr. Ryan Fey says that in less than five minutes exposed skin can begin to freeze: "So frostbite obviously we´re worried about - skin, fingers, toes, ears, noses that kind of thing. Being out in the cold temperature, letting the core temperature fall, can actually be life-threatening. It can stop one´s heart, it can stop one´s breathing and lead to death."

Spanish Princess implicated in fraud

A Spanish judge has summoned the youngest daughter of King Juan Carlos to appear in court over accusations of fraud and money-laundering. The Infanta Cristina has been linked to the business affairs of her husband, who´s being investigated over the alleged embezzlement of millions of euros of public funds.

Russia steps up security for Sochi Olympics

Russia has launched the biggest security operation in Olympic history, a month before the start of the Winter Games in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Authorities are deploying more than 30,000 police and interior ministry troops and limiting access to the area, amid fears of attacks by Islamist militants from the restive North Caucasus region.

The weather

Remaining overcast in parts of the east and south, but it should brighten up in the west. Light föhn conditions in the mountains. Top temperatures from 1 to 10, up to 13 where there´s föhn.

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