News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Crisis Meeting on Ukraine in Paris

Western foreign ministers are meeting today in Paris with Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss the crisis in Ukraine where Russian-speaking troops have seized control of the Crimea. US President Barack Obama has called on the Kremlin to ramp down the dispute:
“We’ve condemned their intervention in Crimea. We are calling for a de-escalation of the situation and international monitors that can go into the country right away.” Russia is refusing to recognize the new Ukrainian government in Kiev. The Kremlin says the military action in Crimea is aimed at protecting ethnic Russians. The European Council will meet tomorrow to discuss the possibility of imposing sanctions on Moscow. Gideon Rachman of the Financial Times says targeted sanctions are one of the options:
“People see Russia’s vulnerability as being linked to the rich Russians around Putin. If one started with things like visa bans, with freezing the assets of particular individuals, that would be a way of having a targeted approach which did not disrupt the entire economic relationship.”
Within the last half hour, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the EU is ready to provide an 11 billion euro aid package to Ukraine.

EU Releases Report on Sexual Violence

A survey of 42,000 women across the European Union indicates that one in ten women in the EU have been victims of sexual violence and that half of those report having been raped. The report was released this morning in Vienna by the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights to mark International Women’s Day. 10 percent of respondents also reported being a victim of sexual violence before the age of 15, and 22 percent said they had been in an abusive relationship.

China’s Government Outlines Reforms

China’s government has announced a series of policy reforms, including a 12 percent increase on military spending amid rising tensions with Japan. The government has also promised to fight corruption, cut official waste, and to combat smog which has engulfed Beijing and other major Chinese cities.

UN Report Blames Major Powers in Syrian War

United Nations human rights investigators in Geneva today said that all sides in the Syrian civil war are using shelling and siege tactics. The UN also says that the major powers on the UN Security Council bear responsibility for allowing such war crimes to continue. Russia and China have blocked previous efforts for the UN to take any action to intervene in the conflict.

Diplomatic Rift Among Gulf Arab States

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have called their ambassadors home from Qatar because Doha has not signed an agreement not to interfere in each others’ internal affairs. Qatar has also drawn suspicion from other Gulf Arab states for its support of Islamist groups in Egypt and Syria.

The Weather

Regions from Vorarlberg to Upper Austria will be mostly cloudy with scattered rain showers. The south will be sunny, while the east will be partly sunny. Highs today are ranging from 4 to 14 degrees.

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