News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Russia Parliament will welcome Crimea

Russia's parliament says that it will support the right of Crimea to join the Russian Federation if the people of the region vote in favour of such a move. The statement comes after the Crimean parliament announced that a referendum on the issue will be held on March 16th. In the United States, President Obama told reporters that the vote won’t be legitimate: “The proposed referendum would violate the Ukrainian Constitution and violate international law. Any discussion about the future of Ukraine must include the legitimate government of Ukraine.” Speaking over the phone, President Obama last night urged his Russia counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to seek a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Ukraine. Earlier European Union leaders agreed to suspend visa talks with Russia and stop preparations for the upcoming G8 summit in Sochi. The European Council President Herman Van Rompuy says the EU is united: “As (the) European Union we have a special responsibility for peace, stability and prosperity on our continent. And we are ready to take that responsibility. Acts of aggression cannot be without consequences.” The Ukrainian Paralympic team has confirmed today that it won’t boycott the Winter Paralympics in Sochi, which begin tonight. But it says it will pull out of the Games if Russian troops invade Ukraine.

Turkey’s Erdogan mulls Facebook ban

The Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, says he’s considering a ban on social media networks such as Facebook and YouTube because he believes they are a threat to his government. Allegations of corruption against Erdogan have been repeated on the sites. They include the release last week of a recording of a phone conversation allegedly between Erdogan and his son discussing how to hide huge sums of money.

ICC convicts Congo militia leader

The Congolese militia leader Germain Katanga has been found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Prosecutors said Katanga was an accessory in the massacre in 2003 of more than 200 villagers in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. However he was cleared of sexual charges and the use of child soldiers.

Malaysia reinstates conviction of opposition

A court in Malaysia has upheld a government appeal and overturned the acquittal of the country’s opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, on sodomy charges. It sentenced him to five years in prison. Anwar has always maintained the charges were part of a political smear campaign. He led the opposition to its strongest ever performance in last May’s elections.

Kosovo to create a national army

Kosovo is to create its first national army. The move comes six years after the former province declared its independence from Serbia, and almost 15 years after NATO waged a brief war against Yugoslavia to stop violence between Serbs and ethnic Albanians. The new army will consist of 5,000 men and 3,000 reservists.

The Weather

Very sunny from Vorarlberg into Carinthia. Elsewhere will see increasing cloud. Top temperatures will range from 6C to 14C.

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