News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Ukraine crisis talks in London

The US Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov for emergency talks in London, in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to defuse tensions over Ukraine ahead of Sunday´s referendum on the future of Crimea. Kerry has warned of "very serious steps" if Russia annexes the region. Meanwhile, Russian navy officials say training exercises have begun in the Mediterranean Sea, involving fighter jets, helicopters and an aircraft carrier. Russia is also shipping more troops and armour into Crimea and has repeated its threat to invade other parts of Ukraine. Addressing the UN Security Council on Thursday, Ukraine's interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused Russia of carrying out military aggression in Crimea: “This is absolutely and entirely unacceptable in the 21st Century to resolve any kind of conflict with tanks, artillery and boots on the ground.”

Mystery deepens over missing airliner

The search for the missing Malaysian airliner has been widened yet again, amid new signs that the plane may have flown on for hours to the Andaman Islands after its last contact with air-traffic control nearly a week ago. According to US officials, the aircraft sent signals to a satellite for four hours after it vanished with 239 people on board, increasing speculation that whatever happened to the plane was a deliberate act. Unusual seismic activity in the South China Sea is also being investigated.

“Bad bank” solution for the Hypo

Austria´s Hypo Alpe Adria Bank is to be wound down through a national bad bank. The announcement was made by the vice chancellor and finance minister Michael Spindelegger, who said it would have been too risky to allow the Hypo to become insolvent. The troubled state-owned bank has run up billions of euros in losses and bad debt.

Ernst Strasser to appeal corruption conviction

The former Austrian interior minister and People´s Party MEP Ernst Strasser is to appeal against his conviction on corruption charges. He was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison on Thursday, after being found guilty of offering to influence legislation in the European Parliament in exchange for 100,000 euros.

Uli Hoeness is heading for prison

The president of European football champions Bayern Munich Uli Hoeness says he has decided not to appeal against his conviction for tax evasion and is stepping down immediately. One of the most prominent figures in German football, he was convicted on Thursday of evading 27 million euros in tax and sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison.

The weather

Sunny and warm, with top temperatures from 14 to 21.

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