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8. April 2017, 21:58

Europe seals closer ties with Ukraine

The European Union has signed a long-awaited political association agreement with Ukraine, part of a pact rejected by Kiev in November in favour of closer ties with Russia. Meeting at a summit in Brussels, EU leaders earlier extended sanctions to 33 people for their part in Russia´s annexation of the Crimean peninsula. The upper house of the Russian parliament today formally approved Crimea's entry into the Russian Federation and President Vladimir Putin has now signed it into law.

EU bank secrecy laws relaxed

EU leaders have also agreed new steps to fight tax evasion, after Luxembourg followed Austria in dropping its reservations about making its secretive banking laws more transparent. The legislation will allow the automatic exchange of data on bank deposits held by foreign investors.

Twitter site “blocked” in Turkey

Turkey has restricted access to Twitter, hours after the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to shut down the social media platform which published users claims of corruption against him. Writing on Twitter, the Turkish President Abdullah Gul said it was unacceptable to impose complete bans on social media platforms. The German government has also criticised the move, saying it did not fit with Germany's view of freedom of expression.

No sign of wreckage from missing plane

An international search of the southern Indian Ocean continues for a second day, as authorities try to locate the Malaysian airliner which disappeared nearly two weeks ago with 239 people on board. Satellite images released on Thursday showed objects possibly related to the plane in waters off Australia. The Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott says everything is being done to find the plane: "It is an extremely remote part of the southern Indian Ocean. It´s about 3,000 km south west of Perth. It´s about the most inaccessible spot you could imagine on the face of the earth. But if there is anything down there we will find it."

Afghan hotel attack leaves nine dead

Afghan officials say 9 people, including two children and four foreign nationals, were killed in an attack by gunmen on Thursday night at a luxury hotel in Kabul. Four youths armed with pistols posed as diners before opening fire. The Taliban say they carried out the attack.

Thai general election ruled invalid

Thailand's Constitutional Court has ruled that last month´s General election was invalid because it did not take place on the same day across the country. The snap poll was called by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra amid major anti-government protests in Bangkok.

More asylum seekers find refuge in Europe

The United Nations refugee agency says nearly 485,000 asylum seekers turned to Europe last year, an increase of 32 per cent compared to 2012. The civil war in Syria generated the highest number.

The weather

Sunny and warm with highs from 14 to 24.

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