News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Ukraine calls for Crimean pullout

Ukraine is pulling its troops out of Crimea after the region was annexed last week by the Russian Federation. The order came from acting president Oleksandr Turchnynov. Earlier, Russian forces stormed one of the remaining pro-Kiev bases in Crimea and detained 80 Ukrainian marines. The Crimean crisis is also expected to dominate a meeting of the G-7 nations, which will be held on the sidelines of an international nuclear summit which begins today in the Hague.

Egypt sentences 529 people to death

A court in Egypt has sentenced 529 people to death for crimes linked to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood of former president Mohammed Morsi. It is the biggest mass death sentence handed down in the history of modern Egypt. Hundreds of Brotherhood members have been killed by security forces and thousands of others arrested since Morsi was overthrown by the military last summer and replaced with an interim government.

Debris spotted in Indian Ocean search

Australian and Chinese search planes have spotted debris floating in the southern Indian Ocean, which may be linked to Flight MH-370, the Malaysian airliner which disappeared over two weeks ago with 239 people on board. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott: “The crew on board the Orion reported seeing two objects. The first is a grey or green circular object, the second, an orange rectangular object. These are separate to the objects reported earlier today by a Chinese search aircraft.”

Spain pays tribute to former PM

In Spain, the body of Adolfo Suarez is lying in state at the parliament in Madrid. Three days of official mourning have been declared for Suarez who died yesterday at the age of 81. He was Spain’s first democratically-elected prime minister following the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. Among those paying tribute to Adolfo Suarez has been King Juan Carlos: “For me, he was a loyal friend, who always behaved with loyalty to monarchy, the defence of democracy, the rule of law and the unity and diversity of Spain.”

Eight die in US landslide

In the Pacific Northwest of the United States, eight people are dead after a massive mudslide, which was triggered by heavy rains. 18 other people remain missing at the site 90 kilometers north of Seattle. Jay Inslee is the governor of Washington State: “The devastation is just unrelenting and awesome. And it is a powerful reminder that we live among the powerful forces of nature.”

20 die in Yemen

In Yemen, 14 government troops have been killed during an attack by militants in the southeastern part of the country. The soldiers were killed early this morning as they slept in their barracks close to an army checkpoint.

The Weather

The afternoon will be mostly cloudy with scattered rain and snowfall, especially in Tyrol and Upper Austria. Partly sunny conditions in the south. Highs today are ranging from 1 to 12 degrees.

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