News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Journalists attacked ahead of Afghan vote

Two female journalists have been shot in eastern Afghanistan the day before presidential elections. German born war photographer Anja Niedringhaus, died in the attack. Her colleague from the Associated Press, Kathy Gannon, was wounded. A man dressed in police uniform is reported to have opened fire on the women. A huge security operation has been launched across Afghanistan ahead of the presidential vote, with over 300,000 police and troops deployed to guard polling centres against threatened attacks by Taliban militants. Spokesman for the interior ministry Sidiq Siddiqi: “Turnout for us matters. That’s why we want to show the strength of the Afghan security forces, in the streets, everywhere, so that that can give an assurance for the population to come out tomorrow and vote.” The new president will succeed Hamid Karzai, who has been in power since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

Malaysia search in new phase

The search for the missing Malaysian airliner has entered a new phase, with two ships hunting underwater in the southern Indian Ocean for signals from the black box flight recorder. The black box beacon is thought to be close to ceasing transmission.

EU considers Ukraine crisis

European Union foreign ministers are meeting in Athens with talks expected to focus on the crisis in Ukraine. Meanwhile Russia has urged Ukraine to carry out constitutional reform to give more power to its regions which have many Russian speakers. Ukraine has said it intends to leave the Russian-backed Commonwealth of Independent states, which is currently gathering in Moscow, because of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

US Senate votes to release CIA report

The United States Senate intelligence committee has voted to declassify parts of a report into the CIA’s use of torture on detainees suspected of being involved in terrorism. Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein has said the report exposed shocking brutality.

White House admits Cuba project

The White House has confirmed that a US government aid agency was behind a social network similar to Twitter that was set up in Cuba, allegedly to foment unrest. The network allowed users to by-pass Cuba’s internet restrictions. The White House has denied the project was either secret or illegal.

Ebola fears in West Africa

Medical experts in West Africa are trying to determine whether the deadly Ebola virus has spread to Mali. Nearly ninety people have died in an Ebola outbreak in neighbouring Guinea and six in Liberia. There are also suspected cases in Sierra Leone and Gambia.

Schumacher showing consciousness

The agent of Formula one champion Michael Schumacher has said he is showing "moments of consciousness" after months in a coma. Schumacher suffered a severe head injury in a skiing accident in France in December last year.

The weather

Cloudy with sunny spells especially in the south. Top temperatures 13 to 23 degrees.

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