News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Obama presses Putin over Ukraine

Pro-Russian activists who have seized government buildings across eastern Ukraine are reportedly fortifying their positions and erecting fresh barricades, despite another announcement by the government in Kiev that it is acting to restore order in the region. In a telephone call on Monday, the US President Barack Obama urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to use his influence to make the separatists end their occupations in nine towns and cities. Mark Etherington is with the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine: "Clearly the situation in the east is of grave concern and we would very much hope that any opportunity for dialogue is seized and we would very much hope that restraint is the order of the day."

NSA stories take Pullitzer Prize

The Guardian and Washington Post have won the coveted Pulitzer Prize for public service journalism for their reporting on the massive US secret surveillance programme made public by Edward Snowden. Barton Gellman who led the Washington Post team paid tribute to the former National Security Agency contractor: "Edward Snowden took huge risks to enable a conversation that everyone from President Obama on down says we needed to have."

Berlusconi to do community service

A court in Milan has ruled that the former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi should serve a one-year sentence for tax fraud doing community service rather than remaining under house arrest. He´s to work in a centre for the elderly at least once a week. Travel restrictions have also been imposed.

Hague court upholds Mladic charges

The International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has refused to throw out any charges against the former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic at his war crimes trial in The Hague. Defence lawyers had asked for his acquittal on some of the 11 charges, which include genocide, saying the prosecution had failed to provide sufficient evidence.

Green light for Eurozone banking union

The European parliament has approved legislation for a banking union in the Eurozone, which would centralise the oversight of banks. It´s aimed at minimising the need for taxpayers to fund bailouts for failing institutions.

Chile pledge to rebuild Valparaiso

The president of Chile Michelle Bachelet has promised that her government will rebuild the areas destroyed by a deadly fire in the port city of Valparaiso. The blaze has killed at least 15 people, left thousands more homeless and forced mass evacuations.

The weather

Rain or snow in the northwest, a mix of sunshine and isolated showers in the south and far west. Top temperatures from 3 to 13.

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