News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Separatists in eastern Ukraine defy Geneva deal

Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine have refused to vacate government buildings in the city of Donetsk, despite an international deal reached yesterday in Geneva, which calls for control of the buildings to be handed back to the authorities. A spokesman for the separatists told reporters that they would not move until the interim government in Kiev stepped down. US president Barak Obama has welcomed the Geneva agreement but says he remains sceptical of Russia's intentions. “I don’t think we can be sure of anything at this point. My hope is, that we actually do see follow through over the next several days but I don’t think, given past performance, that we can count on that.”

Search for S-Korean ferry passengers continues

Divers in South Korea say they're having difficulty gaining access to parts of a ferry, which sank off the south coast on Wednesday. 268 people remain missing, most of them high school students. The vice principal of the school has reportedly been found hanged on the island of Jindo, where families of the missing are staying.

Novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez dies

One of the greatest contemporary writers in Spanish, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, has died in Mexico at the age of 87. The Colombian born novelist is best known for his work One Hundred Years of Solitude, which is widely considered a masterpiece of magic realism. Marquez received many awards over his lifetime, including the 1982 Nobel Prize for Literature. Colombia's president Juan Manuel Santos has led tributes to the author. “As the government and in homage to the memory of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, I’ve declared a state of national mourning for 3 days, and I’ve ordered all public institutions to fly the national flag at half- mast.”

Everest avalanche claims at least 12 lives

Officials in Nepal say an avalanche on Mount Everest has claimed the lives of at least 12 local guides. The avalanche occurred just above base camp, in an area known as the popcorn field. It's the deadliest accident at Everest, since the peak was first reached in 1953.

UN unfreezes Iranian funds

The United States says it will release 450 million dollars worth of frozen Iranian funds. The move follows a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirming that Iran is complying with an interim deal over its nuclear program.

Astronomers find most Earth like planet yet

Astronomers using the orbiting Kepler telescope say they've discovered the most Earth like planet ever detected. The planet, which is around 500 light years away, sits in the so called temperate zone, the right distance from a star to sustain life. Derek Pitts from the American Science Museum says the find is very significant. “Because we found a planet orbiting that star, that’s like ours, in a habitable zone, it greatly steps up the possibility of us finding Earth like planets much closer to us.”

The weather

Sunny conditions are set to continue in the east and south, with increasing cloud and the chance of rain elsewhere. Top temperatures will range from 10 to 20 degrees.

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