News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

ISIS declares Islamic state in Iraq and Syria

The Islamist militant group ISIS has announced that it is establishing a caliphate in the territories it controls in Iraq and Syria. It says its Islamic state will extend from Aleppo in northern Syria to Diyala province in eastern Iraq. ISIS, which has now shortened its name to the Islamic State, also proclaimed the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as caliph and "leader for Muslims everywhere". Derek Harvey from the American Defense Intelligence Agency says it´s a cause for concern: "Isis, now the caliphate, has aspirations to threaten the United States and the West. We should not fool ourselves about that at all. I would say that this new caliphate and its leadership team make al-Qaida look like the rookies."

Ukraine ceasefire set to expire

A Russian television cameraman has been shot dead overnight in eastern Ukraine, the third Russian journalist killed this month. Russia says the killing undermines faith in Ukraine´s desire to resolve the conflict peacefully. The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France are to hold more talks to try to end the crisis. A ceasefire is set to expire later today.

EU funding for Bulgaria´s biggest banks

The European Commission has approved a request from Bulgaria to provide 1.7 billion euros in funding for some of the country's biggest banks, which Bulgarian authorities believe have been the victims of a plot to undermine the banking system. Five people were arrested over the weekend, as part of the investigation into attempts to destabilise the system with a concerted telephone and Internet campaign. Rumours of liquidity shortfalls have caused panic and runs on major Bulgarian banks over the past week, despite government assurances that depositors´ money is safe.

Italy finds 30 bodies in crowded migrant boat

It is being reported that 30 bodies have been found in an overcrowded migrant boat which was stopped between Sicily and the North African coast by the Italian navy and coastguard. It´s believed the victims had been packed into a compartment so small that they suffocated. The fishing boat was carrying nearly 600 people. Over 1,600 migrants were rescued by Italian authorities over the weekend, bringing the total so far this year to more than 60,000.

Facebook under fire for secret psychology test

Facebook is facing criticism after it emerged the social networking site had conducted a psychology experiment on nearly 700,000 users without their knowledge. The test saw Facebook "manipulate" news feeds to monitor the emotional expressions users were exposed to. The research was done in collaboration with two US universities.

The weather

Scattered showers along the north of the Alps, with the south seeing the most sunshine. Highs today from 13 to 21.

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