News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

US offers mediation in Gaza conflict

The US President Barack Obama says Washington is prepared to help in brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Around 100 people are now reported to have been killed so far in Gaza in Israeli air attacks which continued overnight in response to Palestinian rocket fire across the border. The rocket fire struck a petrol station in southern Israel, injuring 3 people. Rockets have also been fired into Israel from Lebanon for the first time in the current conflict.

John Kerry in Afghanistan

The US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Afghanistan for talks aimed at resolving the disputed presidential election result. He's meeting with Ashraf Ghani, who was declared the winner by the electoral authorities, as well as with his challenger Abdullah Abdullah who's rejected the official result. Ghani said he supports an extensive audit of the controversial poll: "our commitment is to ensure that the election process enjoys the integrity and the legitimacy that the people of Afghanistan and the world will believe in".

Amnesty documents abuses in Ukraine

Amnesty International says it's gathered strong evidence of abductions and torture in eastern Ukraine. The group says the abuses are being carried out mainly by pro-Russian separatist groups, but that supporters of the government in Kiev were also responsible for some of the crimes being committed. Amnesty spokesman Denis Krivosheev: "there is now a growing number of cases where people are taken at gunpoint, put in a cellar or somewhere else, held blind-folded and then repeatedly questioned with beatings and other means of torture."

Vienna to host Iran talks

Vienna will be hosting another round of talks on Iran's controversial nuclear programme this week-end. Diplomats from the US, France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China are trying to reach a long-term deal aimed at resolving the dispute with a deadline of July 20th.

Germany-US spy row

The German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has defended the government's decision to tell the representative of the US intelligence services in Berlin to leave. He told reporters that it was the right reaction following fresh allegations of American spying on Berlin. Steinmeier said Germany was keen to revive its transatlantic partnership but that it should be on the basis of mutual trust.

New Syria envoy named

The UN has named the Italian-Swedish diplomat Staffan de Mistura as the new envoy for Syria. He's to replace Lakhdar Brahimi who resigned at the end of May after nearly two years of efforts to end the conflict.

The weather

It’ll be mostly cloudy with showers, some of them thundery. There is the chance of sunny periods, mainly in the south. It'll be windy and highs ranging between 15 and 24 degrees.

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