News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

MH17 black boxes handed over

Pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine have handed over two flight-data recorders from the downed Malaysia Airlines plane to Malaysian experts. The passenger jet came down last Thursday, killing all 298 people on board. A train carrying 282 bodies has now arrived in the eastern city of Kharkiv, which is under Ukrainian government control. The bodies will then be flown to the Netherlands. The separatists have been accused of shooting down the plane with an anti-aircraft system supplied by Russia - an accusation they and Russian officials have denied. Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers are meeting to consider more sanctions against Moscow. British Prime Minister David Cameron: "this is a defining moment for Russia. And President Putin faces a clear choice in how he decides to respond to this appalling tragedy. But if he doesn't change his approach to Ukraine in this way, then Europe and the West must fundamentally change our approach to Russia."

Fresh effort to broker Gaza truce

There've been further efforts to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas after two weeks of conflict which has killed nearly 600 Palestinians and 29 Israelis. The US Secretary of State John Kerry and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon have been holding talks with Egyptian officials in Cairo. Farhan Haq, a spokesman for Ban Ki-moon, says diplomatic efforts will continue: "the idea is to get all of the levers of power to bear - wherever they may be, in the region or outside it - to make sure that both Israel and the Palestinians can agree to a ceasefire. And then after that we can finally get to dealing with the root causes so we don't have to keep coming back to the same problem every couple of years."

4 killed in Kabul attack

Officials in Afghanistan say a suicide bomber on a motorcycle has targeted a police compound in Kabul, killing 4 foreign security guards. The attacker set off the explosives near a building that houses foreign advisers to the Afghan government.

Indonesia vote controversy

In Indonesia, one of the presidential candidates, Prabowo Subianto, has rejected the election process, accusing it of being unfair. Nearly complete results indicate that his opponent, Joko Widodo, has won with 52% of the vote.

Norway marks 3rd anniversary of attacks

Events have been taking place in Norway to mark the third anniversary of the attacks carried out by the far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik. At a wreath-laying ceremony, Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg said the best way to honour the 77 people who died was "to fight for openness, tolerance and diversity".

The weather

Rainy with most of the rainfall in the region between the Bregenzerwald and the Waldviertel. Storms are also forecast. A lively wind and a bit of sun in the south. Highs ranging between 15 and 23 degrees, in the east and south up to 27.

Übersicht

• News In English