News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Ukraine seeks NATO membership

Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk says his government will ask parliament to abandon its non-aligned status and apply to become a NATO member. The development comes as NATO officials hold an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis in eastern Ukraine. The military alliance has released satellite images that it says shows Russian forces inside Ukraine. The reports of Russian troops fighting alongside pro-Russia separatists has prompted renewed international criticism of Moscow's role in the conflict. Speaking at a news conference in Washington, the US President Barack Obama blamed Russia for the escalation in tensions but stopped short of saying its troops had invaded Ukraine: "the violence is encouraged by Russia, the separatists are trained by Russia, they are armed by Russia, they are funded by Russia. Russia has deliberately and repeatedly violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine." At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, the Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin admitted that there were what he called "Russian volunteers" in eastern Ukraine, but said the Ukrainian government was responsible for the crisis in the region: "the current escalation in the south eastern Ukraine is a direct consequence of the reckless policy of Kiev which is conducting a war against its own people."

3 million Syrians are refugees

The UN's refugee agency says more than 3 million Syrians are now registered as refugees and that the crisis is getting worse. The UNHCR says the situation represents the "biggest humanitarian emergency of our era" with almost half of all Syrians forced to flee their homes because of the conflict. The majority of refugees have fled to countries neighbouring Syria, with well over a million now seeking shelter in Lebanon.

UN peacekeepers held in Golan Heights

The United Nations says an armed group has detained 43 UN peacekeepers on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights. It says the peacekeepers are all from Fiji but didn't specify which armed group is holding them.

Volcanic eruption in Iceland

The authorities in Iceland have raised the aviation warning level to red after a small volcanic eruption overnight near the Bardarbunga volcano. Earlier today, the Icelandic Air Traffic Control closed the airspace above the eruption. But so far no volcanic ash has been detected. In 2010, an ash cloud from another Icelandic volcano closed much of Europe's air space for nearly a week.

The Weather

It’ll be mainly sunny in the east and south. But cloud increasing in the region from Vorarlberg to the Waldviertel, bringing some showers and isolated thunderstorms. Highs this afternoon are ranging between 20 and 27 degrees..

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