News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

IS continues offensive against Kobani

Islamic State militants are reported to have advanced into the south west of the Syrian-Kurdish town of Kobani. More than 160,000 people have fled the Kobani region in the wake of the offensive by the extremist group, also known as ISIS. If the town falls to the militants, it would give them control of a large stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border. Karwan Zebari, a representative of the Kurdish regional government in the US, says it would be catastrophic if ISIS seized control of Kobani: "if this continues, if there's no international aid - military aid - arriving for the residents of Kobani and these Kurdish fighters that are fighting against ISIS in Kobani, it could fall into the hands of ISIS and that could be catastrophic and it could be dangerous for Syria, and for Turkey and this would embolden the ISIS fighters." Aircraft from the US-led coalition have carried out further airstrikes against positions held by Islamic State militants near Kobani.

Spain investigates Ebola infection

Investigations are under way at a hospital in Madrid after a Spanish nurse became the first person known to have contracted the Ebola virus outside West Africa. She had been part of a medical team that treated a 69-year old priest who died of the disease late last month after being flown back from the region. The head of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Marc Sprenger said it was vital for health officials to check everyone who'd been in contact with the nurse: "it's extremely important that we do contact trace. And we need to follow up all contacts in Europe and I'm sure that the Spanish authorities are doing this and this is very serious business."

Talks agreed in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, representatives of pro-democracy protesters have agreed to hold formal talks with the government. No date has been set. The protests, which have been demanding electoral reform, have died down over the last few days.

Nobel Prize for Physics awarded

The Nobel prize for physics has just been awarded to a trio of scientists for the invention of energy-efficient light sources. It was developed by Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano from Japan and Shuji Nakamura from the US.

Author Siegfried Lenz dies

The German writer Siegfried Lenz has died at the age of 88. He was regarded as one of the most significant authors of postwar German literature.

The weather

Mainly sunny with a föhn wind on the northern side of the Alps. Persistent fog in parts of the east and southeast and a strong wind at times. Highs are ranging between 12 and 24 degrees.

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