News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Turkish action against IS "unrealistic"

The Turkish government says the country cannot be expected to lead a ground operation against Islamic State militants in Syria on its own. Ankara has been under pressure to help Kurdish forces fighting the IS in the town of Kobani on the Syria-Turkey border. The US-led coalition is continuing to attack IS positions with airstrikes but Washington has warned that those alone will not prevent the extremist group from seizing the town. The Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, says unilateral action by Turkey in the form of a cross-border operation was not realistic: "we cannot expect Turkey to do a land operation - this is not a realistic approach." Cavusoglu, who was speaking at a joint press conference with the head of NATO Jens Stoltenberg, also called for the creation of a no-fly zone over its border with Syria. Stoltenberg said that issue had not been discussed by NATO: "I have of course heard that there've been calls for a no-fly zone and a safe zone. I believe there are no simple and straightforward ways out of the problems that we are seeing in Syria these days. It has not been on the table of any NATO discussions yet."

40 killed in bomb blast in Yemen

At least 40 people have been killed in a suicide attack in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. Many were wounded in the blast which happened when the attacker approached a checkpoint in the centre of the city. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far but Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has carried out previous bombings in the country.

UN and IMF discuss Ebola outbreak

The leaders of the three West African nations which have been most affected by the Ebola virus - Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone - are meeting with senior officials from the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. They're discussing ways of tackling the outbreak which has killed 3,900 people.

Palestinian unity cabinet meets

Members of the new Palestinian unity government are holding their first cabinet meeting in Gaza. Ministers are travelling from the cabinet's usual seat in Ramallah to the Gaza Strip. The meeting takes place ahead of an international donor conference which is aimed at raising money for reconstruction in Gaza following the conflict between Israel and Hamas earlier this year.

Search resumes after boat sinks near Bali

Search and rescue teams in Indonesia have resumed efforts to find 24 passengers who went missing after their vessel sank near the island of Bali. 17 people are known to have died in the disaster which happened when the boat's engine was damaged.

The weather

It’ll be mainly sunny but with some persistent fog about in places in Upper and Lower Austria and some cloud in the southwest. Highs are mostly between 18 and 27 degrees, where it's foggy around 14.

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