News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Reinforcements boost Kobani defence

A group of 150 Iraqi Peshmerga fighters have arrived in south eastern Turkey ahead of their planned deployment to the northern Syrian town of Kobani in a bid to help Kurdish forces fight Islamic State militants. They're expected to bring heavy weaponry with them. It's also being reported that a small group of armed fighters from the Free Syrian Army have arrived in the town to help defend it. Kobani has been besieged by IS for over a month.

300 missing in Sri Lanka mudslide

Officials in Sri Lanka say a mudslide triggered by monsoon rains has killed at least 10 people and left up to 300 people missing. The disaster happened in the district of Badulla. Security forces have been mobilised to help in search and rescue operations.

UK charities launch Ebola appeal

An umbrella grouping of aid charities in Britain the Disasters Emergency Committee is to make an unprecedented appeal for donations from the public to fight Ebola in West Africa. Almost 5,000 people have died of the virus and more than 10,000 people have been infected. It's the first time the DEC has sought funds over a disease outbreak. The group's Chief Executive is Saleh Saeed: "this is the first time we're launching an appeal of this kind. In this situation we're seeing that the impact of the Ebola crisis on the communities in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia is of such a scale that it's also caused a humanitarian crisis and that's why the DEC decided to launch an appeal."

Protests in Budapest over internet tax plan

Tens of thousands of protesters marched through the Hungarian capital Budapest last night to demonstrate against government plans to tax internet providers. It's been described as the biggest anti-government protest in years. The administration of Viktor Orban has drafted a law which would levy a fee on each gigabyte of data transferred.

Rocket explodes during launch

An unmanned supply rocket bound for the International Space Station has exploded during its launch from the US state of Virginia. No one was injured in the incident. Investigations are underway. Frank Culbertson is a spokesman for the Orbital Sciences Corporation which built the rocket and was responsible for the launch: "We're very happy to report that there were no injuries and the safeguards both inflight and on the ground worked as they should have and all we lost was hardware. However something went wrong and we will find out what that is. We will determine the root cause and we will correct that."

Zambia’s President Sata dies

The President of Zambia Michael Sata has died at the age of 77 after receiving treatment in the UK for an undisclosed illness. The constitution says a new presidential election must be held within 90 days.

The weather

A mix of occasional sunshine, cloud and fog. Windy in the East. Highs mostly between 5 and 13 degrees, in the West up to 16.

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