News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

China calls for APEC trade pact

The Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on Asia-Pacific leaders to strengthen trade ties and work for closer economic integration among the region's nations. Making the announcement on the second day of the APEC summit in Beijing, he said the measures were needed to accelerate global growth.

South Korea ferry captain jailed

The captain of the South Korean ferry which sank in April killing more than 300 people has been found guilty of gross negligence and sentenced to 36 years in prison. Most of the victims were school students. Prosecutors had called for Captain Lee Joon-seok to be tried for homicide and given the death penalty, but the judges said his negligence did not amount to an intent to kill. Journalist Jason Strother, who's based in Seoul, says some of the relatives of those who died will not be satisfied with the sentence: "I've spoken with some of these relatives prior to the announcement of the verdict. They would have liked to have seen Captain Lee Joon-seok executed, as the prosecution had wanted. However the court says there was just not enough evidence to show that Lee and his crew intended for the 300 passengers to die that day."

Israel tightens security after stabbings

Israel says it's tightening security after the deaths of two Israelis who were killed in two separate knife attacks in Tel Aviv and the occupied West Bank. Police say the suspects in both cases were Palestinians. The stabbings come at a time of heightened tensions in the region.

UN Syria envoy calls for local truces

The UN mediator in the Syrian conflict, Staffan de Mistura, says he believes there is a fresh opportunity to resolve the country's crisis. De Mistura has been holding talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a 3-day trip to the country. Assad has said that a proposal by de Mistura to implement local ceasefires, starting in the northern city of Aleppo, was "worth studying". The aim of the plan is to stop fighting and improve access to aid. In an interview with the BBC, de Mistura said a way must be found to stop the violence: "saying having a peace plan would be ambitious and delusionary. But I do have - we do have - an action plan, and the action plan starts from the ground: stop the fighting, reduce the violence."

58 killed in road crash in Pakistan

Police in Pakistan say 58 people have been killed and several injured in a collision between a passenger bus and a truck. The crash - which happened in the province of Sindh - caused a fuel tank to explode and set the bus on fire. Officials say they believe speeding and thick fog was the most likely cause of the disaster.

The Weather

Occasional sunshine in much of Austria. But rainy in the southwest and some fog still about in places in the Danube region and the Waldviertel. Highs this afternoon are ranging between 10 and 22 degrees.

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