News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Iran denies targeting IS in Iraq

The US Pentagon says that Iran has been conducting air strikes against Islamic State targets in eastern Iraq, but Tehran has denied carrying out air raids in Diyala province. Representatives of the American-led international coalition against the IS are meeting today at NATO headquarters in Brussels for their first high-level talks. Austria is being represented by the Foreign Minister, Sebastian Kurz. The talks are being chaired by the US Secretary of State John Kerry: "One outcome of this meeting will be a statement that encompasses our message - that we are united and moving ahead on all fronts and that we will engage in this campaign for as long as it takes to prevail."

Israel to hold early elections

Israel is to hold parliamentary elections on March 17, two years ahead of schedule. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sacked his finance and justice ministers on Tuesday and announced he´d be dissolving parliament over differences in his coalition government.

Occupy leaders surrender to HK police

The leaders of Hong Kong's Occupy Central movement have surrendered to police over pro-democracy protests that the government has deemed illegal, but they won´t be facing any charges. They turned themselves in a day after calling on students to retreat from protest sites amid fears of further violence.

French MPs recognise Palestine as a state

French lawmakers have voted by 339 to 151 in favour of a symbolic motion to recognise Palestine as a state. Tuesday´s vote in the National Assembly is likely to raise domestic political pressure on the French government to be more active on the issue. The motion follows similar votes in Spain, Sweden, Britain and Ireland.

More strike action by Lufthansa pilots

A union representing pilots at the German airline Lufthansa has announced more strike action on Thursday in the ongoing dispute over retirement benefits. The Vereinigung Cockpit union says the strike will affect long-haul and cargo flights. A walk-out on Monday and Tuesday affected some 150,000 passengers.

Transparency issues annual corruption report

Transparency International has issued its annual report measuring perceptions of corruption in 175 countries world-wide. Austria has moved up slightly in the rankings from No. 26 in 20-13 to No. 23 this year. Denmark once more topped the rankings. New Zealand, Finland, Sweden and Norway were once again in the top five.

The weather

An emergency alert has been issued for parts of Lower Austria because of freezing rain and wintry conditions. Elsewhere overcast with some drizzle and light snowfall in higher-lying valleys in the south. But some sunshine in the mountains in the west. Top temperatures from 0 to 6.

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