News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Putin takes aim at the west

The Russian president Vladimir Putin has used his annual state of the nation address to attack the west. He hailed the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, praised the Russian people for their strength, accused the West of "pure cynicism" in Ukraine and said economic sanctions must drive Russians to develop their own economy.

Deadly rebel attacks hit Grozny

Nine gunmen and 10 policemen have reportedly been killed in fierce gun battles in the Chechen capital, Grozny. The attacks left a 10-story media building and a school in ruins. Observers believe it may have been an attempt to embarrass President Putin before his annual address. Muslim separatists in Chechnya have fought two wars with Russia since the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Protests after US chokehold death

The US Attorney General Eric Holder has launched a federal civil rights investigation into the death of an unarmed black man who was held in a stranglehold by a white police officer in New York, a practice banned by the New York Police Department. The inquiry was announced after a grand jury decided against charging the officer, sparking street protests in New York and Los Angeles. Prominent civil rights activist Al Sharpton has called for a march in Washington next week to protest against police violence, amid rising racial tensions in the US: "How many people have to die before people understand this is not an illusion. This is a reality that America has got to come to terms with."

IS establishes training camps in Libya

The United States says militants from the Islamic State group have set up training camps in eastern Libya. The head of the US Africa command, Gen David Rodriguez, says the camps are at a very early stage, but the US is watching them carefully.

Snap election called in Sweden

Sweden has called its first snap election for more than half a century, after the far-right Sweden Democrats helped defeat the minority left-leaning government's first budget in parliament on Wednesday. The election will be held in March.

China to end prisoner organ harvest

China has announced it will end the controversial practice of taking organs from executed prisoners for use in transplant operations by January 1 - that´s earlier than previously planned.

Test flight of US ´Mars ship`

The US space agency NASA is set to launch an unmanned spacecraft, designed to take humans to Mars, in its boldest test flight in decades. Orion will be launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on a short journey above the Earth to test key technologies.

The weather

A mix of cloud, fog and sunshine, with some rain or snow in the south. Top temperatures from 0 to 12.

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