News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

US to publish CIA report

The US government says it's stepping up security at US facilities around the world ahead of the release of a Senate report which is expected to reveal details of controversial CIA interrogations in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. It's thought to include details of the CIA programme during the presidency of George W Bush, including the methods used to extract information from suspects. White House press secretary Josh Earnest says there has been a debate over what should be made public: “there have been concerns that have been expressed by members of the intelligence community and others about the risk that the release of the report may pose to US facilities and personnel around the globe. That is why the administration for months now has been preparing for the day that the report is eventually released.”

Lull in Ukraine fighting

A so-called "Day of Silence" which has been called for by Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko is being held in the east of the country in an attempt to boost a cease-fire deal signed in September. Both government troops and pro-Russia separatists are reported to have stopped fighting. Fresh peace talks are expected to take place in Belarus in the coming days. The UN says around 1,000 people have died in cease-fire violations over the last three months.

Ruling on Hong Kong protest sites

The High Court in Hong Kong has ordered the main pro-democracy protest sites to be cleared. Student groups have been demonstrating for electoral reform in protests which have been described as "illegal" by Hong Kong's Chief Executive C.Y. Leung.

Geneva meeting on Syrian refugees

An international conference is taking place in Geneva to discuss the resettlement of Syrian refugees. The UN's refugee agency and other aid agencies are urging richer countries to take in at least 5% of all Syrian refugees by the end of next year. Over 3 million people have fled Syria since the conflict began in 2011, putting neighbouring countries under enormous strain.

OECD warns inequality hurts growth

The gap between the rich and poor in most of the world's developed countries is reported to have reached its highest level in 30 years. A new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has concluded that income inequality has a "significant impact" on economic growth. Mark Pearson is an economist with the OECD: “We show that what matters for growth in rich countries is if the bottom 40% falls behind everybody else. Because what happens then is that they invest less in education, they get less out of the educational system. This means that they’re less productive and so growth falls.”

The weather

Occasional sunshine in much of Austria. But there’are still a few snow or rain showers in the West and a lively wind in the east. Depending on where the sun's out highs are ranging between minus 2 and plus 7 degrees.

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