11.12.2014

News in English

Hong Kong police clear protest site / Palestinian minister's funeral held / 3 soldiers killed in eastern Ukraine / Suicide bomb targets Afghan army bus / Putin visits India / Plastics in the oceans study / The weather

11.12.2014

Hong Kong police clear protest site

After more than 2 months of pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong, the authorities have begun clearing barricades at the main protest camp. Officials had warned protestors to leave the area ahead of the operation and are arresting those who stay. The politician Emily Lau is among the protestors: “this is part of the struggle for democracy. The occupation has taken more than 70 days and now the police are coming to clear “Umbrella Square”. So we of course have to come and show ourselves.”

Palestinian minister's funeral held

The funeral has been taking place of a Palestinian government minister who died yesterday after a confrontation with Israeli troops. Ziad Abu Ein had been taking part in a protest in the West Bank. According to Palestinian sources, he died after being hit by a soldier and inhaling tear gas. Israeli sources say he had a heart condition and suffered a heart attack brought on by stress.

3 soldiers killed in eastern Ukraine

Ukrainian military officials say 3 soldiers have been killed and 8 wounded in attacks which they said were carried out by pro-Russian separatists. The spokesman said the army had registered 22 shelling attacks by rebels in the past 24 hours.

Suicide bomb targets Afghan army bus

In Afghanistan, a suicide bomber has attacked a bus carrying Afghan army personnel, killing 6 soldiers. 11 people were wounded in the blast which happened on the outskirts of the capital Kabul. The Taliban has claimed responsibility.

Putin visits India

The Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting India where he's holding talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Putin says he's is aiming to export more Russian oil and gas to Asia.

Plastics in the oceans study

A new study has estimated that nearly 270,000 tons of plastic is floating in the world's oceans. The findings, which were published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE, is the latest research into the impact of plastic on fish, seabirds and the marine ecosystem. Markus Eriksen is one of the study's authors: "plastics in the oceans act like little sponges. They suck up all kinds of other toxins already there in the oceans like excess pesticides, industrial chemicals like PCBs, oil drops from cars... All these things are in our oceans, they don't mix with water but they stick to plastic."

The weather

It'll be mainly cloudy with a few rain or snow showers. The south will get most of the sunshine. There'll be a lively wind and highs are ranging between zero and 8 degrees.

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