News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Essebsi wins Tunisia presidential election

In Tunisia, the veteran politician, Beji Caid Essebsi, says he has won the country’s first free presidential election with more than 55% of the vote. The election marks the last stage of Tunisia's move to democracy, after the overthrow in 20-11 of President Zine el-Abedine Ben Ali. Last October, Tunisians elected a new parliament and North Africa expert, Scott Mastic, says that with today’s result Tunisia’s politicians now have a mandate to push through reforms to revive the country’s failing economy: “Whether they will is a big unknown. They’d better though ‘cause if they don’t I fear we could have the same type of social upheaval that we’ve seen in the past.”

Spanish princess to face trial

The Spanish royal family is facing more scandal today after the announcement that Princess Cristina, the sister of King Felipe, will face trial on charges of tax fraud. The case concerns her alleged links to the business dealings of her husband, Iñaki Urdan-garin, who’s accused of embezzling millions of euros in public funds with a former business partner. It’s the first time that modern Spain has placed a royal in the dock to face trial.

Driver attacks French pedestrians

Police in France have arrested a man who allegedly drove a car into pedestrians in the city of Dijon – shouting the Islamic phrase “God is great!” in Arabic. Eleven people were injured as the assailant repeatedly rammed crowds on a number of streets over a half-hour period. On Saturday, French police shot dead a man near the city of Tours after he attacked three officers there with a knife, also shouting "God is great".

US considers placing North Korea on terror list

The United States says it’s considering putting North Korea back on its list of terrorism sponsors after the hacking of Sony Pictures. North Korea denies that it carried out the cyber-attack over the movie, The Interview, which depicts the fictional killing of its leader Kim Jong-Un. President Obama says US officials will examine all the evidence to determine whether or not North Korea should be put back on the black list: “We’ve got very clear criteria as to what it means for a state to sponsor terrorism. And we don’t make those judgments just based on the news of the day. We look systematically at what’s been done – and based on those facts we’ll make those determinations in the future.”

New York police on alert

Police in New York have been ordered to take extra precautions after two officers were shot dead in a targeted attack there on Saturday. The gunman, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, shot the officers as they sat in their patrol car in Brooklyn before running into a nearby subway station and reportedly killing himself.

Tributes for Udo Jürgens

The President of Austria, Heinz Fischer, has paid tribute to the singer and musician Udo Jürgens, who died of a heart attack yesterday at the age of 80. Fischer called Jürgens a great Austrian who made music history.

The Weather

A mix of cloud with some sun… mainly in the Alps. Very windy in the north and east. Highs are ranging from 2C to 14C - with those warmest temperatures in the east.

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