News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Obama declares financial crisis over

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls today said that security forces will get an additional 2600 officers and improved equipment and weapons to better fight terrorism. Valls also said the government will spend 425 million euros over the next three years on counter-terrorism. Meanwhile, French prosecutors have arrested and filed preliminary terrorism charges against four men with ties with one of the gunmen who went on a spree in Paris earlier this month, which left 17 innocent people dead. They are accused of providing logistical support to Amedy Coulibaly, who shot dead a police woman and then killed four hostages at a kosher market before he was gunned down by police.

Several wounded in Tel Aviv bus attack

In Israel, several people were stabbed early today on a bus in Tel Aviv. Four of those were seriously wounded. Israeli journalist Ben Hartman says the attacker was later shot and captured by the authorities: ”A man who was on the bus, who has been described as a 23-year old Palestinian from Tulkaram in the West Bank, began stabbing the bus driver and then stabbed a number of other people on the bus. He got out, people started fleeing the bus. Prison guards on their way to the courthouse chased after him. They shot him and lightly wounded him, held him and he has been taken in to custody.”

Iran vows to avenge general’s death

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says Israel will face consequences for killing one of its generals in an airstrike in Syria, which also killed six Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon. Iran and Hezbollah, who are allied with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces, have blamed Israel for Sunday’s airstrike in the Golan Heights. Israel has not commented on any air raids it may or may not have carried out in Syria.

Japan seeks freedom for two Japanese hostages

Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, says his government is doing all it can to free two Japanese hostages who the so-called Islamic State are threatening to kill. The militants are demanding a two-hundred-million dollar ransom for the journalist and security advisor who were kidnapped last year in Syria.

Russia calls for truce in Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow will seek an immediate ceasefire in eastern Ukraine at talks in Berlin. Lavrov’s comment comes after an upsurge in fighting. Kiev claims that, in one battle, Ukrainian troops were attacked by Russian regular forces. Moscow has denied that any of its troops are in Ukraine. In a related story, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk today said a law is being prepared to increase the army by 68,000 soldiers to a total of a quarter-million troops.

Obama declares financial crisis over

US President Barack Obama gave his annual State of the Union speech last night to both chambers of the United States Congress in Washington. He announced tax increases for the wealthy and increased aid for education and spoke about normalizing diplomatic ties with Cuba. But he focused on economy, noting the country’s low unemployment rate and strong stock and said the financial crisis which began 7 years ago is over: “Tonight, we turn the page. The shadow of crisis has passed and the state of the union is strong.”

The weather

The afternoon will be a mix of cloudy and clear conditions, with sunny skies most likely along the northern ridge of the Alps. Highs today are ranging from minus 2 to plus 9 degrees.

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