News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah dies

Royal officials in Saudi Arabia have announced that King Abdullah has died. The 90-year old had been suffering from a lung infection. His funeral will take place this afternoon. His 79-year old half-brother Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud has become King. Within hours of his accession to the throne, he made a televised speech in which he said he would maintain the same policies as his predecessors.

Over 5,000 killed in Ukraine conflict

The United Nations says more than 5,000 people have been killed in the conflict between government forces and pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine. The updated toll includes over 260 people who've died in fighting over the last nine days, which the UN says was "the most deadly period" since a ceasefire was declared last September.

Test Ebola vaccine sent to Liberia

The first batch of an experimental vaccine against Ebola is on its way to Liberia. Experts have cautioned that it may be difficult to establish whether the jab offers any protection against the virus. Andrew Witty is the Chief Executive of GlaxoSmithKline which developed the vaccine: "everything from the pre-clinical experimentation through the early-phase volunteer trials has all been very consistently encouraging. I think we go into these trials with a high degree of optimism. But I've been in this business for long enough to know that you can get surprises and that’s why you have to do these trials."

Thailand's former PM to be impeached

The military-appointed parliament in Thailand has voted to impeach the former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and ban her from politics for five years. The move is in connection with her handling of a controversial rice subsidy programme. She's also been charged with criminal negligence over the scheme. Her opponents have accused her of wasting billions of dollars of public money.

Campaigning wraps up in Greece

Campaigning is wrapping up ahead of elections in Greece on Sunday. The centre-right New Democracy Party of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is facing a strong challenge from the left-wing Syriza party which has been ahead in the polls. Syriza's leader Alexis Tsipras says he wants to end the austerity measures and re-negotiate the country's bail-out package. Analyst Daphne Halikiopoulou says Syriza has moderated its stance and is insisting that it wants to stay inside the Eurozone: "initially when it entered the political scene it entered on the grounds that it would re-negotiate the terms and conditions of the bailout at any cost. But as it's been getting closer to power it's been saying that we're going to re-negotiate from within the context of the European Union and the Euro."

The weather

The afternoon will be cloudy with snow coming in from the north and also rain in the east and southeast. Sunny periods in the south. Highs ranging between minus 3 and plus 5 degrees, up to 8 in the southeast.

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