News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

More crisis talks on Ukraine

German Chancellor Angela Merkel travels to Washington, DC, today. Her talks with U.S. President Barack Obama will focus on the crisis in Ukraine. Merkel and French President Francois Hollande met on Friday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow. On Wednesday, the French and German leaders will meet in Belarus with Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to try and revive a peace agreement first reached in Minsk last September. Russian-backed separatists have made gains in recent weeks in eastern Ukraine, prompting Kiev to seek arms from the West, but so far both the EU and U.S. say they want diplomacy to end the conflict which has claimed more than 5000 lives over the past year.

19 killed in Cairo football violence

National soccer matches in Egypt have been suspended indefinitely after 19 were killed yesterday during violence at a stadium in Cairo. Many of those who died were trampled when supporters of the Zamalak football club tried to force their way into the stadium. Fans blame authorities for only opening a single gate to let them in. Witnesses describe a scene of chaos: “We were entering into the stadium as usual when suddenly the police began firing tear gas and birdshot. More than 50 people started piling on top of each other. We were carrying them away to save them from being trampled to death.” 74 Egyptian fans were killed three years ago at a football in Port Said. Afterwards, limits were put on the number of people allowed into matches, but those restrictions were lifted several weeks ago.

Iraqi bomb attacks leave 15 dead

Two bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital Baghdad have left 15 people dead. 30 other people have been wounded. The attacks took place in mainly Shi’ite areas. No one has claimed responsibility, but the city has recently seen a spike in bombings which Iraqi officials blame on Sunni militants from the Islamic State.

Greece PM in Vienna

Greece’s new Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, is in Vienna for talks with Chancellor Werner Faymann. The visit comes as Greece is trying to re-negotiate the terms of its international bailout, something opposed by Germany and the European Central Bank.

HSBC admits mistakes

The British bank HSBC has admitted failings at its subsidiary in Switzerland after it emerged the bank has helped wealthy customers avoid taxes and concealed millions of euros of assets. The revelation was reported by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The report also says that some customers may have had links to criminal activities. Customers are said to have included relatives of former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Hafez al-Assad.

Australian PM survives leadership challenge

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has survived a leadership challenge from within his ruling Liberal Party. The party’s leadership caucus voted today 61 to 39 against holding a ballot for a new leader. Abbott’s popularity has dropped sharply since the Liberals won the last election 18 months ago, but today he said spoke directly to the Australian people: “The Liberal Party has dealt with this motion and now this matter is behind us. We are absolutely determined to work for you, the people who elected us.”

The weather

More snowfall from Upper Austria to Burgenland, which will later turn to freezing rain. Some partly sunny conditions can be expected to the west and south. Strong winds will continue out of the northwest. Highs today are ranging from minus 5 to plus 3 degrees.

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