News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Berlin backs Greek loan extension

The German parliament has voted to extend financial aid to Greece by another four months. The extension was approved by the country's creditors last week but it still needs to be ratified by each Eurozone member. Some German MPs had expressed doubts about the deal, but it's now been passed by an overwhelming majority. Ahead of the vote, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said the measure was in Europe's best interest.

New developments in Aliyev case

Austrian state prosecutors have confirmed that traces of barbiturates have been found in preliminary blood tests following the death of the former Kazakh ambassador Rakhat Aliyev. He was found dead in his cell earlier this week at a Vienna prison, where he was awaiting trial. His death had been treated as a suicide but his lawyers say they're convinced he did not take his own life. A full toxicological report is expected in the coming days.

Blogger murdered in Bangladesh

A prominent Bangladeshi-American blogger known for his atheist views and for speaking out against religious fundamentalism has been killed in a knife attack in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. Police say Avijit Roy was assaulted by a group of men with meat cleavers on a crowded pavement as he walked through the city with his wife. Anwar Hossain was a friend of Avijit Roy's: "he was a thinker. He was a man of great knowledge. He used to work in the US. With a heavy heart, we say we have lost a great man."

Poroshenko sees ongoing threat

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has said that even if the peace deal between government forces and pro-Russia separatists holds, there would still be a "military threat from the east". He made the statement with the indirect reference to Russia during a televised speech. Some fighting is reported to have continued in recent days.

IS destroys artefacts in Iraq

The Islamic State militant group has released a video appearing to show the destruction of statues and artefacts in Iraq. In the images, sledgehammers and drills are used in what's believed to be a museum in the city of Mosul. The UN's cultural agency UNESCO has called for an emergency session of the Security Council in response to the development. Professor of ancient history Eleanor Robson says the destruction of artefacts, some dating back to the Assyrian empire, is a tragedy: "there are a lot of Assyrian artefacts around in the museums of the world. But there's very little that local people can go and see for themselves. And they feel passionately - and rightly so - about the ancient empire of Assyria. It ruled the Middle East and a lot of the Mediterranean for hundreds of years, well before ancient Greece or Rome."

The weather

Frequent sunshine in much of Austria. But some persistent fog around in places, especially in the Waldviertel and along the Danube. Snowfall and rain in Vorarlberg and northern Tyrol. Highs ranging between 2 and 11 degrees.

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