News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Fifa members vote on the presidency

Members of football´s world governing body Fifa are to elect their president today at a congress in Zurich, amid a massive corruption scandal. Sepp Blatter, who is seeking a fifth term, has rejected calls to step down, saying he is not responsible for the scandal and wants to combat corruption. He is facing just one challenger, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan. Keir Radnedge is a respected commentator on the politics of football: "His agenda really is to transform the image and the governance of Fifa. He is what you call a progressive and there aren´t many of those in the Fifa executive committee, and he has created quite some waves among the old guard."

Asean conference on migrant crisis

Myanmar says it should not be singled out for blame for the migrant crisis in Southeast Asia. Delegates at a conference of the regional grouping Asean in the Thai capital, Bangkok, which is also being attended by the United Nations and the United States, say the situation has reached an alarming level. Over 3,000 migrants have landed in Indonesia and Malaysia since Thailand launched a crackdown on human trafficking earlier this month. Thousands are believed to be still adrift at sea. The vast majority are Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar or Bangladeshis trying to escape poverty.

Over 700 people rescued off Sicily

European naval vessels have reportedly rescued over 700 people from six boats off Sicily. The Italian Coastguard says they had set off from Libya.

Cameron meets Merkel in Berlin

The British Prime Minister David Cameron is meeting the German chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin today, as he seeks support for renegotiating his country's relationship with the European Union ahead of a referendum on EU membership. He earlier held talks in the Polish capital, Warsaw, a day after meeting the leaders of France and the Netherlands.

Baghdad hotels targeted in bombings

Iraqi officials have raised the death toll from bombings targeting two top hotels in Baghdad to 15. Over 40 others were wounded. Car bombs were detonated in the hotel car parks. No-one has yet claimed responsibility.

Buhari sworn in as Nigeria´s president

Nigeria´s former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari has been formally sworn in as president, amid tight security at a ceremony in the capital, Abuja. He defeated Goodluck Johnathan in March, in Nigeria´s first democratic transfer of power. He has vowed to tackle rampant corruption and defeat Boko Haram militants in the northeast of the country.

The weather

Plenty of sunshine, some cloud in the mountains with isolated showers or thunder storms by evening. Highs today from 19 to 27.

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