News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Greek MPs vote on second reform package

The Greek parliament is set to vote on another set of reforms that must pass if Athens is to negotiate a third international bailout. The second vote focusses on changes to the banking and civil justice systems. It´s a key test for Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who suffered a major rebellion in his Syriza party over the first reforms package last week. Dr Spyros Economides is a specialist in International Relations and European Politics: "The only way these measures can pass through parliament is with the support of the main opposition parties, which makes it very, very uncomfortable for the prime minister. They pass these measures through parliament today. They enter into a period of negotiations with the European partners to finalise the agreement and then I assume we go to elections in early September."

Al-Qaeda leader killed in US airstrike

It is being reported that a US airstrike has killed Muhsin al-Fadhli, the Kuwaiti leader of the Khorasan Group, an al-Qaeda offshoot operating in Syria. The Pentagon says he was targeted earlier this month near Sarmada in Syria.

Police officers killed on Turkish-Syrian border

Security sources in Turkey say two Turkish police officers have been shot dead in the Syrian border town of Ceylanpinar, two days after a suicide bombing in the region killed 32 pro-Kurdish activists. The policemen had been shot in the head. It´s not clear whether there is a terrorist link. Turkish officials now say the suspected bomber in the Suruc attack was a Turkish citizen who had travelled illegally to Syria last year.

Spanish journalists feared kidnapped in Syria

Three Spanish freelance journalists are reportedly missing in Syria and are thought to have been kidnapped. The three men were working in the embattled northern city of Aleppo.

UN aid reaches Aden

A United Nations aid ship carrying food and medical supplies has docked in Yemen's southern port city of Aden - the first such shipment since fighting broke out there in March. According to the UN, more than 80% of Yemen's 25 million people now require humanitarian aid and over half are facing food shortages.

US novelist E.L. Doctorow dies

The acclaimed American author, E.L. Doctorow, has died at a hospital in New York at the age of 84. He'd been suffering from lung cancer. President Barack Obama described him as one of the country's greatest novelists. Doctorow's books, including Ragtime, Billy Bathgate and The March, spanned 150 years of US history.

The weather

Sunny and hot. Increasingly cloudy and thundery in the mountains, with the chance of severe storms. Highs today from 28 to 36, up to 38 or 39 in the east.

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