News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Gaddafi's son sentenced to death

A court in Libya has sentenced Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, and eight others to death over war crimes linked to the 2011 revolution. More than 30 close associates of the deposed leader have been on trial, accused of suppressing protests during the uprising. Saif al-Islam is currently being held by a former rebel group.

NATO discusses Turkey's border crisis

NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has expressed strong support for its ally Turkey as the country tries to tackle instability along its borders with Syria and Iraq. Turkey requested the meeting to discuss the country's military campaign against the Islamic State group and Kurdish separatists. Ankara launched air strikes against IS in Syria for the first time last week. It also bombed PKK camps in northern Iraq for the first time in 3 years. Steven Cook is an analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations: "the PKK as well as Syrian Kurdish forces have been the most effective partners in the fight against the Islamic State. And clearly one of Turkey's motivations is to prevent either the PKK - but in particular the Syrian Kurds - from advancing any further."

South Korea declares end to MERS

South Korea has declared an end to the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, a virus which has killed 36 people since May. Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn made the announcement: "considering that various measures such as the concentrated surveillance on 15 hospitals have all been lifted, that no new patients have been diagnosed with MERS for 23 straight days and that the last person under quarantine has been released, the government and health workers judged that the nation should start to feel safe from MERS." MERS was discovered in 2012. The cases had been mostly in Saudi Arabia.

69 killed in floods in Pakistan

Officials in Pakistan say the death toll from flash flooding has now risen to 69. Hundreds of villages have been flooded in the east of the country, leaving tens of thousands homeless.

Austrian court overturns Hypo law

Austria's Constitutional Court has overturned a special law involving the stricken Hypo Alpe Adria Bank which came into force last year. The legislation cancelled nearly 900 million Euros worth of debt. But the court has ruled that some of the creditors, who brought the case, had been treated differently to others.

The Weather

Mostly cloudy with isolated showers mainly in the south. Some sunny periods. Highs between 17 and 26 degrees with the warmer temperatures in Lower Austria.

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