News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Greek parliament examines bailout

The Greek government has submitted the draft bill for the country's third bailout in five years to parliament. It's aiming to get the controversial agreement passed before a key Eurozone meeting which is expected to take place on Friday. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is trying to persuade rebels from within his Syriza party to back the agreement which sets out the broad terms for a deal, but he's been forced to rely on opposition support.

31 killed in Damascus air strikes

A monitoring group says Syrian army air strikes against rebel-held areas on the outskirts of Damascus have killed at least 31 people. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said warplanes had targeted several areas. Opposition forces have fired dozens of rockets at central Damascus, killing at least one person. The latest violence in the capital came ahead of a visit by Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif.

Cease-fire in Syrian town

It's being reported that rebel groups and pro-government forces in Syria have agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire in the rebel-held town of Zabadani and two villages in Idlib province. Zabadani, which is near the border with Lebanon, has been the focus of a recent offensive by the Syrian army supported by Hezbollah. It's hoped the truce will allow food and medicine to be delivered.

US questions Turkey’s safe zone plan

The US has questioned Turkey's plans to create a so-called "safe zone" along the country's southern border with Syria. In a BBC interview, Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Ankara would co-ordinate with Washington to make an area which would be free of both Islamic State and Syrian government forces. But US State Department spokesman Mark Toner says Washington is focussing on attacking Islamic State targets: "certainly we're welcoming greater Turkish participation. Our agreement with them is to use their facilities, to increase our ability to strike ISIL in northern Syria. We've been very careful to shy away from saying we're creating some kind of zone. Our ultimate goal is to degrade and destroy ISIL and drive them out of that region."

China lets yuan fall further

China has taken further action to weaken its currency, the yuan, which has led to increasing concern about the health of the world's second biggest economy. China's central bank has described the devaluation as a "one-off" measure.

26 missing in China landslide

At least 26 people are still missing following a landslide in central China. Officials say 14 people have been rescued but that efforts to find more survivors had been hampered by heavy rain.

The Weather

Sunny and very hot. There could be some thunderstorms in the mountain regions in Vorarlberg and Tyrol as well as in the north of the Waldviertel and Weinviertel. Highs will be ranging between 28 and 38 degrees.

Übersicht

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