News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Over 300 die in Hajj stampede

In Saudi Arabia more than 300 pilgrims have been killed in a crush at Mina, outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, where two million people are performing the annual hajj pilgrimage. Civil defence officials said 450 people were injured in the incident. It is unclear how the stampede occurred.

EU refugee crisis measures agreed

European Union leaders at a summit in Brussels have agreed to contribute 1 billion euros to United Nations agencies helping Syrian refugees who've fled to Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. Other funding is to go to non-EU transit countries in the Balkans. The EU president Donald Tusk has said the flow of refugees to Europe will continue: “Recently I visited refugee camps in Turkey and Jordan and I heard only one message; we are determined to get to Europe. It is clear that the greatest tide of refugees and migrants is yet to come.” The EU leaders also agreed that special processing centers to help register and screen new arrivals must be fully operational by November in Greece and Italy, the frontline countries receiving the refugees.

Refugee crisis “danger from far right”

The European Commission vice president Frans Timmermans has warned of the political consequences for Europe if it fails adequately to address the refugee crisis: “If we’re not able to tackle this issue, if we’re not able to find sustainable solutions you will see a surge of the extreme right across the European continent.”

Tensions at Croatia Serbia border

Amid tensions over refugee flows, Croatia has banned Serbian citizens and cars from entering its territory, after Serbia banned Croatian cargo traffic. Meanwhile Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting the governors of Germany's 16 states today to discuss how to manage the massive influx of refugees to the country.

Bomb attack at Sanaa mosque

Security officials in Yemen say at least 25 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a suicide bombing at a mosque in the capital Sanaa. The mosque is controlled by the Houthi rebel group.

Progress on Colombia peace deal

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the top commander of the FARC rebel group, known as Timochenko, have pledged to end their 50-year war within the next six months, at peace talks in Cuba. Around 220,000 people have been killed in the conflict and millions displaced.

VW cheated in EU as well as US

The German transport minister Alexander Dobrindt has said there is evidence the carmaker Volkswagen cheated on emissions tests in Europe, as well as in the United States. He said other car brands are also to be tested for manipulation of the tests.

The weather

Mainly cloudy. Scattered showers in the east. Top temperatures 7 to 20 degrees.

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