News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

UK MPs to vote on Syria airstrikes

The British Parliament is expected to give its backing to air strikes in Syria against the so-called Islamic State group, having previously opposed military action against the Syrian government. A 10-hour House of Commons debate will culminate in a vote on whether the UK should join the United States, France, Russia and others bombing IS targets. The British Prime Minister David Cameron says the group is a threat to Britain's security - a view echoed by Defence Minister Philip Hammond: "We are already in this fight. We didn´t choose to be in it but we are already in it. The question now is whether we are going to take the fight to them in their headquarters or whether we are going to wait here in London until they bring the fight to us, as they did to our French colleagues in Paris."

US to deploy specialist force to Iraq

The American Defence Secretary Ashton Carter has announced that the US will deploy a specialised force to Iraq to build pressure on Islamic State militants and assist Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces. He says the aim is to carry out raids, free hostages and capture IS leaders.

Montenegro to join NATO

NATO has invited Montenegro to join the US-led military alliance, in its first expansion since 2009. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg described it as an "historic decision". Russia had repeatedly warned against the move, saying enlargement further into the Balkans would be a provocation. It is threatening unspecified retaliatory measures.

Turkey investigates bomb explosion in Istanbul

An investigation is underway in Turkey, after five people were injured in a pipe bomb explosion on an overpass near a metro station in Istanbul. The blast happened during the evening rush hour.

Four hanged after Pakistan school massacre

Pakistan has hanged four men linked to last December's massacre at an army school in Peshawar which killed over 150 people, most of them children. The men were sentenced to death by a military court.

Suu Kyi in talks on transfer of power

Myanmar´s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the outgoing president Thein Sein have reportedly agreed on a smooth transfer of power, three weeks after her NLD party won a landslide general election victory. Suu Kyi has also been meeting Myanmar's military commander.

AI criticises Qatar over migrant workers

The human rights group Amnesty International has accused the Qatari government of failing to take steps to protect migrant workers, ahead of the 2022 football World Cup. Around 1.5 million foreigners are thought to be working in Qatar, many of them on World Cup construction projects.

Facebook founder to give away shares

The Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan say they will give away 99% of their shares in the company to good causes as they announced the birth of their daughter. Zuckerberg says they want to make the world a better place for her to grow up in.

The weather

Sunny in the Alps and the south, but cloud, mist or fog across the rest of the country. Top temperatures from 6 to 16.

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