News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Yemen´s warring parties swap prisoners

Yemen's warring parties have agreed to exchange hundreds of prisoners as part of confidence building measures under UN-sponsored peace talks now under way in Switzerland. According to the Southern Resistance, which is allied with President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, 360 members of the Iranian-backed Houthi movement held in Aden are to be handed over in return for 265 civilians and fighters from southern Yemen. A seven-day truce, timed to coincide with the peace talks, began at mid-day on Tuesday. The two sides have accused each other of violations.

US Republican rivals debate terrorism

The latest debate among Republican presidential candidates in the United States has been dominated by terrorism and how to combat it. The frontrunner Donald Trump again defended his call to ban Muslims from entering the US. Jeb Bush sought to revive his struggling campaign by forcefully attacking Trump: "Donald, you know, is great at the one-liners. But he´s a chaos candidate and he´d be a chaos president. He would not be the Commander-in-Chief we need to keep our country safe." Tuesday night's debate was the first for Republicans since the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California.

Los Angeles schools re-open after email threat

Schools in Los Angeles re-open today, following a threat emailed to the school district, two weeks after the deadly attack in California. The shutdown closed over 1,000 schools. New York City officials said they received a similar threat but it was so "outlandish" they ignored it as a hoax.

EU boosts border controls

Controversial plans for a European Border and Coast Guard force have been set out as part of efforts to curb the record influx of refugees and migrants. The European Commission is proposing a force with a stronger mandate than the EU's current Frontex border teams. It is also proposing to resettle Syrian refugees directly from camps in Turkey to try to stop people making the dangerous voyage by sea.

IAEA closes Iran investigation

The International Atomic Energy Agency has formally closed its 12-year investigation into Iran's past nuclear activities. It's a key step towards implementing a wider nuclear deal reached in July between Iran and six world powers.

Saud Blogger awarded Sakharov Prize

The wife of the Saudi Arabian blogger Raif Badawi has been presented with the European Parliament´s prestigious Sakharov Prize for human rights at a ceremony in Strasbourg. Badawi was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for insulting Muslim values. He was honoured with the award as a symbol of the fight for freedom of speech.

The weather

Some sunshine in the east, overcast across the rest of the country, with some rain. Top temperatures from 0 to 10.

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