News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

One million migrants reach Europe

The number of refugees and migrants arriving in the European Union this year has passed one million – that’s four times the figure for 2014. The International Organization for Migration says over 80% arrived by sea in Greece and that most of them are refugees from Syria and Afghanistan. It also says that over 3,500 people are known to have drowned this year trying to cross the Mediterranean.

Taliban claim control of key Afghan city

The Afghan Taliban say they’re now in control of the key district of Sangyin in the southern province of Helmand. Eyewitnesses say police headquarters in the town are still surrounded by the militants – with no help coming from the government in Kabul. Colonel Richard Kemp is a former Commander of British forces in Afghanistan. He says the events in Sangyin prove that the U.S. and its allies were wrong to withdraw combat troops from the country: “It was very poor judgment made by politicians to leave the country before it was ready to defend itself. The Afghan national security force is not capable alone of protecting and defending Afghanistan from the Taliban and also from the increasing Islamic State presence in Afghanistan.”

Iraq forces try to retake Ramadi

Iraq's armed forces have launched an attack to try to dislodge Islamic State fighters from the centre of Ramadi. The city is the capital of the western Anbar province and was taken over by I.S. in May.

Prominent Chinese lawyer convicted

A prominent Chinese human rights lawyer has been convicted by a court in Beijing of inciting ethnic hatred. Pu Zhiqiang was given a suspended 3-year jail sentence for comments he made online, which were critical of China’s ruling Communist party. William Nee from Amnesty International says although Pu has now been released from custody, the sentence is still an injustice: “Pu Zhiqiang could have faced 8 years – so obviously this is much better. But it’s important to note that he should never have been detained in the first place and because of this guilty verdict he might lose the ability to practice law.”

India plane crash kills 10

In India, a small chartered aircraft carrying Indian security staff has crashed and burst into flames on the outskirts of the capital, New Delhi, killing all 10 people on board. The plane went down shortly after take-off. Investigations are underway.

U.S. wild bees decline as biofuels boom

A new study suggests that the number of wild bees in the United States has declined in many farming areas because of a boom in biofuels. The report says that in the five years up to 2013 the abundance of wild bees fell across almost a quarter of the U.S. as land was converted to grow corn for ethanol. Taylor Ricketts from the University of Vermont is one of the authors of the study: “Farmers are growing more corn and they’re turning semi-natural habitats, or places where bees could have nested and found flowers, back into corn. And that has been shown to reduce bee populations.”

The Weather

Mainly clear conditions. Top temperatures are very mild – ranging from 6C to 16C.

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