News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Turkey blames Syrian YPG for attack

Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said a car bomb attack on military buses in Ankara last night was carried out by members of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia working with Kurdish PKK rebels in Turkey. The attack killed at least 28 and wounded over 60. The Syrian YPG has denied any involvement in the Ankara attack and the PKK said it does not know who carried it out. Meanwhile at least six members of the Turkish security forces were killed in a bomb explosion in southeast Turkey this morning.

EU meets on Britain’s reform demands

European Union leaders are gathering for a summit in Brussels at which British prime minister David Cameron is seeking a deal on key reforms in Britain’s relationship with the EU. Cameron is widely expected to call a referendum on Britain’s EU membership in June, if a deal is reached at the summit. Differences remain on issues such as changes to welfare payments for migrant workers, and concerns special protections for the City of London could give non-Eurozone members powers to stall financial regulation.

Austria refugee policy criticised

Leaders of the European Union and Balkan countries have warned of an incipient humanitarian crisis on the Balkan route for refugees and migrants, after Austria announced that it would accept a limit of 80 asylum applications a day among people arriving at the border to Slovenia. Austrian interior minister Johanna Mikl Leitner has said a daily maximum of 3200 refugees and migrants will be allowed to move through Austria to Germany. The limits are to come into force on Friday. Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has said he will discuss Austria’s announcement with chancellor Werner Faymann at the EU summit: “I will today as always advocate a European approach. And as far as Austria is concerned I don’t like the decision and we are questioning if this decision is in line with European law.”

Radioactive material stolen in Iraq

Iraqi officials say a search is underway for highly dangerous radioactive material stolen last November from a storage facility near Basra belonging to an American oilfield services company. Iraq has reported the stolen material to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Top militant killed in Somalia

The Kenyan military says it has killed the intelligence chief of Somalia's al Shabaab militant group. Kenyan forces are part of the African Union Mission in Somalia.

Obama to visit Cuba

United States officials have announced that president Barack Obama is to make an historic visit to Cuba in the coming weeks. His visit will be the first by a sitting US president since the Cuban Revolution in 1959.

The weather

Foggy with sunny spells in the west. Cloud and scattered showers in the east. Top temperatures 1 to 9 degrees.

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