25.02.2016

News in English

EU ministers meet on the migration crisis / Hungary announces referendum on refugee resettlement / Syria´s opposition accepts ceasefire plan / First Zika cases in the Czech Republic / France demands Google pay back taxes / IMF warning on the global economy / The weather

25.02.2016

EU ministers meet on the migration crisis

European Union interior ministers are meeting in Brussels for talks on the migration crisis, amid warnings that it could threaten the bloc's survival. They will discuss plans drawn up on Wednesday by Austria and Balkan countries that include fingerprinting all refugees and migrants and turning back anyone without a passport or valid documents. The measures have been criticised by Greece, where thousands are stranded after Macedonia blocked entry to all but Syrian and Iraqi refugees. The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says that existing EU agreements on taking in refugees must be implemented: "What we refuse to do is accept the transformation of our country in to a permanent warehouse of souls. From now on Greece will not agree to deals if we do not secure the mandatory sharing of the burden and responsibility." Meanwhile, NATO member states have agreed to a plan for their ships in the Aegean Sea to help Turkey and Greece take on people smugglers and stem the flow of migrants to Europe.

Hungary announces referendum on refugees

Hungary says a planned referendum on introducing mandatory quotas to resettle migrants in the European Union will only cover future proposals as Hungary has already challenged a previous EU quota decision in court. Hungary has been at odds with the EU over the handling the migration crisis. Prime Minister Viktor Orban proposed a referendum on Wednesday to see whether Hungarians accept the quotas, something the government firmly rejects.

Syria´s opposition accepts ceasefire plan

The main Syrian opposition bloc, the High Negotiations Committee, says that it will support a temporary cessation of hostilities to test the seriousness of the government´s commitment to a US-Russian plan to end the fighting. The agreement calls on all sides to sign up to the deal by midday on Friday and to stop fighting by midnight.

First Zika cases in the Czech Republic

Health officials in the Czech Republic have announced the first cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus involving two Czechs returning from separate trips to the Caribbean. The World Health Organization has declared the Zika outbreak an international health emergency, citing a "strongly suspected" link to rare birth defects in Brazil.

France demands Google pay back taxes

France is demanding that Google pays €1.6bn in unpaid taxes. The figure is substantially more than the €165m the search engine agreed to pay in back taxes to UK authorities.

IMF warning on the global economy

The International Monetary Fund has warned that the global economy has weakened and is quote "highly vulnerable." It´s urged the United States and other large nations to prepare contingency plans which could be implemented quickly.

The weather

Some sun in the east and south, but rain or snow in the west and north. Top temperatures from minus 1 to plus 9.

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