News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Impeachment trial for Brazil’s Rousseff

The Brazilian Senate has voted to impeach President Dilma Rousseff, following an all-night debate. 55 senators voted in favour, with 22 voting against. Rousseff will be suspended from office immediately, and tried over allegations that she concealed the size of the country's budget deficit in the run-up to her election in 2014. She denies the charges. Ana Amélia Lemos is one of the senators who voted against her: "I believe that all things will be good for us. We have now a political crisis. We need to solve this question, and this crisis, and then after solve the other problems."

Kern as favourite to become chancellor

It's looking increasingly likely that the head of Austria's railways, Christian Kern, will be chosen by the Social Democrats as the successor to Werner Faymann, who stepped down as chancellor and party leader this week. So far, Kern has the official backing of the vast majority of the Social Democrat's provincial leadership.

Demand for drugs ‘promotes corruption’ in Afghanistan

The Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, says the demand for illegal drugs in the west is the main promoter of corruption in his country. He's attending an anti-corruption summit in London, and said his government was determined to address the issue, but it needed help. At the summit, the British Prime Minister David Cameron, is expected to announce that offshore companies owning property in London will be forced to register publicly who their ultimate owners are. The measure is designed to prevent people from laundering illicit funds through the London property market.

City dwellers face high air pollution

The World Health Organization says that more than 80 percent of the world's urban residents breathe in poor quality air. In a new report, the WHO says air pollution in cities increases the risk of lung cancer, asthma, and other diseases - and causes more than 3 million premature deaths a year. Maria Neira, of the WHO, says India and China face the biggest challenges: "We know that there are several cities in China, several cities in India, that are very much above the levels of pollution recommended by the air quality guidelines in WHO. The situation at the moment is really bad for the population."

US activates missile shield in Romania

A ceremony is taking place in Romania, to activate part of a US missile defence system, designed to protect NATO countries in Europe from a ballistic missile attack from the Middle East. Moscow views the move as a provocation, arguing that it violates existing treaties and poses a threat to Russia.

Trayvon Martin death gun to be auctioned

The gun used to shoot dead an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin, in Florida four years ago is being auctioned by the man who killed him. George Zimmerman, a neighbourhood watch volunteer, was controversially cleared of murder after saying he'd acted in self-defence.

The weather

Mostly cloudy with rain showers. Top temperatures from 11 to 18 degrees.

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