News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Egyptian officials say plane wreckage found

Egyptian military officials say they've found plane wreckage from the Airbus which came down en route from Paris to Cairo yesterday. They say debris has been seen in the Mediterranean around 300 kilometres north of the city of Alexandria. 66 passengers and crew members were on board the EgyptAir flight. Yesterday, the Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said it was too early to rule out any explanation for the disaster while the country's aviation minister said a terrorist attack was more likely than a technical failure. 3 investigators from the French air accident investigation bureau, along with a technical adviser from Airbus, have joined the Egyptian inquiry.

Salah Abdeslam stays silent in court

The most prominent surviving suspect from a group that carried out the Paris attacks last November, Salah Abdeslam, has refused to talk during questioning by judges at a French court. Abdeslam is thought to have played a key planning role in the shootings and bombings in which 130 people were killed.

Turkish parliament approves immunity bill

Turkish MPs have voted in favour of a constitutional change which would lift MPs' immunity from prosecution. Critics say the move is aimed at the pro-Kurdish opposition and that the change could see its parliamentary presence reduced. Two further votes on the bill are still to be held.

Taiwan swears in first female President

Tsai Ing-wen has been sworn in as the new president of Taiwan, becoming its first female leader. Tsai led the Democratic Progressive Party to a landslide win in elections in January. The DPP has traditionally leaned towards independence from China, which sees Taiwan as a breakaway province and wants it to re-unite with the mainland. Tsai used her inaugural speech to call for dialogue with Beijing: "the two governing parties across the strait must set aside the baggage of history and engage in positive dialogue for the benefit of the people on both sides."

Austria's presidential campaign winds up

Austria's presidential election campaign is winding up today ahead of Sunday's vote. Both candidates, the Freedom Party's Norbert Hofer and former Greens party leader Alexander Van der Bellen, are holding campaign events in Vienna.

Heat record in India

Weather officials in India say a city in the state of Rajasthan has broken the country's temperature records after registering 51 degrees Celsius. The new record comes amid a heatwave which has affected much of northern India where temperatures have exceeded 40 degrees for weeks.

The weather

Quite a sunny afternoon. Some thundery showers are possible in the East. A lively wind and highs mostly between 14 and 22 degrees.

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