News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

State of emergency in Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared a state of emergency in response to last weekend’s failed military coup in Turkey. Erdogan says the state of emergency will last three months and will allow the government to take decisive action against supporters of the coup. Erdogan has already launched a crackdown against suspect members of the military, the police, judiciary, media and academia. Turkish analyst Mahir Zeynalov says Erdogan’s latest move gives him a free hand: “70,000 people were sacked or suspended, more than 10,000 people were arrested, and the state of emergency is a blank check to the government that they can do whatever they want.” In a related story, Turkey’s ambassador in Austria has been summoned to the foreign ministry in Vienna to discuss the latest events in Turkey and Ankara’s ties to pro-Erdogan activists living in Austria.

Russian Olympic ban upheld

An Olympics court of arbitration in Lausanne, Switzerland, has rejected Russia’s appeal against the ban of its track and field athletes from next month’s summer games in Rio. Russian athletes were barred from international competition last November after an independent commission found rampant state-sponsored doping in Russian athletics.The International Olympic Committee is still in the process of ruling on a possible ban on all Russian athletes at the upcoming games in Brazil.

Cruz booed off-stage at RNC

In the United States tonight, Donald Trump will officially accept his nomination as a presidential candidate at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. Things got strange at the convention last night when Texas senator and former Trump rival Ted Cruz was booed off the stage when he gave a speech during which he refused to endorse Trump for the presidency: “We deserve leaders who stand for principle, who unite us all behind shared values, who cast aside anger… that is the standard we should expect from everybody.”

Grasser and others to face charges

Former Austrian finance minister Karl-Heinz Grasser is to face charges related to the privatization of the state-owned real estate company BUWOG and the rental of the Terminal Tower in Linz when Grasser was in charge of the finance ministry. 15 associates of Grasser will also face prosecution. The charges were filed following a seven-year investigation into charges that Grasser and others exploited his office for personal gain.

AI: widespread torture and detention in Ukraine

A new report from Amnesty International says the detention and torture of civilians has become commonplace in Ukraine. The report states that both the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed rebels have committed such war crimes. More than 9,000 people have been killed since the war in eastern Ukraine began over two years ago.

Migrants rescued off Libya

The medical aid group Doctors Without Borders says a migrant boat has been found in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya, with the bodies of 22 people on board. More than 200 other people, including 50 children, have been rescued from the boat.

British submarine collides with freighter

A British nuclear-powered submarine has docked in Gibraltar after colliding with a cargo ship during a training mission. No one was injured and the British says the sub was not armed with Trident nuclear missiles.

The weather

The weather this afternoon will be mostly sunny and very warm with a chance of thunderstorms from Vorarlberg to Salzburg and Carinthia. Highs today are ranging from 24 to 32 degrees.

Übersicht

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