News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Hurricane Hermine hits Florida

Reports from the United States say winds from Hurricane Hermine are lashing Florida's Gulf Coast. It's the first hurricane to hit the state in more than a decade. The governor of Florida, Rick Scott, has told residents to stock up on provisions and to find shelter: “This is life-threatening. We have a hurricane. You can rebuild a home. You can rebuild property. You cannot rebuild a life.”

Turkey releases 34,000 prisoners

The authorities in Turkey have announced today that they’ve released around 34,000 inmates from prisons to make space for tens of thousands of people detained over suspected links to the coup attempt that tried to topple the government of Persident Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Meanwhile, European Union foreign ministers begin a two day meeting in Bratislava today to discuss EU relations with Turkey. Austria has demanded a halt to negotiations with Turkey over its possible membership of the EU.

Large demonstrations in Venezuela

In Venezuela, hundreds of thousands of people have joined rival demonstrations in the capital, Caracas, for and against the government. Opposition leaders calling for the removal of President Nicolas Maduro say more than a million people joined their protest. They blame Maduro for the dramatic collapse of Venezuela's economy. Journalists Hannah Dreyer is based in Caracas and says the situation is desperate: “Every day the first thing I do is check to see if I have water. Usually I don’t. People are learning to live in the dark with regular power cuts and it’s become one of the most violent cities in the world. It’s dangerous.”

Concerns about potential spread of Zika virus

A new study, published in The Lancet, says two and a half billion people live in regions which may be vulnerable to outbreaks of the Zika virus. The report concludes that vast numbers are in environments where it would be hard to prevent, detect and respond to epidemics. One of the researchers, Adam Kucharski, is concerned about poorer countries being exposed to the virus repeatedly: “Immunity is going to be a really big question in the coming years. Not only for when the virus arrives – what might happen. But also for areas that have already experiences an epidemic – whether that virus could come back in subsequent years or whether we’re really going to see decades before the virus re-emerges.”

Melania Trump sues British tabloid

Melania Trump - the wife of the U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump - is suing the British newspaper The Daily Mail over an article that claimed she worked as an escort in New York in the 1990s. Mrs. Trump’s lawyers have called the claims “outright lies” and are demanding damages of 150 million dollars. The Daily Mail has since retracted the article.

Global recall for Samsung flagship smartphone

The South Korean tech giant Samsung has announced a global recall of its new flagship smartphone - the Galaxy Note7. The high-end device has been the subject of online complaints from users, claiming their phone’s batteries had caught fire or exploded while charging. Samsung says customers who have already bought a Galaxy Note7 will be able to swap it for a new one.

The weather

Mainly sunny. Top temperatures are ranging from only 21 to 29 degrees.

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