News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

EU urged to halt membership talks with Turkey

Lawmakers at the European parliament have overwhelmingly approved a motion calling for the EU to temporarily halt membership negotiations with Turkey. The non-binding motion comes in response to the Turkish government's crackdown, following July's failed coup attempt. Dutch MEP Marietje Schaake says recent developments in Turkey are extremely worrying. “The response has been disproportionate, and we’re quite concerned about respect for the rule of law, human rights, press freedom.”

Turkish soldiers killed in airstrike in Syria

The Turkish military meanwhile says three of its soldiers have been killed and 10 wounded in northern Syria in a suspected Syrian government airstrike. They are the first Turkish soldiers to be killed in Syria since Ankara launched a cross border offensive in August to drive back Islamic State and Kurdish fighters.

Top European MP to return to German politics

European Parliamentary President Martin Schulz has announced that he will leave his post and seek election for the German parliament next year. Schulz told a press conference that he would take up a senior position with the centre-left Social Democrats. “I will not run as president of the European Parliament for a third term. Next year I will run for the German Bundestag as the head of the list of my party, the SPD, in North Rhine-Westphalia.” Schulz has refused to comment on speculation that he could become the SPD's choice to run for the German chancellorship against Angela Merkel.

Trump calls for unity in Thanksgiving speech

US President-elect Donald Trump has called for unity in an address to mark the national Thanksgiving holiday. Trump acknowledged that there was a lot of bitterness after what he described as a ‘long and bruising’ election campaign, but said the time had come to heal the country's divisions.

Poroshenko discusses anti-corruption efforts

European Union officials are holding talks today with Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko, focussing on his government's efforts to tackle corruption. Anti-corruption campaigners say wealthy individuals in Ukraine are using their influence to block reforms in an effort to protect their own interests. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin says his government is taking steps to address the problem. “What we’ve done actually last year and this year, in the sense of getting and prosecuting people engaged in corruption, is already a turning point for Ukraine. And we are committed to go further on that.”

Nigerian military denies shooting protestors

The Nigerian army has strongly rejected a report by the human rights group Amnesty International, accusing it of killing 150 peaceful protestors since August last year. Amnesty says Nigerian soldiers fired live ammunition with little or no warning at groups of campaigners, seeking an independent state of Biafra in southeast Nigeria.

The weather

Overcast and foggy conditions will dominate this afternoon, with some sunshine and föhn winds in moutainous areas. Top temperatures will range from 5 to 12 degrees and up to 20 where there is föhn.

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