News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Van der Bellen victory confirmed

The victory of Austria's president-elect Alexander van der Bellen in Sunday’s election has been confirmed in provisional final results released by the interior ministry. Van der Bellen extended his lead to nearly 8% over the Freedom party’s Norbert Hofer with the inclusion of postal ballots in the final tally, winning just under 54% of the vote.

Russia, China veto Aleppo aid truce

Russia and China have vetoed a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council that called for a seven-day humanitarian truce in the Syrian city of Aleppo. The United States accused Russia of passing a death sentence on innocent Syrians. Russia defended the veto saying rebels used previous ceasefires to reinforce their positions.

NATO warns on east Ukraine

NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has warned that the ceasefire between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian army in eastern Ukraine remains dangerously fragile: “The security situation in eastern Ukraine remains extremely serious. The ceasefire is being violated every day, sometimes hundreds of times.” Stoltenberg was speaking at a NATO meeting in Brussels, the first since concerns arose over the United States commitment to the military alliance with the election of Donald Trump as president.

EU wants speedy Brexit

The European Union chief negotiator on Britain’s withdrawal from the EU, Michel Barnier, has said less than 18 months will be available to negotiate Brexit, once London triggers the exit process, expected next March. Barnier said the final deal to be completed by October 2018 must preserve the unity of the other 27 EU nations and warned that non-EU countries can never have the same rights and benefits as EU members.

LRA commander on trial

One of the most senior commanders of the Lord's Resistance Army has pleaded not guilty at the International Criminal Court in The Hague to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Uganda. The suspect, Dominic Ongwen, was himself abducted as a 14-year-old and forced to fight with the LRA.

Cazeneuve new French PM

France’s interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, has been named to take over as prime minister. He replaces Manuel Valls who is stepping down to seek the Socialist Party’s nomination in next year’s presidential election.

South Korea military hacked

South Korea’s military says its cybercommand, set up to prevent hacking, appears to have been breached by North Korea, and classified information stolen. The hack raises questions about North Korean capabilities to breach other secure military systems.

The weather

Mainly sunny across the country. Cloud and fog in some lowlying areas. Top temperatures minus 3 to plus 10 degrees.

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