News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

30 missing in avalanche in Italy

Italian officials say up to 30 people are missing after an avalanche hit a hotel in a mountain resort in the central Italian region of Abruzzo. The avalanche followed a series of strong earthquakes which shook the region yesterday. The rescue operation was hampered by up to 5 metres of snow which had fallen on the Gran Sasso mountain range in recent days. Digging equipment has been lowered by helicopter. Journalist Andrea Vogt is in the region: "it does appear that this avalanche just came right down and the hotel was in its path. It does appear that it moved the entire hotel - picked it up and just moved it - along with trees and a lot of debris."

30 feared dead in high-rise building fire in Tehran

Reports coming out of Iran say at least 30 fire-fighters are feared dead and several dozen injured in the collapse of a high-rise building which had caught fire in central Tehran. Two hundred emergency workers had been battling the blaze in the 17-storey structure which was once the capital's tallest building.

New Gambia leader to take oath in Senegal

Last-ditch negotiations have failed to persuade the defeated President of The Gambia Yahya Jammeh to step down to allow the swearing in of Adama Barrow who won last month's election. According to reports, Barrow may be sworn in at the country's embassy in neighbouring Senegal. West African military forces have been poised to move in to enforce a transfer of power.

24 children killed in India crash

Up to 24 young children between the ages of 3 and 12 are reported to have died in a head-on collision between a school bus and a truck in northern India. The tragedy happened in Uttar Pradesh. Officials say visibility was low because of thick fog.

Kern warns against "lose-lose" situation in Brexit

The Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern says every effort must be made to avoid a "lose-lose" situation in the Brexit talks. Kern, who's been attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, told CNN that negotiators for the European Union and the British government must try and find realistic solutions to the challenges that lie ahead: "nobody in the EU wants to sanction the British for Brexit. But our most important goal is to avoid a “lose-lose” situation. And that means we all have to calm down and develop realistic perspectives."

Second vote on constitutional changes in Turkey

Turkey's parliament is holding a second and final round of voting on controversial changes to the constitution which would give President Recep Tayyip Erdogan more power. If the changes are given final approval, a referendum will be held in the spring. Critics say the changes are a threat to democracy.

The weather

Mainly sunny but staying cold with highs ranging between minus 6 and plus 2 degrees, in isolated valleys only minus 10.

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