News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Huge protests continue in Romania

Around half a million Romanians joined street protests for a sixth night last night, many calling on the government to quit. The government is insisting it won’t step down and says a new bill on the criminal code will be published, after it was forced to withdraw legislation that decriminalised some forms of corruption. More protests are expected later today.

Trump attacks judge, courts

United States president Donald Trump is continuing his attacks on a judge who blocked his ban on travellers from seven mainly Muslim nations, and on a panel of judges who denied the Trump administration’s emergency appeal to reinstate the ban. Trump in a tweet said people should blame the judge and the courts “if anything happened.” He says he has instructed border officials to conduct rigorous checks on travelers. Becca Heller from a refugees assistance programme in New York says the order is unnecessary: “Anyone who has travel booked which is the only refugees that this would apply to, would have already had their interview with Homeland Security.” The legal battle is expected to continue for days. Meanwhile President Trump has said he will attend a summit with NATO leaders in Brussels at the end of May.

Australia Catholic sex abuse inquiry

A major inquiry in Australia has revealed the huge extent of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests over decades. A royal commission has heard that around 7% of priests committed child abuse between 1950 and 2010. A Catholic church spokesman has described the figures as shocking and indefensible.

IS surrounded in Aleppo province

Reports from Syria say the army and its allies have surrounded the last Islamic-State stronghold in Aleppo province. Government fighters and Turkish-backed rebels have cut off the main road into the town of al-Bab.

Record Afghan civilian casualties

A United Nations report says the overall civilian casualty toll in the war in Afghanistan reached a new high last year, with a significant increase in the number of children killed and maimed. Nearly 11 and a half thousand people were killed or injured last year. The report says anti-government forces, mainly the Taliban were responsible for two thirds of the casualties.

Mas on trial in Barcelona

Thousands of supporters have gathered in the streets outside a court in Barcelona, where the former president of Catalonia, Artur Mas, is on trial. Spain’s central government accuses Mas and two associates of serious civil disobedience in connection with Catalonia’s unofficial vote on independence in 2014.

Merkel CDU-CSU candidate

Germany's conservative parties, the CDU and CSU have agreed to nominate Angela Merkel as their candidate for chancellor in national elections in September. The sister parties have been at odds over Merkel’s refugee policy.

The weather

Snow and rain falls across the country, with top temperatures minus 2 to plus 5 degrees.

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