Syria condemns US troop decision +++ UN-led peace talks in Vienna +++ Trump arrives in Davos

25. Februar 2018, 02:00

Syria condemns US troop decision

Syria has strongly condemned the United States, for deciding to keep its troops in the country for an indefinite period. Syria's deputy foreign minister, Faisal Mekdad, described the move as a "devastating mistake", which would be treated as a hostile act: "Long term presence of the American troops will be considered as an aggression, will be considered a violation of the United Nations Security Council resolution - which always speaks about the unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian people and their country."

UN-led peace talks in Vienna

The UN Special Envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has described a new round of peace talks as a "critical moment". Two days of UN-led discussions, involving government and opposition representatives are due to start in Vienna later today. They will focus on what a new constitution might look like.

Trump arrives in Davos

The US President Donald Trump has arrived in the Swiss town of Davos, to attend the World Economic Forum. He's the first US president to do so, since Bill Clinton, 18 years ago. In a tweet, Trump said he will tell the world "how great America is doing". His visit comes at a time when his trade policies have brought accusations of protectionism.

EU court rejects Facebook class action suit

The European Union’s top court has ruled that the Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems cannot bring a class action lawsuit against Facebook. The EU Court of Justice says Facebook users can sue the company individually in their home country. Schrems says that he will bring a case against Facebook in a Vienna court. He alleges Facebook has violated privacy rights of European users - allegations the company has denied.

Van der Bellen criticises right-wing fraternity

Austria's president Alexander Van der Bellen has said he does not believe that Udo Landbauer, the FPÖ lead candidate in Lower Austria’s election, knew nothing about neo-Nazi texts in a songbook used by a right-wing student fraternity - which Landbauer was the deputy leader of. Van der Bellen says that questions must be asked about a group where a text mocking mass murder could appear.

Water crisis looms for Cape Town

The authorities in the South African city of Cape Town have warned that unless residents do more to save water, household supplies will be cut off on April the 12th. A Cape Town official, Jean Pierre Smith, said Western Cape Province was suffering the worst drought in history: "We have reduced the water consumption by about 40 percent from what it was usually. We were just under 600 million litres a day and we need to bring that down to at least 450 million litres a day, to be able to conserve enough water to make it to the rainy season."

The weather

Mostly sunny in mountain areas, but overcast in low lying regions. Top temperatures today ranging from 2 to 12 degrees.

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