News | 26 January 2018
Vienna braces for protest +++ German coalition talks begin +++ Czech runoff begins
Vienna braces for protest +++ German coalition talks begin +++ Czech runoff begins +++ Trump denies NYT report on Mueller probe +++ Trump offers deal on immigration +++ 37 die in South Korean blaze +++ The weather
26. Februar 2018, 02:00
News | 26 January 2018
Joe Remick
Vienna braces for protest
In Vienna, there will be a heavy police presence from late this afternoon ahead of a protest against the annual Akademikerball at the Hofburg Palace which is sponsored by the Freedom Party. Traffic delays are expected. Police say public transportation will also be affected.
German coalition talks begin
In Germany, formal coalition talks are beginning today between Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and the Social Democrats over the formation of another grand coalition. Merkel has said she wants to conclude the talks by mid-February and to have a new government in place by Easter. Merkel has led an interim government since an inconclusive general election last September.
Czech runoff begins
Voters in the Czech Republic are voting today and tomorrow in a runoff presidential election. President Milos Zeman is facing a strong challenge from Jiri Drahos, an academic who supports greater European integration. Rob Cameron is a journalist in Prague. He says the outcome is expected to be close: “Jiri Drahos, an academic, a soft-spoken man, former head of the Czech academy of sciences, he does now have a good chance of unseating Milos Zeman as president.”
Trump denies NYT report on Mueller probe
The New York Times is reporting that US President Donald Trump last year wanted to fire Robert Mueller, the former FBI director who is investigating possible Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Trump reportedly backed down when a senior White House lawyer threatened to resign over the issue. Speaking today in Davos, Switzerland, Donald Trump dismissed the allegation: “Fake news, folks, fake news. Typical New York Times fake story.”
Trump offers deal on immigration
Meanwhile, Trump has offered a compromise on a controversial migration issue. Trump says almost two million people brought illegally to the United States as children would have the possibility to eventually become American citizens. In exchange, Trump will ask Congress for new restrictions on legal immigration and 25 billion dollars for border security which, in part, would be used to build a wall on the border with Mexico.
37 die in South Korean blaze
In South Korea, 37 people are dead after a fire swept through a hospital. 130 others were injured. The cause of the fire is not yet known.
The weather
This afternoon’s weather will remain foggy and overcast from Upper Austria to Burgenland. Elsewhere, conditions will be a mix of sunny and cloudy skies. Highs today are ranging from 0 to 10 degrees.
