News | 12 July 2018

NATO leaders tackle Afghanistan conflict +++ Austria, Germany and Italy pursue hard line on migration

NATO leaders tackle Afghanistan conflict +++ Austria, Germany and Italy pursue hard line on migration +++ Japan flood deaths reach 200 +++ May sets out Brexit blueprint +++ The weather

News | 12 July 2018

Rosie Waites

NATO leaders tackle Afghanistan conflict

NATO leaders meeting in Brussels are turning their attention to the conflict in Afghanistan, on the second day of their summit. The Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is attending the talks. The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says he hopes the bloc will agree to fund Afghanistan's security forces until 2024. Meanwhile, the US President Donald Trump has urged NATO allies to commit at least four percent of their annual output to military spending. Alexander Vershbow, a former US ambassador to Russia, says Trump is dividing the alliance - something Russia has tried to do for years: "That's been the Russian's objective in Soviet days, and since President Putin took over, 18 years ago, I think in his wildest imagination he would never have dreamed that he could have an American president that is doing so much of his work for him."

Austria, Germany and Italy pursue hard line on migration

The Interior Ministers of Austria, Germany, and Italy say they want to form what they call an "Alliance of the Active" - to tackle the issues of migration and asylum. Herbert Kickl, Horst Seehofer, and Matteo Salvini made the announcement after holding informal talks in Innsbruck this morning. Kickl said that in future nobody should be able to step on European soil, if they have no right to protection.

Japan flood deaths reach 200

Severe flooding in western Japan is now known to have killed nearly 200 people. More than eight million people have been told to evacuate their homes. Naomi Akamatsu is with the Japanese Red Cross: "It seems that the majority of the people who were affected were elderly people, living alone, and at the time of evacuation they didn't have much space nor time to really grab their essential medicines. So, these kind of treatments and medicines are something that is in high need."

May sets out Brexit blueprint

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May is setting out a blueprint for the country's withdrawal from the European Union. It includes a common rulebook for all goods traded with the EU, and a combined customs territory between Ireland and Northern Ireland to avoid a hard border. Critics say this will jeopardise free trade deals.

The weather

Partly sunny with some rain and thunder showers in the south and north-east. Highs ranging from 20 to 28 degrees.

Übersicht