US Defence Secretary Mattis resigns +++ Reports: plans for US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan

21. Jänner 2019, 02:00

US Defence Secretary Mattis resigns

The US Defence Secretary James Mattis has become the latest in a string of senior Trump administration officials to resign. The development comes a day after President Trump said he was withdrawing troops from Syria. In his resignation letter, Mattis indicated policy differences with the president. He'll leave his post in February. President Trump says a successor will be appointed soon.

Reports: plans for US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is reported to be planning to withdraw thousands of troops from Afghanistan. According to US media, around 7,000 troops - roughly half the remaining US military presence in the country - could go home within months.

13 killed in mine blast in the Czech Republic

13 people have been killed in an explosion at a coal mine in the Czech Republic. Officials say 11 were Polish citizens and 2 were Czech nationals. 10 people were injured. The disaster is the worst mining accident in the Czech Republic since 1990 when 30 miners died in a fire.

Gatwick re-opens after drone chaos

London's Gatwick Airport has re-opened following more than 30 hours of travel chaos caused by drones flying over its airfield. Whilst hundreds of planes are due to take off today, delays and cancellations are still expected. The authorities are still searching for the operator of the machines which have caused the biggest disruption at the airport since the volcanic ash cloud in 2010. As investigations continue, the British Transport Minister Chris Grayling says lessons need to be learned: "there's no evidence this is terror-related in the conventional sense. It's not linked - as far as we're aware - to an international terrorist group. But it's clearly a kind of disruptive activity that we've not seen before. This kind of incident is unprecedented anywhere in the world, the disruption of an airport in this way. We're going to have to learn very quickly from what's happened. And we've put in place every measure we possibly can to ensure that this can't happen again."

Protests in Catalonia

Pro-independence demonstrators in Catalonia have blocked a number of roads in protest at a Spanish cabinet meeting being held by the Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Barcelona, the regional capital. Riot police have been engaged in a tense stand-off with protestors. Today is the anniversary of elections imposed on Catalonia last year by the previous Spanish government.

Austria's EU presidency draws to a close

The Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is in Romania where he's holding talks with senior officials who are about to take over the rotating presidency of the European Union from Austria. The next EU budget, European elections and Brexit are expected to be some of the main issues over the next six months.

The weather

Cloudy with rain, mainly in the west. Some sunshine in the south. A strong wind in the mountains. And highs ranging between 2 and 9 degrees.

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