Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Tuesday he is resolved to settle a longstanding territorial dispute with Russia at an annual rally calling for the return of all four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido in northern Japan, the Kyodo news agency reported. "We'll continue to make steady and determined efforts to move ahead with negotiations," Noda said, stressing the need to sign a peace treaty with Russia. The four islands - which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories - has been the subject of a territorial dispute between the two nations since the end of World War ...
Amanda Knox's Italian lawyer has filed an appeal of her slander conviction in Italy, a Knox family spokesman inSeattle said Monday. In October, an Italian appeals court overturned the young Seattle woman's murder conviction in the 2007 death of her British roommate in Perugia. But the same court upheld Knox's conviction for slander — for falsely accusing bar owner Diya "Patrick" Lumumba of involvement in the slaying. Lumumba was freed after two weeks in prison for lack of evidence. Knox later said she was "manipulated" during her lengthy police interrogation. An appeal of the slander conviction was filed Monday, Knox family spokesman Dave Marriott confirmed. He doesn't know when the Italian ...
The Dutch railway will remain 'vulnerable' during wintry weather but Dutch Rail (NS) and track operator ProRail did not help matters during the current cold snap by the late introduction of schedule adjustments to cope with the conditions, transport minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen told parliament in a briefing on Tuesday. The NS and ProRail assumed on Thursday of last week that there would be three to five centimetres of snow. When the forecast was increased on Friday morning to between 10 and 15 centimetres, it was too late to change the timetables automatically, Schultz van Haegen told parliament. Drivers and conductors ...
Greece can leave the eurozone without damaging monetary union, European digital affairs commissioner Neelie Kroes says in an interview with the Volkskrant on Tuesday. Kroes, a member of the Dutch ruling right-wing Liberal party VVD, is not a supporter of Greece exchanging the euro for the drachma, but says: 'It is absolutely not a case of man overboard if someone leaves the eurozone.' The commissioner is very critical of the new Greek government and says they are not fulfilling their promises. 'Too few spending cuts, too little restructuring,' she says. She says the Greeks should follow the example of Italy where the new ...
Mitt Romney hopes his presidential campaign hasn't ignored Rick Santorum's aggressive attacks for too long, as caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota on Tuesday could reshuffle the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Santorum largely bypassed Florida and Nevada to blanket the two caucus states with criticism of Romney and lay the groundwork among conservatives who have great sway in the process. RivalNewt Gingrich praised Santorum's strategy as shrewd even as he signaled he had no interest in exiting the four-way race, which also includes Ron Paul. "I think that Santorum's going to have a pretty good day," Gingrich told reporters on the eve of the caucuses. "He targeted differently than I ...
Glencore and Xstrata agreed an all-share merger worth $90 billion (56 billion pounds) on Tuesday in the industry's largest ever deal, creating a commodities powerhouse spanning mining, agriculture and trading. Glencore, the world's largest diversified commodities tradinghouse, will issue 2.8 new shares for each Xstrata share in a deal they said was a "merger of equals." The ratio is a 15.2 percent premium to Xstrata shareholders compared with its share price last Wednesday before word leaked out about the merger talks, a joint statement said. "A merger between Glencore and Xstrata offers a unique opportunity to create a new business model in our industry to respond to ...
US White House hopeful Mitt Romney aims for another big caucus win in Colorado on Tuesday, as his well-oiled campaign machine works to cement his position as the Republican front runner in the US presidential race. Polls suggest he should triumph easily in the western US state -- where he scored 60 percent in 2008 -- although there is a tighter race in Minnesota, where last-placed Rick Santorum is hoping to snatch a win. Romney's main rival, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, is battling to stay in the race after two heavy losses in a row to the former Massachusetts governor, who ...
As President Christian Wulff remains mired in allegations of impropriety, anti-corruption group Transparency International (TI) has called for politicians to use the case as a chance to open up German politics. “We are very concerned that people seem to be starting to think that all politicians behave like Wulff, and that would be fatal,” Christian Humborg, TI Germany’s managing director told The Local. “I think the Wulff affair is a wonderful opportunity for German politicians to react to the cynical attitude that this is normal, and improve things,” he said. He said the fact that the authorities were investigating whether Wulff and his ...
German Chancellor Angela Merkel threw her weight behind French President Nicolas Sarkozy in his tough re-election battle on Monday, saying the two right-wingers were from the same "political family". Despite accusations in both countries of interference, Merkel used a visit to Paris for a joint Franco-German cabinet session to make clear her support for Sarkozy, who has increasingly cited Germany as a model for France. "We belong to the same political family. He supported me and it is natural that I support him in his campaign," Merkel said during a joint television interview with Sarkozy to be broadcast later on French and ...
Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt thinks that Swedes need to be prepared to work a lot longer than they do today in order to keep the same living standard as when they were working. “The pensions scheme isn’t based on magic. It is a welfare ambition based on large-scale re-distribution and citizens’ own work. If people think that we can live longer and shorten our work life, then pensions will get lower,” Reinfeldt said in interview with daily Dagens Nyheter (DN). According to Reinfeldt, the expectation to retire at 65 is a problem in Sweden today. He thinks that Swedes may have to ...
BURBANK — Professional travelers know to avoid airports, bus stations, train stations or freeways during Thanksgiving. Planes, trains or automobiles, it’s bedlam. But not this year. While Thanksgiving travel was expected to be up across the nation from last year, travelers arriving at Bob Hope Airport said their holiday jaunts were easy, security lines no problem, and congestion on the runways obsolete. {lang: 'en-US'} function... [more]
Taylor Swift has won just about every top music award there is this year, but the possibility of winning not just one, but eight Grammys, had the 19-year-old screaming for joy as the nominations were announced. “I started freaking out and jumping up and down,” Swift said in a telephone interview Wednesday night after learning of her nominations, which included album of the year for her sophomore CD “Fearless” and... [more]
PHILADELPHIA - After months of negotiations, Comcast Corp. is finally about to seal its deal for a majority stake in NBC Universal, turning the nation’s largest cable TV provider into one of its most powerful media companies. Comcast Corp. is expected to announce early Thursday that it will pay $13.75 billion in cash and assets to gain control of NBC Universal from General Electric Co. People familiar with the transaction described... [more]
LOS ANGELES – Beyonce has enough Grammy nominations for her and Sasha Fierce. The omnipresent diva garnered the most Grammy nominations on Wednesday night with 10 nods, including nominations for album of the year for “I Am … Sasha Fierce,” song of the year for her anthem “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” and record of the year for “Halo.” Country crossover sensation Taylor Swift_ the year’s... [more]
WASHINGTON – He angered Congress and the public for bailing out Wall Street. He failed to detect early signs of the housing collapse. And now, he may be helping feed another speculative bubble. Yet Ben Bernanke is all but certain to win Senate approval for another term as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Why? Mainly because even his critics concede that Bernanke helped keep the Great Recession from becoming a second Great Depression. President... [more]
The Way Forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan United States Military Academy at West Point December 1, 2009 Good evening. To the United States Corps of Cadets, to the men and women of our armed services, and to my fellow Americans: I want to speak to you tonight about our effort in Afghanistan – the nature of our commitment there, the scope of our interests, and the strategy that my Administration will pursue to bring this war to a successful... [more]
West Point, New York (CNN) — President Obama said Tuesday that although the Afghanistan war is not lost, “it has moved backwards” for several years. Obama is outlining his strategy for the war in Afghanistan to an audience at the U.S. Military Academy, one that he says will bring the war “to a successful conclusion.” “There is no imminent threat of the government being overthrown, but the Taliban has gained... [more]
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama’s speech Tuesday night did not always match the reality on the ground in Afghanistan. The president raised expectations that may be hard to meet when he told Americans his troop increase in Afghanistan will accelerate the training of that country’s own forces and be accompanied by more help from allies. A look at some of his claims and how they compare with the facts: OBAMA: “Because... [more]
WARWICK, Rhode Island – Oscar-nominated actor James Woods on Tuesday settled a lawsuit against a hospital in Rhode Island where his younger brother Michael died in 2006. Woods claimed Kent Hospital was negligent in the death of his 49-year-old brother, who had a heart attack and died in its emergency room after going there with a sore throat and vomiting. The hospital’s chief executive, Sandra Coletta, acknowledged at a news conference... [more]
