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 ...
The number of Bankruptcies in the Netherlands increased by 68% to 7,045 this year compared to 2008, according to a survey by data provider Dun & Bradstreet, report various media on Tuesday. The construction, industrial and financial services sectors were the hardest hit. The researchers said 2009 was unusual in that many large companies also went bankrupt such as the car firm Kroymans, DSB Bank and pop star Marco Borsato’s Entertainment... [more]
Members of a winter swimming club form a 2010 sign in the snow on the bank of the Yenisei River as they celebrate the coming of the new year in Russia’s Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, December 27, 2009. Share this: {lang: 'en-US'} function open_win(url,id) { var win = window.open(url, 'popup','width=600,height=300,status=0,toolbar=0'); var tpopup = setInterval(function() { if(win.closed) { reload_to(); } },... [more]
FRANKENSTEIN, Mo. – The mystery started the day farmer Russ Kremer got between a jealous boar and a sow in heat. The boar gored Kremer in the knee with a razor-sharp tusk. The burly pig farmer shrugged it off, figuring: “You pour the blood out of your boot and go on.” But Kremer’s red-hot leg ballooned to double its size. A strep infectionspread, threatening his life and baffling doctors. Two months of multiple antibiotics... [more]
Today is Tuesday, Dec. 29, the 363rd day of 2009. There are 2 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Dec. 29, 1170, Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by knights loyal to King Henry II. On this date: In 1808, the 17th president of the United States, Andrew Johnson, was born in Raleigh, N.C. In 1845, Texas was admitted as the 28th state. In 1851, the first YMCA... [more]
SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea said Tuesday it has detained an American who entered the country illegally, after activists claimed that a 28-year-old from Arizona went to the communist nation on a mission to call attention to the regime’s human rights abuses. The American was being investigated after “illegally entering” the country through the North Korea-China border last Thursday, North Koreas’s official Korean... [more]
NEW YORK – The latest reading on home prices is expected to show a decline from year-ago levels, but since June government programs to boost home sales have helped prices improve on a monthly basis. The figures for October, which will be released Tuesday, should reflect the rush of homebuyers trying to complete their purchases before the original expiration of a federal tax credit. The Nov. 30 deadline was extended last month to April... [more]
URUMQI, China – China brushed aside international appeals Tuesday and executed a British man convicted of drug smuggling whose relatives say was mentally unstable and unwittingly lured into the crime. Britain’s prime minister condemned the execution — China’s first of a European citizen in nearly 60 years. “I condemn the execution of Akmal Shaikh in the strongest terms, and am appalled and disappointed that our... [more]
NEW YORK – Ed Gullo never thought he’d be on this side of apackage delivery. Gullo, 61, of Newburgh, N.Y., is driving a truck for FedEx during the holiday shipping rush that started after Thanksgiving. Gullo is no veteran truck driver. He’s a news writer with experience at ABC and CNN, who found gigs hard to come by in the weak economy. FedEx and UPS, the world’s two largest package delivery companies, hire thousands... [more]
COPENHAGEN – Around the world, countries and capitalism are already working to curb global warming on their own, with or without a global treaty. In Brazil more rainforests are being saved, and in Chicago there’s a voluntary carbon pollution trading system. People recycle, buy smaller and newer cars, and change lightbulbs. But the impact of such piecemeal, voluntary efforts is small. Experts say it will never be enough without... [more]
NEW YORK – Anthony Marshall has had a life of privilege and pain as philanthropist Brooke Astor’s only child. Born into wealth, he joined the Marines after high school and was wounded in the battle of Iwo Jima. He later became an ambassador, author and Broadway producer before his life began to crumble when his own son accused him of mistreating the aged Astor and doyenne of New York society who married into one of the country’s... [more]
