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 US economy roared back to life with a 5.7 percent growth pace in the fourth quarter, led by brisk business spending that offset sluggish consumer activity, official data showed Friday. The Commerce Department report on gross domestic product (GDP) showed the strongest growth in six years. The figures showed growth accelerated from the 2.2 percent annualized pace in the third quarter, when the economy expanded for the first time after... [more]
A US jury ruled Friday that French media giant Vivendi recklessly misled investors about the company’s finances, opening the door to a potential multibillion dollar payout to shareholders. But former Vivendi chairman and chief executive Jean-Marie Messier was cleared along with his chief financial officer Guillaume Hannezo by the jury which had been deliberating over two weeks in the shareholder lawsuit. Vivendi and Messier had been... [more]
The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Friday accused Israel of the “assassination” in Dubai last week of a founder of its military wing while on an arms-buying trip and vowed to avenge his death. “Mahmud Abdel Rauf al-Mabhuh died a martyr in Dubai on January 20, 2010,” Hamas said in a statement released in its Gaza stronghold. “We hold Israel responsible for the assassination of our brother and leader,”... [more]
The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Friday that he would propose an “insurance premium” for the financial system so as to cover any eventual new crisis. “What we are trying get across (to help limit the damage of any future crisis) is that the financial system is a risk system,” Dominique Strauss-Kahn told France 24 television. “What we must avoid is the profits going only to the private sector... [more]
Today is Friday, Jan. 29, the 29th day of 2010. There are 336 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Jan. 29, 1860 (according to the New Style calendar), Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov was born in the port city of Taganrog (TAG’-uhn-rahg). On this date: In 1820, Britain’s King George III died at Windsor Castle. In 1843, the 25th president of the United States, William McKinley, was born... [more]
The Dutch government and bailed-out financial services company ING Groep NV said Thursday that they are appealing a ruling by the European Union antitrust authority on repaying state aid. ING said the EU viewed repayment terms agreed by ING and the government as too generous. Of the euro10 billion ($14.07 billion) received from the Dutch government at the height of the financial crisis, the bank and insurer has paid back euro5 billion, plus... [more]
Eating foods like celery and parsley which contain the naturally occurring flavanoid apigenin may help prevent leukemia, Dutch scientists said Thursday. Maikel Peppelenbosch of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands said tests showed that apigenin — a common component of fruit and vegetables — was able to halt the development of two kinds of cells in leukemia and cut their survival chances. The findings suggest apigenin... [more]
Imitation Web sites of both Google and YouTube have emerged in China as the country faces off against the real Google over its local operations. YouTubecn.com offers videos from the real YouTube, which is blocked in China. The Google imitation is called Goojje and includes a plea for the U.S.-based Web giant not to leave China, after it threatened this month to do so in a dispute over Web censorship and cyberattacks. The separate projects... [more]
A CHILD advocacy group has sent out leaflets warning of the arrival of a sex offender in Florida – legendary British rocker Pete Townshend. A CHILD advocacy group has sent out leaflets warning of the arrival of a sex offender in Florida – legendary British rocker Pete Townshend. The New York Post reports the activists are outraged that the 64-year-old guitarist will perform with his band The Who at the halftime show during the... [more]
North Korea said on Thursday it had detained an American who crossed into its territory from China on January 25 and was interrogating him. The North’s official KCNA news agency said the man was “trespassing” but gave no further details. North Korea has been holding another U.S. citizen, activist Robert Park, who was captured in December when he crossed into the communist state saying he planned to raise awareness about... [more]
