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 ...
WARSAW (AFP) – Poland launched a year of celebrations Friday to mark the 200th anniversary of the celebrated composer Frederic Chopin, which will include events both at home and abroad. Culture Minister Bogdan Zdrojewski officially launched Chopin Year at the house where Chopin was born, in Zelazowa Wola, 80 kilometres (50 miles) west of the capital Warsaw. Later Friday, the Warsaw Philharmonic was set to give its first concert as... [more]
HONG KONG – Thousands of Hong Kong residents marched to theChinese government’s liaison office on Friday demanding that Beijing grant full democracy to the semiautonomous financial hub. Chanting “One man, one vote to choose our leader” and clutching signs reading “Democracy now,” the demonstrators set off from a crowded street in the heart of the Central financial district. Dozens of the protesters tried... [more]
ATLANTA – Delta Air Lines’ chief is upset the 278 passengers and 11 crew members aboard Flight 253 were put at risk by a suspected terrorist despite the carrier’s compliance with government security measures. CEO Richard Anderson told employees in a recorded message Thursday that airlines have done everything the government has asked since 9/11 to follow advanced passenger notification requirements and heightened screening... [more]
PASADENA, Calif. – The countdown is on for one of the nation’s biggest New Year’s celebrations — the Tournament of Roses Parade. Thousands of people clutching sleeping bags, lawn chairs and party favors staked their claims to sidewalk space along Pasadena’s Colorado Boulevard and other stretches of the route early Friday. They spent the night under the light of a rare blue moon — the secondfull moon in a... [more]
MADRID – Spain took over the presidency of the European Union on Friday, with the prime minister promising to work to end the continent’seconomic crisis. The six-month rotating post passed from Sweden to Spain at the stroke of midnight, and the country launched its stint in the helm with a spectacular sound and light show for New Year’s Eve revelers gathered at the Puerta del Sol, one of Madrid’s most emblematic... [more]
SCORES of cars were burned in France on New Year’s Eve and hundreds of people arrested, authorities said today. Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said in a statement that 405 arrests were made across the country and 11 police officers injured but “no major incidents” were reported. The official toll of burned cars was due later, he said. The interior ministry had mobilised 8,000 police in the capital and 45,000 nationally... [more]
Commodity markets were on course for their strongest year since 1973, lifted by oil’s biggest annual gains in a decade and a more than doubling in copper and sugar prices. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB index was on track for a 24 percent rally in 2009. Gold headed for its ninth increase in as many years. White sugar touched record highs on Thursday and cocoa headed for its fourth annual rise. But the strategies that worked in 2009 may... [more]
At least 1 million people marked the passing of another year at the iconic ball drop in New York’s Times Square, despite an early morning dusting of snow and late-night freezing rain. With the help of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and students from 12 city high schools, the dazzling crystal ball began its descent Thursday at 11:59 p.m. ET. Revelers counted down the final seconds of the decade. The New Year got under way with... [more]
At least 1 million people marked the passing of another year at the iconic ball drop in New York’s Times Square, despite an early morning dusting of snow and late-night freezing rain. With the help of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and students from 12 city high schools, the dazzling crystal ball began its descent Thursday at 11:59 p.m. ET. Revelers counted down the final seconds of the decade. The New Year got under way with... [more]
At least 1 million people marked the passing of another year at the iconic ball drop in New York’s Times Square, despite an early morning dusting of snow and late-night freezing rain. With the help of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and students from 12 city high schools, the dazzling crystal ball began its descent Thursday at 11:59 p.m. ET. Revelers counted down the final seconds of the decade. The New Year got under way with... [more]
