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 government’s plans to introduce a kilometer tax are again in the spotlight on Monday with the country’s biggest newspaper and the ANWB motoring organisation both carrying out polls to test support for the measure. So far, over 100,000 people have taken part in the ANWB survey while a similar number have voted in the Telegraaf poll. The results so far are still under wraps. Last week, transport minister Camiel Eurlings said... [more]
Saddam Hussein’s cousin, Hassan al Majid, also known as ‘Chemical Ali’, has been executed. He was hanged for crimes against humanity, according to Iraqi government spokesman Ali al Dabbagh. “The death sentence against Ali Hassan al Majeed has been carried out,” Mr Dabbagh said. ‘Chemical Ali’ was killed around a week after he received a fourth death sentence. News of the hanging came shortly after... [more]
HSBC Holdings , Europe’s biggest bank, has appointed Peter Boyles to a new role as chief executive for continental Europe, where the traditionally Asia-focussed bank said it saw “considerable opportunity.” Boyles, the head of the bank’s French operations and a 35-year veteran of HSBC, will lead a new Paris-based team responsible for businesses in 26 countries across continental Europe, including France, Germany,... [more]
Workers should be able to carry on past their retirement age to boost the economy and save pensions costs, according to a new report. The Equality and Human Rights Commission called for “fundamental changes” to employment policies to open up more work opportunities for older people and tackle the challenges of an ageing workforce. The group is proposing to abolish the so-called “default” retirement age, extend the... [more]
Three large explosions rocked central Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 11 people, according to police, and ending a 1-1/2-month lull in coordinated assaults on the Iraqi capital as the country heads into a March election. At least 21 people were wounded in the three separate attacks, police said. One bomb blast appeared to have occurred at the entrance of the Ishtar Sheraton hotel, a Baghdad landmark on the eastern side of the Tigris... [more]
The plane lost contact with airport control shortly after taking off from Beirut amid thunder and heavy rain and crashed into the water off Lebanon’s south coast. Ethiopian Airlines flight 409 was carrying 83 passengers and seven crew. Two Britons were among those on board the Boeing 737-800 to Addis Ababa the Foreign Office has said. The cause of the crash has not been confirmed but Lebanon has been thrashed by stormy weather since... [more]
Today is Monday, Jan. 25, the 25th day of 2010. There are 340 days left in the year. Today’s Highlights in History: On Jan. 25, 1890, reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) of the New York World completed a round-the-world journey in 72 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes. The United Mine Workers of America was founded in Columbus, Ohio. On this date: In 1759, Scottish poet Robert Burns was born in Alloway. In 1787, Shays’s... [more]
SCIENCE-FICTION epic Avatar topped the North American box office for the sixth week running and was two million dollars shy of the all-time ticket sales record set by Titanic, estimates showed overnight. Director James Cameron’s groundbreaking 3-D spectacular raked in 36 million dollars this weekend, raising its North American takings to 552.8 million and international ticket sales to 1.841 billion, box office tracker Exhibitor Relations... [more]
NORTHERN Ireland’s feuding leaders meet on Monday in a bid to defuse a growing political crisis that is threatening the British province’s power-sharing administration, media reported. Martin McGuinness, Northern Irish deputy first minister, will hold talks with First Minister Peter Robinson to end a bitter devolution row, the Press Association news agency said, without citing a source. Renewed discussions to break the impasse... [more]
A rare and nearly complete dinosaur skeleton stolen from private property in Montanaand stored in an evidence locker for more than two years has been turned over to researchers. Scientists at the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research in South Dakota say the 70-million-year-old turkey-sized predator could be a new species of raptor. “It’s a mean and nasty little dinosaur,” said Peter Larson, president of the... [more]
