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 ...
Today is Friday, Feb. 12, the 43rd day of 2010. There are 322 days left in the year. Today’s Highlights in History: On Feb. 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born in present-day Larue County, Ky. Naturalist Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, England. On this date: In 1554, Lady Jane Grey, who’d claimed the throne of England for nine days, and her husband, Guildford Dudley,... [more]
The International Space Station has a new room and observation deck. Astronauts hitched the room, named Tranquility, to the space station early Friday. A pair of spacewalking astronauts watched as the 23-foot-long chamber was moved into place by a giant robotic arm. Spacewalkers Robert Behnken and Nicholas Patrick are expected to hook up power and data cables later Friday and will tackle the plumbing during a second spacewalk Saturday... [more]
Estimate it will take six hours to install new room, observation deck Two astronauts will float outside the International Space Station late Thursday to attach a new room and long-awaited observation deck to the orbiting laboratory. Endeavour shuttle astronauts Robert Behnken and Nick Patrick will venture outside the space station at 9:09 p.m. EST to begin more than six hours of construction work to install the new connecting node,... [more]
China once again urged U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday to immediately cancel his meeting with Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama due next week, Xinhua said. Beijing has repeatedly warned Obama that in case he decides to meet with the Dalai Lama this month relations between the countries may deteriorate. However, the White House announced on Thursday that the meeting would take place on February 18. “China firmly opposes the... [more]
Event is one of the most dramatic for island volcano since 1997 eruption Puerto Rico – A volcano on Montserrat shot ash some nine miles (15 kilometers) into the sky Thursday, one of its most dramatic events since a devastating 1997 eruption that drove away half the Caribbean island’s population. The partial collapse of the dome in the volcano’s crater also unleashed flows of hot gas and rocks, triggering sirens for the... [more]
THOUSANDS of far-right supporters are expected in Dresden tomorrow after a court authorised a neo-Nazi demonstration marking the 65th anniversary of the allied bombing of the German city. Opponents of the annual neo-Nazi rally – a collection of politicians, artists and unionists who form the “Dresden without Nazis” alliance – called on the city’s residents to stage a peaceful counter-protest and block the demonstration. “Neo-Nazis... [more]
Polish President Lech Kaczynski congratulated Viktor Yanukovych on winning Ukraine’s presidential election and invited him to Poland, his aide, Mariusz Handzlik, has said. “In a telephone conversation, President Kaczynski stressed that Poland would support Ukraine on its path of reforms and Ukraine’s European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations,” Handzlik said. He also said that elections in Ukraine were in line with the... [more]
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin took part in a live video linkup with members of Russia’s Olympic team in Vancouver on Thursday, saying he was confident they would be successful. “On behalf of all the fans, the millions of us, I want to wish you success, strength of character and good luck,” Putin said from the media center of the Sochi 2014 Winter Games. “We all look forward to the start and await your results,”... [more]
A former U.S. president, Bill Clinton, has been taken to a New York hospital with a heart complaint, Sky News said on Friday. Clinton, 63, underwent a heart bypass in 2004. He has had a hectic schedule in the past month, coordinating U.S. aid to quake-hit Haiti. “As a neighbor I can say that he has been rushed to the hospital in New York. His wife Hilary was in a meeting with President Obama at the time and is rushing to his side,”... [more]
Russia has imposed temporary restrictions on meat and dairy imports from a number of U.S., Brazilian, Finnish and Czech companies starting from Friday, the country’s agricultural regulator said. Tests revealed that some products contained harmful substances, while others were infected with salmonella, bacteria that cause a potentially lethal disease, salmonellosis, Rosselkhoznadzor said in a statement. Shipments from U.S. and Brazil,... [more]
