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 ...
A violent late winter storm with fierce rain and hurricane-strength winds ripped across western Europe on Sunday, batteringFrance and four other countries, leaving at least 51 people dead. The storm, named Xynthia, was the worst in France since 1999 when 90 people died. Many of the 45 victims in France drowned, while others died when hit by parts of buildings or trees and branches that were ripped off by the wind. At least a dozen people... [more]
Britain’s retail banking sector is in the midst of a major makeover as lenders post sharply-improved earnings, bosses relinquish bonuses and new players prepare to join a recovering market. Half-way into the earnings season, analysts are lauding a 114-percent jump in annual profits at Barclays and a narrowing of losses at state-contolled groups Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group (LBG). Following the encouraging... [more]
North Korea may return to nuclear disarmament talks in March or April, Yonhap news agency said Sunday, citing an unnamed senior South Korean government official. “We believe North Korea will come back to the six-party talks sooner or later, possibly in March or April, although we cannot predict the exact timing,” the official was quoted by Yonhap telling a group of South Korean journalists in Washington on Saturday. “Our... [more]
Today is Saturday, Feb. 27, the 58th day of 2010. There are 307 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Feb. 27, 1960, the U.S. Olympic hockey team defeated the Soviets, 3-2, at the Winter Games in Squaw Valley, Calif. (The U.S. team went on to win the gold medal.) On this date: In 1801, the District of Columbia was placed under the jurisdiction of Congress. In 1807, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland,... [more]
Google on Saturday quickly activated an online “person finder” tool to allow relatives and friends to find loved ones following the huge earthquake in Chile. The “Person Finder: Chile Earthquake” from the California-based Internet giant is located at Chilepersonfinder.appspot.com and offers users the choice of using it in English and Spanish. It asks users “What is your situation?” and gives them the choice... [more]
Googles much-hyped Nexus One smartphone is set for UK launch in April, according to a new report in The Daily Telegraph, with the web giant no doubt hoping the device will make a bigger splash than it did on its US launch. At present UK consumers can purchase an unlocked version of the phone from Googles website, although Google has been in discussions with network operator Vodafone for some time now about providing the device on contract... [more]
Electronics giants LG, Sony, Samsung, Toshiba and Hitachi, along with several of their subsidiaries, have been accused of price fixing in the US optical disc drive space. According to a filing with the California Northern Federal District Court, consumer electronics store Prisco Electronic company alleges the firms colluded to “fix, raise, maintain and stabilise the price of Optical Disk Drive Products sold in the United States “. “These... [more]
JUDGES have adjourned until March 26 the trial that will see Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi accused of corrupting his former tax lawyer. Mr Berlusconi, who did not attend the hearing, is on trial for allegedly paying $US600,000 ($675,371) to British tax lawyer David Mills in exchange for false testimony during two trials in the mid-1990s. Mr Mills’ parallel trial for the same crime was thrown out by Italy’s appeals... [more]
A senior US congressman has accused Toyota of withholding documents it should have disclosed in lawsuits filed by crash victims. Democratic Representative Edolphus Towns, the chairman of a House committee that questioned Toyota executives this week about the carmaker’s recall, said that Toyota’s actions amounted to “a systematic disregard for the law”. Toyota has denied the charge. The world’s biggest car manufacturer... [more]
US troops are going to be allowed to use social networks such as Twitter and Facebook after a Pentagon review found that the benefits of social media outweigh security concerns. The decision, which comes at a time of growing concern over cyber-security, applies only to the US military’s non-classified network. But it could mean big changes for large portions of the US armed forces, including the Marines, which had selectively banned... [more]
