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 Haitian judge deciding whether 10 U.S. missionaries should face trial on charges of trying to take a busload of children out of the country said Thursday he will recommend that they be released provisionally while the investigation continues. Judge Bernard Saint-Vil must now send his recommendation to the prosecutor, who may agree or object, but the judge has the final authority to decide whether they stay in custody or go free. Saint-Vil... [more]
Brilliant and controversial British fashion designerAlexander McQueen was found dead in his London home Thursday, his company said, after anguished Internet postings that revealed his deep sorrow at the death of his mother. He was 40 years old. Police said his death was not being treated as suspicious. McQueen’s representatives would not confirm British media reports that he had committed suicide. McQueen’s sudden death robbed... [more]
Rosenborg Ballklub (RBK) is a Norwegian football club from the city of Trondheim, currently playing in the Norwegian Premier League. With 20 league titles and nine Norwegian Cup (Norwegian Championship) titles, the club is the most successful in Norway , and has dominated Norwegian football since the start of the 1990s. Rosenborg’s domestic title streak of 13 consecutive wins is second in the world only to the 14-year streak of Skonto... [more]
The Dutch anonymous crime reporting hotline has received eighty percent more calls last year. In 2009 more than 1200 crimes were solved in the Netherlands using anonymous information. Of all the tips received through the hotline last year, 75 percent was deemed valuable or even decisive in solving crimes. The anonymous phone number was put in place in 2002 and is modelled after the crimestoppers-concept used in the UK and the United States.... [more]
The city of Rotterdam has become the first city in the Netherlands to fully switch to an electronic ticketing system for public transport. From Thursday on, travellers on Rotterdam’s buses, trams and metro will only be able to travel through the city using an electronic ticket. Paper tickets will no longer be accepted. The Dutch Ministry of Transport intends to transfer to an electronic ticket system for all forms of public transport... [more]
Finance Minister Wouter Bos wants the 12 provinces to transfer their investments to the State. Noord-Holland is placing 1 billion euros in assets with the Dutch state. It is the first province to agree to transfer management of its assets to The Hague, Bos says in a letter to parliament. Talks with the other provinces are to follow. The agreement in fact means that Finance will manage the coffers for the non-central government authorities.... [more]
Former Indonesian corruption chief Antasari Azhar has been jailed for 18 years for murder. Azhar was convicted of ordering the murder of wealthy businessman Nasrudin Zulkarnaen last year over an alleged love triangle with a female golf caddy. Prosecutors had called for the death sentence for Azhar in a trial that gripped the country. Azhar said he was innocent and the charge had been revenge for his work unveiling corruption among officials. Judge... [more]
German tennis legend Boris Becker has welcomed his fourth child into the world with new wife Lilly Kerssenberg, media reports confirmed on Thursday. The couple’s son, Amadeus Benedict Edley Luis, was born at a London hospital and weighed 3,500 grammes, Becker told daily Bild. “My wife has given me the most wonderful gift with this baby,” the six-time Grand Slam singles champion and Wimbledon-winner told the paper. “We’re... [more]
Greece needs psychological and political support from Europe and does not envisage calling on the International Monetary Fund for help, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou was quoted as saying on Thursday. In an excerpt of an interview posted on the website of the newspaper Le Monde, Papandreou said Greece’s budget plans were credible and if the country continued to suffer speculative attacks in the market, this would be... [more]
An Illinois 32 year old has rocked boxing legend Muhammad Ali’s world by sensationally calling the sportsman dad in a new tabloid expose. Technical engineer Osmon Williams claims he’s the champ’s secret lovechild – and he wants to bond with his father before Parkinson’s disease robs the fighter of his life. Williams tells the Globe, “I desperately want to know my dad. I want to have a relationship with... [more]
