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 blizzard howled up the East Coast on Wednesday, making roads from Baltimore to New York City so treacherous that even plow drivers pulled over and bringing more misery to a Mid-Atlantic region poised to have its snowiest winter on record. In Pennsylvania, the governor closed large stretches of three major highways because the second major storm in less than a week was making travel too risky. In Washington, snow fell so hard that... [more]
Today is Wednesday, Feb. 10, the 41st day of 2010. There are 324 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Feb. 10, 1967, the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, dealing with presidential disability and succession, was ratified as Minnesota and Nevada adopted it. On this date: In 1763, Britain, Spain and France signed the Treaty of Paris, ending the Seven Years’ War. In 1840, Britain’s Queen Victoria married Prince... [more]
A television news helicopter crashed near a busy highway in Brazil’s largest city Wednesday, killing the pilot and seriously injuring a cameraman onboard. The Record TV helicopter was destroyed after crashing on a grassy area next to the track of Sao Paulo’s Jockey Club horse racing complex, a few hundred yards (meters) from heavy traffic on the thoroughfare. Video from Globo TV showed the aircraft spinning out of control... [more]
HUNDREDS of Chinese believe they have a mysterious new disease with HIV-like symptoms but doctors suggest it is just “HIV phobia” caused by guilt from having sex with prostitutes. In the past Chinese authorities have been accused of covering up epidemics such as the SARS virus and doctors are blaming a breakdown in trust between the medical profession and patients for the growing HIV phobia. But the BBC reports because of this... [more]
International Olympic Committee officials warned would-be dope cheats that they will be uncovered, even if it takes nearly eight years of advances in dope testing to reveal their shame. “I’m confident cheats who appear here will be identified, sooner or later,” said IOC medical chairman Arne Ljungqvist. “Athletes considering using such substances should know that we will be testing samples years later. If you get... [more]
A rice vendor may have lived under the rubble of a flea market for 27 days with little more than water and possibly fruit, a doctor said Tuesday, in what would be a dramatic tale of survival four weeks after Haiti’s devastating earthquake. The man’s account could not be independently confirmed, however, and the doctor conceded medical workers were skeptical at first, but he said they began to believe the man when he regained... [more]
Relatives in eastern Cuba claim to have held a 125th birthday party for a woman named Juana Bautista de la Candelaria Rodriguez, but it is not clear if she is really that old. The state-run news agency Prensa Latina reported on the party last weekend in the city of Bayamo in Granma province, attended by Rodriguez’s family, including 15 great-grand children and four great-great-grandchildren. Prensa Latina said Rodriguez, known... [more]
According to a report published by the Royal Dutch Institute for Sea Research, Dutch seawater temperatures have increased faster than expected. Since 1982, Dutch sea water temperature has increased by an average 1.5 degrees, which is three times more than can be attributed to the effects of increased greenhouse gases in the same period. Researchers on the Dutch island of Texel investigated the higher temperatures and discovered that they... [more]
Millions of German families on welfare could receive more government assistance after the nation’s highest court ruled Tuesday the controversialHartz IV system of payments was unconstitutional. The Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe ruled that the payments allotted for 1.7 million children of people on long-term unemployment benefits, introduced in 2005, were not correctly calculated. Senior government figures quickly promised a review... [more]
EU industry ministers on Tuesday pressed the European Commission to establish a common strategy to develop electric cars. Ministers and industry representatives discussed the future of electric vehicles, which are seen as both an environmental necessity and an opportunity for economic growth, at an informal meeting in San Sebastian, northern Spain. Madrid currently holds the rotating EU presidency and the Spanish Industry Minister Miguel... [more]
