Eurozone finance ministers were to confer by telephone on Saturday after 12 hours of talks in Athens failed to produce a breakthrough on a deal to bail out Greece, the Greek finance minister said. Evangelos Venizelos added that a planned meeting by eurozone ministers on Greece originally scheduled for Monday would now be held on Wednesday. "I will participate in a Eurogroup telephone conference at 1230 GMT" to discuss details of a rescue deal for Greece worth 130 billion euros ($171 billion) which officials have been trying to seal since October, the minister said in a statement. "Critical issues pertaining to the country's ...
Australia's flood crisis deepened Saturday as authorities braced for waters to peak in Queensland where one woman is missing after being swept away while elsewhere thousands remain stranded by the surge. Prime Minister Julia Gillard said eight military helicopters would help in search, evacuation and resupply missions in the eastern state, where days of heavy rainfall have prompted hundreds of evacuations and dozens of rescues. "The helicopters will be available to assist in rescue operations as required until the immediate crisis has passed," Gillard said in a statement. In the inland Queensland town of Charleville authorities are on alert amid fears a temporary ...
Tens of thousands people are braving the bitter cold at two major rallies in downtown Moscow on Saturday as a power play between champions of political liberalization and supporters of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin continues to unfold. The first demonstration demands fair elections at the March 4 presidential polls, at which Putin is expected to secure a third term in the Kremlin. It also calls on Russians “not to give a single vote” to Putin. The opposition rally is widely seen by analysts as a litmus test of protesters’ ability to maintain momentum after two earlier protests against alleged vote fraud in favor of ...
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday wrapped up a visit to China where she tried to reassure her hosts on the strength of the euro and Europe's ability to overcome its debt crisis. During her three-day trip to the world's second largest economy, Merkel praised the advantages of the single currency and urged China to put pressure on Iran and to condemn Syria at the United Nations. Merkel, who was prevented from meeting journalists and a human rights lawyers, ended her official visit in the southern city of Guangzhou, Xinhua news agency reported. Merkel, who held talks with Premier Wen Jiabao and President ...
Norway’s government has said it wants non-European immigrants to carry residency cards equipped with data chips bearing their fingerprints. In a proposal presented on Friday, the justice ministry said the new identity cards would help tackle illegal immigration. “The residency card system will increase security surrounding residency permit documentation, thereby contributing to the prevention of illegal immigration and illegal residency,” said Justice Minister Grete Faremo (Labour Party) in a statement. The move follows pressure from the European Union to ensure that immigrants from outside the European Economic Area, of which Norway is a member, are provided with residency cards that include fingerprint details. Faremo ...
Greece expects its 2011 budget deficit will be smaller than expected at between 9.1 and 9.4 percent of GDP, thanks to an emergency property tax, a finance ministry official said on Friday, a development that could help Athens in its bailout talks with the EU and IMF. Greece, which is racing to complete talks with the EU and the IMF on a second bailout worth 130 billion euros, had previously estimated that the deficit would be above 9.5 percent of GDP. "The numbers aren't final yet but we believe the deficit will come in at between 9.1 and 9.4 percent (of GDP)," ...
China has rejected Japanese protests over alleged improper exploration of gas deposits in the East China Sea. The Foreign Ministry said Friday the recent activity had taken place within Chinese-controlled waters and was completely normal. A ministry statement said China was strongly dissatisfied with recent comments from Japanese officials. Japan's chief Cabinet secretary on Wednesday said Japan protested to China after a flare was seen a day earlier at a Chinese structure at an undersea gas deposit. The deposit, known as Kashi in Japan and Tianwaitian in China, sits near a median line in the countries' overlapping exclusive economic zones. Japan and China agreed ...
The leader of Russia's Islamist rebels ordered a halt to attacks on civilians, saying mass opposition protests showed the public no longer supported Vladimir Putin, according to a video posted Friday. Doku Umarov, whose Caucasus Emirate group claimed atrocities including a deadly Moscow airport bombing in 2011 and a metro attack in 2010, said from now only security objects and officials would be targeted. "I order all special groups that are carrying out or plan to carry out special operations in Russia to put a halt to these operations that could hurt the peaceful population," Doku Umarov said in a video address ...
China's Premier Wen Jiabao said Friday the Asian giant had neither the ability nor the intention to "buy Europe", amid concerns over growing Chinese investment in debt-stricken eurozone economies. China is "willing to cooperate with Europe to fight the current crisis. Some people say this means China wants to buy Europe", Wen told a German-China business forum in the southern city of Guangzhou. "This a concern and doesn't fit reality. China doesn't have this intention and doesn't have this ability." German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in China for a three-day visit to boost her host's confidence in Europe, also attended the forum along with ...
Energy Secretary Chris Huhne is to resign from the Government after it emerged he is to face prosecution over allegations that he asked his ex-wife to take a speeding penalty for him. The Liberal Democrat MP has been charged with perverting the course of justice after an investigation into the 2003 incident by Essex Police. His former wife, the economist Vicky Pryce is also facing charges of perverting the course of justice. They are due to appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on February 16. The maximum sentence for perverting the course of justice is life in prison, the CPS and the Sentencing ...
A strike by British Airways cabin crew cost over 7 million pounds a day, the airline said Monday, as Prime Minister Gordon Brown sought to limit pre-election fallout from the industrial dispute. The loss-making airline ran 78 percent of its long-haul flights and 50 per cent of its short-haul flights over the first two days of the strike over planned changes to pay and conditions, it said. “Contingency plans for the three days... [more]
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Monday that Palestine may become an independent and viable sovereign nation within the next two years. She said that close cooperation between the Mideast Quartet members and the Arab League was key to bringing peace to the Middle East through their public support of bringing Israel and Palestine to the table to renew bilateral talks. “We urge regional governments publicly support the... [more]
Google’s China domain, Google.cn, now redirects to Google.com.hk. The new site reads, “Welcome to the new home of Google China search.” The switch means Google is no longer censoring search results for its Chinese visitors. Whether Chinese Internet can actually access Google.com.hk is another matter. It may be blocked by the Chinese government. The move follows months of negotiations and threats between Google (GOOG) and... [more]
Pope Benedict’s letter to Irish Catholics apologising for the sexual abuse scandal has been greeted with disappointment by Dutch victims, the NRC reports. In the letter, the pope apologised to the people of Ireland and to thousands of victims of sexual abuse in past decades by Roman Catholic priests there. And he criticised Irish bishops for ‘grave errors of judgement’ in dealing with the problem. But the pope did not mention... [more]
ING has avoided paying tens of millions of euros in Dutch value added tax by buying in services via a Swiss unit, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Monday. The paper bases its claims on ‘papers and statements’ from insiders. Among the companies supplying hundreds of millions of euros worth of services via Switzerland are Microsoft, Oracle and staffing agency Randstad, the paper says. Contracts and bills processed via Switzerland... [more]
French Labour Minister Xavier Darcos, who was set to lead negotiations over a reform of the pensions system, is leaving office after the government was routed in regional elections, a political source said on Monday. Darcos himself stood in the ballot but was crushed by his Socialist opponent and officials said the hefty defeat had severely dented his credibility, making it difficult for him to push ahead with a shake up of costly state... [more]
Swiss anti-trust regulators on Monday said they would challenge a decision to cancel a 314-million-dollar fine they had imposed on telecoms giant Swisscom for abusing its dominant market position. The Swiss competition commission (Comco) said it was appealing to the Federal Tribunal, the country’s highest court to get the record 333 million Swiss franc (230 million euros, 314 million dollars) fine reinstated. The Tribunal will “have... [more]
Today is Monday, March 22, the 81st day of 2010. There are 284 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On March 22, 1765, Britain enacted the Stamp Act of 1765 to raise money from the American colonies. (The Act was repealed the following year.) On this date: In 1638, religious dissident Anne Hutchinson was expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for defying Puritan orthodoxy. In 1820, U.S. naval hero Stephen... [more]
It is a year since the death of Jade Goody and her loved ones still “miss her every day”. The reality TV star died on March 22 last year from cervical cancer and her bridesmaid Jennifer Smith says Jade’s friends are keen to continue to raise awareness of devastating illness. Ms Smith said: “It’s been a year since Jade died and we all miss her every day. We know that Jade’s cancer battle raised awareness... [more]
France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy was left scrambling for a way to relaunch his once relentless reform drive on Monday, after a humiliating defeat in nationwide regional elections. Prime Minister Francois Fillon was to meet the French leader at 9:00 am (0800 GMT) following Sunday’s debacle, which left Sarkozy’s right-wing UMP in charge of only one of France’s mainland regions. There have been reports that Fillon... [more]
