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 ...
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday that the Mideast peace process will get back on track next week, though not the U.S.-brokered direct talks involving Israeli and Palestinians that the Obama administration wants to see. George Mitchell, the special U.S. envoy to the Mideast, will mediate the discussions when he travels to the region. His visit will follow a weekend meeting of Arab League diplomats. For now, it’s indirect... [more]
Did Apple buy the Lala music service just to shutter the competition? The iTunes operator acquired Lala last December. Just months later, the streaming music service has announced it will cease to provide service as of May 31. Lala offers its customers Internet access to a music library such as iTunes. When it launched in October 2008, the site set out to replace what its founders viewed as an outdated approach to uploading MP3 files... [more]
Taiwan executed four people on Friday, the justice ministry said, in the island’s first cases of capital punishment since 2005 when the sentence became a sensitive political issue. Four inmates convicted of crimes connected to a murder case were executed late on Friday, the ministry said in a statement, following years of fractious debate that saw the ministry’s chief quit last month in protest. “The justice ministry... [more]
Swiss justice officials on Friday rejected an attempt by Roman Polanski’s U.S. lawyers to unseal secret testimony by his original prosecutor in Los Angeles and submit that in the director’s fight against extradition to the United States. Switzerland works on the assumption that the extradition request from the U.S. is based on correct statements and the secret testimony wouldn’t change that, Justice Ministry spokesman... [more]
China’s biggest national news agency announced plans Friday to launch its global, English-language television news network this week, part of efforts to expand the communist government’s media influence abroad. Starting Saturday, China Xinhua News Network Corp. (CNC) will begin trial broadcasts of its English TV service around the clock, including news segments, feature stories, weather updates and special bulletins, the official... [more]
A massive blizzard is raging on Saturn — a storm so large and fierce NASA astronomers and amateur skywatchers can see it from Earth. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft currently orbiting Saturn has a front row seat to the otherworldly tempest and is recording the most detailed data yet of storms on the ringed planet. But amateur astronomers back on Earth have also managed to chip in on the Saturn blizzard stormwatch. “We were so excited... [more]
Pop star Shakira has promised to help fight a new Arizona immigration law that makes it a crime to be in the state illegally. The Colombian-born singer and Unicef ambassador says the law goes against American ideals. Shakira, best known for her hit singles She Wolf, Hips Don’t Lie and Whenever, Wherever, said: “I came here to lend my voice and offer my support to the Latino community and to express my public opposition on this... [more]
European stocks traded in a narrow range Friday as investors warily awaited the completion of a Greek support package and looked ahead of U.S. economic figures set to show the world’s largest economy continuing to grow solidly. In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 11.42 points, or 0.2 percent, at 5,606.42 while France’s CAC-40 index fell 13.08 points, or 0.3 percent, to 3,827.54. Germany’s... [more]
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble wants to meet over the weekend with private German bank directors to encourage them to contribute to a Greek financial rescue plan, a press report said on Friday. Schäuble has planned telephone conferences with bosses from the main German banks, probably on Sunday, once a deal has been negotiated by Greek officials, the International Monetary Fund and European Union representatives, dailyHandelsblatt... [more]
Greece must take measures to survive, Prime Minister George Papandreou said on Friday, as the country prepared severe austerity steps to secure a multi-billion-euro aid package and avoid default. “Many talk about red lines. The only red line is the country’s interest. Today the top priority is the survival of the nation. This is the red line,” Papandreou told parliament. “The measures we must take, which are economic... [more]
