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 ...
The Nigerian national football team has been banned from competitive games for two years by the country’s president following their poor performance at the World Cup. President Goodluck Jonathan forced the hiatus upon the squad to allow it time to “put its house in order”, his office said. Nigeria finished bottom of their group in South Africa with just one point after losing to Argentina and Greece and drawing with South... [more]
Embattled German Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a blow to her authority Wednesday as her pick for president needed three voting rounds to win election after a rebellion in her ruling coalition. Christian Wulff, 51, a conservative Merkel ally who once described himself as no “alpha male,” secured 625 votes in a special electoral assembly, enough to become Germany’s youngest-ever president. His election was greeted by... [more]
French prosecutors on Wednesday demanded the maximum 10-year jail sentence for Panama’s ageing former dictator Manuel Noriega on charges of laundering drug money. The 76-year-old general has denied taking payments from Colombian drug lords in the 1980s, dismissing the accusations that he laundered drug money in France as a scheme concocted by the United States. “I call on God’s divine providence to give wisdom to you and... [more]
Today is Wednesday, June 30, the 181st day of 2010. There are 184 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 30, 1860, the famous Oxford University Museum debate on Darwin’s theory of evolution took place as Anglican Bishop Samuel Wilberforce led his side in denouncing the concept, while biologist T.H. Huxley rose to defend it. (Although exact details of the debate, which was not transcribed, are in dispute,... [more]
Sandra Bullock and Jesse James’ marriage is officially over – the estranged couple’s divorce has been finalised, according to online reports. The Oscar winner walked out on the TV mechanic in March after porn star Michelle ‘Bombshell’ McGee went public with news of her 11-month fling with James. Bullock filed for divorce in Travis County, Texas in April, after revealing she and James had adopted a baby boy from... [more]
Google has confirmed it will stop automatically directing users of its China search site to its Hong Kong site after Beijing said the company would lose its mainland internet licence if the tactic continued. Google shut down its China-based search engine on March 22 to avoid co-operating with the communist government’s internet filtering and has rerouted users to its unfiltered site in Hong Kong. But Google said regulators told the... [more]
oday is Tuesday, June 29, the 180th day of 2010. There are 185 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 29, 1910, composer-lyricist Frank Loesser (LEH’-suhr), who wrote the songs for such Broadway musicals as “Guys and Dolls,” “The Most Happy Fella” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” was born in New York. On this date: In 1776, the Virginia state constitution... [more]
Today is Sunday, June 28, the 179th day of 2010. There are 186 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: 1894 – U.S. President Grover Cleveland signed an act of Congress, making Labor Day a federal holiday in the U.S. The first Monday of September is when Labor Day is celebrated as a salute to working men and women across the country. 1907 – The Washington Nationals stole 13 bases in a single baseball game... [more]
Former couple Britney Spears and Kevin Federline briefly reunited on Thursday to attend their sons Jayden James and Sean Preston’s pre-school graduation ceremonies. Spears’ divorced parents, Jamie and Lynne, also put on a united front at the San Fernando Valley school in California. Spears and Federline split in 2006 after a two-year marriage. Federline, 32, won sole custody of the kids in 2008. The pop star is allowed weekly... [more]
THE leaders of the world’s most powerful countries were to pursue talks today on settling their differences over how to nurse the fragile world economy back to health. The G20 nations convened in the eastern Canadian city of Toronto on the heels of a tough-talking G8 summit, in which the world’s major industrialised powers laid down the law to rogue operators Iran and North Korea. US officials called on leading economies to focus... [more]
