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 ...
Rescuers searching for those still missing from the cruise liner that capsized after crashing into rocks in Italy have begun using explosives to blast holes in the vessel. It comes as Italian emergency services deny reports in La Stampa newspaper that a seventh body has been found on the Costa Concordia. The increased death toll was reported in the Italian media after “black box” recordings showed the ship’s captain ignored... [more]
Former world number one Mats Wilander was taken to hospital on the eve of the Australian Open in Melbourne after falling and lacerating a kidney, his company said on Tuesday. In a Facebook posting Wilander on Wheels, which runs tennis clinics, said it wanted to give an update on his condition because of rumours swirling about the Swede, a commentator for Eurosport. “Late on Saturday evening Mats sustained a fall in his apartment... [more]
German airports are slowly offering more free internet access, but progress is slow, with only Cologne Bonn Airport providing unlimited free surfing. That is in stark contrast to much of the rest of the world, including the United States, Austria and Australia where airports sometimes use the free internet access they offer as promotion for their facilities. The Handelsblatt newspaper, which listed a run-down of the situation in Germany... [more]
Emergency workers searched Tuesday for 29 people missing from an Italian cruise disaster that killed six as the ship’s captain faced an interrogation on accusations that he veered wildly off course The head of the Italian coastguard, Marco Brusco, said there was “a glimmer of hope” for finding more survivors since the giant half-submerged vessel had not yet been fully inspected, but rescuers said the chances were now slim. Brusco... [more]
A Japan Airlines flight bound for Sydney was forced to turn back after takeoff when a business class passenger seat caught fire, according to reports. The small fire was apparently caused by a cigarette lighter — although the airline said it has not yet identified who it belonged to, according to the Kyodo News and Jiji Press news agencies. The Boeing 777, carrying 260 passengers and crew members, took off from Narita airport... [more]
Police divers and rescue crews are circled around the wreckage of the cruise ship that ran aground off the Tuscan coast in an apparent search for the few dozen people who remain unaccounted for. Late Saturday a South Korean couple on their honeymoon were rescued when firefighters in the unsubmerged part of the Costa Concordia heard their screams. Crews in dinghies were seen Sunday morning touching the hull with their hands. They... [more]
Italian prime minister Mario Monti travels to the UK on Wednesday for his first official visit since taking office, amid concerns that organised crime has tightened its grip on his country’s economy. He has been trying to convince European leaders he has control of the debt crisis that has seen Italy’s cost of borrowing soar. But there are fears that tax evasion and the increasing role of the mafia is robbing the Italian treasury... [more]
In a sea of black and white penguins waddling on Antarctica’s Aitcho Islands, National Geographic Explorers spotted an extremely rare, nearly all-white Chinstrap penguin this week. David Stephens, a naturalist on board the Lindblad Expeditions’ National Geographic Explorer ship, snapped the photo above of the rare leucistic bird, which he described on their blog as “whitish, but not quite an albino.” Leucistic... [more]
AUSTRALIA has not altered its travel warnings for Thailand in response to warnings by US authorities about the increased chances of terrorist attacks in Bangkok. The United States today warned of a terrorist threat against tourists “in the near future” in the Thai capital. This followed an announcement by Thai authorities that they had detained a Lebanese man with suspected links to the Hezbollah militant group. “Foreign... [more]
The heavy rainfall that accompanied the storms of the past few days have led to critically high water levels in the northern-most provinces of Groningen and Friesland. On Thursday, a dike near the Groningen town of Tolbert was in danger of collapse, but the situation there has since stabilised. On Friday, the condition of a dike along the Eems Canal became critical. About 800 inhabitants of several villages along the canal have been evacuated. State... [more]
