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 railroads in Norway are slower than in most countries in Europe, according to a survey by Framtida i våre hender performed in 27 European countries. The Norwegian average speed without change of train ranks at 20th place on the list. With a change of train, Norway ranks 25th, according to the survey. - The railroads in this country are extremely slow, leader Arild Hermstad ast Framtida i våre hender says to Aftenposten. He points... [more]
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday that an emergency trillion-dollar rescue package for crisis-hit eurozone countries would serve as bulwark for the beleaguered euro. “This package serves to strengthen and protect the common currency,” she told reporters, hours after the European Union announced an unprecedented intervention worth more than €750 billion backed by the International Monetary Fund and central banks... [more]
President Barack Obama will nominate Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, a person familiar with the president’s thinking said Sunday night. The move positions the court to have three female justices for the first time in history. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not been made public. Obama will announce his choice at 10 a.m. Monday in the East Room of the White House. Known as... [more]
Greek President Carolos Papoulias called crisis talks with political leaders on Monday in a bid to rein in social tensionsas the EU moved to limit the fallout from Greece’s debt crunch on world markets. The talks are being boycotted by representatives of the Communist and left-wing Syriza parties, who have helped mount protests in recent weeks against drastic austerity measures aimed at slashing Greece’s budget deficit. More... [more]
A prominent Chinese AIDS activist has fled China for the United States with his wife and 4-year-old daughter to escape increasing government harassment of him and his organization, he said Monday. Wan Yanhai’s departure highlights the pressure that nongovernmental groups and activists face when operating in China, where theCommunist Party leadership remains suspicious of independent groups or individuals as possible threats to... [more]
The Netherlands will contribute €26bn to the €500bn guarantee fund being set up by eurozone members to shore up the euro, acting finance minister Jan Kees de Jager said on Sunday evening. The EU effort is part of a global effort to stabilise the world financial markets in the wake of the Greek debt crisis, worth an estimated $1 trillion, according to Reuters news agency. De Jager emphasised the Dutch contribution is in the form a of... [more]
The volcanic ash cloud looks set to cause further travel disruption in the coming days after more than 700 flights were cancelled across Europe over the weekend. The latest aerial shutdown saw airports in Ireland, southern France, Switzerland, Italy and Germany close because of the ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Flights were grounded from airports across the UK including Belfast, Derry, London Stansted, Bristol, Edinburgh,... [more]
Five southern German airports closed on Sunday due to a second ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano have been reopened, authorities announced late on Sunday evening. The German air-traffic control agency (DFS) had closed air space above airports at major hubs Munich and Stuttgart, as well as regional airports Augsburg,Memmingen and Friedrichshafen, due to a high concentration of ash in the atmosphere above the region. Most of the... [more]
Serbia has uncovered a mass grave believed to contain the bodies of some 250 ethnic Albanians killed during the 1998-1999 conflict in Kosovo, its war crimes prosecutor told AFP on Monday. “Serbia’s war crimes prosecution office and EULEX (the EU’s law and police mission in Kosovo) together uncovered the mass grave with presumably 250 bodies of Kosovo Albanians,” prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic said. The grave was found... [more]
The Federal Reserve late Sunday opened a program to ship U.S. dollars to Europe in a move to head off a broader financial crisis on the continent. Other central banks, including the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank, are also involved in the effort. The action reopens a program put in place during the 2008 global financial crisis under which dollars are shipped overseas through the... [more]
