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 ...
Mexico has extradited a former state governor to the United States to face drug trafficking charges. Mario Villanueva is the first former governor to be extradited to the U.S. on drug charges. He is was the governor of Quintana Roo, the state where the resort of Cancun is located. The Attorney General’s Office says Villanueva has been charged inNew York federal court for allowing hundreds of tons of cocaine to be smuggled into... [more]
The 76 troops from 2 Company 1st Battalion Welsh Guards are representing the UK at the invitation of the Russian government. They will march alongside more than 10,500 Russian soldiers and others from the US and France. Some opponents of the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are angry that foreign troops will take part in the parade. “It’s a violation of tradition,” said Sergei Obukhov, a member of the Communist Party’s... [more]
A top US envoy voiced concern Sunday about election preparations in Myanmar ahead of his visit there for talks with the ruling junta and detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. “We’re troubled by much of what we’ve seen and we have very real concerns about the elections laws and the environment that’s been created,” said Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. “Our... [more]
Today is Sunday, May 9, the 129th day of 2010. There are 236 days left in the year. This is Mother’s Day. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 9, 1980, 35 people were killed when a freighter, the Summit Venture, rammed the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay in Florida, causing a 1,400-foot section of the southbound span to collapse. On this date: In 1754, a cartoon in Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette showed... [more]
European air traffic faced growing disruption Saturday as a cloud of ash spewing from an Icelandic volcano affected flights in Spain, France and Portugal and closed Barcelona airport, authorities said. Hundreds of flights were cancelled while many transatlantic services were delayed as they skirted the plume of debris from the Eyjafjoell volcano, which plunged air travel across the continent into chaos last month. “Ash eruptions are... [more]
Italy’s minister of culture said he would boycott next week’s Cannes Film Festival after a documentary on the L’Aquila earthquake in April 2009 he deemed propaganda was included in the programme. Sandro Bondi declined the invitation, expressing his “regret and his concern” over the selection of “a propaganda film, ‘Draquila’, which insults the truth and the Italian people”. “Draquila:... [more]
Hundreds of transatlantic flights have been cancelled or delayed by a cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano drifting south over Western Europe. Sixteen Spanish airports – including the international hub, Barcelona – are closed, with many flights being re-routed around the affected area. But Zaragoza, Valladolid and Salamanca airports have now reopened after closing earlier. On average, 600 airliners make the Atlantic crossing... [more]
Suspected Somali pirates on Saturday hijacked a German-owned chemical tanker and 22 crew firing heavy artillery during a dramatic boarding, a European naval force said on Saturday. The crew of the Marida Marguerite — made up of 19 Indians, two Bangladeshis and a Ukrainian — were nevertheless said to be “well” by the anti-piracy naval task force, citing radio contact. “The ship was approached by a pirate skiff... [more]
The Canadian government has invited the Netherlands to attend the G20 summit due to be held in Toronto in late June. Though not a formal member of the G20, the Netherlands has been present at the grouping’s past three gatherings. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende says the invitations are in recognition of the size of the Dutch economy and the country’s international presence. The prime minister added he suspected that the... [more]
A volcanic ash cloud has caused new air travel misery in Europe – closing Spanish airports and cancelling dozens of flights to and from Portugal. Spanish air traffic authority Aena announced 15 closures in northern Spain because of the plume from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano. The shutdown at Bilbao, San Sebastian, Vitoria, Saragossa, Pamplona, La Rioja, Santiago de Compostela, La Coruna, Vigo, Asturies, Santander, Burgos,... [more]
