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 ...
Over the past two months 1500 people have contacted a Dutch helpline registering cases of child sex abuse in Roman Catholic schools, churches and homes. The figure was published in the run-up to a press conference by independent investigator Wim Deetman, who was asked by the Roman Catholic bishops in the Netherlands to investigate the reports about sexual abuse. On Friday Mr Deetman is expected to explain how he will conduct his research,... [more]
Chancellor Angela Merkel will be paid an extra €334 per month – or just over €4,000 a year – after the federal government approved its own pay rise, sparking anger from taxpayers, German media reported Friday. The DuMont group of newspapers reported that Merkel currently earns €15,833 a month, not including her MP’s salary. But based on figures worked out by theGerman Taxpayers Association (BdSt), that figure will... [more]
The defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II was down to the Soviet people not dictator Joseph Stalin, whose crimes against the nation cannot be justified, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview broadcast on Friday. Russia marks the 65th anniversary of victory in Europe on Sunday, and the official view of Stalin’s role has been controversial. Russia describes its military efforts in 1941-45 as the Great Patriotic War. Medvedev... [more]
More than half of the govenment’s extra budgeting to the railroads last year, were not spent. The subsidy in question was supposed to go to the daily operation, maintenance and investments, according to Aftenposten. The government brags about increased budgeting, but can’t deliver on their promises, Arild Hareide from The Norwegian Christian Democratic Party says. The Minister of Transport and Communications, Magnhild Meltveit... [more]
Britain is heading for its first hung Parliament since 1974, with the Conservatives the largest party, according to an updated Sky News forecast. The new projection puts the Tories on course to win 309 seats, followed by Labour on 259 and the Lib Dems sliding to 54. Other parties share 28 seats. The estimated result would see David Cameron’s party missing out on the 326 MPs needed for an overall majority by 17 seats. It has been a... [more]
Today is Friday, May 7, the 127th day of 2010. There are 238 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 7, 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Rheims (rams),France, ending its role in World War II. On this date: In 1789, the first inaugural ball was held in New York in honor of President George Washington and his wife, Martha. In 1833, composer Johannes Brahms was born... [more]
A leading credit ratings agency says the debt crisis enveloping Greece could spread to affect the banking systems of the UK, Ireland, Portugal, Italy and Spain. Moody’s Investor Service says that although banks in some countries were not heavily affected by the financial crisis, they could be hurt if the fiscal crisis intensifies outside of Greece. The agency said in a report: “The potential contagion of sovereign risks to banking... [more]
The knock-on damage to airlines because of last month’s volcano ash cloud over Europe is becoming clear after Germany’s second biggest carrier, Air Berlin, on Thursday revealed a sharp drop in the number of seats it filled in April. As well as having 550,000 fewer seats because of the 3,500 cancelled flights, the airline had also suffered from a drop in bookings because passengers were unsure whether they’d be able to fly,... [more]
It took them a while, but Norwegian environmental advocates and some top politicians are now sounding alarms over BP’s oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, and using it as another argument against oil exploration off scenic Lofoten. Government minister and party leader Kristin Halvorsen went on national radio Thursday morning, warning that what’s happened in the gulf can happen off the scenic coasts of Lofoten and Vesterålen if... [more]
Facebook has been forced to suspend its chat feature after a technical glitch exposed users’ private conversations online. The social networking site, which has more than 400 million users worldwide, took down the chat feature for a number of hours while engineers worked to fix a software bug. Private chats between some users were briefly viewable on a privacy settings feature that allows a user to see how their profile will appear... [more]
