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 ...
European stocks steadied Thursday despite a plunge in Asian markets as investors worried that Greece’s debt crisis could spread to other countries but hoped that the European Central Bankcould offer some guidance and support later in the day. Britain’s FTSE 100 was flat at 5,434.41 while Germany’s DAX was up 0.1 percent at 5,964.35. France’s CAC-40 was down 0.3 percent at 3,626.88. Asian markets fell heavily, with... [more]
Greece’s only hope of avoiding bankruptcy is to take money from a joint EU and International Monetary Fund rescue package, the finance minister said Thursday during a heatedParliamentary debate overshadowed by the deaths of three people during protests against spending cuts. Greece has to impose harsh austerity measures, including slashing salaries and pensions and increasing taxes, in order to get money from the three-year package,... [more]
Google has taken the rare step of asking a California judge to declare that by linking to copyright-infringing works on Rapidshare, the search giant is not facilitating the illegal distribution of copyrighted songs. Last year, Blue Destiny Records, a small blues-oriented music label, sued Google, Microsoft and Rapidshare in Florida. The label claimed that Rapidshare was running “a distribution center for unlawful copies of copyrighted... [more]
Today is Thursday, May 6, the 126th day of 2010. There are 239 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 6, 1910, Britain’s Edwardian era came to an end upon the death of King Edward VII; he was succeeded by George V. On this date: In 1859, Georgia miner John H. Gregory discovered a lode of gold in Colorado. In 1861, Arkansas seceded from the Union. In 1889, the Paris Exposition formally opened, featuring... [more]
A draft US Bill that contains proposals for regulating online data protection policies and increasing web users’ privacy has been criticised for not going far enough and potentially harming buinesses. The 27-page document (PDF) that soon may be debated in Congress has been put forward by Democrat Rich Boucher and Republican Cliff Stearns. However, while data privacy groups have long requested tighter data privacy legislation, they... [more]
A major security flaw in Facebook has allowed users to see other people’s personal information, and once again opened the social networking site to accusations of not securing user data effectively. The fault meant that users editing their privacy settings and then using Facebook’s ‘See how my profile looks to friends’ feature were able to see friends’ chat boxes and friend requests. A Facebook spokesperson... [more]
Danielle Lloyd was looking swell as she showed off her growing curves in a skin-tight dress. The model – who is expecting a son with fiance Jamie O’Hara – chose a clingy red creation as she attended the She Inspiring Woman Awards in London. Just hours earlier Danielle, who is due to give birth in July, was worried she would be unable to look her best, tweeting: “Love getting glammed up for events but finding it hard... [more]
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that the Greekdebt crisis had put the fate of the Europe Union and Germany’s role within the bloc on the line. “The future of Europe and the future of Germany within Europe is at stake,” Merkel said in parliament in a debate on Berlin’s unpopular decision to lend €22.4 billion ($29.1 billion) in taxpayers’ money to Greece. Merkel defended the aid package... [more]
Norges Bank raised its key lending rate for the first time in five months on Wednesday, in an effort to keep inflation and economic growth under control. Bank board boss Svein Gjedrem said recent trends can bring rates back up to a “more normal” level. Norwegian interest rates, like those elsewhere in the world, have been extraordinarily low and stayed low after the global finance crisis took hold. Norges Bank had kept its key lending... [more]
The United States, Russia, Britain, France and China on Wednesday voiced support for making the Middle East a nuclear-arms-free zone, which would mean Israel would have to scrap any atomic bombs it has. “We are committed to a full implementation of the 1995 NPT resolution on the Middle East and we support all ongoing efforts to this end,” the five permanent U.N. Security Council members said in a unanimous statement... [more]
