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 “threat” from markets circling Spain and Portugal the way they did Greece is real, the European Union warned on Wednesday, even as new forecasts showed Europe’s economic recovery gathering speed this year. Worsening contagion from the Greek debt crisis would create a full-blown “threat to financial stability for the European Union and its economy as a whole,” said the EU’s economic and monetary affairs... [more]
Communists unveiled a monument to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin on Wednesday, sparking the anger of Ukrainian nationalists. The 2.5-meter (8-foot) monument shows Stalin from the waist up and is mounted on a pedestal in front of theCommunist Party’s office in the city of Zaporizhya. The unveiling comes ahead of Sunday’s 65th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. Many Communists revere Stalin as commander-in-chief during... [more]
Google has announced the latest beta of its Chrome browser, claiming it to be the fastest release yet. The company said that the new release includes one of the “most significant speed and performance increases to date”, and quoted benchmarking improvements using V8 and SunSpider of between 30 and 35 per cent. Much of this acceleration is down to improvements in the V8 JavaScript engine, the firm explained. “Chrome’s... [more]
The German Chancellor and the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have warned of financial contagion unless a eurozone debt crisis is stopped in Greece. Angela Merkel, whose government has been accused of delaying its approval of a bailout package, said the crisis marked a turning point for the European Union. “The future of Europe and the future of Germany within Europe is at stake,” Mrs Merkel said. Her comments... [more]
A former television producer has been jailed for six months for trying to blackmail US talk show host David Letterman over his affairs. Robert Joel Halderman had threatened to expose details of the star’s sexual liaisons with staff on his long-running programme The Late Show. The 52-year-old tried to extort $2m (£1.3m) from the entertainment veteran to buy his silence. But Letterman would not play suit and instead went public himself... [more]
Around 50 people were injured when panic broke out during the Remembrance Day commemorations attended by thousands of people in central Amsterdam on Tuesday evening. The stampede began when a man dressed in a hat and long black coat began shouting during the two minutes silence at the end of the ceremony. He was arrested, as was a second man who dropped a suitcase, adding to the confusion. The bizarre behaviour of the man in black caused... [more]
A new international survey gives entirely new meaning to Norway’s standing as a “motherland.” It’s now ranked as the best place in the world to be a mother, thanks to generous state support and child care benefits. Norway in effect pays women to have children, thanks to lump sum grants given to mothers for every child born. Monthly child care benefits are also paid out every month, regardless of household income, and working women... [more]
The Norwegian government puts aside NOK 90 million in the national budget to increase the number of illegal immigrants returned to their home country. The effort will lead to about 1000 additional assisted migrations per year. An upgrade and expansion of the asylum holding cells at Trandum by a capacity of 50 is also being proposed, prime minister Jens Stoltenberg said in a speech to the Norwegian Labour Party’s parliament members... [more]
A Pablo Picasso painting has set a new record for the most expensive art work sold at auction, fetching $106m (£70m). The Spanish artist’s 1932 picture Nude, Green Leaves and Bust was sold at Christie’s auction house in New York. It had belonged to the late Los Angeles collectors Frances and Sidney Brody since the 1950s. The winning bid was made by an unnamed telephone bidder. It breaks the record held by Giacometti’s... [more]
The euro sank to a new one-year low on Wednesday, with its sell-off deepening as fears about contagion in the euro zone gripped investors, while the dollar was the chief beneficiary of the rising risk aversion. The dollar hit a one-year high against a basket of six big currencies and climbed to its strongest since last May against the Swiss franc as share markets around Asia lost ground. The euro notched another one-year low at $1.2936,... [more]
