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 ...
Researchers at Rotterdam’s Erasmus Medical Centre have identified two new types of children’s leukaemia. They have published their results in the scientific journal, Cancer Cell. The new types are genetic variants of T-cell acute lymphatic leukaemia. The more that is known about the specific variants, the better the cancer can be treated. The researchers will now concentrate on developing new drugs which will target the leukaemia cells... [more]
Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen has urged IT businesses not to supply internet content filters to all countries. According to the minister, IT businesses should first make sure that content filters will not be used to limit the freedom of speech. Mr Verhagen said IT companies should take into consideration that repressive regimes could abuse content filters. The minister will meet with the companies involved soon. He mentioned China... [more]
Britain and The Netherlands have said they will return to the courts to get Iceland to refund them billions of euros after voters there said “no” in a referendum to the reimbursement plan. Iceland’s government insisted it could pay back more than 90 percent of the money lost, despite most voters having rejected a deal to refund 3.9 billion euros ($5.6 billion) to the two countries, according to partial results. “The... [more]
The Swedish government has proposed a number of changes to its reforms of the country’s health insurance system, admitting its current efforts have left some people in a jam. Sweden’s new, tougher health insurance rules, which were adopted several years ago, have been the subject of near constant criticism and in response, the government launched a review of its reform efforts last autumn. A memo is set to be circulated for... [more]
The 250-year-old Østre Porsgrunn Church (Østsiden Kirke) was completely destroyed by fire in the early hours of Monday morning. When the fire was discovered it was too late to save anything, NRK reports. The only hope is that a fire-proof safe behind the altar may have protected a baptismal bowl and the communion silver, both from the year 1760. Pastor Per Johan Wiig, who has served the congregation during the past 12 years, says it is... [more]
Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer on Monday slapped down a European Union plan to raise the tax on diesel. “The regulatory frenzy from Brussels must have an end. That means hands off the diesel tax,” Ramsauer told Monday’s edition of daily Bild. President of Germany’s largest automobile club, ADAC, told the same paper that ever more “gouging-ideas” were driving motorists to ruin. “Relief through a hike in commuter tax breaks... [more]
Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich stepped up the war of words with Italy over asylum-seekers Monday, telling the Italian government the boatloads of people arriving in Lampedusa were their problem. As European Union ministers prepared to meet in Luxembourg Monday, an open argument between the European neighbours broke out over the weekend regarding the thousands of African asylum seekers arriving on the tiny Italian island. “Italy... [more]
France — home to Europe’s biggest Muslim population — on Monday officially banned women from wearing full-face veils in public places. Other European countries have drawn up bans on the burqa and the niqab but France is the first to risk stirring social tensions by putting one into practice. The law comes into effect at an already fraught moment in relations between the state and France’s Muslim minority, with President... [more]
Tens of thousands of anti-government “Red Shirts” are expected to gather in Bangkok on Sunday to mark a year since deadly clashes between troops and protesters during their mass rally in the capital. Police have predicted up to 50,000 people could attend the gathering, which is set to be addressed by fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, a hero for many of the red-shirted demonstrators, via video link. Thailand, which... [more]
North Korea has ordered its citizens in Libya not to return home in an apparent bid to block news of civil uprisings in the Arab World from reaching the isolated communist state, a report said Sunday. Pyongyang, in a message sent to its embassy in Libya, told some 200 North Korean workers not to return and to follow local authorities’ advice, Yonhap news agency said, citing a source familiar with North Korean affairs. “(The... [more]
