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 shadowy online hackers group Anonymous briefly hijacked the French presidential website on Friday in apparent retaliation for the US shutdown of file-sharing site Megaupload. The slogan “We Are Legion,” the group’s online rallying cry, was inserted into the navigation bar of the official Elysee site’s (www.elysee.fr). Before the end of the day, the site had been restored to normal. The group’s action appeared... [more]
Glamour girls Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic have advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open on Saturday while Ekaterina Makarova grabbed another upset, this time at the expense of fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva, the No.7 seed. And earlier, second-seed Czech Petra Kvitova advanced after being handed an early finish thanks to an injury to Russian 27th seed Maria Kirilenko, while unseeded Italian Sara Errani is also through to the... [more]
Newt Gingrich surged in the Republican White House race ahead of Saturday’s key South Carolina vote after lambasting the US media for digging into his past marital infidelity. The former House speaker slammed the media on Thursday after the airing of an interview with an ex-wife and sparred with top rival Mitt Romney as the four remaining candidates battled for the hearts of southern conservatives. A Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey... [more]
The founder and three employees of the Megaupload file-sharing website have appeared in court in New Zealand after being arrested in police raids. New Zealand police also seized guns, artwork, more than £5 million in cash and luxury cars valued at nearly £3 million after serving 10 search warrants at several businesses and homes around the city of Auckland. The Megaupload site was shut down on Thursday over US accusations that it facilitated... [more]
The United States Congress is considered likely to scrap Cold-War era trade restrictions on Russia, a senior World Trade Organization official said on Thursday, Dow Jones reported. “There is great confidence that when the moment is right, the United States will do what it has to do,” Cheidu Osakwe, the WTO’s Director of Accessions told the Washington International Trade Association. Speaking on the day WTO members accepted Russia’s... [more]
Moscow refused to award former Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov the title of “Honorary Citizen of Moscow” on Friday, explaining that the statutory period after he was sacked had not yet expired. Luzhkov, Moscow’s long-serving mayor, was fired in September 2010 after a public row with President Dmitry Medvedev. The former government chief of staff, Sergei Sobyanin, replaced Luzkhov. “To award the title [of Honorary Citizen] it is necessary... [more]
Oslo and Islamabad insisted on Thursday that their relationship remains strong despite the resignation of the Norwegian domestic intelligence chief after she appeared to reveal that Norway has secret agents in Pakistan. The head of Norway’s Police Security Service (PST), Janne Kristiansen, widely criticised after the July 22nd attacks last year, informed the justice ministry on Wednesday night of her decision to give up her post. Amid... [more]
Greece on Friday raced for a double debt-saving deal in parallel negotiations with private creditors and its EU-IMF bailout partners ahead of a default deadline looming in March. Prime Minister Lucas Papademos was scheduled to meet again with global bank group representatives after late-night talks on Thursday as his finance minister held talks with senior EU-IMF auditors on a new eurozone rescue loan. Greece is seeking to slash around... [more]
Sweden should take steps to increase security against attacks at its nuclear plants, including introducing armed guards, according to a new government-sponsored report, published on Thursday. “A terror attack against a nuclear power plant can have the same consequences for the surroundings as a nuclear power plant accident,” the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (Strålsäkerhetsmyndigheten) said in a statement. The authority,... [more]
Exxon Mobil Corp. would pay more than $2 million in penalties and cleanup costs toMontana for a pipeline rupture in July that spilled an estimated 1,500 barrels of oil into theYellowstone River, according to a proposed legal settlement unveiled on Thursday. Under the negotiated agreement between Exxon and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, the Texas-based oil company would pay a fine of $1.6 million, the largest penalty... [more]
