Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Tuesday he is resolved to settle a longstanding territorial dispute with Russia at an annual rally calling for the return of all four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido in northern Japan, the Kyodo news agency reported. "We'll continue to make steady and determined efforts to move ahead with negotiations," Noda said, stressing the need to sign a peace treaty with Russia. The four islands - which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories - has been the subject of a territorial dispute between the two nations since the end of World War ...
Amanda Knox's Italian lawyer has filed an appeal of her slander conviction in Italy, a Knox family spokesman inSeattle said Monday. In October, an Italian appeals court overturned the young Seattle woman's murder conviction in the 2007 death of her British roommate in Perugia. But the same court upheld Knox's conviction for slander — for falsely accusing bar owner Diya "Patrick" Lumumba of involvement in the slaying. Lumumba was freed after two weeks in prison for lack of evidence. Knox later said she was "manipulated" during her lengthy police interrogation. An appeal of the slander conviction was filed Monday, Knox family spokesman Dave Marriott confirmed. He doesn't know when the Italian ...
The Dutch railway will remain 'vulnerable' during wintry weather but Dutch Rail (NS) and track operator ProRail did not help matters during the current cold snap by the late introduction of schedule adjustments to cope with the conditions, transport minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen told parliament in a briefing on Tuesday. The NS and ProRail assumed on Thursday of last week that there would be three to five centimetres of snow. When the forecast was increased on Friday morning to between 10 and 15 centimetres, it was too late to change the timetables automatically, Schultz van Haegen told parliament. Drivers and conductors ...
Greece can leave the eurozone without damaging monetary union, European digital affairs commissioner Neelie Kroes says in an interview with the Volkskrant on Tuesday. Kroes, a member of the Dutch ruling right-wing Liberal party VVD, is not a supporter of Greece exchanging the euro for the drachma, but says: 'It is absolutely not a case of man overboard if someone leaves the eurozone.' The commissioner is very critical of the new Greek government and says they are not fulfilling their promises. 'Too few spending cuts, too little restructuring,' she says. She says the Greeks should follow the example of Italy where the new ...
Mitt Romney hopes his presidential campaign hasn't ignored Rick Santorum's aggressive attacks for too long, as caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota on Tuesday could reshuffle the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Santorum largely bypassed Florida and Nevada to blanket the two caucus states with criticism of Romney and lay the groundwork among conservatives who have great sway in the process. RivalNewt Gingrich praised Santorum's strategy as shrewd even as he signaled he had no interest in exiting the four-way race, which also includes Ron Paul. "I think that Santorum's going to have a pretty good day," Gingrich told reporters on the eve of the caucuses. "He targeted differently than I ...
Glencore and Xstrata agreed an all-share merger worth $90 billion (56 billion pounds) on Tuesday in the industry's largest ever deal, creating a commodities powerhouse spanning mining, agriculture and trading. Glencore, the world's largest diversified commodities tradinghouse, will issue 2.8 new shares for each Xstrata share in a deal they said was a "merger of equals." The ratio is a 15.2 percent premium to Xstrata shareholders compared with its share price last Wednesday before word leaked out about the merger talks, a joint statement said. "A merger between Glencore and Xstrata offers a unique opportunity to create a new business model in our industry to respond to ...
US White House hopeful Mitt Romney aims for another big caucus win in Colorado on Tuesday, as his well-oiled campaign machine works to cement his position as the Republican front runner in the US presidential race. Polls suggest he should triumph easily in the western US state -- where he scored 60 percent in 2008 -- although there is a tighter race in Minnesota, where last-placed Rick Santorum is hoping to snatch a win. Romney's main rival, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, is battling to stay in the race after two heavy losses in a row to the former Massachusetts governor, who ...
As President Christian Wulff remains mired in allegations of impropriety, anti-corruption group Transparency International (TI) has called for politicians to use the case as a chance to open up German politics. “We are very concerned that people seem to be starting to think that all politicians behave like Wulff, and that would be fatal,” Christian Humborg, TI Germany’s managing director told The Local. “I think the Wulff affair is a wonderful opportunity for German politicians to react to the cynical attitude that this is normal, and improve things,” he said. He said the fact that the authorities were investigating whether Wulff and his ...
German Chancellor Angela Merkel threw her weight behind French President Nicolas Sarkozy in his tough re-election battle on Monday, saying the two right-wingers were from the same "political family". Despite accusations in both countries of interference, Merkel used a visit to Paris for a joint Franco-German cabinet session to make clear her support for Sarkozy, who has increasingly cited Germany as a model for France. "We belong to the same political family. He supported me and it is natural that I support him in his campaign," Merkel said during a joint television interview with Sarkozy to be broadcast later on French and ...
Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt thinks that Swedes need to be prepared to work a lot longer than they do today in order to keep the same living standard as when they were working. “The pensions scheme isn’t based on magic. It is a welfare ambition based on large-scale re-distribution and citizens’ own work. If people think that we can live longer and shorten our work life, then pensions will get lower,” Reinfeldt said in interview with daily Dagens Nyheter (DN). According to Reinfeldt, the expectation to retire at 65 is a problem in Sweden today. He thinks that Swedes may have to ...
U.S. President Barack Obama pressed Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday to let the value of China’s currency rise and sought cooperation in dealing with nuclear standoffs with North Korea and Iran Obama, speaking at a news conference with Hu, touted the mutual benefits of the U.S.-China partnership after the two countries unveiled $45 billion (28 billion pounds) in export deals that seemed to be aimed at papering over deep rifts... [more]
Hong Kong said Wednesday it was “striving” to pass legislation to comply with UN sanctions against Iran, after 20 shipping firms in the city were accused of being linked to Tehran’s weapons buildup. Last week, the US Treasury Department slapped sanctions on 24 shipping companies, including four in Britain’s Isle of Man, accused of being fronts for Iranian businesses involved in Iran’s missile programmes. The... [more]
It’s the kung fu classic that launched the career of a then little-known 17-year-old Chinese martial arts champion called Jet Li. Nearly three decades later, “The Shaolin Temple” has received a blockbuster update, with the backing of the famous center of fighting monks of the title and the setting of the 1982 release. Veteran Hong Kong action director Benny Chan has written a new story and cast some of the biggest names... [more]
Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday flew to the United States for a state visit buffeted before he even lands by senior U.S. senators demanding tough action against China for “manipulating” its currency. Hu said earlier this week he would not accept U.S. arguments the yuan was undervalued. The latest sparring over the currency underlines tensions over trade that will likely dominate Wednesday’s summit in Washington between... [more]
Iran’s president says not even 100,000 U.N. Security Council resolutions will stop his country’s nuclear ambitions. The semiofficial Fars news agency says Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the remarks during a meeting with a group of journalists Tuesday in Tehran. Iran has hardened its position on its nuclear program ahead of Jan. 21-22 talks with world powers in Istanbul, Turkey. Tehran says it will refuse to talk about its right to... [more]
U.S. senators pressed Congress to get tough with China over “manipulating” its currency in a riposte to Chinese President Hu Jintao, who said this week he would not accept U.S. arguments the yuan was undervalued. The latest sparring over the yuan underlines tensions over trade before Hu arrives in Washington on Tuesday for talks expected to focus on a host of thorny issues, from rebalancing the global economy to dealing with... [more]
China has become one of only a handful of countries that can reprocess spent nuclear fuel but is not yet capable of doing so on an industrial scale, a UN atomic expert said Monday. Earlier this month, the China National Nuclear Corporation said it had achieved a significant “breakthrough” by developing a fuel reprocessing technology that will extend the lifespan of Beijing’s proven uranium deposits to 3,000 years, from... [more]
A senior South Korean official says North Korea could bring its own collapse if it keeps pouring scarce national resources into its nuclear program and military. Presidential security adviser Chun Yung-woo says in an interview with U.S. public broadcaster PBS that North Korean leaders’ “obsession” with weapons of mass destruction like nuclear weapons would be “a short-cut to their demise.” PBS has posted part... [more]
North Korea Sunday expressed its anger over efforts by South Korea and Japan to seek closer military ties, repeating calls for Seoul to resume talks with Pyongyang first to defuse regional tensions. The fury came after Seoul expressed doubts about the sincerity of Pyongyang’s repeated peace overtures, and instead sought closer military ties with Japan and longtime ally the US against threats from the North. Regional tensions have also... [more]
The United Nations said Saturday it will appeal for emergency flood aid for Sri Lanka, where 32 people have died, hundreds of thousands are homeless and vast rice fields ready to be harvested are now under water. Flooding in the rice fields has disrupted livelihoods of many in the eastern region hardest hit after the heavy rains. The U.N. will issue an appeal in the coming days for money to help replant the fields and compensate people affected,... [more]
