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 ...
Apple manufacturer Foxconn on Wednesday reportedly urged its workers in southern China to promise in writing not to kill themselves as it battles to stem a spate of factory suicides. Terry Gou, chairman of Foxconn’s Taiwanese parent company Hon Hai Precision, apologised for the suicides after flying into the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen aboard his private jet for a hastily arranged media tour. But he defended the company’s... [more]
German Chancellor Angela Merkel held talks with Saudi King Abdullah late on Tuesday after calling for Gulf nations to help press Iran over its nuclear drive, the official SPA news agency said. Abdullah, his half brother Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, and other top officials hosted Merkel and her delegation in a state banquet in the Red Sea port of Jeddah ahead of talks on regional and bilateral issues. That followed a tour... [more]
North Korea threatened Wednesday to block all cross-border traffic and blow up any South Korean loudspeakers blasting propaganda northward after a six-year hiatus, as tensions soared over the sinking of a South Korean warship. The dramatic deterioration in relations came as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived Wednesday in Seoul for talks on how to deal with North Korea. The North also declared it will cut all ties... [more]
Jailed Iranian film director Jafar Panahi, who has been on hunger strike for more than a week, was released on bail of 2 billion rials (about 139,741 pounds) on Tuesday, the official IRNA news agency reported. Panahi, winner of many international awards and a supporter of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi in last year’s disputed presidential election, was arrested in March along with his wife and daughter. His family was later freed. Despite... [more]
A Thai court issued orders on Tuesday to arrest former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on terrorism charges in connection with riots over the past two months that were the worst in the country’s modern history. Armed with the arrest warrant, Thai prosecutors and the Foreign Ministry will launch a global hunt for the fugitive telecoms tycoon, a top government official said. Thaksin was last believed to be in France for the Cannes... [more]
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday stepped up pressure on China to back international action againstNorth Korea for the sinking of a South Korean warship, calling peace and security on the Korean peninsula ”a shared responsibility” between Washington and Beijing. “Now we need to work together again to address the serious challenge posed by the sinking of the South Korean ship,” Clinton... [more]
A speech by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a southern port town was marred Monday by shouts from Iranians demanding jobs, a rare show of public discontent over the country’s worsening economy. Ahmadinejad was speaking before hundreds gathered inKhorramshahr, about 625 miles (1,000 kilometers) southwest ofTehran, when his speech was interrupted by people shouting “We are unemployed!” Iran’s economy is struggling... [more]
Australia Monday said it would expel an official from the Israeli embassy, after finding the Jewish state was behind fake Australian passports linked to the killing of a Hamas operative. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Australia remained a “firm friend” of Israel but that no government could tolerate the abuse of its passports. “The government has asked that a member of the Israeli embassy in Canberra be withdrawn... [more]
Beijing hopes Washington can set a timetable to end its restrictions on high-tech exports to China, Vice Premier Wang Qishan said in a speech at the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing on Monday. “We are glad to see that the US has promised to ease its export restrictions on high-tech products and open up the American market for Chinese investors,” said Wang, who is also a special representative of Chinese President... [more]
Thailand’s capital whirred back into life on Monday after last week’s deadly unrest, as businesses and schools reopened and citizens returned to streets cleared of debris left by arson and looting. Thoroughfares which for six weeks had been occupied by “Red Shirts” anti-government protesters, who established a fortified encampment in the top shopping district, were finally open to traffic. Office workers returned... [more]
