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 ...
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... [more]
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... [more]
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... [more]
China is considering how to get “more deeply involved” in resolving Europe’s debt crisis by co-operating more closely with European rescue funds, Wen Jiabao, Chinese premier, said on Thursday. China “is investigating and evaluating concrete ways in which it can, via the IMF, get more deeply involved in solving the European debt problem through [European Stability Mechanism/European Financial Stability Facility] channels,”... [more]
German Chancellor Angela Merkel met China’s president on Friday as she seeks to lift Beijing’s confidence in Europe where the sovereign debt crisis threatens to tip the region into recession. China, the world’s second-biggest economy, has watched with increasing concern as eurozone economies have deteriorated, and has repeatedly urged European leaders to get a grip on the situation. Merkel’s meeting with President... [more]
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in China on Thursday for a three-day visit that will focus on the eurozone crisis, Iran, and Syria. Her trip comes just days after China was hit by deadly unrest in Tibetan-inhabited areas, and the leader of Europe’s biggest economy will also broach the issue of human rights with her Chinese counterparts. Germany and China, the world’s top two exporters, enjoy vibrant trade relations and... [more]
China’s economy is showing signs of slowing, with foreigninvestment falling for the second straight month in December and home prices dropping in most cities, according to the government. The latest indicators came a day after data showed the economyexpanded 9.2 percent last year, narrowing from 10.4 percent in 2010, as global turbulence and efforts to tame high inflation put the brakes on growth. The world’s second-largest... [more]
China said Tuesday it believes Europe can overcome its economic difficulties, after Standard & Poor’s cut the sovereign debt ratings of nine eurozone countries and the region’s bailout fund. The wave of downgrades, including that of France’s triple-A status, underscored European leaders’ inability to come up with a solid plan to tackle their two-year-old debt crisis. Beijing’s comments come as official... [more]
A Hong Kong pawnshop which bought a 16-carat yellow diamond is fighting to keep the gem after a London jewellers claimed it was stolen from them in a raid five years ago, a report said Saturday. The diamond was reportedly snatched from ultra high-end jeweller Graff Diamonds in 2007 after two Bentley-driving robbers pretending to be shoppers raided the shop and got away with a haul worth $20 million. Its origin was discovered when Hong... [more]
A Chinese billionaire is dead after apparently ingesting some slow-boiled cat meat stew — though it wasn’t the cat meat that killed him. Police in southern China have detained a local official on suspicionof poisoning the stew at the restaurant where the two were eating in Guangdong province on Dec. 23. Agriculture official Huang Guang, billionaire Long Liyuan and a third diner were sharing a cat meat hot pot — a local delicacy... [more]
