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 ...
Britain’s biggest police force spent more than £35,000 on 110,000 calls to the speaking clock over the last two years, figures have shown. The Metropolitan Police, which like all forces is facing cuts to its budget, also spent more than £200,000 calling directory inquiries, figures released under the Freedom of Information Act showed. The force was committed to reducing costs, but there were “evidential and operational reasons”... [more]
Occupy London protesters can be removed from their camp at St Paul’s Cathedral, the High Court has ruled. The decision means that the City of London can lawfully evict the site within 7 days, provided the case is not taken further in the Court of Appeals. John Cooper QC, representing Occupy London, has confirmed that the group will submit an application to appeal on Thursday. The protest against corporate greed, which begun on... [more]
Rotterdam Police Commissioner Jan Hoogstraten has been sentenced to a fine of 950 euros and a three-month suspension of his driver’s licence for drink driving. The commissioner’s wife fell and was injured when the couple were taking a walk on New Year’s Eve. He went to fetch his car because he felt it was taking too long for help to arrive. When he returned to the scene of the accident, police officers thought they smelled alcohol... [more]
Russia has imposed a ban on all imports of live Dutch sheep and goats, as well as their meat, embryos and sperm. The move was prompted by the discovery of the Schmallenberg virus among Dutch livestock. Deputy Agriculture Minister Henk Bleker says the measure is unnecessary and intends to persuade his Russian colleague to revoke the ban when he meets him in Berlin later this week. Mr Bleker says there is no danger to public health. Share... [more]
Anne Sinclair, the wife of former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has been speaking about the ordeal the couple faced when he was arrested on sexual assault charges as well as her new journalistic venture. In an interview with Elle magazine, which will appear on Thursday, Sinclair confirmed that she will be the editorial director of the Huffington Post when it launches its French version later in January. Sinclair is well-known in France... [more]
The Swedish foreign ministry announced on Wednesday that a new probe into the fate of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who vanished after being taken into custody by Soviet Union soldiers 67 years ago. “We have never received confirmation of what happened to Wallenberg, and feel that now after a lot of time has passed there may be a possibility to dig up new information,” Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt’s spokeswoman... [more]
Norwegian authorities called Wednesday on the country’s whaling industry to counter the dramatic drop over the past decade in the number of boats partaking in the annual whale hunts. The number of Norwegian vessels actively hunting whales has shrunk from 33 in 2001 to just 19 last year, Norway’s Directorate of Fisheries said in a statement. “The authorities are therefore stressing the importance of the sector itself working... [more]
The Greek government will meet Wednesday with the head of a group of private bank creditors to resume talks on cutting nearly a third of the country’s massive debt, a finance ministry source said. The talks with Charles Dallara, head of the Institute of International Finance, are aimed at writing off about 100 billion euros ($128 billion) in Greek sovereign debt held by private sector financial institutions. Last Friday, the talks... [more]
Unemployment has reached a 17-year high after a 118,000 increase in the jobless total, which saw a record number of young people out of work. The figure jumped to 2.68 million in the three months to November, the worst since the summer of 1994, giving the UK a jobless rate of 8.4%. The number of unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds increased by 52,000 over the quarter to 1.04 million, the highest since records began in 1992. And the number of people... [more]
Divers searching the capsized Italian cruise liner Costa Concordia suspended work on Wednesday after the vast wreck shifted slightly but officials said they are hoping to resume as soon as possible. Five days after the 114,500 tonne cruise ship struck a rock and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio, hopes of finding anyone alive have all but disappeared and salvage experts are preparing to pump 2,300 tonnes of fuel from the hulk. The... [more]
