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 ...
Parliamentary reform, more freedom for teachers and a “strong and fair society” are on the agenda for MPs this coming year. In her speech marking the opening of Parliament, the Queen announced 22 new pieces of legislation and one draft bill. Her Majesty said the new Government’s programme would be based on “freedom, fairness and responsibility”. She restated the coalition agreement’s promise to make cutting... [more]
Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) was finally poised for “lights, cameras and action” on Tuesday, with the first of two semifinals in the Eurovision Song Contest due to air live at 9pm on NRK1. It’s the biggest TV spectacle to be produced in Norway since the Winter Olympics at Lillehammer in 1994. That went well, and NRK officials seemed confident they’d pull Eurovision off as well. “There are a million things we can worry about,”... [more]
A new purple coalition – a combination of the two Liberal parties and Labour – is ‘extremely unlikely’ , VVD leader Mark Rutte said during Sunday’s televised election debate. A purple cabinet – so called because of the mix of party colours – ran the Netherlands from 1994 to 2002 and is seen by many as a popular option this time round. But Rutte told the debate the difference in policies between the... [more]
There is no question of European commissioner and VVD supporter Neelie Kroes becoming prime minister if the Liberals emerge as the biggest party after the June 9 general election, according to party elders in the AD on Tuesday. It is only hypothetical in the case of a minority cabinet, Liberal MP Stef Blok was quoted as saying. ‘But we are not considering that to be an option,’ Blok said. Kroes’s name has been mentioned... [more]
The week-long strike by transport workers and workers in the cleaning industry was extended from Monday morning. This will mean fewer supplies on the shelves and more uncleaned offices. The strike at freight terminals has so far only affected the Oslo region, but from now on the rest of the country will also be hit, when another 800 members of the Transportworkers’ Union walk out. In addition to the non-food supplies at the grocery... [more]
Helen Newlove, the widow of a man kicked to death by teenagers, is to become a Conservative peer, according to Sky sources. Her husband Garry was murdered by three youths in Warrington in 2007. He was attacked after confronting the trio about their anti-social behaviour. His death prompted the mother of three to campaign tirelessly for responsible drinking. Earlier this year, she launched the National Licensed Trade Association, which aims... [more]
The world’s top mobile phone maker Nokia said Monday it had teamed up with US Internet search engine Yahoo! for mobile and PC web services that would be available starting from the second half of 2010. “Building on more than five years of collaboration, Nokia and Yahoo! will leverage each others’ strengths in e-mail, instant messaging and maps and navigation services,” Nokia said in a statement. The companies... [more]
More than 600 people were evacuated from the famous cruise ship MS Deutschland after it caught fire while docked in a Norwegian fjord on Sunday. The fire started in the engine room and was presenting problems to fire crews with the thick smoke that developed, a local rescue spokesman said. The 364 passengers – mostly Germans – and most of the 241 crew were evacuated, as well as the two Norwegian pilots. The heat developed by... [more]
The ruling United Russia party of Russia’s strongman Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was Monday scrambling to explain how it suffered a rare defeat to the Communists in a local election in Siberia. Communist Party candidate Alexander Serov was overnight elected mayor of the central Siberian city of Bratsk, known for its immense hydroelectric plant, with just under 40 percent of the vote, Russian news agencies reported. United Russia... [more]
Swedish attitudes to immigration and refugee centre has become more positive with urbanites, women and young people among the most favourable, a new report from the SOM institute in Gothenburg shows. The SOM survey, conducted in the autumn of 2009, shows that 36 percent ofSwedes consider that there are too many foreigners living in Sweden. In 1993 the figure was 52 percent. “Never before have Swedish attitudes been so accepting... [more]
