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 ...
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was on Thursday to address Russians during his trademark marathon televised phone-in session, after a rare outburst of protest against his rule. The Russian strongman is expected to use the traditional question and answer format to lay out his plans for returning to the Kremlin in 2012 polls as he seeks to tackle the most serious political crisis of his 12-year rule. “As in previous years, the head of... [more]
Bill Gates on Thursday ruled out ever returning to the helm of Microsoft while dismissing criticism by late Apple founder Steve Jobs, who he called “brilliant”. Gates, in Sydney for a family holiday, said recent rumours that he was considering a full-time comeback to the US software giant he founded, but stepped back from in 2006, were untrue. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, he said he was busy working with the... [more]
Russian actor and writer Ivan Okhlobystin has announced his intention to run for the presidency next year. Okhlobystin, a well-known actor, TV personality and ex-Orthodox priest, said he had made the decision after “much consideration.” He is also the creative director of the mobile phone company Euroset. While it is still unclear which one of Russia’s ruling duo will run in the March 2012 elections, communist leader... [more]
Former Slovenian prime minister Janez Jansa and four others went on trial on Monday over alleged bribery in the former Yugoslav republic’s biggest ever defence deal. “All together it is just a farce,” Jansa, prime minister from 2004-8 and now head of the main centre-right opposition Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), told journalists as he arrived at Ljubljana’s municipal court. Jansa, 52, has been charged with “complicity... [more]
The embezzlement trail of former French president Jacques Chirac is due to open Monday, despite his lawyers’ claims that he is medically unfit to attend. Chirac is also accused of breach of trust and using public funds to pay his campaign workers. Jacques Chirac’s embezzlement trial opens Monday with his lawyers arguing that the French former president is too unwell to attend but insisting that the case must still go ahead. The... [more]
Self-confessed tweeting fanatic, All Blacks winger Cory Jane, said Monday he was suffering severe withdrawal pangs after the team management imposed a Twitter ban until the end of the Rugby World Cup. Although he’s stopped sending messages, Jane said he’s constantly checking his account. “I’m battling. I’m checking it like every 10 minutes just to see what people are writing and what’s going on. It’s... [more]
FUNNYMAN Eddie Murphy has surfaced as the front-runner to host the 84th Academy Awards, with reports he will be the only name put forward for the job. Deadline.com says the 50-year-old actor will be formally suggested to the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences by Oscar producer Brett Ratner when he meets with the committee on Tuesday. Murphy is said to have “shown interest” in the gig, but the deal is yet to be signed... [more]
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to visit Palestine’s city of Gaza in September 13 or 14 to put an end to an Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, country’s Haberturk newspaper said on Sunday, quoting sources in the government. The sources told the paper that the prime minister would get to Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah Border Crossing as new Egyptian authorities gave their approval for that. Israel... [more]
BRITISH comedy legend Rowan Atkinson and former Bond girl, Rosamund Pike, have walked the red carpet in Sydney for the world premiere of their latest film, Johnny English Reborn. In the sequel to the 2002 spy-comedy Johnny English, Atkinson reprises his role as the unlikely secret service agent, who is called in to stop a group of international assassins from taking down the Chinese premier. Atkinson and Pike were joined in Sydney by... [more]
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard dismissed mounting speculation about her future, vowing to stay in the job despite a crushing court blow to the government’s asylum-seeker policy. The nation’s highest court on Wednesday scuttled Canberra’s proposal to send 800 boat people to Malaysia, in a huge embarrassment for Gillard and her fragile Labor government, sparking fevered talk that her days are numbered. The Sydney... [more]
