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 ...
A sharp deterioration in the eurozone economy has forced Britain to slash its record public deficit faster than anticipated, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said on Sunday. Britain’s new coalition government will on Monday outline how it intends to immediately begin cutting state spending by 6.0 billion pounds (6.9 billion euros, 8.7 billion dollars). Ahead of the country’s general election earlier this month, Clegg had publicly... [more]
Saleswoman Li Li stood in a booth at the Canton trade fair, surrounded by luggage decorated with floral, leopard and news headline prints like “credit crunch” and “economic disaster looms.” She pointed to one that said “dollar exchange rate” with a chuckle. “We’re all worried about the exchange rate,” said Li, whose Globalway Luggage Co. is based in the eastern port city of Ningbo. “If... [more]
The International Monetary Fund said on Saturday it had suggested tax increases to curb Romania’s rising public deficit but that the government chose to slash wages and pensions, which sparked massive protests this week. “The authorities and the IMF are in full agreement that urgent corrective action is required to address the serious economic situation facing Romania,” the IMF mission chief for Romania, Jeffrey Franks,... [more]
The bank of Spain says it has stepped in to bail out a regional savings bank after merger talks with another similar entity broke down. Bank of Spain director Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez said early Saturday that the step had been taken to guarantee Cajasur, an Andalucian savings bank based in the southern city of Cordoba and run largely by the Catholic church, could continue operating as normal. Fernandez said the bailout came after Cajasur... [more]
The president of Chinese port firm Cosco addresses reporters after his talks with Prime Minister George Papandreou. Captain Wei Jiafu said he had received three proposals for new investments in Greece during his three-day visit. The president and chief executive officer of the China Ocean Shipping Company (Cosco), which took over the operation of the two main container terminals at Piraeus in January, said yesterday that he was “satisfied”... [more]
The Norwegian Transport Worker’s Association (Norges Transportarbeiderforbund) has announced an extension of the week-long strike in the transport sector. The strike has so far affected land-based freight terminals, but will from now on also hit transport by sea and on roads. The strike could paralyze a major part of all freight transport in Norway, and will hit major transport companies like Schenker, Tollpost and DHL. According... [more]
Federal regulators are clearing the way for Google to buy a mobile ad service called AdMob. Regulators concluded that the $750 million deal is unlikely to harm competition in the emerging market for advertising on wireless devices. The Federal Trade Commission says that while the deal raises serious antitrust issues, those concerns are overshadowed by Apple Inc.’s push into the market, too. Apple bought another online mobile... [more]
A majority of MPs has called on the government to follow Germany and introduce a ban on the form of speculative share trading known as ‘naked short selling’. Naked short selling is the practice of selling shares without owning them, borrowing them, or ensuring that they can be borrowed in the future. Earlier this week, the Dutch financial services regulator AFM said it did not support a ban. Nor does acting finance minister... [more]
Germany’s governing coalition on Friday managed to push a billion-euro rescue package for the eurozone through parliament after warning the future of Europe’s single currency was at stake. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right coalition of Christian and Free Democrats backed controversial legislation approving Germany’s share of a €750-billion ($914-billion) emergency fund for troubled nations using the euro. Finance Minister... [more]
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday took up her campaign for greater financial market regulation and stricter EU budgetary rules at a meeting in Berlin with top officials from around the world. Having warned this week that the euro is in “crisis” after banning so-called naked short selling, Merkel and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble called the conference to build pressure ahead of a G20 meeting in Canada next... [more]
