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 ...
Europe’s major stock exchange indexes lost ground on Monday morning. Investors appear to be honing in on the EU’s debt crisis again, now that Portugal is under pressure to ask Brussels for a bailout. Amsterdam’s AEX index dropped 0.6 percent within the first 45 minutes of trading, while the MidKap index fell 0.3 percent. The exchanges in Paris, Frankfurt and London saw losses of up to 1.2 percent. Both Germany and France are reported... [more]
French President Nicolas Sarkozy takes his campaign for greater global food price and currency stability to Washington this week when he seeks Barack Obama’s support for France’s goals as head of the Group of 20 powers. Soaring food prices and riots in places such as Algeria offer Sarkozy ammunition to press for more coordination between G20 governments to combat wild swings in vital commodity prices as well as exchange rates... [more]
Germany on Sunday denied a report saying it plans, together with France, to press Portugal to seek a bailout in order to stop Spain and Belgium from becoming the next euro crisis casualties. “It is not the German government’s strategy to force Portugal to call for Europe’s rescue fund,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert told the Handelsblatt daily, refuting an earlier report by German weekly Spiegel. Spiegel had... [more]
Pressure is growing on Portugal from Germany, France and other euro zone countries to seek financial help from the EU and IMF to stop the bloc’s debt crisis from spreading, a senior euro zone source said on Sunday. Some preliminary discussions on the possibility of Portugal asking for help if its financing costs on markets become too high have taken place since July, the source said. No formal talks on aid have started yet, a number... [more]
European feed suppliers are to meet with the European Commission in Brussels on Monday morning following the discovery of contaminated animal feeds in Germany. The European Commission wants to keep the production and distribution of fatty acids for industrial use and for use in animal feeds more separate from one another. European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy John Dalli said on Sunday that the EU needed to take action given... [more]
British tourist landmark the London Eye is to have a French-owned sponsor, EDF Energy. Owner Merlin Entertainments announced it has awarded EDF naming rights to the famous wheel for the next three years, in a deal estimated by media to be worth about 8 million pounds. The Eye proved so popular it was made a permanent installation and it is visited by around 3.5 million people every year. As part of the deal, the London Eye has agreed to... [more]
France said the entire Sahel region could no longer be considered safe for its citizens after two Frenchmen were killed in Niger, and on Sunday told its nationals to avoid traveling in the region. The pair were found dead, apparently executed by their kidnappers on Saturday, after French special forces joined a failed attempt to rescue them in the African state. “French nationals should be extremely vigilant and careful at all times,”... [more]
Germany and France want Portugal to accept an international bailout as soon as possible in order to prevent its debt crisis spreading to other countries, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Without citing its sources, the magazine said government experts from both European heavyweights were concerned Lisbon will soon not be able to finance its debt at reasonable rates, after its borrowing costs rose at the end of last year. Berlin... [more]
David Cameron has declared himself the “strongest possible advocate” of Turkey’s ambition to join the European Union. The Prime Minister, who is visiting the country, hailed it as central to unifying East and West and reducing international security fears. Speaking in the capital, Ankara, Mr Cameron said Turkey’s unique position should see it play a key role in shaping the future of Afghanistan and helping broker... [more]
French football bosses have banned all 23 players involved in the country’s World Cup disaster from playing in the friendly against Norway next month. The French Football Federation took the decision on the advice of new coach Laurent Blanc. The country’s World Cup campaign lurched from one disaster to another in South Africa. On the pitch, the 2006 losing finalists failed to progress from the group stages after being unable... [more]
