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 ...
Five southern German airports closed on Sunday due to a second ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano have been reopened, authorities announced late on Sunday evening. The German air-traffic control agency (DFS) had closed air space above airports at major hubs Munich and Stuttgart, as well as regional airports Augsburg,Memmingen and Friedrichshafen, due to a high concentration of ash in the atmosphere above the region. Most of the... [more]
Europe has agreed a 500bn euro (£433bn) emergency package to stabilise the eurozone and stop the panic from the Greece crisis spreading further. It is made up of 440bn euro (£381bn) from eurozone members, and a 60bn euro (£52bn) top up of an existing EU budget fund for helping struggling economies. An additional 250bn euro package has also been offered by the International Monetary Fund. The monster bail-out came after 11 hours of talks... [more]
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday took part in Moscow ceremonies tomark the end of World War II in Europe. Her invitation by President Dmitry Medvedev is seen as a sign of improving relations between Germany and Russia. Merkel attended the victory parade on Red Square to mark the 65th anniversary of VE Day. The German government described her invitation as a sign of “how important reconciliation is for the Russian hosts.” Russian Prime... [more]
Suspected Somali pirates on Saturday hijacked a German-owned chemical tanker and 22 crew firing heavy artillery during a dramatic boarding, a European naval force said on Saturday. The crew of the Marida Marguerite — made up of 19 Indians, two Bangladeshis and a Ukrainian — were nevertheless said to be “well” by the anti-piracy naval task force, citing radio contact. “The ship was approached by a pirate skiff... [more]
Germany’s parliament has approved a 22.4bn euro (£19bn) contribution to a bail-out plan for debt-ridden Greece. The lower house, the Bundestag, passed the bill after fiery criticism of Chancellor Angela Merkel. The upper house also endorsed it. Greece’s 15 partners in the eurozone will lend it 80bn euros spread over three years – the IMF 30bn euros. Later on Friday, Chancellor Merkel will join other eurozone heads of state... [more]
Chancellor Angela Merkel will be paid an extra €334 per month – or just over €4,000 a year – after the federal government approved its own pay rise, sparking anger from taxpayers, German media reported Friday. The DuMont group of newspapers reported that Merkel currently earns €15,833 a month, not including her MP’s salary. But based on figures worked out by theGerman Taxpayers Association (BdSt), that figure will... [more]
The knock-on damage to airlines because of last month’s volcano ash cloud over Europe is becoming clear after Germany’s second biggest carrier, Air Berlin, on Thursday revealed a sharp drop in the number of seats it filled in April. As well as having 550,000 fewer seats because of the 3,500 cancelled flights, the airline had also suffered from a drop in bookings because passengers were unsure whether they’d be able to fly,... [more]
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that the Greekdebt crisis had put the fate of the Europe Union and Germany’s role within the bloc on the line. “The future of Europe and the future of Germany within Europe is at stake,” Merkel said in parliament in a debate on Berlin’s unpopular decision to lend €22.4 billion ($29.1 billion) in taxpayers’ money to Greece. Merkel defended the aid package... [more]
The United States, Russia, Britain, France and China on Wednesday voiced support for making the Middle East a nuclear-arms-free zone, which would mean Israel would have to scrap any atomic bombs it has. “We are committed to a full implementation of the 1995 NPT resolution on the Middle East and we support all ongoing efforts to this end,” the five permanent U.N. Security Council members said in a unanimous statement... [more]
The German Chancellor and the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have warned of financial contagion unless a eurozone debt crisis is stopped in Greece. Angela Merkel, whose government has been accused of delaying its approval of a bailout package, said the crisis marked a turning point for the European Union. “The future of Europe and the future of Germany within Europe is at stake,” Mrs Merkel said. Her comments... [more]
