Eurozone finance ministers were to confer by telephone on Saturday after 12 hours of talks in Athens failed to produce a breakthrough on a deal to bail out Greece, the Greek finance minister said. Evangelos Venizelos added that a planned meeting by eurozone ministers on Greece originally scheduled for Monday would now be held on Wednesday. "I will participate in a Eurogroup telephone conference at 1230 GMT" to discuss details of a rescue deal for Greece worth 130 billion euros ($171 billion) which officials have been trying to seal since October, the minister said in a statement. "Critical issues pertaining to the country's ...
Australia's flood crisis deepened Saturday as authorities braced for waters to peak in Queensland where one woman is missing after being swept away while elsewhere thousands remain stranded by the surge. Prime Minister Julia Gillard said eight military helicopters would help in search, evacuation and resupply missions in the eastern state, where days of heavy rainfall have prompted hundreds of evacuations and dozens of rescues. "The helicopters will be available to assist in rescue operations as required until the immediate crisis has passed," Gillard said in a statement. In the inland Queensland town of Charleville authorities are on alert amid fears a temporary ...
Tens of thousands people are braving the bitter cold at two major rallies in downtown Moscow on Saturday as a power play between champions of political liberalization and supporters of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin continues to unfold. The first demonstration demands fair elections at the March 4 presidential polls, at which Putin is expected to secure a third term in the Kremlin. It also calls on Russians “not to give a single vote” to Putin. The opposition rally is widely seen by analysts as a litmus test of protesters’ ability to maintain momentum after two earlier protests against alleged vote fraud in favor of ...
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday wrapped up a visit to China where she tried to reassure her hosts on the strength of the euro and Europe's ability to overcome its debt crisis. During her three-day trip to the world's second largest economy, Merkel praised the advantages of the single currency and urged China to put pressure on Iran and to condemn Syria at the United Nations. Merkel, who was prevented from meeting journalists and a human rights lawyers, ended her official visit in the southern city of Guangzhou, Xinhua news agency reported. Merkel, who held talks with Premier Wen Jiabao and President ...
Norway’s government has said it wants non-European immigrants to carry residency cards equipped with data chips bearing their fingerprints. In a proposal presented on Friday, the justice ministry said the new identity cards would help tackle illegal immigration. “The residency card system will increase security surrounding residency permit documentation, thereby contributing to the prevention of illegal immigration and illegal residency,” said Justice Minister Grete Faremo (Labour Party) in a statement. The move follows pressure from the European Union to ensure that immigrants from outside the European Economic Area, of which Norway is a member, are provided with residency cards that include fingerprint details. Faremo ...
Greece expects its 2011 budget deficit will be smaller than expected at between 9.1 and 9.4 percent of GDP, thanks to an emergency property tax, a finance ministry official said on Friday, a development that could help Athens in its bailout talks with the EU and IMF. Greece, which is racing to complete talks with the EU and the IMF on a second bailout worth 130 billion euros, had previously estimated that the deficit would be above 9.5 percent of GDP. "The numbers aren't final yet but we believe the deficit will come in at between 9.1 and 9.4 percent (of GDP)," ...
China has rejected Japanese protests over alleged improper exploration of gas deposits in the East China Sea. The Foreign Ministry said Friday the recent activity had taken place within Chinese-controlled waters and was completely normal. A ministry statement said China was strongly dissatisfied with recent comments from Japanese officials. Japan's chief Cabinet secretary on Wednesday said Japan protested to China after a flare was seen a day earlier at a Chinese structure at an undersea gas deposit. The deposit, known as Kashi in Japan and Tianwaitian in China, sits near a median line in the countries' overlapping exclusive economic zones. Japan and China agreed ...
The leader of Russia's Islamist rebels ordered a halt to attacks on civilians, saying mass opposition protests showed the public no longer supported Vladimir Putin, according to a video posted Friday. Doku Umarov, whose Caucasus Emirate group claimed atrocities including a deadly Moscow airport bombing in 2011 and a metro attack in 2010, said from now only security objects and officials would be targeted. "I order all special groups that are carrying out or plan to carry out special operations in Russia to put a halt to these operations that could hurt the peaceful population," Doku Umarov said in a video address ...
China's Premier Wen Jiabao said Friday the Asian giant had neither the ability nor the intention to "buy Europe", amid concerns over growing Chinese investment in debt-stricken eurozone economies. China is "willing to cooperate with Europe to fight the current crisis. Some people say this means China wants to buy Europe", Wen told a German-China business forum in the southern city of Guangzhou. "This a concern and doesn't fit reality. China doesn't have this intention and doesn't have this ability." German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in China for a three-day visit to boost her host's confidence in Europe, also attended the forum along with ...
Energy Secretary Chris Huhne is to resign from the Government after it emerged he is to face prosecution over allegations that he asked his ex-wife to take a speeding penalty for him. The Liberal Democrat MP has been charged with perverting the course of justice after an investigation into the 2003 incident by Essex Police. His former wife, the economist Vicky Pryce is also facing charges of perverting the course of justice. They are due to appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on February 16. The maximum sentence for perverting the course of justice is life in prison, the CPS and the Sentencing ...
The Federal Reserve late Sunday opened a program to ship U.S. dollars to Europe in a move to head off a broader financial crisis on the continent. Other central banks, including the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank, are also involved in the effort. The action reopens a program put in place during the 2008 global financial crisis under which dollars are shipped overseas through the... [more]
Sweden’s finance minister Anders Borg was on Sunday unwilling to rule out that Sweden would assist in underwriting a bailout fund for troubled euro economies. “I would not rule out anything,” Anders Borg told reporters as he arrived for crunch talks in Brussels. “I would be willing to consider any option,” he said when asked if Sweden could help to guarantee borrowings in the EU’s name despite not... [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]
Hundreds of protesters rallied in Athens on Sunday as the government sought to rein in social tensions while pressing ahead with drastic austerity measures aimed at avoiding a debt default. “I feel angry that my right to dream has been denied and it’s mainly the government’s fault,” said Penny, a 19-year-old student demonstrating on a square in front of the parliament building — the scene of riots last week. Greece... [more]
Cash-strapped Portugal will loan Greece more than €2 billion as part of the €80 billion Eurozone bailout for Athens agreed at the weekend by the group’s finance ministers. “The Portuguese share corresponds to €2.064 billion, equivalent to our participation” in the European Central Bank, Lisbon’s finance minister, Fernando Teixeira dos Santos, told journalists in Brussels. “We will obviously have to assume this commitment... [more]
Eurozone leaders have agreed to put emergency measures in place before the financial markets open again to prevent the debt crisis in Greece spreading to other countries. During a late-night summit in Brussels, the 16 heads of the single currency countries said they were ready to take whatever steps were required to protect the stability of the euro area. The leaders agreed to set up a crisis fund for all members to dip into in times of... [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]
A leading credit ratings agency says the debt crisis enveloping Greece could spread to affect the banking systems of the UK, Ireland, Portugal, Italy and Spain. Moody’s Investor Service says that although banks in some countries were not heavily affected by the financial crisis, they could be hurt if the fiscal crisis intensifies outside of Greece. The agency said in a report: “The potential contagion of sovereign risks to banking... [more]
Greece’s only hope of avoiding bankruptcy is to take money from a joint EU and International Monetary Fund rescue package, the finance minister said Thursday during a heatedParliamentary debate overshadowed by the deaths of three people during protests against spending cuts. Greece has to impose harsh austerity measures, including slashing salaries and pensions and increasing taxes, in order to get money from the three-year package,... [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]
