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 ...
Portugal has raised euro1.12 billion ($1.67 billion) in an auction of 3-month Treasury bills, a day after officials said the cash-strapped country had agreed on a euro78 billion bailout. The steep increase in the interest rate on the T-bills Wednesday underscored Portual’s financial plight as investors demanded a 4.65 percent interest rate_ up from 4.05 percent on the same debt two weeks ago. More positively, the government debt agency... [more]
John Demjanjuk’s lawyer assailed Germany’s prosecution of the 91-year-old on Tuesday, arguing that investigators have failed to offer concrete evidence of his involvement in Nazi war crimes and have been inconsistent in their efforts to pursue suspects. Attorney Ulrich Busch argued that, whether or not he is convicted, the retired Ohio auto worker is already “a victim of German justice.” He complained as he started... [more]
North Korea has started a drive to confiscate mobile phones smuggled from China in an attempt to suppress news from the outside world, a group of defectors from the communist state said. North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity said in its latest newsletter police in North Hamkyong and Yangkang provinces bordering Russia and China have started urging residents to voluntarily surrender mobile phones or face punishment. It cited sources in the... [more]
The United States embassy as well as American military bases in Germany are on high alert to the risk of extremist reprisals after President Barack Obama announced late Sunday that al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden had been killed. The US State Department warned of the “enhanced potential for anti-American violence,” following bin Laden’s death and placed its embassies and military installations around the world on high alert. Germany... [more]
Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed Sunday in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan and his body was recovered, President Barack Obama announced Sunday. “Justice has been done,” Obama said in a dramatic, late-night White House speech announcing the death of the elusive mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the New York and Washington. Obama said U.S. forces led the operation that killed bin Laden. No Americans... [more]
Media say 14 people were working in the containment area of a nuclear power plant in northeast Spain this week when water used to cool a reactor was unexpectedly released. El Pais newspaper reported Saturday that the workers were in the building, although none are believed to have suffered dangerous contamination. Operator Anav said in a statement dated Thursday that “the opening of a valve caused the release of 25 cubic meters (883... [more]
Michael Jackson could not have guzzled a fatal anaesthetic cocktail, according to a medical expert at a court hearing on Friday. Prosecutors committed to putting the King of Pop’s physician Dr. Conrad Murray behind bars called on the unnamed expert to help them dismiss suggestions made by the defence lawyers that the pop superstar took his own life by either drinking or injecting himself with Propofol. Dr. Murray is charged with involuntary... [more]
President Barack Obama has met victims of the devastating storms and tornadoes that struck southern US states, killing more than 300 people. Mr Obama toured some of the worst-effected areas in Alabama, saying: “I’ve never seen devastation like this.” He also pledged: “We’re going to make sure you’re not forgotten.” Survivors have tried to recover what was left of their belongings as the death toll... [more]
Criticism of the Japanese government’s handling of the crisis at a radiation-spewing nuclear power plant has increased after an adviser quit to protest what he lambasted as unsafe, slipshod measures. Toshiso Kosako, a professor at the University of Tokyo’s graduate school and an expert on radiation exposure, announced late Friday that he was stepping down as a government adviser. Prime Minister Naoto Kan appointed Kosako after... [more]
Mining giant Rio Tinto weighed into the debate over Australia’s proposed carbon emissions tax Saturday, urging Canberra not to rush into a decision while major polluters such as China and the United States held back. Prime Minister Julia Gillard wants to charge polluters from July 2012 under a fixed-price scheme that would move to a full cap-and-trade model linked to international carbon markets within five years. But she faces stiff... [more]
