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 ...
Egypt’s vice-president has said he is trying to introduce government reforms but clashes between pro and anti-President Mubarak demonstrators need to stop. Omar Suleiman said the violence had led to about one million tourists leaving the country in the past nine days and this had cost Egypt at least $1bn in lost revenue. He said he has been discussing reforms with opposition groups but only has around 200 days to make “so many... [more]
An Italian parliamentary committee dealt a blow to embattled Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday by blocking a tax measure his Northern League allies have laid down as a condition for staying in government. The 30-member panel, which had to rule on measures to give more tax and spending powers to local governments, was split evenly, creating a stalemate with the potential to break the centre-right coalition and open the way to early... [more]
Norwegians use their cars less, and make more use of public transport travelling to and from work. This is shown by a new survey made by the Institute of Transport Economics (TØI). The reduced use of private cars is highest in Oslo, where four out of ten now use public transport to and from work, according to TØI. The survey also shows that nearly 50 per cent of all Norwegian households now have at least two cars. Share this: ... [more]
One of the most powerful storms ever recorded in Australia pulled houses apart and snapped power poles as it ripped across already flood-sodden Queensland state Thursday, leaving authorities relieved that no one was killed. Officials had issued days of increasingly dire warnings, and said lives were spared because people followed instructions to flee to evacuation centers or bunker themselves at home in dozens of cities and towns in Cyclone... [more]
The leaders of Germany and Spain, Europe’s strongest economy and one of its weakest, will attempt to send a united message in support of the troubled eurozone in talks here Thursday. The Madrid meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero comes on the eve of a European summit in Brussels to discuss how to bail out crisis-torn member states. Berlin wants to broaden the... [more]
Australia’s biggest cyclone in a century shattered entire towns after pummelling the coast and churning across the country Thursday, terrifying locals but remarkably causing no fatalities. Exhausted residents emerged to check the damage after Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi hit land at around midnight, packing winds of up to 290 kilometres (180 miles) per hour, in a region still reeling from record floods. Officials and locals said 90... [more]
The White House said Wednesday that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has a chance to show the world “exactly who he is” by bringing desperately needed change to his country now. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs also decried bloody violence happening in Cairo, where pro-government forces clashed with protesters a day after Mubarak announced he would not seek re-election in September. That wasn’t good enough for the protesters,... [more]
A Norwegian lawmaker has nominated WikiLeaks for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, saying Wednesday that its disclosures of classified documents promote world peace by holding governments accountable for their actions. The Norwegian Nobel Committee keeps candidates secret for 50 years, but those with nomination rights sometimes make their picks known. Snorre Valen, a 26-year-old legislator from Norway’s Socialist Left Party, told The Associated... [more]
CONDITIONS are deteriorating at the main evacuation point in Cairns, where 2500 people are sheltering from Cyclone Yasi inside a powerless shopping centre. Power was cut to the Earlville shopping centre around midnight, as Yasi crossed the coast at Mission Beach south of Cairns, leaving evacuees to wait out the storm in the dark. “It’s getting a bit stifling inside because the air conditioning’s stopped,” an ABC reporter... [more]
A massive storm billed as the worst in decades barreled toward the northeast Wednesday, leaving vast swaths from Chicago to New York paralyzed by snow and ice, stranding hundreds of motorists all night and shuttering airports and schools. Chicago had 19.5 inches of snow, ranking the storm the third-largest on record to hit the city with still more possible. As much as 1 1/2 feet fell in Missouri, more than a foot dropped on northern Indiana... [more]
