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 ...
The U.N.’s humanitarian chief acknowledged frustration Sunday with the slow progress in providing shelter to the 1.5 million Haitians still homeless because of the Jan. 12 earthquake, and said a large amount of work needs to be done as the hurricane season bears down on the struggling nation. John Holmes told The Associated Press that the complex process of finding available land for transitional shelters, slow decision-making by... [more]
Russia urged NATO forces in Afghanistan on Sunday to crack down harder on drug production and smuggling, and offered to help put a security ring around the country. The international community should classify Afghan drugs as a threat to peace and security because they have become an important source of funds for the Taliban and other insurgent groups, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said in a speech. Insurgents and international... [more]
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates warned that North Korea may stage more “provocations” while being held to account for the sinking of a South Korean warship that has inflamed cross-border tensions. Gates, who met counterparts from Japan and South Korea on the sidelines of an Asian security conference that wrapped up in Singapore Sunday, called for a united front but admitted Washington and its allies had limited options. Attention... [more]
South Korea’s president toned down criticism of North Korea in a Memorial Day speech Sunday that stressed the need for peace with the nuclear-armed nation, which Seoul hopes will be punished at the United Nations for allegedly sinking a warship. The annual address, broadcast live nationwide, is traditionally used to urge an end to conflict on the Korean peninsula. It highlights the difficult challenge South Korean leaders face: balancing... [more]
The three-week long strike by 1800 employees in the Norwegian transport industry ended late Friday evening, following 12 hours of negotiations at the office of the National Arbitrator. The nationwide strike at freight terminals began on May 15th and was extended on May 24th. The conflict arose over the use of substitutes and the division of work at the freight terminals. - We have reached an agreement which ensures equal salary for all,... [more]
PRESIDENT Obama has secretly sanctioned a huge increase in the number of US special forces carrying out search-and-destroy missions against al-Qaeda around the world, with American troops now operating in 75 countries, The Times reported. The dramatic expansion in the use of special forces, which in their global span go far beyond the covert missions authorised by George W. Bush, reflects how aggressively the President is pursuing al-Qaeda... [more]
ISRAEL has denied intercepting a second international aid ship headed for the Gaza Strip today, just five days after a deadly raid on similar vessels. Spokesman for the activists, Amjad al-Shawa, told AFP the Rachel Corrie had been intercepted 35 miles (56km) off Gaza. “Several Israeli boats surrounded them and prevented them from reaching Gaza,” he said. “They try to take the boat, maybe to (the southern Israeli port city... [more]
Peace activists on board an aid ship heading for Gaza are being shadowed byIsraeli forces, according to reports. The Rachel Corrie set out with its crew determined to break Israel’s naval blockade. The Israeli Defence Force has said it has ignored calls to dock at Ashdod Port and is shadowing the aid ship. “We can see some Israeli ships a little away from us. They are following us, there has been no contact,” said a journalist... [more]
Oslo has become like “flypaper” for demonstrations tied to conflicts far beyond Norway’s borders, worries a top Norwegian police official, and that’s making it harder to secure the local embassies of countries involved. Newspaper Aftenposten reports that the Norwegian Foreign Ministry doesn’t think the police are doing a good enough job when demonstrations break out. Oslo’s police force is charged with not only maintaining the... [more]
England captain Rio Ferdinand has been injured during training for the World Cup. Ferdinand has been taken to hospital for a scan on his left knee. The central defender suffered the injury during the final couple of minutes of training. England manager Fabio Capello said he was uncertain at this stage of the severity of the injury. But he confirmed: “Rio picked up a knee problem in training. It happened near the end. “He has... [more]
