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 ...
Today is Thursday, May 20, the 140th day of 2010. There are 225 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 20, 1961, a white mob attacked a busload of Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Ala., prompting the federal government to send in U.S. marshals to restore order. On this date: In 1506, explorer Christopher Columbus died in Spain. In 1861, North Carolina voted to secede from the Union. In 1902, the United States... [more]
Today is Wednesday, May 19, the 139th day of 2010. There are 226 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 19, 1935, British Army officer T.E. Lawrence, also known as “Lawrence of Arabia,” died in Dorset, England six days after being injured in a motorcycle crash. On this date: In 1536, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of England’s King Henry VIII, was beheaded after being convicted of adultery. In... [more]
Today is Tuesday, May 18, the 138th day of 2010. There are 227 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 18, 1980, the Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington state exploded, leaving 57 people dead or missing. On this date: In 1860, the Republican Party convention in Chicago nominated Abraham Lincoln for president. In 1896, the Supreme Court, in Plessy v. Ferguson, endorsed “separate but equal” racial... [more]
Today is Monday, May 17, the 137th day of 2010. There are 228 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 17, 1510, Early Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli died in obscurity in Florence, Italy; he was probably in his mid 60s. (More than three centuries would pass before the art world rediscovered Botticelli and his works, such as “The Birth of Venus” and “Primavera.”) On this date: In... [more]
Today is Sunday, May 16, the 136th day of 2010. There are 229 days left in the year. Today’s Highlights in History: On May 16, 1960, a Big Four summit conference in Paris collapsed on its opening day as Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev demanded, but did not receive, an apology from President Dwight D. Eisenhower over the U-2 incident. The first working laser was demonstrated at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, Calif. by... [more]
Today is Saturday, May 15, the 135th day of 2010. There are 230 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 15, 1970, just after midnight, Phillip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green, two black students at Jackson State College in Mississippi, were killed as police opened fire during student protests. On this date: In 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the breakup of Standard Oil Co., ruling it was a monopoly... [more]
Today is Friday, May 14, the 134th day of 2010. There are 231 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 14, 1610, King Henry IV of France was stabbed to death while riding in his carriage in Paris by a religious fanatic, Francois Ravaillac, who was executed less than two weeks later. On this date: In 1643, Louis XIV became King of France at age four upon the death of his father, Louis XIII (the successor to Henry... [more]
Today is Thursday, May 13, the 133rd day of 2010. There are 232 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 13, 1940, in his first speech as prime minister of Britain, Winston Churchill told Parliament, “I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” On this date: In 1607, English colonists arrived by ship at the... [more]
Today is Wednesday, May 12, the 132nd day of 2010. There are 233 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 12, 1949, the Soviet Union lifted the Berlin Blockade, which the Western powers had succeeded in circumventing with their Berlin Airlift. On this date: In 1870, an act creating the Canadian province of Manitoba was given royal assent, to take effect in July. In 1930, Chicago’s Adler Planetarium... [more]
Today is Tuesday, May 11, the 131st day of 2010. There are 234 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 11, 1910, Glacier National Park in Montana was established. On this date: In 1502, Christopher Columbus left Cadiz, Spain, on his fourth and final trip to the Western Hemisphere. In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant arrived in New Amsterdam to become governor of New Netherland. In 1858, Minnesota became the... [more]
