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 ...
Today is Monday, May 10, the 130th day of 2010. There are 235 days left in the year. Today’s Highlights in History: On May 10, 1940, during World War II, German forces began invading the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgiumand France. The same day, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned, and Winston Churchillformed a new government. On this date: In 1760, Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, who wrote the French national... [more]
Today is Sunday, May 9, the 129th day of 2010. There are 236 days left in the year. This is Mother’s Day. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 9, 1980, 35 people were killed when a freighter, the Summit Venture, rammed the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay in Florida, causing a 1,400-foot section of the southbound span to collapse. On this date: In 1754, a cartoon in Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette showed... [more]
Today is Saturday, May 8, the 128th day of 2010. There are 237 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 8, 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced in a radio address that Nazi Germany’s forces had surrendered in World War II, and that “the flags of freedom fly all over Europe.” On this date: In 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River. In 1794, Antoine Lavoisier (lah-vwahz-YAY’),... [more]
Today is Friday, May 7, the 127th day of 2010. There are 238 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 7, 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Rheims (rams),France, ending its role in World War II. On this date: In 1789, the first inaugural ball was held in New York in honor of President George Washington and his wife, Martha. In 1833, composer Johannes Brahms was born... [more]
Today is Thursday, May 6, the 126th day of 2010. There are 239 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 6, 1910, Britain’s Edwardian era came to an end upon the death of King Edward VII; he was succeeded by George V. On this date: In 1859, Georgia miner John H. Gregory discovered a lode of gold in Colorado. In 1861, Arkansas seceded from the Union. In 1889, the Paris Exposition formally opened, featuring... [more]
Today is Wednesday, May 5, the 125th day of 2010. There are 240 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. became America’s first space traveler as he made a 15-minute sub-orbital flight in a capsule launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla. On this date: 553 – 2nd Council of Constantinople (5th ecumenical council) opens 1260 – Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol... [more]
Today is Tuesday, May 4, the 124th day of 2010. There are 241 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire during an anti-war protest at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others. (Two of the students who died, Allison Krause and Jeffrey Miller, had been participating in the demonstration while the other two, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder,... [more]
Today is Sunday, May 3, the 123rd day of 2010. There are 242 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: 1294 – John II becomes duke of Brabant/Limburg 1342 – Count Hartmann II becomes ruler of Vaduz (Liechtenstein) 1382 – Battle on Beverhoutsfield near Brugge 1455 – Jews flee Spain 1491 – Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries, adopting the baptismal name of João... [more]
Today is Saturday, May 1, the 121st day of 2010. There are 244 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 1, 1960, the Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 reconnaissance plane over Sverdlovsk and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers, who was later convicted of espionage but returned to the United States in 1962 in exchange for a captured Soviet spy. On this date: In 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain was... [more]
Today is Friday, April 30, the 120th day of 2010. There are 245 days left in the year. Koninginnedag – Queen’s Day in Holland The tradition started on 31 August 1885, on the birthday of Princess Wilhelmina, later Queen Wilhelmina. Since 1949, after the ascension of Queen Juliana, Queen’s Day is Queen Juliana’s birthday on 30 April. Although Queen Beatrix’s birthday is on 31 January, she officially celebrates... [more]
