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 Thursday, April 29, the 119th day of 2010. There are 246 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On April 29, 1945, during World War II, American soldiers liberated the Dachau concentration camp; the same day, Adolf Hitler married Eva Braun and designated Adm. Karl Doenitz (DUHR’-nihtz) president. On this date: In 1429, Joan of Arc entered the besieged city of Orleans to lead a French victory over... [more]
Today is Wednesday, April 28, the 118th day of 2010. There are 247 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On April 28, 1758, the fifth president of the United States, James Monroe, was born in Westmoreland County, Va. On this date: In 1788, Maryland became the seventh state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. In 1789, the mutiny on HMS Bounty took place as the crew of the British ship set Capt. William Bligh and 18... [more]
Today is Tuesday, April 27, the 117th day of 2010. There are 248 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On April 27, 1810, Ludwig van Beethoven wrote one of his most famous piano compositions, the Bagatelle in A-minor, popularly known by its reported dedication, “Fuer Elise” (for Elise). (Editors note: The title is generally spelled “Fur Elise” with an umlaut over the “u.”) On this... [more]
Today is Monday, April 26, the 116th day of 2010. There are 249 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On April 26, 1785, American naturalist, hunter and artist John James Audubon was born in present-day Haiti. On this date: In 1607, English colonists went ashore at present-day Cape Henry, Va., on an expedition to establish the first permanent English settlement in the Western Hemisphere. In 1865, John Wilkes Booth,... [more]
Today is Saturday, April 24, the 114th day of 2010. There are 251 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On April 24, 1898, Spain declared war on the United States after rejecting America’s ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba. (The United States responded in kind the next day.) On this date: In 1792, the national anthem of France, “La Marseillaise” (lah mahr-say-YEHZ’), was composed by Captain... [more]
Today is Saturday, April 24, the 114th day of 2010. There are 251 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On April 24, 1898, Spain declared war on the United States after rejecting America’s ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba. (The United States responded in kind the next day.) On this date: In 1792, the national anthem of France, “La Marseillaise” (lah mahr-say-YEHZ’), was composed by Captain... [more]
Today is Friday, April 23, the 113th day of 2010. There are 252 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On April 23, 1910, former President Theodore Roosevelt delivered his famous “Man in the Arena” speech at the Sorbonne in Paris. In it, Roosevelt declared, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.... [more]
Today is Thursday, April 22, the 112th day of 2010. There are 253 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On April 22, 1970, millions of Americans concerned about the environment observed the first “Earth Day.” On this date: In 1864, Congress authorized the use of the phrase “In God We Trust” on U.S. coins. In 1889, the Oklahoma Land Rush began at noon as thousands of homesteaders staked claims. In... [more]
Today is Wednesday, April 21, the 111th day of 2010. There are 254 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On April 21, 1910, author Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, died in Redding, Conn., at age 74. On this date: In 1509, England’s King Henry VII died; he was succeeded by his 17-year-old son, Henry VIII. In 1649, the Maryland Toleration Act, which provided for freedom of worship for all... [more]
Today is Tuesday, April 20, the 110th day of 2010. There are 255 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On April 20, 1980, Cuban President Fidel Castro invited any of his countrymen who wanted to leave their country to do so, sparking the massive Mariel Boatlift from Cuba to the United States. On this date: In 1812, the fourth vice president of the United States, George Clinton, died in Washington at age 72, becoming... [more]
