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 Saturday, Jan. 1, the first day of 2011. There are 364 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that slaves in rebel states were free. On this date: In 1511, the first Henry, Duke of Cornwall, son of King Henry VIII of England and Catherine of Aragon, was born. (However, the baby died less than two months later.) In 1861,... [more]
Today is Saturday, Sept. 4, the 247th day of 2010. There are 118 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Sept. 4, 1781, Los Angeles was founded by Spanish settlers under the leadership of Governor Felipe de Neve. On this date: In 1886, a group of Apache Indians led by Geronimo surrendered to Gen. Nelson Miles at Skeleton Canyon in Arizona. In 1888, George Eastman received a patent for his roll-film box camera, and registered... [more]
Today is Tuesday, Aug. 10, the 222nd day of 2010. There are 143 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Aug. 10, 1846, President James K. Polk signed a measure establishing the Smithsonian Institution. On this date: In 1680, Pueblo Indians launched a successful revolt against Spanish colonists in present-day New Mexico. In 1792, during the French Revolution, mobs in Paris attacked the Tuileries (TWEE’-luh-reez)... [more]
Today is Monday, Aug. 9, the 221st day of 2010. There are 144 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Aug. 9, 1945, three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, the United States exploded a nuclear device over Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people. On this date: In 1842, the United States and Canada resolved a border dispute by signing the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. In 1854, Henry David Thoreau’s... [more]
Today is Saturday, Aug. 7, the 219th day of 2010. There are 146 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Aug. 7, 1782, Gen. George Washington created the Order of the Purple Heart, a decoration to recognize merit in enlisted men and non-commissioned officers. On this date: In 1789, the U.S. War Department was established by Congress. In 1882, the famous feud between the Hatfields of West Virginia and the McCoys of Kentucky... [more]
Today is Thursday, Aug. 5, the 217th day of 2010. There are 148 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Aug. 5, 1962, actress Marilyn Monroe, 36, was found dead in her Los Angeles home; her death was ruled a probable suicide from an overdose of sleeping pills. On this date: In 1864, during the Civil War, Union Admiral David G. Farragut led his fleet to victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay, Ala. In 1884, the cornerstone... [more]
Today is Wednesday, Aug. 4, the 216th day of 2010. There are 149 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Aug. 4, 1944, Anne Frank, 15, was arrested along with her sister, parents and four others by German security after hiding for two years inside a building in Amsterdam. (Anne, who’d kept a now-famous diary during her time in hiding, died in March 1945 at the Bergen-Belsen Nazi concentration camp.) On this date: In... [more]
Today is Tuesday, Aug. 3, the 215th day of 2010. There are 150 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Aug. 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, on a voyage that took him to the present-day Americas. On this date: In 1807, former Vice President Aaron Burr went on trial before a federal court in Richmond, Va., charged with treason. (He was acquitted less than a month later.) In 1914, Germany... [more]
Today is Monday, Aug. 2, the 214th day of 2010. There are 151 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Aug. 2, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, seizing control of the oil-rich emirate. (The Iraqis were later driven out in Operation Desert Storm.) On this date: In 1610, during his fourth voyage to the Western Hemisphere, English explorer Henry Hudson sailed into what is now known as Hudson Bay. In 1776, members of the Continental... [more]
Today is Sunday, Aug. 1, the 213th day of 2010. There are 152 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Aug. 1, 1944, an uprising broke out in Warsaw, Poland, against Nazi occupation; the revolt lasted two months before collapsing. On this date: In 1714, Britain’s Queen Anne died at age 49; she was succeeded by George I. In 1876, Colorado was admitted as the 38th state. In 1894, the First Sino-Japanese War erupted,... [more]
