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 Sunday, June 28, the 179th day of 2010. There are 186 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: 1894 – U.S. President Grover Cleveland signed an act of Congress, making Labor Day a federal holiday in the U.S. The first Monday of September is when Labor Day is celebrated as a salute to working men and women across the country. 1907 – The Washington Nationals stole 13 bases in a single baseball game... [more]
Today is Sunday, June 27, the 178th day of 2010. There are 187 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 27, 1950, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution calling on member nations to help South Korea repel an invasion from the North and to “restore international peace and security in the area.” On this date: In 1844, Mormon leader Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were killed by a mob in... [more]
Today is Saturday, June 26, the 177th day of 2010. There are 188 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he expressed solidarity with the city’s residents by declaring: “Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner). On this date: In 1870, the first section of Atlantic City, N.J.’s Boardwalk was opened to the public. In 1919, the New York Daily News... [more]
Today is Friday, June 25, the 176th day of 2010. There are 189 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 25, 2009, death claimed Michael Jackson, the “King of Pop,” in Los Angeles at age 50 and actress Farrah Fawcett in Santa Monica, Calif. at age 62. On this date: In 1788, Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution. In 1876, Lt. Col. Colonel George A. Custer and his Seventh Cavalry were wiped out by... [more]
Today is Thursday, June 24, the 175th day of 2010. There are 190 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 24, 1509, Henry VIII was crowned king of England; his wife, Catherine of Aragon, was crowned queen consort. On this date: In 1314, the forces of Scotland’s King Robert I defeated the English in the Battle of Bannockburn. In 1807, a grand jury in Richmond, Va., indicted former Vice President Aaron Burr... [more]
Today is Wednesday, June 23, the 174th day of 2010. There are 191 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 23, 1960, the Food and Drug Administration formally approved Enovid as the first oral contraceptive for sale in the U.S. On this date: In 1860, a congressional resolution authorized creation of the United States Government Printing Office, which opened the following year. In 1910, French playwright Jean... [more]
Today is Tuesday, June 22, the 173rd day of 2010. There are 192 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 22, 1940, during World War II, Adolf Hitler gained a stunning victory as France was forced to sign an armistice eight days after German forces overran Paris. On this date: In 1807, a British frigate, the HMS Leopard, attacked and boarded the American ship USS Chesapeake off the Virginia coast in search of... [more]
TURKISH and Australian archaeologists have discovered a “museum under the sea” at Gallipoli. The find includes the wreck of a barge that carried injured and dead Australian and New Zealand soldiers from Anzac Cove during the World War I Gallipoli campaign in Turkey, The Dominion Post reported. A sonar survey also found the wreck of British destroyer HMS Lewis, along with shrapnel from lead bullets fired by Turkish snipers at... [more]
Today is Sunday, June 20, the 171st day of 2010. There are 194 days left in the year. This is Father’s Day. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 20, 1893, a jury in New Bedford, Mass., found Lizzie Borden not guilty of the ax murders of her father and stepmother. On this date: In 1782, Congress approved the Great Seal of the United States. In 1837, Queen Victoria acceded to the British throne following the death of her... [more]
Today is Saturday, June 19, the 170th day of 2010. There are 195 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 19, 1910, the first-ever Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane, Wash. (The idea for the observance is credited to Sonora Louise Smart Dodd.) On this date: In 1862, slavery was outlawed in U.S. territories. In 1865, Union troops commanded by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with... [more]
