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 ...
European Union transport ministers agreed on Monday to gradually ease restrictions in place in European airspace sinec an Icelandic volcano started hurling ash into the atmosphere. “There is an agreement by the ministers to introduce more flexibility,” in the restrictions, which grounded most flights in Europe for a fifth day Monday, the source said. The Irish Aviation Authority said in a statement that there would be “an... [more]
Afghan authorities released on Sunday three Italian medical workers who had been detained for a week, clearing them of allegations they were part of a Taliban plot to kill a provincial governor, Italian and Afghan officials said. The Afghan intelligence service said the three Italian as well as five Afghan employees of the Italian aid group Emergency were freed because they were no longer believed to be part of the plot. A sixth Afghan... [more]
Emergency loans for debt-stricken Greece could run up to 90 billion euros (123 billion dollars), the German financial daily Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday, citing European sources. “A volume of credit going up to 90 billion euros is not excluded,” the newspaper added, citing sources close to the European Commission. Greece hopes it will not have to resort to the loans but many analysts warn it may be forced to because of... [more]
Seven people have died and at least 20 have been injured after a train derailed near the northern Italian city of Bolzano. Rescuers say the accident happened at around 9am after a landslide near to the town of Merano in the region of Alto Adige. Journalist Nick Pisa told Sky News one of the carriages is balancing over a river. “The scene has been described as horrific because of the carriage that is hanging over the river. “Rescuers... [more]
The euro rose sharply on Monday as the markets embraced the 30-billion-euro aid package for debt-ridden Greece, a massive safety net also designed to restore confidence in the single currency. Finance ministers from the 16 countries that share the under-pressure euro currency agreed Sunday a three-year financing programme at interest rates of around five percent. The decision to spell out the scale and the terms of the aid, which will involve... [more]
European governments were set to nail down on Sunday the terms for possible emergency loans for debt-stricken Greece in an effort to calm investor fears that have caused the euro to plunge. Finance ministers from the 16-nation eurozone grappled with Greece’s debt crisis in a conference call starting at 2:00 pm (1200 GMT) with the aim of “finalising aid mechanisms for Greece,” a Spanish official said. Sunday’s talks... [more]
Afghan security forces were on Sunday questioning nine medical workers, including three Italians, after what officials said was a plot to kill a provincial governor. The men were detained on Saturday after suicide vests, home-made bombs, guns and ammunition were found in a storeroom at a hospital in Lashkar Gah, Helmand province, run by the Italian charity Emergency. The three Italians held were said to be Emergency’s medical coordinator... [more]
Euro zone finance ministers, the European Central Bank and the European Commission will hold a teleconference on Sunday to further detail how a safety net for debt-stricken Greece would work, European officials said on Saturday. Greece has not asked to trigger the EU/IMF aid mechanism agreed last month to help it as a last resort if needed, but the talks will aim for the safety net to be ready if required, officials said. Markets pounded... [more]
Greece’s National Bank and four other Greek banks have had their credit ratings cut by an international credit rating agency. Fitch, one of the three biggest credit rating firms, downgraded the beleaguered country’s debt ratings. Ratings on National Bank of Greece, the country’s biggest, and Alpha, Eurobank, and Piraeus Bank were reduced one level from BBB to BBB-, while ATEbank was cut from BBB- to BB+. BBB- is the lowest... [more]
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi are to preside over an extension of Franco-Italian nuclear cooperation during a bilateral summit in Paris on Friday. The leaders of France and Italy will enhance their growing cooperation in the nuclear sector at a meeting on Friday where they are also due to discuss the mounting debt crisis hanging over the euro zone. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian... [more]
