NewsInternational

Greek, French voters reject German-led austerity

By Noah Barkin 07/05/12
GREEK voters have dealt a serious blow to the fragile political consensus that has kept Europe's currency bloc intact through more than two years of crisis, rejecting the austerity-for-aid policies that have shielded the country from bankruptcy and a euro exit.Greece's vote, combined with the victory of Socialist Francois Hollande over incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in a French presidential election, will raise pressure on Europe's paymaster Germany to pursue a more growth-oriented approach to the crisis.But it is far from clear whether Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose insistence on tough deficit reduction in vulnerable southern euro members is popular in Germany, will take more than symbolic steps in that direction, even after Sunday's elections... 3 comments

Honecker's widow belittles Berlin wall victims

By Erik Kirschbaum 03/04/12
Erich Honecker's widow Margot has belittled the 136 people killed while trying to escape over the Berlin Wall during the Cold War, calling them stupid in an interview with German television aired on Monday evening.Known as the "Purple Witch" in Communist East Germany for her tinted hair and hardline stance, Margot Honecker, 84, served alongside her dictator husband as minister for education. She was hated and feared by many East Germans.In a rare interview, Margot Honecker told the German TV network ARD that she and other East German leaders never understood why so many tried to flee to the West over the Berlin Wall when so many died in the attempt. About 5,000 made it over alive... Read on

Euro problems are simple as piece of pizza for Dutch schoolboy

03/04/12
AN 11-year-old Dutch boy has won a prize for his radical solution to the euro’s problems - using a pizza as his inspiration.Jurre Hermans’ entry in the £250,000 Wolfson Economics Prize, an international competition to find the “best contingency plan for a break-up of the euro” won special mention from the judging panel.Jurre, of Breedenbroek in the Netherlands, was 10 at the time he entered. He has been given a €100 gift voucher for his efforts but unfortunately failed to make the final short list of five... 1 comment

Annan tells UN he wants deadline for Syrian peace

02/04/12
U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan has asked the U.N. Security Council for support in implementing an April 10 deadline for Syria to partially implement his peace plan, with a full ceasefire within 48 hours thereafter, envoys said on Monday.Annan told the 15-nation council behind closed doors that Syria has agreed to the idea of such a deadline, which would include the end of troop movements toward population centers, the withdrawal of heavy weapons and a start to the withdrawal of troops, U.N. diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity... Read on

Pakistan jails bin Laden's family for illegal stay

By Qasim Nauman 02/04/12
A Pakistani court jailed former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's three widows and two daughters for 45 days after finding them guilty of illegally staying in the country, their lawyers said on Monday.In practice, that means they will serve 14 days in prison because they have been in detention since March 3. Bin Laden's family members will eventually be deported to their home countries, the lawyers said."They (bin Laden's relatives) were sentenced to 45 days imprisonment and fined 10,000 rupees ($110) each. The money was paid on the spot," Aamir Khalil, one of the lawyers, said."The Secretary of the Interior has been instructed to make arrangements for their deportation after that... Read on

Russian plane crash kills 31, exposes safety record

By Timothy Heritage 02/04/12
A passenger plane crashed and burst into flames after takeoff in Siberia on Monday, killing 31 people and putting the spotlight on Russia's poor air-safety record before Vladimir Putin's return as president.Thirteen survivors were pulled from the wreckage but one later died after being rushed by helicopter to hospital in the city of Tyumen, some 1,720 km (1,070 miles) east of Moscow, emergency officials said.Television footage showed the UTair airlines ATR 72, which had snapped in two, lying in a snowy field with only the tail and rear visible. Emergency workers sifted through the wreckage and cleared away the snow... Read on

Suu Kyi's party claims landslide win in Myanmar vote

By Aung Hla Tun and Andrew R.C. Marshall 02/04/12
Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi claimed a by-election landslide for her party on Monday and said she hoped it would mark the beginning of a new era for Myanmar after a historic vote that could prompt the West to ease sanctions.The charismatic Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who led the struggle against military rule in the former Burma for two decades, was one of 44 candidates her National League for Democracy (NLD) said had won all but one of the legislative seats being contested... Read on

Clashes after Egypt football club banned, one killed

24/03/12
One person was shot dead and 18 injured in clashes between security forces and angry football fans in Egypt's Port Said after their club al-Masry was banned for two seasons following the country's worst stadium disaster, a medical source said.The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) said the club was banned for two seasons following the pitch invasion that killed 74 fans last month when Port Said-based al-Masry beat Cairo's Al Ahli, the most successful club in Africa.Port Said Stadium, where the stampede took place, would be closed for three years, the EFA said.Witnesses said military police fired shots in the air to disperse hundreds of soccer fans protesting outside the Suez Canal Authority building in Port Said... Read on

Debris prompts space station crew to seek shelter

By Irene Klotz 24/03/12
A passing piece of potentially dangerous space debris forced astronauts at the International Space Station to temporarily seek refuge in escape ships early on Saturday, U.S. officials said.The debris, a fragment from an old Russian satellite named Cosmos 2251 that smashed into an Iridium Communications spacecraft in 2009, passed harmlessly by the $100 billion orbital outpost at 2:38 a.m. EDT (0638 GMT), NASA said.With enough advance notice, NASA will maneuver the space station, which orbits about 240 miles (386 km) above the planet, to put more space between it and passing debris. The other option is for the station's six crew members to shelter inside the two Soyuz capsules berthed at the station in case the outpost is struck and depressurizes... 1 comment

Syrian army pounds battered Homs; Annan in Moscow

By Erika Solomon and Crispian Balmer 24/03/12
Syrian forces pounded the battered city of Homs with tank and mortar fire and troops pummelled several other rebel strongholds on Saturday, leaving at least 24 dead, opposition activists said.With the bloodshed showing no signs of abating, the U.N.-Arab League peace envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan, flew to Moscow, seeking Russian backing for his efforts to secure a ceasefire.Western and Arab states want Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to stand down but Russia, a long-time ally of Syria, has put the onus on the armed rebels and their foreign backers to make the first move... Read on
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