by Harumi Ozawa
TOKYO (AFP) – Japanese prosecutors on Thursday decided not to indict ruling party kingpin Ichiro Ozawa over a political funds scandal, easing a headache for the young centre-left government.
Dubbed the “Shadow Shogun”, the 67-year-old Ozawa is credited with engineering the Democratic Party of Japan’s election landslide in August that ended more than half [...]
February 4, 2010 | Posted in
Japan News |
Read More »
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd paid tribute Thursday to the “extraordinary courage” of survivors of the ‘Black Saturday’ wildfires ahead of the disaster’s first anniversary.
Rudd said the February 7 firestorm, Australia’s worst ever natural disaster, shook the nation and called for the country to pause and reflect on Sunday’s official day of [...]
by Jacques Lhuillery
LAGOS (AFP) – A Nigerian minister has called on ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua to transfer power, a senior official said Thursday, in the first sign of a cabinet split over his prolonged absence from the country.
Dora Akunyili, who as information minister doubles as the government’s spokeswoman, called on her cabinet colleagues to revoke [...]
February 4, 2010 | Posted in
Africa News |
Read More »
By Sophie Taylor
PARIS (Reuters) – China told other world powers on Thursday that discussing sanctions against Iran was counterproductive, striking a blow to a Western push to rein in Tehran’s nuclear program.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told a conference during a visit to France that Tehran’s negotiating position was evolving and he wanted to see [...]
February 4, 2010 | Posted in
Iran News |
Read More »
By Krittivas Mukherjee– 32 mins ago
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram travels to Pakistan for a regional meeting this month, a visit that may lay the ground for improving ties which deteriorated after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Chidambaram’s Feb. 26-27 trip is the first high-level visit since the attacks and comes when India is showing a [...]
February 4, 2010 | Posted in
India News |
Read More »
By SHAWN POGATCHNIK, Associated Press Writer– 11 mins ago
DUBLIN – The Irish Catholic party Sinn Fein halted marathon negotiations to save Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government on Thursday and said it’s now up to the Protestant side to accept a compromise deal.
Sinn Fein negotiator Gerry Kelly told reporters that the talks — begun Jan. 25 under the direction [...]
February 4, 2010 | Posted in
Europe News |
Read More »
by Marianne Barriaux – Thu Feb 4, 6:15 am ET
BEIJING (AFP) – China hit back at the United States on Thursday after President Barack Obama vowed to get tougher with the Asian giant on trade and currency, stoking tensions already high over Taiwan and Tibet.
Obama on Wednesday hinted he would take Beijing to task over the strength of its [...]
February 4, 2010 | Posted in
China News |
Read More »
By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 29 mins ago
SEOUL, South Korea – The director of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s secret moneymaking “Room 39″ bureau has been fired, a news report said Thursday. Analysts said the move may be a way to get around international sanctions.
Kim Dong Un, head of the infamous “Room 39″ department [...]
February 4, 2010 | Posted in
North Korea News |
Read More »
BAGHDAD – Iraq’s ballot process was thrown back into uncertainty Thursday after election officials asked the nation’s highest judicial authority for a final ruling on whether to open next month’s balloting to hundreds of candidates banned because of suspected ties to Saddam Hussein’s regime.
The request by the election commission could re-ignite feuds between Shiite-led authorities [...]
February 4, 2010 | Posted in
Middle East News |
Read More »
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada is sliding out the dog sleds to welcome the world’s top finance officials to the Arctic this weekend, but its unusual choice of venue has only underscored doubts as to whether the Group of Seven rich nations is relevant today.
At a time when extra clout for emerging powers like China [...]
February 4, 2010 | Posted in
Canada News |
Read More »
