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Japanese traders return from holiday in buoyant mood, sending Nikkei up to 5-year highs

The Canadian PressMay 7, 2013 01:30

LONDON - Japanese stocks outperformed all others Tuesday as traders in the country returned from a public holiday in buoyant mood, sending the Nikkei index above 14,000 for the first time in nearly five years. The Nikkei surged 3.6 per cent to 14,180.24 on its first day of trading following the Golden Week holiday — that's the first time the Nikkei has breached the 14,000 mark since June 2008.

Italy urges fast EU action on youth unemployment

Agence France-PresseMay 6, 2013 16:46

Italy's new premier urged the European Union on Monday to act quickly to tackle the problem of high youth unemployment, calling for it top the agenda at a summit of EU leaders next month. "I think youth unemployment really has to be at the centre of everything. It can't be that political leaders see as normal that one in two, or one in three, European youths don't work," Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta said at a joint news conference with his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy.

Russian helicopter carrying 10 crashes in Siberia

Agence France-PresseMay 6, 2013 08:15

A Russian helicopter carrying 10 people, including senior rescue service officials, has crashed in the Irkutsk region of southern Siberia, an emergencies ministry spokeswoman said Monday. "The Mi-8 helicopter was discovered seven kilometres from the Preobrazhenka settlement with signs of destruction," the spokeswoman for the emergencies ministry, Irina Rossius, told the RIA Novosti news agency. The agency added that it was carrying several tonnes of explosives being used to break up ice on rivers. am/sjw/gd

Azerbaijan convicts three more over Eurovision plot

Agence France-PresseMay 3, 2013 08:30

A court in Azerbaijan on Friday sentenced three people to lengthy jail terms for plotting a "terrorist" attack during the Eurovision Song Contest hosted by the country last year. "The court for serious crimes has sentenced three citizens of Azerbaijan to prison sentences from 11 to 12 years for attempting to blow up the Israeli embassy on the eve of the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku," court documents said.

60 die in Darfur gold mine collapse: local official

Agence France-PresseMay 2, 2013 08:00

Dozens of people have been killed in a gold mine collapse in Sudan's Darfur region, said the chief of the district where fighting over gold in January led to the region's worst unrest in years. "The number of people who died is more than 60," Haroun al-Hassan, the local commissioner in Jebel Amir, North Darfur, said on Thursday. He added that rescue operations were still taking place after Monday's accident. "I cannot give exact figures because no one got precise numbers of how many people were going inside the tunnel," which went down 40 metres (yards), he said.

60 die in Darfur gold mine collapse: local official

Agence France-PresseMay 2, 2013 07:45

Foreign minister emphasizes importance of Spanish legacy in U.S.

Agencia EFEMay 1, 2013 18:30

Miami, May 1 (EFE).- Spain's foreign minister emphasized here Wednesday the continuing importance of the Spanish legacy in the United States, although he acknowledged that much remains to be done to "recover" the value of the Hispanic presence in this country.

Miguel Bose blasts Spain's political class

Agencia EFEMay 1, 2013 11:30

Mexico City, May 1 (EFE).- Spanish music star Miguel Bose denounced his country's politicians and said the Iberian nation needs a "profound and radical innovation" if its young people are to have any future. "I am furious, very furious, and I want the entire political class to go, both those who are in the government and in the opposition," the singer said here at a press conference ahead of a tour of Mexico. Spain's politicians, he said, only "struggle for power to profit and do business."

Turkish Airlines bans bright lipstick on hostesses

Agence France-PresseMay 1, 2013 07:45

Turkish Airlines has banned air hostesses from wearing brightly-coloured lipsticks such as red or pink, a move which has sparked fierce debate as the government is accused of trying to Islamise the country, local media reported Wednesday. Numerous women posted pictures of themselves wearing bright red lipstick on social media websites to protest at the measure, part of a new aesthetics code for stewardesses working for Turkey's main airline.

Crisis-hit France to cut armed forces by 10 percent

Agence France-PresseApril 29, 2013 12:16

France plans to axe nearly 10 percent of all jobs in the armed forces as it battles a financial crisis, a government review showed Monday, in what critics said would reduce the country's military clout. The white paper, which sets the general direction of France's defence policy, seeks a balance between the need to protect France from high-level threats and budgetary constraints as the country teeters on the verge of recession. While reducing France's deployable forces, the review calls for better cyber-defence and intelligence, with a particular focus on drones of its own.