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Floods kill six in southern Spain
At least six people, including a young girl and an elderly woman, died Friday as floods in southern Spain overturned cars and forced hundreds to flee their homes, officials said. At least 600 people had to be evacuated from their homes in the Andalusia region, with some forced to take refuge on their roofs as torrential rains caused rivers to break their banks, flooding roads and rail routes. ...
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Germanys ex Finance Minister - Merkels challenger
Germany's Social Democrats have chosen their candidate to run against Chancellor Angela Merkel in the 2013 general elections. This will be former Finance Minister Peer Steinbrck. His candidature will be officially pronounced at the party's session on October 1. Social Democrats pledge social equality and limiting the influence of financial markets on people's lives. ...
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Greece’s ruling coalition agrees on austerity
Sina English The leaders of Greece's ruling coalition have agreed on austerity measures, the country's Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras told reporters on Thursday. According to him, the agreement will help save more than 11.5 billion euros in the next couple of years. Athens needs austerity measures in order to get a bailout from the so-called Troika of International Lenders, ...
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Germany charges two alleged Russian spies
German prosecutors say they have filed espionage charges against two alleged Russian agents whom they accuse of spying for information on European Union and NATO strategy. The federal prosecutors' office alleged Thursday the pair, who were arrested last October, worked in Germany for Russia's foreign intelligence service, or SVR, for more than 20 years. Prosecutors said they entered ...
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Russia bans GM corn from U.S. for cancer fears
By Yu Runze, Sina English Russia is halting all shipments of American corn due to a study that revealed a higher risk in breast cancer. The country has suspended the import and use of American genetically modified (GM) corn after a study suggested a link to breast cancer and organ damage. The European Food Safety Authority has followed up the action with its own review into the research. Other ...
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Spains Catalonia to hold consultation for independence
Spain's regional leader of Catalonia said Wednesday that a self-determination consultation will go ahead during the mandate of the next parliament, even if the central government does not authorize it. "If the consultation can be done through a referendum authorized by the Spanish government, better. If the government does not authorize any kind of referendum or consultation, it still ...
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Nationwide general strike to paralyze Greece ahead of fresh austerity package
Greek unions' mobilization may bring the country to a standstill on Wednesday as they called for a general strike in protest of new austerity package promoted by the government. Organized by two major worker unions in private and public sectors, GSEE and ADEDY, thousands of protesters, including tax and customs officers, employees at municipalities, state-owned bank workers, along with ...
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Earthquakes measuring 5.6 and 4.8 Richter shake parts of Greece no injuries
Two earthquakes measuring 5.6 and 4.8 on the Richter scale occurred respectively on Saturday in parts of Greece, without causing injuries or extensive material damage, according to local media reports. The quakes, one happened near the islands of Crete and Casos in the southern Aegean Sea and while the other took place in the city of Corinth near Athens. The tremor that hit Corinth, about 88 ...
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Russia bans liquor imports from Czech
MOSCOW, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Russia banned imports of hard alcohol from the Czech Republic following lethal poisoning cases in that country, Gennady Onishchenko, Russia's Directorate for Consumer Rights and Health Protection, said on Friday. "The Federal Customs Services are given an order not to let these products (into the country) until the situation is fully stabilized," ...
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Russia to keep Kyrgyzstan military base
Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Sept. 20 to a deal with Kyrgyzstan that will allow Russia to keep a military base in the country until 2032 as Moscow and Washington jostle for influence in the region. The agreement -- essentially a set of memorandums of intent ahead of formal treaties -- also foresees Russia wiping out nearly $500 million (380 million euros) in debt owed by ...
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Russia expects visit of Japanese PM this year
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda may visit Russia by the end of this year, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday. "We are going to work closely with the Japanese side to fill that visit with substance, so it would bring additional fruits to our cooperation," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich. Lukashevich added that both Moscow and Tokyo would work on ...
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Eight militants killed in Russias North Caucasus
MOSCOW, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Eight gunmen were killed in a police ambush in Russia's North Caucasus region, the local Interior Ministry said Thursday. During an early morning counter-terrorist operation in the Kabardino-Balkaria republic, eight militants trapped in a private house were killed in the capital city of Nalchik, local police said. Two of the killed were women. Four of the ...
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France bans protest over anti-Islam movie
France on Thursday banned a demonstration to protest against the publication of the U.S. movie mocking the Prophet Mohammed that had triggered outrage across the Muslim world, local media reported. According to news channel BFMTV, Paris police banned a planned protest outside Paris Mosque on Saturday as a precautionary measure after calls circulated on social networks to protest over the ...
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France alert to protests over satirical cartoons
France kept alert on possible anti-France protests, closing its diplomatic missions and schools in some Islamic countries Wednesday after a French weekly published cartoons mocking the Muslim Prophet Mohammed. The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement that France had decided to temporarily close its embassies, consulates, cultural centers and schools in more than 20 Islamic countries as ...
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Putin backs claim USAID tried to meddle in politics in Russia
President Vladimir Putin has backed Foreign Ministry assertions the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was trying to meddle in politics in Russia. Putin "shared a similar opinion" with the ministry on the role USAID had played in Russia, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Vedomosti newspaper Thursday. Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich ...
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France to close diplomatic sites in 20 Muslim countries on Friday
France will close diplomatic sites in 20 Muslim countries over concern that a French satirical magazine's publication of cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad may provoke a violent backlash. France will close embassies, consulates, cultural centers and French schools on Friday, the day of prayer for Muslims, the foreign ministry said in an emailed statement. "We have given ...
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Belgium PM becomes organ donor
Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo has announced on the social network Facebook that he is ready to donate his organs after his death. Starting on Tuesday the Belgian edition of Facebook has a new feature: users can now state on their profiles that they intend to become organ donors after death. They are then asked to fill out a form on the website of the Federal Ministry of Health. ...
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Most Greeks reject austerity attached to bailout aid but support euro survey
ATHENS, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- An overwhelming majority of seven out of ten Greeks reject harsh austerity attached to bailout agreements with international lenders which keep debt-ridden Greece afloat since 2010, according to a new opinion poll released in Athens on Tuesday. However, the survey conducted by Public Issue for the local Kathimerini newspaper and SKAI television and radio channels, ...
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Russia EU call for non-political humanitarian aid to Syria
MOSCOW, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Russia and the European Union (EU) call for neutral and non-political humanitarian aid to the Syrian people, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. During a meeting between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov and visiting European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Kristalina Georgieva, the two sides ...
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Leader of Communist Party of Spain dies in Madrid
Santiago Carrillo, a historical leader of the Communist Party of Spain, died at the age of 97 in Madrid on Tuesday, local media reported. Carrillo, died at his home in Madrid while he was having a nap. Last week the state of his health deteriorated. His mortal remains were taken to the headquarters of the Spanish trade union Comisiones Obreras (Workers Commissions) in Madrid. Next Thursday ...
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Spains railway workers to strike
Spain's railway workers will hold a 24-hour strike today which will lead to cancellation of 302 long-distance and commuter rains, according to local media reports. Strikers are protesting against the Spanish government's decision to privatize the rail transport network and reduce wages. In solidarity workers in the country's subway (underground) system have also decided to ...
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230 detained in Belgium
In Belgium on Sunday police detained 230 people who were protesting against the film "The Innocence of Muslims". One officer was injured but his life is not in danger. The demonstration took place in the city of Antwerp which has a large population of people from the Middle East. The protest was not coordinated with the authorities so the police arrested all of the participants who ...
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Four Russian tourists dead 30 injured in bus overturn in northern Greece
ATHENS, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Four Russian tourists died and 30 were injured, when a tourist bus overturned in the suburbs of the city port of Thessaloniki in northern Greece on Friday. According to local traffic police, the bus with a total of 51 passengers was heading towards the airport on a slippery road due to rain when the accident occurred. Fire Brigade assisted in the evacuation of the ...
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Central bank governor China always confident in euro
China welcomed European Union's agreement on the 109 billion euro bailout plan for Greece and has been confident of the stability of the euro zone and other member countries in the past, present or future, said Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of People's Bank of China on July 23 during an interview with Financial Times. Bailout plan helps bring financial stability After eight hours of ...
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Burmese President to Visit White House
The former general will meet with President Barack Obama during a visit human rights organizations and some politicians say is premature because of anti-Muslim violence and continuing rights violations in Burma. Officials say the two countries are expected to use the visit to work out agreements that could lead to regular talks on boosting trade, labor standards and investment. On Sunday, ...
Turkey Digest
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Turkey remains bridge between civilisations in railway plans
Turkey is often described as the gateway between two great civilisations, this is a theme employed commonly in our promotional material to encourage tourism and it has been invoked as part of the rhetoric used in ongoing efforts to join the EU, but the fact remains that Turkey is a key player in the world of geopolitics and this is seen most clearly in two major railway projects currently being planned between three regions of the world.
Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul, is famous for being the only metropolitan region in the world that spans two continents, sitting as it does in both between Asia and Europe. This idiosyncrasy of the city has made it a popular tourist destination due to the diversity of culture and architecture, but on a wider scale, the geopolitical significance of Turkey is growing and will indeed grow further if two major infrastructure plans in the Middle East and Asia take shape in the next few decades. Read more
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