Albanian Deputy Prime Minister Ilir Meta resigned on Friday, saying he intended to fight corruption allegations made by the former economy minister. "To fight against the accusations made by the monster Dritan Prifti, I resigned from my government jobs," Meta, who also held the post of economy minister, told a news conference. On Wednesday, Meta
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European nations may consider halting critical aid to Palestinians living on Israeli-occupied land if stalled peace talks fail to get going again, Norway's foreign minister was quoted as saying on Friday. Europe has handed over an average 300 mln euros each year over the past 17 years to Palestinian projects, helping keep the local economy
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The European Union will block landings of mackerel from Icelandic boats at EU ports in a dispute over fishing quotas, a European Commission spokesman said on Friday. The Commission, the executive of the 27-member EU, formally notified the European Economic Area of the action, the final step before enforcing it. "We have informed the EEA
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Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney and defender Nemanja Vidic should be fit for the Premier League leaders' trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, manager Alex Ferguson said. Rooney has been sidelined since injuring his ankle against West Bromwich Albion on New Year's Day, while captain Vidic was rested in last week's 1-0 win over Liverpool
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Cyprus Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou is in Egypt for a three-day visit starting Friday. According to an official announcement, Kyprianou will meet his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Cairo, with whom they will discuss bilateral relations, relations between the European Union and Egypt, the Middle East peace process and the Cyprus problem. During his
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The issues of bureaucracy, bank charges, airline connections and coordination between government departments were discussed at a “Breakfast Meeting with the Minister” organised by the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) in collaboration with the Cyprus-Nordic Countries Business Association. During the event, Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Antonis Paschalides met with the ambassadors of Sweden and
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Support for Greece's socialist government has slipped but it still leads the opposition conservatives despite austerity policies imposed to deal with the country's debt crisis, a poll showed on Friday. The survey, carried out on January 7-11 by Public Issue for Kathimerini newspaper, showed the socialists leading with 38.5%, if elections were held now, against
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Hong Kong stocks rose on Friday for a fourth successive session, posting a 2.5% gain on the week as momentum in financial issues helped lift the broader market. The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed 0.18% higher at 24,283.23. The China Enterprises Index fell 0.23% as weak mainland markets weighed.
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Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.9% and away from 8-month highs on Friday, after a surprisingly weak settlement of options for January and a stronger yen against the dollar triggered profit-taking. The Nikkei's decline ran counter to early expectations for a rise as brisk earnings from Intel Corp lifted hopes for technology spending, but market
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The euro zone has not yet convinced investors its debt position is sustainable and further contagion could harm global economic recovery, a senior IMF official was quoted as saying. In an interview with Bloomberg news agency late on Thursday, Naoyuki Shinohara, deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said the premium investors demand to
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