Legendary pop singer Whitney Houston was found dead Saturday at a Beverly Hills, California, hotel, officials said. She was 48. The entertainer, whose incredible talent was discovered at an early age, was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. (6:55 p.m. ET) at the Beverly Hilton hotel despite resuscitation efforts, a police spokesman said. Beverly Hills Police Lt. Mark Rosen said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent" and that the cause of her death is being investigated. Houston's bodyguard found her body, said Courtney Barnes, publicist for hip-hop artist Ray J, who was dating the pop diva. According to her official website, Houston sold ...
Yahoo Inc Chairman Roy Bostock and three other directors will step down as the struggling company ploughs ahead with an internal overhaul, including discussions on dealing with its stakes in China's Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan. The corporation - once a Web powerhouse but now agonizing over a range of options to revive flagging growth - on Tuesday said it appointed former Rovi Corp CEO and International Business Machines Corp veteran Alfred Amoroso and ex-eBay COO Maynard Webb as independent directors. Yahoo's board has come under fire from investors impatient with the company's persistent inability to effect a turnaround, and frustrated with the apparent indecisiveness of stakeholders over ...
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has vowed to fight an "anti-business culture" in Britain, warning that a row overexecutive pay and bonuses threatens the country's fragile economic recovery. "Let me say something about the row over bonuses and pay," Osborne said in a speech to the Federation of Small Businesses. "Of course rewards for failure are unacceptable -- and those who believe in the free market are the first to say so. But a strong, free market economy must be built on rewards for success." The Labour Party has heaped pressure on the ruling coalition to curb excessive pay for top executives, using a House of Commons debate to demand the return ...
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Tuesday he is resolved to settle a longstanding territorial dispute with Russia at an annual rally calling for the return of all four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido in northern Japan, the Kyodo news agency reported. "We'll continue to make steady and determined efforts to move ahead with negotiations," Noda said, stressing the need to sign a peace treaty with Russia. The four islands - which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories - has been the subject of a territorial dispute between the two nations since the end of World War ...
Amanda Knox's Italian lawyer has filed an appeal of her slander conviction in Italy, a Knox family spokesman inSeattle said Monday. In October, an Italian appeals court overturned the young Seattle woman's murder conviction in the 2007 death of her British roommate in Perugia. But the same court upheld Knox's conviction for slander — for falsely accusing bar owner Diya "Patrick" Lumumba of involvement in the slaying. Lumumba was freed after two weeks in prison for lack of evidence. Knox later said she was "manipulated" during her lengthy police interrogation. An appeal of the slander conviction was filed Monday, Knox family spokesman Dave Marriott confirmed. He doesn't know when the Italian ...
The Dutch railway will remain 'vulnerable' during wintry weather but Dutch Rail (NS) and track operator ProRail did not help matters during the current cold snap by the late introduction of schedule adjustments to cope with the conditions, transport minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen told parliament in a briefing on Tuesday. The NS and ProRail assumed on Thursday of last week that there would be three to five centimetres of snow. When the forecast was increased on Friday morning to between 10 and 15 centimetres, it was too late to change the timetables automatically, Schultz van Haegen told parliament. Drivers and conductors ...
Greece can leave the eurozone without damaging monetary union, European digital affairs commissioner Neelie Kroes says in an interview with the Volkskrant on Tuesday. Kroes, a member of the Dutch ruling right-wing Liberal party VVD, is not a supporter of Greece exchanging the euro for the drachma, but says: 'It is absolutely not a case of man overboard if someone leaves the eurozone.' The commissioner is very critical of the new Greek government and says they are not fulfilling their promises. 'Too few spending cuts, too little restructuring,' she says. She says the Greeks should follow the example of Italy where the new ...
Mitt Romney hopes his presidential campaign hasn't ignored Rick Santorum's aggressive attacks for too long, as caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota on Tuesday could reshuffle the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Santorum largely bypassed Florida and Nevada to blanket the two caucus states with criticism of Romney and lay the groundwork among conservatives who have great sway in the process. RivalNewt Gingrich praised Santorum's strategy as shrewd even as he signaled he had no interest in exiting the four-way race, which also includes Ron Paul. "I think that Santorum's going to have a pretty good day," Gingrich told reporters on the eve of the caucuses. "He targeted differently than I ...
Glencore and Xstrata agreed an all-share merger worth $90 billion (56 billion pounds) on Tuesday in the industry's largest ever deal, creating a commodities powerhouse spanning mining, agriculture and trading. Glencore, the world's largest diversified commodities tradinghouse, will issue 2.8 new shares for each Xstrata share in a deal they said was a "merger of equals." The ratio is a 15.2 percent premium to Xstrata shareholders compared with its share price last Wednesday before word leaked out about the merger talks, a joint statement said. "A merger between Glencore and Xstrata offers a unique opportunity to create a new business model in our industry to respond to ...
US White House hopeful Mitt Romney aims for another big caucus win in Colorado on Tuesday, as his well-oiled campaign machine works to cement his position as the Republican front runner in the US presidential race. Polls suggest he should triumph easily in the western US state -- where he scored 60 percent in 2008 -- although there is a tighter race in Minnesota, where last-placed Rick Santorum is hoping to snatch a win. Romney's main rival, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, is battling to stay in the race after two heavy losses in a row to the former Massachusetts governor, who ...
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet listens during a news conference in Berlin yesterday. ‘There is an absolute necessity to decide very rapidly,’ said Trichet of negotiations between Athens, the ECB and the IMF on a 45-billion-euro support mechanism to prop up Greece’s ailing economy. Greece is close to agreeing to a new set of austerity measures, which will affect both the public and private sectors, that would unlock... [more]
Police and rescuers failed to find two journalists stranded for a third day among feuding militants in a remote village after their caravan of Mexican and European rights activists was caught in a deadly ambush. Authorities struggled to locate the missing journalists Thursday near the remote Triqui Indian town of San Juan Copala, where a violent dispute between rival political factions has reportedly cut off basic supplies and services to... [more]
Sony has been hit with a lawsuit over its recent decision to block the installation of Linux on its Playstation 3 console. The suit, filed in a San Francisco district court, accused the company of breaching its sales contract with users of older Playstation 3 systems when, in a recent firmware update, it disabled the ability to run a Linux partition on the console. Along with Linux enthusiasts, the “other OS” feature appealed... [more]
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Friday he was confident Greece’s debt crisis could be contained with help from a planned bailout by Europe and the International Monetary Fund. Greece is in negotiations with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund on a financial bailout that its government says is desperately needed by May 19 in order to avoid a devastating debt default. “I’m confident... [more]
Japan is seeking an international arrest warrant for the head of anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd over high-seas clashes in Antarctic waters, media reports said Friday. Tokyo will seek Interpol’s help to arrest Canadian Paul Watson for ordering his crew to harass whaling ships in clashes in which Japanese crew were allegedly injured by rancid butter projectiles, broadcaster NHK reported. Watson, speaking in New York, said “the... [more]
The surest sign of spring in Norway, partying students known as russ, popped up early this year and they’re already causing trouble. Police had to break up several loud outdoor gatherings this week, along with some fights, while reports of vandalism and littering were rampant. The teenagers are supposed to be celebrating the end of 12 years of schooling, before they head off for mandatory military service, higher education, jobs or a free... [more]
AISSat-1, the first Norwegian satellite developed in Norway, will be launched from India in the beginning of May.The satellite will be used to improve surveillance of maritime activities in the High North. AISSat-1 is a nano satellite measuring 20 x 20 x 20 cm. It weighs six kilograms and is shaped like a cube. The purpose of the satellite is to improve surveillance of maritime activities in the High North. AIS (Automaatic Identification... [more]
After a series of reports of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church of Sweden,Bishop Anders Arborelius wants the state to investigate, but the church minister has expressed reluctance, arguing that the church can manage on its own. “We need an impartial investigation, we can not manage this ourselves,” Arborelius told the Svenska Dagbladet daily. “The government should appoint someone, I will write to them shortly.... [more]
A verdict is expected on Friday in a graft case involving 83-year-old former interior minister Charles Pasqua, who is accused of having accepted bribes linked to several business deals in the 1990s. French prosecutors on Thursday demanded two years in jail for ex-interior minister Charles Pasqua on graft charges. A verdict is expected on Friday in the corruption case involving the 83-year-old ally of ex-president Jacques Chirac, who told... [more]
Today is Friday, April 30, the 120th day of 2010. There are 245 days left in the year. Koninginnedag – Queen’s Day in Holland The tradition started on 31 August 1885, on the birthday of Princess Wilhelmina, later Queen Wilhelmina. Since 1949, after the ascension of Queen Juliana, Queen’s Day is Queen Juliana’s birthday on 30 April. Although Queen Beatrix’s birthday is on 31 January, she officially celebrates... [more]
