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 ...
Up to 50 British travellers stranded in Moscow have warned they are in “serious trouble” after being confined to a hotel when their visas ran out. University student Moira Hickson, 21, was flying back to England from Thailand with her mother Julie when their flight was grounded in Moscow because of the ash cloud. Moira told Sky News they are being treated like prisoners and are currently being held under 24/7 guard in the Novotel... [more]
Iceland’s Eyjafjoell volcano is emitting between 150,000 and 300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per day, a figure placing it in the same emissions league as a small-to-medium European economy, experts said on Monday. Assuming the composition of gas to be the same as in an earlier eruption on an adjacent volcano, “the CO2 flux of Eyjafjoell would be 150,000 tonnes per day,” Colin Macpherson, an Earth scientist at Britain’s... [more]
Facebook is revamping users’ profiles to emphasize the pages for bands, books and businesses that millions have become fans of on the world’s largest online social network. Currently, users can list their activities, interests, favorite music and TV shows as part of their profile. But links to Facebook “pages” for products, bands and other interests would appear in a separate section lower down. Beginning Monday,... [more]
A strange and mysterious new object in space may the brightest and long-lasting “micro-quasar” seen thus far, a miniature version of the brightest objects in the universe. The object suddenly began pumping out radio waves last year in the relatively nearby galaxy M82, some 10 million light-years away. Its discovery was announced Tuesday. “The new object, which appeared in May 2009, has left us scratching our heads —... [more]
Airlines and holidaymakers are not the only ones being affected by the Icelandic volcano ash. A host of premieres scheduled to take place here have been scrapped as US stars are unable to travel to the UK. Miley Cyrus was due in London to launch her new film. But organisers said in a statement: “Due to the current flight restrictions over the UK, Miley Cyrus, Liam Hemsworth and the Director Julie Anne Robinson will no longer be attending... [more]
European Union transport ministers agreed on Monday to gradually ease restrictions in place in European airspace sinec an Icelandic volcano started hurling ash into the atmosphere. “There is an agreement by the ministers to introduce more flexibility,” in the restrictions, which grounded most flights in Europe for a fifth day Monday, the source said. The Irish Aviation Authority said in a statement that there would be “an... [more]
Yahoo has appointed former Microsoft board member Blake Irving as its new chief product officer. Irving replaces Ari Balogh, who recently announced his intention to step down at Yahoo for “personal reasons”. Irving will take on the role on 17 May. The firm also announced that Prabhakar Raghavan will continue as chief scientist. “Blake brings to Yahoo genuine large-scale internet expertise from a mature company known for... [more]
Only the most northerly and eastern reaches of Norway remained closed to air traffic on Monday, with airports in Oslo and other cities open again for domestic traffic and even a few international flights. A new cloud of volcanic ash, however, threatened another shutdown. Aviation officials scheduled a new update on the situation for 9pm Monday. The uncertainty left many of the flights that were running on Monday with very few passengers. “We... [more]
Germany’s aviation authority says it has granted Lufthansa permission to fly 50 planes back to Germany with about 15,000 passengers aboard. Spokeswoman Cornelia Cramer said Monday that other airlines such as Air Berlin also have sought similar permission. Britain sent Royal Navy warships on Monday to rescue those stranded across the Channel by the volcanic ash cloudand the aviation industry blasted European officials, claiming... [more]
Former boxing champ Edwin Valerocommitted suicide in his jail cell on Monday just hours after he was arrested in his wife’s killing, police said. The former lightweight champion used his own clothes to hang himself from a bar in his cell early Monday, Venezuelan Federal Police ChiefWilmer Flores told reporters. He said Valero was found by another inmate, who alerted authorities in the police lockup in north-central Carabobo state.... [more]
