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 ...
The Foreign Office says one British national was killed in Friday’s mosque bombings in Lahore, Pakistan. Terrorists burst into the buildings, opened fire and hurled grenades at the worshippers during Friday prayers. Some 93 people died in the co-ordinated attacks on two mosques of the minority Ahmadi sect in neighbouring areas of the city. The identity of the British national who died has not been released. At least two of the seven... [more]
German consumer protection minister Ilse Aigner says that internet giantGoogle could face “more than 50,000″ lawsuits in Germany because of its controversial virtual photo service Street View. Aigner told news magazine Focus that there is a rising tide of lawsuits confronting Google in the country. “If the wave of legal objections continues, we expect that it could be more than 50,000 by the end of the year,”... [more]
THE truth is out: Australians just love New Zealanders. An annual snapshot of Australians’ views on the world shows we’ve got the warmest feelings towards New Zealand, and we love it more than ever before. But Australians’ outlook on the world is not all rosy. The Lowy Institute survey of 1000 people found respondents are increasingly worried about the might of China and about asylum seekers, while they’re less gung-ho... [more]
Coronation Street star Jack P Shepherd has apologised following allegations that he cheated on his girlfriend. The actor, who plays David Platt in the ITV1 soap, issued a statement after a woman told the News of the World he had a one-night stand with her last month. Platt, 22, who has a baby daughter called Nyla with his long-term partner Lauren Shippey, said he was “deeply sorry” for letting down his family and employers. He... [more]
Pope Benedict XVI, often under fire for political missteps on foreign trips, is heading into a potential diplomatic storm when he visits Cyprus this week, a pilgrimage to a divided island that could anger Turkey and the rest of the Muslim world. Divisions between Greeks and ethnic Turks, splits in the Orthodox Christian community, and concerns over damaged Christian and Muslim houses of worship will be come under scrutiny during Benedict’s... [more]
Nepal’s three main parties held talks on Sunday to try to hammer out a new coalition government after the prime minister agreed to resign to avert a political crisis. Madhav Kumar Nepal said he would step down in a last-minute deal to secure support of Maoist lawmakers for a bill to extend parliament’s term, which was due to expire Friday, leaving the country without a functioning legislature. The opposition Maoists won 2008... [more]
Germany celebrated its first win in the Eurovision Song Contest in nearly three decades on Sunday with fireworks, street parties and a frenzied revelry normally reserved for World Cup soccer victories. A teenager named Lena ended Germany’s long losing streak in the popular European-wide song competition with an improbable triumph over 24 other finalists in a live program from Oslo watched by more than 100 million people across Europe. “Europe... [more]
For the second time in three years, the UK has come last in the Eurovision Song Contest, despite the latest entry being masterminded by 90s pop guru Pete Waterman. Essex teenager Josh Dubovie picked up only 10 points for his song That Sounds Good To Me. The contest was won by Germany’s Lena, also 19 years old, who scored 246 points with her track Satellite, which she sang in English. After the results were announced, BBC host Graham... [more]
Tom Cruise has laughed off false reports he died in a plumbing accident, assuring fans he’s alive and well. Rumours began spreading across the internet on Friday claiming the Mission: Impossible star had passed away following a bizarre plumbing mishap while in New Zealand. But the actor is taking the hoax in good humour, admitting he was amused by the odd manner in which he was ‘killed’. When asked if he could confirm if... [more]
Lily Allen has agreed to write the score for Bridget Jones’s Diary when the hit movie is made into a musical, according to a new report. The Smile hitmaker has announced she will hang up her microphone and step out of the spotlight this year – and now she’s reportedly carving out a career as a behind-the-scenes songwriter, with plans to work on the upcoming stage show, based on the Renee Zellweger comedy. Allen is already... [more]
