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 ...
Teen sensation Miley Cyrus has no desire to hear her songs performed on Glee – insisting she is not a fan of the hit TV series. The singer/actress shot to fame playing a singing school student on Disney’s Hannah Montana, but unlike Lady Gaga and Madonna, who have had their music showcased on Glee, the 17 year old can’t stand the programme. She tells Billboard, “Honestly, musicals? I just can’t. What if this... [more]
While a post-election coalition with Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam PVV party could not be ruled out, the PVV is a left-wing party in terms of the economy, Liberal leader Mark Rutte said at the weekend. Speaking after Wilders said he was ready to join a coalition with the VVD Liberals and CDA after the June 9 vote, Rutte said: ‘The PVV has a left-wing agenda, just like the Socialists.’ The PVV is opposed to changes to mortgage... [more]
Beijing has offered a loan of one billion euros (1.2 billion dollars) to fund projects in Tehran, a report said on Sunday, in a sign of increased Chinese participation in the Iranian economy. Iran’s Fars news agency, quoting a senior official from Tehran municipality, said the loan would have a repayment period of three to four years. “The one-billion-euro Chinese funding is materialising,” Hossein Mohammad Pourzarandi... [more]
Israel, thought to be the Middle East’s only nuclear power, has rejected a new U.N. call to come clean about its secretive nuclear program, calling it a “deeply flawed and hypocritical” act that ignores the threat posed by its sworn enemy Iran. Israel declared late Saturday that it would not take part in a 2012 conference on establishing a nuclear-free Middle East — an Arab-led initiative backed by top ally U.S. and... [more]
Prince Harry has been crowned king of cool in a list compiled by GQ magazine. The sandy-haired royal beat the likes of Dizzee Rascal, Horrors singer Faris Badwan, Twilight heart-throb Robert Pattinson and Dappy from N-Dubz to take the title. The magazine took 37 and a half to be the cut-off age in considering the coolest men. It took into account an “enviable sense of savoir faire, a talent for transforming the mundane into the extraordinary,... [more]
Hollywood has been paying tribute to actor Dennis Hopper who has died at the age of 74 after a long battle with prostate cancer. The hard-living star, best known for directing and starring in cult 1969 classic Easy Rider, passed away at his home in the coastal Los Angeles suburb of Venice on Saturday morning. His friend Alex Hitz said he was surrounded by family and friends. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Hopper appeared alongside... [more]
Japan’s socialist party decided Sunday to leave the ruling coalition in a row over a US base on Okinawa, raising pressure on Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama ahead of July elections, Jiji Press reported. The move came after Hatoyama on Friday dismissed Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Mizuho Fukushima as his consumer affairs minister. Fukushima had denounced Hatoyama’s decision to retain the Marine base despite a pre-election... [more]
Avoiding conflict between the Koreas over the sinking of a warship is an urgent task, China’s premier said Sunday as Beijing appeared more engaged in the crisis despite withholding support for possible U.N. action against North Korea. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s comments came at the end of a weekend summit with Japanese and South Korean leaders that was closely watched for signs that Beijing would get tougher on North Korea,... [more]
Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Sunday the country appeared to be back to “normal” after the lifting of a curfew imposed in the wake of deadly anti-government protests. The premier cancelled the curfew Saturday but said emergency rule was still necessary after two months of mass rallies by “Red Shirt” demonstrators that paralysed the capital and left almost 90 people dead. “The situation... [more]
Treasury Chief Secretary David Laws has become the coalition’s first casualty after it emerged he channelled tens of thousands of pounds of public money in rent to his long-term lover. Announcing his departure, the Liberal Democrat said: “I do not see how I can carry out my crucial work on the Budget and spending review while I have to deal with the private and public implications of recent revelations.” Prime Minister... [more]
