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 wife of Mexico’s most-wanted drug lord was questioned and released after she was found during raids on seven houses linked to the fugitive trafficker, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, prosecutors said Thursday. The Attorney General’s Office said Griselda Lopez Perez was in one of the houses raided Wednesday and was taken to the offices of investigative police, where she made a statement and was let go early Thursday. The... [more]
Today is Friday, May 14, the 134th day of 2010. There are 231 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 14, 1610, King Henry IV of France was stabbed to death while riding in his carriage in Paris by a religious fanatic, Francois Ravaillac, who was executed less than two weeks later. On this date: In 1643, Louis XIV became King of France at age four upon the death of his father, Louis XIII (the successor to Henry... [more]
The European single currency sank under 1.26 dollars on Thursday, nearing a 14-month low as investors sought the safe-haven US currency amid fresh fears of a sovereign default in the eurozone. At about 1330 GMT, the euro tumbled to 1.2540 dollars, from 1.2615 dollars in New York late Wednesday. That was not far from the 14-month low of 1.2529 dollars that was struck one week ago. “It is difficult to put together an argument that would... [more]
Europe’s currency crisis constitutes its “greatest test” since the collapse of communism, Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Thursday, as she called for the eurozone’s economic policies to become more tightly meshed. If monetary union failed and the euro ceased to exist, there would be “incalculable consequences” for Europe, she said. “If the euro fails, other things will fail. The idea of European unity will fail,” Merkel... [more]
Foreboding a possible crackdown, Thailand’s government said Thursday it will move armored personnel carriers and snipers into a posh Bangkok neighborhood to choke off the thousands of protesters who have besieged it for weeks. Officials said sharpshooters with live ammunition will take up vantage positions; public transportation will be suspended at 6 p.m. (1100 GMT); and work places have been asked to let their staff go home... [more]
The Dutch boy who survived a plane crash that killed 103 people in the Libyan capital is in satisfactory condition after surgery on his shattered legs, doctors said Thursday. The official Libyan news agency identified the survivor as 10-year-old Ruben van Ashout, but a Dutch newspaper offered a different spelling and age. The Brabants Dagblad daily in the southern Netherlands said he might be 9-year-old Ruben van Assouw from the city... [more]
In its revised national budget, the Norwegian government has proposed increased funding to Haiti, with a view to support the reconstruction process and to help the country become more robust and stable.(Photo: Minister of International Development Erik Solheim) “We are increasing our support for reconstruction after natural disasters by NOK 50 million. Some of these funds will be allocated to environmental, afforestation, agriculture... [more]
Today is Thursday, May 13, the 133rd day of 2010. There are 232 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 13, 1940, in his first speech as prime minister of Britain, Winston Churchill told Parliament, “I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” On this date: In 1607, English colonists arrived by ship at the... [more]
European flights were back normal on Wednesday after the ash cloud which caused difficulties over the Atlantic and the Iberian Peninsula dispersed on Tuesday night, air traffic agency Eurocontrol said. Areas of high ash concentration at lower altitudes were, however, still causing some difficulties for trans-atlantic flights as well as for Madeira and the Azores. This could result in airport closures in the Mediterranean between the Spanish... [more]
The European Central Bank has not started “printing money” in response to the continent’s debt crisis, its chief Jean-Claude Trichet insisted Wednesday. “We haven’t changed monetary policy,” the ECB president told Europe 1 radio in France, promising that the bank would not abandon its inflation target or let the euro collapse. “I am more confident than ever in the future of the euro,” he said,... [more]
