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 ...
A strong tropical cyclone roared toward Australia’s flood-ravaged northeast on Monday, prompting evacuations and warnings from officials that the storm could be the worst the already-swamped region has ever seen. Cyclone Yasi’s winds strengthened to 63 mph (102 kph) Monday. It was expected to hit the Queensland state coast on Wednesday or Thursday as a fierce Category 4 storm with wind gusts up to 162 mph (260 kph). The storm... [more]
The Dalai Lama has called for a thorough probe into the discovery of almost a million dollars in foreign currency at the monastery of one of Tibet’s most senior religious leaders. Police in northern India, where the Tibetan community in exile is based, have quizzed the Karmapa and arrested several aides over the cash which is mostly in US dollars but also in Chinese yuan and two dozen other currencies. The Karmapa heads one of the... [more]
Foreign governments stepped up their warnings about travel to Egypt, with several urging their nationals to evacuate as soon as possible, further fueling uncertainty over where the Arab nation is headed after nearly a week of mass protests. The fears of foreign tourists mirrored those of many Egyptians. Dozens with the means to do so rented jets or hopped aboard their own planes in a mad dash that did little to boost confidence in the future... [more]
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Haiti for a one-day visit and says the U.S. has no plans to halt aid despite the country’s presidential election crisis. Clinton says the U.S. is deeply committed to helping the impoverished nation rebuild from last year’s earthquake and cope with a cholera epidemic. She told reporters traveling with her that the U.S. would push for recommendations made by international experts about... [more]
The decision of boyband Blue to represent the UK at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest has been described by their former manager as”reckless insanity”. The four piece will perform the self-written song I Can at the annual competition, which will take place in May in Dusseldorf, Germany. It is the first-time since 1997 that the UK has opted for an established act to represent the country at the event. On that occasion... [more]
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday urged an orderly transition to democracy in Egypt but stopped short of calling on embattled President Hosni Mubarak to step down as Washington sought to avoid a power vacuum. Appearing on a slew of news programs, Clinton pressed Mubarak to ensure that the coming elections are free and fair and to live up to his promises of reform but insisted Egypt must avoid a result like that of Iran, which... [more]
The Dutch government has changed its travel advice to people wanting to visit Egypt because of the continuing demonstrations. After an emergency cabinet meeting on Sunday morning, the Foreign Ministry advised against any trips to Egypt. Previously the government only advised against non-essential travel. Although no decision has been taken to evacuate Dutch nationals in the country, travel agencies are bringing holiday-makers home. Dutch... [more]
Dutch cyclist and Olympic Champion Marianne Vos has won the World Cyclo-Cross Championship in St Wendel Germany with surprising ease. It is the third time she has won the title in a row and the fourth time in her career. Things were not looking good for the title defender at the beginning of the race when she fell on the first climb, but she soon managed to get back into the leading group. She fell a few times in the same spot. But the hard... [more]
The Netherlands has formally frozen all contacts with Iran following the execution of a Dutch Iranian woman on drugs charges. In a statement, the ministry said the move is to show the Netherlands disgust at the hanging of ahra Bahrami on drugs charges. Other Iranian Dutch nationals are being advised not to travel to Iran. ‘The Netherlands is very shocked by this execution, this scandalous deed,’ foreign minister Uri Rosenthal said.... [more]
The Dutch government is holding a crisis meeting to evaluate the situation in Egypt because of the continuing anti-government demonstrations. A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry says the current travel advice that people should avoid Egypt unless absolutely necessary is being reviewed. The United States, Turkey, Russia and Saudi Arabia have advised their citizens in Egypt to leave the country. Washington and Ankara are organising evacuation... [more]
