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 ...
Following are comments by French President Nicolas Sarkozy at a news conference to lay out his plans for France’s G20 presidency: RISK OF FOOD RIOTS “If we don’t do anything (about rising food prices) we run the risk of food riots in the poorest countries and a very unfavourable effect on global economic growth.” “The day there are food riots, what country at the G20 table will say this does not concern them?... [more]
The UN and EU stand accused of “cowardice” for claiming to tackle human rights abuses in places like China through soft diplomacy, Human Rights Watch said in its annual report Monday. Highlighting its claim, the report on global human rights violations was issued in Brussels the same day the European Union hosted controversial Uzbek President Islam Karimov amid protests. The New York-based NGO’s executive director Kenneth... [more]
A twin suicide attack on Moscow’s Domodedovo international airport killed more than 30 people and injured scores on Monday, officials said. Eyewitnesses said two terrorists blew themselves up as passengers emerged from the international arrivals zone at 4:40 p.m. (13:40 GMT). The Health Ministry said 31 people died and dozens were injured in the attack, the second terrorist assault on the Russian capital in less than 12 months. Law enforcement... [more]
Karren Brady has said that comments made by two Sky Sports presenters about female Premier League official Sian Massey made her “blood boil”. The star of The Apprentice – who is vice chairman of West Ham football club – hit back after Andy Gray and Richard Keys agreed female officials “don’t know the offside rule”. The pair – who have been dropped from tonight’s line-up – were... [more]
Germany’s ruling coalition has agreed new regulations for open-ended real estate funds, which have suffered from volatile investor behaviour, financial experts involved in talks told Reuters on Monday. From 2013, the cancellation period for investors will be 12 months and new investors will be subjected to a holding period of a minimum of two years, the sources said. Up to now, there had been no regulation on holding and cancellation... [more]
International Airlines Group, formed via the merger of British Airways and Iberia of Spain, made its stock market debut on Monday at a valuation of £6.1 billion. IAG’s shares traded at 285.1 pence shortly after the start of trading on London’s FTSE 100 index. IAG was up slightly compared with BA’s final price of 282.5 pence. The giant merger had completed on Friday, creating Europe’s second biggest airline by... [more]
Goldie Hawn has confirmed speculation her daughter Kate Hudson is expecting a baby with her rocker boyfriend Matt Bellamy, revealing the family is “very happy” about the pregnancy news. Reports emerged earlier this month that the actress and her boyfriend, who she has been dating since last summer, are expecting their first baby together. The pair has refused to comment on the rumours, but an overjoyed Hawn has revealed the... [more]
OPEC members could increase their production to meet 2011 demand which could rise by two percent, while oil prices are expected to maintain last year’s levels, Saudi’s oil minister said on Monday. As non-OPEC oil producers are expected to increase their production, OPEC countries too will have the opportunity “to boost their supplies to the global market to meet the rising global demand,” said Petroleum and Mineral... [more]
Legal threats loomed over Haiti’s ex-dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier Monday after the current president said he must face justice for crimes during his 1971-1986 reign. President Rene Preval, in comments during a visit to the neighboring Dominican Republic, said “everyone is responsible before justice for their crimes” under Haiti’s constitution. “The government has done all it can do and... [more]
The top share index eased in Monday morning trade as weaker banks, hit by worries over further capital constraints and stability in the euro zone, more than offset gains in defensives. By 9:12 a.m., the FTSE 100 index was down 6.01 points, or 0.1 percent, at 5,890.24, having risen 0.5 percent on Friday. Banks were the biggest fallers on fears they could face greater balance sheet strains under proposals from a government-backed commission... [more]
