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 ...
Media say 14 people were working in the containment area of a nuclear power plant in northeast Spain this week when water used to cool a reactor was unexpectedly released. El Pais newspaper reported Saturday that the workers were in the building, although none are believed to have suffered dangerous contamination. Operator Anav said in a statement dated Thursday that “the opening of a valve caused the release of 25 cubic meters (883... [more]
The Dutch Royal Family are celebrating Queen Beatrix’ official birthday in the southernmost province of Limburg. Accompanied by her sons, daughters in law and her sister Princess Margriet and her family, the Queen has arrived in the town of Thorn. Later in the day they will travel to the city of Weert. Queen’s Day is the royal family’s annual occasion to meet the people face-to-face, and since her accession in 1980 Queen... [more]
Thousands of excitable pilgrims are swarming into central Rome, on the eve of a ceremony to mark late pope John Paul II’s step towards sainthood. “I couldn’t miss this, I had to be a part of such a historical moment. We’ve only just arrived but the atmosphere’s great, it’s really exciting,” on Saturday said Patricia Wocial, 48, who had come from Britain with her young daughters. “It’s... [more]
Michael Jackson could not have guzzled a fatal anaesthetic cocktail, according to a medical expert at a court hearing on Friday. Prosecutors committed to putting the King of Pop’s physician Dr. Conrad Murray behind bars called on the unnamed expert to help them dismiss suggestions made by the defence lawyers that the pop superstar took his own life by either drinking or injecting himself with Propofol. Dr. Murray is charged with involuntary... [more]
It was the most coveted fashion commission of the century, and it went to Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen. The newly-married Princess Catherine chose the iconic British fashion house to make her wedding dress. Burton is the protégé of the late designer Alexander McQueen, after joining his company as an intern in 1996. She took over as creative director at the label after his tragic death in February 2010. Burton has described working... [more]
President Barack Obama has met victims of the devastating storms and tornadoes that struck southern US states, killing more than 300 people. Mr Obama toured some of the worst-effected areas in Alabama, saying: “I’ve never seen devastation like this.” He also pledged: “We’re going to make sure you’re not forgotten.” Survivors have tried to recover what was left of their belongings as the death toll... [more]
Norway has together with Spain been elected to the UN Commission on Population and Development. Three countries – Norway, Spain and Malta – were competing for two places.(Photo: Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre) The voting took place in the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and following a secret ballot, Spain and Norway both won seats on the Commission. Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre commented,... [more]
The Norwegian unemployment rate continues to drop, and is now at 2.8 per cent of the total work force. This is an eight per cent drop since April last year, according to the National Labour Office (NAV). It says it is the improvement in the Norwegian economy that has led to lower unemployment and more vacancies. In April there were 14 per cent more vacancies advertised than in the same month last year. The drrop in unemployment is highest... [more]
Venezuela’s foreign minister Nicolás Maduro is counterattacking Sweden in the Venezuelan press over the arrest and deportation of a Swedish citizen to Colombia. The Swedish Foreign Ministry asked Venezuela in a note why they did not inform Sweden that they had arrested the 54-year-old Swede when he landed at Caracas International Airport last Saturday. News agency TT reports that Maduro, in the Venezuelan newspaper El Universal,... [more]
Criticism of the Japanese government’s handling of the crisis at a radiation-spewing nuclear power plant has increased after an adviser quit to protest what he lambasted as unsafe, slipshod measures. Toshiso Kosako, a professor at the University of Tokyo’s graduate school and an expert on radiation exposure, announced late Friday that he was stepping down as a government adviser. Prime Minister Naoto Kan appointed Kosako after... [more]
