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 ...
Dutch police have uncovered huge caches of child pornography on “hidden” websites, including four based in the United States, prosecutors announced Wednesday. The discovery was made as part of the far-reaching investigation into a suspected pedophile identified only as Robert M. who was arrested in Amsterdam last year. He is accused of abusing dozens of young children while he worked in at least two Amsterdam preschools. The... [more]
The Metropolitan Police is looking at whether to widen the scope of its phone-hacking investigation amid claims the Duchess of Cambridge and Tony Blair were victims. Labour MP Tom Watson alleged the former prime minister was targeted by private detective Jonathan Rees. Mr Watson also claimed Mr Rees, a contractor to News International, targeted “at least one former home secretary”. The MP spoke following a statement by the Home... [more]
Fifa’s ethics committee has cleared president Sepp Blatter of alleged corruption – but has suspended his former rival Mohamed bin Hammam and vice-president Jack Warner. Fifa ‘s bribery hearings in Zurich disintegrated into claim and counter-claim as the world governing body’s leaders turned on each other. Jack Warner unleashed his threatened “tsunami” after he and Asian confederation president Mohamed... [more]
Three of Fifa’s most powerful figures are appearing before the world governing body’s ethics committee today. It comes after Mohamed Bin Hammam, the only man challenging Sepp Blatter for the presidency, pulled out of the race amid bribery claims. Mr Blatter is also facing corruption allegations, along with vice-president Jack Warner from Trinidad and Tobago. Mr Bin Hamman’s decision to withdraw from the presidential contest... [more]
Small numbers of Spanish vegetables suspected of contamination with a potentially deadly bacteria are being recalled from stores in Austria and the Czech Republic to prevent the spread of an outbreak that has killed at least nine people and sickened hundreds across Europe, officials said Sunday. Czech officials said 120 organic Spanish cucumbers suspected of contamination by a potentially fatal bacteria were being pulled off shelves. Health... [more]
A junior minister in French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s center-right government resigned on Sunday after he was accused of sexual harassment by two women, the government said. One of Georges Tron’s accusers said she had been encouraged to speak up by the arrest two weeks ago of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the French head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on charges he attempted to rape a chambermaid in New York City. French... [more]
By 2015 municipalities together will have 2.6 billion euros to help underprivileged workers, Deputy Minister for Social Affairs Paul de Krom says in a letter to parliament. Around 1.8 billion euros are intended to support work schemes for the disabled, and the rest to help disabled workers get a regular job. The letter explains a number of aspects of a new law, Working to one’s Ability, that the cabinet wants to introduce in 2013. The... [more]
Three explosions, some from car bombs, occurred within a half-hour outside three government buildings in a south China city Thursday, blowing out windows and wounding at least five people, an official and state media reported. A car exploded outside the prosecutor’s office in Fuzhou city, then 10 minutes later an explosion went off at a district government building and 15 minutes later a car exploded outside a drug administration office,... [more]
President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron confronted complex security debates over Afghanistan, Libya and economic growth Wednesday on a day of diplomacy amid testing times for the two allies. Midway through his six-day, four-country European tour, Obama began his day Wednesday with private meetings at the British prime minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street with Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.... [more]
Dutch courts have not prosecuted a blasphemy case since putting a novelist on trial in 1966 for a story about wanting to have sex with God, who had taken the form of a donkey. Gerard Reve was acquitted, but more than 40 years after his landmark trial Parliament is still not ready to scrap the blasphemy law, which bars scorn against any religion. In this country that cherishes freedom of expression, plans to repeal the 1932 law, which mandates... [more]
