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 United States, Russia, Britain, France and China on Wednesday voiced support for making the Middle East a nuclear-arms-free zone, which would mean Israel would have to scrap any atomic bombs it has. “We are committed to a full implementation of the 1995 NPT resolution on the Middle East and we support all ongoing efforts to this end,” the five permanent U.N. Security Council members said in a unanimous statement... [more]
Communists unveiled a monument to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin on Wednesday, sparking the anger of Ukrainian nationalists. The 2.5-meter (8-foot) monument shows Stalin from the waist up and is mounted on a pedestal in front of theCommunist Party’s office in the city of Zaporizhya. The unveiling comes ahead of Sunday’s 65th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. Many Communists revere Stalin as commander-in-chief during... [more]
The German Chancellor and the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have warned of financial contagion unless a eurozone debt crisis is stopped in Greece. Angela Merkel, whose government has been accused of delaying its approval of a bailout package, said the crisis marked a turning point for the European Union. “The future of Europe and the future of Germany within Europe is at stake,” Mrs Merkel said. Her comments... [more]
A new international survey gives entirely new meaning to Norway’s standing as a “motherland.” It’s now ranked as the best place in the world to be a mother, thanks to generous state support and child care benefits. Norway in effect pays women to have children, thanks to lump sum grants given to mothers for every child born. Monthly child care benefits are also paid out every month, regardless of household income, and working women... [more]
The Norwegian government puts aside NOK 90 million in the national budget to increase the number of illegal immigrants returned to their home country. The effort will lead to about 1000 additional assisted migrations per year. An upgrade and expansion of the asylum holding cells at Trandum by a capacity of 50 is also being proposed, prime minister Jens Stoltenberg said in a speech to the Norwegian Labour Party’s parliament members... [more]
Chinese President Hu Jintao will discuss the Iranian nuclear standoff with Russian leaders during a weekend visit to Moscow, a Chinese official said Wednesday, noting the two sides had “similar views”. Hu will meet President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during the May 8-9 visit, during which he will attend ceremonies marking the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II, the official said. “The leaders... [more]
Weeks of wrangling over a bailout for profligate Greece brutally exposed core divergences between Germany and France, raising serious questions over whether the traditional motor of closer EU integration has run out of gas. While French President Nicolas Sarkozy swiftly pledged to save Greece from the humiliation of a default, German Chancellor Angela Merkel dragged her feet and only agreed to back a salvage package when the euro zone was... [more]
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is rejecting allegations his country is developing nuclear weapons, citing “not a single credible proof.” Ahmadinejad is condemning the continued possession of nuclear weapons by the United States and others. He spoke Monday at the start of a monthlong conference reviewing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. He says such atomic weapons are an encouragement to other countries to develop... [more]
The UN secretary-general has called on nuclear weapons states to reaffirm their commitment to disarm at a meeting to review efforts to halt their spread. Ban Ki-moon told delegates from the 189 signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) a “failure to do so would be a step backward”. He also urged Iran to comply with UN resolutions on its nuclear programme. Iran’s president later accused Western powers of... [more]
A protester has invaded the stage as Gordon Brown addressed the CitizensUK Meeting in London. The Prime Minister had been speaking to delegates from faith groups gathered at the Central Methodist Hall in Westminster. During his speech he was briefly interrupted by a man who made his way to the front of the stage with a banner saying “No Killer Power”. He was then bundled to the floor by security and dragged from the stage. Sky’s... [more]
