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 ...
As President Christian Wulff remains mired in allegations of impropriety, anti-corruption group Transparency International (TI) has called for politicians to use the case as a chance to open up German politics. “We are very concerned that people seem to be starting to think that all politicians behave like Wulff, and that would be fatal,” Christian Humborg, TI Germany’s managing director told The Local. “I think the Wulff affair is a wonderful opportunity for German politicians to react to the cynical attitude that this is normal, and improve things,” he said. He said the fact that the authorities were investigating whether Wulff and his ...
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]
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]
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]
British finance minister George Osborne insisted on Sunday he would resist pressure to drop his deficit reduction plan, saying to abandon it would unleash “financial turmoil” within minutes. Osborne said he did not like having to raise taxes and slash spending, but said the measures were necessary to give Britain financial stability as he bids to rein in the massive budget deficit and pay off the country’s debts. Speaking... [more]
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is flying to Haiti to mediate in a political crisis there while other administration officials are keeping watch on violent protests halfway across the world in Egypt. Clinton will meet Sunday with President Rene Preval and the three candidates vying to succeed him during her visit. She will also see a treatment center for the cholera epidemic that has killed almost 4,000 people. Haiti’s... [more]
There’s a new slogan in town, and it’s a winner. At least that’s what President Barack Obama has in mind. The president unveiled his “Winning the Future” mantra in his State of the Union address, and now the upbeat but amorphous phrase is part of every speech, policy and pronouncement coming out of the administration. It’s also emerged as a fat target for his Republican critics. What’s next on health... [more]
Egyptian military tanks surrounded Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where hundreds of protesters had gathered on Saturday. Demonstrators chanted “Down with Mubarak” and “We are all Egyptians.” The atmosphere was tense, but people gathered in the square were posing for pictures with tanks and shaking troops’ hands. Tahrir Square, located near many government buildings in the heart of downtown Cairo, has been a focal... [more]
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday called on fellow European countries to slash their deficits, warning that debt is the main threat to the economies of the crisis-hit eurozone. “Indebtedness is the biggest danger for prosperity on this continent. This is why we have to resolutely work against it,” Merkel told business leaders gathered at the Davos meeting of the World Economic Forum. The leader of Europe’s biggest... [more]
