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 ...
AMSTERDAM (Kyodo) Japan international midfielder Keisuke Honda has completed his move from Dutch first division club VVV Venlo to CSKA Moscow, Venlo said on its official Web site on Thursday. Honda has signed a four-year deal at CSKA. “We are sad to see Keisuke Honda leave, but this transfer will be for the good of the club in the long term. VVV are satisfied with the transfer fee,” Venlo chairman Hai Berden told the club’s... [more]
LUBBOCK, Texas – Fired Texas Tech coach Mike Leach says he did not mistreat a player after a concussion. Leach spoke to The New York Times and ESPN about his firing. He was dismissed Wednesday, two days after his suspension. The school was investigating his treatment of Adam James. The sophomore receiver said Leach twice confined him to a small, dark place after his concussion diagnosis. Leach told the Times onThursday night and ESPN on... [more]
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Rafael Nadal has won and Roger Federer has lost in the semifinals of the season-opening Capitala exhibition tournament. Nadal beat Spanish Davis Cup teammate David Ferrer 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 on Friday to secure a place in the final against Robin Soderling, who earlier dispatched the top-ranked Federer 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-1), 6-2. The players held serve in the opening two sets before Soderling broke the... [more]
PORTLAND, Ore. – Swiss watch maker Tag Heuer said Friday that it will “downscale” its use of golfer Tiger Woods‘ image in its advertising campaigns for the foreseeable future. The company said it will continue its relationship with Woods but is modifying its marketing programs in certain regions out of respect for his request for privacy. How long the change last will depend on Woods’ decision about returning... [more]
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Aaron Rodgers threw touchdown passes to Jermichael Finley and Donald Driver, giving the Green Bay Packers a 17-0 lead over the Baltimore Ravens at halftime on a chilly Monday night. Rodgers, who went 16 of 24 for 147 yards and an interception in the first half, engineered two late scoring drives to turn a defensive slugfest into a comfortable lead. Inside of 2 minutes, Rodgers scrambled for 23 yards to put Green Bay... [more]
ARLINGTON, Texas – For more than a year, the Texas Longhornsagonized over falling 1 second short of getting into the Big 12 and national championship games. This season, they’re conference champions and headed to the BCS title game because a video replay showed they still had 1 second left. Given a chance for one last play, Hunter Lawrence nailed a 46-yard field goal as time expired for good, giving a roughed-up Colt McCoy and... [more]
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Players hugged at center court. Fans stood and cheered as music blared through the arena. Finally, the New Jersey Nets got to experience that winning feeling again. The Nets won for the first time this season, ending the worst start in NBA history at 18 losses by beating the Charlotte Bobcats 97-91 on Friday night. Brook Lopez had 31 points and 14 rebounds, and Courtney Lee scored a career-high 27 points in his... [more]
CAPE TOWN, South Africa – The United States will face England at the World Cup for the first time since a famous upset 60 years ago, then play Slovenia and Algeria in the first round of next year’s tournament. The U.S. opens against England in Rustenburg on June 12, the teams’ first World Cup matchup since the Americans’ 1-0 victory at the 1950 tournament in Brazil. The United States then meets Slovenia at Johannesburg’s... [more]
TORONTO – Buffalo’s Rian Lindell and New York’s Jay Feely tradedfield goals, and the Bills and Jets were tied 3-3 after the first quarter on Thursday night. The Bills picked up where they left off on Sunday when they scored 24 unanswered points in the fourth quarter in their win over Miami, scoring on their opening drive when Lindell capped a 52-yard drive with a 49-yard field goal. On that drive, Buffalo quarterback Ryan... [more]
Liverpool fought back at Anfield to hold on for a point and force yet another draw on Mark Hughes’ vaunted team. The mega-rich men from Eastlands arrived on Merseyside intent on proving they were top four material but they found a Liverpool side in defiant mood despite more injury problems. Martin Skrtel put Liverpool in front but Emmanuel Adebayor and Stephen Ireland sent City ahead before Benayoun equalised. Despite the furore over... [more]
