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 ...
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]
Twenty-five years after taking over at Manchester United with the goal of knocking Liverpool “off their perch”, Sir Alex Ferguson’s long-held dream is likely to become reality on Saturday. After a magnificent performance at Old Trafford last weekend to dispose of Chelsea, United need only a draw at Blackburn to secure a record 19th title and overtake Liverpool as the most successful club in English history. In a twist that... [more]
British authorities say the country’s police and military carried out a three-day drill to simulate a terrorist attack on next summer’s Olympic Games in London. London police say that the exercise was held inside the Olympic village — the cluster of arenas and training facilities constructed to host the sporting event starting next July. In a statement, police said Wednesday that Britain’s defense ministry and emergency... [more]
An ex-car racing boss who sued a tabloid over a story about his sadomasochistic orgy with a handful of dominatrixes lost his privacy case in the European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday — a ruling applauded by free speech advocates. Max Mosley won a suit against Britain’s News of the World for its 2008 front-page story claiming the then-president of the governing body overseeing Formula One racing had an hours-long Nazi-themed orgy... [more]
Legendary heavyweight Muhammad Ali led the tributes to his “old friend” Sir Henry Cooper, who died on Sunday, describing him as “a great fighter and a gentleman”. Cooper passed away at his son’s house at Oxted in Surrey just two days before his 77th birthday. Arguably Cooper’s most famous fight was a non-title contest against Ali in London in 1963, when he knocked down the man then known as Cassius Clay... [more]
Victoria and David Beckham and Sir Elton John have turned out for the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Footballer David and his Spice Girl-turned-fashion designer wife, and music legend Elton were among 1,900 guests invited to the Westminster Abbey service. Victoria earlier spoke of her delight at the occasion, writing on Twitter: “London looks beautiful!!! We are so proud to be British!” There were squeals... [more]
Sang Lan, a Chinese gymnast who broke her neck during a vaulting accident at the 1998 Goodwill Games, filed a $1.8 billion lawsuit against Time Warner and the US gymnastics federation. Sang was paralyzed after being injured during a warm-up vault at the Nassau Coliseum in suburban New York at the global multisport event which is no longer contested but was at the time owned by AOL Time Warner. In a federal lawsuit, Sang, now 29, claims promises... [more]
Manchester United and England footballer Rio Ferdinand has appealed for witnesses to come forward to help police find the killer of the innocent victim of a drive-by shooting. “I remember what it was like when I was young, growing up in Peckham, having my whole future in front of me,” Ferdinand said in the appeal posted on Youtube. “A promising young footballer, Rio McParlane was a lot like myself. On September 6 last year... [more]
After 49 matches and forty-five days of intriguing contest, Team India has emerged as the crowned King of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir pulled off an impressive run chase to beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in the ICC Cricket World Cup final in Mumbai. The fourth-wicket pair ensured India did not panic in front of a capacity home crowd after the early loss of big guns Virender Sehwag and... [more]
What a match! What a player! Kevin O’Brien has ensured that Bengaluru becomes testimony to yet another humdinger of a match. Ireland won by 3 wickets (with 5 balls remaining) Ireland win by three wickets Kevin O’Brien has made history for Ireland. The dreams of 2007 have been eclipsed by this record chase, powered by a record hundred. England’s bowling and fielding was shoddy again, but they were backed into a corner and... [more]
