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 ...
A cold snap that killed 30 people in the Ukraine over the past five days Tuesday spread to much of eastern and central Europe with record lows in Bulgaria and heavy snow falls in Switzerland. Emergency services in the Ukraine said most of the dead were homeless people who froze to death on the streets, four were found in their homes, and over 600 people sought medical help for frostbite and hypothermia. Authorities opened 1,590 shelters... [more]
Immigration Minister Gerd Leers says his plans to use cameras on the Dutch border to intercept illegal immigrants will not contravene European Union regulations, reports the EUobserver news site. Much of the high-tech surveillance equipment has already been installed on the Dutch borders with Belgium and Germany. The cameras apparently collect data on the models and colours of cars crossing the border. The idea is that if, for instance,... [more]
Temperatures plunged to a perishing -37 degrees Celsius on Tuesday to give Telemark county in southern Norway its coldest day in more than three decades. Tore Larsen, who lives in a cottage on the shores of Møsvatn lake, decided to rethink his plans for the day after taking a look at his thermometer. “Right now it’s -37 degrees here. I was actually supposed to travel to West Telemark today to install a satellite dish but I’ve put... [more]
France and Italy on Monday signed an agreement to build a high-speed rail link between Lyon and Turin, the largest such project in Europe, despite opposition on the Italian side of the border. The line, which is due to be completed by 2023, would allow high-speed trains to link Paris and Turin in just over four hours, compared to seven at present. The Lyon to Turin connection would be cut back from just over four to just under two. Work... [more]
A severe and snowy cold snap acrosscentral and eastern Europe has left at least 36 people dead, cut off power to towns, and snarled traffic. Officials are responding with measures ranging from opening shelters to dispensing hot tea, with particular concern for the homeless and elderly. This part of Europe is not unused to cold, but the current freeze, which spread to most of the region last week, came after a period of relatively mild weather.... [more]
Up to five companies are keen to buy Saab, one of the bankrupt Swedish carmaker’s three administrators said Sunday. “I can’t comment on who we are in discussions with, but we are conducting dialogues with four to five interested parties who we consider are seriously interested,” Hans Bergqvist told the TT news agency. He said the aim was to sell all of Saab, which filed for bankruptcy on December 19, to a single... [more]
Passengers were stranded at Spanish airports Saturday after airline Spanair abruptly went bust, cancelling all its flights at short notice. “Faced with the lack of financial visibility for the coming months, the company has decided to cease its operations as a measure of caution and safety,” Spanair said in a statement on Friday evening. Its last scheduled flight landed on Friday night, leaving rivals such as Iberia, Vueling... [more]
Ski resorts were cut off and avalanche warning levels raised in western Austria Saturday as heavy snowfall also disrupted World Cup ski races and Winter Youth Olympics competitions. The resorts of Lech, Zuers and Stuben in the westernmost province of Vorarlberg, and the popular ski destination of Ischgl in Tirol, were inaccessible after roads were blocked. Experts also spoke of a “critical” avalanche situation and advised skiers... [more]
Rotterdam Police Commissioner Jan Hoogstraten has been sentenced to a fine of 950 euros and a three-month suspension of his driver’s licence for drink driving. The commissioner’s wife fell and was injured when the couple were taking a walk on New Year’s Eve. He went to fetch his car because he felt it was taking too long for help to arrive. When he returned to the scene of the accident, police officers thought they smelled alcohol... [more]
Divers searching the capsized Italian cruise liner Costa Concordia suspended work on Wednesday after the vast wreck shifted slightly but officials said they are hoping to resume as soon as possible. Five days after the 114,500 tonne cruise ship struck a rock and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio, hopes of finding anyone alive have all but disappeared and salvage experts are preparing to pump 2,300 tonnes of fuel from the hulk. The... [more]
