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 ...
Mexico plans a shake-up of its corruption-ridden immigration institute, officials said, after a year that saw some of the worst atrocities against illegal migrants trekking through the country — including the mass slaughter of 72 Central and South Americans trying to reach the United States. The dismissals early this week will include several top directors of the National Institute for Migration, according to two government officials,... [more]
Rail users are facing budget-busting fare increases which have now come into effect. Annual season tickets for main line rail travellers will rise by an average of 5.8%, with Tube and bus fares in London rising by an average of 6.8%. In some cases main line season tickets are going up almost 13% although fares are rising by an average of 6.2%. However, some lines will see much higher rises than others. Regulated fares on the Southeastern... [more]
Investigators in Russia say they have found the “black box” recorders from a passenger jet that caught fire and exploded as it taxied for takeoff in Siberia, killing three people. The Interstate Aviation Committee, which oversees civil aviation in much of the former Soviet Union, said in a statement Sunday that the data and voice recorders from the Tu-154 had been recovered at the accident site in Surgut. The plane belonging... [more]
EXPEDIA has stopped selling tickets on American Airlines flights, the latest twist in a simmering pricing dispute between American and travel websites. “Expedia has chosen to no longer offer American Airlines fares on its website,” American said. “Customers looking to compare flights or fares online should visit other travel sites such as Kayak.com or Priceline.com for the most accurate and up-to-date information.” The... [more]
Hundreds of thousands of people have lined the streets of London to watch musicians, cheerleaders and performers from all over the world strutting their stuff. Organisers were expecting 500,000 to turn out for the capital’s 25th New Year’s Day Parade. The target was easily exceeded, as crowds 20-deep lined both sides of the road to watch musicians, dancers, cheerleaders, clowns and even puppeteers frolic along the 2.2-mile (3.5km)... [more]
German police on Monday shut a mosque in the northern city of Hamburg frequented by suicide hijackers from the September 11, 2001 attacks and suspected of recruiting jihadists, the authorities said. An affiliated cultural centre was also banned. “Hamburg must not become a cradle of violent Islamists,” the city-state’s Interior Minister Christoph Ahlhaus told reporters. “We closed the Taiba mosque today because young... [more]
Stephen Moyer’s romance with his True Blood co-star Anna Paquin became common knowledge after crew members on the hit vampire series realised their scripts were delivered to the same hotel room. The pair met during filming for the pilot episode in 2007 and began dating while working on the first season of the show. They deliberately kept their relationship quiet because they feared working together would become awkward if they split... [more]
Dutch girl Laura Dekker, the 14-year-old bidding to become the youngest person to sail around the world alone, set off Wednesday saying the daunting voyage held no fear for her. Dekker left the port of Den Osse in southwestern Netherlands only days after winning a year-long battle with child welfare authorities concerned she was too young to undertake the trip. “I am not really afraid,” said the petite blonde, smiling for the... [more]
Kelly Brook said she was having a “naked month” as she unveiled a nude billboard of herself. The 30-year-old model launched the daring advert for Reebok EasyTone trainers outside Battersea Power Station in south London. The huge billboard shows her lying down wearing nothing but a pair of trainers. She said: “It’s a bit scary having yourself up on a billboard but I suppose I’ve got to get used to it because... [more]
Actors Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg and Eva Mendes attended the New York premiere of new comedy The Other Guys this week. Directed by Anchorman’s Adam McKay the film sees Ferrell and Wahlberg play mismatched, underachieving New York detectives. Craving the respect of their peers the odd couple discover a case they hope will make their careers. McKay said Ferrell had some ideas of his own for the film: “Well Will asked if he could... [more]
