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 ...
THE Australian dollar fell almost one US cent on growing concerns around the eurozone. At 12pm AEDT today, the local currency was at 100.55 US cents, down from 101.50 yesterday afternoon. IG Markets institutional trader Chris Weston said the Australian dollar was shaped by a drop in other currencies due to growing eurozone uncertainty. “Price action on the Aussie dollar is just mirroring what we’re seeing with the euro, which... [more]
An unholy row erupted between Greek Orthodox and Armenian clergy over the cleaning of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, an AFP correspondent said. Following Christmas celebrations, dozens of black-clad clerics from both churches, armed with brooms and cleaning materials, began to work on different parts of the church, built over the site where Jesus Christ is believed to have been born. But an Armenian priest supervising the work... [more]
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Wednesday rejected calls to hold talks with opposition leaders who have brought tens of thousands of Russians into the streets to demand an end to his 12-year rule, saying he doesn’t know what the demonstrators want or who he would talk to. Putin has belittled the opposition even as his government has rolled out a set of proposed reforms in response to outrage over the Dec. 4 election for parliament,... [more]
Alibaba Group has hired Washington lobbying firmDuberstein Group Inc, in a sign that the Chinese company would be willing to make a bid for all of Yahoo Inc if talks for buying backYahoo’s Asian assets do not succeed. Japan’s Softbank Corp is also listed as an Alibaba affiliate in the lobbying firm’s disclosure. Alibaba declined to comment. Alibaba, which has been interested in buying back most of the 40 percent... [more]
Washington considers reports from other countries on the situation with human rights in the United States as useful and is always open for them, a U.S. Department of State spokesman said commenting on a report from Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry published on Wednesday a report on the situation with human rights in foreign countries, including in the United States. The report in particular expresses concern over the Guantanamo prison,... [more]
The funeral of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Il unfolded across the snow-laden streets of Pyongyang on Wednesday, with the secretive regime displaying its ability to choreograph elaborate state ceremonies. A North Korean state television broadcast of the services showed a tearful Kim Jong Un, the son and chosen successor of Kim Jong Il, trudging through the snow alongside a black car, which carried a giant portrait of a smiling Kim. Other... [more]
A new subway station, the world’s deepest, will be unveiled on Wednesday in downtown St. Petersburg, the northwest Russian city’s administration reported. The Admiralteiskaya station lies over 100 m (330ft) below the surface. Its opening will decrease the load on other metro stations in the city. A total of 10.2 billion rubles ($325 mln) has been allocated from the city budget to the construction of stations and tunnels in 2011. Share... [more]
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev pushed ahead with his far-reaching plan for political reform on Wednesday, outlining the time frame for his proposals to go before parliament. A draft law to reinstate direct elections for regional governors and to have half the MPs in the lower house, the State Duma, elected directly rather than by means of party lists should be introduced to the State Duma by February 15, the Kremlin said. Another bill,... [more]
Wailing and clutching at their hearts, tens of thousands of North Koreans lined the snowy streets of Pyongyang on Wednesday as the hearse carrying late leader Kim Jong Il’s body wound its way through the capital for a final farewell. Son and successor Kim Jong Un led the procession, his head bowed against the wind and right arm raised in a salute, from Kumsusan Memorial Palace where his father’s body had lain in state. Top... [more]
Japan on Tuesday announced a decision to ease its decades-long weapons export ban in a bid to lower purchase and production costs and take part in arms-development projects with other countries. For a nation with a war-renouncing constitution written after World War II, lifting the ban is a sensitive issue, especially in Asia, where neighboring countries suffered under Japan’s wartime aggression. Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said... [more]
