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 ...
Leading in opinion polls three months ahead of France’s presidential election, Socialist candidate François Hollande unveiled a manifesto on Thursday focused on new spending and scrapping tax breaks. Vowing to reverse the legacy of right-wing President Nicolas Sarkozy, Hollande promised €20 billion ($26 billion) in new spending by 2017, the creation of 60,000 new teaching jobs and 150,000 new jobs for young workers. He promised... [more]
President Christian Wulff can be called a liar, a state prosecutor has ruled, dismissing complaints about a Green politician doing so. Wulff’s backing among the public is dwindling despite support from Chancellor Angela Merkel. Lower Saxony public prosecutor Irene Silinger ruled on Friday that calling Wulff a liar could not be considered defamatory, but should be regarded as part of the debate over his involvement in what has become known... [more]
Sharapova plays Ekaterina Makarova, a 23-year-old Russian ranked No.56, who was good enough to bundle out an erratic Serena Williams in straight sets on Monday. Sharapova advanced to the semifinals of AO2012 with a 6-2, 6-3 win. No.2 seed Petra Kvitova has advanced to the semifinals of AO2012 with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Italy’s Sara Errani at Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday. Despite making numerous unforced errors Kvitova took the first... [more]
Japan is asking the UN’s nuclear agency to set up a permanent office in Fukushima to monitor its efforts to contain the world’s worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl, according to officials. The news came as an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts began examining Japan’s safety checks on idled nuclear reactors. Tokyo wants an international seal of approval for the energy-hungry country’s nuclear... [more]
Delicate work to restore a Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece, to be unveiled in March, has turned into a headache for the Louvre, after experts accused the Paris museum of putting the precious oil work at risk. Da Vinci began painting “The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne” in 1503 and when he died in France in 1519 the unfinished work, depicting Christ beside his mother and grandmother with a sacrificial lamb, was acquired by King... [more]
German supermodel Heidi Klum has separated from British singer Seal after seven years of marriage, the couple confirmed Sunday. “While we have enjoyed seven very loving, loyal and happy years of marriage, after much soul-searching we have decided to separate,” the couple told US celebrity gossip magazine People. “We have had the deepest respect for one another throughout our relationship and continue to love each other... [more]
Maria Sharapova showed tremendous grit to beat Sabine Lisicki in three sets and move one step closer to winning the Australian Open. She came back from a set down to beat Lisicki 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in just more than 2 hrs. In 35 minutes Lisicki won the first set 6-3 after being down 0-3. Lisicki found her length and power to break Sharapova five times to win the set in enthralling fashion. Sharapova had no answers to the Lisicki strokes as... [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]
A UK-based ticketholder has won nearly £41 million on the EuroMillions draw, Camelot said. The winner scooped the rollover jackpot of £40,627,241. A Camelot spokesman said: “This is fantastic news – we’re absolutely delighted to have yet another huge EuroMillions win here in the UK. “We have plenty of champagne on ice and look forward to welcoming the lucky ticketholder into The National Lottery millionaires’... [more]
Forcing someone into marriage against their will could soon carry a punishment of up to two years imprisonment, according to an inquiry tasked with formulating a law criminalizing the practice under Swedish law. The inquiry, which will be completed later in the spring, also calls a halt to the existing possibility of special dispensation to allow minors to marry. “My view has always been that we need a law against forced marriage... [more]
