Legendary pop singer Whitney Houston was found dead Saturday at a Beverly Hills, California, hotel, officials said. She was 48. The entertainer, whose incredible talent was discovered at an early age, was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. (6:55 p.m. ET) at the Beverly Hilton hotel despite resuscitation efforts, a police spokesman said. Beverly Hills Police Lt. Mark Rosen said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent" and that the cause of her death is being investigated. Houston's bodyguard found her body, said Courtney Barnes, publicist for hip-hop artist Ray J, who was dating the pop diva. According to her official website, Houston sold ...
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 ...
The decision to close parts of Dutch airspace for eight hours on Monday was ‘wrong’ and an ‘over reaction,’ says KLM CEO Peter Hartman. Speaking at celebrations to mark 10 years of the Dutch Aviation Group, Hartman said airlines themselves should be allowed to take the decision whether or not to fly. ‘Officially it is airlines which decide when and where they will fly on the basis of information from the government... [more]
Labour inspectors found 2,500 workers without permits in spot checks on companies last year, a 25% increase on 2008, Nos tv reports on Tuesday, quoting from the inspectorate’s annual report. Almost one third came from Bulgaria and Romania, Nos said. Even though both countries are members of the EU, their nationals still need permits to work in the Netherlands. The rise in illegal employment was strongest in the construction sector.... [more]
Eurozone finance ministers defended the euro as a “credible” currency, despite its slide to four-year lows against the dollar, as they sought to tame the fears that have gripped financial markets in recent weeks. The eurozone meeting came ahead of a Tuesday session of finance ministers from all 27 European Union members that are set to agree on new rules to regulate hedge funds. Investors fear that as European nations make... [more]
Daniel Westling, the future husband of Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria, has insisted that he is in great shape ahead of the couple’s June wedding, arguing that his kidney illness is not hereditary. “This is not something that is hereditary,” Daniel Westling said during a joint interview with his bride-to-be on the commercial TV4 channel late Monday. Westling’s first public comments about his kidney malfunction... [more]
The Norwegian oil company Det norske has discovered oil in Storklakken close to the Frøy field. The proven volumes are between 7 and 12 million barrels of oil equivalents. Det norske owns 100% of the licence. Det norske, operator of production licence 460, has completed drilling an exploration well (25/1-11) and a subsequent sidetrack (25/1-11 A) in the Storklakken prospect. The wells were drilled using the Aker Barents drilling rig. The... [more]
The euro dipped on Tuesday after bouncing from four-year lows, weighed down by persistent worries about the euro area’s fiscal health that also kept investors in Asia on edge. Stocks hovered near a three-month low struck on Monday, with materials shares down a day after metals prices tumbled on fears that China’s economy may be slowing. Traders said that while the euro’s sharp fall made it ripe for a bounce, it would stay... [more]
Emma Caulfield filed for divorce from her husband of more than three years. The 37-year-old former Buffy the Vampire Slayer actress cites irreconcilable differences for the split from Cornelius Grobbelaar in documents filed last Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Court documents show the pair separated on May 7. They married on August 23, 2006. Caulfield played the vengeance demon Anya on the cult supernatural TV series, which ran from... [more]
Jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky has declared a hunger strike, he said in an open letter to the chairman of Russia’s supreme court published on Tuesday. Khodorkovsky accused a Moscow court of unlawfully keeping him in jail as he awaits trial on new charges of financial crimes, which he said violated recent amendments to Russian law pushed through by President Dmitry Medvedev. “I declare a hunger strike until I... [more]
Today is Tuesday, May 18, the 138th day of 2010. There are 227 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 18, 1980, the Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington state exploded, leaving 57 people dead or missing. On this date: In 1860, the Republican Party convention in Chicago nominated Abraham Lincoln for president. In 1896, the Supreme Court, in Plessy v. Ferguson, endorsed “separate but equal” racial... [more]
European finance ministers prepared on Monday to discuss tighter regulation on hedge funds a week after launching a $1 trillion debt rescue plan, as the euro was hit by fears austerity measures would stifle recovery. Before the euro zone ministers’ talks, also expected to cover curbs on private equity, Germany said it was drawing up plans to boost the euro and avert future debt crises. Among other proposals for reform, a European... [more]
