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 ...
Leftist FARC rebels have released one of their longest held captives, a soldier kidnapped 12 years ago, the Red Cross said after receiving the hostage in the Colombian jungle. It was a “successful operation,” a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross said Tuesday after sergeant Pablo Emilio Moncayo was turned over by rebels at a jungle clearing and flown by helicopter to his awaiting family in Florencia. “You... [more]
A strike by British Airways cabin crew cost over 7 million pounds a day, the airline said Monday, as Prime Minister Gordon Brown sought to limit pre-election fallout from the industrial dispute. The loss-making airline ran 78 percent of its long-haul flights and 50 per cent of its short-haul flights over the first two days of the strike over planned changes to pay and conditions, it said. “Contingency plans for the three days... [more]
Home Secretary Alan Johnson is to meet representatives of Facebook to ask why it does not have a ‘panic button’ for children worried about paedophiles. It follows the case of teenager Ashleigh Hall, who was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a serial sex offender she met on the social networking site. Paul Chapman killed the 17 year old from from Darlington after posing as a teenager himself and arranging a date with her. Chapman,... [more]
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flies toLatin America on Sunday for a trip which includes a stop in quake-ravaged Chile and talks in Brazil over Iran’s nuclear program. Officials said Clinton still planned to visit Chile, where she was due to hold talks on Tuesday with outgoing President Michelle Bachelet andPresident-elect Sebastian Pinera, both grappling with the aftermath of Saturday’s devastating 8.8 magnitude... [more]
President Michelle Bachelet says that Chile’s earthquake killed at least 708 people — sharply increasing the knowndeath toll. The president tells a news conference that the country faces “a catastrophe of such unthinkable magnitude that it will require a giant effort” for Chile to recover. She spoke at a news conference Sunday after a six-hour meeting with aides and emergency officials coping with Saturday’s... [more]
Google on Saturday quickly activated an online “person finder” tool to allow relatives and friends to find loved ones following the huge earthquake in Chile. The “Person Finder: Chile Earthquake” from the California-based Internet giant is located at Chilepersonfinder.appspot.com and offers users the choice of using it in English and Spanish. It asks users “What is your situation?” and gives them the choice... [more]
Many are feared dead and more injured as a huge earthquake hits Chile. President Michelle Bachelet has declared ‘a state of catastrophe’. The earthquake struck around 3.34am local time. The epicentre was 75 miles from the coastal city of Concepcion, south of Santiago. There have been aftershocks after the 8.8-magnitude earthquake shattered and damaged buildings. Eyewitnesses spoke of panic as crowds poured onto the streets. Power... [more]
Angie Sanselmente Valencia, a former lingerie model, is believed to be heading one of the world’s largest drug gangs. An international arrest warrant has been issued for the 30-year-old, who is suspected of recruiting beautiful women and using them to move drugs to Europe and North America. Many of these women are believed to be other lingerie and glamour models who compete in international beauty pageants, whom Valencia describes... [more]
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva said the global community, in its quest for peace, should avoid isolating Iran over its controversial nuclear program. Lula, whose country has friendly ties with Iran, spoke at a summit of leaders of Latin America and the Caribbean at a joint press conference with the event host, Mexican President Felipe Calderon. “Peace in the world does not mean isolating someone,” Lula said. “I’m... [more]
The death toll from last month’s devastating earthquake in Haiti could jump to 300,000 people, including the bodies buried under collapsed buildings in the capital, Haitian President Rene Preval said on Sunday. “You have seen the images you are familiar with the pictures. More than 200,000 bodies were collected on the streets without counting those that are still under the rubble,” Preval told a meeting of Latin American... [more]
