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 ...
In its revised national budget, the Norwegian government has proposed increased funding to Haiti, with a view to support the reconstruction process and to help the country become more robust and stable.(Photo: Minister of International Development Erik Solheim) “We are increasing our support for reconstruction after natural disasters by NOK 50 million. Some of these funds will be allocated to environmental, afforestation, agriculture... [more]
Today is Thursday, May 13, the 133rd day of 2010. There are 232 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 13, 1940, in his first speech as prime minister of Britain, Winston Churchill told Parliament, “I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” On this date: In 1607, English colonists arrived by ship at... [more]
European flights were back normal on Wednesday after the ash cloud which caused difficulties over the Atlantic and the Iberian Peninsula dispersed on Tuesday night, air traffic agency Eurocontrol said. Areas of high ash concentration at lower altitudes were, however, still causing some difficulties for trans-atlantic flights as well as for Madeira and the Azores. This could result in airport closures in the Mediterranean between the Spanish... [more]
The European Central Bank has not started “printing money” in response to the continent’s debt crisis, its chief Jean-Claude Trichet insisted Wednesday. “We haven’t changed monetary policy,” the ECB president told Europe 1 radio in France, promising that the bank would not abandon its inflation target or let the euro collapse. “I am more confident than ever in the future of the euro,” he said,... [more]
Lady Gaga picked up three trophies from Germany’s Echo Awards on Tuesday – two months after she swept the board at the annual music event. The pop superstar was the toast of the German music industry in March when she dominated the Echo Awards ceremony, scooping three of the night’s main prizes – including Best Newcomer, Best International Rock or Pop Act, and Hit Of The Year for Poker Face. But the singer’s... [more]
Spain’s prime minister is announcing a new plan to tackle his country’s budget crisis, amid concerns that problems afflicting Greece may spread. Speaking in parliament, PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is outlining cuts aimed at bringing down Spain’s borrowing levels. The budget deficit is currently 11% of GDP. On Monday Spain said it planned to cut it by 4.7% by the end of 2011. Fears Greece’s problems would erupt... [more]
LIBYAN AIR CRASH: Eight-year-old Dutch child was sole survivor of crash – unconfirmed reports A commercial passenger plane has crashed in Libya, killing at least 104 people on board, airport officials say. The Afriqiyah Airways flight from Johannesburg had been due to land at 0610 local (0410 GMT), they said. The plane crashed close to the airport. At least 93 passengers were on board the Airbus 330. They are believed to be of various... [more]
The Catholic Church needs to reconsider its sexual policies and end mandatory celibacy for priests in the wake of a massive child abuse scandal, the head of Germany’s leading Catholic group said on Wednesday. “We must openly grapple with, for example, the question that some 90 percent of Catholics deal with birth control other than the Church instructs,” Alois Glück, president of the Central Committee of German Catholics,... [more]
Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg was quick to congratulate his new British counterpart David Cameron Tuesday evening, after Cameron was asked to form a new British government by Queen Elizabeth. “Great Britain is one of Norway’s most important partners, and I look forward to cooperate closely with the new British Prime Minister,” Stoltenberg told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). Cameron, head of Britain’s Conservative Party, came to... [more]
The finance minster is too optimistic on behalf of the Norwegian economy, says chief economist with Terra-gruppen, Jan Andreassen. - The revised national budget is obviously written more than one month ago, when the global outlook was brighter, Andreassen says. - The government has considered the turbulence in the global market in its adjustment of the national budget, says finance minister Sigbjørn Johnsen. Share this: ... [more]
