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 ...
Three Swiss bankers were indicted in the United States today, accused of hiding $US1.2 billion ($A1.16 billion) in assets of US clients seeking to avoid declaring their full wealth to tax authorities. The bankers, Michael Berlinka, Urs Frei and Roger Keller, were accused of “conspiring with US taxpayers and others” in a massive tax fraud scheme. In an indictment, the three bankers were said to have been client advisers at the... [more]
A murder mystery with elements of an Agatha Christie whodunit is unfolding at the vast country estate whereQueen Elizabeth II and her family gathered in rural splendor to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s. British police said that a young woman’s body was found in the forest at Sandringham and that they are treating it as a murder case. An autopsy was conducted Tuesday, but the precise cause of death was not disclosed, and... [more]
A single, reunified Korea has long been a cherished dream of people on both sides of the world’s most heavily fortified border. South Korea even has a Cabinet-level ministry preparing for the day. And while Kim Jong Il’s death last month has raised those hopes higher among some in Seoul, few are eager to talk about the cold reality: Sudden reunification could be traumatic for both countries. Any North Korean collapse and... [more]
The United States on Tuesday dismissed Iran’s warning to keep the U.S. aircraft carrier, which recently left the area, away from the Gulf. Iran’s military has told Washington not to send its aircraft carrier back to the Persian Gulf, threatening the U.S. with response measures. “I think it reflects the fact that Iran is in a position of weakness. It’s the latest round of Iranian threats and it’s confirmation that Tehran is under... [more]
The European Central Bank put an end Tuesday to a bitter battle between France and Germany over a key post within the bank by naming a Belgian to the highly coveted position of chief economist. The ECB said executive board member Peter Praet of Belgium would be taking over as the head of its economics department, succeeding Jürgen Stark of Germany, who stepped down at the end of 2011. Praet, who turns 63 later this month and has been a... [more]
Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it is eyeing potential opportunities in South Sudan, which last July broke away from Khartoum, taking with it two-thirds of Sudan’s 500,000 barrels per day of oil production. “We continuously review potential business opportunities around the world. We would like to better understand the current security, political and business environment in South Sudan, and how this has been impacted by the... [more]
Senior US diplomat Kurt Campbell was due to meet Wednesday with Chinese foreign ministry officials to discuss North Korea after the death of Kim Jong-Il, a US embassy spokesman said. Campbell, the assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, is the first US diplomat to visit North Korea’s closest ally since the leader of the isolated state died from a heart attack on December 17. Kim’s death has sparked concerns... [more]
It is almost certain that euro countries will have to write off part of their loans to Greece, former Dutch Central Bank President Nout Wellink says. The funds the banks have provided to save Greece are insufficient, Mr Wellink says in an interview with Dutch daily Het Financieele Dagblad. European governments have by now financed such a large part of the Greek debt that a debt restructuring is bound to affect them, Mr Wellink is quoted... [more]
Terrorism, global health, the environment, the financial crisis and peace keeping efforts were main themes in Prime Minister Jens Stolteberg’s address to the Nation on New Year’s Day. Many people were deeply affected by the events of 22 July last year, Stoltenberg said. Fathers, mothers, siblings and grandparents had to follow their loved ones to their graves. - It was heartbreaking. I have thought of the survivors and the... [more]
Embattled German President Christian Wulff has been accused of trying to block the first reports of his financial affairs by threatening criminal charges against journalists working on the story – leaving a furious rant on an answer machine. When he realised that the country’s biggest-selling newspaper Bild was about to publish details of a €500,000 load he got from the wife of a businessman friend but had not declared, Wulff... [more]
