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 ...
King Juan Carlos told his son-in-law in 2006 to cut ties with a company now mired in corruption allegations, an official at Spain’s royal palace said Sunday. Authorities are probing the activities of a non-profit company run by Inaki Urdangarin between 2004 and 2006. “(The king) ordered him to stand down from his activities and he sold his shares,” said the official, who works at the royal palace’s press office, confirming... [more]
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda set up a crisis management team on North Korean on Monday following news of the death of its leader Kim Jong-il, a spokesman for Noda said. Noda instructed relevant government ministries to collect information following an announcement by North Korea’s state television that Kim had died on Saturday, the spokesman for the prime minister’s office said. He told Reuters that Noda wanted to verify... [more]
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died of a heart attack while on a train trip, state media reported on Monday, sparking immediate concern over who is in control of the reclusive state and its nuclear program. A tearful television announcer dressed in black said the 69-year old had died on Saturday of physical and mental over-work on his way to give “field guidance.” He had suffered a stroke in 2008, but appeared to have recovered. North... [more]
Britain’s Prince Harry rushed to the aid of a friend who was robbed of his mobile phone while speaking to the royal, The Mail on Sunday newspaper said. Harry, third in line to the throne, heard the robbery and quickly drove to the crime scene in Battersea, southwest London. When the army helicopter pilot could not find Thomas van Straubenzee, he drove to the nearest police station, where his friend was already reporting the crime. Harry,... [more]
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said her government would serve a full three-year term as speculation mounted that Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd is preparing a leadership challenge. Gillard came to power in mid-2010 after ousting Rudd, who was then prime minister, in a sudden and brutal Labor Party coup. But she has never been as popular with voters as Rudd, who still enjoys wide support, and leads a fragile coalition government backed... [more]
Former French president Jacques Chirac was found guilty on Thursday of embezzling funds and violating public trust for hiring members of his political party for non-existent civil jobs while he was mayor of Paris. Chirac says he will not appeal. Former French president Jacques Chirac was given a two-year suspended jail sentence on Thursday after he was convicted of embezzling public money to finance his political party. Chirac has said he... [more]
Infrastructure Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen has surprised MPs by telling them that when maximum speeds on motorways are increased to 130 kilometres per hour in 2012, 20 percent of the roads will not yet be suitable for such speeds. She says this is because measures to improve safety will not be ready until later. Nevertheless, she wants to introduce the increased maximum speed as of 2012, even on roads which still need to be adapted.... [more]
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was on Thursday to address Russians during his trademark marathon televised phone-in session, after a rare outburst of protest against his rule. The Russian strongman is expected to use the traditional question and answer format to lay out his plans for returning to the Kremlin in 2012 polls as he seeks to tackle the most serious political crisis of his 12-year rule. “As in previous years, the head of... [more]
Bill Gates on Thursday ruled out ever returning to the helm of Microsoft while dismissing criticism by late Apple founder Steve Jobs, who he called “brilliant”. Gates, in Sydney for a family holiday, said recent rumours that he was considering a full-time comeback to the US software giant he founded, but stepped back from in 2006, were untrue. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, he said he was busy working with the... [more]
Conservative and Liberal Democrat ministers will meet face-to-face across the Cabinet table today amid growing tensions within the coalition over Europe. The weekly meeting comes a day after their differences were laid bare by Nick Clegg’s decision not to attend the Commons as David Cameron defended using Britain’s veto in Brussels . The deputy Prime Minister was reportedly furious when he heard Mr Cameron had refused to sign... [more]
