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 ...
Real Madrid confirmed on their website on Tuesday they had signed Manchester City’s Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor on loan till the end of the season. The 26-year-old has been brought in to add urgently needed firepower after Argentinian striker Gonzalo Higuain underwent surgery to fix a slipped disc earlier this month and is expected to be out of action for another four months. French international Karim Benzema has filled in but... [more]
Michael Jackson’s doctor is ready to go to trial on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the singer’s death, his lawyers say. Dr. Conrad Murray was expected at an arraignment Tuesday, at which his lawyers say he will plead not guilty. They said he will not seek a plea bargain and that they had no qualms about going to trial in spite of strong prosecution evidence at a preliminary hearing aiming to prove that the doctor’s... [more]
Reese Witherspoon has revealed she would love to have more children. The Legally Blonde star already has a daughter and son with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe, but wants to add to her brood with her fiance Jim Toth. “I would love to have more kids – my children are the best part of my day,” she told Closer. “I used to be very competitive and aggressive but when I had my first child at 22, it put my whole life in perspective... [more]
President Barack Obama delivers his annual State of the Union address later, and his focus will be on America’s stubbornly high unemployment rate. He is likely to face a less receptive joint session of Congress after last November’s mid-term elections, when Republicans seized control of the House of Representatives and increase their presence in the Senate. The speech is a chance for the President to set out his agenda and is... [more]
Michael Jackson’s personal doctor is to be arraigned Tuesday on involuntary manslaughter charges for allegedly killing the pop icon with an overdose of powerful sedatives. Conrad Murray, who claims he was just treating the singer for insomnia when he died in June 2009, is to stand trial after preliminary hearings earlier this month found enough evidence against him. Murray had his license to practice medicine in California suspended... [more]
Avatar star Sam Worthington is single again after reportedly splitting from his longterm girlfriend. The actor has been dating Natalie Mark since 2008, but they’ve recently parted ways, according to Australia’s Herald Sun. An insider tells the publication, “It’s been on the cards for a while, I believe.” Worthington has rarely talked about his relationship with Mark, but when asked last year about marriage,... [more]
Italy’s Catholic Church jumped into the fray surrounding Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s sex scandals on Monday, warning him that politicians who behave immorally hurt the country’s image and pollute its future. Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco said the political quagmire was sowing the seeds of an “anthropological disaster” where the young see easy money, moral compromise and selling oneself as the road to success... [more]
Karren Brady has said that comments made by two Sky Sports presenters about female Premier League official Sian Massey made her “blood boil”. The star of The Apprentice – who is vice chairman of West Ham football club – hit back after Andy Gray and Richard Keys agreed female officials “don’t know the offside rule”. The pair – who have been dropped from tonight’s line-up – were... [more]
Goldie Hawn has confirmed speculation her daughter Kate Hudson is expecting a baby with her rocker boyfriend Matt Bellamy, revealing the family is “very happy” about the pregnancy news. Reports emerged earlier this month that the actress and her boyfriend, who she has been dating since last summer, are expecting their first baby together. The pair has refused to comment on the rumours, but an overjoyed Hawn has revealed the... [more]
Legal threats loomed over Haiti’s ex-dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier Monday after the current president said he must face justice for crimes during his 1971-1986 reign. President Rene Preval, in comments during a visit to the neighboring Dominican Republic, said “everyone is responsible before justice for their crimes” under Haiti’s constitution. “The government has done all it can do and... [more]
