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 ...
Courtney Love caused a scene while out on a date with her rumoured new lover Andre Balazs – she blasted the tycoon for chatting to another woman, according to a US report. The Hole rocker initially refuted reports she was dating the hotel magnate, who is Uma Thurman’s ex-boyfriend, but recently fuelled speculation in a leaked email, allegedly writing, “I’m in lurve. It’s nice. Scary. I’m a great catch... [more]
Internet giant Google has agreed to make a cash offer of 421 million kroner (54.5 million euros, 68.2 million dollars) for Norway’s Global IP Solutions (GIPS), a voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) processing firm, the two groups said on Tuesday. The offer has already been accepted by about 50 percent of GIPS’ shareholders and is recommended by its board. It is conditional to the acceptance of 90 percent of shareholders, the... [more]
A new survey of workers on Norwegian offshore oil and gas fields reveals a lack of safety risk analysis. Some workers admitted that operations have been launched without measures to reduce the amount of risk they may involve. The survey, conducted by the state Petroleum Safety Authority (Petroleumstilsynet, PSA), questioned 231 platform chiefs, operations leaders, technical personnel and worker’s representatives. Newspaper Aftenpostenreported... [more]
Guro Kleven Hagen from the mountain community of Nord-Aurdal has become the latest Norwegian to attract international attention with a violin. She won second place in the Eurovision Young Musicians competition over the weekend, and called it an “indescribable experience.” Kleven Hagen is only 16 and beat out top classical musicians from all over Europe during the finals in Vienna on Friday night. An estimated 40,000 spectators filled... [more]
European stock markets shot higher and the euro recovered further from four-year low marks against the dollar on Tuesday but market concerns about plans to tackle a mountain of EU debt lingered, traders said. “A resurgence in US trading after yesterday’s European close has locked in a positive start for the trading session today, with the heavyweight miners, banks and energy firms all making gains to lead indices higher,”... [more]
Top dancer Karina Smirnoff hopes reports suggesting former Prime Minister Tony Blair is set to waltz onto US TV show Dancing With The Stars are true – because she’d like to partner up with the former leader. Ukraine-born Smirnoff, who once competed professionally for the UK, would love to snag a Brit on the show – and has very fond memories of Englishmen during her 18-month stay in London over a decade ago. And so the... [more]
The main railway line to Northern Norway (Nordlandsbanen) is still closed between Dunderland and Rognan, after a 20,000 cubic metre mud slide wrecked the rail bed. It may take weeks to repair the line. The road into the affected area is also blocked, and new materials have to be freighted in via the damaged rail line. There is also danger of new slides. A number of roads in Northern Norway are still closed due to rock and mud slides over... [more]
Former Social Democratic parliamentarian Jörg Tauss will face a Karlsruhe district court on Tuesday on suspicion of possession and distribution of child pornography. Public prosecutors have accused the 56-year-old of 102 counts of having or disseminating the illegal photos and videos. They believe he acquired the data and saved it on his mobile phone between May 2007 and January 2009. Tauss maintains his innocence and has said he possessed... [more]
The decision to close parts of Dutch airspace for eight hours on Monday was ‘wrong’ and an ‘over reaction,’ says KLM CEO Peter Hartman. Speaking at celebrations to mark 10 years of the Dutch Aviation Group, Hartman said airlines themselves should be allowed to take the decision whether or not to fly. ‘Officially it is airlines which decide when and where they will fly on the basis of information from the government... [more]
Labour inspectors found 2,500 workers without permits in spot checks on companies last year, a 25% increase on 2008, Nos tv reports on Tuesday, quoting from the inspectorate’s annual report. Almost one third came from Bulgaria and Romania, Nos said. Even though both countries are members of the EU, their nationals still need permits to work in the Netherlands. The rise in illegal employment was strongest in the construction sector.... [more]
