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 ...
Singer and actress Jessica Simpson has won an arbitration to keep an exercise video featuring her from being marketed, a court filing shows. Lawyers for Simpson asked a New York state court on Friday to approve the April arbitration ruling that bars Speedfit LLC and its owner, Alex Astilean, from using her name and likeness to promote the 2005 video. While the arbitrator awarded Simpson nothing on her breach of contract claim, it awarded... [more]
IBM says it is buying AT&T’s Sterling Commerce unit, which makes business software, for $1.4 billion. The deal announced Monday would be IBM Corp.’s largest acquisition since it bought Cognos in 2008. AT&T Inc., then known as SBC Communications, paid $3.9 billion for Sterling in 2000, near the peak of the Internet bubble. The unit, which is based in Dublin, Ohio, has little connection to AT&T’s main telecommunications... [more]
Nestor Carbonell is feeling emotional now that Lost has come to an end. The US actor, better known as Richard Alpert to fans of the show, said it had been a life-changing job and one he would always cherish. “I will treasure every moment I’ve been on the show – from the first moment I landed on the set in Oahu, with an incredible crew – mostly local Hawaiian crew – a phenomenal crew that took me in, tremendous... [more]
More than 600 people were evacuated from the famous cruise ship MS Deutschland after it caught fire while docked in a Norwegian fjord on Sunday. The fire started in the engine room and was presenting problems to fire crews with the thick smoke that developed, a local rescue spokesman said. The 364 passengers – mostly Germans – and most of the 241 crew were evacuated, as well as the two Norwegian pilots. The heat developed by... [more]
The husband of actress Brittany Murphy was found dead Sunday night at his home in the Hollywood Hills, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Screenwriter Simon Monjack died at the home in the 1800 block of Rising Glen Road, just five months after the death of his wife, according to Sgt. Louie Lozano. The cause of death was unknown late Sunday night. “We have detectives at scene,” Lozano said. “They are conducting... [more]
Thailand’s capital whirred back into life on Monday after last week’s deadly unrest, as businesses and schools reopened and citizens returned to streets cleared of debris left by arson and looting. Thoroughfares which for six weeks had been occupied by “Red Shirts” anti-government protesters, who established a fortified encampment in the top shopping district, were finally open to traffic. Office workers returned... [more]
The ruling United Russia party of Russia’s strongman Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was Monday scrambling to explain how it suffered a rare defeat to the Communists in a local election in Siberia. Communist Party candidate Alexander Serov was overnight elected mayor of the central Siberian city of Bratsk, known for its immense hydroelectric plant, with just under 40 percent of the vote, Russian news agencies reported. United Russia... [more]
The United States suggested Europe’s debt crisis would have minimal impact on global growth, but China took a more pessimistic view, warning it would impact demand for its exports and other regions would suffer too. The two countries, meeting in Beijing for high-level talks, set the differing tones as eurozone leaders sought to conquer doubts that they can cut fiscal deficits and stimulate growth to overcome the crisis. Global markets... [more]
The Rolling Stones have scored their first UK number one album in 16 years. The ageing rockers were celebrating as re-released Exile on Main Street hit the top spot on Sunday night, holding off Faithless. It is the first time at the top spot in the album charts since 1994′s Voodoo Lounge. Exile on Main Street, which contains tracks such as Tumbling Dice and Rocks Off, was a number one when first released in 1972. A documentary about... [more]
Today is Monday, May 24, the 144th day of 2010. There are 221 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 24, 1844, Samuel F.B. Morse transmitted the message, “What hath God wrought” from Washington to Baltimore as he formally opened America’s first telegraph line. On this date: In 1819, Queen Victoria was born in London. In 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge, linking Brooklyn and Manhattan, was dedicated... [more]
