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 ...
Restrictions on flights in and out of the UK have been extended until at least 7am tomorrow, although the picture is less gloomy in Europe. The European Union says half of its airspace will be unaffected by the volcano ash from Iceland on Monday. It comes after grounded European airlines called on aviation authorities for an “immediate reassessment” of the situation. The airlines said the safety measures which grounded air traffic... [more]
A mission of European officials and the International Monetary Fund to Greece has been delayed by the volcanic ash cloud and will arrive on April 21 if possible, Greece’s Finance Ministry said on Sunday. Struggling under a huge budget shortfall and debt pile, Greece requested the talks with the European Union, the European Central Bank and the IMF last week to go over details of a potential aid deal agreed by euro zone states. The... [more]
Around 3000 Norwegian holidaymakers are stranded at various tourist spots around Europe, unable to return home, due to the near total ban on air travel over central and northern Europe. Also when the air space re-opens, it will take considerable time before the planes are back on schedule, since they are now spread all over the continent. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, who was stranded, first in New York and then in Madrid, has now arrived... [more]
Today is Sunday, April 18, the 108th day of 2010. There are 257 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere began his famous ride from Charlestown to Lexington, Mass., warning American colonists that the British were coming. On this date: In 1906, a devastating earthquake struck San Francisco, followed by raging fires; estimates of the final death toll range between 3,000 and 6,000. In... [more]
Large parts of Europe enforced no-fly rulings for a third day on Saturday because of a huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano that has caused the worst air travel chaos since the September 11 attacks. As the cloud spread, Belarus announced it had closed its airspace and airline officials said Ukraine had closed Kiev and three other airports. “Current forecasts show that the situation is worsening throughout Saturday,”... [more]
The World Health Organisation said Friday that an estimated one quarter of ashes from Iceland’s volcanic eruption would be fine enough to penetrate deep into lungs, making them “more dangerous.” While no immediate health risk has been detected as the ashes remain in high altitudes, the UN health agency advised people with respiratory conditions to stay indoors should the ashes descend to lower atmosphere. “The small... [more]
Thick drifts of volcanic ash blanketed parts of rural Icelandon Friday as a vast, invisible plume of grit drifted over Europe, emptying the skies of planes and sending hundreds of thousands in search of a hotel room, a train ticket or a rental car. Polish officials worried that the ash cloud could threaten the arrival of world leaders for Sunday’s state funeral for President Lech Kaczynskiand his wife Maria in the southern city... [more]
Prince Charles’ wife Camilla cancelled plans to sign a book of condolence at a Polish cultural centre in London on Friday because volcanic ash stopped her flying from Scotland, her office said. The Duchess of Cornwall had planned to show her sympathy over the death of President Lech Kaczynski in London, rather than travelling with her husband to Krakow for his funeral, after breaking her leg last week. But the closure of Britain’s... [more]
Dutch airspace is to remain closed until further notice, air safety inspectors said on Friday morning, as the cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland moved southwards across Europe. KLM had already announced there would be no flights until 14.00 hours at least, while Transavia had cancelled all flights until 18.00 hours. Flights across much of Europe have been cancelled in the second day of disruption since the volcano erupted. Hundreds of thousands... [more]
The embargo on all air travel in Norwegian air space has been partially lifted Friday morning, permitting limited travel between Trondheim and Stokmarknes until 20:00 hrs, according to The Civil Aviation Authority. Emergency medical services in Norway have been limited during the air travel embargo. All ambulance and rescue planes and helicopters are grounded, making emergency transport of the sick in rural areas difficult. In Norway,... [more]
