Royal Wessanen nv: Durk Jager stepped down from the Supervisory Board

Royal Wessanen nv announces that Mr Durk Jager, Chairman of its Supervisory Board, has
resigned from the Board with immediate effect. Mr Frans Koffrie has taken up the
position of Chairman as from the end of business on 28 July 2010.
Mr Jager expressed his desire to resign for personal reasons.

The Supervisory Board and the Executive Board would like to take the opportunity to
thank Mr Jager for more than five years of service on the Supervisory Board. As Chairman
of the Board he contributed greatly to the discussions and decision-making of the
Supervisory Board, provided advice to the Executive Board and showed leadership when
this was required in more difficult times.

Mr Koffrie became a member of Wessanen’s Supervisory Board in 2001. In February 2009 he
stepped down to become interim-CEO of Wessanen, which position he held until 1 June of
this year when he was succeeded by Piet Hein Merckens. Per that same date Mr Koffrie was
re-appointed member of the Supervisory Board for a final term of four years. In
appointing him Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Wessanen does not follow the best
practice provision in the Dutch Corporate Governance Code which provides that the
chairman of a supervisory board may not be a former member of the executive board of the
company. The reasons for not applying this provision are that Mr Koffrie served as CEO
of the Company for a relatively brief period only and that his extensive experience in
leading large international companies makes him an excellent candidate to take up the
chair.

WSJ: Nokia searching for new CEO

Struggling to keep up with newer and more inventive rivals, number one phone maker Nokia is looking for a new CEO, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Monday.

While still the biggest phone maker in the world, Nokia has been losing market share in the growing smartphone segment. A March report from Canalys gave the company a 39 percent market share in the smartphone sector, down from 41 percent a year earlier in the face of competition from companies like Apple and Google. As a result, some analysts have been suggesting that a leadership shakeup might help reverse market share declines and stagnating revenue at the Finnish giant.

In June, Nokia warned that its second quarter earnings report, due out Thursday, would be lower than expected. It blamed competition at the high end of the market, a shift in product mix toward lower margin products and the depreciation of the euro.

Olli-Pekka Kallusvuo, president and CEO, has been with Nokia since 1980, when he joined as corporate counsel, according to his biography on the company web site. In 2006 he took over as CEO, replacing Jorma Ollila[cq]. He had a tough act to follow. Ollila was so beloved, that some people called for him to run for president of Finland.

Nokia declined to comment on the report. The Wall Street Journal cited unnamed people who said the company had launched a search for a new CEO.

WCB Holdings, Inc. and Western Commercial Bank Announce the Resignation of Carl W. Raggio, III, President

WOODLAND HILLS, CA, Jun 24 (MARKET WIRE) —
Carl W. Raggio, III President of Western Commercial Bank and WCB Holdings
Inc. (OTCBB: WCBH) resigned as CEO of the Bank and Holding Company,
effective June 22nd 2010. Mr. Raggio was a founding member of the
company, which opened in 2006. His leadership as CEO helped the bank to
grow to its present size with over one hundred million dollars in total
assets. The Board of Directors has begun the search process to find a
replacement.

Contact:
Tommy Woo
EVP & Chief Financial Officer
(818) 449-7700

WCB Holdings, Inc.
21550 Oxnard Street, Suite 100
Woodland Hills, CA 91367

Copyright 2010, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

Major changes ahead in Malaysian Indian Congress

Kajang (Selangor), June 6 (IANS) The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) will undergo ‘major changes in the next six months’, its chief S. Samy Vellu announced here Sunday.

He would overhaul the party machinery, including at the state level, before stepping down in the third quarter of next year, Vellu said at the opening of the 64th Selangor MIC Convention here.

MIC, Malaysia’s oldest party of the 1.7 million ethnic Indians, is a key constituent of the ruling alliance Barisan Nasional (BN) headed by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

‘Every leader has to prove the worthiness of his or her leadership. If we fail to do that due to our own negligence, then we are only failing our community. We will lose our right to represent our community,’ Vellu was quoted as saying by Bernama, the official news agency.

‘There must be a complete overhaul of our party machinery. If we are weak and fight among each other, then other Barisan Nasional component parties will not respect us. We will not have any honour and will lose our dignity,’ he added.

Vellu has said he is working to rejuvenate the MIC in tandem with Razak in time for the March 2012 general election.

Nepal’s leaders battle to avert political crisis

Kathmandu, May 29 — Nepal continued to wait with baited breath as ruling parties and opposition Maoists remained deadlocked on extending the Constituent Assembly’s tenure to enable drafting of the new constitution. The CA tenure ends on Friday midnight.

And if it doesn’t get extended within that deadline the country will plunge into constitutional and political crisis. Hectic parleys and last minute lobbying continued since morning to find a way out of the impending crisis but both the ruling parties and the opposition Maoists refused to budge from their stands.

Maoists refused to support the motion to extend the CA tenure till Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal was removed and the ruling parties refused to accede to such pre-conditions. Maoist leadership issued a whip to its members asking them to vote against the motion if their demand was not met.

“We will prefer to stay outside than bow down,” said Maoist spokesperson Dinanath Sharma. Support of Maoists who have 40 percent representation in CA is crucial as a two-third majority vote is needed to amend the interim constitution and extend its tenure to speed up constitution drafting.

“If it doesn’t happen CA ceases to exist from Friday midnight and the government becomes non-functional. An interim government is likely to take over till the next election,” said CA Chairman Subhash Nemwang.

Nepal Maoist Chairman Prachanda downplays party”s plan to declare ”constitution” from streets

Kathmandu, May 21 (ANI): Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ”Prachanda” has clarified that his party is not going to declare what it calls the people”s Constitution from the streets on May 29 if the Constituent Assembly gets dissolved.

Speaking to reporters in Dhulikhel on Thursday, Prachanda described the media reports that the party is preparing to declare a ”people”s Constitution” from the streets as ”unfounded”.

Nepalnews quoted him as, saying that the party will only publicise the draft of the Constitution it has prepared.

He said the Constitution that will become defunct after May 28 will be revived after the Constituent Assembly parties forge consensus.

He said it was important to reactivate the Constituent Assembly, which had become dormant for the past one year. Different parties should come to an agreement to do so.

The parties could not forge agreement due to the inflexibility on the part of the ruling parties.

He said that integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants has been the main issue of contention between the ruling coalition and his party.

He reiterated that his Party is not in a position to specify the number of combatants to be integrated right away as demanded by the ruling parties.

Earlier, the CPN Maoist had stated that it would promulgate a Constitution drafted by the party from the streets on May 29.

The party had decided at the meeting of its politburo to promulgate its Constitution unilaterally if a consensus is not forged before the Constituent Assembly”s (CA) term expires.

They decided not to vote for extension of the term of the Constituent Assembly if new government under Maoist-leadership is not formed.

They also decided to cancel the nationwide protests scheduled for May 25 and a cadres training scheduled for May 18. (ANI)

Yahoo buys Associated Content to connect better with its users

London, May 20 (ANI): Yahoo has taken over Associated Content, a user-generated news site, to improve its engagement with its users.

Associated Content boasts of over 380,000 contributors who receive a market-determined fee for their stories.

“Combining our crowd sourced content with Yahoo”s distribution, world class editorial team and online marketing leadership will accelerate our growth,” the BBC quoted Luke Beatty, Associated Content founder, as saying.

The site, which proclaims itself as “The people”s media company”, claims to offer content on over 60,000 topics, ranging from product reviews, through how-to advice, to local news.

More than 16 million unique users access the site per month, according to comScore.

Yahoo is now hoping to bring together its advertisers with relevant local news and information from Associated Content.

The financial terms of the deal are not known, but the price tag for Associated Content was reportedly around 100million dollars. (ANI)

Hawke denies calling for Rudd’s removal

Former prime minister Bob Hawke has denied he told a Labor MP that Kevin Rudd should be dumped as leader.

A Liberal Party staffer says he overheard Mr Hawke tell Daryl Melham that he was heartbroken by Mr Rudd’s performance and wanted him replaced with Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Mr Hawke has confirmed he had a conversation with Mr Melham but denies he criticised Mr Rudd.

Mr Hawke has released a statement saying he told Mr Melham he was disappointed with Labor’s performance in the latest opinion polls.

But he says he affirmed his support for Mr Rudd and it is sad that someone has “twisted” his words.

“As you normally do in Canberra, Daryl and I chatted about the latest media speculation in the press gallery,” he said.

“I expressed my disappointment about the polls and my support for Kevin and for the Government.

“It’s pretty sad that someone, who would hardly be an objective observer, twisted my words and misrepresented them.”

Mr Hawke says he “can’t wait” to campaign for Mr Rudd at the next election.

Mr Melham blamed a Liberal Party staffer for the reports.

“Bob and myself were doing nothing more than discussing the usual Canberra press gallery rumour mill,” he said in a statement.

“The fact that some Liberal staffer has deliberately eavesdropped on this conversation and misrepresented it to the media just shows how desperate the Liberal Party has become.”

Leadership speculation has been reignited after a series of poor polls for Mr Rudd and the continued popularity of his deputy.

Nepal PM says Maoists not trustworthy

Kathmandu, May 14 (ANI): Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on Friday said the UCPN (Maoist) cannot be trusted.

Nepal made this remark after visiting a school teacher in Okhaldhunga who is in hospital here after being beaten by Maoists.

Nepal said these kind of incidents exposed the true nature of Maoists.

“The Maoists talk about consensus, while at the same time, continue these kind of attacks against innocent civilians, Nepalnews quoted the Prime Minister, as, saying.

Mentioning that the Maoist leadership should take the charge of such attacks, Nepal said, “Such activities prove that Maoists say one thing and do something else.” (ANI)

World warning, home pressure: Nepal Maoists call off strike

Under intense pressure from home and abroad, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) tonight called off a strike that had crippled the nation for six days.

Maoist leader Prachanda announced withdrawal of the strike less than two hours after he told supporters at Kalanki that the strike would continue until people emerged victorious.

The announcement was made after the entire diplomatic corps in Nepal, including India, told the UCPN-M leadership that their violent and undemocratic way of seeking a change of government “does not command international support and recognition”.

The warning by the international community came as people across the country began opposing the strike call.

Earlier in the day, the government handed over security of vital installations, including the Tribhuvan airport, to the Nepal Army after violent clashes between Maoists and those opposed to the strike.

Waugh, Hayden endorse Clarke’s captaincy of Oz T20 squad

Melbourne, May 13 (ANI): Michael Clarke as Australia’s Twenty20 captain has been endorsed by former greats despite passing through a poor run of form during the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean.

Steve Waugh and Matthew Hayden have backed Clarke as Australia’s captain for the shorter version of the game.

Undefeated Australia are favourite to win the tournament and will meet Pakistan in the semi-finals after beating West Indies in the last Super Eights game, but Clarke failed again.

He was run out for just 16 from 24 balls as Australia passed West Indies’ 105 with six wickets in hand and almost four overs to spare, FOX Sports reports.

By contrast, his leadership has been outstanding since he was appointed Australia”s Twenty20 captain at the start of the summer.

He has not lost in 13 matches, winning 11, tying one and one incomplete match.

Waugh said there should be no question about Clarke’s place in the team. “Form is temporary, class is permanent. He’s a good enough player to adapt to that form of the game.”

“I don’t see that as a big issue right now. A lot of people are saying he needs to up the ante but if he’s encouraging players around him and getting the best out of them that’s great for the team. He scores quick enough in my mind to be successful at T20,” Waugh said.

Hayden, a Cricket Australia board member since his international retirement, praised Clarke’s captaincy.

“As a leader he’s a valuable resource. I believe he’s going to lead Australia to its first Twenty20 championship and I’ll be the first in line to say, well done,” Hayden said. (ANI)

Mamata for early Assembly polls in Bengal

Kolkata, May 13 (ANI): Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has sought early Assembly elections in West Bengal.

Talking to reporters here, Banerjee said West Bengal could have Assembly polls by this year itself, instead of May 2011 as scheduled.

She said she was confident about the Trinamool sweeping them.

However, Left Front leaders say the demand cannot be accommodated for want of Constitutional provisions.

“There is no possibility of early elections. The schedule cannot be changed as it does not depend on the whims of a political leader, said CPM spokesman Benoy Konar.

A section of the CPM leadership believes that all forms of alliance between the Congress and the Trinamool will collapse, if the elections are held as per schedule. (ANI)

Imran blasts PPP govt for taking dictation from US

Islamabad, May 8 (ANI): Taking on the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government, cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan has criticised the country’s leadership for taking dictation from the United States.

Addressing a public rally in Pabbi, Imran said the Gilani government has failed completely in addressing the issues facing the country.

“The rulers are taking dictation from the US and are unable to pursue people-friendly policies,” Imran said.

“The present government has surpassed the former ruler General Pervez Musharraf in appeasing the US,” he added.

Commenting on the failed Times Square bombing plot, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chief said it was an attempt by the US to malign Pakistan’s image.

“Faisal Shahzad has nothing to do with Pakistan as he is a US citizen and got education there. The US was using the failed bombing plot by Faisal to malign Pakistan,” The News quoted Imran, as saying. (ANI)

Pakistan has helped break anti-China Islamic group

Beijing, May 8 (ANI): Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that a leader of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which China accuses of orchestrating attacks in its restive Xinjiang region, has been killed which has subsequently served a severe blow to the group.

Interacting with reporters on the last day of his two-day China visit, Malik said Pakistan together with Beijing has been able to break ETIM’s back and has eliminated its top leaders.

“I am happy to inform you that their back is broken, it’s weakened. We treat ETIM not only as an enemy of China but also as an enemy of Pakistan … Now the other so-called gang leader Haq has been killed recently, I can confirm that,” Malik said while referring to Abdul Haq, an ETIM leader, who is also known as Memetiming Memeti.

“We have witnessed that the ETIM terrorists are weakened and they are no more that kind of organisation,” Malik added.

Beijing maintains that Haq had taken over the ETIM’s leadership after the death of its Pakistani commander Hasan Mashum in 2003.

However, the World Uyghur Congress has denied any knowledge about any such ETIM leader being killed.

“We have also heard this but we don”t have any further information and so cannot elaborate. We don”t know this person so we have no way to verify,” The Dawn quoted

Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress, as saying.

In July last year, about 200 people were killed in Xinjiang’s ethnically divided Urumqi city in violent clashes between Han Chinese workers and Uighur workers. (ANI)

Wilderness Society split

The Wilderness Society split has intensified, with two opposing parties now claiming to hold power.

Following months of unrest and allegations of mismanagement, the society held a general meeting in Canberra yesterday.

Members of a group called Save the Wilderness Society left the meeting shortly after it started and elected a new national committee.

The current leadership has refused to recognise the new committee, but spokesman for the break-away group Geoff Law says the move will help end the dispute.

“We did the best that we could and complied with the constitution and ensured that our meeting went ahead and there were hundreds of people there in a constitutional meeting electing a new management committee which can hopefully leave behind the blemishes of the past,” he said.

The Executive Director of the Wilderness Society Alec Marr says the break-away meeting was illegitimate and he is considering legal action.

Prince Charles teams up with NBC for green campaign

Melbourne, April 29 (ANI): Britain’s Prince Charles has teamed up with NBC for ‘Green Is Universal’ campaign.

The Royal will offer up a heart-rending look at his work on climate change in Harmony, a feature-length program to be broadcast during NBC”s Green Week this November, reports News.com.au.

“The Prince of Wales has such a passion and vision in providing leadership on this crucial climate issue that confronts the world,” said Paul Telegdy, executive vice president of alternative programming at NBC.

“We are honored to partner with him to showcase these issues that are important to American audiences.”

In a clip from Harmony, the Prince said that many people never took the issue of climate change seriously and thought it was “pretty crazy” when he initiated the topic twenty-two years ago.

“I can only somehow imagine that I find myself being born into this position for a purpose,” he said.

“We have lost something very precious and that is an understanding of an inter-connectedness with nature. Just as mankind has the power to push the world to the brink, so too does he have the power to restore it,” he added. (ANI)

Mukul Sangma to be sworn in as Meghalaya CM today

Shillong, Apr 20 (ANI): Mukul Sangma, who was elected leader of the Congress Legislature Party in Meghalaya on Monday night, will be sworn in as Chief Minister today.

Deputy Chief Minister Sangma has been elevated to the post of Chief Minister after 21 of the 28 MLAs were opposed to Dr D D Lapang”s leadership.

Sangma has also been elected as the leader of the Meghalaya United Alliance (MUA) by its constituents last night.

The outgoing Chief Minister Lapang submitting his resignation last night and said he respects the decision of majority in the party and would work with the party, though he does not have any position.

The current ruling Congress alliance, sworn in last year after the fall of the NCP-led government, enjoys the support of 44 legislators – 28 from Congress, 9 from UDP, two from Hill State Peoples Democratic Party, one from Khyun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement and four Independents in a house of 60. (ANI)

Congress Legislature Party to elect new CM in Shillong

Shillong, Apr 19 (ANI): The Congress Legislature Party is meeting in Shillong on Monday night to elect its new leader following the resignation of Meghalaya Chief Minister D D Lapang.

Succumbing to dissidents” pressure, Lapang resigned on Sunday as Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader. He submitted his resignation to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, which was promptly accepted.

Lapang”s deputy Mukul Sangma, a senior Congress leader from west Garo hills district is likely to be elected the new Chief Minister.

The eleven month old government-led by Lapang came under crisis after more than a dozen MLAs revolted against his leadership on the issue of cabinet berths.

The alliance partners of Congress, however, have said it to be an internal problem and that they would continue their support to whoever is elected as the new leader of Congress Legislature Party. (ANI)

Real Madrid to use Ronaldo as bait for bagging Rooney

London, Apr 17(ANI): Spanish football giants Real Madrid are ready to use their winger Cristiano Ronaldo to lure his former team-mate Wayne Rooney to the Bernabeu.

Madrid is plotting to bag Rooney, and will make a staggering 150 million pound bid in this summer’s transfer window.

According to reports, Madrid will offer 90 million pounds to Manchester United and a 60 million pounds five year deal to Rooney.

The 24-year-old is in the form of his life with 34 goals this season, and Madrid believes that Ronaldo could help tempt Rooney to switch, The Sun reports.

The club is also determined to get back former manager Capello after the World Cup.

Capello had managed Madrid twice before (in 1996-1997 and 2006-2007), winning La Liga on both occasions.

Despite Capello being contracted to England until 2012, Real Madrid President Florentino Perez has shown previously that he is not bothered by the contracts, The Sun reports.

Perez is driven by the thought of restoring Rooney’s devastating partnership with Ronaldo under the leadership Capello brings. (ANI)

Real Madrid eyeing spectacular 150 million pound swoop for Rooney, wants Capello back too

London, Apr 16(ANI): Spanish football giants Real Madrid are reportedly plotting to bag England striker Wayne Rooney and manager Fabio Capello.

According to reports, Madrid will make a staggering 150 million pound bid for Rooney, offering Manchester United 90 million pounds and the player 250,000 pounds-a-week for five years.

The 24-year-old is in the form of his life with 34 goals this season, and Madrid will tempt him with the 60 million pound deal, matching former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo’s wage structure.

The club is also determined to get back former manager Capello after the World Cup.

Capello had managed Madrid twice before (in 1996-1997 and 2006-2007), winning La Liga on both occasions.

Despite Capello being contracted to England until 2012, Real Madrid President Florentino Perez has shown previously that he is not bothered by the contracts, The Sun reports.

Perez is driven by the thought of restoring Rooney’s devastating partnership with Ronaldo under the leadership Capello brings. (ANI)