News Headlines - 19 May 2014

▽BBC News - South Korea to break up coastguard after ferry disaster

South Korea plans to break up its coastguard in the wake of the ferry disaster in which more than 300 people died, says President Park Geun-hye.

▽BBC News - Abu Hamza found guilty of terror charges in US court

The court heard the 56-year-old aided the kidnappers of 16 tourists in Yemen in 1998 and attempted to build a terror training camp in Oregon in the US.
The cleric, who was extradited from the UK in 2012 after an eight-year legal battle, denied all the charges. He now faces a possible life sentence.

▽AstraZeneca rejects 55 pounds/share Pfizer offer | Reuters

Britain's AstraZeneca on Monday rejected a sweetened 55-pounds-a-share offer from Pfizer, leaving it uncertain if the U.S. drugmaker would pull off a plan to create the world's biggest pharmaceuticals group.

▽Yahoo Japan drops $3.2 billion plan to buy eAccess from SoftBank | Reuters

Yahoo Japan Corp has dropped its plan to buy mobile network operator eAccess Ltd from SoftBank Corp in a 324 billion yen ($3.2 billion) deal that was part of a reorganization of SoftBank group assets.

▽Calling all geniuses for the new Longitude Prize - Telegraph

The most inspirational award for innovation is reincarnated this week. The original Longitude prize changed nautical history, unlocked the secret of accurate navigation, saved countless lives, and helped traders to exploit the Earth’s vast resources, from minerals to spices and more besides.
Now, in the 300th anniversary year of the Longitude Act, which launched the prize that helped humanity to conquer the world, a new ￡10 million challenge has been unveiled, intended to solve a key problem of the 21st century.