46664 Concert Honouring Nelson Mandela at 90; A Gathering of 46,664 Great Friends and Supporters; London, Hyde Park, June 27, 2008

Nelson Mandela and British PM, Gordon Brown

Pa Nelson Mandela is so excited about the 46664 concert to celebrate his 90th birthday that he called Amy Winehouse to ivite her to perform live at the Hyde Park event on June 27, 2008.
The following press release gives all the details why this is a great concert and you are all invited to register online and join the party for charity.

6 May 2008 08:00 Africa/Lagos


46664 Concert Honouring Nelson Mandela at 90; A Gathering of 46,664 Great Friends and Supporters; London, Hyde Park, June 27, 2008

Presale tickets at http://www.46664.com
Tickets on public sale Friday, May 9 at http://www.livenation.co.uk/

LONDON, May 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Many of the world's most powerful and instantly recognisable figures and a concert audience of 46,664 will pay their tributes to one of the world's most loved leaders, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and icon of freedom, Nelson 'Madiba' Mandela, as he turns 90 later this year.

Mr. Mandela will arrive in London in June to take part in a series of events to mark his birthday: a very rare occasion since he is now finally "retired from retirement."
Royalty and politicians from both sides of the Atlantic, leading names from business, sport, film and entertainment -- and some of the most successful musicians of the past twenty years -- make up the birthday list for three days of celebrations, culminating in a three-hour evening concert in London's Hyde Park on Friday, June 27, The 46664 Concert Honouring Nelson Mandela at 90.

President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Will Smith, Ms. Oprah Winfrey, Robert de Niro and Forest Whitaker are amongst those who will attend some of the events. Lewis Hamilton, British Formula 1 driver for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team, will attend his very first 46664 event.

Artists specially invited to perform for Mr. Mandela at the Friday night 90th birthday concert will include Queen + Paul Rodgers, Annie Lennox, Simple Minds, Leona Lewis, the Sugababes, Dame Shirley Bassey, Razorlight, Andrea and Sharon Corr, Eddy Grant, and Jamelia, along with international 46664 Ambassadors Italy's Zucchero and Spain's Amaral.

Joining them to celebrate the life of the world's most respected statesman will be South African and African artists including Johnny Clegg, Sipho Mabuse, multi-South African Music Awards winner Loyiso, Kurt Darren, the Soweto Gospel Choir, Aids orphan choir The Children of Agape -- the subject of the award winning film feature 'We Are Together', the legendary Papa Wemba and Sudanese 'war child' rapper Emmanuel Jal.

The concert will feature numerous unexpected appearances, with several major artists keeping silent about their involvement in order to take both Mr. Mandela and the audience by surprise.
Among the specially chosen artists are many whom Nelson Mandela is recognising for having voiced their support for him over the past 20 years, dating back to London's historic Free Mandela concert of June 1988, which called for Mr. Mandela's release from incarceration on Robben Island and which Mr. Mandela has said gave him and his fellow prisoners great inspiration. Simple Minds were instrumental in making the 1988 event happen. Annie Lennox appeared with The Eurythmics and has since become of one of the most active ambassadors for Mr. Mandela's 46664 AIDS organisation.

Lennox, along with Dave Stewart and Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor played a key part in the foundation of 46664 in October 2003. Since then, Queen and Paul Rodgers have gone on to write songs specially for the organisation, including the track "Say It's Not True" from their forthcoming album which the band donated to 46664 for World AIDS Day 2007. With the Corrs, Sharon and Andrea Corr appeared at the inaugural Cape Town concert and together and separately have since participated in further concerts for Mr. Mandela's 46664 charitable organisation. Zucchero has been another stalwart supporter, appearing in the first concert as well as two previous concerts.

Rounding out the twenty years since the Free Mandela event in 1988, the concert will also feature top artists of today including worldwide No.1 artist Leona Lewis and Britain's most successful female group, the Sugababes.

Fundraising events as part of the celebrations will benefit the charitable organisations established by Mr. Mandela: the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and the Mandela Rhodes Foundation, which through their work have sought to bring about change and make a difference to lives in South Africa, Africa and elsewhere over the past 14 years. The concert proceeds will go to the 46664 campaign which raises awareness about the impact of AIDS, especially in Africa, and promotes effective HIV prevention measures throughout the world.

Mr. Mandela said at the announcement of the concert: "You all know that I am supposed to be retired but my friends and the charitable organisations that bear my name want to use my 90th birthday year to raise funds to continue our work and so of course I want to help them. So, we have a bargain -- I am going to London and they will host a concert in Hyde Park, which will raise awareness of our continuing work and much needed funds."

As his final public engagement on his visit to the UK, Mr. Mandela's appearance at the concert is sure to be emotional. In stepping down from his campaign work he will use the concert to deliver his message presented in the current 46664 campaign "It's in our hands", that he is handing over the 46664 mantle to each of us to carry forward on his behalf.

The concert has been made possible through the generosity of the private sector to honour Mr. Mandela's 90th birthday. Mercedes-Benz, Zain and Investec lead the companies who have rallied to support the concert with British Airways, Samsung, Intercontinental Hotels, The Westbury, Live Nation and many others also assisting. A special mention also for The Royal Parks who have allowed the concert to take place the night before Hard Rock Calling and who have agreed the sale of a significantly numbered 46,664 tickets for the concert. For tickets for the 46664 Nelson Mandela 90th birthday concert:
For presale tickets - register by 6pm GMT Tuesday, May 6 at
http://www.46664.com/.

Tickets on public sale Friday, May 9, at 9am at
http://www.livenation.co.uk/

General admission tickets are 65.00 pounds Sterling (plus booking fees).

For more information:

Event PR - TV/Radio and International Media

The PR

Contact:UKHoward Abernethy

Tel: + 44 207 298 7269Mob: + 44 (0) 7834 986 568

Email: howard@howardents.co.uk

International Office

Phil Symes

Tel: + 55 21 93 61 11 97

Mob: + 55 21 93 61 11 97

philsymes@theprcontact.com

USS harrin Summers

Hollywood Records

Tel: 818.560.5787

Mob: 818.425.3260

sharrin.summers@disney.com

Print Media:Nick Southall Emma Nicholls

ENPR

Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7940 9934

Mob: + 44 (0) 7799 620945

Email: nick@enpr.co.uk Email: emma@enpr.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

Many artists have dedicated songs to Nelson Mandela. One of the mostpopular was from The Specials with the song "Nelson Mandela" in 1984. StevieWonder dedicated his 1985 Oscar for "I Just Called to Say I Love You" to Mandela, which led to his music being banned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation. Simple Minds' Mandela Day was written as a tribute to Mandela for the original 70th Birthday concert. For the same concert Santana recorded the instrumental "Mandela." Queen's Roger Taylor and Brian May have written three songs for Mandela, 46664 - "The Call," "Invincible Hope" and the newly recorded "Say It's Not True."

The 1988 Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert on June 11, 1988 was a focal point of the growing anti-apartheid movement in the UK. It followed the launching of Artists United Against Apartheid which organised the earlier Freedom Beat concert on Clapham Common in 1986. The Wembley Stadium event followed. More than 600 million television viewers from 60 countries watched the broadcast of the concert except in South Africa where it was not broadcast.

Nelson Mandela was finally freed from prison on February, 11 1990 having

been held mostly on Robben Island for 27 years. Mr. Mandela made HIV/AIDS the target of his 'new fight' in 2002 and the 46664 campaign was launched with a concert in Cape Town on November 29, 2003 under the direction of Dave Stewart, Annie Lennox and Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor, with support from artists such as Bono, The Edge and Beyonce.

46664 takes its name from Mr. Mandela's Robben Island prison number. He was prisoner number 466, incarcerated in 1964.

At the time of Mr. Mandela's release in 1990 South Africa recorded 120,000 people living with HIV. Today the number of South Africans living with HIV/AIDS exceeds 5.5 million. Inspired by the vision and leadership of Nelson Mandela, 46664 is an African response to the global HIV/AIDS epidemic that invites the whole world to take the fight in hand. A campaign vehicle of the Nelson Mandela charitable organisations, 46664 raises funds to support the on going 46664 campaign and the HIV/AIDS projects it directly supports throughout sub-Saharan Africa. 46664's project funds develop and support practical programmes for the prevention, testing, and care and support for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

46664 recently unveiled its new campaign "It's in our hands", which will build on its past achievements and expand its outreach activities in South Africa to communities and schools to engage the youth who are at most at risk. The not-for-profit organisation harnesses the universal connecting power of music, sport and entertainment to deliver its messages primarily to the younger generations. The campaign is supported by over 80 international ambassadors from the world of sport and entertainment.

Footnotes -

Sponsors:

ZAINZain is a leading emerging markets player in the field oftelecommunications aiming to become one of the top ten mobile groups in the world by 2011. Zain was established in 1983 in Kuwait as the region's first mobile operator. Since 2003, it has grown significantly becoming the 4th largest telecommunications company in the world in terms of geographic presence with a footprint in 22 countries spread across the Middle East and Africa providing mobile voice and data services to over 45.7 million active customers (as at March 31, 2008).

INVESTEC

Investec is an international specialist banking group that provides adiverse range of financial products and services to a niche client base in three principal markets, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia as well as certain other countries. The group was established in 1974 and currently has approximately 6,000 employees.

First Call Analyst: FCMN

Contact:
Source: Hollywood Records

CONTACT: UK, Howard Abernethy, + 44 (0) 207 298 7269, mobile,+ 44 (0) 7834 986 568, howard@howardents.co.uk;

or International Office, PhilSymes, + 55 21 93 61 11 97, mobile, + 55 21 93 61 11 97,

philsymes@theprcontact.com;

or Print Media, Nick Southall, nick@enpr.co.uk,

or Emma Nicholls, emma@enpr.co.uk,

both of ENPR, + 44 (0) 20 7940 9934,

mobile,+ 44 (0) 7799 620945, all for Hollywood Records;

or US, Sharrin Summers of Hollywood Records,

+1-818-560-5787,

mobile, +1-818-425-3260,

sharrin.summers@disney.com
Web site: http://www.46664.com/ http://www.livenation.co.uk/

NOTE TO EDITORS: For press images go to: http://www.46664.com

Nigerian Catholic Priest Sentenced to 4 Years for Having Sex With Female Inmates in the U.S.

May 2008 01:17 Africa/Lagos


Priest Who Sexually Abused Inmates at FMC Carswell in Fort Worth Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison

FORT WORTH, Texas, May 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

Vincent Inametti, a Roman Catholic priest, who worked as a chaplain at Federal Medical Center (FMC) Carswell in Fort Worth, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to 48 months in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. Judge Means also ordered Inametti, 48, who pled guilty in November to two counts of sexual abuse of a ward, to pay a $3000 fine. Inametti is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was ordained in his native country, Nigeria. He was immediately remanded into custody to begin serving his sentence.


The Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General, (DOJ-OIG) received a complaint in March 2007 that Inametti was sexually involved with a particular inmate, "D.D." Subsequent investigation by DOJ-OIG agents revealed that Inametti was also sexually involved with another inmate, "E.R." Both inmates were serving federal prison sentences for drug distribution conspiracy convictions.


"D.D." became acquainted with Inametti in August 2004 when she began attending Catholic services, joining the choir and participating in Bible study classes at FMC Carswell. "E.R." became acquainted with Inametti a few months later, in November 2004, as a result of her assignment as a clerk for the Religious Services Department at FMC Carswell.


In documents filed in Court, Inametti admitted that in February 2006, he directed "D.D." to the chapel library, where he engaged in a sexual act with her. He further admitted that in June or July 2006, he summoned "E.R." to a classroom in the chapel where he engaged in a sexual act with her.


U.S. Attorney Roper praised the investigative efforts of DOJ-OIG. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bradford prosecuted the case.


Source: U.S. Department of Justice

CONTACT: Kathy Colvin of the Office of United States Attorney Richard B.
Roper Northern District of Texas, +1-214-659-8600, Fax: +1-214-767-2898


Web Site: http://www.usdoj.gov/

Poll: Clinton Leads Obama in Hoosier State

5 May 2008 07:57 Africa/Lagos


Poll: Clinton Leads Obama in Hoosier State

Suffolk University Survey Shows 38 percent Will Cast McCain Vote if their Preferred Candidate Loses Nomination

BOSTON, May 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

Hillary Clinton (49 percent) leads Barack Obama (43 percent) among likely Indiana Democratic voters, according to a poll released today by Suffolk University.


Six percent of Democratic voters were undecided, and 2 percent refused a response. However, 38 percent of these likely Democratic voters -- which include registered Democrats, Republicans, members of other political parties and independents -- said they would vote for John McCain in November if their Democratic choice does not win the party's nomination.


It's no slam-dunk, but Hillary Clinton is poised to win the Hoosier state, provided there aren't some critical turnovers late," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. "Although the margin appears to be single digits at this point, the outcome will hinge on high turnouts in Marion and Lake counties, which are crucial for Obama."


Despite Clinton's lead, Obama was seen as more popular (58 percent favorable - 29 percent unfavorable) than Clinton (53 percent favorable - 36 percent unfavorable). In addition, slightly more voters said that Obama (35 percent) would be the next President, compared to 28 percent for Clinton and 25 percent for McCain.


Only 44 percent of Indiana Democratic Primary voters said that, if their choice lost the Democratic nomination, they would still vote Democratic. A considerably high 38 percent indicated they would vote for McCain, while 6 percent said they would vote for independent Ralph Nader, and an additional 11 percent were undecided.


"This 38 percent is one of several statistical signs that Republicans are meddling in the Democratic fray, knowing full well they will vote Republican come November," said Paleologos.


A majority (54 percent) cited the economy as the most important issue facing the country, followed by the war in Iraq (21 percent) and health care (12 percent).


In other Suffolk University findings, a plurality of Democratic Primary voters (48 percent) said they favored making the President's tax cuts permanent, while only 33 percent opposed. Seventy percent of respondents rejected tax increases to help close the budget deficit gap, while 23 percent supported them.


In the race for the Democratic nomination for governor, Jill Long Thompson (35 percent) led Jim Schellinger (27 percent). Meanwhile, a whopping 36 percent still have not made a choice, suggesting that some of these undecided voters will vote Republican for governor come November.


The Suffolk University poll was conducted May 3 and May 4, 2008. The margin of error on the statewide survey of 600 is +/- 4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. All respondents from the statewide survey were likely Democratic Primary voters in the May 6 Indiana Democratic Presidential Primary. Marginals and cross-tabulation data will be posted on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site -- www.suffolk.edu/college/1450.html -- on May 5. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310.


Suffolk University has selected a bellwether area in Indiana to call on the evenings of May 4 and May 5 as an added predictor module for possible election outcomes. This data will be posted May 6.


Source: Suffolk University

CONTACT: Greg Gatlin, +1-617-435-3634, ggatlin@suffolk.edu, or
Mariellen Norris, +1-617-573-8450, mnorris@suffolk.edu


Web site: Suffolk University

Suffolk University Poll

NEWSWEEK Cover: Book Excerpt - 'The Post-American World' By Fareed Zakaria

In the May 12 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, May 5): Excerpt: "The Post-American World," by Fareed Zakaria. Zakaria writes that while we're still debating the nature and extent of anti-Americanism, the world has shifted from anti-Americanism to post-Americanism. He doesn't explore the decline of America but the rest of the world. Plus: Obama's faith outreach; how high food prices are affecting the organic food market; and a discussion on whether "Seinfeld" is still funny 10 years later. (PRNewsFoto/Newsweek) NEW YORK, NY UNITED STATES 05/04/2008

4 May 2008 17:00 Africa/Lagos


NEWSWEEK Cover: Book Excerpt - 'The Post-American World' By Fareed Zakaria

In Every Aspect of Life, Patterns of the Past Are Being Scrambled, 'And - for the First in Living Memory - the United States Does not Seem to be Leading the Charge'

'This is Something Much Broader Than the Much-Ballyhooed Rise of China or Even Asia. It Is the Rise of the Rest - the Rest of the World'

NEW YORK, May 4 /PRNewswire/ --

Americans are glum at the moment, but the facts on the ground-unemployment numbers, foreclosure rates, deaths from terror attacks -- are simply not dire enough to explain the present atmosphere of malaise, writes Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria in his forthcoming book, "The Post-American World" which is excerpted on the cover of the current issue of Newsweek. "American anxiety springs from something much deeper, a sense that large and disruptive forces are coursing through the world," Zakaria writes. "In almost every industry, in every aspect of life, it feels like the patterns of the past are being scrambled ... And-for the first time in living memory -- the United States does not seem to be leading the charge. Americans see that a new world is coming into being, but fear it is one being shaped in distant lands and by foreign people."





(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080504/NYSU001 )


He writes, "In America, we are still debating the nature and extent of anti-Americanism. One side says that the problem is real and worrying and that we must woo the world back. The other says this is the inevitable price of power and that many of these countries are envious -- and vaguely French -- so we can safely ignore their griping. But while we argue over why they hate us, 'they' have moved on, and are now far more interested in other, more dynamic parts of the globe. The world has shifted from anti-Americanism to post-Americanism."


Over the last two decades, lands outside of the industrialized West have been growing at rates that were once unthinkable, Zakaria writes in the excerpt in the May 12 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, May 5). "While there have been booms and busts, the overall trend has been unambiguously upward ... This is something much broader than the much-ballyhooed rise of China or even Asia. It is the rise of the rest -- the rest of the world," he writes.


"We are living through the third great power shift in modern history. The first was the rise of the Western world, around the 15th century. It produced the world as we know it now -- science and technology, commerce and capitalism, the industrial and agricultural revolutions. It also led to the prolonged political dominance of the nations of the Western world. The second shift, which took place in the closing years of the 19th century, was the rise of the United States. Once it industrialized, it soon became the most powerful nation in the world, stronger than any likely combination of other nations.


"For the last 20 years, America's superpower status in every realm has been largely unchallenged -- something that's never happened before in history, at least since the Roman Empire dominated the known world 2,000 years ago. During this Pax Americana, the global economy has accelerated dramatically. And that expansion is the driver behind the third great power shift of the modern age -- the rise of the rest.


"At the military and political level, we still live in a unipolar world. But along every other dimension -- industrial, financial, social, cultural -- the distribution of power is shifting, moving away from American dominance. In terms of war and peace, economics and business, ideas and art, this will produce a landscape that is quite different from the one we have lived in until now -- one defined and directed from many places and by many peoples."


Read the excerpt on Newsweek


Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080504/NYSU001
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN1
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Newsweek

CONTACT: Jan Angilella of Newsweek, +1-212-445-5638,
Jan.Angilella@Newsweek.com


Web site: Newsweek



Editorial Reviews

Product Description
One of our most distinguished thinkers argues that the "rise of the rest" is the great story of our time.

"This is not a book about the decline of America, but rather about the rise of everyone else." So begins Fareed Zakaria's important new work on the era we are now entering. Following on the success of his best-selling The Future of Freedom, Zakaria describes with equal prescience a world in which the United States will no longer dominate the global economy, orchestrate geopolitics, or overwhelm cultures. He sees the "rise of the rest"—the growth of countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia, and many others—as the great story of our time, and one that will reshape the world. The tallest buildings, biggest dams, largest-selling movies, and most advanced cell phones are all being built outside the United States. This economic growth is producing political confidence, national pride, and potentially international problems. How should the United States understand and thrive in this rapidly changing international climate? What does it mean to live in a truly global era? Zakaria answers these questions with his customary lucidity, insight, and imagination.

About the Author
Fareed Zakaria is the editor of Newsweek International and writes a weekly column on international affairs. His previous book was the New York Times bestseller The Future of Freedom. He lives in New York City.

Product Details

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton (May 5, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 039306235X
ISBN-13: 978-0393062359
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #24 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Breaking News: Microsoft Withdraws Proposal to Acquire Yahoo!

4 May 2008 00:56 Africa/Lagos


Microsoft Withdraws Proposal to Acquire Yahoo!

REDMOND, Wash., May 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) today announced that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) .


(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO )


"We continue to believe that our proposed acquisition made sense for Microsoft, Yahoo! and the market as a whole. Our goal in pursuing a combination with Yahoo! was to provide greater choice and innovation in the marketplace and create real value for our respective stockholders and employees," said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer of Microsoft.


"Despite our best efforts, including raising our bid by roughly $5 billion, Yahoo! has not moved toward accepting our offer. After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo! do not make sense for us, and it is in the best interests of Microsoft stockholders, employees and other stakeholders to withdraw our proposal," said Ballmer.


"We have a talented team in place and a compelling plan to grow our business through innovative new services and strategic transactions with other business partners. While Yahoo! would have accelerated our strategy, I am confident that we can continue to move forward toward our goals," Ballmer said.


"We are investing heavily in new tools and Web experiences, we have dramatically improved our search performance and advertiser satisfaction, and we will continue to build our scale through organic growth and partnerships," said Kevin Johnson, Microsoft president for platforms and services.


Below is the text of the letter from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang.


May 3, 2008


Mr. Jerry Yang
CEO and Chief Yahoo
Yahoo! Inc.
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94089


Dear Jerry:


After over three months, we have reached the conclusion of the process regarding a possible combination of Microsoft and Yahoo!.


I first want to convey my personal thanks to you, your management team, and Yahoo!'s Board of Directors for your consideration of our proposal. I appreciate the time and attention all of you have given to this matter, and I especially appreciate the time that you have invested personally. I feel that our discussions this week have been particularly useful, providing me for the first time with real clarity on what is and is not possible.


I am disappointed that Yahoo! has not moved towards accepting our offer. I first called you with our offer on January 31 because I believed that a combination of our two companies would have created real value for our respective shareholders and would have provided consumers, publishers, and advertisers with greater innovation and choice in the marketplace. Our decision to offer a 62 percent premium at that time reflected the strength of these convictions.


In our conversations this week, we conveyed our willingness to raise our offer to $33.00 per share, reflecting again our belief in this collective opportunity. This increase would have added approximately another $5 billion of value to your shareholders, compared to the current value of our initial offer. It also would have reflected a premium of over 70 percent compared to the price at which your stock closed on January 31. Yet it has proven insufficient, as your final position insisted on Microsoft paying yet another $5 billion or more, or at least another $4 per share above our $33.00 offer.


Also, after giving this week's conversations further thought, it is clear to me that it is not sensible for Microsoft to take our offer directly to your shareholders. This approach would necessarily involve a protracted proxy contest and eventually an exchange offer. Our discussions with you have led us to conclude that, in the interim, you would take steps that would make Yahoo! undesirable as an acquisition for Microsoft.


We regard with particular concern your apparent planning to respond to a "hostile" bid by pursuing a new arrangement that would involve or lead to the outsourcing to Google of key paid Internet search terms offered by Yahoo! today. In our view, such an arrangement with the dominant search provider would make an acquisition of Yahoo! undesirable to us for a number of reasons:


-- First, it would fundamentally undermine Yahoo!'s own strategy and
long-term viability by encouraging advertisers to use Google as opposed
to your Panama paid search system. This would also fragment your
search advertising and display advertising strategies and the ecosystem
surrounding them. This would undermine the reliance on your display
advertising business to fuel future growth.

-- Given this, it would impair Yahoo's ability to retain the talented
engineers working on advertising systems that are important to our
interest in a combination of our companies.

-- In addition, it would raise a host of regulatory and legal problems
that no acquirer, including Microsoft, would want to inherit. Among
other things, this would consolidate market share with the
already-dominant paid search provider in a manner that would reduce
competition and choice in the marketplace.

-- This would also effectively enable Google to set the prices for key
search terms on both their and your search platforms and, in the
process, raise prices charged to advertisers on Yahoo. In addition to
whatever resulting legal problems, this seems unwise from a business
perspective unless in fact one simply wishes to use this as a vehicle
to exit the paid search business in favor of Google.

-- It could foreclose any chance of a combination with any other search
provider that is not already relying on Google's search services.



Accordingly, your apparent plan to pursue such an arrangement in the event of a proxy contest or exchange offer leads me to the firm decision not to pursue such a path. Instead, I hereby formally withdraw Microsoft's proposal to acquire Yahoo!.


We will move forward and will continue to innovate and grow our business at Microsoft with the talented team we have in place and potentially through strategic transactions with other business partners.


I still believe even today that our offer remains the only alternative put forward that provides your stockholders full and fair value for their shares. By failing to reach an agreement with us, you and your stockholders have left significant value on the table.


But clearly a deal is not to be.

Thank you again for the time we have spent together discussing this.

Sincerely yours,
/s/ Steven A. Ballmer

Steven A. Ballmer
Chief Executive Officer
Microsoft Corporation


About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.


This release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval. This material is not a substitute for the prospectus/proxy statement Microsoft Corporation would file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") if an agreement between Microsoft Corporation and Yahoo! Inc. is reached or any other documents which Microsoft Corporation may file with the SEC and send to Yahoo! stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF YAHOO! INC. ARE URGED TO READ ANY SUCH DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION.


Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of any documents filed with the SEC by Microsoft Corporation through the web site maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. Free copies of any such documents can also be obtained by directing a request to Investor Relations Department, Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, Washington 98052-6399.


Microsoft Corporation and its directors and executive officers and other persons may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect of the proposed transaction. Information regarding Microsoft Corporation's directors and executive officers is available in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2007, which was filed with the SEC on August 3, 2007, and its proxy statement for its 2007 annual meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on September 21, 2007. Other information regarding the participants in a proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in any proxy statement filed in connection with the proposed transaction.


Statements in this release that are "forward-looking statements" are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors such as Microsoft Corporation's ability to achieve the synergies and value creation contemplated by the proposed transaction, Microsoft Corporation's ability to promptly and effectively integrate the businesses of Yahoo! Inc. and Microsoft Corporation, the timing to consummate the proposed transaction and any necessary actions to obtain required regulatory approvals, and the diversion of management time on transaction-related issues. For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with Microsoft Corporation's business, please refer to the "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Risk Factors" sections of Microsoft Corporation's SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Microsoft Corporation's Investor Relations department at (800) 285-7772 or at Microsoft Corporation's website at http://www.microsoft.com/msft.


All information in this release is as of May 3, 2008. Microsoft Corporation undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the company's expectations.


Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Microsoft Corp.

CONTACT: Rapid Response Team, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, +1-503-443-
7070, rrt@waggeneredstrom.com; Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher, Joele
Frank, Eric Brielmann, or Jamie Moser, +1-212-355-4449; Financial analysts and
investors only: Colleen Healy, General Manager, Investor Relations, +1-425-
706-3703, all for Microsoft Corp.


Web site: Microsoft


NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft's corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft's Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx.