Facebook struggles to sell advertising in India

By Yasmeen Abutaleb and Nivedita Bhattacharjee SAN FRANCISCO/MUMBAI, August 12 (Reuters) – Facebook is trying to lure skeptical advertisers in India with features such as free email support for questions about advertising and advice on increasing sales in a bid to boost revenue from its second biggest market. Facebook has 132 million users in India, trailing only the 193 million in the United States, according to the company, and the country is critical for the Menlo Park, California, social network's global expansion. Facebook does not break out its revenues in India, but Neil Shah, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, a Hong Kong-based technology consulting firm, estimates it brings in $15 million a quarter, far behind the $350 million he estimates Google earns there per quarter.

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U.S. judge strikes down New Hampshire ban on ballot photos

A federal judge on Tuesday struck down a New Hampshire law barring voters from sharing photos of their filled-out ballots online, saying the statute violated constitutional free speech laws. New Hampshire’s so-called “ballot selfie” law was enacted ahead of the 2014 election. It was intended to revise laws passed about a century ago when vote-buying was relatively widespread and voters shared their marked ballot to redeem promises of cash or other inducements.

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Symantec to sell Veritas for $8 billion to focus on security software

Norton antivirus software maker Symantec Corp has agreed to sell its data storage unit, Veritas, for $8 billion to a group led by Carlyle Group LP as it seeks cash to turn around its core security software business. The deal, the biggest U.S.

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Amazon quietly shutters product ads that drove traffic to outside sites

By Mari Saito SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc quietly shuttered a pay-per-click advertising programme that allowed businesses to divert traffic from the retailer's platform to their own websites on Tuesday, saying it would permanently discontinue the programme in October. The programme allowed many businesses that are not necessarily sellers on Amazon's online marketplace to buy ad space on its website

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Google overhaul ‘shareholder friendly’ but details scarce

Google Inc's overhaul of its operating structure is an acknowledgement of the lack of transparency surrounding its disparate businesses and projects, analysts said, but it remains to be seen how much more the company will actually disclose. Analysts and investors have long sought more granular detail on Google's capital spending and cash flow, as well as the financial performance of YouTube and Android. Google said on Monday it would split into two reporting companies under a new holding company called Alphabet.

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U.N. urges Thailand to amend tough law on insulting royalty

By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations on Tuesday denounced “shockingly” long prison terms imposed by Thailand for insulting the monarchy and urged authorities to amend the law and release those convicted. Thai military courts on Friday jailed two people for insulting the monarchy, one for 30 years and the other for 28, the heaviest sentences for the crime in Thai history, lawyers and a legal monitoring group said.

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China car services firm Tuhu raises $100 million from Joy Capital, Welkin

Tuhu, a Chinese online platform for automobile services and products, said on Tuesday it raised about $100 million from a group of investors including venture capital firm Joy Capital, looking to expand its distribution network and warehouses. Joy Capital, whose founders include the former head of telecommunications investments at Legend Capital, led the funding round, Tuhu Founder and Chief Executive Min Chen said. Other investors included private equity firm Welkin, leasing company Far East Horizon Ltd and existing Tuhu investors such as Legend Capital and Qiming Venture Partners.

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Twitter signs multi-year deal with NFL

(Reuters) – The National Football League said it signed a multi-year partnership with microblogging site Twitter Inc to deliver video and other content to NFL fans on a daily basis. Content, including in-game highlights from pre-season through Super Bowl 50, will be distributed across Twitter from the start of the 2015 season, the NFL said in a press release. (http://bit.ly/1TkkSLl) The partnership expands on the NFL's existing partnership with Twitter since 2013, and Twitter users will now have access to more official NFL content than in the past

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