Bombing exposes Saudi failure to curb sectarian strains

By Sami Aboudi DUBAI (Reuters) – A suicide bombing in Saudi Arabia as it presses on with its war against Shi'ite fighters in Yemen has exposed the Sunni kingdom's failure to curb sectarianism at home and prompted fears that such tensions can only get worse. Islamic State, which claimed Friday's attack on a Shi'ite mosque, is trying to stir up sectarian confrontation as a way of hastening the overthrow of the ruling Al Saud, and is keenly aware of the war's potential for pitting Sunni against Shi'ite

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Russia should not cut itself off from foreign investment: Putin

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday the country should not cut itself of from foreign investment and technologies. “We should not, on any account, cut ourselves off” from the kind of foreign investment and technology that can drive economic growth, Putin told a conference of business people. After annexing Ukraine’s Crimea region in March 2014, Russia was hit with Western sanctions that limited its access to foreign capital and technologies, especially for the banking, energy and defense sectors

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Charter Communications nears $55 billion deal for Time Warner Cable – sources

Time Warner Cable Inc is nearing an agreement to be acquired by smaller peer Charter Communications Inc for about $55 billion, combining the second and third largest U.S. cable operators, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. A deal would create a major rival to Comcast Corp, the biggest operator in the U.S.

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Adult online dating site reports data security breach of member information

(Reuters) – An online dating site for adults seeking sexual trysts has been hacked, potentially compromising the personal information of some of its 64 million members, the company said on Friday. AdultFriendFinder.com, part of Sunnyvale, California-based FriendFinder Networks Inc, said it had contacted law enforcement, including the FBI, and a private investigative team to review the incident.

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Hootsuite says could go public sooner after Shopify IPO success

By Euan Rocha and Alastair Sharp VANCOUVER/TORONTO (Reuters) – The successful initial public offering of Shopify could prompt Hootsuite, another promising Canadian tech startup, to tap public markets sooner rather than later, its chief executive said on Thursday. Ottawa-based Shopify’s shares rose as much as 69 percent in the e-commerce software maker’s U.S. debut on Thursday, giving it a $2 billion-plus valuation.

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Russia warns Google, Twitter and Facebook on law violations

By Maria Tsvetkova and Eric Auchard MOSCOW/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Russia's media watchdog has written to Google, Twitter and Facebook warning them against violating Russian Internet laws and a spokesman said on Thursday they risk being blocked if they do not comply with the rules. Roskomnadzor said it had sent letters this week to the three U.S.-based Internet firms asking them to comply with Internet laws which critics of President Vladimir Putin have decried as censorship.      “In our letters we regularly remind (companies) of the consequences of violating the legislation,” said Roskomnadzor spokesman Vadim Ampelonsky.     He added that, because of the encryption technology used by the three firms, Russia had no way of blocking specific websites and so could only bring down particular content it deemed in violation of law by blocking access to their whole services.

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Exclusive: Genealogy website Ancestry.com explores sale: sources

Ancestry.com LLC, the world's largest family history website helping users trace their heritage, is exploring a sale that could value it at between $2.5 billion and $3 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter. Permira Advisers LLC, the buyout firm that owns most of privately held Ancestry, has hired investment banks to run an auction for the company, the people said this week.

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