Australia banks agree Android Pay deal, Apple Pay still frozen out

By Swati Pandey SYDNEY (Reuters) – Big Australian banks have agreed to accept payments made on mobile devices using Google Inc's Android Pay, leaving Apple Inc's rival Apple Pay system out in the cold as the tech giant struggles to coax lenders to accept its terms. Banks including Westpac Banking Corp , ANZ Banking Group and Macquarie will accept contactless payments via Android smartphones when Google rolls out the service in first-half 2016, the tech giant said on Wednesday.

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California shooter messaged Facebook friends about support for jihad: LA Times

(Reuters) – One of the shooters in the San Bernardino massacre, Tashfeen Malik, sent at least two private messages on Facebook to a small group of Pakistani friends in 2012 and 2014, pledging her support for Islamic jihad and saying she hoped to join the fight one day, the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday. The messages were posted before Malik, 29, entered the United States on a K-1 fiancée visa in July 2014, the Times said, citing two top federal law enforcement officials. Malik's messages were recovered by FBI agents investigating whether she and her husband, Syed Rizwan Farook, had been in direct contact with foreign militant organizations and were directed to carry out the Dec

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Apple releases first Arabic version of Siri

By Julia Love SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc on Tuesday released a version of its virtual personal assistant Siri for Arabic speakers in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, potentially making its iPhones more attractive in a largely affluent market of more than 30 million people. The move, part of Apple's latest software updates, means people in those countries will be able to use Siri in their native tongue on iPhones, iPads and the Apple Watch.

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Facebook’s Zuckerberg: No tax benefit from philanthropic initiative

SAN FRANCISCO/BENGALURU (Reuters) – Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Thursday he and his wife would receive no tax benefit from setting up their new philanthropic endeavor as a limited liability company and hinted at the types of efforts it would support. In a post on his Facebook page, he wrote that “just like everyone else, we will pay capital gains taxes when our shares are sold by the LLC.” While reiterating that the entity, called the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, would focus on areas like education and disease, he indicated the efforts would be similar to philanthropy he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, had already supported.

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Texas investigates ‘affluenza’ teen over beer pong party video

Law enforcement authorities launched an investigation on Thursday into a video that allegedly shows the Texas teen from a wealthy family who killed four people while driving drunk among revelers at a party, possibly in violation of his probation.

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Snapchat runs live coverage of California shooting

Snapchat, the mobile app featuring photos, videos and messages that disappear in seconds, made its first foray into major breaking news coverage Wednesday with a live stream of the mass shooting in Southern California. Snapchat, valued at $16 billion and with more than 100 million active users, most under the age of 25, ran a “Live Story” on the shooting in Bernardino, California, shortly after news broke of the massacre, which left 14 people dead and 21 more wounded

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Sassy woman or machine? Tech giants divided over digital assistants

By Julia Love and Yasmeen Abutaleb SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – When users ask Siri, Apple’s digital assistant, what she likes to drink, she is quick with an answer. What's your favorite drink?” As the tech giants race to build ever better artificial intelligence platforms, they are obsessing over the nuances of their digital assistants' personalities.

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Google aims for China launch of Google Play app store next year: sources

BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Google, part of Alphabet Inc, aims to launch the China version of its Google Play smartphone app store next year, according to people familiar with the matter, its first major foray in the market since ending localized product support in 2010. The Google Play app store would be set up specifically for China, and not connected to overseas versions of Google Play, two of the people said.

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Nigeria’s Instagram agony aunt advises women on love, violence, justice

By Kieran Guilbert DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – From unrequited love and cheating husbands to domestic violence and marital rape, a Nigerian agony aunt is using Instagram to encourage women to share their stories anonymously, ask for advice and even seek justice in court.

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