Expedia Inc said it would buy Orbitz Worldwide for about $1.38 billion in cash, its third acquisition in four months, to take on larger rival Priceline Group Inc in a burgeoning online travel industry. Orbitz's shares shot up 20 percent to $11.63 in morning trading, short of Expedia's offer of $12 per share. Expedia's shares rose nearly 13 percent to $88.50.
Read moreBy Shadi Bushra CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt's long-suffering drivers, worn down by decades of jams and crashes, are turning to social media to stave off a new, even more pressing threat — the traffic chaos caused by roadside bombs. “We really wish we didn't need to incorporate such a feature,” the app's co-creator Gamal ElDin Sadek told Reuters. “Eventually we categorized it under one hashtag to be better organized in warning people.” Egypt has been battling an Islamist militant insurgency that has killed hundreds of police and soldiers since then army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted president Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in July 2013 after mass protests.
Read moreBy Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Snapchat has partnered with CNN, ESPN and nine other media companies to feature videos and articles on its mobile messaging service, a move that heightens the competition with social networks such as Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc. Snapchat's new Discover service features individual “channels” for its various media partners that include five to 10 stories a day, according to Snapchat, which announced the move on its official blog on Tuesday. After 24 hours the stories disappear, in keeping with Snapchat's trademark feature of private messages that disappear a few seconds after they are viewed by users of the service.
Read moreChinese anti-graft authorities are investigating a television producer related to a disgraced former presidential aide probed for graft last month, the media reported on Monday, as the leadership widens a crackdown on corruption. Luo Fanghua, an executive of the business channel at state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), is the latest of several of the network’s senior producers, executives and journalists to face investigation for corruption
Read moreTORONTO (Reuters) – Media companies must back off from threatening Canadians who illegally download movies, music and books with penalties that do not exist in Canadian law, the government said on Friday.
Read moreBy Jennifer Saba and Lisa Richwine NEW YORK/LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Media companies that are starting to allow their programs onto Internet-delivered TV and mobile devices are putting limits on digital rights as a safety hatch if problems arise with the new distribution systems, executives say.
Read moreBy Teppei Kasai TOKYO (Reuters) – A Japanese Internet activist and academic is challenging a new state secrets law by setting up a website aimed at making it easier for government officials to leak sensitive information to the media without getting caught. The website, unveiled on Friday, uses an open source platform called GlobaLeaks developed by the Europe-based Hermes Center for Transparency and Digital Human Rights, said Masayuki Hatta, an economics lecturer at Surugadai University. …
Read moreLONDON (Reuters) – Controversial Liverpool forward Mario Balotelli was suspended for one match by the FA on Thursday and fined 25,000 pounds ($39,152) after posting an offensive message on social media.
Read moreBy Alexei Oreskovic and Ben Klayman SAN FRANCISCO/DETROIT (Reuters) – Google Inc is laying the groundwork for a version of Android that would be built directly into cars, sources said, allowing drivers to enjoy all the benefits of the Internet without even plugging in their smartphones.
Read more