India’s Snapdeal to raise $500 million from Alibaba, SoftBank, Foxconn: sources

By Paul Carsten BEIJING (Reuters) – Indian online marketplace Snapdeal is set to raise $500 million from a group of foreign investors including China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, three people familiar with the matter said on Monday. The latest round of support, from investors also including SoftBank Group Corp and Foxconn, the trading name of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, would value Snapdeal at more than $5 billion, another person said. The move is a show of faith from three of the world's biggest technology companies in fast-growing Snapdeal, which in October secured a $627 million investment from SoftBank, itself an early backer of Alibaba.

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Quake-hit Nepalis need information, not just food and water

By Nita Bhalla NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – There is probably no other place in the world right now where information – from the fate of your family members to where to get food and water – is more desperately needed than in the Nepal, devastated by a powerful earthquake six days ago. The 7.8 magnitude quake brought down thousands of buildings in the densely-populated Kathmandu Valley, which includes the capital, severely damaged telecommunications, tore apart roads and snapped bridges.

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