Video gamers win millions of dollars in Seattle championship

By Curtis Skinner SEATTLE (Reuters) – Teams of video gamers playing characters ranging from wizards to monsters exchanged virtual punches, fireballs and lightning strikes over the past six days, battling at the main event of the Dota 2 International 2015 tournament in Seattle. Now in its fifth year and playing to a sold-out crowd in the 17,000-seat Key Arena, the International has grown every year in size, popularity and possible winnings for players. Video games have long been a moneymaker for the tech sector, forecast to generate some $111 billion in revenue this year by consultants Gartner Inc.

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Comcast to offer streaming services for $15 a month

(Reuters) – Cable company Comcast Corp said it is beta testing a new cable streaming service called Stream, which will broadcast live TV from HBO and about a dozen other networks for $15 per month. Launching with Boston, followed by Chicago and Seattle, Stream would let Comcast’s Xfinity Internet customers stream live TV over phones, tablets and laptops. (http://comca.st/1HXZAkF) The service, which will be available everywhere in the United States by early 2016, also comes with on-demand movies and recording features, Comcast said

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Tennis-Tennis Australia apologises for putting Tomic in ‘Hall of Shame’

Tennis Australia has apologised for a ‘clerical error’ in a media release that said estranged local player Bernard Tomic was playing in a ‘Hall of Shame’ event against compatriot John-Patrick Smith. The media release said Tomic, who was dumped from Australia’s Davis Cup team after a rant against officials, was playing Smith in the ‘Hall of Shame Tennis Championships’, causing a stir on social media networks.

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Yahoo to live-stream October 25 NFL game

Yahoo Inc will broadcast the Oct. 25 National Football League game between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars in London in the first live-stream of an NFL game. The International Series game will be streamed exclusively free of charge on Yahoo sites including Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Screen and Tumblr, Yahoo and the NFL said on Wednesday.

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India launches ‘Lost and Found’ website to find missing children

By Nita Bhalla NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The Indian government has launched a “Lost and Found” website to help families trace the tens of thousands of children in the country who go missing every year – often abducted for forced labor or sexual exploitation – and are never found.

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Facebook’s Seattle site leader leaves company

By Bill Rigby SEATTLE (Reuters) – The leader of Facebook Inc's fast-growing Seattle office left the company last month, a spokeswoman for the online social network told Reuters on Wednesday, a crucial personnel change at Facebook's largest engineering office outside of its Silicon Valley headquarters. Engineering manager Paul Carduner, who took over leadership of the Seattle office about six months ago, was in charge of more than 600 people.

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