Imprisoned Saudi blogger on hunger strike, wife says

By Allison Lampert MONTREAL (Reuters) – Imprisoned Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has been on a hunger strike since Tuesday after being transferred to a “new isolated” prison, his wife, Ensaf Haidar, said on Thursday. Haidar, who lives in Canada where she and their three children were granted political asylum, confirmed the news by phone after tweeting it. Colette Lelievre, a Montreal-based campaign organizer with Amnesty International, said Thursday the group had been told Badawi was transferred to a different prison for “administrative reasons.” Amnesty had not yet independently confirmed he started a hunger strike.

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China vows copyright protection for online news media

China will crack down on illegal reproduction of online news, the country’s media watchdog said, days after an influential Chinese news magazine complained publicly about what it described as unauthorized republishing of its stories. China’s government has long vowed to rein in intellectual property infringement from knock-off goods to the theft of commercial secrets

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Apple Pay launches in Britain as hold-out Barclays signs up

Apple introduced its mobile payments service to Britain on Tuesday as Barclays confirmed its participation in the U.S. tech giant's move to capitalize on the increasing number of consumers who are comfortable making tap-and-go purchases

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Website with bogus Twitter report was registered July 10: ICANN

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The web site carrying a false report out Tuesday on a Twitter takeover approach, bloomberg.market, was registered on July 10, according to a domain search on the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. According to whois.icann.org, the registrant’s mailing address was listed as a Post Office Box in Panama.

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Facebook shareholders shoot down ‘one share, one vote’ proposal

(Reuters) – A proposal to give Facebook Inc's stockholders one vote per share was rejected at the company's annual meeting, according to preliminary results. The stockholder proposal was filed to change Facebook's voting practices. Ordinary investors own Class A common shares, which provide one vote per share, but Facebook's Class B shares are worth 10 votes each.

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Dataminr finance chief departs unexpectedly: sources

By Lauren Tara LaCapra NEW YORK (Reuters) – Dataminr Inc, a technology company that alerts traders, government officials and journalists to important tweets, has lost its chief financial officer. The abrupt departure of Tania Secor, who had been CFO since November 2013, comes a few months after the company raised a third round of funding from high-profile investors, valuing the company at $700 million.

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Alibaba’s Ma says Kering lawsuit ‘regrettable’

By Christine Kim SEOUL (Reuters) – The founder of Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd on Tuesday called “regrettable” a lawsuit by a group of luxury goods firms owned by Kering SA accusing the Chinese e-commerce giant of being a conduit for counterfeiters. Executive Chairman Jack Ma was speaking after Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and other brands owned by Kering sued Alibaba in the United States on Friday, accusing it of knowingly making it possible for counterfeiters to sell their products throughout the world. Ma also said Alibaba was interested in investing in U.S

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Facebook ‘tramples European privacy law’: Belgian watchdog

By Julia Fioretti BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Belgium's privacy watchdog accused Facebook on Friday of trampling on European privacy laws by tracking people online without their consent and dodging questions from national regulators. The Privacy Protection Commission (CPVP/CBPL), which is working with German, Dutch, French and Spanish counterparts, launched the blistering attack after trying to find out more about the U.S. social media giant's practices

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