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• Iranians face new Internet curbs before presidential election
  By Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranians are struggling with slower Internet speeds and limited access ahead of an unpredictable presidential election that has put hardline Islamist authorities on alert for possible unrest. Experts and web users say they believe the Internet obstacles are related to the June 14 presidential vote, the first since 2009 polls in which accusations of fraud - denied by the government - kindled months of protests organised in part via social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. ...
  
  
• Amazon wins key cloud security clearance from government
  

  By Alistair Barr SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc has been given a security clearance by the U.S. government that will make it easier for federal agencies to use its cloud computing services. Amazon Web Services, known as AWS, was certified to operate as a cloud service provider for three years under the government's new FedRAMP program. The accreditation covers all AWS data centers in the United States, the company said on Tuesday. "This will cut the cost and time for agencies to deploy our systems," said Teresa Carlson, vice president of Worldwide Public Sector at AWS. ...

  
  
  
  
• Parents turn to Internet to help daughter charged with sex with girl minor
  By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Thousands of people have protested against the prosecution of an 18-year-old Florida high school senior after her parents launched an Internet petition claiming she was charged with sex crimes only because her lover, a then 14-year-old schoolmate, was another girl. By late Monday afternoon, almost 100,000 people had signed a Change.org petition or joined a Facebook group called "Free Kate" in support of Kaitlyn Hunt. ...
  
  
• Toronto mayor urged to step down if crack allegations true
  

  By Julie Gordon TORONTO (Reuters) - The mayor of Canada's largest city, facing allegations that he smoked crack cocaine, and made racial and homophobic slurs on video, must either refute the accusations or step down, fellow city politicians say. "If the allegations are false, then the mayor is owed some apologies," said Councillor Josh Matlow, who has clashed with Ford on transit issues, but who usually takes a centrist line in a polarized city council. "If the allegations are proven true beyond a reasonable doubt, then the mayor should resign." An editor from U.S. ...

  
  
  
  
• Online takeout companies GrubHub and Seamless to merge
  By Sarah McBride SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Two of the nation's biggest online food delivery businesses said they are merging in a deal that they hope will drive more orders, in more cities, through their platforms. GrubHub and Seamless, which allow consumers to easily order online from various restaurants, are part of a group of fast-growing businesses that standardize local services under a national umbrella. Think restaurant reservations, where OpenTable dominates, or car services, where privately held startups such as Uber are making significant inroads. ...
  
  
• Websense to go private after years of slow growth
  (Reuters) - Websense Inc said it had agreed to be taken private by Vista Equity Partners in a deal that values the online security firm at about $907 million, a move that should come as a relief to investors after years of weak sales from its legacy business. The offer of $24.75 per share represents a roughly 29 percent premium to Websense's Friday close. Websense shares rose to just above the offer price to a near two-year high in morning trading on the Nasdaq. ...
  
  
• New Xbox more than a game console for Microsoft
  

  By Malathi Nayak and Bill Rigby SAN FRANCISCO/SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is set to make a splash this week with the eagerly awaited unveiling of its new Xbox game console, eight years after the last version, as it seeks a larger share of the $65 billion a year global computer gaming industry. But the small device faces some big competition from the PlayStation 4 by Sony Corp and the Wii U by Nintendo Co Ltd in a shifting market. ...

  
  
  
  
• China trying to manage exposure of corruption online
  

  By Terril Yue Jones BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Internet is brimming with disclosures of officials collecting bribes, homes and luxury accessories as casually as they do mistresses. But while the government tolerates such anti-corruption vigilantism, it is also extremely leery of the threat the Internet can pose to Communist Party rule. The Internet is the new tool in the fight against corruption - a cornerstone policy of new President Xi Jinping, who has pledged to tackle the problem head-on. ...

  
  
  
  
• Jon Stewart's humor a hit with millions of envious Chinese
  

  By Jane Lee SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Humor may not always translate well, but Jon Stewart is picking up millions of fans in China, where his gloves-off political satire is refreshing for many in a country where such criticism is a rarity - especially when directed at their own leaders. A recent segment on North Korea scored over 4 million views on microblogger Sina Weibo, and even stodgy state broadcaster CCTV has used Stewart's "The Daily Show" in a report, though they wouldn't let a Chinese version of him near their cameras. ...

  
  
  
  
• Infosys to challenge latest tax demand of $105.3 million
  

  BANGALORE (Reuters) - Infosys Ltd, India's No. 2 software services exporter, said on Monday it would challenge a 5.77 billion rupees ($105.3 million) income tax demand raised by Indian authorities earlier this month. The demand relates to certain tax benefits on income from software development done overseas at the clients' location and revenue from special economic zones in India, Infosys said in a statement. It said the latest tax demand disregards a clarification by the government in January. ...

  
  
  
  
• Cricket-Warner to face disciplinary hearing over Twitter rant
  May 19 (Reuters) - Australia opening batsman David Warner will face a disciplinary hearing for his Twitter outburst against two senior Australian cricket journalists, the country's cricket board said on Sunday. The flamboyant left-handed batsman criticised News Limited journalists Robert Craddock and Malcolm Conn in an expletive-filled tirade, which grabbed headlines in Australia. The 26-year-old has been charged with breaking the code of behaviour which pertains to "unbecoming behaviour, regarding comments posted on his Twitter account," Cricket Australia said in a statement. ...
  
  
• Cricket-Australia to investigate Warner's Twitter rant
  May 18 (Reuters) - Cricket Australia is to investigate an extraordinary Twitter outburst by opening batsmen David Warner that attacked two senior Australian cricket journalists. The 26-year-old Warner criticised News Limited journalists Robert Craddock and Malcolm Conn in an expletive-filled tirade, which has created headlines in Australia. "Cricket Australia is aware of comments made on David Warner's Twitter account overnight," Cricket Australia said in a statement on Saturday. "Cricket Australia is attempting to contact Warner and will continue to investigate the matter. ...
  
  
• Syria government supporters hack Financial Times
  By Jim Finkle and Jennifer Saba (Reuters) - The Financial Times' website and Twitter feeds were hacked on Friday, renewing questions about whether the popular social media service has done enough to tighten security as cyber-attacks on the news media intensify. The Syrian Electronic Army, an online group that supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was behind the incident which followed a phishing attack on the company's email accounts, FT reported on its website. The attack is the latest in which hackers commandeered the Twitter account of a prominent news organization to push their ...
  
  
• U.S. authorities seize accounts of major Bitcoin operator
  By Brett Wolf ST. LOUIS, May 17 (Thomson Reuters Accelus) - U.S. authorities have seized two accounts linked to a major operator in the booming Bitcoin digital currency market, Tokyo-based exchange Mt. Gox. The move may prevent the firm from facilitating the purchase and sale of Bitcoins in U.S. dollars at a time when use of the currency and its value has mushroomed. Bitcoin, which unlike conventional money is bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of any central authority, has grown popular among users who lack faith in the established banking system. ...
  
  
• After Google, Amazon to be grilled on UK tax presence
  

  By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - Internet retailer Amazon.com Inc. will be called back to the British parliament to clarify how its activities in the UK justify its low corporate income tax bill, two lawmakers told Reuters. Amazon will follow search giant Google, which attended another grilling by parliament's Public Affairs Committee (PAC) over its tax affairs on Thursday. A Reuters report earlier this month raised questions over Google's earlier assertions that its UK-based staff don't sell to customers. ...

  
  
  
  
• Rivals get longer to comment on Google EU antitrust offer: source
  

  By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators have given some of Google's rivals more time to study its proposals to settle anti-competitive complaints, which could provide more leverage to pry further concessions from the Internet search giant. The European Commission last month told interested parties they had until May 26 to say if they are satisfied with the offer by the world's most popular search engine to mark out its services from rival products in Internet search results. ...

  
  
  
  
• Soccer-Oceania club final showcases future of broadcasting
  By Greg Stutchbury WELLINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - The possible future of sports broadcasting will be further highlighted on Sunday when New Zealand's Auckland City and Waitakere United play the Oceania Champions League final, with the winner qualifying for the lucrative FIFA Club World Cup. The match in Auckland, reduced to a winner-takes-all final after the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) streamlined the competition this year, will be broadcast not only on television but also live over the Internet on the OFC's YouTube channel. "The coverage will be screened live in New Zealand ... ...
  
  
• China cracks down on over-the-top anti-Japan dramas
  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's television regulator has ordered a crackdown on dramas about the country's battles with Japan during and before World War Two and demanded they be more serious, state media said on Friday, following viewer complaints about ludicrous storylines. Ties have been shadowed for years by what Beijing says has been Tokyo's refusal to admit to wartime atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers in the country between 1937 and 1945, something taught to every Chinese school child and a staple of television dramas. ...
  
  
• LulzSec hackers who "wreaked havoc" at Sony jailed in UK
  

  By Li-mei Hoang LONDON (Reuters) - A group of British hackers who "ran riot" causing millions of dollars of damage to computer networks run by Sony, the CIA and other agencies were sentenced to jail terms on Thursday. Police said four men, members of the hacking collective known as "LulzSec", put thousands of internet users' personal data at risk through their high-profile cyber attacks in 2011. ...

  
  
  
  
• UK politician sues for defamation in high-profile Twitter case
  By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - A retired British politician sued the wife of the House of Commons Speaker for defamation on Thursday, accusing her of implying in a tweet that he was a pedophile guilty of sexually abusing boys living in a care home. Alistair McAlpine, an associate of the late former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, is seeking damages from Sally Bercow in Britain's most high-profile Twitter defamation case to date. ...
  
  
• Cricket-'Jeeks', 'nuffies' and moms targeted by cricketing Facebook
  By Greg Stutchbury WELLINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - Hunched over desks staring at computer screens paid for in part by New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum, employees at a small Wellington company are hard at work laying the foundations for what they hope will be the next social media revolution. Targeting the estimated billion players and fans of the English bat-and-ball game around the world, CricHQ aims to build an online community which could be crudely described as Facebook for cricket. ...
  
  
• YouTube adds first paid channel for horror films
  

  By Lucas Shaw NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - YouTube has a new paid channel for horror junkies, adding Screampix as the first subscription channel dedicated to frightful fare. It launched on Wednesday in the US and Canada for $2.99 a month, and will rollout to the U.K., France and Brazil later this year. The channel features more than 200 hours of horror footage, including full-length features, trailers and interviews. Movies are grouped into categories such as "Women on a Rampage" and "Zombiepalooza. ...

  
  
  
  
• Orlando Jones on why Machinima's geek culture works for 'Tainted Love'
  By Brent Lang LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Orlando Jones is a self-described comic book nerd, so when it came to finding the perfect venue for "Tainted Love," his gritty and profane love letter to graphic novels, the actor and comedian said Machinima immediately sprung to mind. The popular YouTube channel is a gathering spot for fans of geek culture and it's a destination for Jones when he wants to get his inner fanboy on. "Tainted Love" debuted two weeks ago on Machinima Prime and the third episode airs Thursday. ...
  
  
• Newegg, Overstock win patent fight with Alcatel-Lucent
  

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The online shopping sites Newegg and Overstock Inc won a patent battle on Wednesday with telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent SA, which had accused the companies of infringing its patented technology. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which hears all patent appeals, upheld a lower court decision which found that Newegg and Overstock did not infringe on a software patent that allows computers to adapt the shopping web sites to their own screen size rather than having a server do the work. ...

  
  
  
  
• Battered networks blow up traditional TV schedule to take on cable, streaming rivals
  By Tim Molloy NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - One of the biggest television shows next season won't air until the season is nearly over - and that should tell you something about broadcasters' wavering loyalty to the traditional September-May broadcast season. Fox plans to debut its 12-episode "24" revival in May, and use it to launch another much-hyped, limited-run series, M. Night Shyamalan's "Wayward Pines." The network is following the lead of NBC, which used an unconventional April launch date for "The Voice" in 2011 to build it into a hit. ...