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• Tiger Global invests $50 million in Automattic's WordPress.com
  By Sarah McBride SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Automattic, the company that operates blogging service WordPress.com, announced a $50 million investment from hedge fund and private-equity investor Tiger Global on Friday. The investment comes on the heels of Yahoo's $1.1 billion acquisition of blogging company Tumblr, showing the high prices fast-growing services that targeting Internet users can command. The valuation for Automattic was similar, Fortune reported. A spokeswoman for WordPress declined to comment. WordPress powers the blogs at companies such as CNN. ...
  
  
• ITV News Twitter account hacked by Syrian Electronic Army
  LONDON (Reuters) - British broadcaster ITV on Friday became the latest media outlet to have one of its Twitter feeds hacked by anonymous supporters of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, just days after Twitter beefed up security to prevent such attacks. Twitter Inc said on Wednesday that it had started rolling out an optional two-step authentication regime for its users to thwart hackers. The Associated Press, Britain's Financial Times and Daily Telegraph newspapers have all previously succumbed to attacks from the self-styled Syrian Electronic Army. ...
  
  
• One Direction sweeps awards for most popular social media stars
  

  By Patrick Johnston SINGAPORE (Reuters) - British boy band One Direction has swept the inaugural awards recognizing the most popular people in social media globally, coming top in four out of 10 categories at a star-studded ceremony in Singapore. One Direction was named most popular music group, most popular UK musicians, most popular in the UK, and most popular in west Europe, at the Social Star Awards, but did not show up to collect their prizes, sending their thanks by videolink. ...

  
  
  
  
• Russia's leading social network banned by "mistake"
  

  By Douglas Busvine MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's leading online social network was briefly banned on Friday, in a move dismissed as a "mistake" but which follows intensifying official pressure on the company as President Vladimir Putin consolidates his power. VKontakte (www.vk.com), Europe's largest homegrown social network with 210 million registered users, was put overnight on a "black list" of sites barred from distributing content inside Russia. Hours later, the ban was lifted. ...

  
  
  
  
• Salesforce.com's quarterly results disappoint Wall Street
  

  By Noel Randewich (Reuters) - Salesforce.com Inc's quarterly earnings and outlook disappointed investors as costs rise following a spree of acquisitions, sending its shares lower. Under Marc Benioff, Salesforce's CEO and founder, the company's fast revenue growth has made it a favorite with investors eager to own part of the growing trend among businesses to outsource their information technology needs - from servers to software, a phenomenon known as cloud computing. But Salesforce has struggled to earn consistent profits. ...

  
  
  
  
• WikiLeaks doc director on Julian Assange: 'The balls of this guy - I thought, 'wow.'
  

  By Sharon Waxman LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange seemed like an intriguing topic for prolific documentarian Alex Gibney, but little did he know the rabbit hole of secrets, lies and hypocrisy he would find as he dug into his subject. Gibney's latest work, "We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks," about Assange and his "radical transparency," is a fascinating look at one of our era's most fascinating information rebels. WaxWord caught up with Gibney ahead of the movie's May 24 release. ...

  
  
  
  
• Hulu video site auction attracts four bidders: sources
  

  By Ronald Grover LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former News Corp president Peter Chernin and private equity fund Guggenheim Digital Media have placed bids for Hulu, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, triggering a tug-of-war for the online video service. Satellite operator DirecTV and cable operator Time Warner Cable Inc also put in bids, one of the people told Reuters. ...

  
  
  
  
• Zach Braff taught crowdfunding to Woody Allen - and he liked it
  

  By Greg Gilman LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Reaction to Zach Braff's use of Kickstarter to fund his next indie film has been mixed, to say the least. But according to the "Scrubs" star, Woody Allen is "riveted" by it. During an interview on SiriusXM talk show "Unmasked," Braff said that the Oscar-winning "Annie Hall" director had no idea what crowdfunding was before meeting with him to discuss a project. "By the way, I'm the one who explained crowdfunding to Woody Allen," Braff said. "He's one of my heroes and I met him because we were talking about doing something together. ...

  
  
  
  
• Pittsburgh on the Hudson? Wrong city in NY City campaign logo
  

  NEW YORK (Reuters) - For New York City mayoral hopeful Anthony Weiner, the road to City Hall leads through Pittsburgh. Weiner, the candidate who infamously resigned from the U.S. Congress two years ago in a sexting scandal, unveiled a video announcing his mayoral candidacy and a campaign logo on his website on Wednesday. The logo is written in blue and orange - the colors of Weiner's beloved New York Mets baseball team. But the image of the skyline that forms its backdrop, while similar to iconic images of New York's Brooklyn Bridge, is actually that of Pittsburgh's Roberto Clemente Bridge. ...

  
  
  
  
• EU wants big companies to reveal national tax bills
  

  By John O'Donnell BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's top regulatory official is seeking to force large companies to disclose how much tax they pay in each country where they operate, a measure some politicians say could curb tax avoidance. Michel Barnier, the European commissioner in charge of drafting business regulation, said in a speech in Amsterdam that rules which will force banks to report their profits, taxes and subsidies by country from 2015 should be extended to cover other companies. "We will expand these reporting obligations to large companies and groups," he said on Thursday. ...

  
  
  
  
• Twitter beefs up security after hacking spree on media
  

  By Jim Finkle (Reuters) - Twitter Inc unveiled technology to boost security for its users, following a spate of attacks on accounts of prominent media outlets including the Associated Press, the Financial Times and The Onion. The micro blogging site, which transmits some 400 million messages a day, said on Wednesday that it had begun rolling out an optional "login verification" service to thwart hackers seeking to hijack accounts with stolen passwords. ...

  
  
  
  
• Pearson agrees $75 million settlement in U.S. e-books case
  By Kate Holton and Nate Raymond LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - British publisher Pearson's Penguin unit said on Wednesday it would pay $75 million in damages plus costs to U.S. states and consumers as part of an agreement over alleged price-fixing in the e-book market. Pearson, which will take an extra provision on its accounts this year after setting aside $40 million in 2012, had already reached an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department in the e-book pricing case. ...
  
  
• British opposition leader says Google tax behavior 'wrong'
  

  By Andrew Osborn and Costas Pitas LONDON (Reuters) - Google Inc's tax affairs came under renewed scrutiny in Britain on Wednesday when the leader of the opposition Labour party accused the Internet company of wrongly going to "extraordinary lengths" to avoid paying tax. In comments designed to politically outflank Prime Minister David Cameron ahead of next month's G8 summit on what has become a high-profile issue, Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, said he was disappointed that Google paid so little tax. "I can't be the only person here who feels disappointed that such a great company as Google ...

  
  
  
  
• Young faces enliven Kuwait's faded art scene
  

  By Sylvia Westall KUWAIT (Reuters) - After two lackluster decades, Kuwait is experiencing a quiet revival of an arts scene once known as the most avant garde in the Gulf, thanks to a new generation eager to tackle sensitive issues using cutting-edge art forms. The artists have been exhibiting works in the graphic arts, photography, animation and fashion in private galleries but also bypassing traditional venues and arts groups - and possible censorship - by showing their work online to reach an audience beyond the 3.7 million people in Kuwait. ...

  
  
  
  
• Disgraced ex-congressman Weiner announces candidacy for NYC mayor
  

  By Edith Honan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two years after resigning from Congress in a lewd photo scandal, former U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner announced in a video message early on Wednesday he is running for New York City mayor. "I made some big mistakes and I know I let a lot of people down, but I also learned some tough lessons," Weiner said in the video. "I'm running because I've been fighting for the middle class and those struggling to make it my entire life. ...

  
  
  
  
• The Irish loophole behind Apple's low tax bill
  

  By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - Apple's ability to shelter billions of dollars of income from tax has depended on an unusual loophole in the Irish tax code that helps the country compete with other countries for investment and jobs. A U.S. Senate investigation revealed Tuesday that Apple, maker of iPhones, iPads and Mac computers, channeled profits into Irish-incorporated subsidiaries that had "no declared tax residency anywhere in the world. ...

  
  
  
  
• China charges six in sex video "extortion" case
  BEIJING (Reuters) - A court in the city of Chongqing has charged six people with working together to blackmail government officials by recording videos of them having sex, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday. The six were charged with extortion on Monday, Xinhua said, citing a statement from judicial authorities in Chongqing, where they are slated to be tried. Investigators said the group "lured officials into having sex with women and secretly recorded their encounters to blackmail them from 2008 to 2009", Xinhua said. ...
  
  
• Microsoft unveils Xbox One with Spielberg, Activision tie-up
  

  By Bill Rigby and Malathi Nayak REDMOND, Washington (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp unveiled the "Xbox One" on Tuesday, its first new gaming console in eight years, and its strongest push so far to dominate consumers' living rooms with an array of exclusive media content. The Xbox One took four years to develop and will be the launchpad for a "Halo" live-action video series produced by Steven Spielberg. It will be sold worldwide "later this year," games unit chief Don Mattrick told reporters at an event at the software company's campus near Seattle, without providing details on timing or pricing. ...

  
  
  
  
• 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. ...