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/ 28 May 2008

Next Microsoft operating system has touch controls

Microsoft plans to give users of the next version of its Windows operating system touch screen controls as one option for controlling the software, its top executives said on Tuesday. Chairperson Bill Gates and chief executive Steve Ballmer showed off new Windows features based on software it calls ”multi-touch” that will be part of Windows 7.

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/ 19 May 2008

Facebook stresses independence amid talks

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg stressed his company’s independent spirit on Monday, after a report the social networking site might be sold to software giant Microsoft, which is hunting for ways to beef up its internet business. Asked specifically about the prospect of a sale, Zuckerberg declined to comment.

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/ 14 May 2008

Investor may run Yahoo! proxy campaign

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is considering mounting a proxy campaign to replace Yahoo! board members after the company failed to reach a deal to merge with Microsoft. The veteran investor has built up a stake in Yahoo! in the last week and would run a slate in an effort to force the company back to the negotiating table.

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/ 12 May 2008

Murdoch concedes in the fight for Newsday

Rupert Murdoch has abandoned his -million attempt to buy Newsday in an about-turn likely to relieve campaigners pressing for diversity in United States media ownership. Murdoch’s News Corporation withdrew its bid for the Long Island daily because it was unwilling to match a -million offer from a cable television operator, Cablevision.

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/ 3 May 2008

The missing finger that never was

Traditionally on May Day the fool plays at pratfalls and buffoonery around local morris dancers, brandishing his fool’s bauble, an inflated pig’s bladder on a stick, with which he bewitches and controls the crowds. To the uninitiated it looks like chaos, but for his own safety the fool must know the dances as well as anyone.

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/ 1 May 2008

CEO: Microsoft can do it without Yahoo!

Microsoft can build a competitive online advertising business without Yahoo! but it "could just take more time", CEO Steve Ballmer told the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> in an interview published on Friday. The comment came as analysts and industry watchers awaited an imminent announcement on Microsoft’s next move in its unresolved quest to acquire Yahoo!

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/ 7 April 2008

Zuma: A decade is enough for any leader

Political leaders should never stay in power for over a decade, South Africa’s ruling party president Jacob Zuma has said, making clear his opposition to the path taken by some African rulers. Zuma spoke to the Wall Street Journal in an interview before neighbouring Zimbabwe held elections last month.

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/ 28 March 2008

Clinton, Obama vow Democrats will unite

Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have vowed the Democratic Party will heal its wounds, whoever wins their toxic White House race, and unite to thwart Republican John McCain. The bitter rivals spoke up amid mounting concern among party leaders that the fiercely contested battle could scupper a golden chance to grab back the White House.

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/ 20 February 2008

Musharraf rejects opposition calls to quit

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf rejected demands to quit on Wednesday and called for a ”harmonious coalition” as victorious opposition parties mulled a grouping that could force the key United States ally from power. Musharraf was making his first official comments since Monday’s crucial parliamentary vote.

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/ 14 February 2008

Murdoch rescue bid for Yahoo! sets up showdown

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation (News Corp) is negotiating to rescue embattled internet company Yahoo! through an alliance that could set up a heavyweight business showdown between the Australian-born media mogul and Microsoft’s Bill Gates. News Corp has begun tentative talks about merging its online division with Yahoo!.

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/ 11 February 2008

Yahoo! set to rebuff Microsoft bid as too low

Yahoo! is set to reject Microsoft’s unsolicited bid, now worth -billion, as too low, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Saturday — the first clear signal the board might be prepared to negotiate and sell the internet media giant. The Wall Street Journal had quoted an unnamed source as saying Microsoft’s offer of per share was an attempt to ”steal” the company.

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/ 22 January 2008

Slumping Yahoo! to shed hundreds of jobs

Battered by slow revenue growth and the popularity of social-networking websites, Yahoo! is poised to lay off hundreds of workers, according to published reports. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal have both reported on the slumping internet icon’s cost-cutting plans, citing people familiar with the matter.

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/ 9 January 2008

Airbus wins major order of up to 100 jets

Leasing company Awas (Ireland) is expected to announce a deal to buy up to 100 Airbus jets worth $6,9-billion, the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> reported on Wednesday. The news came after aerospace group Boeing said it delivered 441 commercial airplanes in 2007 as part of a tight race with Europe’s Airbus.

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/ 8 December 2007

How intelligence expert rewrote book on Iran

The intelligence came from an exotic variety of sources: there was the so-called Laptop of Death; there was the Iranian commander who mysteriously disappeared in Turkey. But pivotal to the United States investigation into Iran’s suspect nuclear-weapons programme was the work of a little-known intelligence specialist, Thomas Fingar.

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/ 7 December 2007

Report: IMF chief eyes major job cuts

The new head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) plans to slash as much as 15% of the organisation’s staff in its first significant job cuts, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s plans are aimed at reducing deficits and maintaining the relevance of the group.