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A bad ruling for those who want to throttle AT&T

  Ma Bell came back from the grave Monday, saving AT&T from the supervision of the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC had sued the company for intentionally “throttling” the mobile internet for its unlimited data customers when they passed a certain usage. A federal appeals court rejected the suit on the ground that as a common carrier, AT&T is exempt ...

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China’s ‘little green boats’ have Japan on alert

  In early August, Japan’s Coast Guard witnessed an unconventional Chinese assault on its territorial waters. According to Japanese officials I met with last week, at least 300 Chinese “fishing vessels” began incursions into the exclusive economic zone around the uninhabited Senkaku Islands, disputed territory administered by Japan but claimed by China and Taiwan as well. Japan has seen similar ...

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European stocks diverge on mixed data

Bloomberg European stock markets diverged on Wednesday with traders reacting to mixed regional data ahead of key US jobs numbers due later in the week. Around 1030 GMT, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index was 0.3 percent lower. In the eurozone, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 lost 0.2 percent and the Paris CAC 40 gained 0.5 percent compared with the close on Tuesday. ...

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Qatar takes a breather, Dubai edges higher

  Dubai / Reuters Gulf stock markets diverged in early trade on Wednesday, with Qatar’s edging lower and Dubai’s gaining slightly. Qatar’s index slipped 0.3 percent after closing higher in four of the last five sessions. After the close on Wednesday, FTSE is expected to release a list of Qatari stocks to be included in its emerging market index from ...

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Oil prices dip before US inventories data

  London / AFP Oil fell further on Wednesday as dealers awaited the latest update on crude reserves in the United States. At around 1145 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in October declined 36 cents at $45.99 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for October lost 54 cents to $47.83 a barrel compared with the close on ...

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music that heals souls

  Buenos Aires / DPA Patients wait in long lines for turns to see physicians, mothers hold their babies close to their bosoms and scores of people walk up and down staircases, some of them carrying the results of medical tests. But none of that seems to bother musicians and singers at the Dr. Cosme Argerich Hospital in Buenos Aires, ...

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‘Jungle school’ teaches rescued orangutans return to wild

  Ketapang / AFP Ignoring the shrieks of his rowdy, wrestling classmates, baby orangutan Otan practises swinging alone at his “jungle school” on Borneo island, switching hands and hanging upside down as he builds confidence high above the forest floor. The three-year-old is learning to fend for himself since being found wandering a palm oil plantation, alone and suffering smoke inhalation, ...

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Saudi not to flood crude market before OPEC meet

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, won’t boost output to capacity and flood the market, the kingdom’s Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said as OPEC members plan to meet this month to discuss ways to stabilize crude prices. Saudi Arabia isn’t concerned about global demand in spite of a drop in prices and a slower economy, Al-Falih said ...

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Iraq pledges to support OPEC freeze deal, shifting its stance

Bloomberg Iraq would support a proposal for OPEC and other major oil producers to freeze output at talks in Algeria next month, Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi said in Baghdad. The endorsement marks a slight shift by Al-Abadi, who was quoted by Reuters on Aug. 23 saying that Iraq still hadn’t raised production sufficiently. The country’s deputy oil minister, Fayyad Al-Nima, ...

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Libya oil guards close oilfields over fund delays

  Bloomberg A Libyan armed force controlling some of the country’s southern oilfields has stopped pumping at two of them because the government has not paid the funds needed to maintain security operations, a brigade commander said. The closures underscore the new Libyan government’s complex task in reviving oil production, which has been battered by strikes, protests and militant attacks ...

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