U.S. East Coast blanketed in veil of smoke from Canadian fires

By Tyler Clifford NEW YORK (Reuters) -Schools across the U.S. East Coast canceled outdoor activities, airline traffic slowed and millions of Americans were urged to stay indoors on Wednesday as smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted south, blanketing cities in thick, yellow haze. The U.S. National Weather Service issued air quality alerts for virtually the entire…

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Amazon should not pay $268 million in Luxembourg back taxes, EU court adviser says

By Foo Yun Chee LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – Amazon should not pay 250 million euros ($268 million)in back taxes to Luxembourg as ordered by EU competition enforcers, an adviser to Europe’s top court said on Thursday, as she cited errors in the EU regulator’s assessment. The European Commission in its 2017 decision said Amazon paid no…

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MediaTek says will defend itself in accusation over patent ‘bounty’ agreement

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s top chip design company MediaTek Inc said on Thursday it will defend itself in court against accusations from Realtek that it paid a company that sues over patents a “secret litigation bounty” to file meritless lawsuits. Realtek Semiconductor Corp’s lawsuit, lodged in California, accuses MediaTek of conspiring with IPValue Management Inc…

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Meta introduces broadcast tool Channels on WhatsApp

(Reuters) – Meta Platforms on Thursday introduced WhatsApp Channels, a feature that the social media giant said would help make the app a “private broadcast messaging product.” Users in Colombia and Singapore will be the first to receive access to Channels. Over the coming months, Meta will expand the availability of the tool for users…

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South Korea vows support for its chip sector amid China-US tension

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea pledged support for its chip sector on Thursday, with President Yoon Suk Yeol describing competition in the industry as an “all-out war” amid heightened Sino-U.S. tension. Earlier in the day, Yoon met with about 60 industry leaders, lawmakers and ministers to discuss how to maintain South Korea’s lead in memory chips,…

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