LONDON – Microsoft is to cut up to 18,000 jobs marking the deepest cuts in the technology firm’s 39-year history. The bulk of the cuts, around 12,500, will be in its phone unit Nokia, which Microsoft bought in April, the firm said. Microsoft pledged to cut $600m (£350.8m) per year in costs within 18 months…
GENEVA – There is a chance the Aids epidemic can brought under control by 2030, according to a report by the United Nations Aids agency. It said the number of new HIV infections and deaths from Aids were both falling. However, it called for far more international effort as the “current pace cannot end the…
MELBOURNE – Survivors of one of the worst bushfires in Australia have won a payout of almost A$500m ($470m), in the country’s largest class action settlement. Some 10,000 plaintiffs sued a power company for negligence over the fire. The case centred on the most deadly blaze on Black Saturday, on 7 February 2009, when wildfires swept…
LONDON – Sportswear giant Adidas has signed a £750m deal to make Manchester United’s kit for 10 years from next season. It comes after US rivals Nike decided to end their association at the end of the coming 2014-15 season. Nike have been paying United £23.5m a year, and the new deal is worth a…
PRAGUE – Thousands of pictures including “naked selfies” have been extracted from factory-wiped phones by a Czech Republic-based security firm. The firm, called Avast, used publicly available forensic security tools to extract the images from second-hand phones bought on eBay. Other data extracted included emails, text messages and Google searches. Experts have warned that the…
GENEVA – The World Health Organization (WHO) is urging all sexually active gay men to take antiretroviral drugs to reduce the spread of HIV. The organisation says the move may help prevent a million new HIV infections over 10 years. Officials warn rates of HIV in this group remain high across the globe. But activists…
MONTEVIDEO – Uruguayan President Jose Mujica has said the start of legal cannabis sales will be delayed until next year due to “practical difficulties”. Sales in state-owned pharmacies were due to begin as early as November. But in an interview with the AFP news agency, Mr Mujica said government-produced marijuana could end up in the…
MOSCOW – US whistleblower Edward Snowden has officially asked to extend his stay in Russia after his visa expires, his lawyer has told the BBC. Anatoly Kucherena confirmed that paperwork has been submitted to Russia’s Federal Migration Service. The current document granting him temporary asylum expires on 31 July. Mr Snowden fled the US in…
RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian police have arrested the chief executive of a Fifa partner company as part of investigations into the illegal sale of World Cup tickets. Ray Whelan from Match Hospitality was held at the Rio de Janeiro hotel where officials from the world’s football governing body were also staying. He was freed…
EL SALVADOR – A 6.9-magnitude earthquake has struck southern Mexico and Guatemala. Guatemalan firefighters said they had received reports of two people being killed in the region of San Marcos, on the border with Mexico. Dozens of homes are also said to have been damaged in San Marcos. The quake’s epicentre was near the city…
