AP National Business

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — Facebook’s ownership of Giphy will hurt competition for animated images, U.K. regulators said Thursday following an investigation. The Competition and Markets Authority said in provisional findings that the acquisition would hurt competition among social media platforms because there’s only one other big provider of GIFs, Google’s

MADRID (AP) — Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar says society must be alert to the power of algorithms deciding what humans are permitted to see. He declared “victory” over Instagram after a controversial poster for his upcoming film was censored then reinstated. The social network has since apologized and backtracked after recognizing the “artistic context” of

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A key medical adviser to Japan’s prime minister says surging infections in the Tokyo area are severely affecting medical systems, and he is urging the government to take stricter measures to drastically reduce people’s activity. The Japanese capital has been reporting record numbers of new infections, with

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland is facing a more difficult relationship with two of its key allies after lawmakers passed two bills which the government had been warned to drop. One deals with foreign ownership of Polish media companies and would force the U.S. owner of Poland’s largest private TV

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Human rights experts working with the United Nations have called on countries to pause the sale and transfer of spyware and other surveillance technology until they set rules governing its use, to ensure it won’t impinge upon human rights. The eight experts spoke out following further Pegasus

By KATHERINE FAN of NerdWallet As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, recent research shows that office-based workers report being happy with the option to work remotely — and employers have also been pleased with the results. Of course, moving to a remote-work business model has its challenges. Meetings, scheduling, data storage, communication and project management are

Associated Press MADRID (AP) — A new law requiring food delivery companies in Spain to hire delivery riders and drivers as employees rather than freelance contractors has gone into effect. Spain’s Trade Union Confederation said the so-called Riders Law that entered into force on Thursday would “put an end to the labor fraud that workers

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Protesters have closed roads in different parts of Lebanon, angry over the central bank’s decision to end subsidies for fuel products. The decision is likely to hike prices of almost all commodities amid a paralyzing economic crisis. The outgoing prime minister described the decision by the central

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Official figures show the British economy grew by 4.8% in the second quarter of 2021 as lockdown restrictions were lifted. The Office for National Statistics also said that the British economy grew by 1% in June alone, the fifth straight month of growth. The lifting of pandemic

BERLIN (AP) — Striking railway workers in Germany are halting much of the country’s train service for a second day. German news agency dpa reported that one-quarter of long-distance trains and about 40 % of regional and local commuter trains were running on Thursday. Members of the railway workers union GDL are staging the work

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Purdue Pharma’s quest to settle thousands of lawsuits over OxyContin’s toll has entered its final phase with the grudging acceptance of most of those who have claims against the company. A confirmation hearing opened in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Thursday for a deal that removes control

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A day before he is released on parole, Samsung scion Lee Jae-yong has appeared in a South Korean court for another trial. It’s a reminder of his looming legal risks even as he leaves prison. Lee is among some 800 prisoners being released before a

By ANNABELLE LIANG Associated Press SINGAPORE (AP) — Asian stock markets are mixed ahead of more regional economic releases that could hint at how the delta variant is affecting growth. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.1% and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 added 0.5% on Friday. Benchmarks in Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai slipped. Japan and Thailand will

BEIJING (AP) — China has dismissed Canada’s protests of harsh sentences Chinese courts handed to Canadians whose cases are seen as linked to the arrest of a top executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei. The Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in Canada accused Ottawa of making unwarranted, groundless accusations that “grossly interfered in China’s

By FELICIA FONSECA Associated Press CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (AP) — The Colorado River has been a go-to source of water for cities, tribes and farmers in the U.S. West for decades. But climate change, drought and increased demand are taking a toll. Next week, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is expected to declare the first-ever

By JOE McDONALD and NG HAN GUAN Associated Press DANDONG, China (AP) — A Chinese court has sentenced a Canadian entrepreneur to 11 years in prison in a spying case that has been linked to Beijing’s pressure campaign against Canada’s government. The sentencing of Michael Spavor Wednesday prompted an unusual joint show of support for

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer DETROIT (AP) — The old saying for auto dealers was always “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.” A changing economy made the task more difficult. Despite the challenges, the top manufacturers still see motorsports as an effective marketing tool for their cars. Most of the top brands participate

GREENVILLE, Calif. (AP) — California’s largest single wildfire in recorded history continued to grow after destroying more than 1,000 buildings, nearly half of them homes, while authorities in Montana ordered evacuations as a wind-driven blaze roared toward several remote communities. The east end of Northern California’s Dixie Fire flared up as winds increased. In southeastern

BOSTON (AP) — Cybercriminals have breached Accenture in an apparent ransomware attack but the global consulting giant says the incident was immediately contained with no impact on it or its systems. The LockBit ransomware gang announced the attack Tuesday night on its dark web leak site. It set a deadline of Thursday evening for payment.