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Google Says China Blocking its Email Services

Google said Monday the Chinese government is interfering with its email services in China, making it difficult for users to gain access to its Gmail program, amid an intensified Internet crackdown following widespread unrest in the Middle East.

Google Inc. said its engineers have determined there are no technical problems with the email service or its main website.

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AT&T to Buy T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion

AT&T Inc. said Sunday it will buy T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom AG in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $39 billion that would make it the largest cellphone company in the U.S.

The deal would reduce the number of wireless carriers with national coverage from four to three, and is sure to face close regulatory scrutiny. It also removes a potential partner for Sprint Nextel Corp., the struggling No. 3 carrier, which had been in talks to combine with T-Mobile USA, according to Wall Street Journal reports.

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1 Killed, 100 Injured as Police Fire on Thousands of Protestors in Syria’s Daraa

One person was killed and more than 100 people were wounded as Syrian security forces fired live bullets and tear gas at thousands of demonstrators in the town of Daraa on Sunday, a human rights activist at the scene said.

"The security forces backed by police fired live rounds at the demonstrators, numbering more than 10,000," the witness told Agence France Presse by telephone. "They are also firing tear gas mixed with toxic products."

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Former U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher Dies

Warren M. Christopher, the attorney turned envoy who tirelessly traveled to Bosnia and the Middle East on peace missions during his 1993-96 tenure as secretary of state in the Clinton administration, has died at age 85.

Late Friday, Christopher died at his home in Los Angeles of complications from bladder and kidney cancer, said Sonja Steptoe of the law firm O'Melveny & Myers, where Christopher was a senior partner

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Japan Cites Radiation in Milk, Spinach Near Nuclear Plant

Japan announced the first signs that contamination from its tsunami-crippled nuclear complex has seeped into the food chain, saying that radiation levels in spinach and milk from farms near the facility exceeded government safety limits.

Japanese officials insisted that the small amounts of radiation — with traces also found in tap water in Tokyo — posed no immediate health threat, and said the situation at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, while still unpredictable, appeared to be coming under control after near-constant dousing of water to prevent spent fuel rods from burning up.

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Japan Cites Radiation in Milk, Spinach Near Plant

Japan said radiation levels in spinach and milk from farms near its tsunami-crippled nuclear complex exceeded government safety limits, as emergency teams scrambled Saturday to restore power to the plant so it could cool dangerously overheated fuel.

Firefighters also pumped tons of water directly from the ocean into one of the most troubled areas of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex, the cooling pool for used fuel rods at the plant's Unit 3, which are at risk of burning up and sending a broad release of radioactive material into the environment.

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Domain '.xxx' Approved for Web Porn Sites

You've heard of ".com" and ".org." Joining them soon will be their bawdy cousin: ".xxx."

On Friday, the board of directors of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which oversees the Internet's naming system, approved the creation of a red-light district online for pornographic websites. It follows a decade-long battle over such a name.

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Saudi King Abdullah Vows New Reforms

Saudi Arabia's king promised a multibillion dollar package of reforms, raises, cash, loans and apartments on Friday in what appeared to be the Arab world's most expensive attempt to appease residents inspired by the unrest that has swept two leaders from power.

He also announced 60,000 new jobs in the security forces — a move that would employ huge numbers of otherwise jobless young men, while bolstering his kingdom's ability to snuff out protests.

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Batman's 'Butler' Michael Gough Dies At 94

Michael Gough, the British actor best known for playing Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred in a series of Batman movies, has died at age 94.

Gough appeared in more than 150 movies and television shows, including British science-fiction show "Doctor Who." He died of old age at home in England on Thursday, surrounded by family, his ex-wife Anneke Wills said through her agent.

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Oil Heads to $103 as UN Authorizes Libya Strikes

Oil prices rose to near $103 a barrel Friday in Asia as traders worried the United Nations' authorization of military strikes against forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi could prolong the conflict and threaten oil exports.

Benchmark crude for April delivery was up $1.53 at $102.95 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added $3.44 to settle at $101.42 on Thursday.

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