Turkey will seek a discount in the price of gas it is buying from Russia during planned talks next week, when the deputy head of state-controlled Gazprom will visit Ankara, Turkey?s energy minister said on Friday. ?The contract we have with Russia gives us the right for a price revision. We will convey our demands about this to the Russian and Gazprom officials,? Taner Yildiz told reporters. Turkey is dependent on imports for almost all of its energy needs and Russia is its biggest natural gas supplier.
Hotel magnate pleads guilty to campaign contribution
Prominent New York hotel executive Sant Singh Chatwal pleaded guilty on Thursday to conspiring to make $188,000 of illegal campaign contributions to three US candidates via straw donors. Chatwal, chairman of Hampshire Hotels Management, pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, to criminal charges of conspiring to violate the Federal Election Campaign Act and witness tampering. The identities of the candidates were not disclosed except that they ran for federal office.
Top Hollande aide Morelle resigns after accusation
A top adviser to President Francois Hollande stepped down on Friday following media accusations of a past conflict of interest between a previous role working for the state and work for the drugs industry, a source at Hollande?s office said. ?Mr Aquilino Morelle has offered his resignation to the president of the republic,? the source said, referring to the adviser, who is Holande?s main speechwriter and a senior aide on political strategy. Morelle had denied accusations by investigative website Mediapart that he failed to obtain clearance for lobbying work when he was an employee of the public health inspectorate.
Apartheid cases against Ford, IBM to go ahead
A federal judge in New York has given new life to lawsuits that seek to hold IBM and Ford liable for apartheid abuses carried out by South Africa?s government. Judge Shira Scheindlin in Manhattan declined to toss out three decade-old lawsuits brought against the IBM and the Ford Motor that accuse them of supporting apartheid by letting their subsidiaries sell computers and cars to the South African government.
Vietnam pulls out of hosting Asian Games
Vietnam has withdrawn as the host of the 2019 Asian Games, saying it lacked funds and the country?s reputation could be at risk if things don?t go smoothly. In a statement late on Thursday, the government said hosting the event in Hanoi was unjustifiably expensive. ?Hosting this could help us promote the country?s image and position. However, if the hosting is not properly and successfully prepared, it will have the opposite effect,? the statement said.
Major record labels sue Pandora over older songs
Major record labels are suing internet radio giant Pandora for copyright infringement for using songs recorded before 1972 without paying licence fees. The labels, including divisions of Sony, Warner and Universal, argue that songs such as Aretha Franklin?s Respect and The Beatles? Hey Jude are not covered by federal copyright law, but they have been protected in common law by states including New York.
Microsoft?s Xbox One sales cross 5 million
Microsoft has sold over 5 million Xbox One video game consoles to retailers since its launch in November, the company said on Thursday. In January, the US software company said Xbox One sales had crossed three million as of the end of 2013. The console went on sale on November 22 in 13 countries, including the US, UK and Australia, a week before rival Sony?s PlayStation 4 was released.
Nobel laureate Garcia Marquez dies at 87
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Nobel-winning Colombian author whose ?magical realism? told epic stories of love, family and dictatorship in Latin America, died on Thursday at age 87. Known affectionately as ?Gabo?, the author of One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera was one of the world?s most popular Latin American writers and godfather of a literary movement that witnessed a continent in turmoil.