The French parliament has backed plans to give consumers more choice over music downloads from the internet.
MPs backed a draft law to force Apple, Sony and Microsoft to share their proprietary copy-protection systems by 296 to 193 votes.
The aim is to ensure that digital music can be played on any player, regardless of its format or source
Occidental Petroleum is offering the Ecuador government up to $1bn (£569m) in disputed taxes, investments and extra revenues to end a legal dispute.
The row centres on whether the US firm transferred part of an Ecuadorean field to Canada’s EnCana in 2000 without approval from the Ecuador authorities.
Occidental proposes giving Ecuador at least $600m in extra revenues from the disputed area, but denies wrongdoing
One of Livedoor’s main investors is to sue the scandal-hit Japanese firm for compensation, saying it bought its stake under false pretences.
Broadcaster Fuji Television Network said it acquired the 12.5% stake on the basis of false financial information
In an interim report into allegations that first surfaced in 2004, Ofwat found incorrect income data and intentionally miscalculated debt figures would have had customers paying £42 ($75m) million more than justified by 2010.
Severn Trent overcharged its customers a total of £14m ($25m) over the 2004-7 period, according to the water company’s own statement.
The company has agreed to reduce price limits and return £42m to its 3
A US court has heard how pharmaceutical giant Merck knowingly concealed the risks of its arthritis drug Vioxx.
The allegation was made by a lawyer for Thomas Cona, 59, who blames his heart attack on the once popular treatment.
Being heard before a New Jersey judge, it is the latest of thousands of Vioxx cases due to go to court
A Nigerian court has ordered oil giant Shell’s local operation to pay $1.5bn to the Ijaw people of the Delta region.
The Ijaw have been fighting since 2000 for compensation for environmental degradation in the oil-rich region
Google has denied accusations that its new Chinese-language search engine is operating without a licence.
It follows a report in the Beijing News that Google did not have the correct paperwork for its China site.
The web giant has rejected the allegation, saying it was operating under the licence of its business partner, Ganji
The US mining giant Newmont has agreed to pay Indonesia $30m in an out-of-court settlement over alleged pollution in North Sulawesi.
The money will be paid over 10 years to fund environmental monitoring and community development.
The Indonesian government will drop a civil case against Newmont, but a criminal trial of a top local executive will continue
A leading US digital rights campaign group has warned against using Google software which lets people organise and find information on their computers.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation said the latest version of Google Desktop posed a risk to privacy.
This is because a feature in the software lets Google keep personal data on its servers for up to 30 days
A former CIA official has accused the Bush administration of “cherry-picking” its intelligence on Iraq before the 2003 invasion.
Paul Pillar writes in the Foreign Affairs journal that the White House used the intelligence to justify a decision it had already reached.
Mr Pillar was the national intelligence officer for the Near East and South Asia from 2000 to 2005