7 July 2014 Last updated at 07:55
Amazon is delaying deliveries in Germany in a bid to raise its share of e-book earnings. A number of the country's biggest publishers say the strategy amounts to blackmail and are refusing to cave in. But their refusal to compromise could cost them their future.
Amazon's adversary in the conflict is the Swedish Bonnier Group. The Swedish media conglomerate's Germany imprints include famous names in the country's publishing industry like Piper, Carlsen and Ullstein. Whenever Amazon sells a Bonnier e-book, it collects 30 percent of the retail price. But now Amazon wants its share hiked to 50 percent. So far, Bonnier is refusing to budge. "Amazon is undermining our ability to survive," says Christian Schumacher-Gebler, CEO for Bonnier Media Deutschland.
Israeli air strikes on Gaza kill nine Palestinian militants
Nine Palestinian militants have been killed in Israeli air raids on Gaza following rocket attacks on Israel.
The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas says six of its fighters died in a single strike near Rafah in the south.
Three others died in separate Israeli air strikes in response to rocket and mortar fire on Israel.
Tensions in the region are high following the murder of Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdair.
On Sunday police said they had arrested six Jewish suspects, adding that Mohammed Abu Khdair was apparently "murdered because of his nationality". Details have not been divulged because the case is subject to a gagging order.
Mohammed Abu Khdair's killing followed the murder of three Israeli teenagers in the occupied West Bank, whose bodies were found a week ago.
Price Wars: Amazon Battles Traditional German Publishers
Amazon is delaying deliveries in Germany in a bid to raise its share of e-book earnings. A number of the country's biggest publishers say the strategy amounts to blackmail and are refusing to cave in. But their refusal to compromise could cost them their future.
"A place in the sun. Real friends. Pleasant surprises" reads the slogan gracing the facade of Amazon's headquarters in Schwabing, a district in Munich. Perfectly set off against a matt surface, the silver lettering does indeed shimmer in the July sun. "Fertile ideas. No nonsense." Given the conflict raging this summer between the company and the German book industry, the words reaching across two storeys of the building could be construed as somewhat mocking.
Egypt's President wishes Peter Greste, al-Jazeera reporters had not been tried
July 7, 2014 - 10:11AM
Cairo: Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi says he wishes three al-Jazeera journalists, including Australian Peter Greste, had not been put on trial, conceding the case has been damaging.
The journalists - Greste, Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed - were sentenced to between seven and 10 years in jail for allegedly defaming Egypt and aiding banned Islamists, in a ruling that sparked a global outcry and demands for a presidential pardon.
The June 23 sentencing had had a "very negative effect", Mr Sisi conceded to Egyptian journalists during a roundtable on Sunday, according to the mass circulation daily Al-Masry Al-Youm.Close to 50 dead as Ugandan troops fight 'tribal gunmen'
Ugandan troops have killed 41 attackers in a battle with "tribal gunmen" in a western district near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It was not immediately clear what sparked the violence but the region has been hit by recent communal violence between Christians and Muslims and is also an area where an Islamist rebel group is known to operate.
“There was an attack by tribal gunmen on our barracks in Bundibugyo and we repulsed them, killing, so far, 41 of the attackers. The operation is ongoing,” Uganda’s army spokesperson, Paddy Ankunda, said.
“It is an ugly situation but we have brought the situation under control,” he added, saying three soldiers and three family members were also killed in the violence, during which the attackers also stole 12 guns and grenade launchers from the army.
Australia returns asylum seekers to Sri Lanka |
UN says boatload of refugees, including ethnic Tamils, could face persecution once returned to their home country.
Last updated: 07 Jul 2014 06:40
|
Australia has confirmed it handed over a boatload of asylum seekers to Sri Lankan authorities in a transfer at sea, drawing outrage from rights groups who fear those on board could face persecution when they go home.
The 41 Sri Lankans were intercepted by Australia's border patrol off the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean in late June, immigration minister, Scott Morrison, said in a statement on Monday.
This is the first time Prime Minister Tony Abbott's government has confirmed it screened asylum seekers at sea and returned them directly to their home country.
On Sunday, the asylum seekers were handed over to the Sri Lankan government after their refugee claims were assessed at sea and rejected.
Powerful typhoon barreling toward Okinawa
Super typhoon Neoguri was barreling toward Okinawa Monday, packing violent winds and torrential rains as officials warned residents to stay indoors, while the biggest U.S. Air Force base in the Pacific evacuated some of its aircraft.
The storm could be one of the worst in decades, with gusts of up to 270 kilometers per hour expected to slam into the southernmost subtropical island chain early Tuesday, and possibly reaching Kyushu by Wednesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The typhoon was located some 600 kilometers south of Okinawa’s main island at 1p.m. and was moving north northwest at 25 kilometers per hour.
No comments:
Post a Comment