Yahoo settles dissidents suit

Internet giant Yahoo has settled a lawsuit brought by the families of Chinese dissidents who claimed their relatives were jailed after the company cooperated with Chinese authorities, according to court documents.

CNN reports that notification of the settlement was filed yesterday in the US District Court in the Northern District of California.

An attorney involved in the case, who did not want to be identified, told CNN the amount of the settlement was not disclosed.

Apple`s shares rose more than they had in over a year after China Mobile, the world`s biggest wireless operator, said it was in talks to sell the iPhone, says The New York Times.

Rebounding after three days of declines, Apple shares advanced as much as 11%, the most since July 2006. An agreement would give Apple access to a market with 523 million subscribers, more than the combined population of the European Union.

Apple added $16.20 to close at $169.96 in Nasdaq trading.

A man who claims Microsoft improperly allowed his underage son to use his debit card to subscribe to the company`s Xbox Live gaming service and automatically renewed the subscription without authorisation, is suing the software maker for consumer fraud, states InfromationWeek.

In a class action suit, Georgia resident Francisco Garcia claims that in October 1995 his son, Silvario, used his debit card to buy a $49.99, one-year subscription to Xbox Live. The service lets Xbox owners play games like Halo 3 against each other over the Internet.

A year later, Garcia claims, Microsoft automatically billed him for an additional year of Xbox Live without his knowledge or consent. He contends the charge sent his cheque account into overdraft, and that his bank slapped him with a $35 penalty.

Yahoo will provide mobile search services to nine more cellphone operators in Asia, the online portal said yesterday, reports BusinessWeek.

The new partnerships include mobile operators in India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore. The company already has seven partnerships in the region, including in South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines.

The latest deals bring Yahoo`s total worldwide distribution partnerships to 20 mobile operators in 19 countries. Financial terms were not disclosed.