A federal judge on Monday agreed to put on hold the Justice Department’s challenge to the proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile USA.

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Judge Grants Delay in Challenge to AT&T Merger

Downing Street says none of the proposed changes being discussed to the future shape of the European Union would trigger a referendum in the UK.

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No 10 rejects EU referendum talk

Wal-Mart’s new plans for a store at the long-neglected Skyland Town Center in Ward 7 has a major obstacle: Safeway. The supermarket, which is across the street from the proposed Wal-Mart site, has a covenant from the 1990s that prevents a competitor — such as the world’s largest retailer — from locating in certain portions of Skyland and selling groceries. Read full article > >

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Wal-Mart proposed at D.C.’s Skyland center faces obstacle: Safeway

AT&T and T-Mobile on Thursday moved closer to abandoning their proposed $39 billion merger, saying they have withdrawn their application from the Federal Communications Commission. The decision followed an announcement this week by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski that he was moving to block the deal, setting up a major regulatory hurdle that all but ended the chances for a wireless mega-merger in the near term. Read full article > >

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AT&T and T-Mobile pull FCC merger application, shift focus to Justice Dept. case

BRUSSELS — The European Commission approved Friday the proposed $8.5 billion acquisition of the Internet phone and video communication provider Skype by Microsoft Corp., saying the deal would not significantly impede competition in Europe. The approval appears to be the final step in the technology company’s effort to acquire Skype. The European Commission is the EU’s executive branch. Read full article > >

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European Union approves Microsoft’s $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype

NEW DELHI — The anti-corruption protesters who have transfixed India in recent days call their campaign a celebration of democracy. But others say their tactics run a real risk of damaging the country’s democratic institutions. Using 74-year-old Anna Hazare ’s 10-day-long fast as leverage, the activists have set Aug. 30 as a deadline for the government to bypass parliamentary procedures and begin debate on strong legislation setting up an anti-graft watchdog. On Thursday, in a bid to assuage the protesters’ growing anger, the government offered for the first time to have Parliament debate all versions of the proposed new law. But activists said Hazare will not end his hunger strike until lawmakers actually reach consensus on the issues in dispute. Read full article > >

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In India, protests spark debate on democracy

NEW DELHI — The anti-corruption protesters who have transfixed India in recent days call their campaign a celebration of democracy. But others say their tactics run a real risk of damaging the country’s democratic institutions. Using 74-year-old Anna Hazare ’s 10-day-long fast as leverage, the activists have set Aug. 30 as a deadline for the government to bypass parliamentary procedures and begin debate on strong legislation setting up an anti-graft watchdog. On Thursday, in a bid to assuage the protesters’ growing anger, the government offered for the first time to have Parliament debate all versions of the proposed new law. But activists said Hazare will not end his hunger strike until lawmakers actually reach consensus on the issues in dispute. Read full article > >

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In India, protests spark debate on democracy

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — The U.S. Supreme Court blocked the first scheduled execution of a Texas death row inmate using a new drug cocktail on Tuesday, although the proposed lethal mix was not mentioned in the court’s decision to reconsider the merits of the condemned man’s appeal.

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Condemned Texas prisoner set to die Tuesday evening with different drug gets reprieve

Deutsche Telekom investors celebrated the proposed T-Mobile sale, a deal that allow the giant to shed a subsidiary that has caused it so much difficulty.

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DealBook: T-Mobile Sale May Close Tough Chapter for Deutsche Telekom

Britain said Thursday that it intended to accept the proposed takeover of the pay-TV company BSkyB by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

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DealBook: Minister Backs News Corp. on BSkyB Deal

The government is to begin consulting the public on the proposed £17bn high-speed rail line from London to Birmingham.

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Views sought on high-speed rail

Clickable map showing the proposed HS2 rail line route

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Planned route

Plans to include non-words in the proposed reading test for six-year-olds in England are criticised by literacy experts.

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Reading test to include non-words

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will issue his proposed spending plan for New York on Thursday, and it comes as he fights with Albany over cuts to city programs.

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Bloomberg’s Budget to Include Teacher Layoffs

President Obama submitted a budget blueprint for fiscal 2012 on Monday full of surgical cuts and cautious trade-offs to lawmakers clamoring for bold action to reduce government spending and control a budget deficit expected to rise to a record $1.6 trillion this year.

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Obama’s proposed budget for fiscal 2012 focuses on education, energy, research