SYDNEY, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Google agreed on Monday to pay a A$55 million ($35.8 million) fine in Australia after the consumer watchdog found it had hurt competition by paying the country's two largest telcos to pre-install its search application on Android phones, excluding rival search engines. The fine extends a bumpy period for the Alphabet-owned internet giant in Australia,...

SINGAPORE, July 26 (Reuters) - Thai oil and gas giant PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) has acquired full ownership of Block A-18 in the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area (MTJDA) in a $450 million transaction with Chevron ( CVX ) units. PTTEP said in a statement late on Friday it signed the deal with Hess (Bahamas) and Hess Asia Holdings, both...

SAN DIEGO, July 25 (Reuters) - Comic fans are embracing the latest showdown between Marvel and DC as their superhero films Fantastic Four and Superman compete for box office dominance, reigniting a rivalry spanning over eight decades. Whether it's the thrill of seeing the comic book superhero The Thing shout It's clobbering time! before throwing a punch or watching Superman...

BRUSSELS, July 26 (Reuters) - Qatar has threatened to cut gas supplies to the European Union in response to the bloc's due diligence law on forced labour and environmental damage, a letter from Qatar to the Belgian government, seen by Reuters, showed. Qatar is the world's third-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), after the United States and Australia. It...