Tech News

Arctic Sweden in race for Europe's satellite launches

As the mercury drops to minus 20 Celsius, a research rocket lifts off from one of the world's northernmost space centres, its burner aglow in the twilight of Sweden's snowy Arctic forests.. More than 600 suborbital rockets have already been launched from this remote corner of Sweden's far north, including the Suborbital Express 3 whose late November launch AFP witnessed as the temperature stood at -20 degrees Celsius, or minus four degrees Fahrenheit. 

Wed, Dec 7, 2022 4 mins read

Tech News

Asian markets mixed as recession fears dampen China optimism

Asian markets were mixed Thursday as sentiment was pulled in opposite directions by worries about a US recession and China's shift away from strict Covid restrictions.. The fear of a US recession is playing off against China's shift away from its zero-Covid strategy of lockdowns and mass testing that has been blamed for clattering the world's number two economy.

Wed, Dec 7, 2022 3 mins read

Tech News

Grape expectations: India's biggest winemaker seeks millions

India's largest winemaker Sula Vineyards is heading to the stock market, betting on the diversifying tastebuds of a booming urban middle class in a country that has long favoured strong liquor.. On average, Indians each drink only a few spoonfuls of wine a year, but producers hope the country will replicate the wine boom in China when its economy took off in the 1980s.

Wed, Dec 7, 2022 4 mins read

Tech News

Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani gets prison time for Theranos fraud

A judge on Thursday sentenced a top aide and ex-boyfriend of fallen Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes to prison for duping people into trusting the failed blood testing startup.. Fallen US biotech star Holmes, whose fraud trial was separate from that of Balwani, has asked an appeals court to overturn her conviction and a resulting sentence of more than 11 years in prison.

Wed, Dec 7, 2022 2 mins read

Tech News

TikTok hit by US lawsuits over child safety, security fears

TikTok was hit Wednesday with a pair of lawsuits from the US state of Indiana, which accused it of making false claims about the Chinese-owned app's safety for children.. The spectacular success of TikTok has seen rival sites such as Meta-owned Instagram or Snapchat struggle to keep up, with once soaring ad revenues taking a hit.

Wed, Dec 7, 2022 1 mins read

Tech News

Amazon sued in US for 'stealing' delivery driver tips

The District of Columbia on Wednesday said it is suing Amazon for allegedly stealing tips from its Flex service delivery drivers to reduce labor costs and boost profits.. The suit aimed at Amazon.com and Amazon Logistics contends that from late 2016 to mid-2019 the e-commerce colossus tricked consumers into thinking tip money was going to Flex service drivers when it was actually being used to reduce operating costs.

Wed, Dec 7, 2022 1 mins read

Tech News

Apple beefs up iCloud data defense against snooping

Apple on Wednesday said it is beefing up defense of data that users store in the cloud, a move that could thwart authorities as well as hackers.. Civil rights and privacy advocates, along with cybersecurity professionals, however, advocate encrypting data to protect against wrongful snooping by authorities as well as hackers.

Wed, Dec 7, 2022 1 mins read

Tech News

Elon Musk briefly loses top spot on Forbes billionaire list

Tesla-owner Elon Musk briefly lost the top spot on Forbes' billionaire list on Wednesday to Bernard Arnault, whose family owns the world's leading luxury group, LVMH. With US tech stocks sliding as interest rates and recession fears rise, Musk's fortune briefly fell below that of the Arnault family. . Arnault had also topped the Forbes list for several hours in 2021.

Wed, Dec 7, 2022 0 mins read

Tech News

No convictions sought in French court over 2009 Rio-Paris crash

French prosecutors said Wednesday it was "impossible" to convict Air France and plane maker Airbus over the 2009 crash of a Rio-Paris flight, enraging victims' families after an eight-week trial.. "We know that this view will most likely be difficult to hear for the civil plaintiffs, but we are not in a position to demand the conviction of Air France and Airbus," he added.

Wed, Dec 7, 2022 3 mins read

Tech News

Meta sees itself as dwarfed by 'Giant Tech' Apple

Facebook parent Meta may be in the Big Tech club but it sees itself as being dwarfed by "Giant Tech" company -- and corporate foe -- Apple, a top executive, Nick Clegg, said Wednesday.. "There's Big Tech and there's Giant Tech," Clegg told an audience in Brussels, where Meta was courting policymakers with its latest virtual-reality (VR) gear.

Wed, Dec 7, 2022 2 mins read