Tech News

Cambodian PM Hun Sen dumps Facebook on eve of poll campaign

Cambodian leader Hun Sen, a prolific Facebook user, vowed on Thursday to quit posting on the popular social media platform, days before he launches a re-election campaign.. Hun Sen, who will kick off his re-election campaign on Saturday, said the Telegram app was "more efficient compared to Facebook".

Better supervision needed after bank failures: US Fed chair

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday that stronger regulation and greater agility was required in supervising the banking sector following a string of high-profile failures earlier this year.. "We need to strengthen both regulation and supervision," Powell told a banking conference in Madrid, referring to the turmoil that hit the banking sector in March. 

Three French airports paralysed as air controllers strike

France's civil air authority said Thursday it had ordered airlines to cancel flights to and from three airports because of a strike by air traffic controllers.. The DGAC air authority had asked Wednesday for half the Beauvais flights to be cancelled, but Thursday called for a complete grounding of planes "given the widespread support for the strike seen at air traffic controller unions in Beauvais, Brest and Carcassonne". 

Hurt felines: Japanese app aims to detect cat pain

Cats are considered lucky in Japan, and owners of the popular pets spend big on their care.. Now the app "has an accuracy level of more than 90 percent", he told AFP. According to the Japan Pet Food Association, 60 percent of owners take their cat to a veterinarian at most once a year.

Environmentalists sue Norway over new oil projects

Two environmental groups said Thursday they were suing the Norwegian state for violating the country's human rights commitments and constitution by planning new oil and gas projects worth nearly $19 billion.. They also claim the state is violating its obligation to take children's best interests into account, which they say is a violation of both Norway's constitution and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Crippled exports slow Vietnam's growth

Vietnam's economic growth slowed in the first half of the year as a slump in demand hit exports, authorities said Thursday.. The country earned more than $164 billion from exports in the first half, down 12 percent on-year. 

Eurozone rescue fund proves headache for Italy PM

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has softened her once strident anti-EU views but the ratification of a reform to the eurozone's bailout fund has left her in a quandary.. Her main coalition partner, Matteo Salvini of the anti-immigration League party, is more overtly critical of the EU and is particularly opposed to the eurozone bailout fund.

French luxury brand tycoon Bernard Arnault in China

French billionaire and luxury brand magnate Bernard Arnault is in China this week, social media posts showed, the latest visit by a foreign executive keen to reconnect to the world's second-largest economy.. The world's second-richest man after Elon Musk and chairman of LVMH group, Arnault was seen in Beijing visiting the upscale SKP mall and the Sanlitun Taikoo Li shopping centre Tuesday, posts widely circulated on Weibo showed.

Sri Lanka offers 30% haircut to bond holders: central bank

Sri Lanka's central bank on Thursday unveiled its domestic debt restructuring plan, envisaging a 30 percent haircut on dollar-denominated bonds, including international sovereign bonds.. The treatment of dollar-denominated Sri Lanka Development Bonds (SLDB) will be "comparable to external creditors", the bank said in a statement.

Most markets rise as traders weigh central bank rate plans

Most markets rose in Asia on Thursday, building on the previous day's advances, even after central bank chiefs warned that interest rates would rise further to counter persistent inflation.. His comments came after European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde said eurozone borrowing costs would continue to rise.