Bloomberg African banks are sinking deeper into trouble. Drowning in bad debt and swamped by slowing economies, more and more of the continent’s lenders are starting to fail. The collapse of a Ugandan bank, said to be an acquisition target of Bob Diamond’s Atlas Mara Ltd., is adding to woes stalking the industry from Mozambique to Nigeria. High interest ...

  San Francisco / AFP Cyber attacks pounded the underpinnings of the internet, crippling Twitter, Netflix and other major websites with the help of once-dumb devices made smart with online connections. Waves of attacks incapacitated a crucial piece of internet infrastructure, hampering or outright blocking access to popular online venues. “When I see something like this, I have to think ...

  San Francisco / AFP Facebook said that it will begin allowing more graphic or potentially disturbing newsworthy posts to be shared at the leading online social network. “We’re going to begin allowing more items that people find newsworthy, significant, or important to public interest — even if they might otherwise violate our standards,” Facebook vice presidents Joel Kaplan and ...

  Seoul / AFP The Apple iPhone 7 has gone on sale in South Korea, seeking to fill a void left by arch-rival Samsung on its home turf following a damaging recall fiasco over the Note 7 smartphone. The South Korean electronics giant discontinued the Note 7 — one of its key iPhone challengers — on October 11 following reports ...

  New York / AFP It’s not exactly a store, but the Google “showroom” that opened in New York is the internet giant’s first real-world shop and a step onto terrain where rival Apple has excelled. The success of the temporary storefront Google opened in the trendy Soho neighborhood could help the California-based company decide whether to follow Apple’s lead ...

  Bloomberg In a darkened master bedroom, David Kaiserman stood in shirtsleeves next to a turned-down king bed. “Good morning, Siri,” he said to the iPad in his hand, and the lights went on while the blackout shades retracted. “Your home is ready to rise and shine,” the virtual assistant replied. Inside this four-bedroom stucco house in Alameda, California, Kaiserman, ...

  Tokyo / AFP Tokyo may be the style capital of Asia, but with South Korea and China snapping at its heels and Japan’s most iconic brands rooted in Europe, the city is being urged to haul its fashion week into the big leagues. Tokyo Fashion Week kicked off its spring/summer 2017 season showcase with six days of events intended ...

  Relaxnews After signing up the American ‘it girl’ for previous seasons, the Guess label has once again picked Hailey Baldwin as the star of its campaigns, this time for Guess Jeans and Guess Holiday. Here’s a look at the rise to fame of this “celebrity daughter,” who, despite proving popular on social media, still has everything to prove in ...

  Tokyo / AFP Okinawa, the Japanese archipelago home to thousands of US troops and popular with scuba divers, is looking beyond its beach resorts and World War II battle sites to bag a spot in high fashion. A two and a half hour flight from Tokyo and closer to Taiwan, Okinawa couldn’t be more different from the Japanese capital, ...

  Tokyo / AFP French label Koche made its Japan Fashion Week debut recently, transforming part of Tokyo’s famed Harajuku district into a catwalk — stopping traffic to unveil street cool with a French twist. Paris-based designer Christelle Kocher brought her two-year old fashion house to the heart of Japanese youth culture, taking over a street lined with boutiques, which ...