The rapid spread of mobile phones across Sub-Saharan Africa is transforming the region, but record levels of growth are due to slow sharply, an industry report said this week.

The industry contributed more than $100 billion to the region's economy last year -- equivalent to 5.7 percent of gross domestic product, according to a study released at a conference in Cape Town by the GSMA association which represents mobile operators.

South Korea's Lee family, which controls the formidable Samsung conglomerate, topped an inaugural list of Asia's 50 richest families published Thursday by Forbes Asia magazine.

The family had a net worth of $26.6 billion as of late September, with second- and third-generation members now running more than 50 businesses, the magazine said.

A ping pong playing robot, a flying origami bird and a mirror that some might find a little too honest for comfort were on display at a huge tech show in Japan on Wednesday.

The gadgets are all part of this year's Cutting-edge IT & Electronics Comprehensive Exhibition (CEATEC), Asia's largest electronics fair, outside Tokyo.

America's most-wanted whistleblower Edward Snowden on Tuesday hailed the EU's top court's decision to strike down a transatlantic data deal used by companies like Facebook to send citizens' personal data to the U.S.

Europe's Court of Justice on Tuesday found that the "Safe Harbor" agreement which the United States and European Commission reached in 2000 did not sufficiently guarantee the protection of Europeans' personal data.

The EU's top court on Tuesday ruled that a key transatlantic data deal relied on by companies such as Facebook was invalid in the light of spying revelations in the Edward Snowden scandal.

"The Court of Justice declares that the (European) Commission’s U.S. Safe Harbour Decision is invalid," it said in a decision on a case brought against Facebook by Austrian law student Max Schrems.

European satellite operator Eutelsat Communications and social media giant Facebook said Monday they are working jointly to deliver satellite broadband Internet to connectivity-hungry sub-Saharan Africa.

The firms revealed they have reached a multi-year agreement with satellite communication firm Spacecom to use the entire broadband payload of the AMOS-6 satellite due to come on stream in the second half of next year and provide coverage for large swathes of sub-Saharan Africa, after identifying "pent-up demand for connectivity".

Creators of an app that will let people assign ratings to those they know vowed to launch as planned next month as planned despite online outrage at the idea.

Peeple has been likened by critics and supporters alike as a Yelp-style review service at which people are rated, without their consent, the same way a person might give a grade to a restaurant or an airline.

Germany's wind power generation by September surpassed last year's total, thanks to favorable weather conditions and an expansion of wind farms, industry bodies said Thursday.

The cumulative total production from land-based and offshore wind farms so far this year was 59 billion kilowatt hours, topping the 57.4 billion kWh for all of 2014.

Ride-sharing giant Uber launched a petition that had more than 116,000 signatures by Thursday against proposed regulation in London that would force drivers to pass English language and map reading tests.

"We understand that black cab drivers are feeling the pressure from services like Uber," the company's British branch said on its website.

Technology titans Microsoft and Google on Wednesday announced that they have agreed to end all patent infringement litigation against each other.

Legal battles between the companies included suits over technology for Internet-linked mobile devices, WiFi and digital video.