Twitter has the potential to vastly improve as a tool for real-time news and information, according to co-founder and current board member Evan Williams.

Williams said news has been a core mission for the messaging platform for several years, but that it can do better in helping people find relevant stories.

Dutch company ASML, which makes computer chip-making systems and is seen as a global hi-tech bellwether, announced an 8.1 percent second quarter dip in net income Wednesday, but noted it was on track for the rest of the year.

The company based in Veldhoven, southern Netherlands, said in a statement net income for the second quarter stood at 370 million euros ($407 million) as opposed to 403 million euros in Q1.

A bitter dispute over the proposed merger of two Samsung affiliates comes to a head Friday with a shareholder vote that could -- whatever the result -- force a shift in corporate governance practice among South Korea's giant, family-run conglomerates.

In a country not known for investor activism, the campaign against the takeover of construction company Samsung C&T by affiliate Cheil Industries has been unusually loud and well organised.

Finnish telecoms equipment maker Nokia said late Monday it was looking at re-entering the mobile phone market by striking a licensing deal with another firm.

"The right path back to mobile phones for Nokia is through a brand-licensing model," the company said in a statement.

South Korean lawmakers say the country's spy agency has acknowledged exploring the purchase of technologies to intercept communication on the popular Kakao Talk smartphone chatting service. But the agency says it only intended to strengthen its monitoring of rival North Korean agents — not South Koreans.

The office of lawmaker Shin Kyung-min said National Intelligence Service chief Lee Byoung Ho told legislators in a closed-door briefing that the agency bought hacking programs from an Italian company in 2012. Lee didn't indicate whether that included technology for hacking Kakao.

Google-owned YouTube is seeing "accelerating" growth despite competition from Facebook and others in video, YouTube chief executive Susan Wojcicki said Monday.

Wojcicki said she is pleased with the growth in people watching videos on the service, and that YouTube still stands apart even though Facebook claims to have more video views.

Jet.com, a well-funded U.S. startup which aims to shake up online retailing with new ways to cut prices, is set for launch next week, its chief executive said.

Marc Lore told the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference Monday the new online site will have at least 10 million products in a variety of categories, but dismissed the notion that it is taking on colossus Amazon.

Microsoft will launch Windows 10 on July 29.

The upgraded operating system will allow users to switch seamlessly between personal computers, tablets, smartphones and other gadgets. Windows 10 is intended to give apps a similar feel on all devices and comes with a new Web browser integrated with Cortana, the company's voice-activated answer to Apple's Siri.

Imagine working out a divorce without hiring an attorney or stepping into court. A Silicon Valley company is starting to make such a possibility a reality with software that experts say represents the next wave of technology in which the law is turned into computer code that can solve legal battles without the need for a judge or attorney.

"We're not quite at the Google car stage in law, but there are no conceptual or technical barriers to what we're talking about," said Oliver Goodenough, director of the Center for Legal Innovation at Vermont Law School, referring to Google's self-driving car.

I'm Japanese and so I'm a sucker for cute things, like manga, quirky figurines and mascot characters. And Pepper, the new companion robot from Tokyo-based technology company Softbank Corp., delivers cuteness like you've never seen.

What's striking is the absolutely ardent attention it gives you — frankly a lot better than some real-life people.