China’s Huawei’s Handset Business Making a Comeback, Executive Says

 People visit a Huawei booth during the World Semiconductor Congress in Nanjing in China's eastern Jiangsu province on July 19, 2023. (AFP)
People visit a Huawei booth during the World Semiconductor Congress in Nanjing in China's eastern Jiangsu province on July 19, 2023. (AFP)
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China’s Huawei’s Handset Business Making a Comeback, Executive Says

 People visit a Huawei booth during the World Semiconductor Congress in Nanjing in China's eastern Jiangsu province on July 19, 2023. (AFP)
People visit a Huawei booth during the World Semiconductor Congress in Nanjing in China's eastern Jiangsu province on July 19, 2023. (AFP)

Huawei Technologies' handset business is "on the road to a comeback" the head of the company's consumer business Richard Yu said in his keynote at the company's annual developer conference in the southern city of Dongguan on Friday.

Huawei's share of the domestic smartphone market share grew by 76.1% in the second quarter, and took second spot in the high-end sector, Yu said.

The company held 11.3% of the overall China market in the second quarter, behind five competitors led by Vivo and Apple, according to Counterpoint Research.

Counterpoint attributed Huawei's growth to the resumption of normal product launches after resolving shortages.

Several rounds of US restrictions on US-made technology limited Huawei to producing last-generation 4G handsets, causing its once sizeable handset market share to plummet both at home and abroad.

The US and European governments have labelled Huawei a security risk, a charge the company denies.

Yu said Huawei's in-house Harmony operating system has "overcome many challenges" in the last four years, noting there were now 2.2 million developers for the system.

Last month research firms told Reuters they expect Huawei to return to making 5G smartphones by the end of the year by procuring chips domestically, in spite of the US restrictions.

Huawei declined to comment.



Albania Bans TikTok for a Year after Killing of Teenager

A view of the TikTok app logo, in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP)
A view of the TikTok app logo, in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP)
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Albania Bans TikTok for a Year after Killing of Teenager

A view of the TikTok app logo, in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP)
A view of the TikTok app logo, in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP)

Albania on Saturday announced a one-year ban on TikTok, the popular short video app, following the killing of a teenager last month that raised fears over the influence of social media on children.

The ban, part of a broader plan to make schools safer, will come into effect early next year, Prime Minister Edi Rama said after meeting with parents' groups and teachers from across the country.

"For one year, we'll be completely shutting it down for everyone. There will be no TikTok in Albania," Rama said.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours.

Several European countries including France, Germany and Belgium have enforced restrictions on social media use for children. In one of the world's toughest regulations targeting Big Tech, Australia approved in November a complete social media ban for children under 16.

Rama has blamed social media, and TikTok in particular, for fueling violence among youth in and outside school.

His government's decision comes after a 14-year-old schoolboy was stabbed to death in November by a fellow pupil. Local media had reported that the incident followed arguments between the two boys on social media. Videos had also emerged on TikTok of minors supporting the killing.

"The problem today is not our children, the problem today is us, the problem today is our society, the problem today is TikTok and all the others that are taking our children hostage," Rama said.