Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Tencent has announced new limits on the amount of time minors can spend playing the company's online games, even as investors worry that China may extend its historic crackdown on the private sector to the gaming industry.
Those fears were stoked Tuesday after Economic Information Daily — a business newspaper owned by Xinhua News Agency, which is China's official news outlet — published a lengthy analysis that used terms such as "opium" and "electronic drug" to describe the harmful effects of gaming on children.
"It turns out 'spiritual opium' has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry," the article read. "Insiders warn: watch out for the harm of online games."
The post, which has now been removed without any explanation, mentioned Tencent's popular video game "Honor of Kings" as one of the games young people are addicted to, and said that "industry insiders should be vigilant of the harmful effects of online games, and that appropriate regulations should be adopted early on."
Tencent's shares fell over 10 per cent in Hong Kong on Tuesday, but recovered some of the losses to finish the day down six per cent.
Tencent said in a statement that its new restrictions will limit the ability for minors to play "Honor of Kings" to an hour on non-holidays and two hours on holidays.
"Minors under the age of 12 (primary school students) are prohibited from in-game spending," the company added.
It also called for an industry-wide discussion on "the feasibility of banning primary school students under the age of 12 from playing games."
In recent years, the Chinese government has sought to reverse what it sees as a growing trend of gaming addiction in young people, however Tencent's restrictions are tighter than the ones Beijing had announced in 2019. According to those rules, gamers aged under 18 are banned from playing online games between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. On weekdays, minors can play for 90 minutes, while they may play up to three hours per day on weekends and holidays.
The attack in state media on the online gaming industry comes just a week after Chinese tech stocks suffered a massive sell-off that wiped out hundreds of billions of dollars in market value.
Tencent alone lost over US$100 billion in market value in a matter of 48 hours as investors worried about China's widening crackdown on the private sector.
As its shares tumbled, the Shenzhen-based company also temporarily suspended new user registrations for its WeChat messaging platform. It said the move was related to an upgrade of its security systems, in accordance with "relevant laws and regulations."
Tencent was also hit by a regulatory order last month to scrap its plan to acquire another music streaming player, China Music Corporation. Regulators cited competition concerns, noting that Tencent has long been leading the market.
In recent months, Chinese tech giants have been caught in an unprecedented crackdown on sectors ranging from ride-hailing to education. Since February, shares of overseas-listed Chinese tech firms have lost a staggering US$1.2 trillion in value, Goldman Sachs analysts said last week.
— Sasha Chua and Laura He contributed to this report.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.