HELSINKI (Reuters) - Telecoms network equipment maker Nokia and Chinese handset maker Xiaomi Technology have signed a patent licensing agreement, the companies said on Wednesday.

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Geely-owned Volvo Car Group said on Wednesday all new models launched from 2019 will be fully electric or hybrids, spelling the eventual end to nearly a century of Volvos powered solely by the internal combustion engine.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Shares of Tencent Holdings, China's biggest gaming and social media firm by revenue, fell more than 3 percent on Wednesday, extending losses after it said it will limit play time for some young users of "Honour of Kings".

LONDON (Reuters) - Move over blow-up dolls, the sex robots are here.

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is expected to report its best-ever quarterly profit in the second quarter, with soaring memory chip sales pushing it past Intel Corp as the biggest semiconductor maker by revenue for the first time.

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's government has sharply increased spending in local infrastructure projects proposed by lawmakers, according to budget data reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday, as a graft scandal threatens to topple President Michel Temer.

HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Two Afghan girls refused visas to the United States for a robot-building competition said on Tuesday they were mystified by the decision, as the contest's organizers said teams from Iran and Sudan as well as a de facto Syrian team had gained visas.

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Gun violence is on the rise in Rio de Janeiro, with the sound of firefights echoing daily across Brazil's seaside city as drug gangs battle each other and police officers patrolling slums.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government has sought to intervene in Apple's appeal against an EU order to pay back up to 13 billion euros ($14.8 billion) in taxes to Ireland, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian police on Tuesday seized the servers of an accounting software firm suspected of spreading a malware virus which crippled computer systems at major companies around the world last week, a senior police official said.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German auto parts and tyre maker Continental said on Tuesday it would take a minority stake in French autonomous driving company EasyMile and cooperate with it on environmental sensors, braking systems and driving safety technologies.  

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Tencent Holdings Ltd has invested around $100 million to $150 million in Indonesian ride-hailing startup Go-Jek, sources said, in another sign the Chinese tech giant was looking to tap into growth in Southeast Asia's mobile-based services.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese communist party mouthpiece People's Daily stepped up its criticism of a mobile game developed by Tencent Holdings, a day after the country's top gaming and social media firm said it is limiting play time for users of the "Honour of Kings" game.

MOUNT ETNA, Italy (Reuters) - A robot wheels across a rocky, windswept landscape that looks like the surface of some distant planet from a science fiction film. But it is not in outer space, it's on the slopes of Europe's most active volcano.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian state development bank VEB signed an agreement on Tuesday to attract 6 billion yuan ($882.35 million) from China Development Bank for innovations, including the development of blockchain technologies, VEB head Sergei Gorkov told reporters.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German auto supplier Robert Bosch [ROBG.UL] has seen a surge in demand for radar systems and video sensors as automakers race to add driver assistance features and automated functions to cars.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany is a big target of spying and cyber attacks by foreign governments such as Turkey, Russia and China, a government report said on Tuesday, warning of "ticking time bombs" that could sabotage critical infrastructure.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Uber [UBER.UL] played down an EU court opinion on Tuesday that some of its services could be illegal, saying that the case concerned only a ride-hailing app service in France which it no longer provides.

TAIPEI/BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese tech group LeEco, which has interests ranging from smart cars to online content, is facing growing pressure from its creditors and business partners, with one bank wanting some of its assets frozen by a Shanghai court over late payments.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China Literature Ltd, a Tencent Holdings Ltd unit and the country's largest online publishing and e-book company, has filed for a Hong Kong initial public offering that is expected to raise as much as $800 million.