- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
China's Tencent fires more than 100 for fraud, embezzlement
Chinese tech giant Tencent said Monday it had fired more than a hundred employees for violating company policies, with some referred to police and later found guilty of bribery and embezzlement.
The Hong Kong-listed company is the world's top video game maker and the owner of popular super-app WeChat but has struggled under a broad regulatory crackdown on China's tech sector initiated in late 2020.
In a statement, the firm -- which in November posted its second consecutive quarterly decline in revenue -- said it had found more than 100 employees guilty of violating its anti-fraud policy.
More than 10 were transferred to China's public security organ, it added, accusing them of "bribery or occupation".
"In response to the problems of corruption and fraud within the company, Tencent's Anti-Fraud Investigation Department continued to strengthen its crackdown and investigated and dealt with a series of violations with common problems," the firm said.
"The number of cases and personnel investigated and dealt with throughout 2022 has increased compared with 2021," it added.
Those accused were found to have embezzled company funds and accepting bribes, it added, with a number referred to police and some found guilty in court.
A number of those fired and accused of corruption were part of the company's PCG arm, which oversees the its mammoth content output from news to sports and movies.
But they also span Tencent's other businesses, including cloud computing and fintech.
Most notably, one employee was found guilty of "accepting bribes from non-state employees" and sentenced to three years in jail, the company said.
Company CEO Pony Ma told an internal staff meeting last month that the level of corruption at the firm was "shocking", state media reported.
Tencent has been hit hard by a regulatory crackdown on video games by Beijing, which saw hundreds of firms pledged to scrub "politically harmful" content from their products and enforce curbs on underage players to comply with government demands.
But the firm was last month granted its first licence for a video game in 18 months, ending a dry spell that had hampered the profits world's top game maker.
E.Raimundo--PC