■ Aviation
Thai Airways fires executive
Flag carrier Thai Airways International has sacked an executive over hours-long luggage delays on the official opening day of Bangkok's new international airport, its president said. "The luggage problem was caused by internal management disorders at Thai Airways. We already sacked a top person in charge of handling luggage," airline president Apinan Sumanaseni told reporters. The general manager of Suvarnabhumi, Somchai Sawasdeepon, said however that all operations, including luggage handling, were going smoothly yesterday. Apinan also said he had received no reports of problems yesterday.
■ Finance
S Korea grounds suspects
South Korean prosecutors said yesterday that they have imposed an overseas travel ban on 10 people as they investigate allegations of stock manipulation against US investment fund Lone Star. The investigation came after prosecutors received the findings of a five-month probe by financial regulators, prosecutor Chae Dong-wook told reporters. Those banned from travelling abroad include former Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) officials, he said. Lone Star acquired a controlling stake in the bank for 1.38 trillion won (US$1.45 billion) in 2003. Lone Star has additionally been probed over allegations of tax evasion, illegal lobbying and other alleged wrongdoing in its 2003 deal.
■ Finance
US yuan bill postponed
Four top US senators on Thursday announced they would hold off until next year crafting legislation to slap sanctions on China for undervaluing its currency, the yuan. The decision means the senators, who had offered different sanctions legislation, will write a measure that will show a united congressional position. "I think that the four of us working together will send a very strong message to the Chinese," said Republican Senator Charles Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. The bill by Democratic Senator Charles Schumer and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham would have slapped a 27.5 percent tariff on all of China's US-bound exports unless the country moved forcefully to revalue its currency.
■ Telecoms
Government selling stake
The Australian government will begin selling part of its majority stake in telecoms giant Telstra to private investors on Oct. 23, it announced yesterday. Finance Minister Nick Minchin said Canberra would open its offer to sell A$8 billion (US$6.06 billion) worth of its shares three weeks after the Oct. 9 release of the prospectus for the offer. The government said last month it would sell a third tranche of its 51.8 percent stake -- worth a total of A$24 billion -- in the country's largest telecoms company to retail and institutional investors.
■ Automobiles
Ford to cut US, Canada jobs
Ford Motor Co's financing arm said on Thursday that it would cut about 2,000 salaried jobs in the US and Canada as it consolidates operations. Ford Motor Credit said it would fold its 59 US branches into six existing service centers by the end of next year. A similar structure is being considered for Canada, which has seven branches and one service center, the firm said. The 2,000 job cuts -- which Ford said would be achieved through attrition, early retirements and layoffs -- amount to a 23 percent reduction of its work force in the US and Canada.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2