■ TELCO
AT&T eyeing Telecom Italia
US telecommunications giant AT&T said on Sunday it was in negotiations for a potential indirect investment in Telecom Italia. The company statement said the proposal is for AT&T to purchase a one-third stake in Olimpia, a holding company that owns approximately 18 percent of Telecom Italia. As part of these negotiations, America Movil also is considering an investment for one-third of the shares of Olimpia. AT&T's investment is contingent on America Movil's investment. AT&T is in negotiations on the potential investment to acquire the interest from Pirelli, which owns 80 percent of Olimpia. Olimpia holds only Telecom Italia assets.
■ MOBILE PHONES
Growth estimate revised
Nokia Siemens Networks, which began operations last Sunday, said yesterday it expects "very slight" growth this year, downgrading earlier estimates by the two companies that formed the joint venture. "Over the last couple of months, there has been a narrowing of visibility and indications of a slowdown in spending in some regions," Nokia said. "As a result, Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks today are updating the outlook for the mobile and fixed services infrastructure market for 2007." "The companies now expect very slight market growth for the mobile and fixed infrastructure and related services market in euro terms in 2007," Nokia said.
■ AUTOMOBILES
GM to unveil new cars
General Motors Corp will unveil a new pair of concept cars in its Chevrolet and Buick lines at this month's Shanghai Auto Show, which runs from April 22 through April 28, GM China said yesterday. The cars will be among 40 vehicles the company and its Chinese joint venture partners plan to display as GM increasingly looks to China to offset sluggish sales and crippling legacy costs elsewhere. GM said the concept cars include the latest version of the Chevrolet Volt, the company's extended-range electric passenger vehicle which was introduced in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan.
■ CHINA
Authorities launch probe
Labor authorities have launched an investigation into allegations that McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut are underpaying local part-time workers, state media said yesterday. Labor officials in the southern province of Guangdong, where the issue was first uncovered by local media, have broadened their investigation from the provincial capital Guangzhou to the whole province, the People's Daily said. The Guangzhou-based New Express reported last week that McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut had violated labor laws by underpaying part-time workers by up to 40 percent.
■ TRANSPORT
TGV to make record bid
France's TGV fast train is to make a bid to beat its own world speed record today, amid reports that in recent unofficial tests it reached nearly 570kph. Weather conditions permitting, a TGV train will be driven during the afternoon along a stretch of the new high-speed line built between Paris and the eastern city of Strasbourg. On Saturday Le Parisien newspaper reported that in a recent trial a TGV train travelled at 568kph -- well in excess of the 513.3kph record which was set by a TGV train in 1990.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from