■ ENERGY
China mum on Iran deal
China's CNOOC kept silent yesterday on reports it had clinched a US$16 billion agreement to develop Iran's North Pars gas field, a deal the US said it would scrutinize for possible violations of UN sanctions. The Iranian oil ministry's official Shana Web site said the the agreement calls for CNOOC to invest US$5 billion in upstream gas field projects and US$11 billion in downstream liquefied natural gas plants. The deal was first announced in 2006. If the deal goes through, it will be the second big oil and gas deal with Iran for China in just a few months, following a US$2 billion agreement by Sinopec to develop the Yadavaran oil field.
■ FINANCE
EU suggests ethics pledge
The European Commission urged state-run investment funds to sign up to a voluntary code of conduct, stopping short of proposing to regulate the emerging financial powerhouses in Europe. "The establishment of a code of conduct for sovereign wealth funds [SWF] is a good thing to increase confidence among recipients on how sovereign wealth funds adopt decisions," EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told reporters in Brussels. The commission said SWFs now hold US$1.5 trillion to US$2.5 trillion in assets worldwide, with one estimate suggesting that could rise to US$12 trillion by 2015.
■ BANKING
UBS approves capital hike
Embattled UBS chairman Marcel Ospel breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday after the bank's shareholders approved a controversial capital hike aimed at making good billions of dollars in US subprime home loan losses. Under the deal, Singapore's state investment arm GIC will inject 11 billion Swiss francs (US$10.13 billion), giving it a stake of approximately 9 percent and making it the largest single shareholder, and SF2 billion will come from an unnamed Middle East investor.
■ SOFTWARE
Fine for Microsoft upheld
The European antitrust regulator imposed a record US$1.35 billion fine against Microsoft on Wednesday in a ruling intended to send a clear message to the world's largest software maker of the dangers of flouting Europe's competition rulings. The commission in 2004 ruled that the market dominance of Microsoft's Windows software was abusive. The ruling was upheld in September by one of the highest European courts. "Microsoft was the first company in 50 years of EU competition policy that the commission has had to fine for failure to comply with an antitrust decision," the commission's antitrust regulator Neelie Kroes said in a statement.
■ ENERGY
Germany warns of blackouts
Germany and the rest of Europe could suffer power cuts lasting several days this summer owing to a lack of power stations, the head of one of Europe's biggest generating firms was quoted as saying on Wednesday. "Power is growing short all over Europe because there are not enough power stations," Juergen Grossmann, head of German power giant RWE, told the Bild daily in comments following a massive blackout that caused chaos in Florida. "Right now, all we need is the combination of a hot, dry summer and the shutdown of more power stations for maintenance for power security to be endangered," he said.
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
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
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