■ PHARMACEUTICALS
Novartis buying Protez
Swiss pharmaceuticals company Novartis AG said yesterday it is buying US-based antibiotics developer Protez Pharmaceuticals Inc. Protez, based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, is in the second phase of clinical trials for a broad-spectrum antibiotic to treat multi-drug resistant bacteria strains such as MRSA. Antibiotic resistant infections cause more than 100,000 deaths a year in the US and Europe, Novartis said. The deal will involve an initial payment of US$100 million, with the potential for additional payments of up to US$300 million depending on the success of the new antibiotic, Novartis said.
■ METALS
Sinosteel lifts Midwest stake
China’s Sinosteel Corp (中國中鋼) said yesterday it has boosted its stake in Australian iron ore miner and developer Midwest Corp to 28.4 percent from 19.9 percent. The Chinese metals trader, which is battling Murchison Metals Ltd for Midwest, is bidding A$1.36 billion (US$1.3 billion) in an offer that ends next Friday. Sinosteel had 60.4 million Midwest shares as of Tuesday, up from 42.4 million at Feb. 20, the company said in notice to the Australian Securities Exchange. It has been buying Midwest shares at A$6.38 each, and last week dropped its condition for 50.1 percent shareholder approval for the bid.
■ OIL
India raises fuel prices
The soaring cost of oil forced India to raise fuel prices for the second time this year, a top official said yesterday. India imports nearly 75 percent of the crude oil it needs, while controlling the domestic prices of all fuel products. But the state-owned companies that sell products such as gasoline and cooking gas have been losing billions of dollars, and Petroleum Minister Murli Deora told reporters yesterday that gasoline prices were being raised 5 rupees (US$0.13) a liter and diesel prices 3 rupees (US$0.08) a liter. The price of cooking gas, meanwhile, was being raised 50 rupees (US$1.25) per cylinder. The increases went into effect at midnight.
■ INTERNET
Yahoo sets Icahn vote date
Yahoo will hold its decisive shareholder vote on the board takeover by billionaire investor Carl Icahn at its annual general meeting to be held on Aug. 1, the company announced on Tuesday. Icahn is trying to oust the board for rejecting Microsoft’s US$47.5 billion takeover offer early last month. He is proposing a rival slate of board members that would try to restart takeover negotiations with the software giant. Icahn on Tuesday said he would also press for company founder Jerry Yang (楊致遠) to step down if he is successful in gaining control of the company. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal Icahn said newly unsealed court documents show that Yang and Yahoo’s board had not seriously considered the acquisition offer from Microsoft and had imposed a costly employee retention plan to effectively sabotage a deal.
■ SECURITY
Deutsche Telekom mops up
Deutsche Telekom, Europe’s biggest phone company, will curb employee access to client data, its boss said yesterday as he tried to contain a scandal sparked by the group’s spying on journalists. “We are going to train staff and reduce data access rights,” chairman Rene Obermann told the weekly Die Zeit in an interview to be published today, but which was released in advance. Obermann reiterated a pledge to “do everything to guarantee the highest level of security with respect to data concerning our clients.”
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