■MINING
Australia probes Rio Tinto
Australia’s corporate watchdog is probing mining giant Rio Tinto after China jailed four staff for bribery and industrial espionage, the body’s chief said yesterday, describing the inquiry as “routine.” Tony D’Aloisio, head of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), told public broadcaster ABC’s Inside Business program the body was checking for possible breaches of Australian corporate law. Australian citizen Stern Hu (胡士泰) has announced he will not appeal his 10-year sentence handed down last month. Three Chinese colleagues were given jail terms of between seven and 14 years. The four were arrested in July last year during failed iron ore contract talks, which the Shanghai court said cost China heavy losses.
■AUSTRALIA
Swan defends stimulus end
Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan said he remains confident the government is acting appropriately by withdrawing fiscal stimulus gradually as the global economy recovers from recession. Australia is performing better than other developed nations and many businesses expressed optimism in consultations with the government, Swan said yesterday in his weekly economic note. Retailers remain cautious and property developers said demand is weakening after the government reduced its grants to first-home buyers, Swan said. The Reserve Bank of Australia raised its benchmark interest rate to 4.25 percent on Tuesday, its fifth increase in seven months, while the nation’s jobless level is 5.3 percent, about half that of the US.
■AVIATION
Qantas sees recovery
Qantas Airways Ltd, Australia’s biggest carrier, said an improving global economy is feeding a recovery in business demand, while leisure travel remains strong in the face of increased borrowing costs. “We are seeing very strong leisure demand despite interest rates having gone up,” Qantas chief executive officer Alan Joyce said on the Sky Business Channel yesterday. “We’re still seeing the business market recovering because confidence is returning to the business sector.” Qantas is increasing capacity as domestic economic growth and gains in the Australian dollar spur travel demand.
■COSMETICS
Iran is No. 7 consumer
Iran has emerged as the world’s seventh largest consumer of cosmetics, spending US$2.1 billion annually on various beauty products, the state-run English-language Iran Daily newspaper said yesterday. The report quoting a survey conducted by TMBA, a private economic research body, said that Iran accounts for 29 percent of the cosmetics market in the Middle East. About 14 million Iranian women aged between 15 and 45 years living in major cities spend about US$7 a month per capita on cosmetics, the survey said, without giving a complete breakdown on the nation’s spending. The average monthly salary in Iran is between US$600 and US$700.
■TELECOMS
Egyptian court blocks sale
An Egyptian court has upheld a verdict that prevents France Telecom SA from gaining full control of the Egyptian Co for Mobile Services, allowing Orascom Telecom Holding SAE to keep its stake in the Egyptian company. France Telecom’s offer to buy the outstanding shares in the Egyptian Co at 245 Egyptian pounds (US$44.4) per share is unfair to minority shareholders, Hamdi Yassin, the presiding judge in the case, said after Saturday’s ruling, which can be appealed.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft