■ Tourism
Visits to Eiffel Tower up
A record 6.7 million people visited the Eiffel Tower last year, most of them foreign tourists, the firm that manages the Paris landmark said on Friday. Since the tower was built for the 1889 World's Fair, 230 million people have climbed its 1,665 steps or taken the elevators to admire the views from the 324m high structure, the SETE group said. Visits to the Eiffel Tower rose by 300,000 last year compared with the year before, with up to 30,000 people visiting it daily on busy days, SETE said.
■ Telecoms
ITU head sets limits
Hamadoun Toure, the new head of the UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU), said on Friday that the agency had no business dealing with freedom of expression on the Internet. Asked about controls on the Internet and repression of dissidents who use the web in countries like China, Toure said: "Freedom of expression is a question of content which exceeds the mandate of the ITU and to which I cannot respond." Toure, who was elected secretary general of the 191-country ITU in November, said the agency's priority was to ensure the proper functioning of the communications infrastructure between countries and of common technical standards.
■ Economy
Japan to raise interest rate
Japan's central bank is likely to raise its key interest rate this week following recent data showing a steady revival in consumption, major newspapers reported yesterday. A majority of the Bank of Japan's policy board members are likely to vote for raising the policy rate to 0.5 percent from 0.25 percent during the meeting scheduled for Jan. 17 to 18, the Mainichi Shimbun and the Asahi Shimbun reported. With recent economic data showing a steady rise in domestic consumption and US economic growth expected to moderate only slightly, board members appeared to be largely convinced that the conditions were right for a tightening in monetary policy, the reports said.
■ Entertainment
EMI heads resign
EMI, the world's third-largest music company, surprised investors on Friday by announcing the departure of EMI Music chief executive Alain Levy and vice chairman David Munns following worse than expected Christmas sales. The company -- home of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Coldplay -- also warned investors that full-year sales will be far below expectations. EMI forecast revenue to be down 6 percent to 10 percent for the full year, while Hitchcock said the total recorded music market is expected to be broadly flat this year. EMI shares dropped 7.3 percent to close at ?245.25 (US$3.17) on the London Stock Exchange, having fallen as much as 10 percent in earlier trading.
■ Economy
Official issues warning
A senior Chinese official has expressed worries over the growing rich-poor gap and environmental damage caused by the country's galloping economic growth. "The price to pay for economic growth is too high," said Ma Kai (馬凱), minister for the national commission for reform and development, official press reports said. With last year's GDP growth at 10.5 percent, preliminary figures showed, disposable income per capita rose 11 percent in the cities, Ma told a meeting of 700 cadres. But he said the growth came at a steep cost to the country.
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While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
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