■ Development
Cancel debt now, EU says
EU finance ministers hope the world's major financial institutions will agree to cancel the debt of developing nations this month, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, said on Saturday. "We are hoping that at the annual meetings in a few days time all the shareholders of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank will be able to vote on a debt-relief package that will wipe out the stock of debt of the poorest countries," he said. Speaking at the end of two days of informal talks with his EU counterparts in Manchester, northern England, Brown said that the ministers were trying to put in place a financing mechanism to help that process.
■ United Kingdom
Unions, not oil, worry Brown
Soaring oil prices are likely to have a neutral effect on the UK's public finances, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown said yesterday. Brown said oil companies' record profits would raise corporate tax receipts but at the same time other firms might have their profits dented by the rising cost of oil. "It's effectively neutral at the moment," the finance minister said in an interview on BBC Television. Brown said that, while high commodity prices had pushed up the cost of living, inflation remained under control. But he said he would this week reaffirm his message to the unions that wage demands had to be kept under control. "We will not tolerate inflationary pay settlements," he said.
■ Australia
Rebel spoils Telstra sale
Australian Prime Minister John Howard fought to save the privatization of telecoms giant Telstra yesterday after a rebel senator again threatened to block the sale. Howard pledged that the government would put at least A$2 billion (US$1.5 billion) into a fund from the controversial sale to ensure services in the rural areas, known as the outback. Howard's comment came in response to wavering by a coalition senator who effectively has a casting vote on the sale plans, which could net the government up to A$30 billion (US$23 billion). "Let me make it clear, our policy is A$2 billion, not a penny less," Howard said at Sydney airport before leaving to attend a UN summit in New York. National Party Senator Barnaby Joyce had baulked at the wording of the bill, which called for "up to" A$2 billion for services in the rural areas -- his constituency. But Joyce said he had been told by officials that even A$20 would be legally acceptable under such wording.
■ Germany
VW touts 30,000 job cuts
Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest carmaker, may cut as many as 30,000 jobs as part of its planned restructuring, mostly in Germany, Automobilwoche magazine reported, citing unidentified senior-management sources. Chief Executive Bernd Pischetsrieder wants to reduce costs in particular at parts factories in Kassel, Braunschweig and Hanover, the magazine said. Between 25,000 and 30,000 jobs would be at risk if significant savings cannot be achieved by other means, Automobilwoche said, citing a management estimate. Volkswagen pledged on Sep. 5 to speed up efforts to cut jobs in Germany through early retirements and buyout packages to help reverse an earnings slide. The company "has surplus manpower of the order of several thousand employees" in Germany, it said.
‘A SERIOUS THREAT’: Japan has expressed grave concern over the Strait’s security over the years, which demonstrated Tokyo’s firm support for peace in the area, an official said China’s military drills around Taiwan are “incompatible” with peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya said during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi (王毅) on Thursday. “Peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is important for the international community, including Japan,” Iwaya told Wang during a meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings in Kuala Lumpur. “China’s large-scale military drills around Taiwan are incompatible with this,” a statement released by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday cited Iwaya as saying. The Foreign Ministers’ Meetings are a series of diplomatic
‘REALISTIC’ APPROACH: The ministry said all the exercises were scenario-based and unscripted to better prepare personnel for real threats and unexpected developments The army’s 21st Artillery Command conducted a short-range air defense drill in Taoyuan yesterday as part of the Han Kuang exercises, using the indigenous Sky Sword II (陸射劍二) missile system for the first time in the exercises. The armed forces have been conducting a series of live-fire and defense drills across multiple regions, simulating responses to a full-scale assault by Chinese forces, the Ministry of National Defense said. The Sky Sword II missile system was rapidly deployed and combat-ready within 15 minutes to defend Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in a simulated attack, the ministry said. A three-person crew completed setup and
DRILLS FOR 10 DAYS: The exercises would continue around the clock under realistic conditions taking into account all possibilities, the defense ministry said Taiwan yesterday launched its largest-ever military drills intended to guard against Chinese threats to invade, including using “gray zone” tactics deployed by China that stop just short of open warfare. This year’s 10-day live-fire Han Kuang exercises are the longest yet and follow the delivery of a range of new weaponry from tanks to uncrewed waterborne drones. The drills began with exercises to counter the actions of China Coast Guard and maritime militia ships that have been harassing Taiwanese vessels around outlying islands close to the Chinese coast, the Ministry of National Defense said. Cyberattacks and misinformation campaigns are seen by Taiwan as
URBAN COMBAT: FIM-92 Stinger shoulder-fired missiles from the US made a rare public appearance during early-morning drills simulating an invasion of the Taipei MRT The ongoing Han Kuang military exercises entered their sixth day yesterday, simulating repelling enemy landings in Penghu County, setting up fortifications in Tainan, laying mines in waters in Kaohsiung and conducting urban combat drills in Taipei. At 5am in Penghu — part of the exercise’s first combat zone — participating units responded to a simulated rapid enemy landing on beaches, combining infantry as well as armored personnel. First Combat Zone Commander Chen Chun-yuan (陳俊源) led the combined armed troops utilizing a variety of weapons systems. Wang Keng-sheng (王鏗勝), the commander in charge of the Penghu Defense Command’s mechanized battalion, said he would give
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