■ Airlines
Crew retired to cut costs
Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's leading carrier, said yesterday it is offering early retirement to 1,600 cabin crew to offset surging fuel prices and operating costs which are chewing heavily into profits. Cabin crew with more than 15 years of experience -- about 1,600 people -- could opt to retire early and receive up to 17 months' salary on top of their standard retirement benefits, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd spokeswoman Carolyn Leung said. Cathay Pacific reported earlier that its net profit fell 25 percent last year to HK$3.3 billion (US$426 million), down from HK$4.42 billion in 2004, as higher jet fuel prices offset strong growth in passenger demand. The carrier said during the year its fuel costs rose 67 percent to HK$15.59 billion, accounting for a third of its operating expenses.
■ Oil
Venezuela buys Chinese rigs
Venezuela's state oil company will form a joint venture with a Chinese company to assemble oil rigs, a company executive said. Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, has agreed to purchase 28 drilling rigs from China Petro Technology and Development Corp to assemble some of the rigs in Venezuela, Luis Vierma, vice president for exploration and production at PDVSA, said on Thursday at an industry conference in Houston, Texas. The company is a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp. "By the year 2008 we're going to be assembling rigs in Venezuela," Vierma said. "By 2010-11, we're going to be able to build our own rigs." Venezuela currently operates about 90 rigs but doesn't manufacture any. The purchase comes as Venezuela endeavors to ramp up its production to 5.8 million barrels a day from its official output of 3.3 million at present.
■ Computers
Dell confident about future
Dell Inc founder and chairman Michael Dell, responding to concerns about his company's recent stock declines, said on Thursday he remains confident in the direct-sales model that helped create the world's largest PC maker. "Let's kind of review the situation here," Dell said. "In the last 10 years our company has grown about 10 times and our stock is up a couple thousand percent." Shares of the company have sunk since a Citigroup analyst cut his rating on the stock to "Sell" last month amid concerns that Dell's gross margins could rapidly deteriorate if it slashes prices in order to gain market share.
■ Internet
Google sued over porn links
A US politician sued Google Inc, claiming the search engine leader is profiting from illegal child pornography. Jeffrey Toback, a member of the Nassau County Legislature, said on Thursday Google has paid links to Web sites containing pornography involving minors. "This case is about a multi-billion dollar company that promotes and profits from child pornography," said the complaint filed in state Supreme Court in Mineola, New York. A Google spokesman denied the allegations and said the Mountain View, California-based company takes numerous steps to prevent access to child pornography. "When we find or are made aware of any pornography, we remove it from our products, including our search engine," spokesman Steve Langdon said in a statement. "We also report it to the appropriate law enforcement officials and fully cooperate with the law enforcement community to combat child pornography."
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
A clandestine US Navy special missions unit colloquially known as SEAL Team 6 has been training for missions to assist Taiwan’s defense against an attack by China, the Financial Times said in a report yesterday. The navy commando team famous for killing Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, has been conducting training to take part in a Taiwan conflict at its Dam Neck headquarters in Virginia Beach for more than one year, it said, citing sources familiar with the matter. “The secret training underlines the increased US focus on deterring China from attacking Taiwan, while stepping up preparations for such an event,”
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