Day: November 7, 2023

Optus Network Outage Affects Millions of Australians

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SYDNEY —  Millions of Australians were left without a phone or internet connection on Wednesday after the country’s second-largest telecommunications provider experienced an unexplained nationwide outage. The outage crippled payment systems and online operations and led to morning peak-hour chaos as train networks and ride-share services were down briefly in some cities. Some hospital and emergency services were also impacted. Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin ruled out a cyber attack but in an interview on ABC Radio did not give a reason for the outage, already in its eighth hour.…

China flags readiness to work with US ‘at all levels’ ahead of Apec summit

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“A stable and sound China-US relationship is the common expectation of people from all sectors in other countries and the international community as a whole,” he said. “We’re ready to strengthen communication and dialogue with the United States at all levels to promote mutually beneficial cooperation, properly manage differences and jointly address global challenges.” China’s Vice-President Han Zheng addresses the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore on Wednesday. Photo: Bloomberg Han added that Beijing always views and handles its relations with Washington in accordance with the principles of mutual respect,…

He Lifeng: China’s New Economic Czar or Executor of Xi’s Orders?

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TAIPEI —  He Lifeng, vice premier of the State Council of China, has officially taken up the post of head of the office of the Central Financial Commission and has become the helmsman of the core financial and economic staff of the Communist Party of China. Although He is described by the outside world as China’s new economic czar, observers say the only economic czar is President Xi Jinping, and He is just the executor of Xi’s orders. He, 68, is a native of Xingning, Guangdong. He first worked on…

Multibillion-dollar South Korean arms deals at risk after Polish election

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Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Aerospace & Defence myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. South Korean defence companies fear a series of multibillion-dollar arms deals to Poland are being put at risk by an expected change of government in Warsaw. Having agreed binding deals with Korean companies worth a total of $13.7bn for rocket launchers, tanks, self-propelled howitzers and fighter jets, Warsaw is negotiating a second round of contracts to bolster its defences and replace military hardware sent to neighbouring Ukraine. The Polish…

Why is China Highlighting Militias in State Owned Enterprises?

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In what was seemingly a small development late last month, China’s Defense Ministry confirmed an ongoing push to embed People’s Armed Force units, or militias, in state-owned enterprises, or SOEs. But China experts tell VOA that there may be more to the ministry’s confirmation than meets the eye. Some experts say the push could highlight China’s efforts to prepare for a potential conflict over Taiwan. Others see a connection between Chinese authorities’ concerns about social unrest as the economy weakens and a desire for tighter controls over society. At the…

120 years of SCMP: our China desk is witness to changes inside and out, including Beijing’s rising economic power and diplomacy efforts

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When I first joined the South China Morning Post as a graduate trainee in 1994, the China desk was a big wooden desk with piles of newspapers and fax paper. The fax machine on the desk would spit out dispatches from Xinhua, China’s state new agency. At the time colleagues joked that if a fax was lost in the disorganisation, we could miss important news. But reporting on China amounted to more than just waiting by the fax machine for official announcements. For 120 years, the Post has been in…

China Makes Largest US Soy Purchases in Months: Traders

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CHICAGO —  China booked its largest single-day U.S. soybean purchases in at least three months on Tuesday, traders said, offering a glimmer of hope for the most valuable U.S. farm export after overseas sales of the 2023 harvest had fallen well behind the normal pace. Chinese importers bought around 10 cargoes of soybeans, or about 600,000 metric tons, for shipment from Gulf Coast and Pacific Northwest export terminals between December and March, trade sources said. The sales would be a relief to U.S. farmers, who have seen Brazil dominate the…

China debt crisis: 8 cases of financial misconduct flagged as Beijing names and shames regions, banks

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Naming and shaming local-level governments and state banks for violating financing rules, Beijing is painting a bullseye on those found contributing to China’s debt crisis. Since 2018, Beijing has stepped up its efforts to curb the unchecked growth of informal backchannels of borrowing – commonly known as hidden debt – but likely to its dismay, Ministry of Finance audits show that such debt has continued to rise. Singling out local authorities and state banks across seven provinces, the Ministry of Finance on Monday flagged eight cases of misconduct in relation…

China releases methane plan as hopes rise for new climate agreement with US

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China has published a long-awaited methane reduction plan, in a sign that the country is moving closer towards a new climate agreement with the US. Beijing first committed to reducing its methane output at Cop26 in Glasgow in 2021, as part of a joint agreement with the US. But for two years the reduction plan failed to materialise. Its publication on Tuesday, as the US and Chinese climate envoys wrapped up four days of talks in Sunnylands, California, signalled that the two countries may soon break ground on a new…

120 years of SCMP: from AS Watson to HSBC and Star Ferry, many of Hong Kong’s oldest businesses predated the Post

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AS Watson has very little record of its early years – no more than a photo of a plaque on a building – which excludes it from official history. It opened a dispensary in Hong Kong in 1841 – the start of the company’s local link – and rebranded itself three decades later after Alexander Skirving Watson, the pharmacist who ran the former Hong Kong Dispensary. Now part of CK Hutchison, AS Watson is the world’s largest retail group, operating more than 16,100 stores in 28 markets, serving more than…