China’s central bank on Monday said it had cut two key interest rates to historic lows, in the latest move by Beijing to boost sluggish spending and kickstart the world’s second-largest economy.The cuts come just days after the country posted its slowest quarterly growth in a year and a half, underlining the deep economic woes the country faces.Leaders are targeting annual growth of five percent this year, but that goal is being challenged by weak consumption and a prolonged and debilitating debt crisis in the colossal property sector.The one-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR), which constitutes the benchmark for the most advantageous rates lenders can offer to businesses and households, was cut from 3.35 percent to 3.1.The five-year LPR, the benchmark for mortgage loans, was cut from 3.85 to 3.6.Both rates were last reduced in July and are sitting at all-time lows.Data showed Friday the economy grew 4.6 percent in the third quarter, its slowest rate in a year and a half.Authorities acknowledged a “complicated and severe external environment… as well as new problems of domestic economic development”.Beijing has said it has “full confidence” in achieving its annual growth goal, but economists say more direct fiscal stimulus is needed to revive activity and restore business confidence.The disappointing data came after weeks of announcements and news conferences about an eagerly awaited stimulus plan, though investors say they are still waiting to see more details.The country’s top banks on Friday cut interest rates on yuan deposits for the second time this year in another potential boost to spending.Central bank chief Pan Gongsheng also on Friday said that authorities were considering a further cut to the amount commercial lenders must hold in reserve before the end of the year.Months of sluggish spending has raised fears that China will dip back into deflation after it ended a months-long stretch of falling prices early this year.Zhang Zhiwei, President and Chief Economist of Pinpoint Asset Management, said Monday’s rate cut was “an encouraging sign”.”The monetary policy has clearly shifted to a more supportive stance since the press conference on September 24. The real interest rate in China is too high,” he said.

Australian mining giant BHP goes on trial on Monday over one of Brazil’s worst environmental disasters, potentially triggering billions of dollars in compensation to be shared among hundreds of thousands of plaintiffs.The High Court in London will examine over several months whether BHP was partly liable for the 2015 collapse of a dam at a mining waste site in Brazil.The rupture killed 19 people and unleashed a deluge of thick toxic mud into villages, fields, rainforest, rivers and the ocean.The Fundao tailings dam at an iron ore mine in the mountains of Minas Gerais state was managed by Samarco, co-owned by BHP and Brazilian miner Vale.At the time of the disaster, BHP had global headquarters in the UK as well as in Australia.A separate case in Brazil has seen Vale and BHP offer to pay almost $30 billion in compensation.Vale has offered to share any compensation BHP ends up paying as a result of the London trial.Tom Goodhead, of law firm Pogust Goodhead which brought the case, told a news conference last week that the London trial was the culmination of a six-year UK legal battle.”(There) has been a systemic failure to adequately compensate victims or to provide adequate reparation in relation to the environmental harms. And that was why this case was launched,” he told reporters.The tragedy in the town of Mariana unleashed a torrent of almost 45 million cubic metres of highly toxic mining waste sludge, flooding 39 towns and leaving more than 600 people homeless.The flood killed thousands of animals and devastated protected areas of tropical rainforest.- ‘Unpunished’ -The amount of damages sought in the upcoming civil trial is estimated at a total £36 billion ($47 billion), on behalf of more than 620,000 plaintiffs, including 46 Brazilian municipalities, companies and indigenous peoples.”We felt as if our whole world had collapsed,” Pamela Rayane Fernandes, whose five-year old daughter Emanuele Vitoria was killed in a mudslide, told AFP ahead of Monday’s trial.”Such a thing cannot go unpunished,” the 30-year-old added.The hearing, set to last until early March, must determine BHP’s potential liability surrounding the disaster. If it is found to be liable, another UK trial should take place from October 2026 to determine the amount of damages.BHP has said the London court case is unnecessary because of ongoing legal procedures in Brazil.The company estimated that more than 200,000 plaintiffs in the London case had already been compensated.BHP added that the Renova Foundation, which manages the compensation and rehabilitation programmes, has already paid out more than $7.8 billion in emergency financial aid.The Australian mining giant said the quality of river water contaminated by the fallout has returned to pre-disaster levels.However, a scientific paper published this year in the Franco-Brazilian geography review Confins said the dam rupture had caused “permanent effects of pollution” on the river Doce and its coastal plain.The trial opens as BHP weighs whether to mount a renewed bid for British rival Anglo American after the latter rejected a $49 billion takeover in May.BHP is allowed to come back with a fresh offer on November 29 following a six-month break, according to UK takeover rules.In 2019, another tailings dam owned by Vale collapsed in Minas Gerais, killing 270 people and devastating the surrounding environment.burs-bcp/ode/jj/gil

More than 90 fake bomb threats have been made against flights operated by multiple Indian airlines this week, Indian media reported Sunday, sparking fear among passengers and global delays.All flights landed safely, but the spate of threats has resulted in planes being diverted to Canada and Germany, and fighter jets scrambled to escort aircraft in the skies above Britain and Singapore.India’s government and civil aviation authorities have warned that “very strict action” will be taken.New Delhi’s civil aviation authorities have not said how many threats have been received in the past week, but the Times of India and broadcaster News18 reported more than 70 hoaxes targeting both domestic and international flights since October 13.At least 30 hoax threats were made on Saturday alone, and at least 20 more threats were made to different airlines on Sunday. India’s IndiGo airline confirmed threats were made against six of its flights on Sunday.Two were on domestic routes, and four were international — linking Indian cities to Saudia Arabia’s Jeddah and Dammam, as well as two separate flights to Istanbul in Turkey.”The safety and security of our passengers and crew is our highest priority,” IndiGo said in a statement.”We are working closely with the relevant authorities and taking all necessary precautions.”The global impact of delays and diversions has been heavy on airline schedules and costs.At least one person — a minor — has been arrested in India, but the threats have continued.”All others responsible for the disruptions will be identified and duly prosecuted,” India’s aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said after the arrest on Wednesday.A report in The Indian Express said that an anonymous account on X, formerly Twitter, was suspended after posting bomb threats to at least 40 flights on Friday and Saturday.This included both Indian and international airlines, including from the United States and New Zealand.”There are bombs placed onboard… No one will make out alive. Hurry up and evacuate the plane,” read the identical messages from the suspended account, the newspaper reported.Among the recent flights impacted was an Air India plane heading from Mumbai to New York, with US security officials sweeping the aircraft after its safe landing on Saturday.Other flights that were impacted include an Air India plane from New Delhi to Chicago, which was forced to make an emergency landing in the far northern Canadian city of Iqaluit on Tuesday.Canada’s airforce had to fly the passengers onward.The same day, Singapore scrambled fighter jets to escort an Air India Express plane.On Thursday, British RAF fighter jets escorted an Air India Boeing 777-300 after a threat was made against the plane, which landed safely in London.