China Mobile shares rise in Shanghai debut after US exit

China Mobile shares have risen as they started trading in Shanghai after raising $7.7bn (£5.7bn) in China’s biggest public offering in a decade.

The shares opened 9.4% higher before easing back in morning trade.

China Mobile’s smaller rivals, China Telecom and China Unicom, have already made the move to their home country.

The three firms were delisted from the New York Stock Exchange after a Trump-era decision to restrict investment in Chinese technology companies.

China Mobile’s Hong Kong-listed shares also rose in early trade after the company said it would press ahead with a plan to buy back up to 2.05 billion shares, worth nearly $13bn.

Nina Xiang, the author of US-China Tech War, told the BBC that the Chinese government would have made sure that China Mobile’s Shanghai debut went well.

She said: “It’s important for Beijing to ensure this listing appears successful and smooth to prove that China has the wherewithal to accommodate its own companies on its own stock exchanges.

“But it won’t be great for Chinese companies to lose the access to the US capital markets as it will be another step in the downward spiral of deteriorating bilateral relations,” she added.

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The policy introduced by the Trump administration to clamp down on investments in Chinese technology firms has remained in place under President Joe Biden as tensions continue between Washington and Beijing.

Ms Xiang also highlighted that more US-listed Chinese firms may take similar steps to safeguard their share listings: “There are dozens of Chinese companies listed on US exchanges that might seek a listing in Hong Kong this year to secure their shares remain publicly traded, in case the two countries couldn’t reach a solution for Chinese firms to remain listed in the US.”

The company has said it plans to use the cash raised from the offering to develop projects including premium 5G networks, infrastructure for cloud resources and artificial intelligence software.

China Mobile is the world’s largest mobile network operator by total subscribers.

Last month, Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Global has announced plans to take its shares off the New York Stock Exchange and move its listing to Hong Kong.

The firm had come under intense pressure since it raised $4.4bn in its US debut at the end of June.

Also, within days of the New York initial public offering Beijing announced a crackdown on technology companies listing overseas.

Didi shares have lost almost 65% of their value since their US market debut.

Top US phone firms reject call to delay 5G rollout

Two of the biggest US phone firms have rejected a government request to delay the rollout of 5G services this week.

The US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) made the request over concerns about aviation safety.

However, AT&T and Verizon did say they will implement temporary safeguards.

Plane makers have warned that C-Band spectrum 5G wireless signals may interfere with sensitive aircraft electronics and could disrupt flights.

In a joint letter, the chief executives of AT&T and Verizon said the proposal to delay for a fortnight the introduction of 5G services, which are due to start on 5 January, would be “an irresponsible abdication of the operating control required to deploy world-class and globally competitive communications networks.”

However, they also said that they will not deploy 5G around airports for six months, similar to an approach adopted in France.

“The laws of physics are the same in the United States and France,” the letter said.

“If US airlines are permitted to operate flights every day in France, then the same operating conditions should allow them to do so in the United States,” it added.

But the FAA said circumstances in France are different, including that telecom firms operating in that country use lower power levels for 5G than are allowed in the US.

The aviation industry and the FAA had previously raised concerns about potential interference of 5G with aircraft equipment like radio altitude meters.

Last month, the bosses of the world’s two biggest plane makers, Airbus and Boeing, made an appeal to Mr Buttigieg in which they said “5G interference could adversely affect the ability of aircraft to safely operate”.

The letter cited research by trade group Airlines for America which found that if the FAA’s 5G rules had been in effect in 2019, about 345,000 passenger flights and 5,400 cargo flights would have faced delays, diversions or cancellations.

The airline group urged the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the telecom industry to work with the FAA and aviation companies and said it may go to court on Monday if the FCC does not act.

On Sunday, an FCC spokesperson said the agency is “optimistic that by working together we can both advance the wireless economy and ensure aviation safety.”

Tesla to recall 475,000 cars in the US

Tesla is to recall more than 475,000 cars in the US, according to documents filed with the US safety regulator.

The electric vehicle firm announced it was recalling 356,309 vehicles because of potential rear-view camera issues affecting 2017-2020 Model 3 Teslas.

A further 119,009 Model S vehicles will also be recalled because of potential problems with the front trunk, or boot.

The total recall figure is almost equivalent to the 500,000 cars Tesla delivered last year, Reuters reports.

The BBC has approached Tesla for comment.

A safety report, submitted this month, estimates that around 1% of recalled Model 3s may have a defective rear-view camera.

Over time “repeated opening and closing of the trunk lid” may cause excessive wear to a cable that provides the rear-view camera feed, says a Safety Recall report submitted by Tesla to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the US on the 21 December.

If the wear causes the core of the cable to separate “the rear-view camera feed is not visible on the centre display”, the report notes.

The loss of the review camera display may “increase the risk of collision”, it adds.

The Model S recall involves vehicles manufactured between 2014-2021, some of which may have a problem with a “secondary latch” on the front trunk, or boot.

In another Safety Recall report, also filed on 21 December, Tesla notes the fault could mean, if the primary latch is inadvertently released, the front trunk “may open without warning and obstruct the driver’s visibility, increasing the risk of a crash”.

Around 14% of recalled Model S’s may have the defect, the report notes.

In both cases, the reports state that “Tesla is not aware of any crashes, injuries, or deaths” relating to the potential faults.

Passenger play
The latest recall is not the first safety issue to have prompted action from the electric vehicle firm.

Last week Tesla agreed to make changes to its Passenger Play feature, which allows games to be played on its touchscreen while the car is in motion.

It took action after an investigation was launched by the NHTSA.

The feature will now be locked and unusable while the car is moving.

Elon Musk rejects claims that his satellites are hogging space

Elon Musk has rejected claims that his Starlink satellite internet project is taking up too much room in space.

“Tens of billions” of satellites can be accommodated in orbits close to Earth, he told the Financial Times.

His comments come after a claim by the head of the European Space Agency (ESA) that Mr Musk was “making the rules” for the emerging commercial space industry.

This week, China complained that its space station was forced to avoid collisions with Starlink satellites.

“Space is just extremely enormous, and satellites are very tiny,” Mr Musk said in the interview.

Mr Musk pushed back at suggestions that his Starlink Internet Services project was effectively obstructing the entry of competitors to the satellite industry, saying that there is ample room in the Earth’s orbit for satellites.

“This is not some situation where we’re effectively blocking others in any way. We’ve not blocked anyone from doing anything, nor do we expect to,” he said.

“A couple of thousand satellites is nothing. It’s like, hey, here’s a couple of thousand of cars on Earth, it’s nothing,” he added.

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This month, Josef Aschbacher, the director general of ESA, warned that the thousands of communications satellites launched by Starlink would result in there being far less space for competitors.

Other experts have said that much larger distances are needed between spacecraft to avoid collisions than Mr Musk has suggested.

Scientists have also previously voiced concerns about the risks of collisions in space and called on world governments to share information about the estimated 30,000 satellites and other space debris that are orbiting Earth.

Mr Musk made headlines this week as he faced a social media backlash after China complained that its space station was forced to avoid collisions with satellites launched by his Starlink project.

The country’s space station had two “close encounters” with Starlink satellites this year, Beijing claimed.

The incidents occurred on 1 July and 21 October, according to a document submitted by China this month to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.

“For safety reasons, the China Space Station implemented preventive collision avoidance control,” Beijing said in the document published on the agency’s website.

The incidents behind the complaints, lodged with the UN’s space agency, have not yet been independently verified.

China also accused the US of putting astronauts in danger by ignoring obligations under outer space treaties.

Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China was urging the US to act responsibly.

SpaceX has already launched almost 1,900 satellites as part of the Starlink network, and plans to deploy thousands more.

Riot Games to pay $100m in discrimination case

Riot Games, the studio best known for League of Legends, has agreed to pay $100m (£74.3m) to settle a 2018 class-action gender discrimination case.

The settlement will “remedy violations against approximately 1,065 women employees and 1,300 women contract workers”, California’s Department of Fair Employment & Housing (DFEH) wrote.

DFEH said the firm engaged in “systemic sex discrimination and harassment”.

Riot Games said it must “take responsibility for the past”.

The company will pay $80m (£59m) to members of the class action suit and about $20m (£15m) will cover legal costs.

The 2018 case followed investigations by the Los Angeles Times and the news website Kotaku.

According to the original complaint against the company, Riot was accused of fostering a “bro culture” and faced a range of allegations.

These included that women had been sexually objectified, with an email chain that rated the company’s “hottest women employees”, and that unsolicited images of male genitalia had been shown to workers by their bosses and colleagues.

Industry problem
As part of the settlement, Riot agreed to workplace reforms, independent expert analysis of its pay, hiring, and promotion practices, and to be monitored for instances of sexual harassment and “retaliation” at its California offices for three years.

The company must also set aside $18m (13.2m) to fund diversity, equity and inclusion programmes and create 40 full-time positions in engineering, quality assurance or art-design roles for its former contract workers.

DFEH Director Kevin Kish wrote that, if accepted by the court, the settlement would lead to lasting change at Riot Games and “send the message that all industries in California, including the gaming industry, must provide equal pay and workplaces free from discrimination and harassment”.

Riot had initially agreed to settle the case for $10m in 2019, but the DFEH and another agency had blocked the deal arguing that the amount to which victims were entitled was much higher.

The company said it had to face the fact that it hadn’t always lived up to its values, telling the Washington Post: “While we’re proud of how far we’ve come since 2018, we must also take responsibility for the past”.

“We hope that this settlement properly acknowledges those who had negative experiences at Riot.”

In a letter to staff, published online, Riot’s executive team said the settlement was, “the right thing to do, for both the company and those whose experiences at Riot fell short of our standards and values”.

The company told the BBC that since 2018 it had made improvements across the workplace, including hiring its first chief people officer and its first chief diversity officer, rewriting its values, mandating new training programmes and enlarging its diversity and inclusion team.

Riot Games is not the only prominent games firm to face questions about workplace culture.

The DFEH is also taking action against Activision Blizzard, the company behind the games World of Warcraft, Overwatch and Call of Duty.

Activision Blizzard recently reached an $18m (£13.2m) settlement with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) over claims of sexual discrimination and harassment.

Elon Musk criticised after China space complaint to UN

Elon Musk is facing a social media backlash after China complained that its space station was forced to avoid collisions with satellites launched by his Starlink Internet Services project.

The country’s space station had two “close encounters” with Starlink satellites, Beijing claimed.

China’s complaints, lodged with the UN’s space agency, have not yet been independently verified.

Starlink is a satellite internet network operated by Mr Musk’s SpaceX.

Mr Musk is well known in China even as his electric carmaker Tesla comes under growing scrutiny from regulators.

The incidents occurred on 1 July and 21 October, according to a document submitted by China this month to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.

“For safety reasons, the China Space Station implemented preventive collision avoidance control,” Beijing said in the document published on the agency’s website.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the BBC.

After the complaint was made public, Mr Musk, Starlink and the US were heavily criticised on China’s Twitter-like Weibo microblogging platform.

One user described Starlink’s satellites as “just a pile of space junk”.

The satellites are “American space warfare weapons” and “Musk is a new ‘weapon’ created by the US government and military”, others said.

Another posted: “The risks of Starlink are being gradually exposed, the whole human race will pay for their business activities.”

Scientists have voiced concerns about the risks of collisions in space and called on world governments to share information about the estimated 30,000 satellites and other space debris that are orbiting earth.

SpaceX has already launched almost 1,900 satellites as part of the Starlink network, and plans to deploy thousands more.

Last month, the US space agency NASA abruptly postponed a spacewalk from the International Space Station over concerns about space debris.

Covid: Scientists to brief PM as he weighs need for new restrictions

The prime minister is due to be briefed on the latest Covid data as he weighs whether to impose additional measures in England before the new year.

After two days without published figures, Boris Johnson will hear the impact on the NHS of record infections.

The PM has so far resisted new restrictions, but the other UK nations imposed tighter rules from Boxing Day.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have tightened up for a second day, with new restrictions for pubs and restaurants.

Downing Street said no decisions have been taken yet on whether extra measures to control the Omicron variant will be introduced in England, but it previously said it would not hesitate to act after Christmas if necessary.

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Ministers welcomed early findings last week that people infected with the fast-spreading Omicron variant were less likely to be admitted to hospital, although the BBC understands a range of factors will be examined when looking at the case for restrictions.

Infections surged by 48.2% in the seven days before Christmas, hitting a record 122,186 confirmed cases on Friday, the last day figures were published.
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But the number of people admitted to hospital and deaths following a positive test have risen much more slowly so far.

The briefing by government scientists on Monday is a one of a regular series of updates given to the prime minister and he has not yet called a cabinet meeting or announced a recall of Parliament.

MPs have been promised a vote if it is decided fresh legal measures are needed, after Mr Johnson suffered the largest rebellion since he became PM over the introduction of Covid passes earlier this month.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have gone ahead with reintroducing legal restrictions on gatherings, large events and the hospitality industry, with the latter two nations spreading the changes over two days.

The most recent change will see Northern Ireland pubs, cafes and restaurants have to provide table service only, while no more than six people from different households are allowed to sit together.

In Scotland:

Pubs, restaurants, theatres, cinemas and gyms have to ensure a one-metre distance between groups of people
Groups of people meeting are now be limited to three households
Table service is required in hospitality venues offering alcohol
Rules introduced a day earlier limiting the attendance of public events meant that Boxing Day football matches in Scotland were played before a maximum of 500 fans, while Hogmanay street parties have already been cancelled.

Nightclubs in Northern Ireland and Wales closed on Boxing Day while Wales also introduced restrictions on the number of people meeting in pubs, cinemas and restaurants, brought back two-metre social distancing in offices and public places, and capped attendance at events.

Russia fines Google over illegal content breach

A Moscow court has fined Google 7.2bn roubles ($98m; £73m) for repeated failure to delete content deemed illegal in Russia.

Details of the offending content were not specified in the announcement by the court’s press service.

This is the first time in Russia that a technology giant has been hit with a fine based on their annual turnover.

Google told AFP news agency that it would study the court ruling before deciding on further steps.

Russian authorities have increased pressure on tech firms this year, accusing them of not moderating their content properly, and interfering in the country’s internal affairs.

Hours after the Google verdict was announced, a 2bn rouble fine was handed to Meta, the parent company of Facebook, for similar content-related offences.

Earlier this week, Twitter was also handed a 3m rouble fine for similar charges.

This is not Google’s first brush with Russian authorities over content laws. In May, Russia’s media watchdog threatened to slow down the speed of Google if it failed to delete 26,000 instances of unlawful content, which it said related to drugs, violence and extremism.

President Vladimir Putin has pushed for development of a so-called sovereign internet, which would give the government more control over what its citizens can access.

Critics have accused Russia of using the campaign to clamp down on free speech and online dissent.

The country’s media regulator has blocked dozens of websites linked to jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, whose campaign groups have been labelled “extremist”.

Google and Apple were also forced to remove an app dedicated to Navalny’s “Smart Voting” campaign, which gave users advice on tactical voting to unseat Kremlin-aligned politicians.

Websites like LinkedIn and Dailymotion have already been blocked for refusing to co-operate with authorities, and six major providers of Virtual Personal Networks (VPNs) – which help users to conceal their online activities – have been banned.

Earlier this year, Russia also introduced a new law requiring all new smartphones, computers and smart devices sold in the country to be pre-installed with Russian-made software and apps.

The government said the move would help Russian tech firms compete with foreign rivals.

Intel apologises to China over supplier advice

US microchip maker Intel has apologised following a backlash over its letter urging suppliers not to source products or labour from China’s Xinjiang region.

The company’s letter sparked criticism in China, with calls for a boycott.

The letter said Intel had been “required to ensure” its supply chain did not use labour or source goods from Xinjiang, following restrictions imposed by “multiple governments”.

China has been accused of human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

The region is home to many of country’s Muslim Uyghur population and there have been allegations of forced labour and possibly genocide.

In December last year, the BBC published an investigation based on new research showing China was forcing hundreds of thousands of minorities, including Uyghurs, into manual labour in Xinjiang’s cotton fields.

Beijing has repeatedly denied the claims.

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In a Chinese-language statement on its official WeChat and Weibo accounts, Intel said that its commitment to avoid supply chains from Xinjiang was an expression of compliance with US law, rather than a statement of its position on the issue.

“We apologise for the trouble caused to our respected Chinese customers, partners and the public. Intel is committed to becoming a trusted technology partner and accelerating joint development with China,” the firm said.

The White House said President Joe Biden signed into a law a bill that requires companies to prove that goods imported from China’s Xinjiang region have not been produced with forced labour.

The bill was passed by Congress last week with the aim of stopping US companies from benefitting from forced labour, something which China denies is the case.

Many Weibo users derided Intel’s apology as an attempt at protecting sales in China, with one saying: “A mistake is a mistake! Retract the statement about Xinjiang!”

Meanwhile, the hashtag “Is Intel’s apology sincere?” was trending on Weibo on Thursday, Reuters reported.

Singer Karry Wang said he would no longer serve as brand ambassador for Intel, adding in a statement that “national interests exceed everything”.

Intel is not the first company to come under pressure over aims to comply with sanctions related to Xinjiang while continuing to operate in China.

‘Sensitive issue’
Retail giants Nike and H&M faced a backlash earlier this year after they expressed concern about the alleged use of Uyghur forced labour in cotton production.

Intel, which has 10,000 employees in China, said in its apology that it respected “the sensitivity of the issue in China”.

Meanwhile, China’s foreign ministry said “accusations of forced labour in Xinjiang are lies concocted by anti-China American forces” aimed at destabilising China and hindering its development.

“We note the statement and hope the relevant company will respect facts and tell right from wrong,” said foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.

Zee-Sony merger will create an Indian entertainment giant

Japanese conglomerate Sony’s Indian arm has finalised a deal with local rival Zee Entertainment to form the country’s second largest entertainment network.

The merged entity will include more than 75 television channels, film assets and two streaming platforms.

It is poised to become a major player in the country’s fast-growing entertainment industry, challenging rivals such as Walt Disney’s Hotstar.

India has more than 900 million TV viewers and some 800 channels.

These channels offer a variety of shows ranging from sports, melodramas to reality television.

As per the merger, which was announced on Tuesday, the combined entity will be nearly 51% owned by Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI). It will be headed by Zee’s Chief Executive Officer Punit Goenka after a 90-day due diligence period.

Mr Goenka called the deal a “significant milestone”.

“The combined company will create a comprehensive entertainment business, enabling us to serve our consumers with wider content choices across platforms,” he said, according to an official release.

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Both firms have operated in India for years and own streaming platforms ZEE5 and SonyLIV. They also have a vast TV following with popular channels such as Sony MAX and Zee TV.

“It’s a hugely complementary deal,” media and entertainment industry specialist Vanita Kohli Khandekar told the BBC.

“For example Sony does not have the pan-India, small town and regional reach that Zee has. And Zee does not have a kids or sports business like Sony.”

Ms Khandekar said the deal will also propel Zee onto an international stage. “The company has now been absorbed by Sony, a $82bn (£61bn) corporation. So, Zee now becomes a foreign company, which gives it a bigger platform.”

Although most Indians are still dependent on direct-to-home TV entertainment, the country is also a lucrative destination for streaming platforms that have been tapping into the vast internet market to target a young digital audience.

The past few years have seen a surge of competition from streaming platforms including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hotstar as many users desert television for digital shows.

Experts say the merger between Sony and Zee is expected to further ratchet up this competition.