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Airbus to sue over US-German spying row




Aviation giant Airbus says it will file a criminal complaint over allegations that German intelligence helped the US carry out industrial espionage.

German media reports suggest the country's spy agency BND collected data on European firms at the behest of the US National Security Agency.

An Airbus statement quoted by AFP news agency said it was "alarmed" by the reports but did not want to speculate.

The company said it had asked for more information from the German government.

"We are aware that large companies in the sector, like ours, are targets of espionage," read the statement.

"However, in this case we are alarmed because there is concrete suspicion."

Leaks from a secret BND document suggest that its monitoring station at Bad Aibling checked whether European companies were breaking trade embargos after a request from the NSA.German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere is under pressure over the revelations

Embarrassment in Berlin - the BBC's Jenny Hill writes:

There is mounting pressure on the German government to disclose how much it knew about the espionage.

In the firing line is Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, who in 2008 was the minister in charge of the chancellery and directly responsible for the BND.

He insists he knew nothing about malpractice within the secret service.

Tabloid newspaper Bild printed a picture of Mr de Maiziere on Wednesday- his nose elongated to Pinocchio proportions.

"Herr de Maiziere!" the accompanying headline screamed, "You lie with impunity!"

Spy scandal turns tables on Merkel government

Airbus was named by the German press as one of the firms that was targeted. It is believed that BND eavesdropped on online, phone and other communications in order to gather information.

It is also alleged that it spied on France's presidential palace and foreign ministry, and the European Commission.

According to the reports, the agency did not target German or US officials in the surveillance, as they are protected by a BND-NSA agreement signed in 2002.

However, it has emerged that the German government knew about NSA spying on European arms businesses as early as 2008. The government found "shortcomings" in the BND's operations, German TV reports.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has denied claims of a cover-up.

Mr de Maiziere said he had no knowledge of malpractice at German intelligence agencies, but called for the internal BND report to be presented to a parliamentary committee.


Uber office in Guangzhou 'raided'


Private transport firm Uber has faced legal difficulties in many countries across the world

Private online car-hire service Uber has had its offices in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou raided by authorities, reports say.

According to local media, the US company is under investigation for "organising private drivers to provide unlicensed businesses".

The local transport, police and industry bodies are said to have seized equipment including mobile phones.

Guangzhou considers car-hire services that involve private drivers illegal.

"Law enforcement departments have come down hard on such illegal businesses as they disrupt the market and we will not be soft on these activities in the future," the Guangzhou Transport Commission said in a recent statement.

Uber first launched in China last year and its service is now available in the capital, Beijing, as well as the cities of Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

According to reports, Uber's offices in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen were also visited by authorities this week for a "routine inspection".

In a statement, Uber said it "prides itself on providing efficient and convenient transportation options for riders to get from point to point, helping cities reduce congestion pollution.

"We have maintained open channels of communications and are working closely with local authorities in co-operation."

Analysis: John Sudworth, BBC Shanghai correspondent

China's transport authorities, like those in many other countries, have been struggling to cope with the impact of mobile phone based taxi hailing apps, in particular the huge popularity of the so called ride-sharing service provided by unlicensed, private drivers.

Popular, it seems, because they offer cleaner, more modern cars and, often, a higher level of customer service compared to traditional taxis.

In recent months, some of these drivers, in a number of Chinese cities, have been stopped and fined up to $5,000.

Uber's market share is dwarfed by that of the larger home-grown taxi app companies, Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, which recently merged. If the Guangzhou raid is a sign that the government is preparing to get tougher, then some observers will wonder if the smaller, foreign-owned target has been chosen for reasons of political convenience.
Growth problems

Uber has been expanding aggressively in recent years, but has run into problems in a number of countries, including South Korea and India.

The San Francisco-based firm has seen its service banned in both Asian nations - as well as Germany and Sao Paulo in Brazil - because of safety concerns and industry opposition.

In India, for example, Uber came under fire and was banned after a driver in Delhiallegedly raped a female passenger.

The fast-growing start up, which was founding in 2009, is estimated to be worth $40bn following its most recent fundraising round.

Uber operates in more than 250 cities in 57 countries, according to its website.



Saudi Arabia shakes up state oil firm Aramco



Saudi Arabia's state oil company is to be separated from the oil ministry as part of a wider restructuring.

The move was approved by the Supreme Economic Council, which was set up by King Salman this year to replace the Supreme Petroleum Council.

The new 10-member council is headed by the King's son, Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

He was appointed this week as the new deputy crown prince and is regarded as second in line to the throne.

On Wednesday, King Salman appointed Saudi Aramco's chief executive Khalid al-Falih as chairman of the company and health minister as part of a major political reshuffle. He has been replaced by Aramco senior vice-president Amin al-Nasser.

The main facets of Saudi oil policy - including maintaining the ability to stabilise markets by holding extensive reserves and a reluctance to interfere in the market for political reasons - are set by the top members of the ruling royal family.

There are no signs that the move will lead to any significant changes in the way that the world's top oil exporter and de facto Opec leader makes its decisions.

However, separating Aramco from the oil ministry is likely to be just the first step in a shake-up of the Saudi oil sector, according to analysts.

Mohammad al-Sabban, a former senior adviser to Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi, said: "This decision will bring more flexibility to the company to take decisions on a commercial basis, and keep full financial control."
Delicate balance

The move could pave the way for a prince to be appointed as the next oil minister to replace 79-year-old Mr al-Naimi.

It had been thought that the royal family regarded the role of oil minister as so important that giving it to a prince could upset the kingdom's delicate balance of power and risk making oil policy hostage to bickering among the many princes.

Earlier this year, King Salman promoted his son, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman - a long-serving member of Saudi Arabia's Opec delegation - to the role of deputy oil minister from assistant oil minister.

Ehsan ul-Haq, oil analyst at KBC Energy Economics, said it was highly likely that Prince Abdulaziz, a son of the King, could be appointed oil minister.

"[Falih's] shift to the health ministry suggests that he might not follow Naimi. His appointment to the chairman of Aramco, on the other hand, is only ceremonial," he said.

Aramco could not be reached for comment.





US telecom firms fight back


US telecom companies are pushing back against tighter regulation. Three industry groupsare attempting to block a move by regulators to reclassify broadband internet as a service that should be more heavily regulated. They say the Federal Communications Commission is seeking "sweeping" control over the internet which will create "enormous uncertainty" about whether broadband providers can continue to provide the services "that benefit consumers".






Chip shares fly




Intel shares are leading the Dow Industrials higher - with a 2.6% gain. Reports says that earlier this month Intel made a takeover offer for computer chip maker, Altera. From 1 June Intel would be free to make a hostile bid, according to Reuters. Altera makes programmable computer chips used in industrial applications and military gear. Its shares have jumped 9.5%.





Coder conviction




A jury in New York has convicted a former Goldman Sachs programmer of stealing the investment bank's high-frequency trading code. The jury said it had reached a split decision, finding Sergey Aleynikov (pictured left) guilty on only one count of stealing "secret scientific material" from the investment bank, but were unable to reach a verdict on another similar count. Prosecutors had charged Aleynikov, a dual US/Russian citizen, with stealing the code as he prepared to leave Goldman for a high-frequency trading firm.






Oil rig survey


Getty Images

Baker Hughes, which compiles a weekly survey of the number of oil rigs in the US, found that the total was down by 24 this week to 679 active rigs. That was the smallest drop since early April, after the loss of 31 and 26 rigs in the prior two weeks, and suggests that the collapse in drilling may be coming to an end as oil prices recover.

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