AU POLITICS

International mining firm Rio Tinto is cautiously encouraged by the invitation sent by new Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard for the industry to begin full and open engagement on all aspects of tax reform.

The US climate change representative said Wednesday that all countries must adopt transparency and accept external reviews of their greenhouse emissions, leaving note that global cooperation is very important to ensure that the worldwide campaign for carbon intensity reduction is heading to the right direction.

The State Information Centre, a powerful government think-tank, has called on the Chinese government to consider a more flexible exchange rate in order to eliminate worldwide pressure for a stable currency and discourage the entry of speculative funds on China’s economy, which could encounter a slow down by the year’s second quarter.

A US-based environmentalist group has filed charges against Broken Hill Propreity (BHP) Billiton, stating that the company's Mexico operations have polluted its groundwater flowing into the neighboring areas.