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SYDNEY — Australian airline Qantas agreed to pay a $66 million fine on Monday after a bruising "ghost flights" scandal, following accusations it kept selling seats on long-cancelled trips.

The country's competition watchdog said Qantas "admitted that it misled consumers" by advertising seats on tens of thousands of flights — despite those flights being cancelled. 

Qantas will also fork out $13 million in compensation to 86,000 travellers impacted by the cancellations and botched rescheduling. 

"Qantas' conduct was egregious and unacceptable," said Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairperson Gina Cass-Gottlieb. 

"Many consumers will have made holiday, business and travel plans after booking on a phantom flight that had been cancelled." 

Qantas said that, in some cases, customers were booked on flights that had been cancelled "two or more" days prior. 

Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson said the airline "let down customers and fell short of our own standards".  "We know many of our customers were affected by our failure to provide cancellation notifications in a timely manner and we are sincerely sorry," she said in a statement.

The US$66 million (Aus$100 million) fine is subject to court approval. 

Long-dubbed the "Spirit of Australia", 103-year-old national carrier Qantas has been on a mission to repair its reputation. It has faced a consumer backlash stirred up by soaring ticket prices, claims of sloppy service and the sacking of 1,700 ground staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Qantas has previously defended selling seats on cancelled flights. 

It argued that rather than buying tickets for specific seats, customers buy a "bundle of rights" and a promise the airline will "do its best to get consumers where they want to be on time". 

Qantas posted an annual profit of $1.1 billion last year, capping a major financial rebound after the travel turbulence of the Covid years. 

Veteran chief executive Alan Joyce announced his early retirement amid a barrage of criticism in September last year.

BEIRUT — EU chief Ursula von der Leyen recently announced $1 billion in aid to Lebanon to help tackle illegal migration, as rights groups warned against forced returns to Syria.

The European Union has already agreed deals with Egypt, Tunisia, Mauritania and others aimed at helping stem flows of irregular migrants.

"I can announce a financial package of $1 billion for Lebanon that would be available from this year until 2027," the European Commission chief said, adding that "we want to contribute to Lebanon's socio-economic stability".

She said the aid was designed to strengthen basic services such as education and health amid a severe economic crisis.

Europe will also support Lebanon's army, with the aid "mainly focused on providing equipment and training for border management".

The EU Commission's spokesman said in Brussels the aid will be disbursed "in grants", with 736 million euros earmarked to support Lebanon "in response to the Syrian crisis".

He said "264 million euros will be for bilateral cooperation", notably to support the security services, including with border management.

Von der Leyen said the EU was committed to maintaining "legal pathways open to Europe" and resettling refugees, but "at the same time, we count on your good cooperation to prevent illegal migration and combat migrant smuggling".

Lebanon's economy collapsed in late 2019, turning it into a launchpad for migrants, with Lebanese joining Syrians and Palestinian refugees making perilous Europe-bound voyages.

Lebanon says it currently hosts around two million people from neighbouring Syria — the world's highest number of refugees per capita — with almost 785,000 registered with the United Nations.

"We understand the challenges that Lebanon faces with hosting Syrian refugees and other displaced persons," said von der Leyen, adding the EU had supported Lebanon with 2.6 billion euros to host them.

The Syria war erupted in 2011 after the government repressed peaceful pro-democracy protests and has killed more than half-a-million people and displaced around half of the pre-war population.

Eight rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch warned before von der Leyen's Beirut visit that Syria was not safe for returns.

EU assistance "geared to enabling or incentivising returns to Syria risks resulting in forced returns of refugees", a statement said.

EU aid bolstering Lebanese security agencies so they can curb migration to Europe "could result in Syrians resorting to even longer and more dangerous routes", they added.

Lebanon has also faced nearly seven months of border clashes between its powerful, Iran-backed Shiite movement Hizbollah and Israel that flared after the Hamas-Israel war began in October.

People smuggling 

Lebanon remains essentially leaderless, without a president and headed by a caretaker government with limited powers amid deadlock between entrenched political barons.

Von der Leyen was accompanied by Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides.

Cyprus, the EU's easternmost member, is less than 200 kilometres from Lebanon and Syria, and wants to curb migrant boat departures from Lebanon towards its shores.

Nicosia says the Israel-Hamas war has weakened Beirut's efforts to monitor its territorial waters.

"I am very confident that this package announced today will enhance the capacity of Lebanese authority to handle various challenges including controlling land and maritime borders, ensuring the safety of its citizens, fight against people smuggling and continue their fight against terrorism," Christodoulides said.

Some Lebanese politicians have blamed Syrians for their country's worsening troubles, and pressure often mounts ahead of an annual conference on Syria in Brussels, with ministers meeting this year on May 27.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said: "We reiterate our request to the European Union... to help displaced people in their own countries to encourage them to return voluntarily and thus guarantee them a decent life in their country of origin.

"If we insist on this issue, it is to warn against Lebanon becoming a transit country from Syria to Europe, and the problems at the Cypriot border are just one example of what could happen if this issue is not radically resolved."

BEIJING — China's Fujian aircraft carrier took to the water for maiden sea trials on Wednesday, state media said, a key next step in a vast naval build-up by Beijing as it carves out a more assertive role for itself in the Pacific and beyond.

The Fujian is China's third aircraft carrier after the Liaoning and the Shandong vessels and is the Chinese navy's largest-ever ship.

It departed from eastern Shanghai's Jiangnan Shipyard at around 8:00 am, state news agency Xinhua said.

The trials will "primarily test the reliability and stability of the aircraft carrier's propulsion and electrical systems", it added. 

China has stepped up a massive expansion of its naval forces in recent years, as it seeks to expand its reach in the Pacific and challenge a US-led alliance system.

Tensions have notably flared in the disputed South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety, and near the self-ruled island of Taiwan, where it has deployed the Shandong aircraft carrier.

A January report by the Congressional Research Service, citing the Pentagon, described it as the largest navy in the world and said it projected it to grow to 435 ships by 2030.

The build-up is aimed at "addressing the situation with Taiwan militarily, if need be" as well as "achieving a greater degree of control or domination over China's near-seas region, particularly the South China Sea", the report said.

China wants its navy to be able to deter "US intervention in a conflict in China's near-seas region over Taiwan or some other issue, or failing that, delay the arrival or reduce the effectiveness of intervening US forces," it added.

Analysts at Washington-based think tank CSIS have said the Fujian is expected to feature more advanced take-off systems, allowing the Chinese air force to deploy jets carrying larger payloads and more fuel.

"The vessel is slated to become the largest surface combatant in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy and significantly upgrade China's naval capabilities," they wrote.

AMMAN — Arab Bank Group reported solid results for the first quarter of 2024, with 17 per cent increase in net income after tax reaching $252.8 million as compared with $216.3 million for the same period last year. 

The Group maintained its strong capital base with a total equity of $11.3 billion.

At constant currency the Group’s loans grew by 7 per cent to reach $37.1 billion, and deposits grew by 6 per cent to reach $49.8 billion.

Chairman of the Board of Directors Sabih Masri stated that Arab Bank’s first quarter 2024 performance was strong despite the challenging environment for banks globally and regionally, according to a statement by the Arab Bank.  

He also added that the results reflect the bank’s resilience and ability to deliver sustainable growth from multiple markets mainly from the GCC region. 

Masri expressed his confidence in the bank’s ability to continue to grow based on its sound strategy, while maintaining the strength of its balance sheet.

Chief Executive Officer Randa Sadik stated that Arab Bank delivered robust results during the first quarter 2024, where the bank’s net operating profit grew by 10 per cent driven by increase in core banking income across various sectors and markets, with a clear focus on enhancing non-interest income contribution and revenue diversification.

Sadik added that the Group’s liquidity and asset quality remain solid where loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 74.5 per cent and credit provisions held against non-performing loans continue to exceed 100 per cent. 

Arab Bank Group maintains a strong capital base that is predominantly composed of common equity with a capital adequacy ratio of 17.8 per cent.

Sadik emphasised on the bank’s commitment towards innovation and digital transformation, highlighting the bank’s ongoing investment in technology and its strategic focus on customer-centric innovations offering seamless banking experiences to customers across various sectors. 

FRANKFURT, Germany — Thyssenkrupp said recenetly it had agreed to sell a stake in its steel business to a group owned by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, as the German conglomerate seeks to overhaul the long-troubled unit.

Kretinsky's EP Corporate Group (EPCG) will initially acquire 20 per cent of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, in a deal expected to close in the current financial year, the companies said in a statement.

Talks are ongoing for EPCG to take a further 30 per cent stake at a later point with the aim of eventually reaching a 50-50 joint venture.

No financial details were disclosed.

Thyssenkrupp has long sought a solution for its underperforming steel unit, which has been hammered in recent years by cheap competition from Asia and high energy prices, while facing costly investments as part of an industry-wide shift towards greener production processes.

"Together, we want to create a high-performance, profitable and future-oriented steel company that reduces the costs of decarbonisation to a more competitive level and thus accelerates the green transformation of the steel industry," said Thyssenkrupp CEO Miguel Lopez.

Kretinsky said he was convinced that "this joint venture concept will establish a more resilient position for Thyssenkrupp Steel", which he described as "one of the traditional pillars of the German economy".

Shares in Thyssenkrupp soared by more than 10 per cent on news of the deal in early morning trading in Frankfurt.

Thyssenkrupp said earlier this month it would cut jobs and reduce production at its key steel plant in Duisburg because of the difficult market environment.

The exact number of job losses had not yet been decided, it added. Thyssenkrupp Steel employs about 27,000 people overall, around 13,000 of them at the Duisburg site in western Germany.

Steel production at the plant would fall from 11.5 million tonnes a year to 9-9.5 million tonnes, it said.

Thyssenkrupp added that it planned to step up efforts to produce steel with lower carbon emissions in line with tighter environmental restrictions at Duisburg. Last year it received approval for 1.45 billion euros ($1.55 billion) in state aid for the shift to cleaner steel.

WASHINGTON — The ongoing tensions in the Middle East threaten to halt — or even reverse — some of the recent progress made in tackling global inflation, the World Bank said on Thursday. 

Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza has caused tensions to rise across the region and pushed up oil prices. 

"Heightened tensions in the Middle East have been exerting upward pressure on prices for key commodities, notably oil and gold," the World Bank announced in its outlook for global commodity markets. 

"Disinflationary tailwinds from moderating commodity prices appear essentially over," it added. 

A worst-case scenario shock to oil prices meanwhile could raise global inflation. 

Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 34,262 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. 

Disinflation 'hit a wall' 

"A key force for disinflation — falling commodity prices — has essentially hit a wall," World Bank Chief Economist Indermit Gill said in a statement. 

"That means interest rates could remain higher than currently expected this year and next," he continued. 

"The world is at a vulnerable moment: A major energy shock could undermine much of the progress in reducing inflation over the past two years," he added. 

The World Bank estimated that a "moderate conflict-related supply disruption" could raise the average cost of a barrel of Brent crude oil to $92 per barrel, while a "severe disruption" could push it above $100. 

That worst-case scenario would have the impact of raising global inflation by nearly 1 percentage point this year, the World Bank said. 

As well as delaying interest rate cuts, it could also cause an increase to food insecurity, which had already "worsened markedly last year reflecting armed conflicts and elevated food prices", the Bank added.