China extends Rio Tinto investigation

Australian Foreign Minister Steven Smith said yesterday that China has advised Australian authorities that it will extend its probe of Rio Tinto executive Stern Hu by two months, the Wall Street Journal reported. Smith said he will discuss the issue with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, at the APEC summit in Singapore. Hu and three other Rio employees have been in detention since last July for industrial espionage and bribery but have yet to be tried in court. They were originally accused ot stealing state secrets as well but those charges were dropped. Rio Tinto has denied the charges.