■ Economies
Seoul raises interest rates
South Korea's central bank unexpectedly cut its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to a record to spur the economy. Bank of Korea Governor Park Seung and his six fellow policy makers lowered the overnight call rate to 3.5 percent at a monthly policy meeting in Seoul. The decision reflects a slump in consumer demand caused by rising fuel costs and a crackdown on credit-card debt. "The real economy has exhibited a slowdown in its pace of recovery as there has been a delay in any marked improvement of private consumption," the Bank of Korea said in a statement. "The pace of economic growth may be even slower, largely due to the likelihood of the more stubborn than expected persistence of high oil prices and of a worldwide cooling of the information and technology sector."
■ Telecoms
Motorola has IRS woes
Motorola Inc said on Wednesday that the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is seeking US$500 million or more in back taxes in a dispute over the way the company calculated earnings. In a federal filing, Motorola said the IRS has concluded that the company should have reported an additional US$1.4 billion in income during the period of 1996 to 2000. Motorola said it is "vigorously" contesting that decision, which would require it pay an additional US$500 million in back taxes. The IRS could also dispute Motorola's reported results since 2000, resulting in additional tax payments. The dispute centers on so-called transfer pricing, which occurs when one unit of a diversified company "sells" goods to another part. The company said it does not expect the matter to affect its overall financial health, even if it loses the dispute, but said it could take a temporary hit to financial results in the quarter in which the dispute is finally resolved.
■ Economies
China's CPI rose 5.3%
China's inflation rate last month rose 5.3 percent year-on-year, its fastest growth rate in seven years, as food prices continued to surge, data showed yesterday. The sharply rising prices have put more pressure on the central bank to raise inter-est rates. The year-on-year rise in consumer prices last month was the highest since February 1997, but came within government fore-casts after prices rose 5 percent in June. Analysts said last month's data sig-nalled a further rise in the inflation rate with prices seen moving a little higher in the third quarter. The latest increase puts inflation level with the central bank's benchmark one-year lending rate, which analysts have warned could force China to raise interest rates, making it more expensive to borrow money. The consu-mer price index in the first seven months rose 3.8 percent year-on-year, com-pared with a rise of 3.6 percent in the first six months and 0.6 percent growth in the same period last year, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
■ Transportation
KLM hikes fares
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines said on Wednesday it will raise airfares by 1 percent
to 3 percent this month in response to rising demand for air travel. The higher rates will apply to all tickets worldwide, it said in a state-ment. KLM has been suf-fering from a slump in international travel blamed on terrorism fears, the war in Iraq, SARS and an eco-nomic recession. The fare hike will apply to tickets purchased from Aug. 17.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique