■ Electronics
Philips to shut UK factory
Electronics giant LG Philips said on Wednesday it would close a British factory that has made television screen tubes for more than 30 years, resulting in the loss of 760 jobs. The company -- a joint venture between Korea's LG and Dutch electronics producer Philips -- said the plant in Durham, northeast England, would cease production in July. "Consumer demand for flat screen technologies and larger tubes in Europe, coupled with damaging dollar exchange rates, has left us no option other than closure," plant director Dave Coppock said. "We've seen a 30 percent fall in our prices over the past two years. The plant has incurred heavy losses, and with no sign of recovery we simply cannot sustain this position any longer," Coppock said.
■ Oil
Prices drop in Asian trade
Oil prices dipped slightly in Asian trade yesterday after hitting four-month highs above US$53 a barrel overnight amid persistent supply concerns, dealers said. At 3:25pm, New York's April contract for light, sweet crude was down US$0.09 to US$52.96 from the close of US$53.05 in New York on Wednesday. The April contract rose US$1.37 in New York on Wednesday to its highest close since Oct. 26, amid renewed concerns that global demand was outpacing supply. John Kilduff at Fimat USA said the markets were worried about demand as economic growth appeared to be holding firm in many places around the world. With demand expected to stay strong, many are betting oil prices will remain above US$50 a barrel with fund managers also propping up the market, analysts said.
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
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
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