■ Food
Nissin launches Space Ram
Instant noodles are out of this world, thanks to Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, who brought a new zero-gravity version aboard the US shuttle Discovery. Nissin Food, which invented instant noodles and now sells more than 65 billion packages per year, developed a special ball-shaped noodle that space-travellers can eat with a fork. Space Ram, unveiled by the firm hours after the Discovery blasted off yesterday, comes in four flavors -- soy sauce, miso, curry and pork broth. The soup is thick enough to prevent spilling, Nissin said, while the noodle balls retain their shape after being re-heated. On hand for Space Ram's unveiling was Nissin founder Momofuku Ando, who invented the world's first instant noodle in 1958 and came up with the noodles in a cup version in 1971. Nissin has no plans for retail sales of Space Ram.
■ IPR
Counterfeiting ring broken
Hong Kong customs officials smashed a counterfeiting syndicate, seizing HK$62.5 million (US$8 million) in fake designer clothes and handbags, authorities said yesterday. Nine men and eight women were arrested on Tuesday in the raid at 18 locations, officials said. Two of the suspects are directors of a trading company and were believed to be the syndicate heads, they said. Officials seized 157,000 pieces of clothes and leather handbags. The goods were believed to be manufactured in China, stored in Hong Kong and sold in Japan.
■ Retail
Amazon's earnings fall 32%
Amazon.com Inc said its second-quarter earnings sagged 32 percent from a year ago, in large part due to a big income tax hit. The Internet retailer reported net income for the three months that ended June 30 was US$52 million or US$0.12 per share, down from US$76 million, or US$0.18 a share for the second quarter of last year. Sales were US$1.75 billion, up 26 percent from US$1.39 billion at the same point last year. Amazon's gross profit rose to US$450 million, up from US$341 million at this time last year. Amazon said it expects sales of US$1.76 billion to US$1.91 billion in the quarter that ends Sept. 30, an increase of 20 percent to 31 percent from a year earlier.
■ Banking
RBS seeks stake in BOC
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the second-biggest British bank, will buy as much as a 15 percent stake in Bank of China (BOC) for up to US$5 billion, the South China Morning Post said yesterday. The two banks are close to an agreement on a deal that could set a record for the largest ever single foreign direct investment in China, the daily said, citing unnamed market sources. The paper said RBS had signed a memorandum of understanding to take a 15 percent stake in BOC, China's second-largest lender.
■ Entertainment
Disney weddings pondered
One in 10 engaged couples in Hong Kong are considering a wedding at the Disneyland theme park after it opens in September, a survey found yesterday. The poll found that while 10 percent would consider it, 61 percent said they thought marrying at the park would cost too much.
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