■ Labor
Seoul orders end to strike
Using rarely invoked powers, the South Korean government yesterday ordered an end to a 25-day strike by unionized pilots at Asiana Airlines, the country's second-biggest carrier, the Labor Ministry said. The government's intervention forces the pilots to stop the strike for 30 days. The government action came after hopes were raised for a last-minute resolution, with the union and management suddenly resuming broken off negotiations earlier in the day. Those talks failed to reach a breakthrough, the ministry said. Asiana has been forced to cancel over 2,000 domestic and more than 130 international flights since the strike began July 17. About 90 percent of its cargo flights have been suspended. The strike has been costly for the airline and companies it works closely with such as travel agencies, importers and exporters, resulting in estimated losses of 353 billion won (US$348 million) through Sunday.
■ Computers
Lenovo reports rising profit
In its first earnings report since buying IBM Corp's PC business, Chinese computer maker Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) said yesterday that its net profit rose 6 percent in the April-June quarter to HK$357 million (US$45.8 million). The figure compared to HK$337 million in the first quarter last year. Lenovo said its overall PC business remained profitable despite taking on IBM's money-losing unit, with global sales totalling HK$18.3 billion. Lenovo chief executive Steve Ward said the PC operations acquired from IBM in April are performing better than they did under IBM. Overall revenue more than tripled in the fiscal first quarter to HK$19.6 billion from HK$5.88 billion. Hong Kong-listed Lenovo had earlier predicted the IBM deal would quadruple its sales. Lenovo said in a statement it was "generating faster-than-expected benefits from the synergies anticipated from the acquisition."
■ Aerospace
EU backs merger plan
The European Commission has given its green light to plans by US aerospace and defense firms Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co to merge their rocket launch services. The firms will form a joint venture known as United Launch Alliance, to combine the testing and launching operations of Lockheed Martin's Atlas and Boeing's Delta rockets. The EU head office said late on Tuesday that the deal posed no competition concerns in the European market. The two firms will maintain separate engineering and design programs and will still produce their two rockets separately. The merger comes after a downturn in the rocket business. Each firm will control 50 percent of the venture, which is expected to generate between US$1.5 billion and US$2 billion in annual revenue.
■ Acquisitions
Ripplewood ups Maytag bid
In a last-ditch effort to outbid Maytag's much larger Whirlpool, a consortium of investors led by the private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings indicated on Tuesday night that it might be willing to raise its offer to about US$15.65 a share, or US$1.3 billion, according to executives close to the negotiations. Ripplewood made the indication to Maytag's board a day after Whirlpool submitted a bid of US$20 a share, or US$1.62 billion in cash and stock. Maytag's board had until 2pm yesterday to decide which bid to accept if neither suitor formally adjusts its offer.
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
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
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
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