■ Automobiles
Nissan to unveil small car
Japanese automaker Nissan plans to challenge the dominance of South Korean carmakers in the low end of the new-car business in the US when it begins selling the new subcompact Versa next year. "Most Japanese manufacturers gained their footholds in North America with fun, economical, high quality, affordable vehicles," Jack Collins, Nissan North America vice president of product development, said on Wednesday during a press briefing. "And though it seems like we've spent 40 years trying to move our product lineup away from those humble beginnings, history does have a way of repeating itself," Collins said, adding that more and more American motorists are thinking seriously about moving into a smaller vehicle for the first time in years.
■ Steel
Future bright for Nippon
Nippon Steel Corp, Asia's largest steelmaker, expects profits to increase next year on surging sales of high-end steel to Toyota Motor Corp. and other automakers, President Akio Mimura said. "Japanese carmakers are increasing their market share worldwide, so auto steel sales should continue to be strong," Mimura said in an interview in Seoul at the annual meeting of the International Iron and Steel Institute. "We have to increase profits under any circumstances." Nippon Steel, which is cutting output by a million tons in the fiscal year ending March, is focusing on high-end steel to bolster profit even as a glut of Chinese steel pushes down prices. Japan's industrial output rebounded in August, spurring demand for steel, while household spending climbed for the first month in four, adding to signs that the economy will expand for a fourth quarter.
■ Economy
Business confidence is up
A key survey of Japanese business confidence is expected to reinforce an upbeat outlook for the world's number two economy. The Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan survey for September, which will be published today, is tipped to support the government's view that the Japanese economy has pulled out of a soft patch. The survey is set to offer "hard evidence for the government's assessment that the economy has emerged from a lull," said Credit Suisse First Boston economist Satoru Ogasawara. Robust economic growth and surging share prices are two factors behind the expected pick-up in corporate confidence, he said. The Tankan survey is also expected to show a slight improvement among large non-manufacturers.
■ Internet
Saudis try blocked sites
Of the estimated 2.2 million Internet users in Saudi Arabia, the majority regularly try to access forbidden or indecent material, the Saudi newspaper Arab News reported yesterday. "Of those who log on to the Internet, 92.5 percent are trying to access a website that, for one reason or another, has been blocked," said Mishaal al-Kadhi, acting general manager of the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). KACST is not only the Internet gateway for the Kingdom, but also acts as a filter for unsuitable material. The official said pornographic material was one of the main items on the city's "black list" which also includes gambling, terrorism and politics as well as anything contrary to Islamic beliefs.
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