■ Automobiles
Hyundai chief summoned
The day after his son was questioned by investigators, Hyundai Motors chairman Chung Mong-koo is to be summoned over alleged bribe payments, the public prosecutor's office announced in Seoul yesterday. The head of South Korea's largest auto maker is to report on Monday to the prosecutor's office as part of an ongoing investigation into whether Hyundai operated slush funds to bribe government officials and politicians with millions of dollars. The chairman's son, Chung Eui-sun, president of Hyundai affiliate Kia Motors Corp was questioned on Thursday on allegations of illegal political lobbying and management transfer of the group.
■ Fast Food
KFC relaxes franchise rules
US fast-food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has relaxed franchising rules in China to boost its expansion in the world's most populous country, state press reported yesterday. KFC, a unit of Yum Brands Inc of the US, said its franchise fees would fall to as low as 2 million yuan (US$250,000) compared to a previous minimum of 8 million yuan, the Shanghai Daily said. KFC, which entered China in 1987, runs only 37 franchised restaurants out of its 1,700 restaurants in the country, well below its five percent ceiling.
■ Internet
Softbank invests in 3G
Japanese Internet conglomerate Softbank Corp said yesterday it would step up investment at the mobile telephone operator it recently bought from Vodafone, amid reports it will inject over US$2 billion. Softbank is determined to improve the unit's third-generation (3G) cellphone service by the end of the year to compete with local rivals NTT DoCoMo Inc and KDDI Corp, company spokesman Naoki Nakayama said. The Nihon Keizai newspaper reported Softbank would invest ?250 billion (US$2.1 billion) in the year to March to increase the number of base stations for its 3G services to 30,000 from 20,000. The company also plans to introduce handsets designed for easier use of the Internet this year, the economic daily said without citing sources.
■ Oil
Prices reach record high
Oil prices touched a new record above US$73 a barrel yesterday amid concern about Iran's nuclear ambitions and declining US gasoline stocks, but then fell back as traders took profits. Light, sweet crude for June delivery, which became the front-month contract yesterday, opened in electronic trading at a high of US$73.50 a barrel -- setting a new intraday record for a front-month contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange. As trading progressed in Asia, the price fell US$0.72 to US$72.97 a barrel. The June contract had previously been trading at these levels, even reaching as high as US$74.50 a barrel on Thursday. As London's ICE Futures exchange opened, Brent crude for June delivery fell US$0.73 to US$72.45 a barrel. The May contract, which expired on Thursday, fell US$0.22 to settle at US$71.95 a barrel. The price of oil had traded as high as US$72.49 the day before.
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