■ Transporation
YTL proposes bullet train
Malaysian conglomerate YTL Corp has proposed building a high-speed bullet train link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to cover the 325km journey in 90 minutes, a news report said yesterday. If approved by the two governments, the estimated 8 billion ringgit (US$2.2 billion) venture would be the largest under the "private finance initiative" encouraged under Malaysia's latest five-year development plan, the New Straits Times reported. Francis Yeoh, managing director of YTL, said the company plans to raise funds for the project through the global capital market, if the it is given the go-ahead. The New Straits Times said the project would take five years to build.
■ Financial markets
Shareholders back merger
A merger between the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and the Sydney Futures Exchange (SFE) to form the world's ninth-largest listed exchange group was approved by shareholders yesterday. Australia's competition regulator has already cleared the merger, which will create an A$5 billion (US$3.75 billion) group. The proposal needed the SFE shareholders' approval to go ahead. Future exchanges operator SFE Corporation said shareholders approved an ASX offer of 0.51 of its shares for each SFE share. ASX, which operates Australia's stock exchanges, announced the proposed merger in March, saying it would create a leading exchange in the Asia-Pacific region. Shares in both companies were suspended yesterday after they requested a trading halt. In approving the merger last month, Australian Treasurer Peter Costello said it would boost the attractiveness of investing in Australia and the country's capital markets.
■ Transportation
`Green' truck unveiled
Mitsubishi Fuso introduced a "green" diesel-electric hybrid light truck yesterday that it said will deliver top fuel efficiency among rival hybrid commercial vehicles. Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp said in a statement that the Canter Eco Hybrid, is "a pioneering hybrid electric commercial vehicle for the Japan market," meeting the latest Japanese emissions regulations. Mitsubishi Fuso, 85 percent owned by DaimlerChrysler AG plans to sell several hundred Canter Eco Hybrid trucks by the end of this year it said. Hybrids deliver better mileage and reduce emissions compared to standard vehicles by switching between two systems, usually relying on electric power at slower speeds and gasoline for higher speeds. The Canter Eco Hybrid was introduced at a ceremony in Tokyo attended by Zetsche, Andreas Renschler, head of DaimlerChrysler's truck group, and others.
■ Aviation
Airlines oppose tax proposal
The Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines (AAPA)yesterday expressed opposition to a plan by the South Korean government to levy an extra tax on air fares to raise funds for poor countries. Andrew Herdman, director general of the AAP, criticized the plan "as another example of what seems to be a rash of unwelcome and misguided new taxes targeting air travel." Reports say South Korea is proposes to impose a tax of 1,000 (US$1.05) won on all air passengers leaving the country in a bid to raise 15 billion won annually. The money would be used in helping eradicate poverty in developing countries. But Herdman said the proposed taxes could further hurt an airline industry which has been hit by soaring oil prices.
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