■ Oil
Beijing cuts oil prices
China has cut the price of domestic gasoline by about 4 percent and jet fuel by approximately 2 percent in response to a decline in world oil prices. China's main planning agency, the State Development and Reform Commission, said in a statement on its Web site yesterday that the price cuts were effective immediately. The Xinhua news agency said the move followed complaints from consumers who demanded domestic prices reflect the international market trend. China's last such price cut was in March, 2005, Xinhua said.
■ Automobiles
New Honda factory in India
Honda Motor Co, Japan's third-largest carmaker, will build its second Indian car factory in the western state of Rajasthan. Honda chose Rajasthan to supply its biggest market, the northern and eastern parts of the country, a company statement issued in New Delhi said. Honda may spend 20 billion rupees (US$450 million) to set up the second car factory, N.K. Goila, vice president of the company's Indian unit, said on Jan. 9. The carmaker, which has a plant near New Delhi that assembles Accord and Civic sedans, will have a production capacity of 150,000 vehicles in India by 2010.
■ Construction
Hyundai gets condo project
Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co received a US$99 million order from Singapore's City Development Ltd to build two condominium buildings in the city's financial district, South Korea's second-biggest builder said. The buildings will be built at 1 Shenton Way and will be finished within 38 months from the time construction begins later this month, Hyundai Engineering said in a statement. The site is in the heart of Singapore's central business district, a statement on City Development's Web site said. Hyundai Engineering and other South Korean builders received record orders from overseas last year, as rising oil prices prompted Middle Eastern countries to increase spending on refineries and power plants.
■ Economy
Minister wary of rate hike
Japan's economic and fiscal policy minister yesterday put pressure on the Bank of Japan to reconsider reported plans to announce a rate hike during this week's policy board meeting. "Currently, spending is weakening," Hiroko Ota said in a TV interview. "The Japanese economy is facing a crucial phase as it is still possible for the economy to retreat to deflation," she said. "I believe the Bank of Japan will make a decision, being fully aware of these points. I hope the Bank of Japan will make a responsible decision."
■ Jobs
Enough foreign talent: poll
Nearly nine out of 10 Singaporeans fear foreign professionals will take their jobs and oppose efforts to woo them to the city-state, the Sunday Times reported. More than half the 448 people polled by the paper's publisher, Singapore Press Holdings, believe the city-state has allowed enough foreign talent in and should stop trying to attract more. Singapore has aggressively stepped up efforts to attract more talented foreign professionals to boost its labor pool and address a baby shortage. But the campaign has triggered insecurity among locals. The survey showed 43 percent believe the government is more concerned about foreign talent than its own citizens and doubt the move will help create jobs.
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