■ Shipping
DP World warns on US deal
Dubai Ports World warned on Thursday that its deal to sell off major port operations in six US cities may fall apart if the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey does not drop demands for a multimillion-dollar payment. DP World, based in the United Arab Emirates, is trying to finish the sale of US port operations it acquired last year. DP World struck a deal in December to sell the US operations to AIG Global Investment Group, for an undisclosed sum. But the final sale has been delayed by the Port Authority's request for tens of millions of dollars from the prospective new owners. Port Authority officials said they want compensation for past improvements to the Port Newark Container Terminal.
■ Internet
Yahoo to list on JASDAQ
Yahoo Japan Corp, the most-visited Web site in Japan, will list on the JASDAQ Securities Exchange because the company's shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange may soon breach an ownership limit. The company yesterday received approval to list on the JASDAQ from Feb. 28, according to a statement on the exchange's Web site. Yahoo Japan will remain on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section, Emi Takase, a spokeswoman for the company said. Listing the shares on the JASDAQ "will enable the company to diversify the methods of garnering capital," Takase said.
■ Trade
US beef imports suspended
Japan will suspend beef imports from a US processing plant after finding meat in a shipment that may violate a regulation imposed over mad cow concerns, the government said yesterday. The Ministries of Health and Agriculture said inspectors at the port of Yokohama found two boxes of rib meat in a shipment sent by US agricultural giant Tyson Food Inc from its plant in Lexington, Nebraska, that were not recorded in the accompanying shipping documents. The shipment's importer could not confirm that the meat met a government requirement that all beef destined for Japan be from animals age 20 months or younger, the ministries said in a statement.
■ Banking
HSBC to sell Ping An stake
Global banking giant HSBC said yesterday it will sell its 27 percent stake in Ping An Bank (平安銀行) to a subsidiary of Ping An Insurance's (平安保險) parent company for US$29.4 million. HSBC, which owns 19.9 percent of Ping An Insurance, China's second-largest life insurer, will sell its stake to Shenzhen Commercial Bank (SZCB, 深圳市商業銀行), which is owned by the Ping An Group (平安集團). "The transaction is part of Ping An Group's consolidation of its banking businesses within SZCB. HSBC is supporting its Chinese partner in this endeavor," the bank said.
■ Travel
Star Alliance refuses move
Star Alliance, the largest airline alliance serving Thailand, shunned the government's proposal to return to the country's old international airport, saying yesterday it prefers to keep international flights at Bangkok's recently opened Suvarnabhumi Airport. Nine airlines affiliated with Star Alliance serve Bangkok. The statement issued by Star Alliance was the latest negative reaction by the airline industry to a government proposal to reopen Bangkok's old Don Muang airport to serve as a second international hub for the capital.
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