■ AUTOMOBILES
Toyota going green in Brazil
Toyota is introducing cars that run on ethanol and gasoline in Brazil, the Nikkei Shimbun reported yesterday, at a time when such flexible-fuel vehicles are growing in popularity there. Toyota was set to unveil Corolla subcompacts that run on ethanol, gasoline or a mixture of the two fuels, and plans to switch models the Japanese automakers produces in Brazil to flex-fuel cars, Nikkei said. Most drivers in Brazil choose ethanol, which is made from corn, sugar cane or other crops and is about half the price of gasoline in Brazil, and eight out of every 10 new cars sold in the country are flex-fuel models.
■ AVIATION
BA planning Iberia bid
British Airways (BA) said yesterday it had teamed up with a consortium led by US investment fund Texas Pacific Group (TPG) with a view to bidding for Spanish carrier Iberia. BA, which already owns 10 percent of Iberia's shares, said it was examining a joint bid with TPG, Vista Capital, Inversiones Ibersuizas and Quercus Equity, but there was no guarantee that this would actually lead to an offer for the Spanish carrier. Spanish press agency Europe Press said on Monday the joint BA/TPG offer would ensure that 51 percent of Iberia's capital remained in the hands of stable Spanish shareholders.
■ AVIATION
China Eastern to sell stake
Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines said yesterday it had reached agreement with Singapore Airlines for the latter to buy a stake in the China carrier. "We have reached an agreement. Singapore Airlines is buying a stake in China Eastern. But I can't disclose until maybe Friday how much stake Singapore Airlines is buying," a China Eastern official told XFN-Asia financial news. Trading in shares of Singapore Airlines and China Eastern was suspended at the Singapore Exchange and Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday. In a notice to the Singapore Exchange Tuesday night, Singapore Airlines said trading would resume when the market reopens today.
■ TELECOMS
KDDI develops smartphone
KDDI Corp, Japan's second-biggest wireless carrier, is developing a phone that can send e-mails and work with office documents to compete with Research In Motion Ltd's BlackBerry device. "We would like to make an announcement soon'' on the release of a smartphone, vice president Makoto Takahashi said yesterday in a news conference in Tokyo. He didn't say which manufacturer will be making the handset. Rivals NTT DoCoMo Inc, Softbank Corp and Willcom Inc already offer phones for business users as they try to stem a decline in sales from voice calls. KDDI said it would start selling 15 handset models from next month, including seven that can receive digital television broadcasts.
■ LABOR
China hiring executives
Experienced foreign executives may have the chance to try their hand at a large Chinese state-owned enterprise. An advertisement in yesterday's state-run China Daily, taking up all of page two and half of page three, called for applications for 22 positions, including 16 open to foreigners. Positions up for grabs included those of chief accountant of Changsha Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and deputy chief of China National Pharmaceutical Group.
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