■ RETAIL
Carrefour under scrutiny
French retail giant Carrefour confirmed in a statement seen yesterday that eight Chinese managers are being held by police in a kickback probe and vowed to root out such practices. "So far, the company has discovered evidence of a number of managers and employees suspected of violating laws and company rules," said the Chinese-language statement posted on the popular Web site Sina.com. The retailing giant also said it had set up a hotline to allow suppliers to report any Carrefour managers or staff who request kickbacks, and said it was cooperating with police in a deepening probe of the alleged bribes.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Porsche to boost VW stake
German luxury sports car maker Porsche is trying to boost its stake in Europe's biggest automaker, Volkswagen, to acquire majority control, the newsweekly Der Spiegel reported on Sunday, citing unnamed sources. Der Spiegel said that Porsche had already begun buying stock options that would allow it to buy VW shares at a fixed price. It now holds an approximately 31 percent stake in Volkswagen. Stock traders told the magazine they believed Porsche would cross the 50 percent threshold early next year.
■ Automobiles
Kia contractors end strike
Operations at Kia Motors Corp's main factory were returning to normal yesterday after workers at the South Korean carmaker urged their colleagues at Kia subcontractors to end a lengthy sit-down strike, the company said. About 100 workers from some 20 of the carmaker's subcontractors began occupying a paint shop at Kia's main Hwaseong plant, south of Seoul, on Aug. 23 to press for higher wages and other demands. The strike shut down production fully for one day and affected production for another six workdays before the workers agreed early yesterday to end their action.
■ Aviation
Shenzhen offers Internet
Shenzhen Airlines said yesterday passengers would soon be able to use their mobile phones and connect to the Internet during flights. Swiss-based technology firm OnAir, which is providing the service, said the move would allow travelers to call and send text messages from their mobile phones and access the Internet on laptops during flights. The company said it aimed to set up the service on the airline, which is based in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, by mid-2009. They also hope three demonstrator aircraft will be in use by the Beijing Olympics next year. Shenzhen will be the first Chinese airline to offer the service.
■ Aviation
Fund to bid for airport
A Canadian pension fund said yesterday it wanted to buy up to 49 percent of New Zealand's main international airport in Auckland, days after Dubai Aerospace Enterprise signaled it may scrap its attempt to acquire a controlling stake. Dubai claimed on Friday that Auckland International Airport Ltd had breached its merger obligations -- a comment likely to signal an end to its NZ$2.6 billion (US$1.8 billion) takeover bid. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board said it would seek no more than 49 percent of Auckland Airport, New Zealand's biggest visitor gateway, and would accommodate any desire by local councils to retain their combined 22 percent stake in the airport.
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)