■ TEXTILES
EU to scrap China quota
The European Commission and China have agreed to scrap the quota restrictions on Chinese textiles next year in favor of a monitoring system, the EU's executive arm said yesterday. The quotas will be replaced by a textile import "double checking system," which will track both the issuing of export licenses in China and the import of goods into the EU, the commission said. "I welcome this further step in the cooperation between the EU and China in ensuring a smooth transition to free trade in textiles," EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said in a statement.
■ TELECOMS
Sprint Nextel boss quits
Sprint Nextel Corp, the third-largest US wireless provider, said on Monday that Gary Forsee, its chairman, president and chief executive, is stepping down, effective immediately. Sprint said it decided to replace Forsee based on its board's belief that it is the "right time to put in place new leadership." The company also warned it expects to report a net loss of approximately 337,000 post-paid subscribers in the third quarter and projects this year's operating revenue will be slightly below its previously targeted range of US$41 billion to US$42 billion.
■ AUTOMOBILES
UAW sets Chrysler deadline
Fresh off a two-day strike at General Motors Corp, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union has set a strike deadline of today for contract negotiations with Chrysler LLC, a source close to the negotiations said on Monday. The union will not necessarily walk off the job if an agreement is not reached by the deadline of 11am today, the source said. Negotiations could be extended on an hourly or daily basis. The UAW is using a landmark agreement reached with GM as a framework for negotiations with Chrysler. But Chrysler officials have said that the firm's new owner -- private equity group Cerberus Capital Management -- does not want to pay to transfer the administration of retiree health care to the union.
■ INVESTMENT
Sallie Mae to sue investor
Sallie Mae said on Monday that it was suing the investor group that had offered to acquire the US' largest student lender in order to force the buyers to go through with their original US$25 billion deal or else pay a US$900 million breakup fee. The buyers group, led by private equity company J.C. Flowers & Co, has said that student loan legislation signed into law by US President George W. Bush last month, in addition to weaker economic conditions, made the US$60-a-share price agreed upon in April unacceptable. Sallie Mae said it expected the buyers to honor their contract.
■ ENTERTAINMENT
PlayStation 3 prices cut
Sony Corp's game unit said yesterday that it would cut the prices of its next generation PlayStation 3 game consoles in Japan next week and offer a new low-range model next month. Sony Computer Entertainment Inc will cut the price of its model with 20 gigabytes of hard disk memory by about 10 percent to ¥44,980 (US$384) from ¥49,980, effective Oct. 17, it said in a statement on its Web site. The price of the 60GB models will be cut to about ¥54,980. A new lower-tier 40GB model will hit Japanese stores on Nov. 11 at a suggested retail price of ¥39,980.
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