■ AVIATION
Gatwick worst for delays
London's Gatwick and Heathrow airports had the worst records for delayed departing flights of all Europe's leading airports in the three months through September, the Financial Times reported. Gatwick reported 41 percent of flights delayed for more than 15 minutes at departure and Heathrow had 39 percent during the period, it said, citing figures from the Association of European Airlines. The UK airports were also among the worst for delayed flight arrivals, joining Istanbul, the newspaper said, as well as the most congested.
■ TRADE
Ivory Coast needs EU pact
Failure to sign a new trade deal with the EU before a preferential pact expires next month could cost Ivory Coast up to US$1.5 billion, the EU's top aid official said on Saturday. The EU wants to ink economic partnership agreements with nearly 80 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific regions that will replace deals deemed illegal by the WTO. Louis Michel, EU commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, said signing an agreement was of "colossal" importance for Ivory Coast. An economic partnership agreement grants the EU tariff-free access to African markets except on a few selected, sensitive goods.
■ ELECTRONICS
Samsung cuts 1,000 jobs
Samsung Electronics Co, Asia's largest maker of semiconductors, flat screens and mobile phones, has cut more than 1,000 jobs for the first time since 2002, Yonhap news agency reported, citing data submitted to South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service. According to figures reported by Samsung Electronics yesterday, its workforce totaled 85,269 at the end of September, down 1,630 from the 86,899 reported six months earlier, the Korean-language news agency said. The number of executive-level officials also declined by 15 over the same period, the report said. The cuts come as Samsung is struggling with falling prices for memory chips.
■ STEEL
Maker offers software
ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, said it will combine its design software with building and construction programs from four companies, in an effort to increase the use of steel. The agreement was made with Germany's Nemetschek AG and its Belgian subsidiary SCIA; Finland's Tekla Oyj and two closely held French companies, Graitec and Rabobat, the Luxembourg-based steelmaker said in a statement. The software will enable architects and engineers to take advantage of ArcelorMittal products such as composite beams in construction, ArcelorMittal said.
■ GENDER EQUALITY
City of London ranks low
The City of London ranks near the bottom of UK districts with female-led companies, the Financial Times reported, citing research firm Gavurin. In the survey of 2.2 million British companies, the the City of London was second to last with 19.1 percent of its businesses run by women. London borough Tower Hamlets ranked last at 19 percent. Alnwick in Northumberland has the highest proportion of companies run by women at 31.2 percent, the newspaper cited the report as saying. London's Kensington and Chelsea ranked among the top 15 districts.
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)