■ SOUTH KOREA
Roh okays Samsung probe
President Roh Moo-hyun approved a bill yesterday calling for an independent investigation into allegations of slush fund and bribery at Samsung Group. The move came days after the country's legislature passed the bill seeking an independent counsel to delve into allegations against the country's biggest conglomerate as well as opposition claims that Roh received Samsung money before and after the 2002 election. "I decided to accept" the bill as a majority of the legislature voted for it, Roh said in a televised news conference.
■ CHINA
Lending controls tightened
Beijing will tighten controls on bank lending to avoid measures that could result in a "hard landing" for the economy, Dow Jones Newswires reported yesterday, citing a memorandum of a meeting between regulators and bank executives. Banks, both foreign and domestic, were told to submit lending plans for next year, while authorities recommended quarterly lending quotas, a memo of the meeting said. Led by Yi Gang (易綱), a vice governor of the central bank, the meeting took place on Thursday and included China Banking Regulatory Commission officials and officials from 21 of the country's biggest banks.
■ AVIATION
Qantas reaches agreement
Qantas Airways Ltd said yesterday it has reached a five-year agreement with an employer group that will result in 2,000 new long-haul, full-time cabin crew jobs over the next three years. The agreement with the international division of the Flight Attendants Association of Australia, provides for an annual 3 percent pay increase, a sign-on bonus and improved pension arrangements for international cabin crew, Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon said. Qantas said a new subsidiary will begin hiring full-time international cabin crew early next year, while the group will maintain offshore crewing levels at 25 percent.
■ INTERNET
Classmates.com seeks IPO
The pioneering online social networking firm that operates Classmates.com has sought approval from US regulators to launch an initial public offering of stock valued from US$120 million to US$144 million. The US company was founded in 1995. Its enterprises include Internet marketing firm MyPoints as well as StayFriends Web sites in Sweden and Germany. Classmates said in the SEC filing it would offer 12 million shares priced from US$10 to US$12 per share. Classmates parent company United Online will retain a controlling interest in the firm.
■ ELECTRONICS
Sanyo invests in branches
Japan's ailing Sanyo Electric unveiled plans yesterday to invest US$3.2 billion in rechargeable batteries and other businesses as it reported a return to the black for the fiscal first half. The investment is part of Sanyo's efforts to revitalize its struggling operations after three straight annual losses caused by fierce price competition in consumer electronics. The company said it would invest ¥350 billion over three years from April in its facilities, close to ¥100 billion of which will be spent on expanding lithium-ion battery production capacity. The solar power and electronic devices businesses will also receive a large part of the investment.
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