■ MINING
BHP Billiton still in talks
The world's biggest miner, BHP Billiton, has responded to a deadline from British authorities on its proposed takeover bid for Rio Tinto by saying it is still seeking discussions with its rival. BHP Billiton said it was aware of a UK Takeover Panel Executive ruling that it must either announce a firm intention to make an offer for Rio Tinto or state that it does not intend to make an offer for the miner by Feb. 6. The ruling on Friday came after Rio Tinto invoked Britain's so-called "put up or shut up" laws, which allow a firm to put a time limit on potential buyers to clarify their position during a takeover bid.
■ MEDIA
News Corp sells stations
News Corp, the media company controlled by Rupert Murdoch, agreed to sell eight of its Fox network-affiliated TV stations in the US to Oak Hill Capital Partners LP for about US$1.1 billion in cash. The sale leaves Fox with 27 owned-and-operated stations and will probably be completed in the third quarter, New York-based News Corp said in a statement on Saturday. Oak Hill will add the stations to nine existing ones, according to its Web site. The purchase will help Oak Hill, the buyout firm founded by Texas oil billionaire Robert Bass, create a broader US network after it paid US$575 million to acquire stations from New York Times Co in May.
■ ENERGY
Chavez, Castro ink deals
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Acting Cuban President Raul Castro signed agreements on Saturday in the energy, mining and oil sectors, including a US$170 million deal to build a new power plant in northeastern Holguin. The agreements, closing a four-day visit by Chavez to Cuba, also include a US$122 million loan for Cuba to purchase tanker ships to transport crude oil and its derivatives. Two agreements will almost double the new southeastern Cienfuegos oil refinery's capacity from 65,000 to 150,000 barrels per day and reopen an oil pipeline between the eastern Matanzas and the refinery 260km south of Havana.
■ CHINA
Law could bar cheap sales
Chinese lawmakers are mulling a law to prevent state-owned assets from being sold too cheaply, state press reported yesterday, legislation that is likely to tighten Beijing's control over business. The draft law details procedures for the restructuring of state assets, including accurate audits before firms are merged or sold, the official Xinhua news agency reported. "The state assets should be transferred at reasonable prices," it said. China has moved to tighten rules involving the sale of its state-owned companies amid criticism that it has been selling off valuable state assets, often to foreigners at firebrand prices.
■ RETAIL
Ex-CFO of Hilfiger charged
Former Tommy Hilfiger Handbag chief financial officer Martin Bodner was charged with defrauding his employer of more than US$4 million. Bodner, 59, allegedly began stealing from the company in 2004 by issuing checks or transferring funds from Hilfiger to his own personal accounts, prosecutors said in a statement on Saturday. The executive first told his employer that his prior boss "authorized him to be reimbursed for personal expenses," US Attorney Michael Garcia of New York said. Bodner was arrested yesterday.
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
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
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
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