■OIL
Petrobras to start Tupi tests
Brazilian state oil company Petrobras said on Friday it will begin long-duration tests next year in the recently discovered Tupi oil field — a first step toward establishing the size of its reserves. Petroleo Brasileiro SA CEO Sergio Gabrielli said the testing is expected to yield 20,000 to 30,000 barrels of crude a day beginning in the first quarter of next year. Long-duration tests involve installing a rig that measures pressure and other aspects of the oil flow over a period of months.
■ TECHNOLOGY
HP’s bid for EDS approved
EU antitrust regulators have approved the proposed purchase of technology services provider Electronic Data Systems Corp (EDS) by Hewlett-Packard Co. The European Commission’s decision, announced on Friday, says the deal between the two US companies would not hinder competition on the EU market. It said EDS and HP did not compete heavily against each other in the IT markets they do business in. Hewlett-Packard announced in May it would pay US$13.2 billion for EDS.
■SATELLITE RADIO
Regulators approve merger
Federal regulators formally approved the merger of the US’ only two satellite radio operators on Friday, ending a 16-month drama. Sirius Satellite Radio Inc’s US$3.3 billion buyout of rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc will mean 18 million-plus subscribers will be able to receive programming from both services. Executives say it will mean huge cost savings that will lead to a first-ever profit for the relatively nascent industry. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 to approve the buyout, with the tie-breaking vote coming on Friday night from Republican commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate. Tate had insisted that the companies settle charges that they violated FCC rules before she would approve the deal. The companies agreed this week to pay US$19.7 million to the US Treasury for violations related to radio receivers and ground-based signal repeaters.
■AUTOMAKERS
Enclave ready for China
General Motors (GM) said on Friday it was preparing to begin exports of the US-made Buick Enclave luxury crossover utility vehicle to China as early as next month. The announcement by the No. 1 US automaker comes as the Detroit giants are struggling to hold domestic market share in the face of rising imports, mainly from Japanese manufacturers. GM said in a statement Chinese officials visited the Lansing, Michigan, assembly plant “to observe operations in preparation for the manufacture of US-built Enclaves crossovers for export” to China. “Pending approval, China-bound Enclaves could begin rolling off the assembly line as early as next month,” GM said.
■COFFEE SHOPS
Starbucks minimizes smell
Starbucks Corp, the world’s largest coffee-shop chain, will keep selling warm breakfast sandwiches at its stores after altering the recipes to minimize the smell. Starbucks founder and chief executive officer Howard Schultz, 55, earlier said the chain would discontinue breakfast sandwiches by Sept. 30 because their smell overwhelmed the aroma of coffee in the cafes. “We are not reversing our decision to replace the breakfast sandwiches, but rather we are continuing to evolve our food offerings,” Starbucks said in an e-mailed response to questions. “We have found small ingredient changes that address the aroma issues of our current breakfast sandwiches, and have implemented these already.”
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
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
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