■ CONSTRUCTION
Hotel construction halted
Grenada has ordered a Chinese company to stop construction on a nearly completed five-story hotel because it only had permission to build offices. The physical planning director says a lack of building inspectors and the hotel’s remote mountain location led to the late discovery. Cecil Frederick says he expected to hire more inspectors next year. SOGECOA Caribbean Ltd could not be reached for comment. The company is the same one building Grenada’s National Stadium. Authorities said they became suspicious when they confiscated a container supposedly carrying stadium supplies but found beds, tables and chairs. Frederick said on Saturday the hotel would be demolished if it violates any building codes.
■AUTOMOBILES
Hyundai cuts production
South Korea’s Hyundai Motor intends to cut domestic production because of slowing demand, following production cuts in its US plants, a company spokesperson said yesterday. Hyundai Motor, the largest carmaker in South Korea, will cut production by suspending overtime or weekend work at all three of its domestic plants beginning today, spokesperson Song Meeyoung said. All assembly lines, except one producing Avante compact cars and i30 hatchback models at a main plant in Ulsan, will be affected, with daily work reduced from 20 to 16 hours during the weekdays, Song said. Last month, Hyundai said it was reducing production at its US plant at Montgomery, Alabama, because of falling demand amid the economic downturn.
■COMPUTERS
Windows Live updated
Microsoft has announced an overhaul of its Internet-based Windows Live communications platform. Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Hotmail in particular have been equipped with a new user interface and added functionality, Microsoft said. Among the new functions is the ability to create Windows Live Groups. These let friends, colleagues or family members gather in groups for easier communication. Windows Live will also now include an automated POP3 e-mail retrieval capability. This would allow users to bundle all of their electronic communication into Microsoft’s Hotmail e-mail service.
■TRADE
US to invest on Kospi 200
US commodity regulators have approved the sale of futures contracts based on South Korea’s benchmark stock index. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission last week issued a “no-action” letter that allows US investment in Kospi 200 futures, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. US investors are the second-largest overseas group in South Korea’s main Kospi market after UK investors, the South Korean regulator said.
■AUCTIONS
Truffle lands US$200,000
Defying the economic downturn, an Italian white truffle weighing just over 1kg sold at an international auction on Saturday for US$200,000. The prized tuber went for the second year running to Hong Kong-born casino mogul Stanley Ho (何鴻燊) after an auction held simultaneously in Rome, London, Abu Dhabi and Macau, auction organizers said. Last December, Ho bought a 1.5kg specimen — one of the biggest truffles unearthed in half a century — for a record US$330,000. The 1.08kg truffle — the biggest found in Italy this year — was flown first class to Macau, with an Italian chef accompanying it, for Saturday’s auction after it was picked on Nov. 21 in the central Molise region.
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source