■ MINING
Rio Tinto to cut output
Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto said yesterday it was likely to shut its iron ore mines in Western Australia for nearly two weeks over Christmas to cut production in the face of reduced demand. “We are likely to place our Pilbara mines on care and maintenance for the period Dec. 22 to Jan. 2, and rail operations would also be curtailed to that extent,” a Rio Tinto spokesman said. “We would expect port operations to be maintained at their normal activity level,” he said.
■CAMERAS
Canon subsidiaries cut jobs
More than 1,100 contract workers are losing their jobs at two subsidiaries of Japan’s Canon Inc owing to production cutbacks, officials said yesterday. Canon, which produces cameras and office equipment, said it had slashed orders to Oita Canon Inc, resulting in a reduction in the number of workers hired through contractors. A Canon spokesman said Canon itself did not propose the number of job cuts. Canon has lowered its projection for digital camera shipments to 27.9 million units from an initial 29.4 million for the year ending in March.
■STEEL
Nippon buys stake in Safal
Nippon Steel Corp, Japan’s largest steelmaker, has agreed to take a 7 percent stake in South Africa’s Safal Steel Ltd. Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc will take an identical stake in the South African company, Nippon Steel said on its Web site yesterday. The purchase is scheduled for Dec. 15.
■AUTOMOBILES
Proton, Mitsubishi team up
Malaysian national carmaker Proton has formed an alliance with Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors Corp to jointly build a new car as part of efforts to modernize its vehicle lineup and improve component quality. Mitsubishi will provide technical and engineering services under a product collaboration agreement, Proton said in a statement yesterday. The Malaysian carmaker has also been given a non-exclusive license to modify a Mitsubishi vehicle for sale under the Proton trademark. The alliance doesn’t include any equity shareholding, officials said.
■AVIATION
EADS needs funds: report
European aerospace group EADS might have to recapitalize its main arm, the Airbus aircraft maker, with more than 2 billion euros, possibly also simplifying the business, a report in the economic newspaper Les Echos said yesterday. EADS might have to recapitalize from next year to the extent of 2 billion euros [US$2.55 billion]” because shareholder funds are inadequate, the report said, quoting unidentified sources within the group. The parent group would have to boost capital in the four national entities that form the Airbus operation: Airbus France, Airbus Deutschland, Airbus UK and Airbus Espana.
■SEMICONDUCTORS
Creditors may help Hynix
Creditors are considering providing financial support for Hynix Semiconductor Inc, the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, online news provider Edaily reported yesterday. “We are mulling whether to provide funds to Hynix, either through new loans or issuing new shares, but the method, amount and timing haven’t been decided,” said Kim Sun-gyu, a spokesman at Korea Exchange Bank, Hynix’s main creditor. Hynix recently requested about 500 billion won (US$339 million) to 1 trillion won in financial support, Kim said.
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