■ Tobacco
Firm to scrap plants
Japan Tobacco Inc (JT) plans to axe five overseas plants as part of an overhaul following its acquisition last year of British rival Gallaher Group, a spokeswoman said yesterday. JT will close plants in Singapore, Britain, Austria, Ukraine and the Canary Islands, reducing the total overseas to 26 as part of restructuring that aims to cut costs by US$300 million, spokeswoman Yuka Kin said. She declined to say when the plants would be closed. JT is also considering opening a new plant in Russia due to robust sales there, despite slowing growth in emerging economies due to the global economic downturn, the official said.
■AUTOMOBILES
Isuzu shelves engine plans
Japanese truck maker Isuzu said yesterday it had shelved plans to jointly develop a clean diesel engine with Toyota as the global economic downturn hits the auto industry hard. Isuzu Motors Ltd and Toyota Motor Corp had planned to develop a 1,600cc aluminium-made diesel engine for small Toyota cars to be sold in Europe, but markets there have been engulfed in the global financial crisis. “The two companies agreed on a temporary suspension which was requested by Toyota,” an Isuzu spokesman said. Production of the engine was due to start around 2012.
■TOYS
Mattel to pay authorities
US toy giant Mattel is to pay US$12 million to US authorities over last year’s recall of 2 million Chinese-made toxic toys, US officials said on Monday. The toys, fabricated by Mattel and subsidiary Fisher Price, were found to have traces of lead paint in them. The damage payment will be shared among 39 US states which reached a settlement agreement on Monday with Mattel and Fisher-Price, resolving a 15-month probe into the events that lead to the voluntary recall of the companies’ toys. The consent judgment requires Mattel to make a payment of US$12 million by Jan. 30 to be divided among the participating states, said Martha Coakley, attorney general of Massachusetts, which led the multi-state group investigation and settlement.
■TELECOMS
Firms to launch new service
Canada’s Research in Motion and South Korea’s SK Telecom announced yesterday the launch of corporate service for the Blackberry Bold smart phone, which will be available in South Korea via the country’s biggest local wireless network. The two companies said in a press release that the device was expected to be available on the market by the end of the month. Plans were to target both multinational and domestic companies, it said. The South Korean mobile market is dominated by Samsung Electronics Co and LG Electronics Inc, which also offer smart phones.
■AVIATION
Airline seeks tie-ups
Malaysia Airlines said yesterday it has begun talks with various carriers, including Australia’s Qantas, to form tie-ups including joint ventures as carriers face a tough economic environment. The airline’s managing director and CEO Idris Jala made the latest comments after Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak reportedly said the government was open to a tie-up involving Malaysia Airlines. The government owns more than 90 percent of the national carrier. Last month, the carrier said net profit for the third quarter shrank 90 percent to 38 million ringgit (US$10.7 million), from 364 million ringgit in the same period last year due to higher fuel costs.
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