■FOOD
Kellogg fears contamination
Kellogg Co is recalling 16 products containing peanut butter, citing possible salmonella contamination. David Mackay, president and CEO of Kellogg, announced the voluntary recall in a statement late on Friday. He says the company apologizes for the unfortunate situation but says it is needed as part of its commitment to keep consumers safe. The recall includes Austin and Keebler branded Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, as well as snack-size packs of Famous Amos Peanut Butter Cookies and Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies.
■SINGAPORE
GDP forecast lowered
Recession-hit Singapore will further scale down its economic forecast for this year because the global situation has worsened, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) said in remarks published yesterday. This means that the GDP forecast would likely be worse than the government’s projection for a contraction of up to 2 percent made just two weeks ago. Lee said in remarks published in the Straits Times the move to revise the forecast for the second time in a month was prompted by unexpected developments such as the sharper-than-expected 21 percent fall in key exports for last month.
■ECONOMY
Circuit City calls it quits
Bankrupt Circuit City Stores Inc, unable to work out a sale of the company, said on Friday it would go out of business — closing its 567 US stores and cutting 30,000 jobs. “This is the only possible path for our company,” Circuit City acting chief executive James Marcum said in a statement. “We are extremely disappointed by this outcome.” The company had been seeking a buyer or a deal to refinance its debt, but the hobbled credit market and consumer worries proved insurmountable. Two buyers — Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who controls a chain of electronics stores in Latin America, and the Golden Gate Capital private equity firm — had been looking to buy the company in a shrunken form. But the company couldn’t secure the necessary financing or support from vendors.
■BANKING
Small banks shut down
US regulators on Friday shut down two small banks, National Bank of Commerce in Illinois and Bank of Clark County in Washington State. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp was appointed receiver of the banks. They were the first two federally insured banks to fail and be shuttered by regulators this year amid the pressures of tumbling home prices, rising mortgage foreclosures and tighter credit. National Bank of Commerce, in Berkeley, Illinois, had US$430.9 million in assets and US$402.1 million in deposits as of Jan. 7. Bank of Clark County, in Vancouver, Washington, had US$446.5 million in assets and US$366.5 million in deposits as of Tuesday.
■ECONOMY
IMF approves loan to Serbia
The IMF’s executive board on Friday approved a US$530 million loan for Serbia to help it cope with the global financial crisis, it said in a statement. The board “approved a 15-month ... stand-by arrangement [about US$530.3 million] to support the authorities’ program aimed at maintaining macroeconomic and financial stability,” the IMF said. The approval makes US$353.3 million “immediately available. However, the Serbian authorities intend to treat the arrangement as precautionary, and not to draw on fund resources unless the need arises,” it 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
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