■RESOURCES
Rio dismisses China claims
Mining giant Rio Tinto yesterday said bribery claims against four staff held in China were “wholly without foundation” as Australia pressed Beijing to deal with the case quickly. “Rio Tinto believes that the allegations in recent media reports that employees were involved in bribery of officials at Chinese steel mills are wholly without foundation,” iron ore chief executive Sam Walsh said. “We remain fully supportive of our detained employees, and believe that they acted at all times with integrity and in accordance with Rio Tinto’s strict and publicly stated code of ethical behavior.”
■AUTOMOBILES
Renault reports loss
French auto group Renault reported yesterday an operating loss for the first half of the year, saying that its global sales had plunged by 16.5 percent but a strong showing by Romanian Dacia had been a lifeline. Total sales had fallen to 1.106 million units, the group said, but it also reported that it had generated strong free cash flow with a cost-cutting plan announced in February. Last week, rival French group PSA Peugeot Citroen reported a fall of 14 percent in global sales in the first half.
■STEEL
POSCO to buy Vietnam plant
South Korea’s biggest steelmaker POSCO confirmed yesterday it would buy a Vietnamese stainless steel plant as part of efforts to meet growing demand. POSCO said in a statement its board has approved the purchase of a 90 percent stake in Asia Stainless Corp, but did not give the cost. Industry sources quoted by Yonhap news agency estimated the deal could be worth around US$50 million. Asia Stainless is Vietnam’s only cold-rolled stainless steel manufacturer.
■SINGAPORE
Exports drop 11 percent
Singapore’s key exports fell 11 percent year-on-year last month as consumer demand from the developed economies, especially for electronic goods, continued to languish, the government said yesterday. It was narrower than the 12.3 percent decline in May and 19.2 percent contraction in April. Last month’s decline in non-oil domestic exports (NODX) was the 14th straight month of contraction, a slump that started last year when the trade-led economy sank into a recession. On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, NODX shrank 5.2 percent.
■AUTOMOBILES
Nissan may expand hybrids
Nissan Motor Co said yesterday it was considering expanding its line-up of hybrids, seeking to catch-up with rivals Toyota and Honda, whose fuel-sipping cars are surging in popularity. Japan’s third-biggest automaker may add its own hybrid technology to small and mid-sized vehicles in addition to the planned launch of a luxury version, a company official said on condition of anonymity.
■RETAIL
Wal-Mart plans database
US retail giant Wal-Mart on Thursday announced plans to develop a database that it said would revolutionize shopping by putting information about products’ sustainability at consumers’ fingertips. The database, dubbed the sustainability index, could put information about how environmentally-friendly suppliers, manufacturers and their products are, just a garment label or barcode-scan away for shoppers, according to Wal-Mart executives speaking at a webcast gathering of their suppliers.
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
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
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