■MINING
Chileans call off strike
Workers are calling off a strike at Chile’s largest copper mine and accepting a sweetened compensation package from state mining company Codelco. Union spokesman Miguel Lopez says workers at the Chuquicamata mine have accepted a 4 percent pay increase, US$24,280 bonus and interest-free loan of US$6,000. The mine in northern Chile is one of the world’s largest open-pit operations and produces about half of Codelco’s output. Codelco as a whole produces about 4 percent of the world’s copper, more than any other producer.
■ELECTRONICS
Amazon launches Kindle DX
Amazon.com Inc will start selling an international version of its larger-screen e-reader, Kindle DX, in an effort to snag more sales around the world. The company already offers an international version of the Kindle. The online retailer said yesterday that customers in more than 100 countries can pre-order the latest version of the US$489 Kindle DX, which has a 9.7-inch (24.6cm) screen and will wirelessly download books in many places around the globe. The latest Kindle DX will begin shipping on Jan. 19 to countries including Italy, Japan and Spain.
■HOUSING
US heads for ‘double dip’
The number of Americans preparing to buy a home in November fell sharply — the latest sign that the US housing market, which had appeared to be stabilizing, is headed for a “double-dip” downturn. The report on Tuesday showed that consumers are taking their time following the extension of a tax credit deadline, and that is draining momentum from the summer’s recovery. The incentive of up to US$8,000 for first-time buyers was set to expire at the end of November.
■AVIATION
Thai Airways chair quits
The executive chairman of Thai airways has resigned over allegations that he avoided more than US$5,600 in excess baggage charges on a flight from Japan, the flag carrier said yesterday. Wallop Bhukkanasut was accused of exploiting his position by transporting 30 pieces of luggage weighing 398kg with his wife and a friend from Narita Airport in Tokyo to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport in November.
■INSURANCE
AIG sells mortgage division
The Canadian mortgage insurance business of American International Group Inc (AIG) will be sold to a private investor group headed by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, the groups said on Tuesday. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. AIG’s sale of the Canadian mortgage division is the latest business unit to be sold by the insurance giant, which has been selling assets and spinning off divisions to help repay a government bailout package.
■TAKEOVERS
Kraft share plan opposed
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway said on Tuesday it was opposing a plan by US food giant Kraft to issue new shares under a plan to buy British-based Cadbury. Berkshire Hathaway, which said it is likely the largest shareholder in Kraft with a stake of 9.4 percent, said it had voted “no” on Kraft’s proposal to authorize the issuance of up to 370 million shares for the acquisition. The share issuance proposal “will give Kraft a blank check allowing it to change its offer to Cadbury — in any way it wishes.”
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