■ Japan
Economy worsening: official
The Japanese government left its assessment of the economy unchanged yester-day after three straight months of downgrades but admitted conditions were worsening as private demand slumps. "While movements of an incipient recovery can be seen in some areas, the state of the economy has weakened somewhat," the Cabinet Office said in its report for this month. The announce-ment came two days after the Bank of Japan left its economic assessment unchanged for the third straight month, saying a pick-up in exports had triggered hopes for a grad-ual recovery. One official offered a downbeat view of the economy yesterday, saying the trend was down-wards. "Though we have not changed the statement of the overall assessment, the actual economic conditions are worsening from the previous month," he told a briefing.
■ Trade
Lamy worried by US stance
Europe's trade chief said on Tuesday he was concerned that the US was taking an increasingly hard line against international trade rules. Pascal Lamy has led several disputes against the US, most recently over steel tariffs in March last year. The two have also sparred over a EU ban on gene-tically-modified foods and subsidies to farmers. "My feeling is that the situation which the [US] administra-tion is facing is becoming more and more compli-cated," Lamy said in a speech to a gathering of parliamentarians from NATO state at the European Parliament. He said there was a tough battle between the White House and Con-gress for control of trade policy. "The result is that we are seeing a fairly hard line forming on Capitol Hill against the submission of the United States to decisions by the WTO," he said.
■ Automobiles
Chery to make cars in Iran
SAIC Chery Automobile Co, a venture 20 percent owned by China's biggest vehicle maker, will make passenger cars in Iran this year, becoming the first Chinese automaker to move offshore as domestic competition heightens. Chery and Iranian car parts-maker SKT Co will build a factory in northeastern Iran with the capacity to manufacture up to 30,000 A11 passenger cars, Chery spokesman Li Huiyou said. The cars will run on 1.6-liter engines, he said. Chery and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp are seeking fresh markets abroad as Ford Motor Co, Mazda Motor Corp and other foreign automakers crowd into a China market where car sales growth is expected to slow to about 20 percent this year from 50 percent last year. Chery, based in Anhui Province, plans to double car sales to 100,000 units this year, or to 10 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion), Li said. It will collect an undisclosed fee from the Iranian venture through selling SKT its technology and compo-nents, Li said.
■ Telecoms
Singapore firm fined for ad
The mobile arm of Singa-pore Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel) was fined for placing misleading informa-tion in its newspaper advertisements last October after complaints from rival operators, regulator Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) said. The IDA said on its Web site that "SingTel Mobile had breached" a section of the Telecom Competition Code and ordered the operator to pay a fine of S$ 5,000 Singapore dollars (US$2,873).
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
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