■ Aviation
Low-cost flights considered
South Korean flag carrier Korean Air said yesterday it may set up a low-cost carrier for short-distance international routes amid an expected raise in competition over short-haul travel within the region. "We will consider establishing a separate low-cost carrier, if needed for short-distance overseas services. We have already studied it and preparations are under way," Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-ho told reporters. Cho said the low-cost carrier could operate independently from Korean Air, in a move which may prompt carriers in Japan and other Asian countries to intensify competition. Korean Air is the world's third largest air cargo carrier and the 15th largest in terms of passenger numbers. The carrier posted a net profit of 472 billion won (US$467 million) last year with sales rising 16.7 percent year-on-year to 7.21 trillion won, thanks to increased demand for air travel and cargo transportation.
■ Inflation
Consumer price index up
Hot on the heels of the Federal Reserve's tough new line on inflation came alarming news Wednesday that US consumer prices posted their biggest gain in four months in February. Surging energy prices fuelled a 0.4 percent rise in the consumer price index (CPI) last month, the US Labor Department reported. The core CPI rate, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.3 percent. The markets had been expecting the headline figure to go up 0.3 percent and the core rate to rise by 0.2 percent. The figures came a day after the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee (FOMC) shocked Wall Street with strong language on inflation as it raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
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