■ Consumer prices
Japan's prices to increase
Japan will see its first increase in consumer prices in eight years in the year to March 2007 although economic growth will slow to 1.9 percent from a five-year high of 2.7 percent this fiscal year, the government said yesterday. The government approved an economic report projecting consumer prices in the next fiscal year will rise 0.5 percent, reversing an estimated drop of 0.1 percent in the year to March next year. It projected that GDP will grow 1.9 percent. This will be slower than the 2.7 percent expected this year but this figure was revised up from its previous estimate of 1.6 percent. The economy grew 2.8 percent in 2000.
■ Energy
Solar panels mass-produced
Honda Motor said yesterday that it will begin mass producing next-generation solar panels for household use from 2007, halving the carbon-dioxide emissions of the already eco-friendly technology. The Japanese giant declined to disclose the amount of new investment but the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said that the auto and motorcycle maker would spend some US$86.5 million on its factory in Kumamoto Prefecture in southern Japan. Honda, which was the first major automaker to enter the market, said it will use thin-film solar cells made of a compound of copper, indium, gallium and selenium -- instead of the usual silicon. The production system will require only half the energy to produce a conventional solar cell and lower carbon-dioxide emissions by 50 percent, Honda said. The new production system will initially have an annual capacity to produce about 27.5 megawatts worth of solar cells, enough for 8,000 households a year.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) fraud conviction and prison sentence were yesterday overturned by a Hong Kong court, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon (潘兆初), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Derek Pang (彭偉昌) said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had “erred.” “The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges
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