■ Retail
More Wal-Marts unionize
Employees at two more Wal-Mart stores in China have formed unions, raising the number to four amid efforts by labor officials to have the US retailing giant's 60 Chinese outlets unionized, an official newspaper said yesterday. Employees at Wal-Mart Stores Inc outlets in Nanjing and Shenzhen voted at the weekend to form unions, the Workers' Daily said. Wal-Mart workers in Quanzhou voted last week to form the company's first union in China. Employees at another store in Shenzhen also voted on Saturday to unionize. The union votes followed a lobbying campaign by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the umbrella group for unions permitted by the communist government. The group had accused Wal-Mart of blocking efforts to organize its employees. Wal-Mart has few unions elsewhere in its worldwide operations.
■ Aviation
Japan Airlines trims losses
Asia's largest carrier said yesterday it trimmed net losses in the three months to June to ¥26.7 billion (US$232 million) from ¥38.3 billion a year earlier because of a recovery in demand for travel to China. Japan Airlines, which has been slashing international routes, said its revenue rose by 3.7 percent to ¥522.2 billion, with international passenger revenue going up by 5.2 percent during the period. In international routes, "demand on China routes bounced back, making a remarkable recovery from the negative impact that last year's anti-Japanese demonstrations had on travel to China," Japan Airlines said in a statement. For the first quarter to June, however, Japan Airlines booked an operating loss of ¥31.9 billion, almost unchanged from the ¥32 billion loss the previous year, and recurring loss of ¥35.5 billion, a slight improvement from the ¥37.4 billion loss a year earlier.
■ Oil
Keppel secures rig contract
Singapore's Keppel Group said yesterday that it had secured a US$270 million contract to build an offshore oil drilling rig for a Brazilian firm. This is the first time that Keppel, the world's biggest maker of offshore oil rigs, is building a drilling rig for Brazil, Keppel said in a statement. The semi-submersible rig, to be designed and built by Keppel Offshore and Marine, will be delivered to the privately owned Brazilian drilling contractor Queiroz Galvao Perfuracoes in the third quarter of 2009. "The new contract represents a milestone in the deepening confidence of Brazilian contractors and operators in Keppel's ability to deliver quality products and services on time and on budget," said Keppel Offshore and Marine managing director Tong Chong Heong. Tong said the rig will follow an "innovative and highly cost-effective new design" to meet operational requirements for deepwater exploration in the "Golden Triangle" region, comprising Brazil, Africa and the Gulf of Mexico. This region accounts for 85 percent of the world's deepwater exploration and production expenditures over the next five years.
■ Media
Gates interview faked
A Norwegian journalist has admitted he fabricated interviews with Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates and US talk show host Oprah Winfrey, media reports said yesterday. Freelance writer Bjoern Benkow said in a statement that the interviews, published in Norwegian and Swedish media, were partially concocted because of financial "desperation," newspaper Verdens Gang reported.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ALL-IN-ONE: A company in Tainan and another in New Taipei City offer tours to China during which Taiwanese can apply for a Chinese ID card, the source said The National Immigration Agency and national security authorities have identified at least five companies that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese identification cards while traveling in China, a source said yesterday. The issue has garnered attention in the past few months after YouTuber “Pa Chiung” (八炯) said that there are companies in Taiwan that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese documents. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) last week said that three to five public relations firms in southern and northern Taiwan have allegedly assisted Taiwanese in applying for Chinese ID cards and were under investigation for potential contraventions of the Act Governing
STAY WARM: Sixty-three nontraumatic incidents of OHCA were reported on Feb. 1, the most for a single day this year, the National Fire Agency said A total of 415 cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) occurred this month as of Saturday, data from the National Fire Agency showed as doctors advised people to stay warm amid cold weather, particularly people with cardiovascular disease. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a low temperature warning nationwide except for Penghu County, anticipating sustained lows of 10°C or a dip to below 6°C in Nantou, Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as areas north of Yunlin County. The coldest temperature recorded in flat areas of Taiwan proper yesterday morning was 6.4°C in New Taipei City’s Shiding District (石碇). Sixty-three nontraumatic OHCA
COMMITTED: Lai said that Taiwan deeply appreciated the leaders’ statement, adding that the nation would remain steadfast in working to advance regional peace and prosperity US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait in a joint statement issued after they met in Washington for their first official meeting. Trump and Ishiba “affirmed their determination to pursue a new golden age for US-Japan relations that upholds a free and open Indo-Pacific and brings peace and prosperity to a violent and disorderly world,” the US-Japan Joint Leaders’ Statement said. “The two leaders emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity for the