■ AUTOMOBILES
License plate costs millions
Without batting an eyelid, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) businessman dished out a record US$14 million for a car license plate at a charity auction in the UAE on Saturday. "It is not huge compared to my family's fortune," Saeed Abdel Ghaffar Khouri said after bidding 52.2 million dirhams (US$14.2 million) for an Abu Dhabi license plate bearing the single number "1." "The price is fair. After all, who among us does not want to be number one," Khouri said. Emirates Auction which organized the sale said on its Web site that it had been expected to set a new world record for the most expensive car license plate in the world. Funds from the auction will be given to charities, including one that will set up a hospital for casualties from road accidents.
■ BANKING
Bank urged to cut rates
An influential think-tank yesterday urged the central Bank of Korea to cut interest rates quickly to prevent market instability stemming from wide interest rate gaps with the US. In a report published yesterday, the Korea Institute of Finance (KIF) noted that foreigners have been snapping up South Korean bonds to capitalize on the country's high interest rates compared with those of the US. "In light of foreigners' rush to the local bond market, the Bank of Korea should cut the interest rate in a pre-emptive manner," the think tank said. "If the interest rate gap between South Korea and the United States lasts for a long period, it could come as a destabilizing factor for the local bond market." Should foreign investors suddenly withdraw funds from the local bond market, it would throw the market into chaos, it warned. Citing inflation concerns and uncertainty about the global economy, the bank last Wednesday kept its key interest rate unchanged for a sixth straight month.
■ TRADE
Bush talks cotton
US President George W. Bush told West Africa's cotton producers that US subsidies to US cotton growers were a matter for Washington, Beninese President Boni Yayi said on Saturday. Yayi was speaking at a joint press conference with Bush, who spent three hours in the small west African country at the beginning of a five-nation tour of the continent. Bush "considers that the question of these subsidies was an American matter, and told me that he was well aware of the importance of this sector in the life of our people," Yayi said. The US leader advised West African countries to grow cotton and process it for added value.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Plastech deal extended
A tentative deal for auto parts supplier Plastech Engineered Products Inc to continue sending parts to Chrysler LLC has been extended. The deal was set to expire on Friday. But Chrysler spokesman Kevin Frazier says it has been extended to Feb. 27. Both companies are awaiting a ruling expected tomorrow from Bankruptcy Judge Phillip Shefferly on Chrysler's efforts to retrieve equipment from Plastech. Dearborn-based Plastech filed for bankruptcy protection on Feb. 1 after Chrysler said it was severing business with it. Four Chrysler plants closed briefly when Plastech stopped shipping parts, but Plastech resumed sending parts under the tentative deal. Plastech supplies about 500 components for nearly all Chrysler's vehicles.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to derail a summit that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance’s future survival. Ahead of yesterday’s gathering in The Hague, Netherlands, things were going off the rails. European officials have expressed irritation at the spoiler role that Sanchez is playing when their No. 1 task is to line up behind a pledge to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. Rutte needed to keep Spain in line while preventing others such as Slovakia
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
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