Pink ‘soul refresher’ unites Indians, PakistanisAFP, NEW DELHIPakistan and India have fought three wars and countless skirmishes, but their people are united by love for a cooling 115-year-old pink libation with a secret recipe. The ultra-sweet concoction of herbs and fruits, Rooh Afza — which translates as “refresher of the soul” — has not only survived the 1947 partition of the two countries, but thrived on both sides of the border. A vendor serves Rooh Afza watermelon beverages at a roadside stall in Karachi, Pakistan, on May 25. There would be, I think, three people who would know it,” the 45-year-old told reporters with a chuckle. “I think with global warming, temperatures are increasing ... the relevance of Rooh Afza is not going anywhere soon,” Ahmed said.

Taiwan and Slovakia sign judicial dealEU LINKS: The European Parliament on Tuesday passed a resolution to express concern over China’s ‘threats’ to Taiwan’s sovereignty and Indo-Pacific securityStaff writer, with CNATaiwan and Slovakia yesterday signed an agreement on judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters, the first of its kind signed by Taiwan with an EU country. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei TimesWu described the agreement as another “extraordinary milestone” in bilateral ties that gives Taiwan and Slovakia a comprehensive framework for cooperation on judicial issues. The two nations in August last year signed an agreement on judicial cooperation in criminal matters. “By establishing the framework, Taiwan is expanding the freedom and rights of its people while enhancing ties with Slovakia,” Wu said. Laurencik said that the latest agreement is another major step in mutual cooperation that would strengthen the bilateral friendship between Slovakia and Taiwan.

EU to require common way to charge phones, devicesAP, LONDONForget rummaging through the junk drawer. Soon, Europeans are only to require one cable to charge their smartphones and other devices. EU officials said they signed a provisional agreement on Tuesday that would require a uniform charging cord in the 27-nation bloc. The new rules, which are to take effect by the fall of 2024, mean EU consumers would only need to use a common USB Type-C cable for small and medium-sized rechargeable, portable electronic devices. “European consumers were frustrated with multiple chargers piling up within their homes,” Alex Agius Saliba, the European Parliament’s lead negotiator, told a news briefing in Brussels.

India hikes rates 50 basis points to fight inflationAFP, MUMBAI, IndiaIndia’s central bank yesterday hiked rates for a second time, as Asia’s third-largest economy reels from galloping inflation due to the war in Ukraine. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised its key repo rate by 50 basis points to 4.9 percent, a month after launching an aggressive monetary tightening cycle with a surprise 0.4 percentage-point lift. “The war in Europe is lingering and we are facing newer challenges each passing day,” RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said in a televised address, pointing to higher food and fuel prices. Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das speaks at a news conference in Mumbai, India, yesterday. Prices have risen sharply since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, and economists estimate that a US$10 per barrel rise in Brent crude would increase consumer inflation in India by about 25 basis points.

Banks face stress tests for climate change next yearBloombergTaiwan’s banks are to undergo mandatory climate-change stress tests for the first time next year to measure the impact of a range of possible environmental catastrophes on the lenders’ assets. The Financial Supervisory Commission plans to conduct the tests in the first half of next year with the results to be published in June. Climate change and government policies aimed at mitigating it are growing priorities for financial authorities around the world. The Bank of England last month warned that British banks and insurers could see climate-related losses of as much as ￡334 billion (US$419 billion) over the next three decades following the central bank’s first-ever stress tests. Taiwan stands to be particularly hard hit by unmitigated climate change.

Business groups accused of using trusts to avoid taxesBy Chen Cheng-yu and Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter, with staff writerTwo legislators yesterday accused five business groups of using charitable trusts to avoid taxes, spending less than 1 percent of their trust assets on charity work. From 1996 to 2020, 258 charitable trusts, with a market value of more than NT$120 billion (US$4.07 billion), were approved under the Trust Act (信託法), Kao said. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kao Chia-yu, center, New Power Party Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih, right ,and independent journalist Yao Hui-chen, left, speak to reporters at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liu Hsin-te, Taipei TimesTen trusts set up by the five groups accounted for 80 percent of the market value, at NT$99.68 billion, she added. “Charitable trusts should do charity work,” Chiu said, adding that charitable trusts should be supervised by a single competent authority instead of different agencies, and a minimum amount of donation should be required.

Apple announces message recall and other featuresAFP, CUPERTINO, CaliforniaApple Inc on Monday opened its first in-person developers conference since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic with chips, maps and a way to delete precipitously sent messages, but was mum on any virtual reality offerings. The tech giant touted new features and capabilities being built into the operating systems running iPhone, Apple Watch and more, along with a speedy new MacBook Air computer driven by a second generation of its custom chip. Apple Inc chief executive officer Tim Cook gestures as he enters the Steve Jobs Theater during an Apple conference in Cupertino, California, on Monday. Apple is to start letting people delete and edit messages after they have been sent as part of the latest update to its operating software, as well as customizable options for the iPhone main screen. Relying increasingly on custom-made chips has enabled Apple to make its devices and software work more seamlessly together, and catch up a bit to features offered by rivals such as Google Maps and even Microsoft Corp’s Xbox video game platform for Windows-powered computers.

Third competitor dies in 2022 Isle of Man TT racesReutersThe Isle of Man TT, or Tourist Trophy, races on Monday claimed a third life when Northern Irish rider Davy Morgan was killed in a crash during the first Supersport race of the event. The races around the island off the northwest coast of England have been run since 1907 and are among the most dangerous in motorsport. French sidecar passenger Olivier Lavorel, 35, died on Saturday last week and British Supersport rider Mark Purslow, 29, on Wednesday. There have been 263 fatalities to date in the TT races, Manx Grand Prix and Classic TT held on the island’s public roads. The TT races are being held again after a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the longest break for the event since World War II.

Shares end higher, turnover stays lowStaff writer, with CNATaiwanese shares moved higher yesterday on a technical rebound, but the gains were capped by a late sell-off of large-cap semiconductor stocks, dealers said. Turnover also remained low as investors worried the US Federal Reserve could follow a tighter monetary policy after the US on Friday reported stronger-than-expected job data for last month, they said. Photo: CNABuying rotated to select old-economy stocks and some financial stocks, lending support to the broader market, the dealers added. Turnover totaled NT$210.28 billion (US$7.15 billion), with foreign institutional investors selling a net NT$2.21 billion in shares on the main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. The New Taiwan dollar declined NT$0.027 to close at NT$29.415 against the US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday.

Bad reception telecom subscribers’ top complaintBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterTelecoms have been asked to provide solutions after poor reception was identified as the No. 1 source of consumer complaints that the National Communications Commission (NCC) received in the first quarter this year. From January to March, the commission received 1,234 complaints related to telecom service, down from 1,281 during the same quarter last year, NCC statistics show. However, 771 of the complaints in the first quarter were related to reception of telecom services, with 64.59 percent being about poor reception that users experienced at home or at work. The three telecoms that received the most complaints were Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Star and Taiwan Mobile, with 32.41 percent, 19.53 percent and 18.48 percent of the complaints.

School lunch caterers call for COVID relief measuresBy Hsieh Chun-ling / Staff reporterThe government should offer relief funds to school lunch caterers, whose businesses were disrupted by the Ministry of Education’s policy authorizing schools to switch to virtual classrooms amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Kuo-shu (黃國書) said yesterday. “As school lunch caterers, we must obtain special permission from schools to offer services and maintain high hygiene standards,” he said. This year, our collective business losses in April and May are expected to exceed NT$400 million [US$13.6 million].”School lunch caterers serve meals to 1.71 million pupils across the country daily, Chen said, adding that 10 large school lunch caterers have had to close down over the past two years because of inflation and the pandemic. Chen Hsi-hung (陳錫鴻), deputy director of student affairs and school security division at the ministry’s K-12 Administration, said that schools and school lunch caterers have contracts which stipulate that schools should compensate caterers for all additional costs incurred if they are not liable for the increase in costs. Schools can also extend their contracts with caterers, he said, adding that the ministry will help schools fulfill the terms of the contracts.

Medigen applies for Australian vaccine approvalBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterMedigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (高端疫苗) has applied to the Australian medicines regulator for provisional approval of its COVID-19 vaccine, the pharmaceutical company said in a filing with the Taipei Exchange yesterday. The TGA in November last year gave the Medigen vaccine a provisional determination, the first step to provisional approval, corporate data showed. Vials of Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp’s MVC COVID-19 vaccine are pictured in Taipei on Feb. 8. Medigen reported a net loss of NT$140 million (US$4.76 million) in the first quarter, or losses per share of NT$0.66. The company’s operating expenses grew 27.5 percent annually to NT$361 million last quarter due to higher marketing and research spending, company data showed.

Root joins ‘10,000 club,’ only second England batsmenAFP, LONDONJoe Root on Sunday underlined his talent — which had long seemed obvious from early in his career — when he became just the second England batsman to score 10,000 Test runs during a match-winning hundred against New Zealand at Lord’s. Photo: ReutersNo wonder Ben Stokes, in his first match since succeeding Root as England captain, said afterward of his close friend: “‘Mr Dependable,’ Joe Root, stood up. Scoring a hundred and 10,000 runs — what a player and what a man.”Root, an orthodox ‘touch’ batsman rather than a power hitter, made his mark playing for the same Sheffield Collegiate club as another former England captain, Michael Vaughan. However, there was a dip in Australia — where Root has still to score a Test century — as he lost form along with several teammates, as England were whitewashed during the 2013-2014 Ashes. Root succeeded Alastair Cook — the only other England batsman to have scored 10,000 Test runs — as captain in 2017.

China’s service industry shrinks, spending slumpsBloombergChina’s services activity contracted more than expected last month, with spending figures over the long weekend showing that a hit to consumer spending from COVID-19 curbs could linger through this month. People dine at a restaurant in Beijing yesterday, after the government eased some COVID-19 restrictions, with most dine-in services resuming throughout the city. China’s service industries posted further declines in business and new orders last month, the PMI statement said. The Caixin survey findings are largely in line with those in the official non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, which increased to 47.8 from April’s 41.9, but stayed below the cutoff 50 mark. The official survey tracks larger companies and includes the construction sector, while the Caixin survey focuses more on smaller ones.

Americas double revenue contribution to Wan HaiBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterWan Hai Lines Ltd’s (萬海航運) revenue contribution from its US and South American operations rose to 61 percent in the first quarter, from 30 percent a year earlier, the company said on Thursday. A Wan Hai Lines Ltd cargo ship is pictured at the Port of Kaohsiung on Feb. 11. Photo: CNAThe shipper has assigned more vessels and resources to the US market to enhance its competitiveness after initially struggling to meet demand, Wan Hai president Tommy Hsieh (謝福隆) told investors on Thursday. Asia is still the largest market for Wan Hai in terms of cargo volume, the shipper said. Wan Hai this year has received two new vessels and plans to take delivery of another 10 by the end of this year, 20 next year and 14 in 2024, it added.