■Computer bugs
Dating virus hits Singapore
A computer virus disguising itself as a dating messenger infected more than 800 computers on New Year's Day in Singapore, a scanning company said yesterday. Called Yaha, the e-mail promises to find the user a date, sometimes offering a screensaver featuring sexy celebrities, said Trend Micro. When the infected file is clicked, it disables anti-virus software and firewalls, leaving the system susceptible to further virus attacks and hackers, the firm said. It also sends itself out to everyone in the address book. This kind of virus is called a "blended threat," because it combines the characteristics of several types. Last year two similar bugs, Klez and Bugbear, infected thousands of PCs in Singapore and caused several businesses to shut down their systems for virus cleansing.
■ Oil
OPEC may up production
OPEC may increase oil production by more than 500,000 barrels a day if the strike in Venezuela and the threat of a US attack on Iraq continue pushing up global oil prices, a senior official in the organization said Thursday. The increase could occur in mid-January, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. An agreement among the 11 OPEC member countries would likely be reached by phone, the official said. "We could put 500,000 barrels per day on the market. But that probably won't be enough, so we could do more than that," the official told Dow Jones Newswires. OPEC has a self-imposed price band mechanism that requires the group to increase production by 500,000 barrels a day if the average price of seven selected crude oils stays above US$28 a barrel for more than 20 consecutive trading days. The OPEC basket, as the seven crude oils are known, was US$29.85 Tuesday, OPEC's official news agency, Opecna, said Thursday. It was the 11th day the basket exceeded the price ceiling.
■ Airlines
US Airways gets financing
US Airways Group Inc negotiated US$830 million in financing from General Electric Capital Corp as part of a settlement designed to help the No. 7 US airline emerge from bankruptcy protection. The airline also agreed to issue new shares to resolve claims by GE Capital, which is the carrier's largest creditor. GE Capital is owed more than US$1 billion for everything from plane leases to engine repairs, according to papers filed in the US Bankruptcy Court in Alexandria, Virginia. US Airways, with more than US$10 billion of debt, filed for bankruptcy in August as losses widened after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. GE Capital is the financing arm of General Electric Co.
■ Preservation
Pandas love new biscuits
A factory in China has started making bamboo-shaped biscuits for malnourished giant pandas and they're being gobbled up, a report said yesterday. The Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Center in southwest China's Sichuan province said the vitamin and fibre-filled bites have been a big success with their 30-odd pandas in captivity. Deputy director Yu Jianqiu said the production line was established on site in a bid to improve the diet of a species on the verge of extinction, the China Daily reported. Pandas number only about 1,000 in the wild with a further 120 or so in zoos and research centers. Their traditional habitats in China have been reduced by 40 percent in the past 20 years, due to logging, road-building and expanding towns.
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