■ Fraud
Fastow pleads not guilty
Enron Corp former chief financial officer Andrew Fastow pleaded not guilty to new charges that he master-minded the accounting scandal that bankrupted the former energy trader. Fastow, who last year pleaded not guilty to 78 counts of fraud and other federal charges in connec-tion with the collapse of Enron, on Monday denied in US federal court in Hous- ton, Texas, that he had also conspired to falsify business records, filed false tax forms and committed insider trading, among other new charges. Fastow, who was not in court, entered the plea through his law-yers. Fastow and 18 others have been charged in the government's investigation of Enron, which lost US$68 billion in market value from its stock market high to its filing for bankruptcy in December 2001.
■ Internet
Napster plans comeback
The once-wildly popular online music site Napster will make a comeback, its new owner said Monday as it announced plans to acquire the Pressplay music venture and use it as the basis for a new Napster. The announcement Monday by the music software firm Roxio said it was acquiring Pressplay, the online music venture of Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment in a cash and stock deal worth an esti-mated US$39.5 million. "As a result of this transaction, Roxio has acquired a legal digital music distribution infrastructure and catalog rights with all five major music labels," the Santa Clara, California, firm said in a statement. Pressplay will serve as the foundation for the launch of Roxio's new legal online music service under the Napster brand.
■ Telecoms
Orange offers instant texting
Orange SA, Europe's No. 2 wireless company, said an accord with Microsoft Corp allows customers to have real-time text conversations on their phones through the US company's MSN Messen-ger and Hotmail services. About 35 million Orange customers can send and receive messages simul-taneously between groups of users through their existing phone. They can also receive alerts when new mail lands in their Hotmail account, the France Telecom SA unit said in an e-mailed statement. MSN, the second-biggest US Internet service provider, has about 110 million registered Hotmail users and Messenger has 75 million. European wireless operators are adding services such as games, video and photo messaging to persuade customers to spend more as subscriber growth slows. Orange on April 29 said first-quarter subscriber growth in the UK and France almost ground to a halt.
■ Biotechnology
Mahathir launches project
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad yester-day launched an ambitious biotechnology hub as part of Malaysia's push towards becoming a developed nation by 2020. Mahathir, performing the ground-breaking ceremony for the BioValley project, invited foreign scientists and investors to set up base there to tap Malaysia's rich bio-diversity. He said the government would invest 100 million ringgit (US$263 million) in the initial phase to build infrastructure and facilities, including three research institutions dealing in genomics, pharmaceu-ticals and agriculture by 2006. The BioValley got off to a good start with three companies signing intent letters to set up base there.
Agencies
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique