■Petroleum
Crude prices rise in outage
Crude oil rose as much as 1.2 percent in New York after power failures in the US and Canada forced at least four refiners to shut down at a time when they need to boost processing to meet rising gasoline demand. Refiners in Ohio, Michigan and Ontario shut at least 451,000 barrels a day of processing, sending gasoline futures to a five-month high. Thursday, New York crude oil gained 1 percent in floor trading before the blackouts on speculation US gasoline demand will boost crude oil processing by refiners. They had been ramping up gasoline production as demand from motorists climbed in the final weeks of the US summer vacation season. "The refinery outages caused by the power failure will probably kill gasoline supplies," said Katsunori Watanabe, director of research at oil futures trading company, Nihon Unicom Corp in Tokyo.
■ Computers
China to buy local software
The Chinese government is buying only made-in-China software instead of Microsoft Corp's Word and other programs to install in all ministries and commissions, Chinese Central Government Purchasing Center Vice Director Ren Xinhui said. Beijing has set rules banning government bureaus to buy and install foreign software applications, Ren said. "We cracked down earlier on pirated Windows operating systems installed on government computers," Ren said in an interview. "But the ministries which use legit-imate versions of Windows OS can keep them.." Ren said the purchasing center is still in the process of going through bids for software to install in the central government's 28 ministries and commissions. Microsoft spokespersons could not be reached for comment.
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