■ US Economy
Polls says jobs key in vote
More than two-thirds of registered voters said jobs and foreign competition will be "very important" in determining who they vote for in the November presidential election, a Newsweek poll said. Sixty-eight percent of voters said jobs and foreign competition will be very important in the presidential election, while another 22 percent said it will be somewhat important, according to the poll of 1,019 adults on Thursday and Friday last week.
■ Life Insurance
IBM wins Mitsui contract
IBM Japan Ltd signed a 10-year, ?36 billion (US$330 million) contract to provide clerical operations services for Mitsui Mutual Life Insurance Co starting in April, the Nihon Keizai newspaper said. The Tokyo-based arm of International Business Machines Corp will send 30 engineers and other personnel to an equally owned venture with a Mitsui Mutual unit, according to the newspaper, which didn't say who provided the information. The business will cut Mitsui Mutual's clerical costs by more than 10 percent, saving ?5 billion over the life of the contract, the report said.
■ Lottery
Winner bags US$230 million
The Mega Millions lottery said yesterday 1 person won Saturday night's US$230 million jackpot, the largest amount in the lottery's history to go to a single winner, and that the winning ticket was sold in Virginia. It was bought in Stephens City, Virginia, according to a press release on the lottery's Web site. Stephens City is about 85 miles west of Washington. The winning numbers were 01-13-20-21- 30 and the Mega Ball number was 24. The last jackpot was awarded on Dec. 30, when one winner in Ohio garnered a US$162 million prize. The odds of winning Saturday's jackpot were about one in 135 million, lottery officials had said.
■ Telecoms
China to invest less
China's fixed-asset investments in the telecommunications industry are expected to drop to 210 billion yuan (US$25.4 billion) this year, China Central Television reported, citing the Ministry of Information Industry. That's a 6.5 percent decline from the 224.6 billion yuan investment last year cited by the country's phone regulator earlier. Subscriber growth will also slow this year, the annual report cited by CCTV showed. China Mobile Communications Corp and China United Telecommunications Corp are expected to add 52 million cellular users this year compared with a gain of 63 million users last year, CCTV said.
■ Biotechnology
India given upbeat outlook
India's biotechnology industry has the potential to create 1 million jobs and earn revenue worth US$5 billion over five years, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported, citing an Ernst & Young International report. India's advantage in biotechnology lies in its low cost and skilled work force, the paper said. The same factors have made the country a favored destination for software and technology services, the newspaper said. The cost of developing a new drug, which costs US$800 million in the West, may cost as half as much in India, the daily said.
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