■ Music players
iPod complaints studied
Apple Computer Inc is investigating complaints that its popular iPod mini is prone to static and other sound distortions when playing back music. The diminutive music players, which have been shipping since February, sometimes generate the noise when users touch areas around the headphone jack, according to a handful of reports posted at iPodlounge.com and Apple's own discussion forums. "Apple is aware of a few isolated reports online of iPod mini audio static and is looking into it," Apple spokeswoman Natalie Sequeira said Tuesday. She urged users with any problems to contact the company's technical support. The devices come with a one-year warranty. Last month, Apple delayed the gadget's international release to the end of July, citing extremely strong demand in the US. In February, the company reported receiving more than 100,000 pre-orders for the US$249 mini since its January unveiling.
■ Fast food
McDonald's US sales rise
McDonald's Corp expects first-quarter earnings to improve from last year as US sales rose briskly. The hamburger chain Tuesday said it sees earnings of US$0.40 a share in the latest quarter, up from US$0.29 a year earlier. Analysts have on average been expecting earnings of US$0.40 a share, according to Thomson First Call. Sales at US restaurants open more than a year rose 14.2 percent in the first quarter. Last month, US sales rose 9.9 percent at those restaurants, while European sales decreased 2.9 percent. However, the fast-food giant said it is still working on improving its European market, which saw only a 3.5 percent rise for the first quarter. It will introduce the Salads Plus menu, launched this month in Britain and Germany, in more than a dozen additional European markets.
■ Trade
US penalizes Konka
Chinese television maker Konka said yesterday that the US has imposed final anti-dumping penalties of up to 24.48 percent on imports of TVs from four major Chinese manufacturers. The US Commerce Department set the highest rate on China's biggest maker, Sichuan Changhong Electric Co. It imposed duties of 22.36 percent on TCL Corp, 11.36 percent on Konka Group and 4.35 percent on Xiamen Overseas Chinese Electronic, a Konka official said. Chinese TV-makers, who have denied any wrongdoing, have said they would appeal the decision. The Chinese Ministry of Trade and Economic Cooperation has previously slammed the tariffs as "discriminatory and unjust," saying it was gravely concerned.
■ Computers
Dell hiring more abroad
Computer maker Dell Inc has more workers overseas than it does in the US, reversing the makeup of its work force just a year ago. Round Rock, Texas-based Dell said it was simply allocating resources where growth has been fastest, including China and Japan. "We have great opportunities outside the US, and as such we have built our employee base in areas that best reflect our strong growth areas," Dell spokesman Bob Kaufman said on Tuesday. "Our jobs have grown all over the world, including here in the US." Dell had 46,000 employees as of Jan. 30. About 22,200 of those were in the US, while 23,800 worked in other countries, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.
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
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
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
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