■ Electronics
Samsung's profits triple
South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co said yesterday that its net profit for the second quarter to last month almost tripled to 3.13 trillion won (US$2.7 billion) but its "spectacular" figures still fell short of investor expectations. Oper-ating profit also rose more than three times to 3.73 trillion won from a year earlier but this was less than the 3.9 trillion won the market had been expecting, leading to an initial drop in the share price. The world's largest maker of computer memory chips said sales rose 52.3 percent to 14.9 trillion won. The second quarter results look good compared with a year earlier but when set against the previous quarter, net profit fell 0.2 percent and operating profit was down 7.0 percent.
■ Internet
MSN buys Lookout
Microsoft Corp's MSN online division has bought e-mail search firm Lookout Inc, as part of efforts to improve its own search technology and compete with Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. Terms of the deal, announced on Thursday, were not disclosed. San Francisco-based Lookout makes software that helps users more quickly search through e-mail stored in Microsoft's Outlook mail-box. Outlook is part of Microsoft's Office software package. Lisa Gurry, an MSN director, said the company will incorporate Lookout's technology into its planned new MSN search offering. That technology, still in development, will let people search the Internet, e-mail, documents and other data.
■ Electronics
EC to rule on Coca-Cola
The European Commission is set to announce a settlement of a three-year antitrust investigation of Coca-Cola, a person involved in the inquiry said yesterday. Coca-Cola has offered to drop its require-ment that retailers stock a wide array of Coke and Fanta drinks, which come in a number of flavors and take up a large amount of shelf space. Currently, retailers must take the whole range of drinks to qualify for a rebate from the company. The commission was concerned that this program was stifling competition in soft drinks and that Coca-Cola was gaining undeserved market share for niche products like Vanilla Coke by having them stacked alongside the hugely popular regular Coke. Coca-Cola's offer means that retailers can earn rebates purely on the quantity of the specific flavor drinks they order.
■ Internet
eBay tests music downloads
Internet auction giant eBay said yesterday it was starting a six-month pilot program to test the waters for music downloads from its site. Company spokes-man Hani Durzy said the test would be "to determine if there is a demand among buyers and sellers for digital music on eBay." The market for online music has exploded over the past year with the launch of online stores by Apple, Wal-Mart, RealNetworks and others for paid downloads in place of the popular but dimin-ishing file-swapping net-works. Durzy said that for the six-month test, "we have a very small number of pre-approved sellers with whom we have confirmed they have licenses to the music as well as a secure way of delivering that music." As with other products sold on eBay, it will be up to the sellers to determine whether to use an auction or fixed price, the spokesman added.
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
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
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