■ Communications
Ericsson may cut prices
Ericsson AB, the world's largest maker of wireless networks, may use rising earnings to reduce prices, in a bid to gain market share from Chinese competitors including Huawei Technologies Co and ZTE Corp, Dagens Industri reported, without saying where it obtained the information. Ericsson hasn't yet felt the full effects of a cost-cutting program, which involved more than halving its workforce to about 47,000 people, the paper said. At the same time, the Stockholm-based company's customers have resumed spending as they prepare to introduce high-speed wireless networks after three years of slashing investments.
■ Technology
New glass prolongs LCD life
The liquid crystal displays (LCDs) that make their way into so many computer screens and televisions today are likely to get a boost in their life expectancy, thanks to technological advancements from Mainz-based glassmaker Schott Glassworks (http://www.schott.com). The company recently unveiled two new types of glass with special UV blocking properties. The result is said to be plastic components that protect LCD displays years longer than they currently do. Best of all, the new technology should not make LCD displays any more expensive than they currently are, according to Schott. Up to now, UV rays from backlighting which damage plastic materials on the inside of the screens have been a factor in shortening the lifespan of LCD displays.
■ Electronics
Sony aims to triple sales
Sony Corp, the world's second-biggest consumer electronics maker, aims to triple computer sales to companies in two years to counter sluggish sales from individuals, Nikkei English News said. Sony plans to boost Vaio computer sales to companies to 50 billion yen (US$455 million) from 15 billion yen, Nikkei said, citing the company. It aims to increase annual personal computer sales to corporate clients by 56 percent to 5 million units. Sony's home electronics sales remain sluggish on increased competition from rivals such as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co and Apple Computer Inc. Tokyo-based Sony, which relies on electronics for more than two-thirds of its revenue, reported net income declines in five of the past six years. The company aims to secure more than 10 percent of the market for personal computers for companies and individuals, the paper said.
■ Aviation
Alitalia, unions in accord
Alitalia SpA, Italy's largest airline, reached an agreement with its flight attendants' unions to cut 900 jobs, clearing the way for the company to get a government bailout that will keep it in business for another six months. The deal with the flight attendants brings the total planned job cuts to 3,689, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The flight attendants' group was the last of the nine major unions Chief Executive Giancarlo Cimoli needed to settle with for the board to approve the Rome-based company's business plan today, thus qualifying the airline for a 400 million-euro (US$488 million) loan guaranteed by the government. Cimoli, 64, had sought to trim 5,000 of the Alitalia's 19,000 full-time and 1,700 seasonal posts. The job actions are part of his plan to save 1 billion euros in four years and post an operating profit in 2006, the airline's first since 1998.
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