■ Copyright
AFP sues Google
Google Inc, the world's most-used Internet search engine, has removed all Agence France Presse (AFP) content from its site after the French news agency sued over copyright infringement, Le Figaro reported, citing an unnamed Google spokesperson. Google is being sued in US District Court for the District of Columbia for at least US$17.5 million for allegedly including photos, news headlines, and stories from AFP's Web site without the agency's permission. An AFP spokesperson told Figaro that the agency has signed contracts with other Web sites, such as Yahoo Inc and France Telecom SA's Wanadoo, for use of its content but has no agreement with Google.
■ Electronics
Rambus and Infineon settle
Ending a long-running patent dispute over computer memory, Rambus Inc and Infineon Technologies AG settled all legal claims on Monday and granted each other licenses to their respective technologies. Under the deal, German memory chip maker Infineon will pay Rambus a quarterly license fee of US$5.85 million, starting Nov. 15 and ending Nov. 15, 2007. After that, Infineon could continue to pay up to an accumulated total of US$100 million if certain conditions are met. Rambus, meanwhile, was granted a perpetual license for Infineon's memory interfaces and agreed to treat the company as a "most-favored customer."
■ Software
Oracle wins battle for Retek
Retek Inc accepted Oracle Corp's US$643.3 million takeover offer over a competing bid from SAP AG, giving Oracle Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison his second victory in an acquisition battle in four months. SAP dropped out of the running, Minneapolis-based Retek and Oracle said in a statement today. Redwood City, California-based Oracle raised its bid to US$11.25 a share March 17, topping an US$11 offer from SAP that Retek's board had accepted earlier that day. Ellison's victory, which follows the US$10.3 billion acquisition of PeopleSoft Inc in January, will help him maintain Oracle's No. 1 rank in North American sales of programs that run business tasks such as payroll and human resources. Retek improves Oracle's position with retailers, who are buying more software to manage supplies and track customer demand.
■ Textiles
China cites `self-discipline'
China expects its textile manufacturers to show self-discipline to prevent disruptions to the global textile trade, Commerce Minister Bo Xilai (薄熙來) said in comments published by state media yesterday. Bo's comments, made at an international conference in Beijing, came amid growing friction over soaring exports following the end to global textile trade restrictions at the beginning of the year. Chinese garment and textile companies are "willing to adopt self-disciplinary measures to ensure the quality of their export products," the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Bo as saying. Bo also noted the government's effort to ease tensions over burgeoning exports by raising taxes on textile exports, curbing investment in textile and garment-related industries and limiting their production capacity, the report said. Confronted by a flood of clothing and other textiles from China, the US government said on Monday it was starting special monitoring to keep track of imports now that global quotas have ended.
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