■ Software
SAP open to Oracle merger
The chief executive of SAP AG, the world's biggest maker of business software, told a German business magazine he'd be open to a merger with rival Oracle Corp if company head Larry Ellison were to raise the idea. "I would listen to him," SAP CEO Henning Kagermann told German business weekly Wirtschaftswoche, published yesterday. The Walldorf-based company confirmed Kagermann's remarks. Kagermann said his company's executives would consider any merger proposal, provided it was in the best interest of the software maker's shareholders, something a German company is required by law to do. Oracle and SAP are the world's two leading makers of business applications software. SAP has long been the industry leader, but Oracle has recently been closing the gap with several high-profile acquisitions.
■ Semiconductors
AMD reports losses for Q1
The US semiconductor firm Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) -- the top rival of industry leader Intel -- on Wednesday reported first quarter losses due to slumping prices for its flash-memory-chips, and said it would spin off the struggling unit into an initial public stock offering. The device is a storage chip for cellphones and other electronic devices. The Sunnyvale, California-based firm reported losses of US$17 million compared to profits of US$45 million dollars in the same quarter last year. Sales of the flash chips were down 29 percent to US$449 million in the period, and the unit had an operating loss of US$110 million. The creation of the new flash memory chip company was to be done in collaboration with Japan's Fujitsu.
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