■ Cellphones
Samsung gains on Nokia
Nokia Oyj, the world's largest mobile-phone maker, lost market share to Samsung Electronics Co in the first quarter, while shipments by Germany's Siemens AG were smaller than at Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd. Nokia's first-quarter shipments fell 19 percent from the previous quarter to 53.8 million units, while South Korea's Samsung, the third-largest vendor, increased sales volume 16 percent to 24.5 million, according to a Bloomberg tally of the top six vendors' preliminary results. Shipments by Motorola Inc, the No. 2, fell 10 percent to 28.7 million units. Munich-based Siemens slipped 31 percent to 9.3 million units shipped, dipping below the 9.4 million sold by London-based Sony Ericsson, which now ranks fifth, according to the tally. LG Electronics Inc of South Korea had shipments fall 20 percent to 11.1 million units, retaining its No. 4 ranking for a second consecutive quarter.
■ Piracy
China to tackle Web sites
China will soon enact new regulations aimed at curbing online piracy of copyrighted material that will hold Web sites responsible for stolen material, state media reported yesterday. The "Administrative Measures on Internet Copyright Protection" are due by the end of April, the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Yan Xiaohong, deputy director of the National Copyright Administration, as saying. "The Web sites providing pirated information should bear major responsibility, and the ISPs who are passively spreading the information will be exempted from punishment," Yan was quoted as telling a conference on Tuesday in Beijing.
■ Oil industry
Yukos boss' verdict delayed
The verdict in the trial of former Yukos boss Mikhail Khodorkovsky, which was expected yesterday, has been postponed to May 16, said a statement pinned on the court's gate quoted by the Interfax news agency. Khodorkovsky and his associate Platon Lebedev have been charged with embezzlement and tax evasion and have been on trial since last July. The statement did not say why the verdict had been postponed, Interfax reported. The trial concluded on April 11 with Khodorkovsky defiantly rejecting charges of fraud and embezzlement as a politically-motivated farce. Some observers say the Kremlin initiated the case to punish Khodorkovsky for financing opposition parties ahead of parliamentary elections in 2003 and for openly challenging President Vladimir Putin's policies, including the state's monopoly over oil pipelines.
■ Textiles
EU edgy over China imports
EU imports of 11 categories of Chinese textiles are close to an "alert level" that could trigger possible curbs, in addition to the nine already in this zone, the European Commission said on yesterday. "There are 11 other categories approaching the alert level," spokeswoman Claude Veron-Reville said. The EU's trade chief has already recommended the opening of a probe into 9 categories of Chinese textile and clothing products, which have leapt in some cases by over 500 percent since the end of a global quota system on Jan. 1. The investigation, expected to open tomorrow, could lead to EU restrictions on Chinese shipments within 150 days.
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