■ Forex
Ex-central banker negligent
Thailand's Civil Court yesterday ordered former central bank governor Rerngchai Marakanond to repay 186 billion baht (US$4.56 billion) in damages for money the bank spent defending the baht from speculators which sparked the 1997 financial crisis. The court also found the former Bank of Thailand chief guilty of gross negligence, saying Rerngchai, 63, had more than 20 years' experience with the bank and must take responsibility for massive losses to the bank's reserves. The bank depleted its foreign reserves by between US$36 billion and US$38 billion over six months in a failed attempt to shore up the baht. "He must be fully aware that international reserves are crucial to the currency and how risky it was to spend all reserves to intervene in currency trading that triggered eroding the credibility of the Thai baht."
■ Technology
Japan's DVD market booms
The number of DVD recorders shipped in Japan more than doubled in the past fiscal year as new entrants in the already crowded market helped whet customers' appetite, a research firm said yesterday. Some 4.43 million DVD recorders were shipped in Japan in the fiscal year to March, up 104.1 percent from a year before. The value stood at ?230 billion (US$2.1 billion), up 43.8 percent, the MM Research Institute said. It said both DVD makers and large retailers made concerted marketing efforts, particularly to coincide with the Athens Olympics where Japan took home a national record in medals. "In addition to these factors, prices dropped sharply as companies like Mitsubishi Electric and Victor Co of Japan entered this market, helping stimulate consumer appetite," the research firm said in a statement. For the current year to March 2006, it forecast shipments will increase to 5.6 million DVD players, up 26.4 percent year-on-year. The upcoming year could also see the start to mass-market sales of next-generation DVDs.
■ Energy
LPG scooters launched
Vietnam has begun producing scooters running on environmentally friendly liquid petroleum gas (LPG), an engineer in Danang said yesterday. "The first LPG scooters produced by Haesun [a joint venture between Vietnam and South Korea] will be available on the market in September or October," said research team leader Bui Van Ga. "It took us eight years to study and start producing the conversion kit, which helps the scooter to switch between LPG and petrol. The LPG fuel will cost 30 percent less than petrol," he said.
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