■ Logistics
DHL to expand HK hub
International logistics giant DHL said yesterday it is investing US$110 million to expand its Central Asia hub in Hong Kong to meet strong growth in Asia led by China. The expanded air express cargo facility, to be renamed Central Asia SuperHub, will be completed by the end of 2007, brought on-line six years early, reflecting strong growth in the region, it said. Apart from Hong Kong, DHL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Post World Net, also operates five hubs in Bangkok, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. Asia is the fastest-growing region for DHL whose revenues in the area grew 19 percent to US$2.3 billion in the first six months of this year.
■ Computers
Japan to use Linux more
Japan aims to switch some government computers to the free Linux operating system and reduce its dependence on Microsoft Windows, officials indicated yesterday. Japan is drawing up guidelines for its ministries recommending open source software such as Linux as an "important option" in government procurement, an official at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. "This is not intended to exclude a particular software nor to recommend a particular one but it reflects the recent development of open source software as reliable systems," the official said. "Currently our procurement of software is dominated by commercial software," the majority of which is Windows, the official added. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that Japan sees the use of Linux as a way of lowering procurement costs and bolstering its defenses against cyber-attacks.
■ Management
Singapore CFOs faulted
Finance chiefs of companies in Singapore face the danger of inaccuracies and mistakes because they take on too much work, a study said yesterday. They spend excessive time on routine and repetitive tasks and lag behind the rest of the Asia-Pacific region in critical functions such as fraud risk management, a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers and CFO Asia Research Services found. Nearly 400 chief financial officers (CFOs) and senior financial executives from 13 countries were polled. Sixty percent of the CFOs in Singapore said more than half of their department's time was spent on tasks such as transaction processing and monthly closing activities, compared with the region's average of 50 percent.
■ Electronics
Video iPod expected
A new video-enabled iPod is expected to be unveiled by Apple Computer Inc during a press conference next week -- though the maverick company is masterful at foiling such predictions. Apple e-mailed invitations that included the words "One more thing ..." printed over a background photo that appears to depict theater curtains. The company, which has pocketed a fortune from the sales of its iPod digital music player, said nothing else in the e-mail, other than that the press event would take place in San Jose next Wednesday. "From our checks with industry and channel sources, we believe Apple will release a first-generation video-capable iPod," American Technology Research said in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America analysts also expect Apple to launch a new video-playing iPod, saying it would help support iPod's prices and "cause investors and consumers to think about Apple's growing position in the digital home."
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