■ Telecoms
AT&T, MCI deals approved
US regulators approved SBC Communications' takeover of AT&T and Verizon Communications' purchase of MCI on Monday in a move consumer activists have said is anticompetitive. By 4-0 votes, the US Federal Communications Commission approved a compromise adding several conditions -- but also removing the last regulatory barriers -- to the multibillion-dollar mergers. The agency required that SBC and Verizon freeze the wholesale prices they charge competitors to lease high-capacity business lines and said they had to guarantee that they will sell their Internet access as a stand-alone service, so customers aren't forced to buy local phone service as well. The acquisition by SBC Communications of AT&T is valued at US$16 billion; the deal with Verizon Communications and MCI is said to be worth about US$8.5 billion.
■ Communications
Motorola settles lawsuit
Motorola Inc, the world's No. 2 mobile phone maker, said it has agreed to settle a lawsuit against former president Mike Zafirovski for US$11.5 million cash and other requirements. Motorola earlier this month sued Zafirovski, claiming his new job as CEO of Nortel Networks Corp could risk disclosure of Motorola's trade secrets. The telecommunications-equipment maker was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Motorola said the settlement "reaffirms Zafirovski's obligations to protect Motorola's trade secrets and confidential information." It also includes an US$11.5 million cash payment to Motorola and restricts Nortel and Zafirovski from recruiting Motorola employees. Nortel said in a statement on Monday that the settlement includes no admission of any breaches of agreements or other improper conduct by Zafirovski or either company.
■ Currencies
Yuan exchange eased in HK
China's central bank said yesterday it has raised the yuan-exchange limit for Hong Kong individuals to 20,000 yuan (US$2,470) per transaction, from 6,000 yuan. The move was seen as part of a package of measures aimed at promoting economic ties between the mainland and the region. The central-bank statement also said it raised the ceiling on yuan remittances to 80,000 yuan from 50,000 yuan. Hong Kong businessmen can now exchange their yuan deposits into Hong Kong dollars but they are still barred from changing their Hong Kong dollar deposits into yuan. Analysts said the move would channel more capital from China to Hong Kong, helping to ease pressure on yuan appreciation.
■ Entertainment
Apple sells 1 million videos
Apple Computer Inc on Monday announced it had sold more than 1 million videos from its online iTunes music store since launching the image download service less than three weeks ago. The video library was unveiled on Oct. 12 when tech-innovator Apple launched its iPod portable video player that can screen music videos and hit television shows for fans on the move. Video iPod owners can download and buy over 2,000 music videos, short films from Pixar Animation Studios as well as hit television programs such as Desperate Housewives and Lost under a landmark tie up with Walt Disney Co. "Selling 1 million videos in less than 20 days strongly suggests there is a market for legal video downloads," said Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive.
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