■ Automakers
Ford denies `gay' ads pact
Ford Motor Co came under fire this week after it was reported to have pulled ads from gay publications in a "secret deal" with a conservative Christian group. The automaker denied that any deal had been made and insisted that the decision to cease advertising its Jaguar and Land Rover brands in gay publications was part of a broad restructuring of the advertising budgets of the two struggling luxury brands. The Volvo brand will continue to advertise in gay publications while the Ford, Mercury and Lincoln brands have never advertised in such publications, Ford spokesman Mike Moran said. The American Family Association threatened to boycott Ford in May because the company sponsored Gay Pride parades, supported gay marriage and required managers to attend diversity training. The boycott was suspended last Friday.
■ Liability
`Dangerous' bikes slammed
Parents suing US retail giant Wal-Mart for their children's crashes on Chinese-built bicycles gathered on the steps of a San Francisco courthouse on Tuesday to state their case. The parents of 10 US children filed suit earlier this year, accusing Wal-Mart and California-based bicycle importer Dynacraft of fraud and negligence for supplying children with "dangerous bicycles." Wal-Mart and Dynacraft have vouched for the quality of the bicycles, saying the reason front tires popped off, sending children face-first over handlebars, was "rider error." The children or whoever was watching over them didn't set the quick-release mechanisms for the front wheels correctly, according to the companies. Parents say the releases were faulty and they weren't properly warned of the importance of securing the front wheels.
■ Copy protection
Patch released for Sony CDs
According to Sony BMG Music Entertainment, some 5.7 million of its CDs were shipped with anti-piracy technology that requires a new software patch to plug a potential security breach in computers used to play the CDs. The company said on Tuesday it brought the issue up with the MediaMax software maker, SunnComm Technologies Inc, which has developed a software patch to fix the problem. The flawed software was loaded on 27 Sony BMG titles, including Alicia Keys' Unplugged, and Cassidy's I'm a Hustla.
■ Software
Microsoft to expand in India
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said yesterday the US software giant plans to invest US$1.7 billion in India and nearly double its work force in the country over the next four years. Much of the money would go to improving the software giant's research and development capabilities, Gates said. The Microsoft chairman hinted earlier yesterday at bigger things to come when he said the company would add 3,000 jobs in India over the next three to four years.
■ Plasma displays
Samsung sues Matsushita
South Korea's Samsung SDI said yesterday it has filed a patent violation lawsuit in the US against Japan's Matsushita and its subsidiary Panasonic. The legal action came after a year of negotiations failed to resolve a dispute between Samsung SDI and Matsushita over plasma display panel (PDP) technologies. Samsung SDI is the world's largest maker of PDPs, which are flat screens used for thin televisions and other display monitors.
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