■ Computers
iPod nanos get cheaper
Apple Computer tightened its hold on the digital music player market on Tuesday by unveiling more affordable versions of its hot-selling iPod. Apple introduced a US$149 iPod nano with one gigabyte of memory, enough to hold an estimated 240 songs or 15,000 photographs. The prices of two iPod shuffle models, one with 512 megabytes of memory and another with one gigabyte will be cut to US$69 and US$99 respectively, according to the Cupertino, California, company. "Now everyone can afford an iPod nano," Greg Joswiak, vice president of Worldwide iPod Product Marketing, said in a written release. "The iPod is the world's most popular digital music player with over 40 million sold, and now even more music lovers can experience the unrivaled combination of iPod and iTunes."
■ Retail
Wal-Mart plans more stores
Wal-Mart Stores Inc plans to open more than 1,500 stores in the US in the coming years, on top of nearly 3,200 it already operates, the world's largest retailer said. John Menzer, the company's vice chairman and head of its domestic Wal-Mart stores division, said on Tuesday that Wal-Mart was on schedule to meet an announced target of between 335 and 370 new US store openings this year after 341 last year. Menzer did not refer to zoning and permit fights that have erupted in some places where Wal-Mart wants to expand, including big markets such as California where the company has fewer locations than in its traditional bases in the South and Midwest.
■ Internet
EU addresses snapped up
Hundreds of thousands of businesses raced on Tuesday to snap up ".eu" Internet domain names, with "sex.eu" taking the prize for the most sought-after address on the first day companies could apply. Two months after the .eu domain name was launched for public institutions and trademark holders, the tag was opened up to companies other than those seeking a site for a brand, as well as for art works and literature. Within the first hour, sex.eu domain had received 23 applications, followed by schumacher.eu with 15, realestate.eu with 12 and business.eu also with 12 applications, according to the European Registry of Internet Domain Names.
■ Automobiles
GM slashes salaries
General Motors Corp, bowing to pressure from shareholders led by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, cut its dividend in half, slashed pay for top executives and revised health and pension benefits after an US$8.55 billion loss last year. Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner will reduce his salary by 50 percent, and his top three lieutenants will take 30 percent cuts. GM will freeze salaried workers' health benefits and trim its annual dividend to US$1, giving the automaker more leverage to get new cuts from union workers. The moves follow Tuesday's appointment of Jerome York, Kerkorian's chief adviser and a GM critic, to the automaker's board. In a January speech, York called for "equality of sacrifice" among investors, union members and GM executives and salaried employees to return the automaker to profitability. GM's announcement yesterday satisfies three of the demands York made: a US$565 million dividend cut and a reduction in top executive and director pay. York also asked for a pay cut for all employees, which wasn't part of GM's plan.
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