■ Trademarks
Apple sues Apple
Apple Corps Ltd, the Beatles' record company and guardian of the band's musical heritage and business interests, is suing Apple Computer Inc, claiming the company violated a 1991 agreement by entering the music business with its iTunes online music store. At issue is a 1991 agreement that ended a long-running trademark fight between the two Apples in which each agreed not to tread on the other's toes by entering into a "field of use" agreement over the trademark. Apple Corps -- founded in 1968 and owned by surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the widow of John Lennon and the estate of George Harrison -- is seeking both an injunction to enforce the 1991 agreement and monetary damages for the alleged contract breach. The two were due to face off in court yesterday.
■ Retail
Wal-Mart steps up checks
Wal-Mart Stores Inc is increasing surprise inspections at thousands of foreign factories where it buys clothes, toys, shoes and other products as it expands efforts to make sure its suppliers uphold labor and environmental standards. Wal-Mart expects unannounced inspections to make up 30 percent of all inspections this year, up from 20 percent last year and 8 percent in 2004, said Beth Keck, director of international corporate affairs for the world's largest retailer. In 2004, the last year for which it has published results, Wal-Mart said 36 percent of inspections turned up what it calls "high-risk" violations, 42 percent were medium-risk and 21 percent were low-risk. One percent, or 108 factories, failed altogether and Wal-Mart stopped doing business with them.
■ Steel
Japanese forge alliance
Three major Japanese steelmakers, led by Nippon Steel Corp, said yesterday they will plot a joint defense strategy to counter hostile takeover attempts in the wake of Mittal Steel Co's unsolicited bid for Luxembourg's Arcelor SA. Nippon Steel, Kobe Steel Ltd and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd have agreed to study "countermeasures in the event that an unsolicited offer is made to one of the three companies," the steelmakers said in a combined statement. The announcement comes on the heels of Netherlands-based Mittal's 19 billion euro (US$23 billion) offer for Arcelor, an overture that has been rejected by Arcelor and triggered an ongoing takeover battle in Europe. The Japanese companies said on Tuesday they plan to strengthen their ties by cooperating in recycling, the supply of mold pig iron and the cutting of costs.
■ Gambling
Singapore casino bids close
The four groups in the running to build Singapore's first casino resort yesterday submitted formal bids, with Malaysia's Genting International making the first submission. The four groups are bidding to build a casino resort at Marina Bay near Singapore's financial center. The deadline for bids was yesterday. Other bidders included a tie-up between Harrah's Entertainment Inc and Singapore's Keppel Land Ltd; Las Vegas Sands Corp; and a team combining MGM Mirage and Southeast Asia's largest developer, CapitaLand Ltd. The tender for the Sentosa casino will be launched on April 28, and applications will close Oct. 10. The government will likely decide on the winning bid for the Sentosa casino before the end of the year.
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