■ Electronics
Sony unveils digital camera
Sony Corp, the first to market a digital camera in 1981, is making a late entry into the high-end segment of digital single-lens reflex cameras. Yesterday, Sony was to unveil its long-awaited digital SLR, the Alpha DSLR-A100. The 10.2-megapixel camera will work with 19 Sony lenses. The camera will also be compatible with most of the lenses from the former Konica-Minolta Maxxum line, which Sony acquired when it bought assets from Konica Minolta Holdings Inc in January. Unlike simple point-and-shoot digital cameras, SLR cameras use inter-changeable lenses and offer more manual controls.
■ Oil
China, N Korea reach deal
The Chinese government said yesterday that it had reached a preliminary agreement with North Korea to develop oil resources in the Bohai Sea. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Jianchao (劉建超) said the two sides had "friendly consultations" and reached an agreement and would be signing a more detailed arrangement in the future. He did not give any specific timetable. Liu said the two sides had agreed on developing oil resources in "border areas" of eastern China's Bohai Sea, which is off Hebei Province, but he gave no details.
■ Banking
BOC to issue shares
The Bank of China said yesterday it had applied to issue US$2.5 billion worth of shares on the Shanghai stock market, a week after the lender raised nearly US$10 billion on the Hong Kong bourse. China's second largest lender said it had lodged an application on Monday with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to list 10 billion domestic A-shares which could raise as much as 20 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion). In a statement posted on the commission's Web site, the Bank of China said the timing of the share sale would depend on market conditions and regulatory approval.
■ Computers
Microsoft in Qwest tie-up
Microsoft Corp said on Monday that its Internet security software will be included with Qwest's high-speed Internet service, marking the first such partnership for the software company's new online product. Windows Live OneCare, which aims to protect users from Internet attacks and keep PCs running smoothly, will be offered at no additional cost to Qwest's broadband subscribers along with Windows Live-branded e-mail and other programs, the companies said. A launch date hasn't been set. Denver-based Qwest Communications International Inc already offers its broadband clients a set of features under Microsoft's MSN online brand.
■ Japan
Lawsuit targets Livedoor
More than 1,600 shareholders have filed a suit against Internet startup Livedoor Co and its former president Takafumi Horie for damages incurred from alleged false financial results that inflated stock prices, according to lawyers representing the plaintiffs. The shareholders claim they were misled and incurred losses when the stock plunged, the lawyers' group, led by attorney Chohei Yonekawa, said in a statement, released on Monday. They are seeking ¥10.2 billion (US$91 million) in damages, the lawyers' group said in its Web site.
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