■ Internet
Yahoo catches e-mail worm
Yahoo Inc said on Tuesday it had contained a malicious program aimed at the millions of people who use its e-mail service, which ranks as the world's largest. The worm, dubbed "Yamanner," infected a recipient's computer as soon as the toxic e-mail was opened. It then scanned contact lists for additional targets, according to security software maker Symantec Corp. Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo said "a very small fraction" of its more than 200 million e-mail accounts were infected on Monday when the problem was first identified. As a precaution against variations on the Yamanner worm, Yahoo advised its e-mail users to update their antivirus programs and block all incoming correspondence from av3@yahoo.com.
■ Economy
US inflation edging up
Consumer inflation registered another sizable increase last month, pushed higher by soaring gasoline prices. And most worrisome, there was further evidence that the jump in energy costs is beginning to cause more widespread inflation troubles. The US Labor Department reported yesterday that its Consumer Price Index posted a 0.4 percent increase in May after an even bigger 0.6 percent rise in April. Gasoline prices jumped by 4.9 percent and have been soaring this year at an annual rate of 69.4 percent so far this year as motorists contend with pump prices above $US3 per gallon in many parts of the country. Excluding energy and food, core inflation rose by a larger-than-expected 0.3 percent. That increase was certain to get the attention of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who called a recent uptick "unwelcome."
■ Software
Microsoft releases patches
Microsoft Corp released eight critical updates on Tuesday to patch security holes in its Windows operating system, Internet Explorer browser, Windows Media Player and Office productivity software. The Redmond, Washington-based software maker also released three patches rated "important" and one that was rated "moderate." Users can go to www.microsoft.com/security to download the Microsoft patches.
■ Shipping
DPWorld plans terminal
Dubai's DPWorld, one of the world's largest container-port operators, said on Tuesday it plans to invest US$500 million in a new container terminal in the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin. DPWorld said it met with a visiting delegation from Tianjin municipality and signed a letter of intent with the Tianjin Port Group to develop a terminal being built on a man-made island off the city's coast. The terminal will have a capacity of 2.2 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent container units) and is expected to be operational by 2011.
■ Electronics
More phones than Finns
Statistics on Tuesday suggested that Finland has more mobile telephones than inhabitants. At the end of March, Finland had 5,280,000 mobile telephone subscriptions, roughly 20,000 more than the number of people, the Finnish news agency STT said, quoting a report from the Communications Ministry. The report comes as little surprise considering that the country is home to global mobile telephone giant Nokia. During the first quarter, mobile phones were used to make some 1 billion telephone calls and send 727 million text messages in Finland, the report said.
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
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
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
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