■ Electronics
LG unveils new DVD player
LG Electronics Inc, South Korea's second-largest electronics maker, said it developed the first DVD player that can read content in both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats. LG Electronics will begin selling its Super Multi Blue Player in the US during the first quarter, the Seoul-based company said in a statement yesterday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The model has been priced at US$1,199, LG said. Sony Corp and Toshiba Corp are fighting to set the industry standard for the next generation of DVD players, which can pack more data and offer better picture quality than current DVDs.
■ Markets
NASDAQ makes prediction
The value of shares in the London Stock Exchange (LSE) would probably fall sharply if shareholders rejected a hostile takeover bid from the US market NASDAQ, the US stock exchange operator said yesterday. "LSE shares would be worth far less without NASDAQ and a lapsing of the final offers is likely to precipitate a substantial fall in the share price," NASDAQ said in a statement. Last month, the London Stock Exchange recommended to its shareholders that they reject the offer worth £2.9 billion (US$5.5 billion), having described NASDAQ's bid as "wholly inadequate."
■ Energy
Origin mulls merger offer
Origin Energy Ltd said yesterday it was considering a A$13.6 billion (US$10.5 billion) merger proposal put forward by Australia's biggest gas and electricity retailer, AGL Energy Ltd, but had not entered into talks. Last week, AGL revealed it had made a preliminary approach to Origin, a natural gas and electricity provider, proposing a stock-based merger that would not offer a premium for Origin shares. In response to a query from the Australian Stock Exchange over its recent price movements, Sydney-based Origin said yesterday it was "undertaking an evaluation of the proposal and has not entered into any discussions" with AGL, also based in Sydney.
■ Cellphones
Nokia releases sales figures
Nokia Corp sold 40 million smart phones last year and more than 850 million people worldwide now use its mobile handsets, the Finnish company said yesterday. CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said that last year 90 million smart phones -- also known as "converged devices" that include cameras and enable fast access to the Internet and downloads of music and videos -- were sold worldwide. Kallasvuo said at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, that he expects the market for smart phones to hit 250 million by next year.
■ Aviation
Trans-Pacific route still off
Australia again ruled out opening up Qantas' coveted trans-Pacific route yesterday, quashing rumors that rival carriers might gain access once the "Flying Kangaroo" is taken over by a private equity group. Transport Minister Mark Vaile said the flag-carrier's lucrative Sydney to Los Angeles route would remain off-limits for several years to airlines other than Qantas and Australian discount flyer Virgin Blue. "It would be a number of years before we revisit that," Vaile told the Australian newspaper. His comments followed speculation Canberra may revise its decision made in February last year to bar rival carriers from the route.
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