■ Software
Vista download offered
Microsoft Corp will make its new Windows Vista operating system available for sale and download online, marking a new step for the software company, which has previously sold Windows only on packaged discs or pre-loaded on computers. The download program will also include the Office 2007 line of software when both are released for consumers on Jan. 30. The huge downloads will initially be available in North America only. The download process is targeted at people who are running the prior operating system, Windows XP, and want to get Vista without having to buy a new PC.
■ Aviation
Virgin US may drop CEO
Maverick airline Virgin America told US government regulators it was prepared to overhaul its ownership, jettison its chief executive and possibly even change its name to gain clearance to fly -- an ambition that has been blocked because of the startup's ties to British entrepreneur Richard Branson. With the list of concessions filed late on Wednesday with the US transportation department, Virgin America hopes to convince regulators it complies with US laws capping foreign control of a US airline at 25 percent.
■ Internet
Yahoo hosts video contest
Yahoo invited young video makers on Wednesday to share their political or social concerns with the world by taking part in an "issue films" contest that will be posted online. The Sunnyvale, California, Internet search engine announced it would be the exclusive online sponsor of an unprecedented Film Your Issue (FYI) competition intended to get young adults involved in public dialogue. People around the world ages 16 to 25 were encouraged to create 30-second to 60-second videos spotlighting contemporary subjects of importance to them. The videos will be posted at www.jumpcut.com, an online video editing and remixing Web site acquired last year by Yahoo. Rules were at the contest organizer's Web site, www.filmyourissue.com.
■ Property
US bank invests in India
US-based investment bank Morgan Stanley has bought a minority stake in an Indian real estate company for US$152 million in what is billed as one of the biggest foreign investments in the country's property development industry, the Hindustan Times reported yesterday. Morgan Stanley has paid US$152 million to buy a 10.75 percent stake in Mumbai-based Oberoi Constructions, whose major projects are located in Mumbai and the suburbs of New Delhi, it said. Foreign investment in real estate was banned until last year.
■ Aviation
Cathay slams tight control
Cathay Pacific said that China's tight control over airspace is causing air traffic jams and fuel waste and is capping Hong Kong's growth, reports said yesterday. Flights from Hong Kong to the mainland are restricted to a single cross border route with no alternative paths available in the event of bad weather. Congestion at airports like Shanghai or Beijing also often affect air traffic in Hong Kong and strand passengers here, the Financial Times reported. The report said inflexible management of China's airspace has hit Cathay's subsidiary Dragonair which serves more China routes than any other overseas airline.
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