■ Internet
Ebay outlaws virtual booty
Ebay said on Tuesday that it had banned auctions of virtual gold, armor and other booty amassed in World of Warcraft and other online computer games. The San Jose, California-based Internet auction house decided to bar sales of what was essentially computer code representing riches, swords and other items in games because of "legal complexities" regarding ownership. But Ebay said it would continue to allow auctions of items from virtual societies such as Second Life, where people represented by animated figures called "avatars" buy and sell homes and other "property" made of computer codes.
■ Stocks
Shanghai Composite drops
Chinese stocks tumbled nearly 5 percent in their biggest one-day drop in eight months yesterday amid mounting worries over high stock valuations. Analysts said the decline likely signaled a respite after weeks of continued record highs. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 4.9 percent to close at 2,786.33, its biggest one-day decline since a 5.33 percent plunge on June 7 last year. The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index plunged 5.8 percent to 655.53. "The index seems to have peaked last week. It's very unlikely to reach 3,000 in the short term," said Wang Sheng, a strategist at Haitong Securities.
■ Economy
India raises short-term rate
The Reserve Bank of India yesterday raised its key short-term borrowing rate by a quarter percentage point to 7.5 percent, citing inflation risks, as it also hiked its full-year growth forecast. The central bank raised its full-year growth forecast for the year to March 2007 to 8.5 to 9 percent from an earlier forecast of above 8 percent. The surging economy, which grew a record 9.1 percent in the first half ended September, prompted Standard and Poor's to raise the country's credit rating to investment grade on Tuesday. The last time the country had a stable investment grade rating was in September 1990.
■ Electronics
Flextronics plans purchases
Flextronics International Ltd, which produces electronics for other companies, plans to make more acquisitions to gain technology and manufacturing capabilities, chief executive officer Michael McNamara said. "We don't necessarily look for them to add size and scale but to add capabilities," McNamara said in an interview yesterday. The Singapore-based company competes with Celestica Inc, Solectron Corp and Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) to make electronics such as the Xbox 360 console for Microsoft Corp.
■ Transformation
Vietnam to transfer firms
Vietnam's ruling Communist Party and the military will relinquish control of dozens of companies, ranging from hotels to telecoms, amid ongoing efforts to transform the country into a market economy, officials said yesterday. The elite 160-member Central Committee last week decided to transfer the companies managed by the party and the armed forces to the state, said Dao Duy Quat, deputy director of the party's Ideological and Cultural Commission. However, the armed forces, including military and police, will maintain control of some companies that are directly related to national defense and security, he 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
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