■AVIATION
Air France eyes new jets
Air France-KLM is ready to order some 100 long-haul jets in a purchase that would be worth more than US$20 billion, the French newspaper La Tribune reported yesterday. The order would be for long-haul jets such as Airbus’ A350 or Boeing’s 787, the newspaper said on its Web site, adding the order could be placed by the end of the year. The airline had wanted to select a new long-haul aircraft last year, but delays in the programs of both manufacturers forced Air France-KLM to put its plans on hold, La Tribune said. The newspaper said only 20 percent of the cost of the planes would be paid up front, with the rest upon delivery.
■COMPUTING
Google launches ad test
Google on Wednesday launched a test version of a new “interest-based advertising” system for its network of Web sites including YouTube, the company said in a statement. The new system is designed to record the interests of users based on the pages they view and Internet searches they conduct, offering tailor-made advertising offers to match that can then be further refined by the user. “Keyword advertising has been so successful because it’s useful to users, advertisers and publishers — everyone’s interests are aligned,” Google said. “We believe that interest-based ads will create the same virtuous cycle, by giving users more relevant ads, while generating higher returns for advertisers and publishers,” it added.
■ELECTRONICS
Sony seeks LCD alliance
Sony Corp said yesterday it will begin talks with Seiko Epson Corp to form an alliance for small liquid crystal displays used in digital cameras and mobile phones. Sony said the two companies aim to sign an agreement by the end of June. As part of the deal, Sony said it may buy some assets of Seiko Epson. A Sony spokeswoman declined to give further details. The Japanese electronics giant said it hopes an alliance with Seiko Epson would boost the competitiveness of its small and mid-sized LCD business.
■RETAIL
Carrefour profit drops 45%
French supermarket giant Carrefour said yesterday its net profit last year slumped nearly 45 percent as second half demand fell away in face of the global economic downturn. Net profit fell 44.7 percent to 1.27 billion euros (US$1.60 billion) while earnings before interest and tax were down 16.8 percent at 2.77 billion euros, much worse than analyst forecasts for a 3.2 percent drop. Last year was “marked by food price inflation and a clear slowdown in the second half,” Carrefour said. The company said the first two months of this year had seen a pick up in sales but overall, conditions had not improved and this year promised to be difficult.
■HOUSING
Foreclosures in US increase
US foreclosures on home-owners rose last month, highlighting ongoing troubles in the housing market despite a freeze by some lenders and limits in some states, a survey showed yesterday. A RealtyTrac survey showed foreclosure filings — which include default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 290,631 US properties during the month, a monthly increase of 6 percent and up nearly 30 percent from last February. The report showed one in every 440 US housing units received a foreclosure filing last month. US home foreclosures, the epicenter of the financial crisis, spiked 81 percent last year despite efforts to slow the trend.
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