■IPR
Eolas sues 23 firms
A US technology firm that won a patent case against Microsoft filed suit on Tuesday against nearly two dozen other high-profile firms, accusing them of violating the same patent. Adobe, Amazon, Apple, eBay, Google, Sun Microsystems, Texas Instruments, Yahoo and YouTube were among the 23 companies named in the lawsuit filed in a Texas court by Eolas Technologies Inc. Eolas was awarded a US$565 million judgment in a patent lawsuit against Microsoft in 2004 but ended up settling the dispute in 2007 for an undisclosed amount.
■INTERNET
Phishing attack widespread
Users of Google’s Gmail and Yahoo Mail were also targeted in the large-scale phishing attack that harvested at least 10,000 passwords from Microsoft’s Live Hotmail, media reports said on Tuesday. “We recently became aware of an industry-wide phishing scheme through which hackers gained user credentials for Web-based mail accounts including Gmail accounts,” a Google spokesperson told the BBC. The British network said it has seen a list of some 20,000 hijacked e-mail accounts that included accounts from Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL, Comcast and EarthLink. The intrusions come amid a sharp rise in the number of phishing attacks.
■TELECOMS
AT&T widens iPhone access
US telecom giant AT&T said on Tuesday that Apple iPhone owners would be allowed to use Internet voice calling on its wireless network, paving the way for services such as Skype. “Today’s decision was made after evaluating our customers’ expectations and use of the device compared to dozens of others we offer,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and chief executive of AT&T mobility and consumer markets. Skype bypasses the standard telephone network by channeling voice and video calls over the Internet.
■AUTOMOBILES
Delphi to exit bankruptcy
Auto supplier Delphi said on Tuesday that it has completed a deal with its lenders to allow it to exit bankruptcy nearly four years to the day it filed for reorganization. Delphi Holdings LLP, created by the company’s emergence from bankruptcy court oversight, said it has finished acquiring most of Delphi Corp’s core businesses as called for in its restructuring plan. Rodney O’Neal will remain the Troy, Michigan-based company’s president and CEO. The company’s current executives will continue to manage its global operations, Delphi said.
■FOOD AND BEVERAGE
Yum Brands posts growth
A robust performance in China helped chain restaurant operator Yum Brands Inc post 18 percent growth in its third-quarter profit, easily beating Wall Street forecasts. The company that owns Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut also raised its forecast for its annual earnings per share on Tuesday. Yum’s net income for the quarter ending Sept. 5 rose to US$334 million, or US$0.69 per share, compared with US$282 million, or US$0.58 per share, a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter fell 2 percent to US$2.78 billion from US$2.84 billion last year.
■FOREX
Japan’s reserves hit high
Japan’s foreign currency reserves reached US$1.052 trillion last month, a new record, the Finance Ministry said yesterday. Reserves increased by US$10.26 billion compared with the previous month. The expansion was added by a rise in value of US Treasury Bonds and euro-denominated securities.
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