■COPYRIGHTS
Beijing accuses Google
China said Google has probably breached copyright laws by scanning Chinese books for its online library and supported writers to “defend their rights,” state media reported yesterday. “I personally think Google is probably involved in copyright infringement,” said Wang Ziqiang (王自強), a director-general of the National Copyright Administration, the Beijing News reported. His comments came after two Chinese writers’ groups accused Google of scanning the works of members without authorization and demanded it pay compensation “as soon as possible.”
■TRANSPORT
Hitachi in UK rail deal
Japanese high-tech giant Hitachi Ltd plans to build railway cars in Britain in a multibillion-dollar deal that would also create hundreds of new jobs, a company spokesman said yesterday. Hitachi plans to replace part of Britain’s high-speed train fleet by 2018, spokesman Takeshi Kawakami said. Hitachi is expected to build a total of 1,400 hybrid railway cars that run on lithium-ion batteries and diesel engines. The deal, expected to be inked by March, is worth ¥1 trillion (US$11.36 billion), Kawakami said.
■PUBLISHING
Informa eyes acquisitions
British media and events group Informa said yesterday it was in talks to buy Springer Science and Business Media and that it was looking at the German academic publishers’ accounts before making a takeover offer. “Informa has been given access to due diligence materials to enable it to be in a position to make a formal proposal to shareholders,” Informa said in a statement. “There can be no certainty agreement will be reached.” Informa said it expected any takeover to generate significant savings thanks to cost cuts and more efficient marketing and operations.
■GERMANY
Christmas markets open
Traditional gingerbread and trinket-laden Christmas markets in Berlin have opened for the season amid hopes for sales as brisk as the weather. Klaus de Jong, a spokesman for the Christmas market in the Spandau neighborhood said there were hopes a giant calendar would draw enough people to match last year’s figures. The calendar features 24 windows that are opened to count down from Dec. 1 to Dec. 25.
■AUTOMOBILES
Tata mulls Swaraj stake
India’s largest carmaker Tata Motors is considering buying a stake in truck and bus manufacturer Swaraj Mazda, a report said yesterday. The auto giant is looking at buying the 17 percent stake from private equity firm Actis, according to the Economic Times business daily, citing people familiar with the matter. Actis owns a 7.7 percent direct stake in Swaraj and 9.3 percent through its parent CDC. A spokesperson for Tata Motors said the report was “purely speculative.”
■CONSTRUCTION
Drywall probe expands
US authorities expanded a probe on Monday into drywall imported from China after an initial study found a “strong association” with toxins linked to health and safety problems in homes using the product. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said it would be leading an investigation into the relationship between the drywall and the reported health symptoms, as well as electrical and safety issues reported by some homeowners. The agency said it would also examine the origin and distribution of the drywall.
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