■UNITED STATES
Google to launch Web store
Google on Wednesday gave software developers an early peek at an online Chrome Web Store it is building as an emporium for games and other applications built for use on the Web. Chrome Web Store is “coming soon” and will be a venue for applications, ratings, reviews and user comments, Google vice president of product management Sundar Pichai said at the start of an annual developers conference being hosted by the Internet giant. Developers will be able to sell their creations or offer them for free at the Web Store, which will be accessible from any browser. Chrome Web Store will launch later this year in more than 40 languages and 70 countries, Google said.
■DUBAI
Dubai World in debt deal
Debt-laden group Dubai World said yesterday it had reached an agreement “in principle” with most of its bank lenders to restructure some US$23.5 billion in debt. “Dubai World is pleased to announce that headline economic terms have been agreed in principle with the coordinating committee” representing 60 percent of the group’s bank lenders, it said in a statement. The statement said the company would divide US$14.4 billion of debt into two tranches, maturing in five and eight years respectively, while the government will convert about US$8.9 billion of aid to the company into equity.
■UNITED STATES
Symantec buys VeriSign unit
Computer security giant Symantec said on Wednesday it was buying a unit of VeriSign that secures online transactions for US$1.28 billion. Symantec said it was purchasing VeriSign’s identity and authentication business, which provides certificates and encryption to allow for secure transactions online, in an all-cash transaction. “With the anonymity of the Internet and the evolving threat landscape, people and organizations are struggling to maintain confidence in the security of their interactions, information and identities online,” Symantec president and chief executive Enrique Salem said in a statement.
■UNITED STATES
P&G opens online store
The world’s largest consumer products maker has announced its online shopping store is open for business. Procter & Gamble Co (P&G) said on Wednesday the “eStore” is up and running for the general public after months of testing. The Cincinnati-based maker of household brands, such as Tide detergent, Pampers diapers and Olay skin cream, has jumped into online retailing with a site operated by Plano, Texas-based PFSweb. P&G insists the venture’s main goal is to learn more about online shopping, not to compete with stores and online retailers. P&G said it would share the “learning lab” information it gathers and that would help retail partners sell more P&G products.
■FRANCE
Air France-KLM loss widens
Air France-KLM said on Wednesday its net loss widened in the fourth quarter as the global economic crisis hammered freight and passenger traffic, resulting in its biggest loss in more than 15 years. Europe’s largest airline reported a net loss of 691 million euros (US$859 million) for the three months to March 31, compared with a loss of 479 million euros in the same period a year earlier. That took its loss for the year to 1.6 billion euros, even more than its previous record loss of 1.3 billion euros in 1993. The airline blamed a drop of 3.2 percent in passenger traffic and a nearly 14 percent drop in freight traffic.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a