■ Telecoms
Nokia announces PRC deal
Nokia Corp yesterday announced a US$150 million deal to further expand mobile phone networks for Henan MCC in China, the company's largest single market area. Deliveries for the contract -- the 11th expansion of GSM networks for Henan Mobile Communication Co -- will begin immediately. The network will be fully operational by the end of September, Nokia said. Nokia has been Henan MCC's major supplier for every GSM expansion since 1995. Henan MCC is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Mobile Ltd.
■ Computers
Apple goes flat-panel only
Apple Computer Inc completely rid its product line of bulky cathode-ray-tube monitors on Wednesday, becoming one of the first major PC makers to sell only flat-panel displays. The California-based maker of Macintosh computers introduced a US$899 iMac specifically for schools and students, replacing the eMac, which was the company's last remaining CRT-based model. Apple was among the first computer companies to bet big on LCD in 2001 when it used the thinner technology to replace all of its CRT displays except for its candy-colored, egg-shaped iMac line.
■ Aviation
Airline offering cheap flights
A start-up budget Hong Kong airline is to offer cut-price introductory fares to London for just US$137 plus tax, the company said yesterday. The Oasis Hong Kong Airlines direct service between Hong Kong and London's Gatwick airport will be launched in October and would go head-to-head with British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific, undercutting their lowest fares by hundreds of dollars. A spokeswoman for Oasis said the cheap fare would be based on economy seating in a Boeing 747-400 and feature a basic meal.
■ Computers
Microsoft facing fine
EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said Microsoft Corp will probably be fined next week for failing to comply with an antitrust order. "I couldn't imagine another way," Kroes told reporters in Berlin, when asked whether EU antitrust regulators would fine the software maker. Member states voted on Monday to support the European Commission's plan to fine Microsoft as much as 2 million euros (US$2.5 million) a day for failing to comply, three people with knowledge of the closed-door meeting said at the time. Representatives of the 25-member EU will meet again on Monday to decide how much to fine Microsoft, they said.
■ Trade unions
Union action planned
Lawmakers in China are planning to take action against US retailing giant Wal-Mart and other foreign firms to force them to allow their staff to join a union, state press said yesterday. Legislators are planning to change the law to force foreign-funded enterprises to establish branches of the Communist Party-run All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) within their companies, Xinhua news agency reported. According to China's trade union law, all employees have the right to join the ACFTU, the country's only legal trade union. The dispute has been a long-running and Wal-Mart said in 2004 that it would allow its staff to join unions while insisting then it had not broken any laws.
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
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