■ Software
Vista download offered
Microsoft Corp will make its new Windows Vista operating system available for sale and download online, marking a new step for the software company, which has previously sold Windows only on packaged discs or pre-loaded on computers. The download program will also include the Office 2007 line of software when both are released for consumers on Jan. 30. The huge downloads will initially be available in North America only. The download process is targeted at people who are running the prior operating system, Windows XP, and want to get Vista without having to buy a new PC.
■ Aviation
Virgin US may drop CEO
Maverick airline Virgin America told US government regulators it was prepared to overhaul its ownership, jettison its chief executive and possibly even change its name to gain clearance to fly -- an ambition that has been blocked because of the startup's ties to British entrepreneur Richard Branson. With the list of concessions filed late on Wednesday with the US transportation department, Virgin America hopes to convince regulators it complies with US laws capping foreign control of a US airline at 25 percent.
■ Internet
Yahoo hosts video contest
Yahoo invited young video makers on Wednesday to share their political or social concerns with the world by taking part in an "issue films" contest that will be posted online. The Sunnyvale, California, Internet search engine announced it would be the exclusive online sponsor of an unprecedented Film Your Issue (FYI) competition intended to get young adults involved in public dialogue. People around the world ages 16 to 25 were encouraged to create 30-second to 60-second videos spotlighting contemporary subjects of importance to them. The videos will be posted at www.jumpcut.com, an online video editing and remixing Web site acquired last year by Yahoo. Rules were at the contest organizer's Web site, www.filmyourissue.com.
■ Property
US bank invests in India
US-based investment bank Morgan Stanley has bought a minority stake in an Indian real estate company for US$152 million in what is billed as one of the biggest foreign investments in the country's property development industry, the Hindustan Times reported yesterday. Morgan Stanley has paid US$152 million to buy a 10.75 percent stake in Mumbai-based Oberoi Constructions, whose major projects are located in Mumbai and the suburbs of New Delhi, it said. Foreign investment in real estate was banned until last year.
■ Aviation
Cathay slams tight control
Cathay Pacific said that China's tight control over airspace is causing air traffic jams and fuel waste and is capping Hong Kong's growth, reports said yesterday. Flights from Hong Kong to the mainland are restricted to a single cross border route with no alternative paths available in the event of bad weather. Congestion at airports like Shanghai or Beijing also often affect air traffic in Hong Kong and strand passengers here, the Financial Times reported. The report said inflexible management of China's airspace has hit Cathay's subsidiary Dragonair which serves more China routes than any other overseas airline.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
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