■ Electronics
Sony to release new Aibo
PHOTO: AFP
Sony Marketing Japan Inc. said yesterday it will release an improved version of its popular robot entertainment dog Aibo in November. The new robot dog will have improved image-recognition functions and will be able to make smoother body movements than its previous models, Sony Marketing said. The toy pet, which vaguely resembles a beagle with floppy ears, weighs 1.6kg (?3.6), and has 20 joints and 64 megabytes worth of SDRAM memory that allow it to make moves similar to real dogs, Sony Marketing said. It can also pick up the Aibone toy bone in its mouth and play with it, the company said, adding that owners can also program the robot dog's movements. Sony will accept orders for the new Aibo units from Japanese buyers from Sept. 27. The robot will sell for ?185,000 (US$1,581) a piece. Sony has so far sold 130,000 units of AIBO robot dogs since its original edition was launched in 1999.
■ Beverage-Makers
Diageo's profits rise
British drinks giant Diageo reported Thursday a 6-percent rise in pre-tax profit to ?2.16 billion (US$3.38 billion) in the year to June and pointed to tentative signs of a recovery in its markets. But accounting charges linked to the sale of the company's loss-making fast-food chain Burger King caused a sharp fall in its net profit, down by 95 percent to ?76 million. Diageo, which owns brands such as Smirnoff vodka, Johnnie Walker whisky and Guinness stout, has been selling off assets in recent years to concentrate on its alcoholic beverages business.
■ Trademarks
MacTea upsets McDonald's
Fastfood giant McDonald's Corp is trying to stop a Singapore company from labeling its instant beverages and food products MacTea, MacChocolate and MacNoodles, a local newspaper reported yesterday. Since registering the names in 1995, former computer vendor Future Enterprises has been using them on the instant tea, cocoa mixes and instant noodles sold in countries such as Russia and Vietnam, the Straits Times said. The McDonald's complaint was dismissed by Singapore's Principal Assistant Registrar of Trade Marks in April and its appeal is being heard in the city-state's High Court.
■ Food Safety
HK shop has cholera in tank
The Hong Kong government said yesterday it will prosecute a supermarket chain owned by the territory's richest man, Li Ka-shing (李嘉誠), after finding cholera in a fish tank at one of its stores. Park-n-Shop will be charged with violating a food business regulation requiring shops to keep their fish tanks free of bacteria that lead to human illness, said Food and Environmental Hygiene Department spokeswoman Iris Au. The charge carries a maximum penalty of HK$10,000 (US$1,282) and one month imprisonment, Au said. The cholera was found in a sample from a tank at a ParknShop store in residential Pok Fu Lam district on Aug 26. ParknShop spokeswoman Teresa Pang said the company has not been informed of any charges.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
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