■ 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.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
RSS