IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 7 April
07-04-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Irish people turn to online drugs | Senator Dan Boyle suffers Twitter hack
The Irish Times reports that 2 percent of Irish adults have purchased medicines on the internet, according to a new survey by the Irish Medicines Board (IMB). The study also found that close to one in ten people would consider purchasing medicines online. The main reasons cited were to get cheaper medicines, for greater privacy and because it was convenient. It is illegal in Ireland to buy prescription medicines on the internet, but the research shows most people are unaware of this. The main items purchased online were nutritional products and impotence drugs. The IMB has warned that medicines bought online "are as likely as not to be counterfeit" and could pose a serious danger to health.
The Irish Independent notes that Green Party Senator Dan Boyle's Twitter account was hacked on Tuesday. The senator has 3,061 followers on the micro-blogging site. The attack does not appear to have been politically motivated, as some of Boyle's followers received messages promoting a website. The junior coalition party chairman's use of Twitter kickstarted the Greens' dramatic U-turn on former Defence Minister Willie O'Dea two months ago, when Boyle told the world via Twitter that he didn't have confidence in him.
The Irish Examiner reports that Sheehan Medical's new Cork Medical Centre in Mahon have signed a EUR746,000 (USD1 million) deal for the installation of an advanced IT system from healthcare software provider Meditech. Its paperless Health Care Information System fully integrates a hospital's clinical and financial systems and will allow the hospital's consultants to access patient information anywhere in the hospital. The same system was adopted by Sheehan Medical for its Galway Clinic in 2004.
The Financial Times reports that Fujitsu's former president, Kuniaki Nozoe, is to file a lawsuit against the Japanese IT services company unless its auditors act to resolve his claim that he was improperly forced to resign. Last month Fujitsu dismissed Nozoe due to what it called an inappropriate business relationship and said he had not stepped down as president in September due to illness, as it originally announced. Fujitsu confirmed it had received a request from Nozoe that the company sue some executives. A company spokesman said its auditors will decide within 60 days how to respond to the complaint.
The paper also says that Verizon Communications CEO Ivan Seidenberg has said he sees no reason to pursue a merger with Vodafone, its joint venture partner in US mobile operator Verizon Wireless. There has been persistent speculation about a possible merger of the two parents, or a buyout by Verizon. Seidenberg told reporters in New York on Tuesday: "Absent new information, a merger doesn't seem to have a lot of appeal." He said the two companies are continuing to evaluate options for the Verizon Wireless partnership.
The paper also says that Google's digital book settlement is facing extra complication and delays as photographers and illustrators prepare to file a class action lawsuit over images used in the publications Google has been digitising. The American Society of Media Photographers and a number of related trade associations are expected to file the case against Google on Wednesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Photographers and illustrators were not allowed to join the existing class action lawsuit taken by some publishers and authors against Google.
According to the Wall Street Journal, business software maker CA plans to cut around 1,000 jobs, or 7.6 percent of its staff, as part of a restructuring and consolidation. The company has predicted earnings for its fiscal year to come in at the low end of its prior estimates. CEO Bill McCracken said in a memo to employees that the company needs to do more and needs to be "leaner, more focused, more competitive and more effective". He said the restructuring will mainly take place in North America but that all regions will be affected.
The paper also reports that business review website Yelp has changed some of its features in the wake of several lawsuits that accused the company of extorting businesses to advertise. The company will no longer allow firms that advertise with Yelp to place their favourite review above other comments. Users, meanwhile, will be able to see reviews that have been removed by Yelp's 'review filter', which is designed to help prevent business owners from posting malicious reviews of competitors or glowing reviews of their own company. Three suits filed this year allege that Yelp pressured businesses to advertise and retaliated against companies that didn't by negatively skewing their ratings. Yelp has denied the allegations and blames them in part on 'conspiracy theories' and confusion about Yelp's system.
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