■Cisco systems
Indian firms to get orders
Cisco Systems Inc, the world's largest maker of equipment that link computers and direct Internet traffic, plans to farm out more work to Indian software companies to cut costs, the Financial Express reported, citing a Cisco official. Despite a freeze on global hiring, Cisco has indirectly added about 700 people in India at partner companies, the paper cited S. Devarajan, vice president at Cisco's local unit, as saying. Cisco plans to sign up new partners to expand work, the paper said. Cisco employs about 2,300 people in India, out of which about 1,600 work at its partner companies such as Wipro Ltd and HCL Technologies Ltd and the rest work at its own local research and development centers. Cisco is paring costs as it awaits a rebound in revenue growth, which averaged 88 percent in the 1990s before buyers slowed purchases.
■ Hewlett-Packard
Investigation being blocked
Hewlett-Packard Co and its lawyers have been accused by the California attorney general of misleading investors and frustrating an investigation, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site. State and federal investigators are looking into potential defects in the company's computers, the newspaper said, citing court documents. Whistle-blower Phillip Adams switched sides and got US$27.5 million in consulting fees from the company, the newspaper said. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer is looking into Hewlett-Packard's and Adams's conduct and wants to prevent whistle-blowers from colluding with defendants for financial gain and undermining state investigations, the newspaper said, citing an unidentified spokesman. Hewlett-Packard believes it acted ethically and in the best interest of consumers, the Journal said, citing an unidentified spokeswoman.
■ Online music
Companies to sue Kazaa
A US federal judge has given record companies and movie studios the go-ahead to sue the parent company of Kazaa, a popular online file-swapping service. US District Judge Stephen V. Wilson refused to dismiss a copyright infringement lawsuit against Sharman Networks Ltd, which had argued that it could not be sued in the US because it is based in Australia and incorporated in the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu. In a 46-page ruling issued Friday, the judge said Sharman is subject to US copyright laws because it has substantial business dealings in California and its actions are alleged to contribute to commercial piracy within the US. Kelly Larabee, a Sharman spokeswoman, said that while the company was "disappointed" with the ruling, "we fully expect to prevail on the merits."
■ Wire services
Reuters to cut 1,000 jobs
Reuters Group Plc will cut 1,000 jobs as the world's biggest publicly traded provider of financial information seeks to reduce costs, the Sunday Times of London reported, citing unidentified people in the industry. Chief Executive Officer Tom Glocer may announce the job losses when the company releases full-year earnings next month. Jobs will be cut in finance, administration and software development over the next year. Reuters declined to comment. The London-based company is being hurt by a slump in stock sales that led banks to cut jobs and budgets.
Agencies
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)