■ Trade
Koreas cut trade barriers
South Korea and North Korea yesterday put into effect agreements they signed three years ago to reduce the risk and cost for Southern firms opening businesses in the communist state. The agreements, signed in December 2000, call for the two sides to protect each others' investments, avoid double taxation, open a direct route for financial transactions and establish a panel to settle trade disputes. Yesterday, both sides notified each other that they had completed procedures to put the agreements into effect, South Korea's Unification Ministry said in a press release. South Korean officials hope the four agreements will boost trade and other economic exchanges across the divided peninsula. Tension on the Korean Peninsula remain high over North Korea's suspected development of nuclear weapons.
■ Macroeconomics
French economy contracts
The French economy contracted in the second quarter but has so far avoided the recession affecting euro-zone neighbors, figures released Tuesday by the Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE) showed. In France, the economy shrank by a provisional 0.3 percent between April and June, following a first-quarter increase of 0.2 percent. The first-quarter figure was revised lower from an initial reading of 0.3 percent. INSEE said household consumption fell 0.2 percent in the second quarter, after increasing 0.5 percent in the first. "Household spending fell by 0.2 percent and made a negative contribution of around 0.1 percentage point to GDP," INSEE said in a statement.
■ Online games
Nokia bands with Sega
Nokia Oyj, maker of a handheld game machine called N-Gage, has agreed to buy computer operations from Sega Corp that allow multiple users to play games against one another over the Internet. Nokia, the world's biggest maker of mobile-phone handsets, will integrate the online game technology into N-Gage, which will be sold in North America from October, the two companies said in a joint press release distributed through the PR Newswire. The move is part of Finland-based Nokia's efforts to challenge the dominance of Nintendo Co, the Kyoto, Japan-based maker of the Game Boy handheld player. Nokia will acquire technology including servers from Sega.com Inc, a San Francisco-based subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sega, which makes Sonic the Hedgehog games.
■ Labor strikes
Qantas workers walk away
The travel plans of thousands of people were disrupted as a sudden strike by Melbourne Airport baggage handlers caused chaos at airports across Australia yesterday. Qantas said all Melbourne-bound Qantas flights were indefinitely delayed after several hundred Qantas baggage and aircraft handlers walked off the job to protest against the airline's employment of 50 non-union casual workers. Unions warned that the strike, which is over an attempt by Qantas to bring non-union workers into the industry, will spread nationally within days. Qantas spokeswoman Melissa Thompson said Melbourne-bound flights had been stopped from leaving airports around the nation and domestic flights out of Melbourne also were experiencing rolling delays of up to an hour.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned