■ Airlines
Price increase blocked
US discount airlines such as JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and Frontier Airlines are controlling pricing in the industry, blocking major carriers from raising prices to recover higher fuel costs, the Wall Street Journal said, citing analysts and industry officials. An effort by Continental Airlines to raise US fares by US$5 one-way fizzled after discount airlines didn't follow suit, the Journal said. The shift in pricing power may affect the financial viability of major airlines and their ability to maintain restrictions on lower cost tickets, such as Saturday-night stay-over requirements, the newspaper said.
■ Telecoms
SingTel joins cable project
Singapore's largest telecommunications provider said yesterday it will invest in a US$500 million undersea cable that will link 14 countries in Western Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The cable, which will span some 20,000km and carry telephone, Internet and broadband data streams, is expected to be ready for service in the third quarter of next year, Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) said in a statement. SingTel said the cable system -- Southeast Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 4 -- will connect France, Algeria, Tunisia, Italy, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. The main contractors for the project are France's Alcatel Submarine Networks and Japan's Fujitsu but the project will be financed by an additional 14 international telecommunications companies, including SingTel, the statement said. It did not list the other financiers.
■ Tycoons
Khodorkovsky defends Putin
Jailed anti-Kremlin tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky said in a newspaper article published yesterday that Russia's business barons should pay higher taxes and defended the legitimacy of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Khodorkovsky, who was jailed on fraud and tax evasion charges last October after openly defying Putin and financing opposition parties, said those like himself who amassed their fortunes in controversial 1990s privatizations had to repay part of it to the state. "To justify privatization in the eyes of the nation ... you have to force big business to share with the people, probably by agreeing to the reform of mineral wealth taxation and other steps that are not very pleasant for major owners," he said in an article published in the Vedomosti business daily.
■ Environment
Manufacturers to go green
Japanese electric machinery and precision equipment manufacturers, including Sony and Canon, have decided to try to eliminate lead, mercury and four other hazardous metals and chemicals from their products by July 2006, a leading Japanese financial daily reported yesterday. According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, roughly 50 Japanese manufacturers have agreed to work with the Green Procurement Survey Standardization Initiative, and the Japan Chemical Industry Association will enable the participating manufacturers to satisfy the proposed ban on the use of the six harmful substances in the EU, the report said.
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
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
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