■ Semiconductors
Intel scraps chip project
Intel Corp has scrapped work on its next processor for desktop computers because of problems that include excessively high power consumption, the Wall Street Journal Web site reported, without saying where it obtained the information. The company will announce within the next 24 hours that it has ended a project to make a chip dubbed Tejas, which was scheduled to be introduced as early as the second half this year, the report said. Intel has struggled to make chips with a new technology that shrinks the space between transistors on a chip to 90 nanometers from 130 nanometers, the report said. Intel said last month that it delayed the first-quarter introduction of its initial notebook computer pro-cessor made with 90 nano-meter technology because of design problems. The chipmaker said the so-called Dothan chip will
start selling next week.
■ Trade
EU angry over coke limits
The EU is considering taking China to the WTO for the first time over its refusal to scrap export restrictions on coke. Limits placed on the volume of coke permit-ted for export and a sharp rise in the cost of export licenses for the fuel are having "a severe effect" on European steel producers, Arancha Gonzalez, a com-mission spokeswoman, said on Thursday. China pro-duces half the world's coke -- the baked coal essential for steel making. Chinese exports account for a third of all the coke used in European blast furnaces, she said. During meetings between European and Chinese trade officials in Brussels on Thursday, China agreed to release additional coke to bring the price down but its offer fell far short of what the EU is looking for, Gonzalez said.
■ Aviation
Fuel costs lead to fare hike
American Airlines said on Thursday it would raise fares by US$4 per round trip within the US to help offset the rising cost of jet fuel. American, the largest US carrier, said the increase was effective immediately. Several major US carriers, including American, tried to raise fares by US$10 per round trip in early March but retreated when North-west Airlines refused to go along. About 10 fare increases in the past year have faltered and it is unclear whether other airlines would match the increase. Last month, American and Continental tried to raise a fuel sur-charge that it add to tickets from US$20 to US$30 per round trip for most travel within the US and Canada. But it dropped the increase after rivals declined to match it.
■ Art
Picasso strikes again
One night after an early Picasso shattered the world auction record for a single painting, the artist held the market in thrall at Sotheby's again on Thursday when a 1959 nude sold for three times its US$3 million to US$4 million estimate. Two bidders drove Crouching nude up to US$11,768,000, including Sotheby's com-mission, making it the third-most expensive work at the sale of Impressionist and modern art. Picasso's The rescue was sold for US$14,792,000, just below the high pre-sale estimate of US$15 million but enough to give it the No. 2 spot. The auction's top lot was Monet's Water lily pond," a circa 1917 to 1919 work from the artist's seminal water lily series, which fetched US$16,808,000, well in excess of its US$9 million to US$12 million estimate.
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
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