■ Computers
Intel releases new chips
Intel Corp launched three new microprocessors for laptop computers Monday as the chip-making giant widened its mobile technology marketing blitz to include consumers as well as businesses. The chips -- the Pentium M 735, 745 and 755 -- are the company's first mobile processors to be built with a new process that improves performance without significantly affecting battery life. They also run at higher speeds and have more onboard memory than previous mobile chips. PC makers can either use the chips in Centrino-branded systems that include other Intel parts or mix it with chips from other companies.
■ Airlines
Qantas to add fuel charge
Australian flag carrier Qantas Airways announced yesterday it will introduce a fuel surcharge on the cost of a ticket from next Monday due to soaring jet fuel prices. Chief executive Geoff Dixon said jet fuel was at a 14-year high of around US$44 per barrel and had significantly increased the cost of doing business. A surcharge of US$6 per sector for Qantas domestic flights and US$15 per sector for international flights will be applied to tickets sold from midnight on Monday. "Fuel represented about 15 percent of Qantas' costs last year, the second largest cost to the group after salaries and wages," Dixon said. "The US dollar price of jet fuel today is almost 60 percent higher than it was 12 months ago ... and this has significantly increased the cost to our business." Domestic rival Virgin Blue, part-owned by Richard Branson's Virgin Group, said it had yet to decide whether to pass on the fuel hike to passengers but acknowledged their had been a substantial increase in costs.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from