■ Internet
Xmas card carries virus
Security experts warned on Tuesday of a new virulent e-mail worm particularly successful in infecting computers as it is disguised as a multilingual electronic Christmas card. "We think this worm will be big, because of its timing and the fact that it comes in 15 different European lan-guages," said Mikko Hyp-poenen, head of anti-virus research at Finnish firm F-Secure. The virus, dubbed Zafi.D, is a traditional Inter-net worm infecting com-puters by e-mail. Its greeting is in the language of the recipient, decided by the country code at the end of the e-mail address, making it all the more dangerous, Hyppoenen said. It also opens a back door on infected PCs, making it possible for outsiders to use them to distribute spam and launch malicious attacks to close down Web sites, he said.
■ Aviation
AirAsia goes with Airbus
Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia will buy 40 A320 jets from Europe's Airbus and plans to phase out its cur-rent Boeing fleet, a senior industry official said yes-terday. "Yes, AirAsia has picked Airbus. It will buy 40 jets. The contract will be inked on Friday," the source said. Asked why Boeing lost the deal, the source said: "In terms of price and technical specifications, Airbus is better. "All the current Boeing aircraft with AirAsia will either be phased out or sold," the source said. Air-Asia, the region's largest low-cost carrier, currently operates a fleet of 24 Boeing 737 aircraft so the AirBus deal, if confirmed, would represent a setback to the US aerospace giant. The industry source said the first aircraft would arrive in early 2006, followed by one jet each month.
■ Banking
Chinese bank hire US execs
Shenzhen Development Bank (深圳發展銀行) said yesterday that it has appointed a pair of US financial experts as board chairman and president, the first foreigners to hold such positions. The appointment of John Langlois, a Morgan Stanley officer in China, comes as part of a transfer of a nearly 18 percent stake in the state-owned bank to US firm Newbridge Capital Ltd. In a notice posted in the China Securities Journal, the bank said Langlois would serve as acting chair-man while the China Bank-ing Regulatory Commission reviews the appointment. Jeffrey Williams will replace He Ru as acting president during the review period, the notice said. Both men have considerable experience with the Chinese banking industry. Williams opened Citigroup subsidiary Citibank's first Chinese branch in Shenzhen in 1988. Langlois sits on the boards of both Shanghai Bank and Nanjing City Commercial Bank.
■ IPOS
Sands' gamble pays off
Las Vegas Sands Corp priced its initial public offering at US$29 per share on Tuesday night, a dra-matic rise from its previous targets. The pricing far exceeds the company's original target of US$21 per share in October thanks to high-growth expectations in Las Vegas and Macau. The Sands made the announce-ment in a news release late Tuesday. With the offering, the Sands becomes one of the largest gambling com-panies in the world. The Sands was set to begin trading yesterday morning on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "LVS." The company registered about 23.8 million shares of common stock, raising more than US$690 million in the offering.
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