■ Technology
Alstom, Infosys team up
French engineering firm Alstom said yesterday it has joined hands with Infosys Technologies for a US$39 million research facility that will employ 300 engineers in India's high-tech capital, Bangalore. Phillippe Joubert, executive vice-president, Alstom, said the investment and the recruitment will be spread over the next three years. Infosys, India's second largest software exporter, will undertake high-end engineering and software solutions for power plants being built by Alstom at the Alstom-Infosys research and development center, Joubert said.
■ Cellphones
Samsung lifts sales forecast
Samsung Electronics Co, the world's third-largest mobile phone maker, raised its forecast for worldwide handset sales for this year because of better-than-expected shipments by its competitors during the first quarter. Industry shipments will rise to between 700 million units and 720 million units this year, said Samsung spokeswoman Cho Sung-in, confirming a Dow Jones Newswires report that cited telecommunications vice president Daniel Chung.
■ Economy
Japan's jobless rate falls
Japan's jobless rate fell in April to 4.4 percent, the lowest mark in more than six years, according to data yesterday that suggested the country's labor market is rebounding along with its economy. The April rate was down slightly from 4.5 percent in March, defying forecasts by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires saying that the rate would stay the same. Instead, it fell to a rate not seen in the world's second-largest economy since December 1998. The total number of unemployed fell for the 23rd straight month to 3.1 million, down 250,000 from the same month a year earlier, the Ministry of Public Management said.
■ Markets
`No' vote depresses euro
Fallout from France's "no" to the EU constitution swept across financial markets for a second day yesterday, dragging the euro to seven-month lows against the dollar and helping to depress stocks. The euro's initially muted reaction to the French vote on a holiday-thinned Monday turned into a sharp fall. The single currency was down more than two thirds of a percent at US$1.2385. France voted 55-45 percent to reject the constitution on Sunday. The Netherlands is expected to follow suit today. The tone on stock markets was downbeat, despite pleasing results from Irish no-frills airline Ryanair and French engineer Alstom. The FTSEurofirst 300 index was 0.02 percent higher but the DJ Eurostoxx 50 was down a third of a percent.
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
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
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