■ Data Theft
US leak may affect Chinese
As many as 9,000 Chinese credit-card holders could be vulnerable to fraud after a hacker in the US stole data on credit and debit cards, a news report said on Wednesday. Chinese who used their cards in the US between last August and this May are at risk, the China Daily newspaper said. It said the theft might have affected account information from 3,100 Chinese Visa cards and 5,560 Chinese MasterCards. The breach, disclosed last Friday, occurred after Atlanta-based CardSystems Solutions Inc held onto card data for research rather than deleting it.
■ Economy
Japanese firms upbeat
Large Japanese firms are more optimistic about the economic outlook in the April-June quarter than they were during the previous quarter, the Finance Ministry said yesterday. According to a survey by the ministry, the business sentiment index, which measures the percentage of firms responding that the economy will improve minus those saying it will worsen, was at plus 0.9 in the April-June quarter. The figure was plus 0.6 in the January-March period. According to the ministry, large firms in Japan also expect economic conditions to improve more in the coming months. The index was plus 11.3 for the July-September quarter and plus 11.8 for the October-December period.
■ Oil
Yukos could sell core assets
Shattered oil company Yukos could sell off its core assets if "absolutely necessary" in order to pay the remains of some US$28 billion in back tax claims, Yukos vice president Frank Rieger told the company's annual shareholders meeting yesterday, according to Russian news agencies. Yukos saw its crown jewel -- the 1 million barrel-per-day Yuganskneftegaz subsidiary -- transferred for about US$9 billion to state-owned Rosneft after a disputed auction in December. Rieger said managers would try to preserve Yukos as a vertically integrated company, and he was expected to discuss legal efforts to protect minority shareholders. The company's value has fallen from US$40 billion to around US$2 billion in the wake of the state's legal assault.
■ Airlines
Qantas wants better routes
The Australian government yesterday called for Qantas Airways to be given better access to European routes, just a week after dismissing a request from the flag carrier's arch rival Singapore Airlines to lift restrictions on its own network. Transport Minister John Anderson said he was gravely concerned by Qantas' failure to get better access to European air routes. "I am really concerned, really concerned, that Qantas just does not have the access it needs into Europe and into London particular," Anderson told reporters. "This global obsession by many governments to have their carrier at whatever cost to the taxpayer, is a real problem for us. While you can always argue the pure, rational approach that consumers will benefit if you get lower priced tickets, there are other considerations," he said. Anderson's government last week refused to grant Singapore Airlines access to the lucrative Australia-Los Angeles route, saying "the time is not right."
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