■ RERAILERS
"China-made paints recalled
Toys "R" Us is recalling thousands of art sets made in China owing to excessive levels of lead in some black watercolor paints. Toys "R" Us Inc and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall on Thursday, saying the printed ink on the packaging of the Imaginarium Wooden Coloring Cases also showed lead content, but no injuries had been reported. "Toys "R" Us bought the sets from Funtastic, a unit of a Hong Kong distribution firm called FPL Group. Toys `R' Us has terminated its relationship with Funtastic, effective immediately," the company said in a statement.
■ FLAT PANELS
Sharp to offer touchscreens
Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp plans to start shipping a new touchscreen liquid-crystal display (LCD) with scanner functions for mobile electronic devices this month, the company said yesterday. Osaka-based Sharp, known for its Aquos brand of LCD TVs, said in a statement that the new screen would be thinner and offer clearer, higher quality images than existing touchscreen displays. The screen can respond to more than one touch at a time, allowing users to perform tasks by making tapping, pinching and squeezing motions with their figures, Sharp said. The Japanese company said that volume production may start next spring.
■ SOFTWARE
Firms vie for MarketRX
Infosys Technologies and Wipro, India's second and third-biggest software firms, are competing to purchase a US analytics firm in a deal valued at up to US$160 million, a report said yesterday. The Bangalore-based firms have shown early interest in buying New Jersey-headquartered MarketRX -- the first time they are both targeting the same acquisition, the Economic Times cited unnamed sources as saying. The eventual purchaser would be able to tap MarketRX's established and potentially lucrative practice in analytics, including people trained in diverse branches such as mathematics, statistics and accountancy.
■ OIL
China may suspend exports
Two of China's largest oil producers may suspend gasoline exports this month to guarantee domestic supply amid surging international crude prices, state media reported yesterday. Sinopec Corp (中國石化) and China National Petroleum Corp (中國石油天然氣) slashed gasoline exports to less than 100,000 tonnes last month and will continue to do so, or even suspend the export, this month, the China Securities Journal said. The domestic supply of refined oil has been affected by the international crude price surge since June, peaking at US$78 per barrel at one point, worsening losses of Chinese refineries and causing some small ones to close down, the report said.
■ REAL ESTATE
Compensation promised
China's real estate law has been amended to ensure that homeowners are compensated for property taken from them by the government, Xinhua news agency said yesterday. Parliament voted on Thursday to add into the law a clause that allows the expropriation of buildings in the public interest while promising compensation to owners, Xinhua said. The new clause also highlights that the legal rights of the owners must be protected and residence conditions of private owners after resettlement must be guaranteed, Xinhua said.
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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