■MEDIA
Fininvest sentenced to pay
The Italian company Fininvest, which is controlled by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, has been sentenced to pay 750 million euros (US$1.09 billion) to its rival media group CIR in a long-running legal dispute, the ANSA news agency reported on Saturday. Milan’s civil court ruled that the CIR holding company of Carlo De Benedetti was entitled to 749.995 million euros in compensation for Fininvest destroying the value of its stake in Mondadori, Italy’s leading publishing house. Marina Berlusconi, the head of Fininvest and the daughter of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, announced the company would appeal the court decision. The case dates from 1990, when Fininvest, then headed by the prime minister, wrestled control of Mondadori from De Benedetti.
■TELECOMS
IPO creates Bangladesh buzz
Thousands of people waited in line outside banks in Bangladesh yesterday as subscription for the country’s largest Initial Public Offering (IPO) opened, an event seen as a key test for the national stock market. The country’s top mobile phone operator, Grameenphone, is raising US$70.4 million through the IPO sale of 69.44 million shares. The company, 62 percent owned by Telenor of Norway, has raised the same amount from institutional investors. It says the money will be spent on network expansion and developing its information technology infrastructure. The face value of the shares has been fixed at 10 taka (US$0.07) with a 60 taka premium on each share. A private investor can buy a maximum lot of 200 shares.
■AVIATION
Tiger adds seventh plane
Tiger Airways PTE, the budget carrier partly owned by Singapore Airlines Ltd, added a seventh plane to its fleet in Australia, the company said on Sunday in a press release. Tiger is also creating 30 jobs at its office in Melbourne, the statement said. The new airplane will allow Tiger to increase service between Sydney and Melbourne to as many as nine round-trips a day, the release said. It plans to increase flights on the Sydney-Adelaide route to two round-trips daily, it said.
■FINANCE
DB Holding posts gains
DB Holding Corp said it would post an additional gain in the third quarter of 91 million shekels (US$24.1 million) and a gain of 57 million shekels in the fourth quarter from Koor Industries Ltd sale of shares in Credit Suisse Group AG. IDB made the announcement in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange today.
■COMPUTERS
New input services coming
A new input device for computer users is on the way from hardware maker Wacom. The company’s latest tablet model from the Bamboo series is the first to allow input with both a stylus and a multi-touch function. With the device, users could open a folder on the computer by simply tapping a finger on the input surface, Wacom said. Other options include spreading thumb and index finger to magnify a photo on the screen. The stylus comes into play when precise input is required. The US$90 Bamboo works with Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7, as well as with Mac OS X (10.4 and higher). The touch functions integrated into Windows 7 are not supported, however. The Bamboo connects to the computer via USB. The standard version is joined by two “fun” versions costing US$100 and US$200 respectively.
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
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
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