■INTERNET
Baidu files US lawsuit
China’s top Internet search engine Baidu (百度) said yesterday it had filed a lawsuit in the US against the firm that manages its US domain registration following a hacking attack last week. The announcement came a week after Google, which trails Baidu in market share in China, said it could abandon its Chinese search engine, and perhaps leave the country entirely, over cyberattacks and censorship. “Today, Baidu filed a lawsuit against its domain name registration service provider Register.com Inc in a US court in New York, seeking damages over the incident of Baidu’s service interruption last week,” the Chinese firm said.
■INSURANCE
AIG in talks to sell Alico
American International Group (AIG) Inc is in talks with MetLife Inc to sell one of its largest insurance units for between US$14 billion and US$15 billion, news reports said on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The two companies have been in discussions for months about a potential deal for AIG’s American Life Insurance Co, known as Alico, the Wall Street Journal reported. The New York Times’ “DealBook” blog also had a similar report. Alico is an international life and health insurance business that operates in more than 50 countries. AIG spokesman Mark Herr said it is the company’s policy not to comment “on rumors and speculation.”
■ELECTRONICS
Samsung, Rambus do deal
Samsung Electronics and Rambus reached a US$900 million settlement on Tuesday to patent claims filed against the South Korean giant by the US memory chip company. Samsung and Rambus said the agreement includes an initial payment by Samsung to Rambus of US$200 million and quarterly payments of US$25 million over the next five years. In addition, Samsung will invest US$200 million in Rambus shares, the companies said in a statement. Samsung and Rambus said the two companies had also agreed to a new licensing agreement for Rambus graphics and mobile memory solutions.
■FLAT PANELS
LG Display back in the black
LG Display Co returned to profit in the fourth quarter of last year amid a jump in sales after a US price-fixing fine dragged it into the red a year earlier. LG Display, the world’s second-largest manufacturer of liquid-crystal-displays used in flat screen televisions and other products, earned 478 billion won (US$421 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, the company said yesterday in a statement and regulatory filing. It posted a loss of 684 billion won a year earlier. Sales during the quarter rose 46 percent to 6.1 trillion won from 4.16 trillion won a year earlier.
■RAILWAYS
Eurostar increases turnover
The Eurostar train service said yesterday its turnover edged up last year, despite the economic downturn and a high-profile breakdown that stranded hundreds of passengers in the Channel Tunnel. The turnover at the railway service, which links Britain, France and Belgium, rose 1.7 percent last year compared with the previous year, the company said in a statement. It hit £675.5 million (US$1.1 billion) last year, Eurostar said. Passenger numbers also rose to 9.2 million people, an increase of 1.2 percent, the statement said. Eurostar said the economic downturn hit the number of business travelers using the rail service in the first half of the year, but this began to pick up in the final six months.
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
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned