■ Engineering
China unveils hi-tech train
The first Chinese-made magnetic-levitation train has begun test runs in the northern port city of Dalian, the government said. Unlike other maglev prototypes that travel at high speeds, the Chinese model is a low-speed train designed for urban transportation, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday as the train made its debut. Its top speed is under 110kph, Xinhua said. Dalian plans to build a 1.5km maglev line in a bid to boost tourism, it said. China's only other magnetic-levitation train, built by a consortium of German companies in Shanghai, connects Pudong International Airport with the city's financial district. The 30km line reaches top speeds of 430kph. German, French and Japanese companies are competing fiercely for involvement in a high-speed rail line between Shanghai and Beijing.
■ Economy
Minister plans tax breaks
German Finance Minister Hans Eichel is planning to raise tax revenue by making further cuts in tax breaks in an effort to keep the 2005 budget within the 3 percent European budget deficit limit, according to a news report. The weekly Welt am Sonntag reported yesterday that Eichel is considering scrapping subsidies for commuters and taxing bonus payments for work on Sundays and public holidays. He is also mulling cutting industry exemptions to an ecology tax. However, a spokeswoman for Eichel's ministry denied the report, saying there were "no plans to undertake these measures." The spokeswoman also described as speculation a media report that Eichel is facing a tax revenue shortfall of 5.5 billion euros for this year and next year.
■ Computers
Linux common in Asia
New personal computers with the free Linux operating system are often used with pirated copies of the Microsoft Windows operating system, reports a study by the US-based marketing research firm Gartner. Particularly in growth markets in Eastern Europe and Asia, PCs that come preinstalled with Linux are being offered in order to avoid the license fees for Windows, Gartner indicated in an interview. "In 2005, 11 percent of all new PCs in the growth markets will be delivered with Linux; three-quarters of them will end up running on a Windows system," the Gartner study indicated. The Gartner analysts note in their study that the price of hardware for a personal computer has sunk significantly in the last 10 years.
■ Investment
Direct investing to SE Asia
Foreign direct investment (FDI) is on the rebound in Southeast Asia six years after a financial crisis that devastated the region, but politically troubled countries are missing out, a UN report said. Brunei, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam all saw higher foreign direct investment to bring the Southeast Asian total to US$107 billion last year compared to US$94 billion in 2002, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said. But while high-growth economies attracted more FDI, countries suffering from political tensions attracted less, it said in a statement released by the UN Development Program country office. It cited as an example the Philippines, where a bloodless popular revolt toppled the democratically elected president Joseph Estrada in 2001 and his successor, Gloria Arroyo, survived a military revolt last year.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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