■ Internet
File-sharing service closes
Online file-sharing service i2hub, which linked university students and others over the Internet2 network, has shut down under threat of a lawsuit from the recording industry. The entire network linking users of the i2hub file-swapping application was taken off-line on Monday, founder Wayne Chang in Boston said on Tuesday via e-mail. Visitors to the i2hub Web site were greeted on Tuesday by the message "Remember i2hub." At i2hub's peak, hundreds of thousands of students from more than 500 universities were regularly using it, said Chang, 22, who created the software in 2003 as a freshman at the University of Massachusetts. I2hub was one of seven firms behind file-sharing software who received cease-and-desist letters from the Recording Industry Association of America in September accusing them of enabling computer users to distribute copyright-protected music without permission online.
■ Automobiles
Toyota to upgrade hybrids
Toyota Motor will mount a more fuel efficient and less costly hybrid engine on its vehicles from 2008, a report said yesterday. Toyota plans to double its production capacity for hybrid systems from the current 300,000 units a year to help halve the cost gap between traditional gasoline and hybrid engines, the Asahi Shimbun said. It also plans to reduce the weight of the system, which it will use on most of its mid-size or larger vehicles, the daily said without citing sources. Toyota will also produce key components of the system in the US, it said. Toyota would not confirm the report. "We have been pushing ahead with the development of a third-generation system but it has not been decided when it will be put in use," a company spokeswoman said, adding that the year 2008 could be "one possibility."
■ Energy
Malaysia pushes bio-diesel
Malaysia will switch to bio-diesel next year -- a year ahead of schedule -- with government vehicles slated to start using the palm oil-laced fuel to cushion the impact of rising fuel prices, a newspaper said yesterday. The government was expected to save "hundreds of millions of ringgit" through cutbacks in oil subsidies by convincing Malaysians to switch to bio-diesel, a technologically proven mixture of diesel and palm oil, said Peter Chin, the plantations, industries and commodities minister, according to the Star. The fuel is a mixture of 5 percent palm oil and 95 percent diesel, but Chin said eventually bio-diesel will be made of 20 percent palm oil and 80 percent diesel. Diesel-powered vehicles belonging to several ministries will begin using bio-diesel next year before the alternative fuel is introduced to the public, the report said. Malaysia is the world's biggest producer of palm oil.
■ Financing
ADB notes bond barriers
Financial integration in East Asia has made significant progress but is being restrained by regulatory barriers, according to a report released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday. Markets remained underdeveloped, especially the bonds, said this month's issue of Asia Bond Monitor. It said that of the total local currency bonds outstanding worldwide, which stood at US$44 trillion at the end of last year, only 3 percent was held by emerging economies in Asia. This compared with the US accounting for 44 percent, the EU for 26 percent and Japan with 20 percent.
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
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