■ Trade
US beef arrives in Japan
The first shipment of US beef to Japan in nearly two years arrived yesterday at an airport outside Tokyo following the easing of the country's import ban, Japan's Health Ministry said. Japan slapped a ban on imports of US beef in December 2003 after the first case of mad cow disease was reported in the US herd. After two years of negotiations and a lengthy Japanese approval process, Tokyo opened its doors Tuesday to meat from US cows aged 20 months or less. The first shipment from the US arrived yesterday morning at Narita International Airport, just east of Tokyo, the Health Ministry said in a statement. Japan agreed to allow imports of meat from cattle younger than 21 months because no cases of mad cow disease have ever been found in cows that age.
■ Telecoms
Nokia plans Chennai center
Nokia Corp said yesterday it will open a new global networks solution center next year in Chennai, southeastern India, to make its service providers more competitive on international markets. The center will serve selected operator customers in the Asia Pacific region as well as Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the world's largest mobile phone maker said. "This center will play a key role for us in our drive to ease the cost pressures that our clients are feeling," Bosco Novak, a senior vice president in the networks division, said in New Delhi. "India is a very important market for Nokia and we're pleased to expand our presence here." The networks center will open during the first half of next year and will initially employ 100 people, but will be expanded later, the company said. It gave no value for the investment.
■ Software
Oracle posts profit drop
Business software giant Oracle Corp said on Thursday its past-quarter profit was US$798 million, down 2 percent from a year ago amid higher expenses after its acquisition spree. Still, the profit for the second fiscal quarter to Nov. 30 excluding special items of US$0.19 a share was in line with most analyst forecasts. Revenues grew 19 percent from a year ago to US$3.29 billion as Oracle benefited from its acquisition of rival PeopleSoft. Oracle in the past year has also announced the acquisition of rivals Siebel Systems and Retek in an effort to go head-to-head with Germany's SAP in the area of business management software. "The most difficult place to beat SAP is in their home country of Germany," Oracle president Charles Phillips said.
■ Finance
Argentina to pay off debts
Argentina will repay its entire debt to the IMF using its currency reserves, President Nestor Kirchner said after a similar move was announced by Brazil. Kirchner said the debt to be repaid before the end of the year amounts to US$9.81 billion. The move by Kirchner highlights the strong economic rebound in the South American nation after its unprecedented default four years ago. It also marks a rupture in years of often-tense relations between Buenos Aires and the IMF. Kirchner told a press conference the payment would come from Argentina's currency reserves estimated to be over US$26 billion. He noted that Argentina had already repaid about US$6 billion to the IMF since the economic crisis began in late 2001.
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
SELF-DETERMINATION: German lawmakers add earth to an art installation in front of the Reichstag to show that the face of a nation lies with its people, Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan’s future should be decided by Taiwanese, German-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group chairman Till Steffen said yesterday, while giving former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) a tour of the German parliament building. Tsai arrived in Berlin on Sunday and the following day delivered a keynote speech at the Berlin Freedom Conference titled “Threats facing democracies: Taiwan’s experience defending freedom.” Tsai yesterday attended a tea gathering at the Bundestag, joined by former friendship group chairman of 15 years Klaus-Peter Willsch, German defense affairs specialist Roderich Kiesewetter and Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Parliamentary State Secretary Michael Brand. Noting that the
BOOST IN CONFIDENCE: The sale sends a clear message of support for Taiwan and dispels rumors that US President Donald Trump ‘sold out’ the nation, an expert said The US government on Thursday announced a possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet parts, which was estimated to cost about US$330 million, in a move that an expert said “sends a clear message of support for Taiwan” amid fears that Washington might be wavering in its attitude toward Taipei. It was the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. The proposed package includes non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, as well repair and return support for the F-16, C-130 and Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft,
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