■ Music players
Students suffer hearing loss
More than half of US high school students report symptoms of hearing loss, a possible result of listening to blaring music on popular digital music players, according to a poll released on Tuesday. The matter has gotten the attention of US lawmakers who called for measures to reduce the risks associated with listening to loud music. Two-fifths of students and adults polled by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association said they set the volume at loud on their iPods, Apple's popular music player. But young people were twice as likely to play their music even louder than adults, according to the poll. The poll found that high school students are more likely than adults to say they have experienced three of the four symptoms of hearing loss.
■ Auto industry
`Magic bumper' unveiled
A new safety feature being developed by Nissan Motor Co causes a car's gas pedal to lift by itself to alert the driver of a possible collision. That new technology combines radar sensors and a computer system to judge a car's speed and the distance to the vehicle in front. When the car senses a possible head-on crash, the gas pedal automatically rises against the driver's foot as a signal to step on the brake. If sensors detect a possible collision, the brake automatically kicks in when the driver lifts his or her foot off the gas. A buzz also goes off in what Nissan engineers tentatively dubbed the "magic bumper." Nissan hopes to offer the feature in about two or three years in Japan, and also aims to offer it in the US and Europe, although no plans have been set.
■ Banking
Malaysian No. 2 to buy rival
Malaysia's second-largest bank, Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings (BCHB), yesterday said it would buy smaller rival Southern Bank for 6.7 billion ringgit (US$1.8 billion), setting the stage for consolidation in Malaysia's banking sector. The sweetened deal, one of the largest buyouts in Malaysia in the last 10 years, comes after Southern rejected a hostile bid last month from BCHB. The deal will leave Malaysia with nine banks and may spur more mergers ahead of financial sector liberalization next year. "Developments here will trigger a second wave of consolidation in the financial sector as the industry prepares for a new age of fierce global competition when Malaysia opens its doors to further market liberalization," Southern Bank chief executive Tan Teong Hean said in a joint statement. BCHB is Malaysia's second-largest lender behind Malayan Banking, while Southern is ranked No. 9 and the country's second-smallest lender.
■ Aviation Fuel
Executive pleads guilty
The former chief executive officer of China Aviation Oil (中國航油) pleaded guilty to six charges yesterday related to the biggest corporate scandal in Singapore since the collapse of Barings Bank. Chen Jiulin (陳久霖), 44, admitted to insider trading, releasing false information, failing to disclose losses and conspiring to deceive adviser Deutsche Bank AG. Subordinate Court Judge Wong Keen Onn did not announce a sentencing date. Four other executives of the China-backed jet-fuel trader have been sentenced for their part in the scandal. Chen resigned as chief executive officer earlier this month. He was charged in June with 15 counts. The other nine will be taken into consideration during sentencing.
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
URBAN COMBAT: FIM-92 Stinger shoulder-fired missiles from the US made a rare public appearance during early-morning drills simulating an invasion of the Taipei MRT The ongoing Han Kuang military exercises entered their sixth day yesterday, simulating repelling enemy landings in Penghu County, setting up fortifications in Tainan, laying mines in waters in Kaohsiung and conducting urban combat drills in Taipei. At 5am in Penghu — part of the exercise’s first combat zone — participating units responded to a simulated rapid enemy landing on beaches, combining infantry as well as armored personnel. First Combat Zone Commander Chen Chun-yuan (陳俊源) led the combined armed troops utilizing a variety of weapons systems. Wang Keng-sheng (王鏗勝), the commander in charge of the Penghu Defense Command’s mechanized battalion, said he would give
‘REALISTIC’ APPROACH: The ministry said all the exercises were scenario-based and unscripted to better prepare personnel for real threats and unexpected developments The army’s 21st Artillery Command conducted a short-range air defense drill in Taoyuan yesterday as part of the Han Kuang exercises, using the indigenous Sky Sword II (陸射劍二) missile system for the first time in the exercises. The armed forces have been conducting a series of live-fire and defense drills across multiple regions, simulating responses to a full-scale assault by Chinese forces, the Ministry of National Defense said. The Sky Sword II missile system was rapidly deployed and combat-ready within 15 minutes to defend Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in a simulated attack, the ministry said. A three-person crew completed setup and
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