■ Oil
Weather affects production
Oil production at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, was cut to 10 percent of normal output after a power outage, and more weather-related problems forced the trans-Alaska oil pipeline to temporarily go offline. The pipeline was down for about 10 hours on Tuesday after flooding in Valdez likely knocked out fiber-optic communications at five valves on the pipeline. Production fell to about 35,000 barrels on Tuesday, one-tenth of the 350,000 barrels that were produced on Monday in the oil field already hampered by problems. Layers of dust and dirt blown by high winds built up on high-voltage insulators on power lines and the field, causing a short and bringing the entire field down.
■ Internet
Singapore revs up wireless
Singapore's government said it plans to cover most of the city-state with public wireless Internet access by next year and offer nearly 10,000 subsidized computers to low-income students to offer digital opportunities to all its citizens. The government will increase the number of public wireless "hot spots" from 900 to 5,000 by next year as part of the plan, the government said on Tuesday while launching the Wireless@SG initiative marking 25 years of a drive to boost information technology in Singapore. The plan will offer free 512 kilobits per second wireless access for at least two years through telecom operators SingTel, iCell and QMax.
■ Software
Google pitches package
Google Inc is making its word processing and spreadsheet programs available for free to all comers on its Web site, marking the Internet search leader's latest effort to provide an alternative to Microsoft Corp's dominant software applications. The software package, available since yesterday, combines a spreadsheet application that Google introduced in June with a word processing program called Writely that the Mountain View-based company bought for an undisclosed amount in March.
■ Electronics
Hitachi to raise Clarion stake
Japanese electronics maker Hitachi Ltd said yesterday it will conduct a tender offer for shares of Clarion Co, aiming to raise its stake in the car audio and navigation system maker to 50 percent. Hitachi will offer ?230 (US$2) for each share in Tokyo-based Clarion, starting on Oct. 25, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement, adding it would announce the end of the share purchase as soon as it's final. At the tender price, Hitachi will be spending ?23.15 billion (US$193 million). Hitachi said it expects both the domestic and global markets for auto entertainment and navigation systems to expand.
■ Software
Infosys' net income soars
The net income of Infosys Technologies Ltd rose by 44.2 percent in the July-September quarter from a year ago, the company said yesterday, citing continued strong outsourcing demand. The company, which writes and develops software for many Western companies, also raised its revenue and earnings forecast for the fiscal year through next March. Infosys Technologies' net profit for the fiscal year's second quarter rose to US$199 million from US$138 million in the year-ago period, beating analysts' expectations.
RISK REMAINS: An official said that with the US presidential elections so close, it is unclear if China would hold war games or keep its reaction to angry words The Ministry of National Defense said it was “on alert” as it detected a Chinese aircraft carrier group to Taiwan’s south yesterday amid concerns in Taiwan about the possibility of a new round of Chinese war games. The ministry said in a statement that a Chinese navy group led by the carrier Liaoning had entered waters near the Bashi Channel, which connects the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean and separates Taiwan from the Philippines. It said the carrier group was expected to enter the Western Pacific. The military is keeping a close watch on developments and “exercising an
FIVE-YEAR WINDOW? A defense institute CEO said a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion was based on expected ‘tough measures’ when Xi Jinping seeks a new term Most Taiwanese are willing to defend the nation against a Chinese attack, but the majority believe Beijing is unlikely to invade within the next five years, a poll showed yesterday. The poll carried out last month was commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taipei-based think tank, and released ahead of Double Ten National Day today, when President William Lai (賴清德) is to deliver a speech. China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of war games in the past two years. CIA Director William Burns last year said that Chinese President Xi Jinping
RESILIENCE: Once the system is operational, there would be no need to worry about the risks posed by disasters or other emergencies on communication systems, an official said Taiwan would have 24-hour access to low Earth orbit satellites by the end of this month through service provided by Eutelsat OneWeb as part of the nation’s effort to enhance signal resilience, a Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) official said yesterday. Earlier this year the Ministry of Digital Affairs, which partnered with Chunghwa Telecom on a two-year project to boost signal resilience throughout the nation, said it reached a milestone when it made contact with OneWeb’s satellites half of the time. It expects to have the capability to maintain constant contact with the satellites and have nationwide coverage by the end
REACTION TO LAI: A former US official said William Lai took a step toward stability with his National Day speech and the question was how Beijing would respond US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday warned China against taking any “provocative” action on Taiwan after Beijing’s reaction to President William Lai’s (賴清德) speech on Double Ten National Day on Thursday. Blinken, speaking in Laos after an ASEAN East Asia Summit, called the speech by Lai, in which he vowed to “resist annexation,” a “regular exercise.” “China should not use it in any fashion as a pretext for provocative actions,” Blinken told reporters. “On the contrary, we want to reinforce — and many other countries want to reinforce — the imperative of preserving the status quo, and neither party taking any
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