■ELECTRONICS
Apple replacing batteries
Apple is offering to replace faulty batteries in iPod nanos in Japan following a government warning that the popular music players may pose a fire hazard, a company spokesman said yesterday. “We will replace batteries of the first-generation iPod nanos with new ones if customers find that the batteries overheat,” an Apple Japan spokesman said. The offer is only for batteries with overheating problems and is not a full recall, he said. The economy, trade and industry ministry on Tuesday warned users of iPod nanos of a potential fire risk after it received two reports of minor fires in Tokyo caused by overheating iPod nanos. “We are still investigating the cause of the glitch, but we’ve identified one particular supplier of the batteries,” the spokesman said.
■INTERNET
Yahoo, Intel unveil TV plan
Yahoo and Intel on Wednesday unveiled plans to make television more interactive with online capabilities. The Internet pioneer and the chip-making titan said they were working together on a “Widget Channel” that will use computer programs to add online features to television shows and advertising. “TV will fundamentally change how we talk about, imagine and experience the Internet,” Intel senior vice president Eric Kim said in a written statement. “This effort is one of what we believe will be many exciting new ways to bring the Internet to the TV, and it really shows the potential of what consumers can look forward to.” Kim vowed that television “would no longer be a passive experience unless the viewer wants it that way.”
■GERMANY
Foreign ‘locusts’ targeted
The government took new powers on Wednesday to veto foreign takeovers of firms by sovereign wealth funds and other cash-rich overseas predators. Its draft legislation, due to be ratified by the Bundestag this fall, has been widely criticized as a protectionist move on US and French lines to retain German ownership of key firms and frighten off foreign investors, dubbed “locusts,” in the guise of private equity and hedge funds. Economics Minister Michael Glos said most overseas investors would be unaffected by the “foreign economy law” and Germany “is and remains open” to them. The new law is seen as a direct response to the rise of sovereign wealth funds, which, through the oil and commodity boom, are now estimated to control US$3.85 trillion in assets.
■FINANCE
Lone Star Funds buys IKB
German lender IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG, which has been badly hit by the US subprime crisis, will be sold to US-based private equity firm Lone Star Funds, the German company’s biggest shareholder said yesterday. Germany’s state-owned KfW development bank did not give the terms of its deal to sell 90.8 percent of IKB to Dallas-based Lone Star, but said it would hold a press conference later yesterday. KfW currently holds a 45.5 percent stake in Duesseldorf-based IKB, but that will rise to 90.8 percent as part of an already agreed-upon capital increase. KfW had been shopping IKB around for nearly a year and its governing council agreed late on Wednesday that Lone Star would be the right buyer. Lone Star agreed last month to buy asset-backed securities with a nominal value of US$30.6 billion for US$6.7 billion from Merrill Lynch & Co. Lone Star, founded in 1995, manages more than US$13 billion.
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
‘EXTREME PRESSURE’: Beijing’s goal is to ‘force Taiwan to make mistakes,’ Admiral Tang Hua said, adding that mishaps could serve as ‘excuses’ for launching a blockade China’s authoritarian expansionism threatens not only Taiwan, but the rules-based international order, the navy said yesterday, after its top commander said in an interview that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could blockade the nation at will. The object of Beijing’s expansionist activities is not limited to Taiwan and its use of pressure is not confined to specific political groups or people, the navy said in a statement. China utilizes a mixture of cognitive warfare and “gray zone” military activities to pressure Taiwan, the navy said, adding that PLA sea and air forces are compressing the nation’s defensive depth. The navy continues to
MISSILE MISSION: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology said it does not make policy, but would be glad to obtain certification to assemble the missiles The Ministry of National Defense-affiliated Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is in the process of getting certified to assemble an additional 1,985 Stinger missiles on top of those from US arms sales, a senior defense official said yesterday. Washington is to send a team to Taiwan to evaluate the institute’s manufacturing capabilities and information security, said the official, who commented on condition of anonymity. The ministry initially bought 500 missiles for the army and navy, but later increased the order to 2,485 in response to an increase in Beijing’s military activities around the nation, and to meet the army’s urgent need
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