Bad reception telecom subscribers’ top complaintBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterTelecoms have been asked to provide solutions after poor reception was identified as the No. 1 source of consumer complaints that the National Communications Commission (NCC) received in the first quarter this year. From January to March, the commission received 1,234 complaints related to telecom service, down from 1,281 during the same quarter last year, NCC statistics show. However, 771 of the complaints in the first quarter were related to reception of telecom services, with 64.59 percent being about poor reception that users experienced at home or at work. The three telecoms that received the most complaints were Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Star and Taiwan Mobile, with 32.41 percent, 19.53 percent and 18.48 percent of the complaints.

School lunch caterers call for COVID relief measuresBy Hsieh Chun-ling / Staff reporterThe government should offer relief funds to school lunch caterers, whose businesses were disrupted by the Ministry of Education’s policy authorizing schools to switch to virtual classrooms amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Kuo-shu (黃國書) said yesterday. “As school lunch caterers, we must obtain special permission from schools to offer services and maintain high hygiene standards,” he said. This year, our collective business losses in April and May are expected to exceed NT$400 million [US$13.6 million].”School lunch caterers serve meals to 1.71 million pupils across the country daily, Chen said, adding that 10 large school lunch caterers have had to close down over the past two years because of inflation and the pandemic. Chen Hsi-hung (陳錫鴻), deputy director of student affairs and school security division at the ministry’s K-12 Administration, said that schools and school lunch caterers have contracts which stipulate that schools should compensate caterers for all additional costs incurred if they are not liable for the increase in costs. Schools can also extend their contracts with caterers, he said, adding that the ministry will help schools fulfill the terms of the contracts.

Medigen applies for Australian vaccine approvalBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterMedigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (高端疫苗) has applied to the Australian medicines regulator for provisional approval of its COVID-19 vaccine, the pharmaceutical company said in a filing with the Taipei Exchange yesterday. The TGA in November last year gave the Medigen vaccine a provisional determination, the first step to provisional approval, corporate data showed. Vials of Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp’s MVC COVID-19 vaccine are pictured in Taipei on Feb. 8. Medigen reported a net loss of NT$140 million (US$4.76 million) in the first quarter, or losses per share of NT$0.66. The company’s operating expenses grew 27.5 percent annually to NT$361 million last quarter due to higher marketing and research spending, company data showed.

Root joins ‘10,000 club,’ only second England batsmenAFP, LONDONJoe Root on Sunday underlined his talent — which had long seemed obvious from early in his career — when he became just the second England batsman to score 10,000 Test runs during a match-winning hundred against New Zealand at Lord’s. Photo: ReutersNo wonder Ben Stokes, in his first match since succeeding Root as England captain, said afterward of his close friend: “‘Mr Dependable,’ Joe Root, stood up. Scoring a hundred and 10,000 runs — what a player and what a man.”Root, an orthodox ‘touch’ batsman rather than a power hitter, made his mark playing for the same Sheffield Collegiate club as another former England captain, Michael Vaughan. However, there was a dip in Australia — where Root has still to score a Test century — as he lost form along with several teammates, as England were whitewashed during the 2013-2014 Ashes. Root succeeded Alastair Cook — the only other England batsman to have scored 10,000 Test runs — as captain in 2017.

China’s service industry shrinks, spending slumpsBloombergChina’s services activity contracted more than expected last month, with spending figures over the long weekend showing that a hit to consumer spending from COVID-19 curbs could linger through this month. People dine at a restaurant in Beijing yesterday, after the government eased some COVID-19 restrictions, with most dine-in services resuming throughout the city. China’s service industries posted further declines in business and new orders last month, the PMI statement said. The Caixin survey findings are largely in line with those in the official non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, which increased to 47.8 from April’s 41.9, but stayed below the cutoff 50 mark. The official survey tracks larger companies and includes the construction sector, while the Caixin survey focuses more on smaller ones.

Americas double revenue contribution to Wan HaiBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterWan Hai Lines Ltd’s (萬海航運) revenue contribution from its US and South American operations rose to 61 percent in the first quarter, from 30 percent a year earlier, the company said on Thursday. A Wan Hai Lines Ltd cargo ship is pictured at the Port of Kaohsiung on Feb. 11. Photo: CNAThe shipper has assigned more vessels and resources to the US market to enhance its competitiveness after initially struggling to meet demand, Wan Hai president Tommy Hsieh (謝福隆) told investors on Thursday. Asia is still the largest market for Wan Hai in terms of cargo volume, the shipper said. Wan Hai this year has received two new vessels and plans to take delivery of another 10 by the end of this year, 20 next year and 14 in 2024, it added.

Fuel prices drop again despite rising oil costsBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterDomestic gasoline and diesel prices are to drop by NT$0.6 per liter this week, following a decrease of NT$0.1 per liter last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. Due to the EU’s embargo on Russian oil and the arrival of the peak holiday driving period in the northern hemisphere, international crude oil prices last week increased from the previous week, CPC said. Based on CPC’s floating oil price formula, the cost of crude oil last week rose 2.04 percent from a week earlier. The refiner said that it should have raised gasoline prices this week by NT$6.0 per liter and diesel prices by NT$7.5 per liter. CPC spent NT$12.79 billion (US$435.2 million) to absorb higher fuel costs in the first five months of the year, it said.

Ukraine rape victims suffer in silenceAFP, KYIV, UkraineWhen war erupted in Ukraine and reports that Russian soldiers were using rape as a weapon of war began to surface, Yulia Sporysh wasn’t sure she was the right person to help. An activist protesting rape during war and supporting Ukraine last month prepares for a demonstration in front of the Russian Consulate in New York. Zelensky said in April that Russian troops who withdrew after trying to capture the capital Kyiv had left in “hundreds” of rape victims in their wake, including children. At least one woman in the south of the country said she was raped by several Russian soldiers. The well-known rights group, which also has a phone number for the war’s rape victims, has received just over a dozen calls in relation to 17 people — including one man.

Bangladesh explosion kills 38, injures 300AFP, SITAKUNDA, BangladeshAt least 38 people died and hundreds were injured after a fire that sparked a huge chemical explosion and was still blazing yesterday at a shipping container depot in Bangladesh, officials said. The toll was expected to rise with some of the more than 300 people injured in a serious condition. Firefighters carry a dead body from the site of a fire at a container storage facility in Sitakunda, Bangladesh, yesterday. Container Depot, the firm operating the facility with about 600 workers, said the cause of the fire was still unknown. The container depot held hydrogen peroxide, fire service chief Brigadier General Main Uddin said.

European shares end week lower on rate hike betsReutersEuropean shares on Friday fell, wiping out earlier gains, after US jobs data supported the case for the US Federal Reserve’s aggressive policy tightening and investors raised their bets on European Central Bank (ECB) rate hikes following robust inflation numbers this week. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.26 percent to 440.09, with volumes expected to be subdued due to holidays in the UK and China. It ended the tumultuous week 0.87 percent lower. The rate-sensitive information technology sector led losses on the STOXX 600, while the auto sector declined 1.6 percent as France’s Faurecia SE slid 6.8 percent. That said, we expect the market to discount more properly a lower momentum in the economy,” Generali Investments equity strategists said.

Diamonds forge cornerstone of Israel-India tiesAFP, RAMAT GAN, IsraelIn his small office in the Israel Diamond Exchange near the coastal city of Tel Aviv, Pravin Kukadia proudly presents his collection of precious stones. Diamonds belonging to Eminent Gems director Pravin Kukadiaare are displayed during an interview at his office in the Israel Diamond Exchange in Ramat Gan, Israel, on May 16. Photo: AFP“At that time, I bought rough diamonds,” he said, carefully inspecting a particularly rare example, a rose-colored diamond. Most Indian diamond families, about 80 people, live close to the diamond exchange in the city of Ramat Gan, and many stay in the same building. “The diamond industry’s trade with India accounts for about 50 percent of all general trade between Israel and India, representing US$1.5 billion per year,” Israel Diamond Exchange president Boaz Moldawsky said.

Photo: Lee Hsin-fang, Taipei TimesA lot of false information originating in China uses traditional Chinese characters and typical Taiwanese expressions, making it much more difficult to spot and counteract initially, he said. Another type of cognitive warfare is doctoring news or images from two or three years ago and distributing them, Lo said. Most state propaganda is released by government agencies, while patriotic Chinese often spread fake information fed to them by the state, Lo said. Fake news generated by content farms can have sources outside of China, Lo said, adding that these sites are usually influenced by Beijing. Local enablers — people living in Taiwan who supporting Beijing’s views — also help spread fake news, often without a direct link to Chinese officials, though some do trade commercially with China, Lo said.

Lockdowns hurt MediaTek, Qualcomm delivery: reportStaff writer, with CNATaiwanese smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) and US rival Qualcomm Inc felt the sting of China’s COVID-19 lockdowns as their smartphone IC shipments from the country fell in April, market advisory firm CINNO Research said. Weaker demand for smartphones powered by the Android operating system also took a toll on IC shipments within China, CINNO said. It shipped about 3 million SoCs to China that month, down only 2.2 percent month-on-month and 3.5 percent year-on-year, it said. In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on global demand, geopolitical tensions and a slowdown in the global economy are expected to continue to affect smartphone demand, CINNO said. Smartphone brands in the Android camp are expected to be hurt more by weakening demand than Apple, it added.

Oil price to rise again as supply boost disappointsBloombergOil headed for a sixth weekly advance after a keenly anticipated OPEC+ meeting delivered only a modest increase in output, which failed to assuage concerns over a widening supply deficit. Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal is pictured in Saudi Arabia on May 21, 2018. Photo: ReutersA report showing US crude stockpiles falling more than twice as much as expected last week at the start of the summer driving season highlighted the growing supply deficit. ING’s forecast for the Brent crude oil price to average US$122 a barrel over the second half remains unchanged, he said. The ramp-up in OPEC+ supply would not be enough to balance a market that is shifting into deficit due to the demand recovery in China, Goldman Sachs Group Inc said in a note.

Two Japanese researchers make food waste cementAP, TOKYOEver dreamed of having a gingerbread house like Hansel and Gretel’s? Tokyo University researchers Kota Machida and Yuya Sakai have developed a technology to transform food waste into potentially edible “cement” for construction use. Previous trials using food waste to make cement required plastics to be mixed in to get the materials to stick together. “For example, if food cannot be delivered to evacuees, they could eat makeshift beds made out of food cement,” he said. The food cement can be reused and is biodegradable, so it can be buried when it is no longer needed.