COVID-19: Virus cases in eastern Europe near 20 million
COVID-19: Virus cases in eastern Europe near 20 millionReutersCOVID-19 cases in eastern Europe are soon to surpass 20 million, according to a Reuters tally yesterday, as the region grapples with its worst outbreak since the pandemic started and inoculation efforts lag. Countries in the region have the lowest vaccination rates in Europe, with less than half of the population having received a single dose. Although it has just 4 percent of the world’s population, eastern Europe accounts for about 20 percent of all new cases reported globally. More than 40 percent of all new cases reported in eastern Europe were in Russia, with 120 people testing positive every five minutes, according to a Reuters analysis. Slovakia reported 3,480 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, its highest daily tally since March, health ministry data showed on Wednesday.
Source:Taipei Times
October 24, 2021 17:31 UTC
Uzbeks vote as leader runs against sparse opposition
Uzbeks vote as leader runs against sparse oppositionAFP, TASHKENTVoting was under way in Uzbekistan’s presidential election yesterday, with incumbent Shavkat Mirziyoyev facing no real opposition, but plenty of challenges as he bids to reform the former Soviet country while maintaining its authoritarian foundations. Election workers listen to the Uzbek national anthem at a polling station in Tashkent yesterday. Mirziyoyev cast his own vote at a polling station on Tashkent’s outskirts, where he appeared alongside his wife, Ziroatkhon Hoshimova, and their three children. Mirziyoyev smiled as he posed for photographs before dropping his vote in the ballot box, but did not address the media. The man — who gave his first name, Sardor — said he would vote for Mirziyoyev.
Source:Taipei Times
October 24, 2021 17:06 UTC
Pentagon sidesteps Biden Taiwan vow
“So we’ll stay focused on those things, and I won’t engage in any hypotheticals with respect to Taiwan,” he told reporters. At a CNN town hall meeting, Biden was asked whether the US would come to Taiwan’s defense if China invaded. However, that does not prevent the US from providing aid to Taiwan, including potent military hardware. Asked if Biden’s comments raised the specter of NATO being dragged into a US conflict with China, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg sought to avoid exacerbating the conflict. Last month, North Korea threatened unspecified countermeasures following the Biden administration’s decision to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia.
Source:Taipei Times
October 24, 2021 02:41 UTC
Taiwan partners with Slovakia on space tech project
Taiwan partners with Slovakia on space tech projectBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterA Taiwanese delegation to Slovakia signed seven memorandums of understanding (MOU) with public and private entities, including a space technology pact that would bring to Taiwan a project related to a blockchain application used by the European Space Agency, officials said on Friday. The 66-person delegation led by National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) and Minister of Science and Technology Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) yesterday concluded their three-day visit to Slovakia. Wu on Friday witnessed the signing of an MOU by the Taiwan Space Industry Development Association, the Slovak space company 3IPK and its partner company Decent, laying the foundation for a trilateral cooperation framework, it said. With the office’s support, 3IPK and Decent would provide a proof of concept project in Taiwan based on a blockchain application used by the European Space Agency, the ministry said. A Slovak delegation planned to visit Taiwan in May, but the trip has been postponed several times.
Source:Taipei Times
October 23, 2021 23:42 UTC
Asia’s tech shares climb, following US peers higher
Asia’s tech shares climb, following US peers higherReuters, TOKYOTech stocks climbed in Asia on Friday, following US peers higher, while Chinese property stocks rallied following a surprise interest payment by debt-ridden property developer China Evergrande Group (恆大集團). The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index gained 0.2 percent to 200.17, up 0.9 percent weekly. The TAIEX on Friday edged down less than 0.1 percent to close at 16,888.74 points, paring its weekly gain to 0.6 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 on Friday advanced 0.3 percent to 28,804.85 points, led by technology shares, while energy and basic materials shares were the biggest drags. India’s SENSEX fell 0.2 percent on Friday, taking its weekly loss to 0.8 percent.
Source:Taipei Times
October 23, 2021 20:38 UTC
Evergrande, earnings lift European stocks
Evergrande, earnings lift European stocksReutersEuropean stocks rose on Friday on a surge in technology stocks, strong earnings from France’s L’Oreal SA and a broad boost to sentiment provided by a surprise interest payment from debt-ridden China Evergrande Group (恆大集團). News that the Chinese property developer had made a bond payment to avert a default lifted the mood globally. France’s blue-chip CAC 40 rose 0.7 percent and outperformed its European peers, riding on a 5.1 percent surge in L’Oreal shares following the cosmetics company’s strong results. “That’s hopeful for the markets.”A bunch of upbeat earnings lifted Wall Street’s S&P 500 to a record high, while its European counterpart is less than 1 percent shy of its August peak. Eurozone inflation expectations hit their highest levels in years, putting additional pressure on the European Central Bank over its insistence on maintaining crisis-era stimulus.
Source:Taipei Times
October 23, 2021 17:34 UTC
Global supply chains are overloaded, not disrupted
Global supply chains are overloaded, not disruptedBy Karl Smith / Bloomberg OpinionThe first step toward understanding “the great supply chain disruption of 2021” is to recognize that the phrase itself is not quite accurate. Supply chains are not disrupted so much as overloaded, and the effects are more national than global. US retail sales soared in March and today stand roughly 20 percent higher than they were in December 2019. By contrast, retail sales in Europe are up just 4 percent. While the spike in energy prices is a global phenomenon, the rise in core prices is unique to the US and driven by the sharp rise in US retail sales.
Source:Taipei Times
October 23, 2021 16:42 UTC
US bill aims to reduce risk of China conflict
US bill aims to reduce risk of China conflictDIRECT COMMUNICATION: The bipartisan legislation would, if passed, build ties with Taiwan and prioritize a hotline with China to resolve misunderstandings in a crisisStaff writer, with CNA, WashingtonTwo US senators on Wednesday introduced bipartisan legislation that they said is aimed at lowering tensions and reducing the risk of conflict in the Taiwan Strait. US Senator Edward Markey stands outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on April 20. “Bilateral confidence-building measures and crisis stability dialogues between the United States and the PRC [People’s Republic of China] are important mechanisms for maintaining deterrence and stability across the Taiwan Strait and should be prioritized,” the statement said. The US and China should prioritize the use of a military crisis hotline so leaders of the two countries can communicate directly in order to quickly resolve misunderstanding that could lead to military escalation, the bill says. Markey said the US must continue to support Taiwan’s participation in the international community and “help the country withstand cross-strait coercion, while taking clear action to avoid conflict in the region.”
Source:Taipei Times
October 23, 2021 16:34 UTC
Beijing misinterpreting Resolution 2758: US official
Beijing misinterpreting Resolution 2758: US officialMUTUAL LOSS: By excluding Taiwan from the UN, ‘Beijing is denying the international community the ability to gain valuable contributions that Taiwan offers,’ an official saidBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter, with CNABeijing has inaccurately interpreted a UN resolution adopted in 1971 to exclude Taiwan from the international organization and its affiliates, a US Department of State official said on Thursday. “The People’s Republic of China [PRC] has misused Resolution 2758 to prevent Taiwan’s meaningful participation,” said Rick Waters, deputy assistant secretary of state in the department’s Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, during a virtual talk hosted by the Washington-based German Marshall Fund. Only an elected government in Taiwan can represent its 23.5 million people on international occasions, including the UN, the ministry said. The PRC has been intentionally abusing the resolution to pressure the UN into excluding Taiwanese from its system, it added. The ministry denounced Beijing prioritizing its political maneuvers over the interests of global cooperation, while calling on international society to face China’s “overt plot” against Taiwan.
Source:Taipei Times
October 23, 2021 00:56 UTC
Mourinho’s Roma suffer a six-goal humiliation
Mourinho’s Roma suffer a six-goal humiliationAFP, PARISJose Mourinho’s AS Roma on Thursday were humiliated 6-1 in the UEFA Europa Conference League at Bodo/Glimt, the Norwegian champions whose fans are famed for carrying giant yellow toothbrushes to games. “It’s my responsibility, I chose to use these players,” Mourinho was quoted as saying by Italian media. Their fans have become great curiosities in the sport for their habit of waving giant, yellow toothbrushes in the stands. Carlos Perez scored a consolation goal for a much-changed Roma side, who had won their first two games in Group C, scoring eight goals and conceding just one. “Sometimes you need a slap to learn and we got a slap in the face today, one we fully deserved.
Source:Taipei Times
October 22, 2021 17:30 UTC
Nine indicted in controversial cat smuggling case
Nine indicted in controversial cat smuggling caseStaff writer, with CNAKaohsiung prosecutors yesterday indicted nine men who in the middle of August allegedly smuggled 154 cats from China, saying that they face prison sentences of up to seven years. The case sparked a debate over pet smuggling and the handling of seized animals, as authorities euthanized the cats over fears of rabies. The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office indicted four main suspects, as well as five others who allegedly worked on the fishing boat used to transport the animals, with breaching the Smuggling Penalty Act (懲治走私條例). Prosecutors recommended heavy penalties for the four, saying that they attempted to bring the purebred cats to Taiwan on the boat to evade quarantine requirements. The others indicted were the 55-year-old skipper of the fishing vessel, surnamed Lin (林); the 51-year-old chief engineer of the boat, surnamed Kao (高); and three Indonesian crew members, they said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 22, 2021 17:30 UTC
EU lawmakers pass report backing closer Taiwan ties
EU lawmakers pass report backing closer Taiwan tiesDIPLOMATIC ALLY: The European Parliament report — passed 580 to 26 — said the bloc must do more to address tensions with Beijing and protect Taiwanese democracyBy Lu Yi-hsuan and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe European Parliament yesterday passed a report calling for closer cooperation between Taiwan and the eurozone on political, economic and cultural affairs. The report urged European states to bolster official ties with Taiwan, while pursuing closer relations, such as economic, scientific, cultural and personal interactions, including high-level exchanges. The conduct of interactions is to be guided by the EU’s “one China” policy, the European Parliament said. The European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan should be renamed the European Office in Taiwan, it added, while voicing support for the proposed establishment of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a news release saying that it thanked the European Parliament for its support of Taiwan.
Source:Taipei Times
October 22, 2021 04:10 UTC
SynCore drug trial shows ‘no statistical significance’
SynCore drug trial shows ‘no statistical significance’SILVER LINING: Even though no application for the cancer drug’s approval can be filed, the firm would continue its development based on the results, it saidBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe unblinding of phase 3 trial data of SynCore Biotechnology Co Ltd’s (杏國新藥) newly developed pancreatic cancer drug SB05PC showed no statistical significance when compared with the control group, the drugmaker said yesterday. The trials tested whether people taking the drug would on average live significantly longer than those in the control group, it added. The disease control rate averaged 59.38 percent in the treatment group, compared with 48.86 percent in the control group; the objective response rate was 11.46 percent in the treatment group, compared with 6.82 percent in the control group; and response to the drug averaged 4.1 months in the treatment group, compared with 5.6 months in the control group, it said. SB05PC was developed as a second-line treatment to be combined with chemotherapy drug gemcitabine for patients who do not respond well to first-line drug Folfirinox, SynCore said. Trail participants either received SB05PC in combination with gemcitabine, or only gemcitabine in the control group, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 22, 2021 04:10 UTC
Sigurd UTC approved to invest NT$2.9bn
Sigurd UTC approved to invest NT$2.9bnINCENTIVE PROGRAMS: The InvesTaiwan Service Center had as of Friday approved 1,015 applications from Taiwanese firms to invest a total of NT$1.36 trillion locallyBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterThe InvesTaiwan Service Center last week approved an application by Sigurd UTC Corp (矽格聯測) to invest NT$2.9 billion (US$103.4 million) to add clean rooms and expand the smart production lines at its plants in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. The investment by Sigurd UTC, which focuses on chip packaging technology development and wafer testing services, comes as more semiconductor companies are expanding manufacturing capacity thanks to increasing demand. Sigurd UTC was known as UTAC Taiwan Corp (聯測科技) before it was acquired by Sigurd Microelectronics Corp (矽格), which announced the NT$4.62 billion purchase in January and completed the deal in April. Sigurd UTC has production facilities at the Hsinchu Science Park and receives orders from integrated device manufacturers, pure-play wafer foundry firms and fabless design firms, the company’s Web site says. Sigurd UTC was one of six local companies that the InvesTaiwan Service Center last week approved to join the government’s three major investment incentive programs, the ministry said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 10, 2021 15:56 UTC
No plan to raise capital-gains tax: Japan PM Kishida
No plan to raise capital-gains tax: Japan PM KishidaReuters, TOKYOJapanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida yesterday said that he would not seek to change the country’s taxes on capital gains and dividends, as he intends to pursue other steps for better wealth distribution, such as raising wages of medical workers. Kishida, who has vowed to rectify wealth disparities, previously said that reviewing those taxes would be an option in addressing income gaps. Kishida’s new stance indicates his concern about jitters in the stock market caused by the prospects of higher tax levies. “I have no plan to touch the financial income tax for the time being... Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party makes no mention of reviewing taxes on capital gains and dividends in a draft campaign platform for the Oct. 31 general elections obtained by Reuters.
Source:Taipei Times
October 10, 2021 15:56 UTC