Rohit hails Pujara, but England smash India in third Test
Rohit hails Pujara, but England smash India in third TestAFP, LEEDS, EnglandEngland thrashed India by an innings and 76 runs to win the third Test at Headingley yesterday with more than a day to spare. Victory saw England level the five-match series at 1-1 after India’s 151-run win in the second Test at Lord’s. India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara walks from the field after being dismissed on Day 4 of the third Test against England at Headingley in Leeds, England, yesterday. Rohit Sharma on Friday said that Pujara’s quality was “always there” after the two batsmen had frustrated England on Day 3. “Of late, the runs haven’t come, but that doesn’t mean the quality of Pujara has gone missing.
Source:Taipei Times
August 28, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: India vaccinates 10 million people in one day
COVID-19: India vaccinates 10 million people in one dayAFP, NEW DELHIIndia has administered more than 10 million COVID-19 jabs in a single day for the first time, authorities said yesterday, as the South Asian giant bolsters its defenses for a predicted new surge. The Indian Ministry of Health said the 10 million landmark was passed on Friday, beating the country’s previous daily record of 9.2 million. The government has been stung by criticism after a brutal COVID-19 wave in April and May killed more than 200,000 people. Daily case numbers have started rising again above 40,000 and more than 500 deaths were reported yesterday. The 46,000 new cases reported yesterday was the highest figure in two months.
Source:Taipei Times
August 28, 2021 15:56 UTC
The West warns of terror threat at Kabul airport
The West warns of terror threat at Kabul airportDESPERATION: The Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that there was an ‘ongoing and very high threat of terrorist attack’ and that people should leave the airportAFP, KABULWestern nations yesterday told their citizens to immediately leave the area surrounding the Kabul airport over a terrorist threat, as thousands of people try to reach a dwindling number of evacuation flights. Photo: AFPOne reason for the hard deadline cited by Biden and his aides this week was an “acute” terrorist threat from the regional chapter of the Islamic State (IS) group. If you’re in the area of the airport, move to a safe location and await further advice,” the ministry said. However, while the Islamic State and the Taliban are Sunni Islamist militants, they are rivals and oppose each other. The Pentagon, which is managing all Kabul airport operations, has said that it needs to wind down evacuations several days before the deadline to allow time to remove its own 6,000-plus force and hundreds of US officials.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 16:06 UTC
James Anderson revels in a rout of India on first day
James Anderson revels in a rout of India on first dayAFP, LEEDS, EnglandJames Anderson on Wednesday said that England “absolutely nailed it” after they dismissed India for just 78 on the opening day of the third Test at Headingley before surging into a first-innings lead without losing a wicket and taking their score to 182-2 at lunch yesterday. India captain Virat Kohli won the toss only for Anderson to remove a trio of top-order batsmen, including the tourists’ skipper, during a return of 3-6 in eight overs. Anderson saw Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed compile an unbroken stand of 120 that left England 42 runs ahead at stumps on Wednesday. England paceman James Anderson, right, celebrates the dismissal of India captain Virat Kohli on day 1 of the first Test at Headingley in Leeds, England, on Wednesday. “I was trying to tempt Joe [Root, the England captain] into batting, but losing the toss, being asked to bowl and then putting in a performance like that.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Taiwan ‘competes’ for Pfizer-BioNTech batch
COVID-19: Taiwan ‘competes’ for Pfizer-BioNTech batchDONE DEAL? Vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are pictured at a doctor’s clinic in Berlin on April 10. Many countries were competing for the batch, TSMC said, adding that if Taiwan did not obtain it, the batch would be sent elsewhere. The center did not confirm that Taiwan had obtained the batch, but the rest of the statement suggested that it had. The center’s news release was issued after Reuters reported on Wednesday that Taiwan would receive a batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine early after China — the batch’s original destination — had delayed regulatory approval of the vaccine.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Organizers create ‘public burial’ for victims of virus
COVID-19: Organizers create ‘public burial’ for victims of virusRECOGNIZING ‘THE POWERLESS’: The memorial would include debates, which the organizers said were necessary due to an ‘inability to freely discuss certain topics’ onlineBy Yang Cheng-yu and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerA symbolic “public burial” for the victims of COVID-19 is to be held at Taipei’s Liberty Square from tomorrow to Sept. 6 as a memorial to the dead and a protest against the government, the event’s organizers said yesterday. The memorial is to consist of performances, artwork and nightly debates, Wuo told a news conference outside the Legislative Yuan’s Chun-hsien Building in Taipei. Psychiatrist Su Wei-shuo arranges a display as part of a symbolic “public burial” for the victims of COVID-19 at Taipei’s Liberty Square yesterday. Due to the “inability to freely discuss certain topics” online, psychiatrist Su Wei-shuo (蘇偉碩) and other outspoken critics would be holding nightly debates at the tent, Wuo added. When democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui (蔣渭水) died of typhoid in 1931, his supporters organized a “public burial” to protest the Japanese colonial government, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
Xiaomi buys self-driving tech start-up to propel electric vehicle ambitions
Xiaomi buys self-driving tech start-up to propel electric vehicle ambitionsBloombergXiaomi Corp (小米) is planning to buy autonomous driving technology start-up Deepmotion for about US$77.4 million, sealing a deal to help further its ambitions of getting into the fast-expanding field. Revenue surged 64 percent to 87.79 billion yuan (US$13.5 billion) last quarter, surpassing the 85.01 billion yuan average of estimates. “Xiaomi’s results were very strong so the reaction appears to be just broader tech weakness,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Matthew Kanterman said. A number of tech giants from Huawei Technologies Co (華為) to Baidu Inc (百度) have already spent years developing components and vehicle technologies. On Wednesday, Xiaomi reported that net income climbed more than 80 percent to 8.27 billion yuan last quarter, sezing the No.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
Stimulus vouchers coming in October
Stimulus vouchers coming in October‘WHITELIST’: The program aims to give a boost to small shops, but the National Development Council said that it would also announce a list of approved online retailersBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writer, with CNAQuintuple Stimulus Vouchers are to be distributed at the beginning of October and would be valid through April next year, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday outlined its plans for a new stimulus voucher program, which it said would launch in early October and run until the end of April next year. Vouchers planned by different government agencies to boost growth in different sectors are presented at a news conference at the Executive Yuan in Taipei yesterday, as the Cabinet outlined its plans for its Quintuple Stimulus Voucher program. The economic benefits of the program are expected to far surpass last year’s Triple Stimulus Voucher program, thanks primarily to secondary vouchers offered by ministries, businesses and local governments, Kung said. In addition to last year’s sports vouchers, Hakka e-coupons, culture vouchers and agriculture travel vouchers, several government agencies this time would also present voucher programs under their purview to boost growth in different sectors, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
US to work with big tech on cybersecurity standards
Microsoft Corp, Google and cyberinsurance provider Coalition Inc, among others, committed to participating in the new NIST-led initiative. The guest list included Amazon.com Inc CEO Andy Jassy, Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google’s parent Alphabet Inc CEO Sundar Pichai and IBM CEO Arvind Krishna. IBM said it would train more than 150,000 people in cybersecurity skills over three years, and partner with historically black colleges and universities to create a more diverse cybersecurity workforce. It also said that it would help 100,000 Americans earn industry-recognized digital skills certificates that could lead to high-paying jobs. The US Congress is weighing legislation on data breach notification laws and cybersecurity insurance industry regulation, historically viewed as two of the most consequential policy areas in the field.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Delta to levy surcharge on unvaccinated employees
COVID-19: Delta to levy surcharge on unvaccinated employeesBloombergDelta Air Lines Inc is to impose a US$200 monthly surcharge on employees who are not vaccinated against COVID-19, becoming the first major US company to levy a penalty to encourage workers to get protected. Increasing cases of COVID-19 linked to a “very aggressive” variant are driving the push for all employees to get the shots, he said. A Delta Air Lines Inc plane flies near a COVID-19 testing sign as it approaches Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday. In May, Delta became the first major US airline to require new employees to be vaccinated. Delta also said that starting Sept. 30, the airline would preserve full pay for fully vaccinated workers who still get sick and might end up on short-term disability.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
School enrollment to sink over next 16 years
School enrollment to sink over next 16 yearsBy Rachel Lin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerEnrollment at Taiwanese schools is to decline sharply over the next 16 years, a Ministry of Education report released yesterday said. Enrollment at elementary schools is to decline by 16,000 students per year, falling to fewer than 1 million by 2029 and to 923,000 by 2036, it said. These policies have since maintained enrollment at elementary schools at more than 20,000 students, it added. Over the next 16 years, enrollment at junior-high schools is forecast to decline by 8,200 students, or 1.5 percent per year, it said. The figure includes an annual loss of 2,100 first-year students and 3,400 graduating students, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
Western Digital in talks with Kioxia over merger
Western Digital in talks with Kioxia over mergerBEEFING UP: Western Digital and Kioxia’s combined sales last year trailed Samsung’s sales closely, and a merger would enhance flash memory competitionBloombergWestern Digital Corp is in talks to merge with Japan’s Kioxia Holdings Corp in a deal that could unite two technology storage providers, a person familiar with the matter said. A Western Digital Corp office building is pictured in Irvine, California, on Jan. 24, 2017. Western Digital shares rose 7.8 percent in New York after the talks were reported by the Wall Street Journal, giving the company a market value of about US$20 billion. Kioxia and Western Digital had combined sales of about US$17 billion in flash memory chips last year, IDC Corp data showed. Western Digital has provided Kioxia with funds for capital expenditure, and research and development in return for production out of its Japanese partner’s plants.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
S Korea upholds sentence in death of Taiwanese
S Korea upholds sentence in death of TaiwaneseStaff writer, with CNAA South Korean court on Wednesday upheld an eight-year prison sentence handed down to a South Korean man who killed a Taiwanese student while driving under the influence of alcohol in Seoul. The ruling upheld the Seoul Central District Court’s sentence issued on April 14. Kim, who had pled guilty, requested leniency from the district court, claiming he had difficulty driving at the time because a contact lens he was wearing had slipped out of place, diminishing his vision. The court dismissed his plea and levied a heavier sentence than the six years prosecutors were seeking, adding that Kim had twice previously been found guilty of drunk driving. After Tseng’s death, her parents and a South Korean friend on Nov. 23 last year launched a petition on the Web site of the South Korean presidential office calling for the maximum sentence for vehicular homicide to be raised, to ensure the punishment would be severe enough to prevent similar tragedies.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
BOK lifts interest rates amid debt fears
The central bank also pushed up its inflation projection to 2.1 percent from 1.8 percent previously, signaling that conditions are building for further policy tightening. Most central banks that have raised rates this year are among emerging economies, concerned about capital flight and imported inflation. In Asia, Sri Lanka raised rates last week, making it the first in the region to do so. That contrasts with New Zealand, which last week delayed a widely expected interest rate increase as its first COVID-19 outbreak in six months cast uncertainty over its economic recovery. There are two more interest rate review meetings scheduled this year.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
Singapore probes Ubisoft over harassment claims
Singapore probes Ubisoft over harassment claimsAFP, SINGAPOREVideo game giant Ubisoft SA’s Singapore office is under investigation over claims of sexual harassment and racial discrimination, a watchdog said, in the latest controversy for the French firm. The publisher of the blockbuster Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry titles saw some senior staff resign last year after allegations of sexual misconduct emerged. Gaming Web site Kotaku last month published allegations of harassment, bullying and racial pay disparities following interviews with 20 current and former employees at Ubisoft Singapore. “Every Ubisoft studio, including Ubisoft Singapore, strives to create and foster a culture that team members and partners can be proud of. Last year’s allegations against Ubisoft saw managers in the company’s Toronto and Montreal studios accused of sexual misconduct.
Source:Taipei Times
August 18, 2021 16:03 UTC