Apple, J&J partner for heart study
ReutersJohnson & Johnson (J&J) on Tuesday said that it was partnering with Apple Inc to use an iPhone app and the Apple Watch to study how earlier detection of atrial fibrillation impacts stroke in people aged 65 or older. Last year, Apple’s Heart Study — which analyzed the role of wearable devices in identifying potential heart problems — found that the watch could accurately detect atrial fibrillation, the most common type of irregular heartbeat. The J&J study would be open to the more than 40 million people enrolled in traditional US Medicare plans, which cover people aged 65 and older, as well as the disabled. The latest Apple Watch model starts at list price of US$399. Apple and J&J officials said that was vital to proving whether the use of the app and watch lead to reduced stroke risk.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: College exams turning to online interviews, Pan says
By Rachel Lin / Staff reporterMinister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) yesterday said that universities are adopting different measures for students seeking college admissions, such as conducting interviews via video conferences, amid concern over the spread of COVID-19. More than 130,000 students are expected to take part in interviews — the second segment of the college entrance exam, Pan said. As university students return to school, the ministry would visit schools that have not yet made adequate preparations, he added. Starting next month, the Ministry of Education is to deliver 94,000 liters of alcohol disinfectants to schools on a monthly basis as part of its preventive measures, Pan said. A supply of 12,500 forehead thermometers has already been delivered to schools, Pan told reporters before attending a meeting in Taipei, adding that another 12,500 is expected to be sent on Monday.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2020 15:56 UTC
Togo hedges its bets on solar energy for its rural poor
“After 6pm prayers, everyone stayed at home — there was nothing to do,” said Kantcho, a 35-year-old farmer. Locally generated power is far cheaper than connecting remote villages to a central grid — and helps to wean Togo off energy imported from Ghana and Nigeria, which provide half of its electricity needs. Half of Togo’s population lives on less than US$1.90 per day, the threshold of extreme poverty, the World Bank has said. The kit is enough to power lights, a radio and a small TV for several hours a day. “It operates a bit like microcredit,” Bboxx marketing director for Togo Alexandre Kouigan said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2020 15:56 UTC
White Terror database released
By Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNAChiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) presided over 3,195 military court cases during the White Terror era, the most on record, the Transitional Justice Commission said yesterday as the Taiwan Transitional Justice Database went online. The database has records and photographs of victims of political persecution during the White Terror era, as well as the names and ranks of perpetrators, in the hope of enlightening the public about how such trials were conducted, the commission said. Then-chief of general staff Chou Chih-jou (周至柔) presided over 2,506 cases, while then-navy commander Kuei Yung-ching (桂永清) was in charge of 1,241 cases, the database shows. The database shows that both Taiwanese and Mainlanders — those who fled to Taiwan from China with the KMT in 1949 — were victims during the White Terror era, with Taiwanese accounting for 55 percent of cases and Mainlanders 44 percent. It marked the beginning of the White Terror era.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2020 15:56 UTC
Peugeot parent says it can weather market downturn
PSA reported record net income of 3.2 billion euros (US$3.48 billion) compared with 2.83 billion euros a year earlier. The group’s adjusted operating income of 6.32 billion euros beat an average forecast of 6.14 billion euros of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Despite the drop, PSA’s profit margin widened to 8.5 percent amid chief executive officer Carlos Tavares’ relentless lowering of costs and focus on selling expensive models. Adjusted operating income last year rose a better-than-expected 11 percent to 6.32 billion euros. In the past, the margin has been boosted by excluding restructuring charges from operating profit, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts have said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: CECC shares plan to curb spread of disease
Staff writer, with CNAThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Saturday said that it has a series of response measures planned in case COVID-19 begins to spread in communities. The CECC’s four-part prevention plan is based on Taiwan’s experience of dealing with the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak, Department of Medical Affairs Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said. In the second part, the CECC would introduce new rules to minimize the risk of infection among healthcare workers, Shih said. Citing his experience as an emergency room doctor at National Taiwan University Hospital during the SARS outbreak, Shih said the medical staff were split into two teams that alternated every two weeks. The fourth aspect of the plan involves reducing the number of people seeking non-essential medical treatment, Shih said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Virus hits global shipping
AFP, LONDONSea freight transport, the lifeblood of trade and a bellwether of the global economy, has been blown off course by the COVID-19 outbreak, sparking general alarm. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI) reflects the daily price of moving goods such as coal, rice and wheat along routes deemed representative of the global market. “Given that China accounts for about 40 percent of global seaborne trade, it is not so surprising that freight rates have tanked,” it added. With more than 2,400 death reported from COVID-19 and swathes of the country under effective lockdown for a second month, Chinese demand might suffer for months to come, he said. The price of shipping both commodities is reflected in the BDI index, which is in “free fall,” Capital Economics said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2020 15:56 UTC
JPMorgan to launch digital bank in UK
The Wall Street stalwart has been in discussions with regulators about securing the necessary approvals to operate in UK personal banking, Sky said. The prospective launch could also pit JPMorgan against Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s online-only bank called Marcus, which opened in the UK in September 2018, though a City of London source told Sky that JPMorgan was planning a wider range of products. Last week, N26 GmbH, a German digital bank backed by investor Peter Thiel, announced that it was withdrawing from the UK after four years. “In that sense large universal banks — HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Santander UK — retain their dominance over UK retail banking market,” Kokkinis said. “However, challenger banks, which operate exclusively online and thus offer cheaper services, are popular amongst customers below the age of 37,” he said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Mask production to rise by 6 million daily next month
Staff writer, with CNATaiwan expects to increase daily mask production from 4 million to 10 million by early next month to meet high demand amid preventative efforts against COVID-19, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Friday. A team of machine-tool builders, working with three research institutes, have constructed 60 new production lines, each capable of manufacturing 100,000 surgical masks per day, the ministry said in a Facebook post. Normally, this many production lines would take four to six months to build, but the team completed the work in one month, the ministry said. TMBA said that it hopes that when output reaches 10 million masks per day, people would no longer have to stand in long lines to buy two masks per week under the government’s rationing system. As part of the government’s efforts to contain and deal with COVID-19, it has been requisitioning and distributing all domestically produced masks to healthcare workers and professionals and to more than 6,000 pharmacies and drugstores for regulated sale to consumers.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: SK, Italy, Iran boost alert efforts
AFP, CODOGNO, Italy, and SHANGHAISouth Korea yesterday went on high alert following a sharp jump in coronavirus cases, and Italy and Iran took their own drastic containment steps as an outbreak that has killed nearly 2,500 people in China continued a relentless global expansion. “The government will raise the alert level to the highest level according to experts’ recommendations.”South Korea yesterday reported 169 new cases and three deaths, taking the countrywide fatality toll to five. Italy and Iran began introducing the sort of containment measures previously seen only in China. Iran ordered the closure of schools, universities and cultural centres across 14 provinces from yesterday following eight deaths in the Islamic Republic — the most outside East Asia. China reported another 97 deaths in its daily update, taking its total to 2,442, plus 648 new infections.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2020 15:56 UTC
US caves to Europe on putting ‘climate’ in G20 statement
So far, the export-driven country has shown little interest in significantly boosting expenditures, arguing fiscal stimulus cannot bolster foreign demand. On climate change, differences of opinion in the Saudi capital were starker. The Saudi delegation, which is hosting the event, did not show much enthusiasm for it either, according to two of them. Delegates on Saturday heard a warning from the IMF that the COVID-19 outbreak would dent global growth. The outbreak will shave about 0.1 percentage points from global growth and constrain China’s growth to 5.6 percent this year, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2020 15:56 UTC
Ryan Hass on Taiwan: This US-China downturn may be difficult for Taiwan
Many Taiwan policymakers hold the view that US-China tensions create favorable conditions for closer US-Taiwan relations. London’s approval of Huawei’s involvement in its 5G network was a setback for the Trump administration. To be clear, Washington’s focus on Huawei did not begin with the Trump administration and it will not end when President Trump leaves office. With its efforts to halt Huawei’s spread into new markets floundering, the Trump administration is likely to double down on seeking to slow Huawei’s technological progress. The Financial Times reported last November that the Trump administration has asked Taiwan authorities to compel TSMC to do just that.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: All schools disinfected for new semester, EPA says
After that, only some schools in Taitung County and on the outlying islands would be left, but that work would be done today, the agency said. Meanwhile, pediatricians in Taipei and Changhua County on Saturday were asked to give personal hygiene advice to students preparing to return to school. They could be infected by scratching their noses, rubbing their eyes or eating with unwashed hands, she said. A person’s hands should also be washed before putting on a surgical mask, she added. Jackets come into direct contact with the environment, but are typically not washed every day, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2020 15:56 UTC
Broad support powers Sanders’ win in Nevada
“We have put together a multi-generational, multiracial coalition that is going to not only win in Nevada, it’s going to sweep the country,” Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, told cheering supporters in San Antonio, Texas. With 50 percent of the precincts reporting, Sanders had 47 percent of the county convention delegates in Nevada. Entrance polls showed Biden led among African Americans with 36 percent, followed by Sanders with 2 percent. The entrance poll showed Sanders led in Nevada across all age groups except for those older than 65. He was also favored over Biden among voters whose top priority is defeating Trump in November.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2020 15:56 UTC
Drones crash during light display at lantern festival
The fallen drones, which were later located at the Taichung City Hou-Zong Senior High School, did not cause any injuries, the administration said. The administration suspects that the interference was caused by other drones flying in the area, Liao said. It was also possible that some people were using other radio-frequency devices near the venue, which caused interference, he said. Strong winds might also have caused the drones to collide and crash, they said. Taichung only allows a limited number of fly zones for drone operators, which they said was unreasonable.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2020 15:56 UTC