World business quick take

■ Airlines
Flight paths reviewed
Major in flight routes aimed at helping the flagging airline industry cut costs will slash travel time between Asia and Europe by up to 30 minutes, the International Air Transport Association said yesterday. The changes, which are expected to save the airline industry an estimated US$55 million annually in fuel alone, mark the largest-ever overhaul of flight paths, IATA, the world's largest airline trade association, said in a statement. Flight paths that previously arced around political borders and military zones can now travel in straight lines after negotiations between 21 countries, airlines and military agencies, said David Behrens, the Singapore-based head of operations and infrastructure for IATA. The route changes took effect Thursday and will help the airline industry, which is still reeling from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks of last year, by increasing their efficiency without any new investment, Behrens said.

■ Trade
WTO head supports US plan
WTO Supachai Panitchpakdi said Thursday a US plan to eliminate global tariffs on consumer and industrial goods was a "positive contribution" to jump-starting sluggish trade negotiations. "We need ambitious proposals to get the round moving forward ... and we need leadership. I welcome this initiative by the US government to help us push for more dynamic momentum," Panitchpakdi told reporters after meeting with French President Jacques Chirac at the presidential Elysee palace. The US on Tuesday unveiled a bold plan to eliminate global tariffs on consumer and industrial goods by 2015, saying it would benefit developing countries as well as the US economy. The plan is to be presented to the WTO in Geneva next week.

■ Semiconductors
Sales rise in October
Worldwide of semiconductors rose 1.8 percent last month from the previous month, indicating demand for chips is recovering, an industry study said. Sales rose to US$12.51 billion in October from US$12.29 billion a month earlier, boosted by demand for chips used in mobile phones, the Semiconductor Industry Association said in an e-mailed report. Chip sales posted their steepest decline last year and will recover more slowly than expected, the SIA has said. Worldwide sales are expected to rise 1.8 percent this year, missing an earlier forecast, the group said earlier this month.

■ Condoms
Thai actress refuses award
An who topped a survey to win the title of "Sexiest Woman in Thailand" will refuse to accept the award because it was sponsored by Durex, the condom company, the woman's mother was quoted as saying yesterday. Chalida Nilpirom, the mother of movie actress and top fashion model Shermal Bunyasak, blasted the widely publicized Durex award for "abusing my daughter's name. Durex should not have abused us," The Nation newspaper quoted Chalida as saying. "Thai culture and Thai people cannot accept images associated with sexiness. No one admires it." She said it would have been fine if the award had been bestowed by the media or an educational institute, but condoms had a negative sexual connotation and so her daughter would not pick up her Durex award. She said her daughter just wanted to be known as a "nice lady and a respected actress."

Agencies