■ Bankruptcy
US Airways wins approval
US Airways Group Inc, the bankrupt airline trying to avoid liquidation, said more than 80 percent of its creditors have approved its plan to reorganize and come out of Chapter 11 under new ownership. The airline's creditors, who are owed more than US$10 billion, voted to accept the plan, US Airways said in a statement. The Arlington, Virginia-based carrier had said it might go out of business without clearance to exit bankruptcy by March 31. "It appears that US Airways is about to get its wish and come out of Chapter 11," said Robert M. Miller, president of Financo Restructuring. A company in Chapter 11 typically must get a majority of voting creditors, representing two-thirds of the total debts, to accept a recovery plan before it can go to a federal judge for final approval. US Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Mitchell will begin hearings tomorrow on whether to approve the plan.
■ Computers
Gateway to fire 1,900
Gateway Inc, the personal-computer maker whose shares have dropped 97 percent from their 1999 peak, will fire 1,900 workers and close 80 retail stores to cut costs after a two-year slump in demand for PCs. The reductions, about 17 percent of its staff, will help lower its expenses by US$200 million a year, the PC maker said in a statement. It plans to save an additional US$200 million by boosting productivity and trimming component costs. Gateway has had US$1.33 billion in losses over the past two years as businesses and consumers bought fewer PCs. The Poway, California-based company wants to shore up its PC business and add more-profitable electronics, such as a flat-screen television introduced last year, to lessen its reliance on computers. Gateway plans to unveil digital displays and audio and video gear this year.
■ Banking
China may remove cap
China's central bank said it may lift the government's 15 percent foreign ownership limit in banks, in a plan that could make owning the country's lenders more attractive to foreign funds like Newbridge Capital Ltd. The ownership limit "won't stay unchanged forever," said Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the People's Bank of China, after attending a meeting of the National People's Congress in Beijing. The cap was put in place on concerns "large bank shareholders could use the lender for their own financial needs," Zhou said. The Chinese government is trying to draw foreign funds to invest in its state-owned lenders, to help recapitalize them and improve their management. HSBC Holdings Plc owns 8 percent of Bank of Shanghai, while Citigroup Inc owns 5 percent of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co.
■ Copyrights
US decides to pay the Irish
The eyes of Irish performers such as The Chieftains and The Corrs may soon be smiling a little more after the US Congress said it is about to comply with a 16-month-old ruling by an independent trade panel. Two congressional leaders said they are urging colleagues to allocate money for an overdue US$3.5 million payment to Europe as compensation for contem-porary recordings played in small pubs and restaurants. The money will go into a fund to aid struggling musicians. Songs under copyright, such as The Cranberries "Linger" and Van Morrison's "Moondance," are played in most pubs without any royalties being paid to the composers.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique