■ Airlines
United may liquidate
UAL Corp's United Airlines, the biggest carrier ever to file for bankruptcy protec-tion, said it may be forced to liquidate unless it can cut labor costs by May. United won't be able to satisfy conditions on loans needed to keep the carrier opera-ting without lower work-force expenses and war in Iraq may cause the company to violate the terms in June regardless, according to a motion filed on Tuesday seeking bankruptcy court approval to impose new labor contracts. United wants to reduce labor costs by at least US$2.56 billion annually and is seeking to negotiate savings with unions before pressing for a court ruling on its motion to terminate the current con-tracts. United will violate the terms set by bankers for US$1.5 billion in bankruptcy financing in May without the cost reductions.
■ Internet
Three indicted in porn scam
An alleged Gambino crime family member was among three people accused of running an Internet scam that bilked prospective pornography customers out of US$230 million by tricking them into turning over credit card informa-tion, US authorities said. Authorities say mobster Richard Martino and two other men, Norman Chanes and Bruce Chew, ran com-panies that bilked thou-sands of people in the US, Europe and Asia with offers of "free tours" of porn Web sites. The companies con-ned prospective customers to turn over credit card information, saying it would only be used as a proof of age and that users would not be billed. Instead, credit cards were billed, usually at US$59.99 a month after the initial visit without the consent of the users, authorities said.
■ Transportation
Airbus bets on new jumbo
Airbus SAS chief executive officer Noel Forgeard says the world's largest jetliner will start flying in 2006 and cost about US$12 billion to develop -- almost as much as construction of the English Channel tunnel. "This is our star," he says of the A380. From his top-floor office by the airport in Toulouse, France, Forgeard can watch Europe's largest building -- 490m by 250m by 46m -- taking shape across the runway. It's a new factory in which Airbus will soon start building the double-decker jumbo which will hold 555 passengers, 35 more than Boeing Co's 33-year-old 747. The new plane is also the biggest risk Airbus has ever taken. The company is betting on the jumbo at a time when most of the world's airlines are hurting because of stagnant economies and continuing fallout from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the US. Passenger traffic, which normally grows about 5 percent annually worldwide, is down 3.7 percent from 2000.
■ Ipr protection
Labels warn on swapping
A group of major record labels warned companies that employees used their computers to share music over file-swapping net-works, the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site. The Recording Industry Association of America sent letters to about 300 com-panies in the last week, alerting them to alleged piracy and informing them of the possibility of "significant legal damages," the newspaper said. The letters made no explicit threat to sue either employers or employees, the paper said. Companies might be liable for piracy on their computer networks if they know about it and don't act to stop it, the paper reported.
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
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
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
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