■ US spending
Bush gets US$79 billion
The US Congress on Saturday sent President George W. Bush a US$79 billion package to pay for conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, reward allies such as Turkey, bolster anti-terrorism and help struggling airlines. The huge bill, which Congress took up at the start of the war in Iraq and pushed through in just three weeks, gives Bush all the money he sought for the war, but curbs the free rein he wanted over most of the funds. Rushing to get the money to Bush before starting Congress' two-week spring recess, the House of Representatives passed the measure by a voice vote in a rare weekend session. The Senate agreed late on Friday to approve the measure even while House-Senate negotiators were working out its details and many lawmakers were headed to airports. "This bill began with the administration asking for a series of blank checks totaling almost US$70 billion," said Representative David Obey of Wisconsin, top House Appropriations Committee Democrat. The final measure, he said, "reintroduces them to the concept of checks and balances."
■ Dynegy
Losses restated to SEC
Dynegy Inc, a Houston-based power producer and natural-gas processor, said a review of its accounts shows last year's loss was US$2.74 billion rather than the US$2.8 billion the company had previously reported. The loss was equivalent to US$8.38 a share, compared with net income of US$406 million, or US$1.07 a share, in 2001, Dynegy said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing was made after auditor Pricewaterhouse-Coopers completed a review of Dynegy's financial statements back to 1999. Dynegy announced in June it had asked PWC to replace Arthur Andersen LLP as its auditor. The review of the financial statements began last July. In a separate filing, Dynegy said its net income for 1999, 2000 and 2001 totaled US$979 million, compared with US$1.03 billion reported in a February filing.
■ Video games
Game Boy improved
Nintendo's new mobile game device Game Boy Advance SP comes with an improved display capability. Unusual advertising measures reflected Nintendo's hope of using the Game Boy Advance launch in Europe to boost to its GameCube business: the first 400,000 mobile console buyers were promised a coupon worth 50 euros toward the purchase of a GameCube. The GameCube is the Japanese game manufacturer's direct competitor to Microsoft's Xbox console. The market leader remains Sony and its Playstation2.
■ Saga
Co-founder plans to quit
Graham Wylie, one of the founders of Sage Group Plc, said he plans to leave the UK's largest maker of accounting software, the London-based Times reported, citing the company. Wylie, who in his early 40s is worth £146 million (US$230 million), has no plans to sell the 8.5 percent stake that makes him Sage's largest shareholder, the Telegraph said. He was the company's UK managing director. "He's about to get married, he's just bought a house and he does a lot of charity work," said Michael Jackson, Sage's chairman, the Times reported. Wylie co-founded the company when he was studying statistics and computing at Newcastle University, the paper said.
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