■ Airlines
Union vetos deal
Flight attendants at Amer-ican Airlines on Tuesday voted against a concession agreement, paving the way for an imminent bankruptcy filing by the world's largest carrier, a Dallas news radio station reported. The airline has said that if its three major union groups do not ratify deals that will help save the carrier US$1.8 billion a year in labor costs, American would be forced to file for bankruptcy. The radio station reported that the union had narrowly rejected the deal and was in talks with the airline to see if they could quickly poll their members again. The two other major unions at American had approved concession deals earlier in the day. The Association of Professional Flight Atten-dants voted against a deal that would cut annual pay and benefits collectively by US$340 million.
■ Videogames
Sony drops `shock and awe'
Responding to criticism that it was trying to take advan-tage of the Iraq war for commercial gain, Sony Corp said yesterday it will not use the phrase "shock and awe" for PlayStation videogames made by a subsidiary. A US unit of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc has withdrawn an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office to register the phrase for commercial use, a Sony spokeswoman said. The application had been made last month shortly after US-led attack on Iraq began with a strategy of heavy aerial bombardment termed "shock and awe." The company now felt the application was inappro-priate, she said.
■ Digital cameras
Sony recalls cameras
Sony Corp is recalling its Cyber-shot DSC-P1 digital camera sold world wide. Company spokeswoman Mami Imada declined to provide an estimate of the cost of the recall. Sony will repair the defect free of charge. The problem affects the battery, charger and body of the camera, Sony said on its Web site. Industry analysts estimated the recall affects 500,000 units, Kyodo News reported. The recall applies to cameras sold since October 2000, the report said.
■ Labor
Indian workers save money
US companies saved as much as US$8 billion over the past four years by moving work to India, the Business Standard paper reported, citing a study by market research firm, Inductis. General Electric Co saves about US$350 million every year through its 18,000-man operation in the country, the paper said. Companies such as Cisco Systems Inc and Johnson Controls Inc work with Indian software developers such as Infosys Techno-logies Ltd and Wipro Ltd, which use the country's cheap, skilled workforce to deliver computer services. Companies such as Amer-ican Express Co use the country for back-office operations such as proces-sing transactions.
■ Enron
Art collection auction set
Claes Oldenburg's sculpture of a pair of giant electric outlets in bright orange vinyl that was to have adorned Enron's office tower in Houston is just one of 35 works of art heading for the auction block in the coming months. Phillips de Pury & Luxem-bourg said on Monday that it was planning to sell 10 pieces of art next month. In the fall, it plans to sell a group of 25 photographs. A bankruptcy court judge approved Enron's arrangement with Phillips on Tuesday.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from