■ Computers
Sony recalls Vaio model
Sony Corp, the world's second-largest consumer-electronics maker, said it is recalling some Vaio computers to fix a possible power supply problem. Sony is offering free repair services for users of its RZ series Vaio desk-top personal computers, a model released in September last year, the company said on its Web site. Kyodo News earlier reported that Sony is recalling 20,000 units of the model, without citing anyone.
■ Hong Kong
Bankruptcies on the rise
More than 3,100 people a month are going bust in Hong Kong as the territory struggles to cope with an economic slump and the SARS outbreak, according to statistics released yesterday. The number of personal bankruptcies leapt 18 percent in March compared to the previous month's figures, with a total of 3,119 bankruptcy orders being issued. The level is 74 percent higher than in March last year and comes amid an economic downturn worsened by the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, which has killed 65 people and infected 1,297 in the past six weeks.
■ American Airlines
Deal remains uncertain
Mechanics and ground workers may have thrown a wrench into labor concession deals aimed at heading off a bankruptcy filing at American Airlines when their union leadership threatened on Thursday not to sign the pact over a dispute on executive compensation. Two other major unions also expressed outrage at news of special pension funding for senior management, just as rank-and-file workers agreed to stiff pay cuts. Jim Little, a senior member of the Transport Workers Union, berated a plan to provide funds for a pension trust that would pay top executives a portion of their pensions in the event of bankruptcy.
■ Crude Oil
Prices rise strongly
New York crude-oil futures had their biggest gain in three weeks after OPEC members including Iran, Algeria, Qatar and Indonesia said the producer group should reduce output at a meeting next week to prevent a glut. Saudi Arabia, the biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, hasn't said whether it will support a cut. Output rose to a 18-month high in March as members made up for disruptions caused by the Iraq invasion. OPEC's benchmark oil-price index has dropped 17 percent during the past month.
■ Illegal trading
NYSE to investigate
The New York Stock Exchange is investigating whether its specialist firms, including FleetBoston Financial Corp and LaBranche & Co, illegally traded stocks ahead of their clients, a practice known as front-running. FleetBoston suspended specialist David Finnerty on Monday in connection with trading of the shares of General Electric Co, the largest company by market value. FleetBoston spokesman Charles Salmans said it placed Finnerty on leave as it conducts an internal review in connection with the probe. "The NYSE does confirm that, as part of its ongoing commitment to surveilling the marketplace, it is conducting a review of trading practices at several specialist firms," the exchange said in a statement, which didn't name any firms. NYSE spokesman Ray Pellecchia declined to elaborate further.
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