■Airlines
US Airlines get relief funds
American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and bankrupt United Airlines, are each getting more than US$300 million in cash for reimbursed security costs, the government said on Wednesday. The US Transportation Security Administration said it had notified 66 US airlines that their cash reimbursements were being electronically transferred into their accounts. Federal law requires that the disburse--ments be completed by today. Nine of the carriers, including all the major airlines, signed agreements that limit compensation of top executives as a condition of receiving the assistance. Lawmakers agreed to reimburse airlines US$2.3 billion in security costs the carriers had paid the govern-ment since February of last year. Congress agreed to suspend that fee between June 1 and Sept. 30 to save the airlines an additional US$700 million. The fee helps pay for airport security mandated after Sept. 11.
■ Labor disputes
Parisians left stranded
France's government and labor unions broke off talks on funding future state pensions without an agreement, threatening an escalation of strikes that will leave Paris residents and commuters without public transport for a third day. Labor and Social Affairs Minister Francois Fillon presented his revised proposals after public workers staged a walkout Tuesday that brought the country to a standstill and rallied more than 1 million supporters in protest marches nationwide. In Paris, virtually no metro and commuter services were set to run yesterday as strikers voted to pursue their action. "We hope to generalize the strike that we started on May 13," said Marc Blondel, secretary general of Force Ouvriere, France's third-largest labor union.
■ Macroeconomics
Retailers' sales plummet
US retailers suffered a surprising drop in sales last month, data showed Wednesday, as American shoppers pared spending in the face of a sluggish, no-job recovery. Retail sales eased 0.1 percent from the previous month, defying Wall Street's expectations of a modest increase, after a 2.3 percent jump in March sales, seasonally adjusted figures showed. Consumer spending is critical because it accounts for two-thirds of US economic activity. "Overall, the report was a little softer than anticipated," said BMO Financial Group senior economist Sal Guatieri. "Still, it is not a bad pullback in retail sales, given the large increase the previous month. On balance, the numbers are indicating sluggish consumer spending largely because of the weakness in labor markets."
■ Labor disputes
Truckers end strike
South Korean truck drivers said on Wednesday they would go back to work following a seven-day strike that crippled the world's third-busiest port and resulted in estimated US$450 million in lost revenue. Truckers union head Kim Jong-in said members had endorsed a package of concessions offered by the government, and apologized to the nation for the strike. "We will return to work as soon as possible," Kim said. Wednesday's agreement, made public by the Labor Ministry, included govern-ment promises to cut income taxes for truck drivers, subsidize their fuel pur-chases and other benefits such as lower highway tolls. South Korea has incurred an estimated US$450 million in losses due to the strike at Busan port.
Agencies
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2