■ Airlines
Ted tickets go on sale
United Airlines began selling tickets on its low-fare carrier Ted, a venture executives said would play a crucial role in the future of the bankrupt company. Ted, which will start flying in February, will be based at Denver International Airport, the home of discount carrier Frontier. The Ted fleet will begin with four Airbus A320 aircraft and expand to as many as 45 planes by the end of next year. United is pitching Ted as laid-back fun, with overhead programming -- Tedtv -- that will include music videos, standup comedy and sitcoms. The headsets for Tedtunes will be free, though merchandise such as children's toys will carry a price tag. Ted is expected to have 106 daily flights by early April.
■ Banking
Seoul to sell Kookmin stake
South Korea will auction off its entire 9.1-percent stake in Kookmin Bank, the country's largest commercial bank, next month, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said yesterday. The ministry will sell its 30.6 million shares in Kookmin Bank outside the market in order to minimize impact on overall stock prices. "Bids will be invited by no later than early next month and the winner or winners will be chosen by mid-December," a ministry spokesman said. The ministry originally expected to make 1.6 trillion won (US$1.35 billion) from the sale but it may have to settle for less because of a weakening stock market. Kookmin is one of many South Korean banks which received public funds during the 1997 to 1998 Asian financial crisis.
■ Semiconductors
Hynix files suit against EU
South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor Inc, the country's second-largest semiconductor maker, said it filed a suit against the EU seeking to overturn tariffs on imports of its computer memory chips. Hynix submitted a petition to Europe's Court of First Instance alleging that five-year tariff of 34.8 percent levied by the EU on its chip imports is illegal, the company said in a statement sent by e-mail. Hynix will get back the duties it has already paid if the case is upheld, it said. In August, Europe's 15-member bloc levied the duty on Hynix's dynamic random access memory chips, or DRAMs. Hynix's competitors in Europe, the US and Taiwan have complained about South Korean financial support for the company. The US government has imposed tariffs of 45 percent on Hynix memory chips.
■ Entertainment
Singapore goes digital
With filmmakers scrapping traditional celluloid for digital, Singapore announced yesterday its plans to construct cutting-edge digital screens in a bid to become a major distributor of Hollywood movies in Asia. Cinema chain Eng Wah Group said at a news conference with media officials that it will spend US$9 million (US$5.23 million) over the next year to make 20 of its screens digital. "Instead of projectors and film reels, workers will now handle servers fiber optics, or satellite, and brand-new digital cinema projectors," said Tan Ching Yee, the head of the government's Infocomm Development Authority. The move will mean that Singapore, a city-state of 4 million, will account for more than 12 percent of the world's digital movie screens -- third after the US and China with 79 and 35 screens respectively, the authority said in a report, citing industry figures.
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