■ Tourism
International arrivals soar
The lucrative tourism sector enjoyed double digit growth almost across the board from January to August, according to the Madrid-based World Tourism Organization (WTO), which released its barometer report last week in Monaco. "All regions saw a surge in international arrivals," said the report, which was unveiled by WTO Secretary-General Francesco Fran-gialli. Asia and the Pacific led the way with 37 percent volume growth while North America ended three nega-tive years to record a 12 percent rise, in line with the global average. However, the International Air Trans-port Association (IATA) has which forecast crippling losses for airlines. IATA Director-General Giovanni Bisignani said losses for global airlines may well exceed a US$3 billion to US$4 billion dollar forecast this year unless the price of a barrel descends from current record highs above US$50.
■ Employment
HK Disneyland hiring
Hong Kong Disneyland has launched its recruitment drive, with more than 1,000 people vying for 500 per-former positions at the theme park, newspapers reported yesterday. The park kicked off auditions on Saturday to fill about 200 dancer slots, while audi-tions for actors, singers and musicians are being held this month and January, the Sing Tao Daily reported. The Apple Daily quoted a park official as saying the park will hire a total of 500 performers and has already received over 1,000 appli-cations. The theme park is a joint venture between the Hong Kong government and The Walt Disney Co.
■ Oil
Halliburton inks Oman deals
Halliburton Co the world's largest oilfield-services company, won contracts worth at least US$400 million over five years to help Oman, the Middle East's largest non-OPEC crude exporter, to produce more oil, the company said. Halliburton will assist Petroleum Development Oman with oil well drilling, monitoring and production to help it increase output by almost a quarter to 800,000 barrels a day of crude by 2007, the firm said in a press release. State-controlled Petroleum Development Oman, which is 34 percent owned by Royal Dutch/Shell Group, produces 95 percent of Oman's total oil output of about 700,000 barrels a day, according to government figures. The company plans to reduce operating costs by US$2 billion over the next five years, partly by out-sourcing work to oilfield-service companies.
■ Telecoms
AT&T settlement approved
A judge in Colorado has approved a US$3.75 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit challenging billing practices at AT&T Wireless. The settlement affects up to 3 million current and former subscribers, most of whom will have to file a claim to receive an average value of US$3. Consumers could also get up to US$25 in benefits like calling cards, free air time or discount coupons for phone accessories from the settlement. AT&T Wire-less Services has denied any wrongdoing involving so-called out-of-cycle bills for calls that subscribers made on other carrier's networks. Customers alleged that AT&T Wireless cheated them by using a delayed billing pro-cess, which charged cus-tomers for roaming calls they wouldn't have incurred if the calls had been billed in the month they were placed. The settlement applies to customers who had cell-phone service before December 1999.
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
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
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
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