BACK TO TOP |
SE Asia protests travel warnings
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia >> A summit of Southeast Asian nations demanded today that the rest of the world stop issuing warnings against travel to a region that depends on tourism for large amounts of revenue.Still reeling from the shock of a devastating bombing on Indonesia's paradise island of Bali last month that killed more than 180 people, many of them tourists dancing at a popular nightspot, the appeal marked rare unanimity for the Association of South East Asian Nations.
"We call on the international community to avoid indiscriminately advising their citizens to refrain from visiting or otherwise dealing with our countries in the absence of established evidence to substantiate rumors of possible terrorist attacks," ASEAN said in a declaration at the start of a two-day summit in Phnom Penh.
The ASEAN declaration recognized the threat of terror in the region, and stressed the need to combat money laundering and furtive flows of funds used by extremist groups to finance their activities around the world.
Cigarette smuggling appeal out
WASHINGTON >> R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc. won't have to defend against a billion-dollar smuggling suit that Canada filed in a U.S. court, as the U.S. Supreme Court turned aside arguments from the Canadian government.Canada sought to revive its claim that the second-largest U.S. tobacco company began smuggling billions of cigarettes into that country after Canada doubled its tobacco tax. Canada sued in Syracuse, New York, seeking to take advantage of the triple- damages provision in a U.S. racketeering law. A U.S. appeals court threw out the case.
The high court's rejection is a blow to government efforts around the world to crack down on cigarette smuggling. The Canadian case was the model for similar suits filed against tobacco companies by the European Union and four Latin American countries.
Charges for changes
Airlines are rife with fees, but some charges annoy travelers more than others.Fodor's Travel Publications asked people about flying-related fees, and a majority said ticket-change charges are what rankle the most. In the poll of 1,200 people, 61 percent griped about paying to alter their flights.
But at least one big carrier might have seen the wisdom in quashing such fees. In a promotion ending Nov. 4, British Airways is allowing U.S. travelers flying to 41 cities overseas through March 31 to change their plans without penalty. (Changes made after departure cost $200.)
The survey asked people about fees for ticket changes, extra baggage, overweight passengers and minors traveling alone. Interestingly, for all those guys who swear they pack light, more men than women (11 percent vs. 9 percent) said extra-bag fees bugged them.
Decision overload
The business world is becoming ever more loaded with decisions -- with less time to make them, executives report.In a survey of 113 managers of companies topping $500 million in sales, 55 percent said there is less time to mull decisions, and 54 percent said the amount of data they use to decide is doubling. The survey was conducted in September by Teradata, a data warehousing and analytical services company that is part of NCR Corp.
Bush prepares to fire Pitt as SEC chairman
WASHINGTON >> President Bush is poised to oust Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt after a probe of William Webster's selection to run a new accounting board is done, a senior administration official said yesterday.Bush will demand Pitt resign after tomorrow's election should an inquiry by the SEC inspector general conclude Pitt misled commissioners on the 3-2 vote to select Webster, the official said. Pitt did not tell the four commissioners Webster headed the audit committee of a company accused of fraud, SEC officials said.
With criticism of Pitt rising, Bush may be forced to remove him to head off complaints the administration is lenient in dealing with corporate fraud, political analysts said. Bush is in a "tight spot," said Mark Rozell, a professor at Catholic University in Washington.
China's civil air fleet due to double by 2010
ZHUHAI, China >> China will double its aircraft fleet by 2010 to meet rising traffic, a senior official at the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China said yesterday.Asia's fastest-growing economy will need 1,250 planes by 2010, which would be twice what the country had in 2001, Gao Hongfeng, vice minister at the country's aviation regulator, said at an Airshow China conference in Zhuhai.
Passenger and cargo traffic rose by 13.5 percent and 11.5 percent, respectively, in the first nine months of the year from the year-earlier period, Gao said. China's air traffic is expected to grow at an average rate of 10 percent a year between 2001 and 2010, Gao said.
Aircraft makers are keen to tap China's potential.
[Hawaii Inc.]
New jobs
>> Starr Seigle Communications has hired Ryan Mielke as vice president of StarrPR Public Relations. He will be engaged in business development, as well as working with existing clients. Mielke has 14 years of communications experience, most recently as the public information officer and program director at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Starr Seigle Communications of Hawaii is a full-service advertising agency with offices in New York, Las Vegas and Guam.>> Patty Low has been named director of promotions and technology events at PacificNews.Net. She was most recently employed as an account executive at Trade Publishing and MidWeek.
On the board
>> Internal Revenue Service has selected Allan W. Daniel of Kalaheo, Kauai, to serve on the the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee. He is one of seven new members nationwide. Daniel has been an advocate for electronic filing since 1991, first as a tax preparer with H&R Block in California, then as district manager in Hawaii, where he increased the electronic filing participation of his clients from 30 percent to 70 percent. Since 1998, he has been an H&R Block Franchise owner, and has increased electronic filing to 90 percent. The IRS advisory committee serves as a public forum for discussion of Electronic Tax Administration issues and supports the goal of increasing electronic interaction between tax professionals and the IRS.
