New York - Sof

New York - Black women always play central roles in the plays of US playwright Lynn Nottage.

In Intimate Apparel, the author writes about an African-American woman who designs fascinating underwear in the New York of 1905. Her products sell like hotcakes in the city's high society and brothels alike.

Another piece, Fabulation, talks about a powerful black woman whose husband disappears with her hard-earned money, leaving her to raise her kid in poverty.

Washington - US markets rallied Tuesday led by financial shares, after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the "vast majority" of banks now had enough capital to remain afloat and had begun to increase lending to consumers and businesses.

In testimony to a congressional panel, Geithner said that about 110 billion dollars from the initial 700-billion-dollar financial rescue package had yet to be used by the Treasury, while another 25 billion dollars was due to be repayed by banks already recovering.

Washington  - The US Senate on Tuesday approved veteran diplomat Christopher Hill as the next ambassador to Iraq, handing President Barack Obama his choice to help manage the planned withdrawal of US forces.

The Senate approved Hill's nomination by a 73-23 vote over objections from some Republicans that the veteran diplomat lacks sufficient experience in the Middle East.

Hill has been serving as assistant secretary of state for East Asia and has led US negotiations over North Korea's nuclear programme in the six-nation talks. He will replace Ryan Crocker.

New York  - Delta Air Lines Inc, the world's largest carrier, and United Airlines parent UAL Corp on Tuesday posted first-quarter net losses totalling more than 1 billion dollars despite a drop in fuel prices, because of a deepening travel slump.

Delta reported net losses of 794 million dollars for the quarter. The airline said it would add a 50-dollar-fee for international travellers who check in a second bag - a move that will enable Delta to earn more than 100 million dollars a year.

San Francisco  - Internet portal Yahoo said Tuesday that it planned to cut 5 per cent of its workforce as the company struggles with the economic downturn and the dominance of Google in internet search.

Yahoo announced the job cuts as it reported quarterly income of 118 million dollars, down 78 per cent from a year ago but still above analysts' expectations. Sales for the Silicon Valley company fell 13 per cent to 1.6 billion dollars.

The company said the job cuts will affect between 600 and 700 workers, about the same number that were axed last year in an earlier bid to shore up profits.