The US dollar ended another volatile week last week as the US subprime mortgage problems continued to weaken investors' confidence in the US economy. The US currency has continued to show substantial depreciations against most of the European currencies as well as many of the Asian units. At home, the NT dollar surged to a nearly 11-month high of 32.288 per US dollar on Friday.

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Eugene Yen 閻亢宗
After what seems to have been a laborious process, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has finally released its list for legislator-at-large nominations, and yet the choice of candidates indicate that the KMT had to compromise in order to settle conflicts in electoral districts.

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Han Pao-teh 漢寶德
On Tuesday, the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall was declared a national historical monument.

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Huang Jui-ming 黃瑞明
The prominent "UN for Taiwan" poster hanging outside the Taipei Main Station is not surprising, considering the popularity of the UN bid. However, as English has not become the official language of Taiwan, it naturally targets a foreign audience. If we are to step out into the world, we obviously must broadcast to the world. Yet, how many foreigners -- especially European and North Americans -- are actually in Taiwan? Does the government agency responsible for the sign know the figures?

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A deadly rampage that left nine people dead has put Finland on the defensive over its relaxed gun controlpolicies
By Jari Tanner
A teenage killer's deadly school rampage has put Finns on the defensive about their relationship to guns.

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As Hanoi's denizens become increasingly accustomed to fast food, laptops and luxury cars, residents of a small village have to struggle to keep rice in their bowls
By Frank Zeller
Vietnam's cities are being rapidly transformed by economic growth which has brought fashion boutiques, fast food and traffic jams, but most people in the remote northern village of Na Lia wouldn't know.

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By George Soros
In his novel 1984 , George Orwell chillingly described a totalitarian regime in which all communication is controlled by a Ministry of Truth and dissidents are persecuted by political police. The US remains a democracy governed by a constitution and the rule of law, with pluralistic media, yet there are disturbing signs that the propaganda methods Orwell described have taken root here.

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