UNFAIR COMPETITION?: Wang said the election process was biased in favor of another candidate and slammed the party for not taking the ethnicity issue into account
By Shih Hsiu-chuan and Flora Wang
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday said he would not be taking part in the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) presidential primary, a move that could signal a repeat of the division that caused the party to lose the 2000 presidential election.

[ FULL STORY ]

By Flora Wang and Shih Hsiu-chuan
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who is expected to appear in court today for alleged misuse of his special allowance fund during his time as Taipei mayor, said yesterday that his indictment should not be a problem for his presidential bid because he is innocent until proven guilty after three trials.

[ FULL STORY ]

WALLS OF WATER: Eyewitnesses said giant waves up to 5m high traveled hundreds of meters inland. Local officials said that entire villages had been washed out to sea
A powerful undersea earthquake unleashed a tsunami that pounded the western Solomon Islands yesterday, destroying entire villages and killing an estimated 15 people, officials said.

[ FULL STORY ]

In a dramatic response to an Arab peace initiative, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has invited Arab leaders to a regional peace conference to discuss their ideas for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict.

[ FULL STORY ]

Iran said yesterday that all 15 British sailors it detained last month had confessed to illegally entering its waters, and broadcast new pictures of two servicemen apparently admitting to their error.

[ FULL STORY ]