THREAT: Chen Chu said she could not head Frank Hsieh's Kaohsiung campaign next year if the Cabinet pushed through the proposed budget for Taipei and Kaohsiung
By Flora Wang
The wrangling over the central government's annual budget allocation continued as Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) yesterday said it would be a tall order for her to stump for fellow Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidates in next year's elections if the central government goes ahead with its plan to have Taipei County share the tax revenues originally set aside for Taipei and Kaohsiung cities.

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A second drill broke through early yesterday to a mine shaft where officials hope to find six workers who were trapped when the mine collapsed, authorities said.

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A Taliban negotiator yesterday said 21 South Korean hostages could be freed as early as "today or tomorrow" but only if the Afghan government accepted its demand to free militant prisoners.

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GLOBAL CONCERNS: News that the US Fed pumped huge amounts of cash into the financial system only seemed to add to nervousness in Asia
US investors are girding for fresh stock market turmoil in the coming week after riding a market roller-coaster in recent days, which has shaken their confidence in the mortgage and credit markets.

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Sierra Leone voted yesterday in watershed presidential and parliamentary elections seen as a test of whether the west African nation has turned a page from its decade-long civil war.

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