FIGHTING TALK: The presidential wannabes accused each other of corruption in a television showdown yesterday and both stressed their Taiwanese identities
By Ko Shu-ling and Mo Yan-chih
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidates Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) went head to head in their first pre-election televised debate yesterday. They discussed issues ranging from national identity and cross-strait affairs to the economy, environment and social welfare.

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Fighting intensified yesterday between Turkish troops and Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, amid US calls for Turkey to wrap up its military incursion in the region as swiftly as possible.

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A suicide bomber blew himself up amid a crowd of Shiite pilgrims south of Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 40 people, police and medical officials said.

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ANXIOUS WAIT: Residents of a Serb enclave in Kosovo said they feared attacks by their ethnic Albanian neighbors and felt they had been abandoned by Serbia's government
Kosovo marked its first full week of independence with prayers and protests yesterday as outraged Serbs geared up for demonstrations across Europe.

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Opponents of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo called for an inquiry yesterday into her role in a growing corruption scandal after she publicly acknowledged she allowed the signing of a major telecommunications contract after being warned of irregularities in the deal.

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By Shelley Shan
Hengchun Airport has been chosen as one of the sites for next month's Spring Scream music festival, the Pingtung County Government has announced.

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