YEAR-END: The chief of the US-Taiwan Business Council said he was confident the deal could start moving within weeks, with a letter of acceptance inked by December
By Charles Snyder
Taiwan and the US could sign a contract for the sale of about US$11 billion in arms packages by the end of this year, breaking a hiatus on the US sale of weapons systems to Taiwan, said Rupert Hammond-Chambers, the president of the US-Taiwan Business Council.

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been trying to arrange meetings between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and senior Panamanian leaders during the president’s refueling stop in Panama en route to Paraguay next month, officials said yesterday.

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By Shih Hsiu-chuan
The government would factor in the public’s opinions when considering increases in the price of oil and the floating oil price mechanism that has been used to set the price on the first day of each month, a senior official with the Cabinet said yesterday.

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MEETING: Wu Poh-hsiung said that Cabinet officials would attend the Central Standing Committee’s Wednesday meetings to facilitate communication
By Mo Yan-chih
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) yesterday dismissed comments about the diminishing importance of the party’s Central Standing Committee, adding that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had asked Cabinet members to attend the committee’s weekly meetings to strengthen cooperation between the two sides.

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An Aboriginal lawmaker will lead a group of 102 Aboriginal performers to Beijing next week where they will wrap up the program at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games on Aug. 8, the lawmaker’s aide said yesterday.

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By Mo Yan-chih
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) urged the Cabinet yesterday to start flood prevention work immediately to guard against further flooding as another typhoon approaches.

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BORN FREE: A group of Taipei tourists and their furry friends traveled in a chartered train car to Hualien on an organized tour. The advantage? No cages required
A group of dog lovers and their pets boarded a train for Hualien yesterday on the country’s first train travel package allowing pet owners to tote their furry friends.

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FOR REAL?: The Hsinchu man was told his bank payment to a prostitute had crashed computers at the bank and even caused problems for Wall Street
A Taiwanese computer engineer was swindled out of NT$13.86 million (US$440,000) in an Internet prostitution scam, Taiwan radio said on Friday.

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By Meggie Lu
Suicide is the second most common cause of death among teenagers, the Department of Health said yesterday at a campaign activity to raise public awareness of the issue.

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By Jimmy Chuang
Yuanta Securities Corp (元大證券) chairwoman Judy Tu (杜麗莊) was released on NT$10 million (US$333,000) bail yesterday morning after being called for questioning the previous afternoon over her alleged involvement in an irregular trading case.

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A fleet of 500 “arts and culture” cabs was launched in Taipei City yesterday in a ceremony organized by the Taiwan Taxi Company and the municipal government’s Department of Cultural Affairs.

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■POLITICS
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