NEW MANEUVERS: The president's invitation to Hu Jintao was to witness Taiwan's free, democratic lifestyle, but an official's response was not gushing
By Jimmy Chuang
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday invited Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) to visit Taiwan to experience democracy and freedom and to see "if Taiwan is a country with independent sovereignty."

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By Jewel Huang and Joy Su
Anxious to avoid a repeat of last week's turmoil at CKS International Airport, police last night deployed 3,000 officers in a successful bid to prevent protesters from occupying the airport as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) returned from China.

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Animal-rights groups yesterday protested against China's plan to send two giant pandas to Taiwan, saying the endangered animals should remain in their natural habitat.

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MILESTONE: After weeks of bickering over who would get what post, the government was finally sworn in, but there was no sign that insurgents would let up on their attacks
Shiite Arab leader Ibrahim al-Jaafari was sworn in as prime minister as Iraq's first democratically elected government took office Tuesday.

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US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues are being buffeted by strong economic crosscurrents -- rising inflation pressures on the one hand and a sudden slowing in economic growth on the other.

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