AND THOSE MISSILES? : Following Chinese President Hu Jintao's statement that a UN referendum would be an act of 'secession,' Taiwan's government quickly hit back
By Ko Shu-ling
Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) said yesterday that Taiwan shares the same stance as the US in opposing changes to the "status quo" in the Taiwan Strait.

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After months of hints and false starts, screen star and Republican ex-senator Fred Thompson yesterday launched his run for president, promising to stop "another Clinton" from seizing the White House.

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By Charles Snyderand Jessie Ho
US President George W. Bush told his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) yesterday that the US did not want Taiwan's plan for a UN membership referendum "blown up too big," and that Washington would continue to "exert our good influence on the Taiwanese" to get President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) government to drop the referendum idea, the White House said.

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China and Australia upgraded their security ties yesterday, announcing annual talks on international issues and overseeing a new energy trade deal that underscores their flourishing economic relations.

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Luciano Pavarotti, whose vibrant high C's and ebullient showmanship made him one of the world's most beloved tenors, has died. He was 71.

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SAVAGE STORMS: Hurricane Felix ravaged the coast of Nicaragua where scores are still missing, while Typhoon Fitow knocked out power in homes in Japan
Desperate families searched through the night for scores of missing Nicaraguans on the Caribbean coast, where Hurricane Felix blew away villages, flooded rivers and killed at least 18 people. Two deaths in Honduras were blamed on Felix.

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