TOO BLUE?: Former migrant workers from five nations will not be eligible to visit Taiwan under a new visa-waiver plan. Critics blasted the program as elitist and discriminatory
By Loa Iok-sin
Labor activist groups yesterday accused the government of discriminating against blue-collar workers from South and Southeast Asian nations in a new visa-waiver program that began on Sunday.

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The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir yesterday for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

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RATE CUTS HELP: The markets for auction and second-hand property saw more buyers after the central bank cut its key interest rate to 1.25 percent last month
By Joyce Huang
The number of foreclosed properties rose to more than 12,000 units nationwide last month, more than double the monthly average of 6,000 in the first three quarters of last year, a San Sui Asset Management Corp (山水資產) executive said yesterday.

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Pakistani police detained scores of people yesterday in connection with Tuesday’s attack on Sri Lanka’s cricket team in Lahore, but said they had made no progress in tracking down the gunmen that wounded nine people and killed seven others.

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US President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged coordinated action to fight the worldwide economic crisis, joining British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s call for a global response.

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Beijing announced a double-digit rise in defense spending yesterday, but sought to soothe concerns in Asia and the US by insisting its expanding military posed no threat.

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