■ US economy
Factory orders decline
US factory orders dropped 1.5 percent in February, the most in five months, adding to evidence the approach of the Iraq war took a toll on manufacturing and the economy. The decrease, reflecting less demand for commercial aircraft, computers and chemicals, followed a 1.7 percent gain in January, the Commerce Department said. Excluding transportation, orders fell 2 percent, the largest drop in a year. Bookings for defense goods surged 27.1 percent, the third rise in four months. The drop in orders caused manufacturing to contract last month for the first time since October. Companies are trimming orders and factories are reducing production because consumer purchases, which account for two-thirds of the economy, stalled in January and February. "There was a wait-and-see mentality among businesses" as the war approached, said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh.
■ Rice exports
Thailand wins UN order
A major Thai rice exporter has won a contract to supply the UN World Food Program (WFP) with 14,000 tonnes of 100 percent grade B rice as food aid to Iraq, traders said yesterday. The rice would be shipped this month, they said. Thailand is the world's top rice exporter. WFP would nominate a vessel, due to arrive in Thailand next week, traders said. They said WFP had also bought 42,000 tonnes of rice from Pakistan as food aid to Iraq. Thai 100 percent grade B was offered steady yesterday at around US$198 per tonne FOB. Earlier this week, a WFP official told Reuters in Rome that the world's largest food aid agency had bought a total of 84,000 tonnes of rice from Asia in its biggest single purchase in the past 10 years for a humanitarian operation. Traders in Vietnam said earlier that the UN food agency had bought a total of 28,000 tonnes of Vietnamese 5 percent broken rice as food aid to Iraq.
■ WTO
New trade deal developed
Leading officials involved in troubled global trade talks said on Wednesday progressed toward a new international pact that could help ease any economic fall-out from the US-led war in Iraq. WTO chief Supachai Panitchpakdi and officials from rich and poorer countries agreed that extra efforts were vital to get negotiations back on track and secure a deal on schedule by the end of next year. "At a time of growing global economic uncertainty, progress in the Doha Round towards its timely conclusion can make a much needed contribution to confidence," Supachai said. The Doha Road talks, named after Qatar's capital where they were launched in November 2001, struck a major hitch this week over the pivotal and highly political issue of agricultural reform.
■ Internet
Contact sites flourish
Online personal contact sites are booming. There are contact sites for everybody, regardless of age -- for juveniles, students, working people, old people. The collection of chatrooms, dating sites or online partner services offer a highly promising scene. Michaela Unfried, a psychologist, says that the level of inhibition online is much lower because of the anonymity. "People become closer much more quickly." The crunch is the first personal meeting. This is when the effect can be sobering.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday declared emergency martial law, accusing the opposition of being “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” amid parliamentary wrangling over a budget bill. “To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness, I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address to the nation. “With no regard for the livelihoods of the people, the opposition party has paralysed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice,” he
‘IMPORTANCE OF PEACE’: President Lai was welcomed by AIT Managing Director Ingrid Larson, Hawaii Governor Josh Green, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and others President William Lai (賴清德) was feted with red carpets, garlands of flowers and “alohas” as he began his two-day stopover in Hawaii on Saturday, part of a Pacific tour. Looking relaxed in a Hawaiian shirt, Lai flitted around the US island state, visiting the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Hawaii’s leading museum of natural history and native Hawaiian culture, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. Lai was given the “red carpet treatment” on the tarmac of Honolulu’s international airport, his office said, adding that it was the first time a Taiwanese president had been given such
REGIONAL STABILITY: The arms sale to Taiwan is the 18th approved by US President Joe Biden’s administration and the sixth since William Lai was elected president on Jan. 13 The US government on Friday announced arms sales involving spare parts and support for F-16 fighter aircraft and follow-up support for Improved Mobile Subscriber Equipment (IMSE), at a total cost of US$387 million. It is the 18th arms sale approved by US President Joe Biden’s administration to Taiwan and the sixth since the nation’s presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 13. The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said it delivered the required certification notifying the US Congress of the latest arms sale on Friday. The proposed arms sale is consistent with US law and policy as expressed in Public Law
The Mainland Affairs Council and lawmakers yesterday accused a visiting Chinese university student of denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty by referring to the national baseball team that won a first-ever Premier12 title as “China, Taipei team” (中國台北隊). “We deeply regret the Chinese student’s words, that have hurt the feelings of Taiwanese... The Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, as the organizers, should remind group members not to use inappropriate words and behavior,” a council statement said. “We hope these young Chinese can accurately observe the true views of Taiwanese, which would be a positive development for interactions between young people on the two sides of the Taiwan
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