Director Wang Yi of China's Taiwan Affairs Council said yesterday that "mainland China is ready to sign the memorandum on cross-strait financial supervision cooperation, and therefore it's would be great if the memorandum on cross-strait financial supervision cooperation these two days."

The best and safest way for consumers who seek to protect themselves over safety concern about American beef products is to exclude U.S. products from their daily meals, according to medical experts.

Taiwan will propose holding talks under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with the United States during bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, an official said Sunday.

Nothing like a little time apart to rekindle the affections that could lead to a baby panda.

Saudi Arabian forces have taken control of a mountain straddling the border with Yemen and cleared it of Shiite rebels, in five days of fighting that saw three soldiers killed and 15 wounded, the assistant defense minister said on Sunday.

Japan's foreign minister said Sunday that no deal on relocating U.S. troops on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa can be expected during President Barack Obama's visit this week, saying the issue needs more time to resolve.

Thousands of South Korean workers rallied Sunday for a second day, demanding the government scrap plans to enforce contentious laws they say are aimed at weakening labor unions.

Britain called for consideration of a global tax on financial transactions to insure against another crisis and urged world finance officials meeting Saturday in Scotland to agree on bearing the cost of fighting climate change.

Russia could back sanctions against Iran if it fails to take a constructive stance in international talks over its nuclear program, President Dmitry Medvedev said in remarks released Saturday.

Senior Iranian lawmakers rejected on Saturday any possibility of Tehran shipping uranium abroad for further enrichment, intensifying pressures on the government to reject the U.N.-backed plan altogether.

U.S. President Barack Obama, set to undertake a visit to China this month to boost warming ties, will stay firm on the U.S. policy of supporting but not recognizing Taiwan, an aide said Friday.

Military officials were starting Friday to piece together what may have pushed an Army psychiatrist trained to help soldiers in distress to turn on his comrades in a shooting rampage that killed 13 people and wounded 30 in Texas.

The unemployment rate has surpassed 10 percent for the first time since 1983 -- and is likely to go higher.

Premier Wu Den-yih yesterday threatened legal action against a former opposition lawmaker who accused him of colluding with a gangster.

His name appears on radical Internet postings. A fellow officer says he fought his deployment to Iraq and argued with soldiers who supported U.S. wars. He required counseling as a medical student because of problems with patients.

The Council of Agriculture (COA) rejected a claim Friday that the influenza A (H1N1) virus recently detected among pigs in the eastern county of Taitung might not have been transmitted from humans.