South Korea says North Korea has fired three short-range guided missiles into its eastern waters. Pyongyang routinely test-launches such missiles.

A commuter train traveling eastbound from New York City derailed near the Connecticut suburb of Fairfield during the evening rush hour on Friday and collided with a westbound commuter train, injuring up to 60 people, three critically, officials said.

A delegation currently in Manila to investigate the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by a Philippine state vessel is expected to return to Taiwan soon, a diplomatic source said yesterday.

President Ma Ying-jeou said yesterday that a Philippine government vessel's use of automatic weapons to strafe an unarmed and unprovocative fishing boat was "cold-blooded murder."

The United States reiterated its call Thursday for Taipei and Manila to work out a resolution to their row over the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by the Philippines on May 9.

The Philippine envoy to Taiwan on Friday advised thousands of Filipino workers in Taiwan to eat at home and avoid the streets while emotions run high on the island over the shooting death of a fisherman by the Philippine coast guard.

U.S. consumer sentiment rebounded in early May to the highest level in nearly six years, an encouraging sign after recent data that has suggested economic growth is cooling.

A map of China made from more than 1,800 cans of baby formula created by dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei went on show in Hong Kong Friday, reflecting the controversy over mainland demand for milk powder.

President Barack Obama said on Thursday he reserved the right to resort to both diplomatic and military options to pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but insisted that U.S. action alone would not be enough to resolve the Syrian crisis.

Taiwan's military and the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday held a joint exercise in overlapping waters with the Philippines in the South China Sea amid escalating tensions between the countries after the shooting and killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by the Philippine coast guard last week.

Bombs tore through markets in Baghdad and a suicide attacker blew himself up in a mosque in northern Iraq in violence across the country on Thursday that killed at least 25 people and extended a surge in sectarian-tinged bloodshed.

Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) yesterday warned that further sanctions may be imposed against the Philippines.

Manila said it had "gone the extra mile" to appease Taipei and expressed concern that its special envoy sent to the island had been rebuffed.

Shares in Taiwan closed higher on expanded turnover yesterday as investors had high hopes that the government will revise the capital gains tax on stock investments by exempting retailer investors from the levy, dealers said.