New York Yankees pitcher Wang Chien-ming said yesterday he prefers to stay in the Yankees next season unless he is forced to make another choice.

The chairwoman of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) expressed optimism Thursday about the party's chances in the upcoming Dec. 5 three-in-one local elections, saying that the DPP is expected to retain its grip on the counties of Yunlin, Chiayi and Pingtung.

Confronted with an ever-growing pile of old newspapers, Taiwanese fashion designer Colin Lin came up with the idea of using them to make shoes and tote bags for her environmentally friendly footwear company.

Ruling Kuomintang Vice Chairman John Chiang met Thursday in the Chinese city of Xian with a Chinese elementary school girl who sent 20 Chinese yuan (NT$96) to help people in southern Taiwan who were affected by Typhoon Morakot in early August, a news agency in China reported that day.

Taiwan-based fabless chip vendor MediaTek Inc. announced Friday that it had reached a deal with U.S.-based Qualcomm Inc. under which the two companies will allow each other to utilize technology covered by their respective patent portfolios.

In a move to contribute to global wildlife conservation, Taiwan has again donated funds to Bird Life International (BLI) , a London-based organization working to protect the world's birds.

The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) announced Friday that the exhibition "Picturing America" will be shown throughout Taiwan to give local residents an understanding of American history and help them appreciate the depth and breadth of America's cultural landscape.

The National Police Agency (NPA) kicked off early this morning a large-scale drug crackdown campaign in line with the official implementation of a set of amendments to the Narcotics Endangerment Prevention Act, which will start to impose criminal punishment on those who take or hold less than 20 grams of Ketamine.

A Canadian man was arrested yesterday for drug-trafficking and growing marijuana in his residence in Taichung.

President Ma Ying-jeou said yesterday that the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) won't be put into practice if the contents of the pact fails to clear the legislative floor.