The United States will uphold its commitment to Taiwan by resuming arms sales, a top U.S. diplomat said yesterday, adding that the number of Chinese missiles aimed at the island has increased.

Taiwan's unemployment rate took a dip last month from a record high as expected by labor affairs officials as employers hired more people while the economy is gradually recovering from recession.

Export orders received by Taiwan's manufacturers and traders in October hit a 12-month high of US$31.75 billion, representing an annual growth of 4.41 percent, for the first positive growth of its kind seen since the outbreak of the global financial tsunami in September of last year, according to statistics released yesterday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

Environmental Protection Administration (EPA)'s dioxin probe in Daliao Township of Kaohsiung County yesterday revealed that two landfill sites contain heavy metals.

The Central Whether Bureau (CWB) forecasted yesterday that the northeast monsoon will bring showers to the north and the northeast region from now through Wednesday, with clear to cloudy sky expected over the rest of the island.

Lawmakers of both the ruling Kuomintang and opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday firmly maintained their opposition to the government's investing in the Taiwan Innovation Memory Co.

The government plans to chart the boundaries of the territorial waters surrounding the outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu within one year, a senior official said yesterday.

The Cabinet-level Council for Hakka Affairs (CHA) announced yesterday that in an effort to promote the Hakka dialect, the government will from January offer grants for junior high school and elementary students who pass a Hakka dialect examination.

Vice Premier Eric Chu said yesterday that Taiwan should take advantage of its geographic location to promote Chinese culture and of its strength in information and communication technology (ICT) to usher in a new 3C era.

Two Taiwanese fishing vessels that have been detained by Myanmar naval authorities since last week should have arrived at the port of Yangon yesterday, according to a Council of Agriculture (COA) official.