U.S. to sell missiles to Taiwan

The United States will sell $90 million worth of anti-ship missiles to Taiwan, ending what some analysts said has been a U.S. freeze on arms sales that was designed to ease cross-Straits tension between China and Taiwan.

The U.S. Department of Defense has given the go-ahead for the purchase of 60 Harpoon Air Launch missiles made by McDonnell Douglas Corp. for delivery in 2009, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported Wednesday.

The announcement comes at a time of improved relations between China and Taiwan. Since taking office in May, Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou has pledged to improve economic and political relations with China even as he has vowed to maintain the island’s defense capabilities.

The Harpoon missile deal is in addition to a $12 billion arms package sought for Taiwan that has been stalled for years.

Havana

Jailed punk singer to stand trial

Cuba has ordered jailed punk rocker Gorki Aguila, an outspoken critic of Fidel Castro and the communist government, to stand trail on Friday for “social dangerousness,” a charge that could carry up to four years in prison.

Authorities arrested the 39-year-old lead singer of the band Porno para Ricardo at his Havana home on Monday as he was working on a new album. Cuban law defines “social dangerousness” as behavior contrary to “communist morality,” and authorities use the charge to detain offenders before they have a chance to commit a crime.

Aguila’s arrest touched off an avalanche of criticism on blogs in Cuba and the United States. Musicians on and off the island also sent e-mails decrying the case.