Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday called for less confrontation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, even as Beijing continues to send warships and fighter jets to intimidate Taiwan.“More dialogue and less confrontation; more olive branches of peace and less sour grapes of conflict.
FELINE DATABASE: The Ministry of Agriculture has announced that cat owners from Jan. 1 would have a one-year window to register their pets or face a fine
A slew of new measures are scheduled to take effect starting on Jan. 1, including expanding the Ministry of Culture’s Culture Points (文化幣) program to include people aged 13 to 15.Culture Points are a cash handout program intended to pass culture on to the next generation by encouraging young people
A powerful earthquake hit the Pacific nation of Vanuatu yesterday, smashing buildings in the capital, Port Vila, including one used by foreign embassies, with a witness telling of bodies lying in the city.The magnitude 7.3 quake struck at a depth of 57km, about 30km off the coast of Efate, Vanuatu’s
The head of the Russian army’s chemical weapons division was killed yesterday in a brazen attack in Moscow claimed by Kyiv — the most senior military figure assassinated in Russia yet as the Kremlin’s campaign in Ukraine drags on.Igor Kirillov was killed along with his assistant when an explosive de
TECH CONFERENCE: Input from industry and academic experts can contribute to future policymaking across government agencies, President William Lai said
Multifunctional service robots could be the next new area in which Taiwan could play a significant role, given its strengths in chip manufacturing and software design, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman and chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday.“In the past two months
‘BULLYING’: The DPP secretary-general said that KMT Chairman Eric Chu and Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu must take responsibility for ‘this new martial law tactic’
Scuffles broke out at the legislature yesterday between Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers ahead of an Internal Administration Committee meeting to review draft amendments to the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).At the beginning of the
The nation’s tallest peak, Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山), has witnessed the first snow of this winter, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday.The Yushan Weather Station, on the northern peak of the mountain, observed a brief snowfall between 3:05pm and 3:06pm, and again at 3:30pm, the agency
Rescuers yesterday raced against time to reach survivors after a devastating cyclone ripped through the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, destroying homes across the islands, with hundreds feared dead.Images from Mayotte, which like other French overseas territories is an integral part of Fr
A US warship docked in Cambodia yesterday, just kilometers away from a Chinese-renovated naval base, in the first US military port call to one of Beijing’s closest regional allies in eight years.Washington’s relationship with Phnom Penh has been deteriorating for years, with China pouring billions o
DIY: The domestically developed balloon network can provide telecommunication services in a disaster without having to negotiate with other countries, an official said
The nation is developing a fleet of high-altitude balloons and drones to bolster Taiwan’s communications resiliency, the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) said.The high-altitude communications balloons and drones would serve as the backbone of an Internet network under the nation’s exclusive contro
LEAP FORWARD: The new tanks are ‘decades more advanced than’ the army’s current fleet and would enable it to compete with China’s tanks, a source said
A shipment of 38 US-made M1A2T Abrams tanks — part of a military procurement package from the US — arrived at the Port of Taipei early yesterday.The vehicles are the first batch of 108 tanks and other items that then-US president Donald Trump announced for Taiwan in 2019. The Ministry of National De
Taipei’s population dropped below 2.5 million in September, with people aged 30 to 50 making up the largest group leaving the capital, Taipei City Government data showed.The number of registered residents in Taipei rebounded to 2.5 million in May last year before rising to 2.51 million in December l
South Korea’s acting president, Han Duck-soo, yesterday moved to reassure the country’s allies and calm financial markets a day after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was impeached and suspended from his duties over a martial law attempt.Han spoke with US President Joe Biden by telephone, the Wh
The five remaining members of the Australian “Bali Nine” drug ring yesterday flew home after 19 years in jail in Indonesia, ending a saga that had frayed relations between the countries.Indonesian police arrested the nine Australians in 2005, convicting them of attempting to smuggle more than 8kg of
‘LAGGING BEHIND’: The NATO secretary-general called on democratic allies to be ‘clear-eyed’ about Beijing’s military buildup, urging them to boost military spending
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte mentioning China’s bullying of Taiwan and its ambition to reshape the global order has significance during a time when authoritarian states are continuously increasing their aggression, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. In a speech at the Carneg
‘VICTORY OF THE PEOPLE’: Yoon’s future would now be determined by the Constitutional Court, whose chief justice has vowed to hold a ‘swift and fair trial’
South Korean lawmakers yesterday impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol over his failed martial law bid, with the opposition declaring a “victory of the people.”The vote capped more than a week of intense political drama in the democratic South following Yoon’s failed attempt to impose marti
A stringent law governing blanks, bullet components and the like is to take effect today as part of the government’s effort to combat gun crime.Under the amended Firearms, Ammunition and Knives Control Act (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例), ownership of bullet components is illegal, and employing such items for criminal
In its latest jab at Beijing, the US would empower companies such as Google and Microsoft to act as gatekeepers worldwide for highly sought-after access to artificial intelligence (AI) chips, two people familiar with the draft plan said.Under the scheme, to be released as soon as this month, these c
A federal appeals court on Friday left in place a mid-January deadline in a federal law requiring TikTok to be sold or face a ban in the US, rejecting a request made by the company to halt enforcement until the Supreme Court reviews its challenge of the statute.Attorneys for TikTok and its China-bas
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