LEISURE: The new law adds Confucius’ birthday, the anniversary of the Battle of Guningtou, Constitution Day and Little New Year as national holidays
The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed new legislation adding four national holidays and making Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors.The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party used their combined majority in the legislature to push the jointly proposed draft through
Pope Leo XIV urged the Catholic Church to “desperately” counter a lack of faith in his first homily as pope yesterday, a day after the modest cardinal largely unknown to the world became the first US head of the 2,000-year institution.Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost on Thursday became the 267th
A Taiwanese delegation is to depart for the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday next week, Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said yesterday. The WHA’s 78th annual assembly is to be held from May 19 to 27.Taiwan has not received an official invitation, as in
Indian and Pakistani soldiers exchanged heavy volleys of shells and gunfire across their frontier in Kashmir late on Thursday, killing at least five civilians in a growing military standoff that erupted following an attack on tourists in the India-controlled portion of the disputed region.In Pakista
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said
The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” Presiden
‘FALLACY’: Xi’s assertions that Taiwan was given to the PRC after WWII confused right and wrong, and were contrary to the facts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) claim that China historically has sovereignty over Taiwan “deceptive” and “contrary to the facts.”In an article published on Wednesday in the Russian state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Xi said that this year not only ma
Two US senators on Monday reintroduced the Taiwan Relations Reinforcement Act, which they said aims to reaffirm US policy to support Taiwan’s democracy and international engagement amid China’s increasing diplomatic and military aggression.Republican Senator John Curtis and Democratic Senator Jeff M
Thick black smoke yesterday billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in a sign that cardinals again failed to elect a new head of the Catholic Church, but they were scheduled to hold two more rounds of voting after press time last night.Among the thousands of Catholics and curious tourists ma
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies.The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has be
OCEANIA-BOUND: The new EV models are expected to become available in New Zealand and Australia from the second half of next year, Foxtron Vehicle said
Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車) yesterday said it is to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) in Taiwan for Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors Corp based on a model developed by Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co (鴻華先進), its joint venture with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密).Earlier in the day, Foxtron Vehicle signed
PLEA FOR PEACE: World leaders called for a de-escalation on the border following the clashes, in which at least 38 people were killed and three Indian fighter jets crashed
India and Pakistan yesterday exchanged heavy artillery fire along their contested frontier after New Delhi launched deadly missile strikes on its archrival, in the worst violence between the nuclear-armed neighbors in two decades.At least 38 deaths were reported, with Islamabad saying 26 civilians w
Fifty-five Taiwanese yesterday were repatriated after being involved in or were victims of scam rings in Myanmar, the National Police Agency (NPA) said.Among them, 25 are wanted by authorities in connection to separate criminal cases involving fraud, drug-related crimes, money laundering and theft,
Two proposed national referendum questions could be bundled with recall votes against legislators in one election, depending on whether certain conditions are met, Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairman Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) said yesterday.At a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration
Ukrainian drones yesterday targeted Moscow for a third day, forcing most of the Russian capital’s airports to close hours before Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) was due to fly in for a pomp-filled visit that Kyiv has made clear it opposes.Xi, whose country buys more Russian oil and gas than any o
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally
The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations.One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act,
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said that it would increase the number of reservists called up to its largest annual drills by more than 5,000, in line with its policy to boost the combat readiness of the nation’s reserve force.Last year’s Tung Hsin mobilization exercise saw the participa
The government is not engaged in currency manipulation, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) reiterated yesterday, amid speculation that the sudden appreciation of the local currency was related to pressure from the US.Speaking prior to a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan, Cho said the New Taiwan dollar
ENERGY ROAD MAP: The bloc also plans to ban spot deals by the end of this year, possibly paving the way for increased imports of LNG from the US
The European Commission next month is to propose a ban on new Russian gas deals by the end of this year, and a ban on imports under existing contracts with Moscow by the end of 2027, a draft document seen by Reuters shows.The EU in 2022 vowed to end its decades-old energy relations with former top g
Hamas yesterday dismissed as pointless ceasefire talks with Israel, accusing it of waging a “hunger war” on Gaza as famine looms and Israel prepares for a broader assault on the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. The comments from a senior Hamas official followed Israel’s approval of a military plan
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