SECRET TRAVEL? Government agencies in Taiwan and Israel had little to say about reports that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu visited Israel this month
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) secretly visited Israel, three sources familiar with the trip said, at a time when Taiwan is looking to the country for defense cooperation.Like most other countries, Israel only officially recognizes Beijing and not Taipei, and while senior Taiwa
The Ministry of the Interior has proposed amendments that would allow civil servants to visit relatives or attend funerals in China only if they are within third-degree kinship, with the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday saying that the proposed changes would help deter abuse of the regulatio
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that the US had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions mount between Washington and the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.US forces took control of the merchant ship in the Trump administration’s latest push to increase
A Myanmar military airstrike killed more than 30 people at a hospital, aid workers said yesterday, as the junta wages an offensive ahead of elections beginning this month.The junta has increased airstrikes year-on-year since the start of Myanmar’s civil war, conflict monitors say, after snatching po
AWARD CEREMONY: The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association is a defender of rights that has built a network that deserves respect, William Lai said
Taiwan has continued to take action to bolster human rights, President William Lai (賴清德) said in an address at the Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award ceremony in Taipei on Human Rights Day yesterday, adding that the need to defend freedom and democracy has never been more urgent in the face of a
COUNTERING SPIES: Personnel who meet the criteria would be eligible for loans of up to NT$1.2 million, or NT$100,000 without a guarantor, a military official said
New military hardship loans would start next month to counter Chinese espionage and fraud syndicate efforts targeting economically vulnerable military service members, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.The announcement comes on the heels of multiple legal cases involving military perso
The first deep geothermal test well in Yilan County’s Yuanshan Township (員山) has confirmed a high-potential site after temperatures of nearly 150°C were recorded at a depth of nearly 4km, Academia Sinica said yesterday.Academia Sinica and state-owned energy company CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) began dril
Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating yesterday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters.Reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, ind
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado missed yesterday’s ceremony to award her the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, the head of the Norwegian Nobel Institute said.Machado last appeared in public 11 months ago, although reports said that she was in Oslo yesterday.Machado’s daughter accepted the
STALLED BUDGETS: Opposition lawmakers again blocked the Cabinet’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion special defense budget and changes to the funding allocation act
The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved punitive sentences of up to seven years in prison for people convicted of intentionally damaging undersea cables or pipelines, while the vessels involved could be confiscated. Earlier this year, the captain of the Chinese-crewed freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58) wa
The Chien Feng IV (勁蜂, Mighty Hornet) loitering munition is on track to enter flight tests next month in connection with potential adoption by Taiwanese and US armed forces, a government source said yesterday.The kamikaze drone, which boasts a range of 1,000km, debuted at the Taipei Aerospace and De
The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved amendments raising the tax deductions for long-term care, as well as penalties for vehicle noise violations.The revisions to the Noise Control Act (噪音管制法) would increase fines for vehicles exceeding noise limits to NT$3,600 to NT$36,000 (US$115 to US$1,153), u
UNDER-16: Ten major platforms, including TikTok and YouTube, have been ordered to block access to children or face fines of up to US$33 million
Australia at midnight became the first country in the world to ban social media for children under 16, blocking them from platforms including TikTok, Alphabet’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram and Facebook.Ten of the biggest platforms were ordered to block children or be fined up to A$49.5 million (US$
Japan was yesterday assessing damage and cautioning people of potential aftershocks after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake late on Monday night caused injuries, light damage and a tsunami in Pacific coastal communities.At least 33 people were injured, one seriously, Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Ag
REQUIREMENTS: The US defense secretary must submit a Taiwan security assistance road map and an appraisal of Washington’s ability to respond to Indo-Pacific conflict
The US Congress has released a new draft of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes up to US$1 billion in funding for Taiwan-related security cooperation next year.The version published on Sunday by US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson removed earlier language that
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday decided to shelve proposed legislation that would give elected officials full control over their stipends, saying it would wait for a consensus to be reached before acting.KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) last week proposed amendments to the Organ
MORE TO IMPROVE: The nation lacked advanced AI specialists, enterprises capable of generating profit from AI and most citizens were users, not AI creators
Taiwan’s ranking in the Observer’s Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) Index rose from 21st last year to 16th this year, although its scores in talent, development and commercial ecosystem continued to lag.The Observer’s Global AI Index ranked 94 countries across innovation, investment and real-worl
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy yesterday said negotiators discussing a US-brokered peace initiative remain divided over territory as US President Donald Trump expressed disappointment in Kyiv’s handling of the deal.Elements of the plan require further discussion on a number of “sensitive is
Hong Kong’s leader yesterday said the fresh crop of lawmakers who are to take office after the “patriots only” legislative election would drive institutional reform, following the city’s deadliest fire in decades.The Chinese finance hub on Sunday held its second contest under electoral rules that Be
RSS