The Financial Supervisory Commission is warning the public to stay alert
against credit card fraud during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday.

Officials say scam groups often use phishing websites and fake advertisements
to steal card details and one-time passwords to make unauthorized purchases.

The commission highlighted common tactics used by scammers, including sending
text messages with suspicious links or using one-page advertisements to trick
people into entering their card numbers and expiration dates.

The FSC is reminding the public to avoid clicking unknown links, never enter
credit card information on unfamiliar websites, and check records often.

The commission says the public can call their bank or the National Police
Agency’s 165 anti-fraud hotline to verify the information and protect
property.

(NS)

An explosion and fire at a fireworks shop in eastern China has killed eight
people and left two others with minor burns.

Authorities say a resident set off fireworks improperly near the store Sunday
afternoon in a village in Jiangsu province.

Many local governments have banned fireworks in recent years.

They cite air pollution from the smoke.

Some places eased bans last year.

Nineteen-year-old figure skater Li Yu-hsiang has made history for Taiwan at
the Winter Olympics in Milan after finishing 23rd in the men's competition.

Li is the first Taiwan figure skater to qualify for and compete in the Winter
Olympics in 28 years.

He finished 23rd out of 24 in the men's singles category, with a combined
score of 214.33.

Li is also the first figure skater to have qualifies for the Winter Olympics
since David Liu in 1998.

Unlike Liu, who was born in Taiwan before moving to the United States at the
age of six and training there, Li is the first figure skater based and
trained in Taiwan to qualify for the Winter Games.

Taiwan is represented by a record 10 athletes across seven sports at the
Winter Games in Milan.

Japan has reported its economy expanded at a 0.2% annual pace in the last
quarter, with growth for 2025 at just 1.1%.

Private consumption rose at a 0.4% annualized pace in October-December, but
that was offset by a 1.1% drop in exports.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s higher tariffs on imports from Japan have
taken a toll, though the economy has been growing at a lackluster pace for
years.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to roll out policies to help revive
growth after a landslide victory in a general election earlier this month.

She has promised to spend more and to suspend Japan’s sales tax on food,
among other measures.

Thousands of demonstrators have gathered across the Czech Republic to voice
their support for President Petr Pavel in his dispute with the country's
foreign minister.

Organizers from the Million Moments for Democracy non-governmental group says
rallies took place in some 400 municipalities.

The demonstrators followed tens of thousands who rallied in Prague two weeks
ago.

Pavel's refusal to appoint a government minister representing the right-wing
Motorists for Themselves Euro-skeptic party is at the core of the dispute.

Pavel says Filip Turek was ineligible to become the environment minister
after a daily published posts from his Facebook page found to be racist,
homophobic and sexist.

Turek apologized for some posts but denied posting others.

And finally,

India and Pakistan players declined to shake hands before and after the
most-anticipated group-stage game of cricket's Twenty20 World Cup.

India won by 61 runs in Colombo to secure its place in the next stage.

The game only went ahead after Pakistan reversed a decision to boycott.

India posted 175-7 and bowled out Pakistan for 114 in 18 overs.

Despite the heavy defeat, Pakistan can still advance to the Super 8 round
from Group A.

The game was the first time the teams have met since the Asia Cup, won by
India.

Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung says China is the real threat to security and
is hypocritically claiming to uphold the United Nations' principles of peace.

The statement is in response to a comments by China's Foreign Minister Wang
Yi at the Munich Security Conference.

Wang addressing the annual security conference on Saturday ...saying some
countries were "trying to split Taiwan from China," blamed Japan for tensions
over the island and underscored the importance of upholding the United
Nations Charter.

According to Lin, China views Taiwan as its own territory, a view the
government in Taipei rejects - as only Taiwan's people can decide their
future ..

.. and Taiwan's sovereignty has never belonged to the People's Republic of
China - whether viewed from historical facts, objective reality or under
international law.

And,

Kaohsiung's Shou Shan Zoo has announced the death of one of its
longest-tenured residents -- African elephant Ali.

Ali was found dead on Saturday.

She was 52.

The zoo says although she as was relatively old, the elephant had not shown
any abnormal conditions before her sudden passing.

According to the zoo, it has asked the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital
at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology to conduct an
autopsy to determine the cause of Ali's death.

Ali joined the zoo after being transported from the U-S when she was only
five years old in 1978, the same year the zoo was founded.

Since then, Ali has been the zoo's most iconic animal and she accompanied the
zoo when it relocated to its current location in 1986.

Iranian state media says Tehran's top diplomat is traveling to Geneva where
the second round of nuclear negotiations with the U-S will take place.

The country's foreign minister and his delegation left for the Swiss city on
Sunday after the first round of indirect talks took place in Oman last week.

Oman will mediate the talks in Geneva.

The foreign minister is also expected to meet with his Swiss and Omani
counterparts, as well as the director general of the United Nations' atomic
watchdog -- the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Similar talks last year broke down after Israel launched what became a 12-day
war on Iran, that included the U-S bombing of Iranian nuclear sites.

re-Lunar New Year remarks

President Lai Ching-te says his administration will continue strengthening
national defense, advancing economic development and expanding social welfare
programs.

Lai delivered his pre-Lunar New Year remarks last night at the Xiao-Xue-shan
Radar Station in Taichung.

According to Lai, his administration will boost development across central
and southern Taiwan to achieve what he described as "his government's goal of
a balanced nation."

Lai said government will continue to advance social investment and welfare
programs to support disadvantaged groups.

He thanked troops and coast guard personnel for their "around-the-clock
efforts to protect" Taiwan ...

.. and he also expressed his appreciation to police, firefighters, healthcare
workers, customs and immigration agents and public transport workers for
"keeping society running smoothly" during the holiday.

The Freeway Bureau says overall traffic remained within expectations on
Sunday -- the second day of the Lunar New Year holiday.

According to the bureau, as of 5PM yesterday, traffic volume had reached
70.2-million vehicle-kilometers.

Total traffic for the day was projected at 102-million vehicle-kilometers.

Traffic on provincial highways was also mostly smooth Sunday and only brief
congestion reported on several sections linking to national freeways.

The Freeway Bureau is warning that heaviest southbound traffic is expected
today - Lunar New Year's Eve - particularly between 8AM and noon.

Israel is beginning a land registration process in the occupied West Bank
that critics say can shift large areas into state control.

The Cabinet has approved a decision to restart the long-frozen process, which
means Israeli authorities can declare an area up for registration.

The Peace Now settlement watchdog says the process likely amounts to a major
land grab from Palestinians.

The decision is the latest step to deepen Israeli control over the West Bank.

The proposal had been put forward by some of Israel's far-right members of
the ruling coalition.

French President Emmanuel Macron is callng for calm and restraint after an
activist died from injuries sustained during a beating.

The incident has become a political flashpoint.

The 23-year-old died on Saturday, having fallen into a coma after being
violently beaten on Thursday outside a conference given by a far-left member
of the European Parliament.

The activist had been present to help protect members of an anti-immigration
feminist association -- which was protesting against the event.

Le Monde newspaper has quoted prosecutors as saying they've opened an
investigation for aggravated manslaughter, but the perpetrators have not yet
been identified.

And finally,

LeBron James still hasn't decided whether his unprecedented 23rd N-B-A season
will be his last.

The 41-year-old has again confirmed that he's not on a farewell tour this
season with the Los Angeles Lakers - even tough he teared up during a tribute
to his career in Cleveland last month.

James is also repeating his regular declarations that he hasn't made a
decision and he is focused on the final 28 games of the regular season with
the Lakers.

James could be a free agent this summer.

James has spoken in the past about his desire to become an N-B-A owner after
his playing career, and the league could soon be exploring expansion.

Vice Premier Zheng Li-Jun says the Taiwan-U.S. Agreement on Reciprocal Trade,
or A-R-T, text includes a line on Taiwan keeping defense spending above
3-percent of GDP.

She says the clause records a policy President Lai Ching-te announced in
March last year, before the trade talks began.

Zheng spoke in Washington after Taiwan and the U.S. reached consensus and
signed the agreement after 10 months of negotiations.

Reporters asked how the clause was negotiated and whether a trade pact can
mention budget spending.

Zheng says Taiwan made the pledge on its own to show resolve to defend the
country and has submitted arms budgets to the legislature.

In Taipei, Lai says the 3-percent pledge is unrelated to the A-R-T talks and
came before the U.S. announced reciprocal tariffs.

He says Taiwan's 2026 defense budget already exceeds 3-percent of GDP, so
there should be no implementation problem.

(PB)

Some 40-percent Taiwan's mahi-mahi is exported to the Unites States, and
fishermen say the U.S. tariff on the fish will now match that of competing
countries.

This means the product will remain competitive in the U.S. market as long as
quality is maintained and government support continues.

The newly-signed Taiwan-U.S. trade deal grants exemptions for more than
2-thousand export items, and if those exemptions are applied, the average
tariff on Taiwan’s exports to America is expected to fall to 12.3 percent.



Fisheries Agency data shows that Taiwan’s average annual mahi-mahi
production between 2021 and 2023 reached 3,400 metric tons, with around 40-
percent shipped to the U.S.

Fishermen say confirmation that the U.S. tariff will be 15 percent, matching
competitors such as Ecuador, has eased concerns.

They also said long-term influence remains to be seen.

(JL)

Health officials in Miaoli County have confirmed that four pigs found dead at
a local livestock farm did not have African Swine Fever.

The deaths occurred at a farm in Houlong Township, and county officials say
test results came back negative for all major animal diseases, after a report
of the deaths caused public concern.

The county says the pigs died from stress and crowding during the process of
being loaded onto a truck for transport.

Officials also visited four nearby farms and found no other unusual deaths.

Disinfection efforts were increased throughout the surrounding area as a
precaution.

(NS)

An annual gathering of top international security figures that last year set
the tone for a growing rift between the United States and Europe is opening.

It brings together many top European officials with U.S. Secretary of State
Marco Rubio and others.

The Munich Security Conference opens Friday with a speech by German
Chancellor Friedrich Merz, one of 15 heads of state or government from EU
countries expected to attend.

The many other expected guests at the conference that runs until Sunday
include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Chinese Foreign Minister
Wang Yi.

In keeping with the conference’s tradition, there will also be a large
delegation of members of the U.S. Congress.

Preparations for the 2026 World Cup in Mexico City are cutting into the
livelihoods of sex workers and street vendors near Azteca Stadium. Workers
along Calzada de Tlalpan say city projects aimed at sprucing up ahead of the
soccer tournament have slashed their incomes. Sex workers say a new bike lane
blocks cars from pulling over and nighttime metro closures leave them
stranded. Advocacy groups say promised aid has not appeared. Vendors in
pedestrian tunnels say officials have ordered them out for renovation
projects. Many fear “social cleansing,” in which cities push informal
workers aside to impress visitors.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Montserrat Fuentes stands on the same street corner where
she has worked for 20 years. But the sex worker’s normal rush of clients
every Friday night is nowhere to be seen.

Instead, the busy Mexico City throughway where some 2,500 sex workers make
their living is lined with construction, part of larger preparations in the
Mexican capital leading up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup over the summer.

Fuentes, 42, and others say they have seen their earnings slashed by
government projects meant to clean up swathes of the city before opening its
arms to sports fans from across the world. Street vendors also say they are
being pushed out and don’t know what will be left for them after the
competition.

“What we’re seeing in Mexico is something that so much of the world has
faced when there’s an event of this scale. They always want to fix up their
city, make it look nice,” she said. “But the ones that are hurt are always
us at the bottom of the ladder.”

The soccer World Cup, which will be hosted simultaneously by Mexico, the
United States and Canada, is expected to be a $3 billion economic engine in
Mexico as visitors flood airports, hotels, restaurants and sports venues,
according to the Mexican Soccer Federation.

But in a country where more than half the workforce is informal, many
Mexicans working under precarious conditions worry they will be left behind.

Mexico City's government said it was taking actions to offset impacts to sex
workers and vendors, and has been in ongoing talks with workers.

Sex workers' earnings hit by World Cup prep

Tension started building in recent months in Mexico City, where the opening
ceremony will be hosted, as the local government rapidly renovated its iconic
Azteca Stadium, enhanced public transportation and built up public works in
historically working class neighborhoods.

Fuentes and many of the sex workers along the Calzada de Tlalpan avenue that
passes the stadium said construction of a bike lane beginning in late 2025
has cut their earnings by more than half. Large dividers block cars from
pulling to the curb to negotiate. The city later announced nighttime closures
of the metro stations running along the road for Cup construction, leaving
many women stranded.

“The only thing the government sees is how much money (the World Cup) is
going to make them,” said Elvira Madrid Romero, president of the sex worker
advocacy organization Street Brigade. “Tourists are coming to celebrate at
the expense of the poor.”

Sex work is not criminalized in Mexico, and in the capital it remains an
economic lifeline for around 15,000 people, including transgender women who
struggle to find fair pay in other sectors.

Many single mothers in Madrid's coalition worry about how they are going to
put food on the table or pay rent. Her organization has negotiated with local
authorities, which promised small monthly payments and food deliveries that
are a fraction of what the women need to get by, she said.

In September, Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada also announced 58 points along
the roadway where sex workers would be able to meet with clients.

“We want a World Cup ... with fair play and a just society," Brugada said in
September.

But women haven’t seen any such points or aid from local authorities and
refuse to be moved from the areas where they work, Madrid said.

Global sporting events carry a toll

Fuentes had to get a second job selling food in the mornings after working
all night to pay rent, leaving her exhausted. She began sex work 20 years ago
when she was displaced from selling food downtown during another government
cleanup effort.

Despite the coalition's insistence that they won't budge, Fuentes worries the
same could happen to her again, especially as she sees local authorities move
street vendors from the main thoroughfare to sleepy side streets.

“Even if we raise our voices, we can’t really do anything,” she said.
“All we can do is hope that when the World Cup ends, things go back to
normal … We don’t want to be forced to move.”

Such pushes by local governments are common ahead of global sporting events,
which often sit at the intersection of wider social and political strains and
are widely criticized by activist groups as “social cleansing.”

During the 2024 Paris Olympics, the city government rounded up African
migrants and homeless people and bused them out of the city. When Brazil
hosted the World Cup in 2014, advocacy organizations reported tens of
thousands of people were evicted from their homes.

Mexico City already is experiencing simmering tension as an influx of
foreigners, mainly from the U.S., has increasingly priced people out of some
neighborhoods. Critics say authorities have done little to offset the housing
shortage and mounting prices that come with a tourism boom once promoted by
the government.

Vendors displaced from workplaces

For others working along the avenue, like 68-year-old smoothie vendor
Esperanza Toribio Rojas, the prospect of displacement is no longer a
hypothetical. She said it's an impending inevitability hanging over her head.

Toribio is among hundreds of vendors selling food, clothes, tools and other
wares in the tunnels crossing beneath the avenue that provide access to metro
stations serving the World Cup stadium.

For decades, merchants worked in stalls offered by the local government when
the passages were rife with crime and filled with trash. Now shoppers stroll
by families sharing meals and asking the prices of hanging clothes.

“We’re the ones that gave life to this passage,” Toribio said. “Back when
there was a ton of crime, they never cared to do anything here.”

Vendors said they were surprised early last year when local officials
descended on the area and said they needed to make way for a city project
announced by the mayor in November.

The “Steps to Utopia” initiative, according to Brugada's office, will
“prepare the area” for the competition, turning the underpasses into “safe
spaces with more than 300 cultural, sports, educational, health and wellness
activities.”

Local merchants’ leader Jair Torruco said between 100 to 200 merchants were
pushed out, while around 250 others like Toribio have refused the
government's offer, which they said was not enough to support themselves.

They are still negotiating with authorities in an effort to stay in their
stalls, Torruco said.

Mexico City’s government said it has provided support to those it has
displaced, and said vendors would be able to return to their stalls later.
Toribio and others say the don't believe officials, and said they were
offered three months in a temporary space, which had to be rented, and that
those who moved to a downtown plaza have struggled to make ends meet.

Surrounded by her children and grandchildren, Toribio said she doesn't know
how she would afford to move the business that has become her life's work.

“Today the government sees this place, they see that there is life, and they
want to take it for themselves,” Toribio said. “This is our heritage.”

___

Martin Silva Rey in Mexico City contributed to this report.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Taiwan's hog farmers have said they're not concerned about tariff reductions
on U.S. pork as long as country-of-origin labeling is strictly enforced,

The R-O-C Swine Association chair Pan Lian-zhou (潘連周) is also calling for
legislation to ensure proper labeling.

According to the tariff deal that Taiwan signed with the U.S. today, tariffs
on American pork and offal will remain in place but will be reduced, with
U.S. pork granted a three-year transition period for adjustments.

Current import duties stand at 12.5 percent for chilled and frozen pork and
15 percent for pork feet and offal.

Under the new pact, pork tariffs will eventually be lowered to between 6.3
percent and 10 percent, and pork offal, to 7.5 percent.

Pan said labeling requirements should also clearly apply to processed meat
products, noting that some processors import fatty pork belly from the United
States and mix it with lean Taiwanese pork to produce processed foods, and
label the final products as from Taiwan.

He said the proportion of U.S. and Taiwanese pork used should be clearly
indicated so consumers can make informed choices.



(JL)

Weather officials say Taiwan will enjoy spring-like warmth until the day
before Lunar New Year’s Eve, followed by a wet and cool shift for the north
and east during the holiday.

The CWA says a weather front and northeast monsoon will move in, bringing
rain to the north and east on Lunar New Year’s Eve and the first day of the
Lunar New Year, with temepratures in those regiosn expected to drop by 2 to 6
degrees Celsius.

Central and southern Taiwan will remain partly cloudy to sunny, though
temperatures there will also dip slightly by 2 to 4 degrees.

Forecasters say the weather is expected to warm up again starting on the
third day of the Lunar New Year as the monsoon weakens, but the public should
be ready for large temperature swings between day and night.

(NS)

Taiwan shares are higher while other Asian markets are mostly lower after a
tech sell-off on Wall Street over investor concerns on AI disruptions.

The benchmark TaiEx ended up 532 points to close the session at
33-thousand-605

The turnover reached 674 billion NT.

Bangladesh's Nationalist Party, or BNP, won a landslide in
yesterday'sparliamentary election, with results shown today by local TV.

Local media reported the BNP-led coalition won 209 seats, giving it a
two-thirds majority in the 300-seat parliament.

The vote was the first national election since the 2024 youth-led uprising
that toppled long-time leader Sheikh Hasina.

BNP leader Tarique Rahman is the top contender to become prime minister, and
the party promised aid for poor families and anti-corruption steps.

Islamist rival Jamaat-e-Islami conceded defeat, with its alliance on 68
seats, and said it would act as "positive" opposition.

Hasina, now in self-imposed exile in India, called the election a "farce,"
while her Awami League party was barred from contesting.

Local media said turnout could top 60%, and a separate referendum on
constitutional reforms had no official result yet.

Portugal's parliament approved a bill on Thursday that would require parental
consent for 13 to 16 year olds to access social media.

The draft law is backed by the ruling Social Democratic Party, which says it
is needed to protect children from bullying, harmful content, and predators.

Parents would use a public Digital Mobile Key system to give consent, and
tech firms would have to add age checks linked to it.

The plan also aims to better enforce an existing ban on social media access
for children under 13.

The bill passed its first reading by 148 to 69, with 13 abstentions, and it
can still be changed before a final vote.

A PSD lawmaker said companies that ignore the rules could face fines of up to
2-percent of global revenue.

The government has insisted that even with tariffs on U.S.-made imported
vehicles reduced to zero, domestically made cars can still retain some
competitive advantages.

The Economy Minister estimated earlier that under the newly-signed
Taiwan-U.S. trade deal, tariff reductions on U.S. vehicles could affect
domestic automotive output by nearly 2 percent, or roughly $4 billion NT.

But Minister Gong Ming-xin said the impact should not directly undermine the
domestic car market; instead, increased imports of U.S. cars are more likely
to intensify competition with European and Japanese brands.

Under Taiwan’s current tax system, imported vehicles with engine
displacement above 2-thousand cc will still be subject to combined commodity
tax and value-added tax of some 35-percent.

Vehicles priced at $3 million NT or more will face an overall tax burden of
about 45 percent after the luxury tax is added.

Taiwan’s auto market recorded sales of 414-thousand vehicles last yar, with
Taiwan-made vehicles accounting for 51-percent, and imported vehicles , 49%.

(JL).

Following the signing of the Taiwan-U.S. Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, both
sides have reached a consensus on labor rights protections.

The Ministry of Labor said Taiwan will ban the import of products made with
forced labor and prohibit recruitment fees for migrant workers in the
manufacturing and fishing sectors within three years.

The M-O-L will also lower the threshold for workers in small and medium-sized
enterprises to form labor unions in the coming 5 years, and establish clearer
mechanisms for choosing or dissolving unions.

Regarding the opening of the automotive market, Labor officials have promised
to help local automakers lower manufacturing costs and stabilize employment
for frontline workers, and propose a $3 billion-NT dedicated fund for the
auto industry linked to labor-rights protections.

The Ministry also allocate additional funding for project-based programs to
support workers and strengthen labor-rights safeguards in the automotive
sector.

(JL)

In international news...

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says it was “sensible” for a
South Korean official to express regret for alleged civilian drone flights
over North Korea but warned of counterattacks if they recur.

The statement by Kim Yo Jong (金與正)came after South Korean Unification
Minister Chung Dong-young 鄭東泳 expressed “deep regret” over the alleged
flights.

North Korea accused South Korea of launching a surveillance drone in
September and again in January.

The South Korean government has denied operating drones at those times,
however, three civilians are being investigated over alleged flights.

Kim Yo Jong 金與正 said Chung’s comments were sensible but insufficient,
demanding stronger preventive measures from Seoul.

Thailand has begun using a birth control vaccine on elephants in the wild to
try curb a growing problem where human and animal populations encroach on
each other. They say the problem has increased as farms spread into forests
and elephants, squeezed in their natural habitat, come into contact and clash
with humans while searching for food. Official figures say wild elephants
killed 30 people last year and injured 29. Thai veterinarians tested the
vaccine on seven domesticated elephants over two years before giving shots to
three wild elephants in Trat province in late January. The vaccine blocks
pregnancy for about seven years.

In news from and about Taiwan this morning,

The Cabinet has announced that Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun has signed the
Agreement on Reciprocal Trade with the U-S.

Cheng flew to the U-S earlier this week to finalize the agreement after
preliminary consensus was reached in Washington in mid-January following a
final round of trade talks between the two sides.

The final agreement confirms a 15-per cent U-S tariff rate for imports from
Taiwan.

The deal will immediately eliminate Taiwan's tariffs of up to 26-per cent or
lowering tariffs on nearly all American goods - including beef, dairy, corn,
wheat, medical products and automobiles.

Under the terms of the deal unveiled in Washington, Taiwan has pledged to
purchase more than 44-billion U-S dollars worth of liquefied natural gas and
crude oil from America and open the island's market further to American
goods.

Taiwan is also committing to buy around 15-billion U-S dollars in American
civil aircraft and parts and invest roughly 25-billion dollars in
power-generation equipment by 2029.

U-S Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says the agreement builds on
America's longstanding economic and trade relationship with Taiwan ...

..... and will significantly enhance the resilience of supply chains,
particularly in high-tech sectors.

The Taipei District Prosecutors' Office has indicted 10 lawmakers from for
causing bodily injury and other offenses during physical altercations inside
the legislative chamber and a committee room between 2024 and 2025.

Those indicted include seven K-M-T lawmakers and three D-P-P lawmakers.

They are facing charges of causing bodily injury or of negligence leading to
injury,

Four other lawmakers named in the complaints were not charged due to
insufficient evidence.

According to prosecutors, several of the lawmakers argued that their actions
fell within the speech immunity granted to lawmakers under Constitutional
Court Interpretation No. 435 during the investigation.

However, the prosecutors' office says it decided that such deliberate
physical actions were unrelated to the exercise of official powers, and were
therefore not subject to constitutional protections.

Under the Criminal Code, causing bodily injury is punishable by up to five
years in prison, or a fine of up to 500,000 N-T, while negligence leading to
injury is punishable by a maximum of one year imprisonment or a fine of up to
100,000 N-T.

The Centers for Disease Control is reporting Taiwan's first measles case of
this year.

According to the C-D-C, the case involves an eight-month-old baby boy who
lives in northern Taiwan, who traveled with his family to Vietnam and
returned in late January.

The boy developed a fever, a persistent cough and other symptoms in early
February and was hospitalized last Friday after developing a rash.

The C-D-C says the infant's family members and 395 others suspected contacts
are now being monitored.

They will continue to be monitored until February 28.

The C-D-C has issued measles travel alerts for Vietnam, Indonesia, India,
Angora, Mexico, Yemen and Pakistan, and placed 30 other countries on its
watch list.

Health authorities are advising parents to ensure their young children
receive their measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.

President Lai Ching-te has approved a special pardon exempting a woman in her
80s, who was convicted of killing her profoundly disabled son from serving
any prison time.

Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo says Lai granted a pardon that
exempts Lin Liu Lung-tzu from serving her sentence while acknowledging her
conviction, after carefully reviewing the case and citing the enduring
circumstances she faced.

According to Kuo, Lin Liu spent more than 50 years caring for her son.

She was diagnosed with COVID-19 in April of 2023, which caused her physical
and mental health to deteriorate rapidly and felt she was unable to care for
her severely disabled son.

Police say an investigation found that the woman covered her son's mouth and
nose with tape, resulting in his death in May of 2023.

The Taipei District Court sentenced her to two years and six months in prison
on January 16 of this year.

The Presidential Office spokeswoman says the case drew significant public
attention and several legislators recommend the president consider a pardon.

disruptions

The Kaohsiung District Court has sentenced a woman to three months in prison
for using a megaphone to blast profanities at her neighbors late at night or
very early in the morning.

The court ruled that the woman set out to deliberately disturb her neighbors.

She was found guilty of frequently disturbing her neighbors on multiple
occasions between May of 2023 to February of last year.

According to the court, the woman's actions disturbed the peace and sleep of
not only residents on Mingfeng 6th Street, but also neighbors in the
surrounding area.

The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office says the woman denied any
wrongdoing during her initial interrogation and claimed the neighbors
disturbed her first.

However, she changed her plea during the trial and admitted wrongdoing.

The court found her guilty of violating the personal rights provisions of the
Criminal Code, stating that her disruptive acts infringed on the rights and
health of the community where she lived.

And finally,

The Central Weather Administration says we can expect to see slightly hot
weather across much of the island through the weekend - when daytime highs in
the west will approaching 30 degrees.

The warm conditions are forecast to persist through Sunday.

However, wetter and cooler conditions will begin to effect the island from
Lunar New Year's Eve on Monday.

That will be followed by strengthening northeasterly winds that will bring
increased moisture and a gradual drop in temperature, particularly in the
north through next Thursday.

The northeasterly wind system is forecast to weaken on February 20 and
relatively stable weather conditions are expected through February 22.

President Lai Ching-te says if China were to take Taiwan, its neighbors will
be next.

In an interview with French news agency AFP, Lai said "if Taiwan were
annexed by China, China's expansionist ambitions would not stop there" and if
Taiwan falls, it will embolden Beijing to take more aggressive action.

The president identified the next countries under threat as Japan, the
Philippines, and others in the Indo-Pacific region... with repercussions that
would eventually reach the Americas and Europe.

Lai further repeated a previous comment that Taiwan-United States relations
remain "rock solid" during the interview and said he's confident that the U-S
does not need to use Taiwan as a "bargaining chip" in talks with China.

The president also outlined his vision for the global semiconductor supply
chain ..

.. saying while production is taking place in Europe, Japan and the U-S,
where Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing operations have expanded, Taiwan
will retain its lead in the sector by keeping "the most advanced
manufacturing processes."

The Ministry of the Interior says it has requested that Taiwan People's Party
lawmaker Li Zhen-xiu submit proof that she has applied to applied to renounce
her Chinese citizenship.

The statement comes after Li claimed to have persistently traveled back to
her hometown on China to submit the application, but it had not been
accepted.

Li was sworn-in as the T-P-P lawmaker on February 3 based on the party's
two-year term.

She has been living in Taiwan for more than three decades and has a Taiwan
I-D card and passport.

Li's eligibility to assume public office has been questioned after it was
reported she didn't begin the process of renouncing her Chinese citizenship
until March of last year.

Under the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and
the Mainland Area, Chinese nationals are eligible to run for public office
after they have become a naturalized Taiwanese citizen for 10 years.

The Nationality Act further states that elected officials renounce non-R-O-C
citizenships within one year of being elected.

Taiwan's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology and American
defense company Shield A-I have signed a contract to advance the development
of AI-piloted unmanned systems.

The systems are reportedly capable of continuing operations in compromised
communications environments.

Shield AI President Brandon Tseng said the partnership will enable drones
that are produced in Taiwan to include AI pilots that will operate while
G-P-S and communications are jammed.

The Shield AI says the cooperation will cover both software development and
operational deployment... as part of the collaboration, Shield AI's Hivemind
autonomous software platform will be integrated into Taiwan's unmanned
systems.

That software platform enables drones to independently perceive their
surroundings, make decisions and carry out missions.

Shield AI last year announced a teaming agreement with Taiwan's state-backed
Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation and opened a new office at the
Taipei 101.

The High Court has overturned a lower court ruling and found two people
guilty of arranging Beijing-subsidized trips to China for local ward chiefs
and their relatives.

The court has sentenced both John Yao, a ward chief in New Taipei's Tucheng
District, and Ann Jien, the head of a New Taipei-based organization that
promotes cross-strait youth cultural and arts exchanges, to prison terms for
election bribery offenses.

The High Court sentenced Yao to two years and six months in prison and Jien
to four years and eight months.

The ruling may still be appealed.

Prosecutors say Jien accepted funding from the Nanjing Municipal Taiwan
Affairs Office in September 2023 and asked Yao to recruit five ward chiefs
and nine relatives for a group trip to China in November that year.

Prosecutors say the participants received free accommodation and meals while
in China, but were required to pay 16,500 N-T for their airfares.

The New Taipei District Court initially acquitted Yao and Jien - ruling that
there was insufficient evidence to show the trips constituted bribery aimed
at influencing voting behavior.

The Supreme Court has upheld prison sentences of more than 10 years to two
New Taipei junior high school students convicted of murder.

The identities of those involved, including the victim and the school, have
not been disclosed in accordance with the Juvenile Justice Act.

The case stem from an incident in December of 2023, when a girl reportedly
went to another classroom during the lunch break to chat but was asked to
leave by a boy.

She then called a male student she knew to confront that boy, and he fatally
stabbed the victim with a spring-loaded knife.

The New Taipei Juvenile Court found the two students guilty of murder in
September 2024,

The court citing a legal provision that allows reduced sentences for
offenders aged 14 to under 18 and sentenced the boy to nine years in prison
and the girl to eight years.

The victim's parents slammed that ruling - arguing that it overly protected
offenders.

The High Court increased the sentences to 12 years for the boy and 11 years
for the girl after prosecutors appealed the original verdict - arguing the
juvenile court failed to fully consider medical assessments, the boy's risk
of reoffending, and other relevant factors.

The Supreme Court said it found no errors in the High Court's ruling and
upheld the increased sentences.

The Taipei City Government's Environmental Protection Department says it will
schedule more inspections at a Zhongshan District stinky tofu shop that has
already been fined half-a-million N-T for odor violations.

The statement comes after a social media user claimed the smell has been
affecting her mental health.

In the Threads, the user said the smell from the Yuli Qiaotou stinky tofu
shop, near the M-R-T's Jiannan Road Station had been causing her "severe
anxiety."

The user claimed she had pulled out much of her hair due to the distress and
included photos of her mostly bald scalp and what appeared to be a pile of
lost hair and ointments prescribed by a doctor.

The city's Environmental Protection Department says it has made multiple
visits to the restaurant in response to public complaints dating back to
December 2024.

The department issued the restaurant a fine of 585,000 N-T for the severe
violation under the Air Pollution Control Act, but complaints about the
restaurant are continuing to flood social media.

And,

Award-winning cellist Fan Tsung-pei has died.

He was 65.

Fan died of a heart attack at Taipei Veterans General Hospital.

He was known as the "genius of dubbing" and earned multiple Golden Melody,
Golden Bell and Golden Horse Awards for his work in music and film.

Fan graduated from the National Taiwan Academy of Arts and served as lead
cellist of the National Concert Hall Symphony Orchestra for nine years before
leaving to focus on composing scores for TV programs and movies.

He won the Golden Horse Award for Best Original Film Score for "Super Citizen
Ko"in 1995.

The cellist also received the Golden Melody Award for Best Pop Music Playing
Album twice - for "The Sound of Amorous" 1997 and for 2004's "Crystal Boys."

European Union leaders reached a broad agreement to restructure the 27-nation
bloc’s economy as they face antagonism from the United States, China, and
Russia.

They met Thursday in a Belgian castle in a session meant to shape another
summit in late March.

German and Italian leaders are pushing deregulation, rebooted ties with
Washington and more trade deals.

France instead has led a push for “strategic autonomy” — meaning a bloc
less dependent on Washington.

Leaders sought to protect key industries and to steer defense spending toward
EU arms makers.
They indicated they would build new finance tools to shield trade and
investment.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has won a landmark parliamentary election
expected to restore political stability.

Ballots were counted through the night in the pivotal vote held on Thursday.

It was Bangladesh's first vote since the 2024 Gen Z-driven uprising that
toppled long-time premier Sheikh Hasina.

It was also the first national election to follow recent revolts led by the
under-30s that have cropped up through the wider region.

The BNP is led by top prime ministerial contender Tarique Rahman, the
60-year-old son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and former President
Ziaur Rahman.

North Korea's Kim Yo Jong warned South Korean authorities to take steps to
prevent "reoccurrence of provocative sovereignty violation,"

The comments, made by the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, were made after a
drone recently flew into its airspace.

Kim further said she appreciates the South Korean Unification Minister Chung
Dong-young's expression of his regret over the "drone intrusion" as "sensible
behavior,"

Chung earlier this week in his speech at a local cathedral expressed "deep
regret" over a drone sent by a South Korean civilian.