Rondale Moore, NFL wide receiver found dead at 25AP, NEW ALBANY, IndianaRondale Moore, an NFL receiver who had season-ending training camp knee injuries in each of the past two years after a standout college career at Purdue University and a promising start with the Arizona Cardinals, was found dead on Saturday, authorities said. Moore was found dead in the garage of a property in his hometown of New Albany, Indiana, police Chief Todd Bailey said, adding that the death remains under investigation. Rondale Moore poses in his Minnesota Vikings uniform in a photograph released by the NFL team last year. Photo: APFloyd County Coroner Matthew Tomlin also confirmed Moore’s death and that an autopsy would be conducted. After being traded to the Atlanta Falcons in 2024, Moore dislocated his right knee during training camp and never played for them.

Microsoft names AI executive Sharma to lead XboxBloombergMicrosoft Corp named artificial intelligence (AI) executive Asha Sharma to lead its Xbox and gaming business, replacing Phil Spencer, as the company vowed to recommit to console users after years of developing products for mobile and PC players. Spencer, who has run the Xbox business since 2014 and was named gaming CEO in 2022 is retiring, the company said. Xbox president Sarah Bond would also leave, while Xbox Games Studios head Matt Booty would become chief content officer, reporting to Sharma. Photo: AFPSharma, who previously held roles at Instacart and Meta Platforms Inc, was chosen for her consumer expertise and would serve as the chief executive officer of gaming, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wrote in a blog post on Friday. Meanwhile, the mobile gaming market slowed and Microsoft’s plans there have lagged.

Commission amends dual citizenship rulesBy Chen Yu-fu and Esme Yeh / Staff reportersThe Central Election Commission has amended election and recall regulations to require elected office candidates to provide proof that they have no Chinese citizenship, a Cabinet report said. The revision requires Chinese citizens applying for permanent residency to submit notarial documents showing that they have lost their Chinese household record and have renounced — or have never possessed — their Chinese passport, thereby preventing dual citizenship, the report said. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Li Zhenxiu holds up an application to renounce her Chinese citizenship in Taipei on Feb. 3. In related news, an official said supporting documents presented by Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Li Zhenxiu (李貞秀) to prove her renouncement of Chinese citizenship are suspicious. The official said that it is weird that Li said in her supporting documents that she had her Chinese citizenship revoked after marrying into a Taiwanese family on April 26, 1993.

Pakistan carries out airstrikes in AfghanistanReuters, KARACHI, AfghanistanPakistan said it launched strikes on militant targets in Afghanistan after blaming recent suicide bombings, including assaults during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, on fighters it said were operating from its neighbor’s territory. Men search for victims in Afghanistan’s Girdi Kas village yesterday after an overnight Pakistani airstrike hit a residential area. It said in a statement that it had “conclusive evidence” the attacks were carried out by “Khwarij,” employing a term referring to the Pakistani Taliban. Kabul has repeatedly denied allowing militants to use Afghan territory to stage attacks in Pakistan. Clashes in October last year killed dozens before a fragile ceasefire was agreed, but Pakistan continues to accuse Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers of harboring militants who stage attacks inside its territory — a claim Kabul denies.

Hon Hai, HCL break ground on NT$13.1 billion chip plant in IndiaStaff writer, with CNAHon Hai Technology Group (鴻海科技集團) and India-based HCL Group held a groundbreaking ceremony for their joint-venture semiconductor facility in India on Saturday. Indian and Taiwanese representatives symbolically break ground for a joint semiconductor facility by Hon Hai Technology Group and HCL Group in India on Saturday. India will only be developed when it is self-reliant, Modi said in emphasizing the importance of manufacturing chips domestically. “This joint venture is a great example of how we build, operate and localise in India,” Liu was quoted as saying at the ceremony by Hindustan Times. The joint venture is the sixth factory approved under the India Semiconductor Mission, as Modi has prioritized India’s chip self-reliance to strengthen India’s role as a global electronic manufacturer.

Review status of relatives of opposition: ex-MarineDEFENSE: The US should cancel the US visas or green cards of relatives of KMT and TPP lawmakers who have been blocking the budget, Grant Newsham said A retired US Marine Corps officer has suggested canceling the US green cards and visas of relatives of opposition Taiwanese lawmakers who have been stalling the review of a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget. The Executive Yuan has proposed the budget for major weapons purchases over eight years, from this year to 2033. However, opposition lawmakers have refused to review the proposal, demanding that President William Lai (賴清德) first appear before the Legislative Yuan to answer questions about the proposed budget. On Thursday last week, 37 bipartisan US lawmakers sent a letter to Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the headsBy Sam Garcia

China must not influence legislatureBy Yeh Yu-cheng 葉昱呈Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Deputy Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) earlier this month led a delegation to Beijing to attend a think tank forum between the KMT and Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Given that CCP authorities have publicly denied the existence of the Republic of China and have even threatened to “punish independence,” the KMT-CCP forum far exceeded the bounds of academic exchange, instead becoming part of a specific political agenda. The issue is not in the cross-strait exchanges themselves, but whether such exchanges form a predictable political link with legislative behavior. On the other hand, it has put forward 15 “joint proposals” with Beijing following the KMT-CCP forum. Society is well within its rights to reasonably question whether this is merely a prelude to a broader policy shift.

Lagarde has not decided on term end, ECB saysEuropean Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde is expected to step down from her role before her eight-year term ends in October next year, the Financial Times reported. Lagarde wants to leave before the French presidential election in April next year, which would allow French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to find her replacement together, the report said, citing an unidentified person familiar with her thoughts on the matter. It is not clear yet when she might exit, the report said. “President Lagarde is totally focused on her mission and has not taken any decision regarding the end of

US tariffs closely monitored, Lai saysCHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: The government has a full grasp of the latest developments and is prepared for a turbulent global trade environment, Lai saidBy Fion Khan / Staff writer, with CNAPresident William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said the government is closely monitoring the follow-up measures of the White House amid tariff shifts, adding that Taipei is in close contact with the US to ensure Taiwan’s most-favorable treatment would not be compromised. Premier Cho Jung-tai, third left, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun, center, and members of Taiwan’s US tariffs negotiation team hold a meeting in Taipei on Saturday night. The negotiation team has brought fruitful results after two phases of negotiations with the US, laying a beneficial foundation in dealing with the new situation, he said. Facing a dynamic global trade situation amid US tariff changes, the government has to monitor changes, safeguard achievements and respond prudently, he said. The most-favored nation status secured by the negotiation team under Section 232 would not be affected by the US Supreme Court’s ruling, she said.

India’s AI build-out a reference for Taiwan’s approachTAKING A CUE: Looking at India’s approach to their vest web of languages, experts say that could be a useful reference as Taiwan develops its own local AIStaff writer, with CNATaiwanese experts attending the 4th artificial intelligence (AI) Impact Summit in New Delhi said they were struck by India’s development of AI models capable of handling dozens of dialects, and described India’s approach as a valuable reference for Taiwan’s own “sovereign AI” efforts. Taiwan AI Center of Excellence vice chair Liu Ching-yi poses for a photo at the 4th AI Impact Summit in India on Saturday. “Taiwan should also think about how to make good use of its advantages in chips to gain more of a say in international AI cooperation and competition,” she added. Taiwan AI Academy CEO Chen Ling-jyh (陳伶志) said that AI could be used to “develop some government services,” since Mandarin, Hakka and Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), as well as indigenous languages, are all spoken in Taiwan. Hsia Yun (夏耘), a researcher at Taiwan’s National Institute of Cyber Security’s Center of International Collaboration and Cybersecurity Governance, said that “international cooperation is continuing” in the fields of AI safety and governance.

Australian frigate transits Taiwan Strait unimpededCLOSELY MONITORED: The guided missile frigate made the transit without incident, but Chinese state media claimed PLA forces had watched its sailing closelyStaff writer, with ReutersAn Australian warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait, an Australian government source said yesterday, in the latest transit of the sensitive sea lane by a US ally, which Chinese state-backed media said was tracked and monitored by the Chinese military. Beijing views the narrow, highly strategic strait as Chinese territorial waters and has responded aggressively on occasion to foreign navies sailing there. The HMAS Toowoomba an Anzac-class frigate, “conducted a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait on Friday and Saturday as part of a Regional Presence Deployment in the Indo-Pacific region,” the source said. Royal Australian Navy vessel HMAS Toowoomba is shown at Changi Naval Base during a maritime defence exhibition in Singapore on May 4, 2023. The Ministry of National Defense said in a statement yesterday that it closely monitors the skies and waters around Taiwan and that the Taiwan Strait is an international waterway for which all countries enjoy the right of freedom of navigation.

Tortoises released onto island again after 150 yearsAP, FLOREANA ISLAND, ECUADORAbout 150 years after the last giant tortoises were removed from Floreana Island in Ecuador’s Galapagos archipelago, the species made a comeback Friday, when dozens of juvenile hybrids were released to begin restoring the island’s depleted ecosystem. Residents of Floreana watch as Galapagos National Park rangers present juvenile giant tortoises to be released as part of a project to reintroduce the Floreana giant tortoise to its native island in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, on Thursday. The lineage of these hybrids traces back to Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island — an adjacent island — a discovery that still puzzles scientists today. “We are seeing the reality of a project that began several years ago,” she said, adding that the community feels immense pride in the return of the giant tortoises. The UN designated the Galapagos Islands as a Natural World Heritage Site in 1978.

Budapest pizzeria offers ancient Rome-inspired pieAP, BUDAPESTIn Hungary’s capital, a city best known for its goulash, a pizzeria is inviting diners to travel back two millennia to a time before tomatoes, mozzarella or even the word “pizza” were known in Europe. At Neverland Pizzeria in central Budapest, founder Josep Zara and his team have created a limited-edition pie using only ingredients that would have been available in ancient Rome, long before what we know today as pizza ever existed. However, Romans did eat oven-baked flatbreads topped with herbs, cheeses and sauces, the direct ancestors of modern pizza, which were often sold in ancient Roman snack bars called thermopolia. “We sat down to imagine what we might be able to make using these ingredients, and without using things like tomatoes and mozzarella,” Zara said. “Our creation can be called a modern pizza from the perspective that we tried to make it comprehensible for everyone,” Bardossy said.

Another two people were killed by an Israeli strike on a Palestinian refugee camp earlier in the day. A building heavily damaged by Israeli strikes is pictured Ali al-Nahri, Lebanon, yesterday. Earlier the same day, another Israeli strike had hit a Palestinian refugee camp in the port city of Sidon, killing two people. Since then, Israel has accused Hezbollah of trying to rebuild and has carried out near-daily strikes in Lebanon that it says target Hezbollah militants and facilities. During last year’s Israel-Iran war, Hezbollah remained on the sidelines, but many in Lebanon fear that the country would be pulled in should another war break out.

Healthcare at the brink of collapse: Cuban minister‘AN ENERGY SIEGE’: Cubans have been effectively cut off from high levels of care, and medication supply and treatments have been impacted as the energy crisis continuesAP, HAVANACuba’s debilitated healthcare system has been pushed to the brink of collapse by the US blockading the country’s oil supply, a Cuban official said on Friday. Flights bringing vital supplies have been suspended, as the Cuban government said it is unable to refuel airplanes in its airports. Photo: APUS sanctions are no longer just crippling the island’s economy, they are threatening “basic human safety,” Cuban Minister of Public Health Jose Angel Portal Miranda said. Cuba’s healthcare system has been in crisis in recent years. “We are facing an energy siege with direct implications for the lives of Cubans, for the lives of Cuban families,” Portal said.