China ignoring player’s human rights, coach saysReuters, BEIJINGThe coach of the Finnish men’s ice hockey team yesterday accused China of not respecting a player’s human rights, saying that Marko Anttila was being kept in COVID-19 isolation for no reason. Finland head coach Jukka Jalonen made the remark shortly after Germany said it was satisfied with a swift improvement of isolation conditions for their three athletes who tested positive for COVID-19 and are in quarantine. When Anttila arrived in China he tested positive and was immediately taken to an isolation hotel. “We know that he’s fully healthy and ready to go and that’s why we think that China, for some reason, they won’t respect his human rights and that’s not a great situation,” Jalonen said. “These isolation decisions are not based on medicine or science, it’s more cultural and political decisions,” Voltonen said.

US House backs sweeping China competition billReuters, WASHINGTONThe US House of Representatives on Friday narrowly passed a multibillion-dollar bill aimed at increasing US competitiveness with China and boosting domestic semiconductor manufacturing, despite Republican opposition. The House bill authorizes almost US$300 billion for research and development, including US$52 billion to subsidize semiconductor manufacturing and research into the key components. The House bill also includes some pro-Taiwan provisions previously initiated by lawmakers. These include the draft “Taiwan Fellowship Act,” “Taiwan Diplomatic Review Act,” “Taiwan Peace and Stability Act” and “Taiwan International Solidarity Act,” as well as the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act. The ministry said it would monitor the follow-up review of the House bill and maintain close contact with friends in Congress to deepen the close partnership between the two countries.

Australia’s cricket coach delivers shock resignationAFP, SYDNEYAustralian men’s cricket coach Justin Langer yesterday announced his abrupt departure, just weeks after his side trounced archrivals England in a lopsided Ashes series and months after they won the T20 World Cup. Australia’s cricket coach Justin Langer speaks to reporters in the Albion suburb of Brisbane, Australia, on May 3, 2019. Sports management company DSEG announced Langer’s departure in a terse statement saying: “Our client Justin Langer has this morning tendered his resignation as coach of the Australian men’s cricket team.”“The resignation follows a meeting with Cricket Australia last evening. Langer took the job in 2018, with Australian cricket at its lowest ebb for decades in the wake of the sandpaper-gate cheating affair that shocked the country. Langer was part of a golden era for Australian cricket, with greats such as Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath and Ponting in the all-conquering team.

Village in India banking on tree mortgagesBy K. Rajendran / Thomson Reuters Foundation, WAYANAD DISTRICT, IndiaP. K. Madhavan stood proudly next to a young, sturdy mahogany tree, one of 100 he planted three years ago on his farm in Wayanad District in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Tea grows in a forest in Wayanad District, India, on Sept. 17 last year. Photo: AFPThe 84-year-old farmer is being paid to plant and protect trees through a “tree banking” scheme, the project at the heart of Meenangadi’s campaign to become India’s first carbon-neutral village. Wayanad District is suffering more than most, with the Kerala State Action Plan on Climate Change naming it as one of the state’s four hotspots. Vinayan, president of the village council.

Flight ordered for team in IndiaPLAYERS TEST POSITIVE: Despite fears of the women’s team not being able to compete in the FIFA finals, the game will proceed, with a private flight after the final matchBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterFour members of the national women’s soccer team no longer had COVID-19 symptoms yesterday, while three only had mild symptoms, but top government officials have ordered a chartered flight to bring them back from India. Members of the Taiwan women’s soccer team celebrate beating Thailand at the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Asian Cup in Navi Mumbai, India, on Friday. Photo courtesy of the Chinese Taipei Football AssociationThe crucial playoff match takes place at 3:30pm Taiwan time, and is to be broadcast by Elta Sports and Public Television Service’s Channel 3, soccer officials have said. On Friday, it was reported that seven team members had tested positive for COVID-19, after undergoing a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. “Taiwan’s women’s team battled hard to win 3-0 against Thailand on Friday, despite being short seven players...

S Korea inflation pressuring BOKBloombergSouth Korean consumer prices stayed well above the Bank of Korea’s (BOK) target last month, data released yesterday showed, keeping the pressure on policymakers to continue tightening as central banks move to tamp down inflation. Consumer prices rose 3.6 percent from a year earlier, edging down from a 3.7 percent gain in December last year, according to BOK data, which ran hotter than economists had expected. An employee works on the production line manufacturing Hyundai Motor Co Ioniq 5 electric vehicles at the company’s plant in Ulsan, South Korea, on Jan. 20. “This doesn’t mean the BOK will hike its rate again this month, after having moved in January,” strategist Roh Hyun-woo at Hanwha Asset Management said of Korea’s inflation figures. Food and beverage prices increased 5.5 percent from a year earlier, while utility costs rose 3.3 percent.

India turns down Tesla Inc demand for EV tax breakBloombergIndia turned down a demand of Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc for tax breaks to import electric vehicles (EVs), saying that rules already allow bringing in partially built vehicles and assembling them locally at a lower levy. Tesla has yet to present a plan for local manufacturing and procurement from India, even after the government asked for it, Johri said. India has asked Tesla to consider importing so-called knocked-down units or partially built vehicles, which attract a lower import levy, instead of fully built units. Tesla should follow the lead of domestic companies such as Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd, which are investing in building local capacity for electric vehicles, Johri said. “There are others importing completely built units.

Meta’s stock information is displayed on a screen at the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York on Thursday. There is “continued concern that Facebook’s past challenges will follow Meta into the metaverse,” Forrester Research research director Mike Proulx said. App analytics company SensorTower said that 86 apps added “metaverse” to their title or description from November last year through last month. Stifel analyst Mark Kelley sought to calm investors, saying that Zuckerberg outlined not one, but seven investment priorities for the company this year. Kelley said he does not think that Meta’s initial goal of reaching 1 billion metaverse users is a stretch — and importantly, he believes only 40 percent would be gamers, signaling its broader appeal.

Shell boosts share buyback as oil, gas prices bolster profitBloombergShell PLC expanded its share buybacks after reporting profit that comfortably exceeded analyst estimates on the back of surging energy prices. The positive fourth-quarter earnings cap a tumultuous year in which Shell was targeted by activist investor Dan Loeb, relocated its headquarters to London and dropped “Royal Dutch” from its name. Yet the company has also been buoyed by surging oil and gas prices, causing the biggest annual share-price gain in five years. “Today we are stepping up our distributions with the announcement of an US$8.5 billion share buyback program.”Ever since Shell slashed its dividend in 2020 during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Van Beurden has been seeking to lure back investors by improving returns. The company had already pledged to give back to investors US$5.5 billion of the cash proceeds from the sale of its Permian-basin oil assets.

Man proposes after winning NT$1 million in lotteryStaff writer, with CNAA man proposed to his girlfriend immediately after winning NT$1 million (US$35,935) from a lottery scratch card following a visit to an Earth God (土地公) temple in New Taipei City during the Lunar New Year holiday, the lottery shop in Jhonghe District (中和) said yesterday. After winning, the man thanked the local deity for “sponsoring” his forthcoming wedding, the owner said. The couple, who are in their 30s, could not at first believe they had won the Taiwan Lottery Co scratchcard lottery, which has been running since Jan. 4 and has a top prize of NT$20 million, the owner said. They left the shop in disbelief and returned a few hours later to ask the shop owner to help them confirm it. To celebrate the Lunar Year of the Tiger, Taiwan Lottery Co added NT$880 million in prize money to the jackpots of several lotteries.

Alphabet nearly doubles annual profitGOOGLE PARENT: CEO Sundar Pichai ascribed the success to growth in advertising, its cloud business and sales of Pixel phones, despite supply constraintsAFP, SAN FRANCISCOGoogle’s parent firm, Alphabet Inc, announced quarterly profits on Tuesday that beat expectations and nearly doubled last year — after a booming holiday season for the online ads giant facing anti-trust regulation scrutiny. Photo: BloombergAlphabet CEO Sundar Pichai cited “strong growth in our advertising business ... a quarterly sales record for our Pixel phones despite supply constraints, and our cloud business continuing to grow strongly” for the success. Alphabet said its board had approved a 20-to-1 stock split that would make shares more affordable to small investors. “In the fourth quarter, retail was again by far the largest contributor to year-on-year growth of our ads business,” Alphabet CBO Philipp Schindler told analysts. The stock was up nearly 9 percent in after-market trades Tuesday at 10:40pm GMT to US$2,990.

Putin hopeful of deal with US on security tensionsBloombergRussian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday lambasted the US and its allies for “deceiving” Russia over the expansion of NATO, but suggested further talks might yield a resolution that address Moscow’s security concerns. “I hope that dialogue will continue,” Putin said in his first detailed public comments since December on the tensions. To help address Russian concerns, Washington has offered to discuss limits on missile deployments and military maneuvers in Europe. In his comments, Putin repeated accusations that NATO reneged on assurances made in the early 1990s that the alliance would not expand in the east. Putin accused the US of using Ukraine as a tool to “contain” Russia.

Japanese resolution voices concern on China rights issuesAFP and Reuters, TOKYOThe Japanese parliament yesterday passed a rare resolution expressing concern about rights issues in China, including the treatment of its Uighur Muslim population and Hong Kong, ahead of the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics. “Human rights issues cannot just be domestic issues, because human rights hold universal values and are a rightful matter of concern for the international community,” the resolution said. Lawmakers stand up to show their support as the lower house of parliament adopts a resolution on human rights in China in Tokyo yesterday. The resolution also calls on the Japanese government to engage constructively on rights issues in China. Japan in December said it would not send government representatives to the Beijing Olympics as it called on China to respect human rights and the rule of law.

Del Potro to return after 30-month injury absenceAFP, BUENOS AIRESFormer US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro is to return to competitive tennis after two-and-a-half years of injury at next week’s Argentina Open in Buenos Aires. Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro returns to Denis Shapovalov of Canada in their Queen’s Club Championships match in London on June 19, 2019. Photo: ReutersBoth the Argentina Open and the Rio Open, which takes place a week later, announced Del Potro had been given wild cards to compete in the clay-court events. The US Open champion at 20 in 2009, Del Potro won the last of his 22 ATP Tour titles in Indian Wells, California, in 2018. Photo: AFPHe last played the Argentina Open as a 17-year-old in 2006, losing in the first round to former world No.

Lithuanian rum sells out in less than one hour: TTLStaff writer, with CNAA batch of 1,200 bottles of dark rum from Lithuania was fully sold out less than one hour after hitting the shelves of state-run Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp (TTL, 台灣菸酒) yesterday morning, company chairman Ting Yen-che (丁彥哲) said. Bottles of Propeller brand rum produced by Lithuanian manufacturer MV Group Production are pictured at a warehouse in Taipei on Jan. 22. After the showrooms opened at 9:30am, the 1,200 bottles were sold out within an hour, he added. TTL last month announced that 6,000 bottles of Lithuanian rum would be ready for the market before the Lunar New Year. To let more people get their hands on the bottles, Ting said TTL asked bulk buyers if their orders could be delayed until after the Lunar New Year holiday.