Coach banned after sharing indecent imagesThe GuardianThe former manager of a fourth-tier women’s soccer club has been banned from all soccer for 12 years after he sent indecent images of himself to players and a member of staff as well as subjecting them to sexually inappropriate behavior. Hamilton denied 24 FA charges of improper conduct, all relating to his time in charge of the club, but an independent regulatory commission concluded that 23 of the 24 were proven. The FA received evidence from four players and a staff member, all of whom detailed examples of Hamilton trying to illicit sexual activity between May 2022 and November 2024. Photo: Reuters“Women should be able to participate in soccer without being subjected to the sort of behaviour Mr Hamilton exhibited towards them. Of the 24 charges, one — where it had been alleged that Hamilton had asked the staff member to go home with him while they were working in another job — was found not proven.

Petrokina comes back from surgery to win goldReuters, SHEFFIELD, EnglandEstonia’s Niina Petrokina on Friday capped a remarkable comeback by claiming her second consecutive European women’s figure skating title just weeks after returning to the ice following Achilles surgery. After having surgery on Oct. 9 last year, Petrokina was not able to train her triple jumps until less than two weeks ago. Estonia’s Niina Petrokina poses for a photograph with her gold medal after winning the women’s figure skating competition in the ISU Figure Ice Skating European Championships in Sheffield, England, on Friday. Photo: AFP“I don’t know how I do it, but I know I am unstoppable, because I love what I do,” she said. This time I came here to win and show one more time that I can do this, because in Estonia some guys told me that it’s unreal to win second time, and I just wanted to show that it’s real,” she added.

Dembele brace fires PSG top in FranceCONSISTENCY: PSG started the game with Dembele, Desire Doue and Kvaratskhelia in a line up similar to the one that beat Inter in the Champions League final last yearAFP, PARISOusmane Dembele on Friday scored twice as champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) climbed top of Ligue 1 with a dominant 3-0 win over Lille OSC at a rainy Parc des Princes in Paris. Dembele won the Ballon d’Or last season, but has had an injury-blighted season so far. Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele gestures as he celebrates after scoring their first goal during their French Ligue 1 match against Lille LOSC in Paris on Friday. A confident Dembele curled a sweet left-footed shot into the bottom corner from outside the box on 13 minutes to open the scoring. Dembele also netted shortly after the break, popping up unmarked at the far post only for an offside flag to deny him.

Uganda opposition leader ‘cut off’‘CONTROLLED ACCESS’: Bobi Wine said he managed to escape house arrest, while Ugandan police said that they were taking measures to ‘prevent violence’AFP, KAMPALAUgandan opposition leader Bobi Wine was cut off from communications yesterday after a police raid on his home, his party said, with the security forces determined to prevent unrest ahead of imminent election results. As Uganda endured a tense wait after Thursday’s polls, Museveni had a commanding lead against Wine, 43, a former singer turned politician. A Ugandan military officer stands guard outside the National Tally Centre near the Ugandan Electoral Commission headquarters in Lubowa, Uganda, on Friday. Reporters were blocked from entering Wine’s residence early yesterday and could not reach him or his entourage by phone. Wine’s party had earlier written on social media that he had been “forcibly taken” by an army helicopter from his compound, but later deleted the post.

Grok is testing whether AI governance means anythingGrok has exposed a structural problem — advanced AI systems are being deployed and made available to the public without safeguards proportionate to their risksBy J.B. Far from marginal regulatory disputes, these discussions get to the heart of AI governance. Governments worldwide increasingly agree on a basic premise of AI governance: Systems deployed at scale must be safe, controllable and subject to meaningful oversight. AI systems that enable foreseeable harm, particularly sexual exploitation, are incompatible with society’s expectations for the technology and its governance. Responsible AI governance depends on alignment between stated principles and operational decisions.

A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other US state — a few hundred, by some estimates. About half its personal income tax revenue, a financial backbone in the nearly US$350 billion budget, comes from the top 1 percent of earners. “You are really playing with fire with this one,” said Aaron Levie, chief executive officer of the publicly traded Silicon Valley company Box. Levie said he fears that the proposed tax would drive entrepreneurs to look elsewhere to run their companies and launch start-ups. Analysts say an exodus of billionaires could mean a loss of hundreds of millions of tax dollars.

Trump is the chair of the board, according to a plan his White House unveiled in October. The White House did not detail the responsibilities of each member of the “founding Executive board.” The names do not include any Palestinians. The White House said more members would be announced over the coming weeks. US Army Major General Jasper Jeffers, a US special operations commander, was appointed commander of the International Stabilization Force, the White House said. This additional board would support Mladenov’s office and the Palestinian technocratic body, whose details were announced this week, the White House said.

Actor McConaughey seeks to protect image from AIAFP, NEW YORKUS actor Matthew McConaughey has filed recordings of his image and voice with US patent authorities to protect them from unauthorized usage by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, a representative said earlier this week. Many artists are increasingly concerned about the uncontrolled use of their image via generative AI since the rollout of ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools. US actor Matthew McConaughey poses for photographs in the press room during the 96th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California, on March 10, 2024. Photo: ReutersMcConaughey’s approach is novel in that he is taking the lead in protecting his image and voice. He has acquired a stake in ElevenLabs Inc, a start-up specializing in AI voice modeling, and the company has created an AI audio version of McConaughey — with his permission.

MOFA planning Arizona office: sourceOVERSEAS CITIZENS: There is a growing Taiwanese community in Arizona, who have hoped for direct flights to Taiwan and a representative office, the foreign minister saidBy Su Yong-yao / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is planning to establish a representative office in Phoenix, Arizona, with the goal of opening within this year, a source familiar with the issue said yesterday. The government is preparing to set up a representative office in Phoenix, where Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and several other Taiwanese investments are located, the source said. Taiwan has representative offices in Washington, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Guam, Honolulu, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco and Seattle. The Phoenix office would be the first new office established in the US in nearly 40 years. To date, 22 state governments and Guam have set up representative offices in Taiwan.

Employers seek work experience in new college hiresBACK ON TOP: NTU took back the top spot with the most sought-after graduates as employers seek hires with a history of part-time work and problem solvingStaff writer, with CNAA survey released on Friday by job bank 1111 showed that National Taiwan University (NTU) students are the most sought-after by employers this year. Following NTU, the next nine universities are National Cheng Kung University, National Taipei University of Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU), National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, National Tsing Hua University, National Chengchi University, Tamkang University (TKU), National Central University and Fu Jen Catholic University. Students and their parents crowd outside classrooms at Taipei Municipal Neihu Senior High School yesterday, the first day of the College Entrance Subject Tests. The latest survey also found that as many as 53 percent of companies prefer to hire fresh graduates with part-time experience, reflecting employers’ growing emphasis on new hires’ workplace readiness and emotional maturity. Conducted from Aug. 28 to Oct. 15 last year, the survey collected 2,153 responses from employers, with a margin of error of 2.97 percentage points.

Ending death penalty is a just pathBy Chien Chien-Jung 錢建榮Ten years ago, respected judge Chen Chin-Hsien (陳欽賢) delivered a keynote address at the first Asian Regional Congress on the Death Penalty in Kuala Lumpur. A younger colleague once confided in me that he too opposed the death penalty, but lacked the courage to speak out. Never underestimate your power — and never use the death penalty as a tool to ‘scare’ defendants.”I have long believed that abolition of the death penalty must ultimately be decided by leaders. In Taiwan, neither major political camp truly seeks to abolish the death penalty, yet both embrace its replacement. Abolishing the death penalty would do the same — demonstrating that Taiwan chooses human rights over repression, dignity over fear and conscience over killing.

Trump threatens tariffs if Greenland control rejectedAP, COPENHAGENUS President Donald Trump on Friday suggested that he might punish countries with tariffs if they do not back US control of Greenland, a message that came as a bipartisan US Congress delegation sought to lower tensions in the Danish capital. Photo: Ritzau Scanpix via AP“I may do that for Greenland too,” Trump said. “I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security. Earlier this week, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland met in Washington with US Vice President J.D. Trump has sought to justify his calls for a US takeover by repeatedly claiming that China and Russia have their own designs on Greenland.

Legislature to publish an animal evacuation guideStaff writer, with CNADemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶), in collaboration with the Taiwan Veterinary Medical Association and civic group Watchout, on Friday presented the animal edition of the National Public Safety Guide, which aims to help the public prepare for evacuating animals during disasters. The Legislative Yuan’s All-Out Defense Network is publishing the Animal Companion Disaster Preparedness and Evacuation Handbook to provide the public with knowledge about how to prepare for animal evacuations, she said. Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers and civic group representatives hold copies of the Animal Companion Disaster Preparedness and Evacuation Handbook at a press conference in Taipei on Friday. Department of Animal Welfare Director Chiang Wen-chuan (江文全) said plans to publish a pet disaster preparedness handbook and a disaster response manual for livestock farms are also underway. The publication of the Animal Companion Disaster Preparedness and Evacuation Handbook is welcome, as it would help everyone be prepared and know how to respond when incidents occur, Chiang said.

Protests erupt as ICE killing fuels furyICE DISPUTE: The Trump administration has sought to paint Good as a ‘domestic terrorist,’ insisting that the agent who fatally shot her was acting in self-defense Thousands of demonstrators chanting the name of the woman killed by a US federal agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota, took to the city’s streets on Saturday, amid widespread anger at use of force in the immigration crackdown of US President Donald Trump. Organizers said more than 1,000 events were planned across the US under the slogan “ICE, Out for Good” — referring to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is drawing growing opposition over its execution of Trump’s effort at mass deportations. The slogan is also a reference to Renee Good, the 37-year-old mother shot dead on Wednesday in her

Donovan’s Deep Dives: The wave no one saw comingThe virtually unknown Han Kuo-yu managed to win the Kaohsiung mayoral election in 2018, reversing the electoral fortunes of the KMT. By Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文) / Staff ColumnistThe 2018 nine-in-one local elections were a wild ride that no one saw coming. Entering that year, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was demoralized and in disarray — and fearing an existential crisis. It is hard to see how, and who that candidate would be, but then at this point in 2018, no one saw the Han Wave coming either. Donovan’s Deep Dives is a regular column by Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文) who writes in-depth analysis on everything about Taiwan’s political scene and geopolitics.