The Grizzlies did their best to spoil the return of Orlando’s Wagner brothers, Franz and Moritz, to their home country in the showcase game in Berlin. The Memphis Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr and Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic vie for the ball during their NBA game at Uber Arena in Berlin on Thursday. Wagner called it “super-special” to have a chance to show his Magic teammates around Berlin, the city where he grew up. The San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama warms up before their NBA game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday. San Antonio forward Keldon Johnson deserves some credit for the change in fortunes, as well as Wembanyama’s new style.

New Oceania soccer era to start tomorrowAPA new era in international soccer is to begin tomorrow when Vanuatu United meet Bula of Fiji in Auckland, New Zealand, in the first game of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Pro League. The league would also determine which team represents Oceania at the next FIFA Club World Cup in 2029, where they can earn substantial financial rewards. Playing regular soccer would also help raise standards across Oceania and provide more professional pathways for young players. “Technically, the boys [in New Zealand] are very gifted,” said Rob Sherman, head coach of South Island United, a New Zealand-based OFC Pro League team. “In countries where it is hard to sustain a professional football league, the cross-border option should always be one to explore,” Larman said.

Hadjar targets win with Red Bull this yearReuters and AFP, DETROIT, MichiganIsack Hadjar is dreaming big after landing the ultimate Formula One promotion to the Red Bull team, saying on Thursday that his goal for this year is to win at least one race after replacing Yuki Tsunoda as Max Verstappen’s teammate. The 21-year-old Frenchman, who impressed with sister team Racing Bulls last season, said the reality had still not fully sunk in as he teams up with his idol who he watched win four F1 championships with Red Bull. I saw [Sebastian]] Vettel winning all those titles and now I’m finally in the big team,” Hadjar said as Red Bull revealed their car livery in Detroit. Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen, left, and Isack Hadjar take a selfie at the Formula One team’s season launch at Michigan Central Station in Detroit on Thursday. “The Red Bull family have been in it for a couple of years now since I signed up in the program as a kid.

Woman not to be indicted over death of British husbandStaff writer, with CNAProsecutors on Thursday said that a Taiwanese woman would not be indicted over the death of her British husband due to insufficient evidence of foul play, but they are seeking a sentence of no less than eight years in a separate case for the attempted rat poison murder of an Australian student. The woman, surnamed Yang (楊), was married to a British national who fell ill in December 2022 with what doctors later diagnosed as a urinary tract infection, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. The husband moved to Taiwan with Yang several years earlier and did not keep in touch with his family in the UK. Yang met Shorey the same month her husband died and quickly grew fond of him, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said Yang allegedly spiked his food and drink with rat poison to keep him in Taiwan, leaving him in intensive care.

Quiet Taiwan-US cooperation not always bad: expertStaff writer, with CNAThe absence of any major escalation in Taiwan-US military cooperation this year should not necessarily be viewed as a negative, as it could indicate that the regional security environment has stabilized, a former Pentagon official said on Thursday. According to Hu, these changes reflect Washington’s adjustments to its military engagement with Taiwan in response to perceived threats from the Chinese Communist Party. Panelists and the audience are pictured at a seminar hosted by the Institute for National Policy Research in Taipei on Thursday. Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times“If people are hoping for a major breakthrough, we would need Xi Jinping to give it a push,” he said. Kuo predicted that Xi would conduct another wave of purges in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army before the upcoming Lunar New Year.

Ministry, Miaoli ink MOU on resource circulationGREEN CORRIDOR: The ministry is also jointly initiating an environmental improvement project for the Douzihpu River with the Hsinchu County GovernmentBy Esme Yeh / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Environment yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Miaoli County Government to promote resource circulation developments via collaborations between the local and central governments. The MOU was signed by Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) and Miaoli County Commissioner Chung Tung-chin (鍾東錦), with the goal of building a climate technology circulation park in the county’s Jhunan Township (竹南). Peng said resource circulation is the key to the development of the circular economy, which has an annual output value of about NT$168.8 billion (US$5.35 billion) at a growth rate of 10 percent. Photo: CNAThe county is the first entity to sign an MOU with the ministry to promote resource circulation, he said, adding that the ministry would plan the construction of the park jointly with the county government to establish a resilient resource processing mechanism. The county government would utilize 25 hectares of land at the Jhunan landfill to set up the park, Chung said.

Economic security makes sure that a nation has the capabilities to counteract the coercion from other countries via economic means, Suzuki said. Economic security avoids such economic coercion by reducing the dependence on other countries and building supply chains within a country or among like-minded countries, Suzuki said. China is also diversifying its supply chain and export destinations to reduce its dependence on the US market, Suzuki said. The US relies so heavily on China in industries such as rare earth minerals and shipbuilding that it is conceding by allowing Nvidia Corp’s H200 chip to be exported to China, Suzuki said. That is one of the consequences of the fight, he said, adding that the US is more vulnerable to China while China is more autonomous.

KMT demands review of signed tariff agreementsBy Shih Hsiao-kuang and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday demanded that the government submit signed agreements with the US from its tariff negotiations to the legislature for review. Taiwan also agreed to provide an additional US$250 billion in credit guarantees for further investment in the US semiconductor supply chain. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) spokesman Niu Hsu-ting, left, and KMT Culture and Communications Committee head Wu Tsung-hsien hold placards at a press conference at the party headquarters in Taipei yesterday. KMT spokesman Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) also voiced doubts about whether the negotiated tariff rates were truly beneficial for Taiwan. According to Niu, the potential outflow of semiconductor-related supply chains would have a heavier impact on Taiwan than US-imposed tariffs.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers hold placards stating their stance on general budget at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers hold placards stating their stance on general budget at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. The opposition hopes the legislature would first approve funding for these projects, TPP caucus deputy whip Chang Chi-kai (張?楷) said. It is regrettable that the matter was not handled by the Executive Yuan, as it could have sought legislative approval to release funds for these initiatives, he said. The Legislative Yuan usually refers the central government budget to committees for item-by-item scrutiny before second and third readings in plenary, he said.

The situation is also exacerbated by fewer primary care clinics operating. Customers are pictured at the counter at a drug store in Taipei in an undated photograph. They are to operate on the other seven days to provide services in internal medicine, general surgery, pediatrics and orthopedics. Emergency responsibility hospitals are facilities designated under a tiered emergency medical system to provide round-the-clock emergency care in their service areas, with 204 nationwide as of September last year. Extra precautions would also be taken to prevent transmission of the flu, which could be exacerbated by holiday travel, Centers for Disease Control Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said.

Taiwan eases work, residency restrictions for foreign professionalsNew measures aimed at making Taiwan more attractive to foreign professionals came into effect this month, the National Development Council said yesterday. Among the changes, international students at Taiwanese universities would be able to work in Taiwan without a work permit in the two years after they graduate, explainer materials provided by the council said. In addition, foreign nationals who graduated from one of the world’s top 200 universities within the past five years can also apply for a two-year open work permit. Previously, those graduates would have needed to apply for a work permit using point-based criteria or have a Taiwanese company

KMT, TPP vote to bar PTS board from longer termsStaff writer, with CNAThe legislature has passed amendments that abolish provisions allowing Public Television Service (PTS) board members to remain in office after their terms expire. The amendments cleared the Legislative Yuan yesterday in a 59-49 vote, with lawmakers from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) using their numerical advantage to delete the so-called “indefinite extension” clause from the Public Television Act (公共電視法). Under the previous law, board members whose terms had ended could continue serving until new appointees formally took office, a mechanism critics said enabled prolonged extensions and weakened governance. The Public Television Service headquarters in Taipei are pictured in an undated photograph. During the floor debate, TPP Legislator Liu Shu-bin (劉書彬) said abolishing the rule would prevent “perpetual board members” and help safeguard the broadcaster’s independence.

Tariff agreement good for industry: Lai‘LEVELING THE FIELD’: The tariff would be dropped to 15 percent, down from the previous 20 percent, matching rates imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EUStaff writer, with CNAAn agreement reached on Thursday between Taiwan and the US to lower tariffs on Taiwanese goods would benefit local non-tech industries by “leveling the playing field” with major trade competitors, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. “Japan and South Korea had free trade agreements or quasi-free trade agreements with the US, giving Japanese and South Korean goods an advantage over Taiwanese goods,” Lai told reporters in Taichung. Photo: Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei TimesNo formal trade deal has yet been signed, with Taiwanese officials hoping it will be concluded in the coming weeks. “Not only will there be a ‘Taiwanese national team’ for US investment, there will also be a ‘US national team’ investing in Taiwan,” Lai said, referring to the MOU. The legislature can then retain or revise the clauses, in which case the treaty must be renegotiated with the other signatory.

Open Indo-Pacific group launched in Legislative YuanBy Fang Wei-li / Staff reporterThe first meeting of the Legislative Yuan Free and Open Indo-Pacific Promotion Association was held yesterday in a bid to boost exchanges between Taiwan and like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific region. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉), who initiated the association, said that the meeting marked the first time the legislature has launched an initiative in response to the “free and open Indo-Pacific” vision advocated by late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei, center, second row, gestures along with fellow lawmakers and guests at the founding of the Legislative Yuan Free and Open Indo-Pacific Promotion Association in Taipei yesterday. Second, to promote Taiwan’s substantive participation in the Indo-Pacific region on issues such as security, economic resilience, supply chain cooperation and democratic governance. Third, to hold public hearings and seminars to boost interactions with parliaments and administrative agencies of Indo-Pacific countries.

China protests over the Philippine coast guard’s Xi cartoonsAFP, MANILAThe Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. A China Coast Guard ship, right, shoots a water cannon at a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries vessel in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Oct. 12 last year. “If the Chinese Embassy objects to images or expressions that highlight these violations — often through legitimate public discourse or even satire — it only underscores discomfort with the truth being exposed,” Tarriela said, calling the response an “effort to intimidate.”