The US announces ‘large-scale’ strikes against IS in SyriaAFP, WASHINGTONUS and allied forces on Saturday carried out “large-scale” strikes against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria, the US military said, the latest response to an attack last month that killed three Americans. US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US military forces in the region, said multiple strikes “targeted ISIS throughout Syria,” using an acronym for the radical Muslim group. The strikes were part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, which was launched “in direct response to the deadly ISIS attack on US and Syrian forces in Palmyra,” CENTCOM said. Jordanian air force also carried out targeted air strikes against IS as part of the operation, its military said yesterday. On Jan. 3, the UK and France announced joint strikes targeting an underground facility they said IS had likely used to store weapons.

US Treasury secretary says tariff refunds unlikelyReutersThe US Department of the Treasury has adequate funds to pay any tariff refunds ordered if the US Supreme Court rules against US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, but any repayments would be spread out over weeks or even a year, US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said. US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks about monetary policy in Minnesota on Thursday. Importers and trade lawyers had anticipated a Supreme Court ruling on Friday but the court instead issued a ruling on a different matter. Bessent said he believed that the longer the tariff decision is delayed, the more likely it is that the Supreme Court rules in Trump’s favor. With cash on hand of nearly US$774 billion as of Thursday, the Treasury has more than enough funds to cover any refunds.

Hon Hai posts record growth in revenueREVENUE PERFORMANCE: Cloud and network products, and electronic components saw strong increases, while smart consumer electronics and computing products fell Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday posted 26.51 percent quarterly growth in revenue for last quarter to NT$2.6 trillion (US$82.44 billion), the strongest on record for the period and above expectations, but the company forecast a slight revenue dip this quarter due to seasonal factors. On an annual basis, revenue last quarter grew 22.07 percent, the company said. Analysts on average estimated about NT$2.4 trillion increase. Hon Hai, which assembles servers for Nvidia Corp and iPhones for Apple Inc, is expanding its capacity in the US, adding artificial intelligence (AI) server production in Wisconsin and Texas, where it operates established campuses. ThisBy Meryl Kao

ASIC server shipments expected to grow fasterBy Meryl Kao / Staff reporterThe global artificial intelligence (AI) server market is expected to remain dominated by servers based on graphics processing units (GPUs) this year, but application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)-based models are set to see faster growth in shipments, the Market Intelligence and Consulting Institute (MIC) said. As major cloud service providers (CSPs) continue to train large language models for machine learning, outlays on AI data centers and high-density GPU server racks remain a priority, MIC said. Photo courtesy of Hon Hai Precision Industry CoHowever, demand for servers powered by ASICs is growing as the market’s focus gradually shifts toward inference, Wei said. Shipments of servers used for AI inference are expected to be about four times higher than those used for training this year, highlighting the role ASICs could play. MIC expects Taiwanese manufacturers who already produce GPU servers to expand into the ASIC segment smoothly, Wei said.

US urges its citizens to be vigilant and flee VenezuelaThe GuardianThe US has urged its citizens to leave Venezuela immediately amid reports that armed paramilitaries are trying to track down US citizens, one week after the abduction of then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. “US citizens in Venezuela should remain vigilant and exercise caution when traveling by road,” the alert added, urging citizens to depart immediately now that some international flights from Venezuela have restarted. People walk in front of a wall painted with the image of abducted former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on Saturday. However, the department alert exposed how volatile the situation remains after the US special forces raid, during which scores of people were killed. The roads connecting Caracas to its western border are policed with dozens of military and police checkpoints.

The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea, the company said. A worker operates equipment at Trumpf Taiwan Industries Co’s regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of Trumpf Taiwan Industries CoIt is equipped with infrastructure dedicated to the analysis, service and calibration of Trumpf’s plasma generators, it said. Trumpf operates five sites in Taiwan, and develops its businesses in alignment with industrial megatrends and customer demand, he added. AI applications would continue driving the overall semiconductor industry this year and Trumpf’s semiconductor business would grow along with the industry, he added.

The slogan is also a reference to Renee Good, the 37-year-old mother shot dead on Wednesday in her car by an ICE agent in the midwestern US city of Minneapolis. Thousands braved frigid weather and streamed toward a snow-covered park to mobilize near the scene of the shooting. In Philadelphia, protesters marched in the rain from City Hall to the ICE field office. The Trump administration has sought to paint Good as a “domestic terrorist,” insisting the agent who fatally shot her was acting in self-defense. On Friday evening, hundreds gathered noisily in front of Minneapolis hotels believed to be housing ICE agents, equipped with whistles, loudspeakers and musical instruments.

Under previous presidents, federal agents communicated with local officials — even in sanctuary cities. The easiest way to eliminate risk would be to remove federal immigration agents from city streets. The next-best thing, as the Trump administration seems unlikely to cancel its mass deportation campaign, is to ensure more transparency and accountability. As a result, protesters often show up when federal immigration agents are working, recording video with their phones, unsure if documentation will be available any other way. Two immigration agents are shown approaching Good’s sport utility vehicle (SUV), which was parked in the middle of a street.

Illegal accommodations increased last year: reportBy Tsai Yun-jung / Staff reporterA total of 1,624 illegal accommodations were reported last year, with fines totaling about NT$120.13 million (US$3.8 million), the Tourism Administration said. In Taipei, 585 legal accommodations and 268 illegal ones were reported, with illegal properties accounting for about 31.4 percent — the highest in number and proportion nationwide — while 11 illegal accommodations in the city were daily rental apartments, the data showed. Taichung has 505 legal accommodations and 207 illegal ones, with illegal properties making up about 29 percent, ranking second in proportion and third nationwide in number, the data showed. Yilan ranks second in the number of illegal accommodations with 229, but has 2,480 legal ones, resulting in an illegal share of only 8.45 percent. Kaohsiung has 530 legal accommodations and 125 illegal ones, with illegal properties accounting for about 19 percent, ranking third nationwide.

North demands ‘explanation’ from Seoul over incursionAFP, SEOULNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister has demanded a detailed “explanation” from Seoul over a drone it accused South Korea of flying over its territory, state media reported yesterday. The North said on Saturday that a craft crossed from the South Korean border county of Ganghwa into the North Korean city of Kaesong in early this month, and released photos of wreckage from the drone it claimed to have shot down. Seoul rejected the claim, with its defense ministry saying the drone was not a model operated by its military. Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister, looks on before a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un in Amur, Russia, on Sept. 13, 2023. However, her demand for an explanation “signals a shift toward a diplomatic offensive by holding the authorities accountable” for the incursion, he said.

Egypt knock out reigning champions Ivory CoastAFP, MARRAKESH, MoroccoMohamed Salah’s Egypt knocked reigning champions Ivory Coast out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a 3-2 win in the quarter-finals on Saturday, while Victor Osimhen starred as Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 to set up a clash with hosts Morocco. Egypt’s Mohamed Salah scores their third goal against Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals in Agadir, Morocco, on Saturday. Ivory Coast become the eighth consecutive title-holders unable to successfully defend the title since Egypt achieved the feat in 2010. Egypt meanwhile confirmed their AFCON dominance over Ivory Coast since they first met 56 years ago. “A very big congratulations to the whole team for the kind of performance they put in against a very good Algeria team,” Osimhen said after collecting the man-of-the-match trophy.

Palace humiliated in FA Cup shockGIANT SLAIN, GIANTS SLAY: Macclesfield FC overcame the largest difference in rank in cup history, while Manchester City and Chelsea confidently routed their opponentsAFP, LONDONCrystal Palace FC suffered the biggest shock in FA Cup history, as the holders suffered a humiliating 2-1 defeat to sixth-tier Macclesfield FC, while Chelsea FC manager Liam Rosenior started his reign with a 5-1 rout of Charlton Athletic FC on Saturday. Antoine Semenyo began his Manchester City FC career by scoring in a 10-1 rout of Exeter City FC, but Tottenham Hotspur FC boss Thomas Frank’s future was plunged into doubt after a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa FC. In their previous FA Cup outing at Wembley in May last year, Palace made history by beating Manchester City to win the club’s first ever major trophy. Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi looks dejected as Macclesfield FC players celebrate after their FA Cup match in Macclesfield, England, on Saturday. The 117 places separating Premier League outfit Palace from Macclesfield of the National League North is the most overcome by an underdog in FA Cup history.

Syria’s Kurdish fighters agree to leave AleppoAFP, ALEPPO, SyriaSyria’s Kurdish fighters yesterday said that they agreed under a ceasefire to withdraw from Aleppo after days of fighting government forces in the city. Hours earlier, Syria’s military said it had finished operations in the Kurdish-held Sheikh Maqsud neighborhood with state television reporting that Kurdish fighters who surrendered were being bused to the north. An Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent on Saturday saw at least five buses carrying men out of Sheikh Maqsud, but could not independently verify their identities. On the outskirts of Sheikh Maqsud, families who had been trapped by the fighting were leaving, accompanied by Syrian security forces. Israel has sided with the Kurdish forces.

Notes from Central Taiwan: PRC pretexts and provocationsBy Michael Turton / Contributing reporterThe People’s Republic of China (PRC) invaded Vietnam in 1979, following a year of increasingly tense relations between the two states. One of the pretexts it used was the alleged mistreatment of the ethnic Chinese in Vietnam. Since Taipei was the internationally recognized government of China, it attempted to intervene, and ended up taking in 3,000 ethnic Chinese refugees. Beginning in January of 1976, the Vietnamese government began requiring ethnic Chinese in the south to register their citizenship. PRC SPOUSESIn discussions of this possibility, there has been much focus on Taiwan’s treatment of PRC spouses as potential pretexts.

Fuel prices drop slightly despite rise in crude oilBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterGasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — last week gained 4.26 percent to settle at US$63.34 per barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures — the US oil benchmark — increased 3.14 percent to US$59.12 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.