Fury announces another comeback from retirementReutersFormer lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury on Sunday said that he would come out of retirement this year for his first fight since losing to Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024. Fury announced his retirement after losing a rematch with Ukraine’s Usyk, who had won by split decision in their first bout to become the undisputed champion. Usyk is the only boxer to beat Fury in the Briton’s professional career, which includes 34 wins, two losses and one draw. Fury again announced retirement in 2022, only to come back six months later. “If Tyson Fury is as serious as he thinks he is ... step in the ring with me next, if you’re a real bad boy.

Bangladesh not to play World Cup matches in IndiaReutersBangladesh will not play their Twenty20 World Cup matches in India after Mustafizur Rahman was released by his Indian Premier League team amid growing tensions between the countries, Bangladesh’s sports adviser Asif Nazrul said on Sunday. Bangladesh are scheduled to play three Twenty20 World Cup matches in Kolkata next month, with the Feb. 7-March 8 tournament being cohosted by India and Sri Lanka. Photo: AFP“Bangladesh will not go to India to play the World Cup. “The board said that where a Bangladesh cricketer can’t play in India despite being contracted, the entire Bangladesh cricket team can’t feel safe to go to the World Cup,” Nazrul had said. “I have also instructed the board to request Bangladesh World Cup games to be held in Sri Lanka.”Last year, the ICC allowed India to play Champions Trophy matches in the United Arab Emirates due to soured relations with hosts Pakistan.

Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears for Greenland, which Trump has repeatedly said he wants to annex, given its strategic location in the arctic. While aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, Trump reiterated the goal. Trump rattled European leaders by attacking Caracas and grabbing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is now being detained in New York. Asked in a telephone interview with The Atlantic about the implications of the Venezuela military operation for mineral-rich Greenland, Trump said it was up to others to decide. Katie Miller was deputy press secretary under Trump at the US Department of Homeland Security during his first term.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co’s logo is pictured at the company’s headquarters in New Taipei City in an undated photograph. The company in November last year said it remains bullish about this year, driven by strong growth in its cloud and networking products. Last quarter, cloud and networking products — primarily servers — registered a robust year-on-year increase in revenue, in line with the company’s guidance, and electronic components also posted strong sales growth, Hon Hai said. Overall, Hon Hai last year reported robust revenue growth of 18.07 percent year-on-year to NT$8.1 trillion, a record high and better than its earlier forecast, up from NT$6.86 trillion the previous year, the company said. It was the first time the company’s annual revenue increased by more than NT$1 trillion from a year earlier, thanks to strong growth in cloud and networking products, Hon Hai said.

Deputy finance minister Juan denies NSF sold shares amid soaring TAIEXStaff writer, with CNADeputy Minister of Finance Frank Juan (阮清華), who is also executive secretary of the National Stabilization Fund (NSF), yesterday denied speculation that the fund took advantage of soaring stock prices to sell shares for profit. “When the fund will retreat from the market will be decided by its committee,” Juan said. The NT$500 billion (US$15.85 billion) stabilization fund was established in 2000 to cushion the local equity market against unexpected external factors that might disrupt the local bourse. From April 9 to the end of last year, the TAIEX surged 66.54 percent to close at 28,963.6 points. He also attributed the TAIEX’s 755 point rise yesterday to TSMC’s strong gains, which contributed about 670 points of the index’s upturn.

Slop, resilience and scamsWhat 2025’s AI buzzwords reveal about Taiwan, China and the USBy Nigel P. Daly / Contributing reporterWords of the Year are not just interesting, they are telling. In the state-sanctioned 2025 Chinese Language Review, “resilience” (韌) was selected as the national character and DeepSeek the defining phrase. “Slop” was Merriam-Webster’s word of the year, defined as low-quality digital content produced in quantity by AI. Taiwan also came up with a localized adaptation of “AI slop” as “digital garbage” (電子垃圾) or “AI crap” (AI大便). The key terms highlight breakthroughs and resilience, turning AI into infrastructure of a glorious nation-building project.

Minimum wage to be raised again this year, Lai saysStaff writerPresident William Lai (賴清德) on Sunday announced that the government this year would again raise the minimum wage, with the goal of surpassing NT$30,000 (US$951) for monthly salaries. The last minimum wage adjustment was made on Sept. 26 last year, and was announced on Oct. 21. When attending an event hosted by the Junior Chamber International Taiwan in Hsinchu on Sunday, Lai said that this year the minimum wage would be raised again, with the monthly salary target set to exceed NT$30,000. Increasing the minimum wage is an important measure to ensure the livelihood of workers, he said. When evaluating the minimum wage, the government takes into account factors such as the consumer price index, the GDP growth rate and labor productivity, he added.

Taiwan sees Maduro arrest as deterrentNOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official saidBloombergTaiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. A person holds a newspaper with an image of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Doral, Florida, on Sunday. China considers Taiwan part of its own territory, so international laws do not factor into its calculations, the person said. “The level of sophistication of US equipment, compared with the weapons Venezuela obtained from Russia and China, was fully exposed in this operation,” Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told lawmakers at the Legislative Yuan yesterday. That Venezuela’s military power was dismantled within hours by US forces would give Beijing plenty to think about, a separate senior national security official in Taiwan said.

Missile mass production to commence in Q2: officialTaiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and VBy Lo Tien-pin and Jonathan Chin

‘Tuna King’ pays record US$3.2m for 243kg tunaAFP, TOKYOA Japanese sushi entrepreneur yesterday paid a record US$3.2 million for a giant bluefin tuna at an annual prestigious new year auction in Tokyo’s main fish market. Self-styled “Tuna King” Kiyoshi Kimura’s sushi restaurant chain paid the top price for the 243kg fish that was caught off Japan’s northern coast. Kiyoshi Kimura, center, president of Kiyomura Corp, operator of sushi restaurant chain Sushizanmai, displays a 243kg bluefin tuna at his restaurant in Tokyo yesterday, after the New Year’s auction at Toyosu fish market. The ￥510.3 million price at the new year’s auction was the highest since comparable data started being collected in 1999. Shortly after this year’s auction, the tuna was butchered and turned into sushi, selling for about ￥500 per roll.

Nvidia eyes chips from TSMCH200 CHIPS: A source said that Nvidia has asked the Taiwanese company to begin production of additional chips and work is expected to start in the second quarter Nvidia Corp is scrambling to meet demand for its H200 artificial intelligence (AI) chips from Chinese technology companies and has approached contract manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to ramp up production, sources said. Chinese technology companies have placed orders for more than 2 million H200 chips for this year, while Nvidia holds just 700,000 units in stock, two of the people said. The exact additional volume Nvidia intends to order from TSMC remains unclear, they said. A third source said that Nvidia has asked TSMC to begin production of the additional chips and work is expected to start in the second

3 men, Tokyo Electron Taiwan indicted over new TSMC trade secret theftStaff writer, with CNAThe Taiwan High Prosecutors Office Intellectual Property Branch yesterday indicted three individuals and Tokyo Electron Taiwan Ltd for stealing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) 14-nanometer (14nm) technology secrets. The individuals included Chen Li-ming (陳力銘), a former TSMC engineer who worked at Tokyo Electron Taiwan, a TSMC employee surnamed Chen (陳), and a Tokyo Electron Taiwan employee surnamed Lu (盧), the prosecutors office said in a statement. Photo: Ann Wang, ReutersThe case came to light when prosecutors were investigating Tokyo Electron Taiwan for the alleged theft of TSMC trade secrets related to its 2nm process. Chen Li-ming, along with two others, were indicted in August last year for stealing TSMC’s 2nm technology. Tokyo Electron Taiwan was indicted last month on four violations of the Trade Secrets Act (營業秘密法) and National Security Act for failing to properly supervise Chen Li-ming, with prosecutors seeking a total penalty of NT$120 million.

KMT’s Kinmen bill is a security threat, DPP saysBy Lin Tse-yuan / Staff reporterChinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Yu-jen’s (陳玉珍) proposed amendments for outlying islands would turn Kinmen County into a “special trade zone” for China, posing a serious economic and military threat to Taiwan, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said yesterday. From left, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers Puma Shen, Fan Yun, Chung Chia-pin and Chen Pei-yu hold a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNAThe KMT has introduced numerous versions of the amendments over the years, which faced pushback and criticism from the public, DPP Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) said. “No matter what version the KMT proposed, the bills were not that different,” Shen said. Chen’s proposal would open a backdoor for Chinese influence, with the free-trade zones enabling Beijing to enhance its political and economic influence over Taiwan, DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said.

Missile mass production to commence in Q2: officialTaiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and VBy Lo Tien-pin and Jonathan Chin

Tourist bear warnings urgedBy Shelley Shan / Staff ReporterTravel agents arranging tours to Japan should warn tourists about potential bear attacks when doing outdoor activities, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The nation’s tourism authority issued the notice to the travel agencies nationwide, reminding them to inform their clients about bear danger before leaving for Japan if the itineraries include outdoor activities in the mountainous areas. Visitors take souvenir photos next to a bear warning sign at Shirakawa-go, Japan, in 2025. Even in winter, bear attacks were reported near popular tourist attractions in Japan. said that chances of bear attacks are lower in winter, as bears are in hibernation.