Wrexham shut down top-tier Forest’s FA Cup runAP, WREXHAM, WalesThe big guns entered the FA Cup on Friday and one of them was shot down immediately. Championship club Wrexham AFC knocked out Premier League side Nottingham Forest FC 4-3 on penalties after a thrilling match ended 3-3 after 90 minutes and extra time. Wrexham AFC players react after goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo, right, made a save to win the penalty shoot-out during their FA Cup match against Nottingham Forest FC in Wrexham, Wales, on Friday. James MacLean missed for Wrexham, but Okonkwo saved from Igor Jesus and Omari Hutchinson to send the home fans into raptures. Friday’s win was another memorable chapter in the rise of the Welsh club that was bought in 2021 by Hollywood pair Reynolds and McElhenney.

Switzerland make United Cup final in baking Sydney heatAFP, SYDNEYStan Wawrinka lost in three sets in grueling Sydney heat of more than 40°C, but Switzerland beat Belgium yesterday to reach their first United Cup final. Switzerland won 2-1, with Belinda Bencic playing a starring role, and will face either holders the US or Poland in today’s decider. The Olympic champion Bencic put Switzerland on their way in the semi-finals with a battling 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7/0) win over Elise Mertens in 2 hours, 37 minutes. Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka returns against Belgium’s Zizou Bergs during their United Cup semi-final Sydney yesterday. Wawrinka, playing his final year before retirement, fought back to force a deciding set against Zizou Bergs, but the Belgian ultimately won 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3 in two-and-a-half hours in the searing heat.

Thunder rally to edge GrizzliesAFP, LOS ANGELESJalen Williams scored 26 points and Kenrich Williams added 21 as NBA champions the Oklahoma City Thunder erased a 21-point third-quarter deficit to edge the Memphis Grizzlies 117-116 on Friday. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams, left, shoots as Memphis Grizzlies center Jock Landale defends during their NBA game in Memphis, Tennessee, on Friday. Photo: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images“Great resilience by the team,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn ImagesMorant missed his fourth straight game with a calf injury amid reports the Grizzlies would consider trade offers for him. Payton Pritchard scored 27 points to lead six Celtics players in double figures.

Sabalenka reaches third Brisbane finalAUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE: Sabalenka aims to follow up with a third Australian Open win, while Taiwanese Joanna Garland claimed a WTA 125 title in CanberraAFP and CNA, BRISBANE, AustraliaAryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova in straight sets to reach her third Brisbane International final in a row yesterday, a week ahead of the Australian Open. Tennis players Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, center, left, and Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan, center, right, hold their trophy after winning the women’s doubles final at the Brisbane International tennis tournament yesterday. Aryna Sabalenka returns to Karolina Muchova during their women’s Brisbane International singles semi-final match in Brisbane, Australia, yesterday. Meanwhile, Taiwanese tennis veteran Hsieh Su-wei and her Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko cruised to an easy finish to capture the Brisbane International women’s doubles title yesterday. The victory at the Brisbane tournament also marked the first time Hsieh won a title alongside Ostapenko and gave the 40-year-old added confidence ahead of the Australian Open.

Gilgeous-Alexander rescues ThunderMOTHER KNOWS BEST: Warriors’ coach Kerr said his 91-year-old mother criticized him for his attitude toward officials that led to his ejection from Monday’s game Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Wednesday rescued the Oklahoma City Thunder with a game-tying buzzer-beater before finishing with 46 points in a 129-125 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz. The reigning NBA champions looked to be heading for a third straight loss after the Jazz inched into a 114-112 lead following Lauri Markkanen’s layup with just three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. However, NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander drained a superb 13-foot jump shot to tie it up at 114-114 as the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime. Gilgeous-Alexander then took over in the extra period with nine points as the Western

Eligibility for flu antiviral medicine to be expandedBy Chiu Chih-jou / Staff reporter, with CNAEligibility for government-funded influenza antiviral drugs would be expanded from Jan. 20 to Feb. 28 to include seven groups considered to be at higher risk of spreading the virus, as the flu is predicted to enter an epidemic period at the end of the month, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Photo: Taipei TimesThe CDC said while it typically broadens eligibility during the epidemic period, the expansion from Jan. 20 is a preemptive preparation. Rhinovirus infections in Taiwan increased slightly recently, but rhinovirus and adenoviruses are still the second and third-most common viruses respectively in the nation, and have not exceeded the number of flu viruses, he said. The rhinovirus tends to infect the upper respiratory tract and rarely extends to the lower respiratory tract, Lin said. If that is the case, the child should be taken to see a doctor as soon as possible, he added.

Venezuela says it launched talks with US to restore tiesAFP, CARACASVenezuela on Friday said it had launched talks with the US on restoring diplomatic ties, days after US forces deposed Nicolas Maduro as its president. Venezuela said it would be reciprocating by sending a delegation to Washington. It’s a whole different Venezuela,” Trump said, adding that companies would only deal with Washington, not Caracas, when exploiting Venezuela’s oil resources. Trump earlier said that oil companies promised to invest US$100 billion in Venezuela, whose oil infrastructure is creaky after years of mismanagement and sanctions. State-owned oil company PDVSA confirmed that one vessel was returning to Venezuelan waters, describing it as the “first successful joint operation” with Washington.

“AI changing the world is no longer a future prospect — it is happening right now,” so cultivating AI talent is extremely important, Lai said. President William Lai speaks at an AI talent forum in Taipei yesterday. Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei TimesAI is bringing an industrial revolution, meaning a complete overhaul of talent development and ways of living, he said. The government unveiled its new 10-year AI development initiatives last year, Lai said. Through cooperation between government, industry and academia, Taiwan could use AI to achieve economic transformation, Lai said.

A photo of late Kipatauw elder Pan Hui-yao, who provided the melody to the reconstructed version of the Ritual Song for the Various Peoples of Tamsui. After lunch, the guides revealed that the song was first recorded in 1722 by a Qing Dynasty official and later reconstructed in 2003 during the Ketagalan cultural revival movement. The Ritual Song for the Various Peoples of Tamsui as shown in Huang Shu-chung’s book, Records of the Mission Across the Taiwan Strait, published in 1736. In 2001, the Taiwan Pingpu Indigenous Association was formed to advocate for official recognition. Wu wanted to include a ritual song in the following year’s event in Sandiao, but he could not find anything besides the one recorded by Huang in 1722.

Pope Leo voices concern over East Asia tensionsStaff writer, with CNAPope Leo XIV, leader of the Holy See, Taiwan’s sole diplomatic ally in Europe, during his annual New Year’s address on Friday expressed concern over rising tensions in East Asia and called for peaceful dialogue. Ambassador to the Holy See Anthony Ho, left, shakes hands with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican on Friday. Photo courtesy of the ROC Embassy in the Holy See via CNAIn response, the pope expressed his gratitude. Pope Leo XIV in his speech warned that war is once again prevailing, lamenting that global peace increasingly relies on force rather than justice. He also noted the escalation of tensions in East Asia, but did not specify a particular region.

Humanoid robots pour coffee, fold laundry, but very slowlyBy Samantha Kelly / BloombergAt the CES trade show in Las Vegas for the past week, robots poured coffee, played table tennis, dealt poker hands and folded laundry — all within a few meters of one another. Human-inspired robots, aptly called humanoids, have emerged as the tech industry’s big bet on what comes next. An LG CLOiD robot stands on stage during an LG Electronics news conference at the CES trade show in Las Vegas on Monday. It then slowly loaded a single piece of clothing into a washing machine — almost painfully slowly. More compelling uses might present themselves in settings such as hospitals, where robots could handle repetitive laundry work at scale.

Pharmacy workers key to societal resilienceBy Huang Jin-shun 黃金舜The issue of societal resilience has become increasingly prevalent in the past few years, particularly as international political and economic conditions have been changing at a rapid pace. The government and civilians are indispensable parts of the response, as only through effective public-private collaboration can the goal of societal resilience be achieved. The pandemic was a major test of societal resilience for all nations. However, beyond mutual trust, resilience and the collective cooperation of Taiwanese, the success was also informed by the painful lessons learned from the SARS outbreak of 2003. At the end of 2024, I proposed policies such as encouraging pharmacists to obtain emergency medical technician certification and relaxing regulations so that trained pharmacists could be classified as emergency medical responders under the Emergency Medical Services Act (緊急醫療救護法).

Xi Jinping says ‘We Are Family’By John Robert JamiesonIn 1979, US band Sister Sledge sang We Are Family. “When every small family is warm and thriving, China as the big family will prosper,” Xi said. Are they in the family to which Xi is referring? Has Taiwanese identity really solved the Chinese family conundrum? If Taiwanese are Chinese, then their small, striving families could be easily welcomed back into the big family.

The end of China’s one-child policy, 10 years laterOne woman’s decisions might have strangled China’s birth rates permanentlyBy Yi FuxianJan. 1 marks a decade since China repealed its one-child policy. Illustration: Kevin SheuAfter the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, Song, who had by then been promoted to State Councilor, convinced China’s newly appointed president, Jiang Zemin (江澤民), to strengthen the one-child policy. For example, though the 2000 census showed a fertility rate of only 1.22, the figure was revised upward to 1.8. When observers credit Peng as a reformer, they typically refer to the proposal on loosening the one-child policy that she submitted in 2004 on behalf of official demographers. Yi Fuxian (易富賢), a senior scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, spearheaded the movement against China’s one-child policy.

Von der Leyen said the successful vote sends “a strong signal” of the EU’s economic clout and stability “in the face of an increasingly hostile and transactional world.”Farmers in Milan, Italy, on Friday pour milk from a tanker to protest the EU-Mercosur trade deal. “At a time when trade and dependencies are being weaponized, and the dangerous, transactional nature of the reality we live in becomes increasingly stark, this historic trade deal is further proof that Europe charts its own course and stands as a reliable partner,” Von der Leyen said. A delay last month to the signing of the Mercosur deal had infuriated Lula and led experts to worry that a last-minute stumble would wreck the EU’s credibility. Still, Macron said the potential economic gains of the Mercosur deal are limited and do not justify the risks it poses to EU agriculture. His office said that the deal would only add 77 billion euros by 2040 — 0.5 percent of the EU’s GDP.