Some of the environmental impact comes from piles of brochures that might not get recycled, the food that gets wasted and the marketing swag that can end up in landfills. But the vast majority of carbon emissions come from air travel. “We must get ahead of change and public perception,” Jason Geall, vice president for Northern Europe at American Express Global Business Travel, said in a speech to business travel and meetings executives in London last Monday. “A failure to act now could leave us vulnerable to existential threats, such as flight caps and increased taxation and regulation.”For now, environmental concerns have not hit events companies. The GSMA, the mobile industry lobby group that hosts the conference, calculates and offsets any emissions remaining, including from travel.

US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin used a breakfast meeting with the chancellor on Saturday to warn him directly against applying the new tax as part of his forthcoming budget. “We believe that the [digital services tax] is a discriminatory tax,” he said. Mnuchin also reiterated concerns about the UK’s use of Huawei technology, due to be confirmed this week. “If you look at the role of technology, it is critical that we have infrastructure that is protected,” he said. I think the real issue for us is making sure that the networks and infrastructure are properly protected,” he said.

AFP, PARISThe Paris Opera reopened on Saturday night after weeks of strike action against the French government’s pension reforms that have cost the arts organization millions of dollars in ticketing losses. HEAVY LOSSESMore than 70 shows have been canceled since last month at a loss of nearly 15 million euros (US$16.5 million) — greater than the state’s annual contribution to the Opera pension fund. The special retirement plan for the Paris Opera, which allows dancers to bow out at age 42, was introduced in 1698 by King Louis XIV — making it among the oldest in France. The French state covers half of the Paris Opera’s pension fund, about 14 million euros per year. Dancers have staged outdoor performances in Paris in a show of support for the public sector strikes, which have triggered weeks of transport chaos.

AFP, YANGON, MyanmarDivided by hatred, but united over the written word, Rohingya Muslim poets in Bangladeshi refugee camps joined Buddhist bards in Myanmar by video link as part of a groundbreaking poetry festival in a nation reeling from genocide allegations. Yet the minority evoke little sympathy in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where even the word “Rohingya” is taboo. Forty poets from across Myanmar recite works in various languages, including Burmese, but the focus is on reconnecting the estranged Muslim minority. Ethnic Rakhine writer Won Roe traveled especially from his home state, where deep divisions prevail between the mainly Buddhist Rakhine and remaining Rohingya Muslim communities. Won Roe is convinced poetry can act as a “bridge between communities” and worked closely, if virtually, with Mayyu Ali ahead of the event.

AP, NEW YORKDanny Garcia needed to learn about himself. Garcia on Saturday overcame a bite on his left shoulder and earned a 12-round unanimous decision over a frustrated Ivan Redkach. I’m going to be back and be much better.”Having been methodically picked apart, Redkach was reduced to biting Garcia on his shoulder during a clinch in the eighth round. Manny Pacquiao, Errol Spence Jr, Terence Crawford and Shawn Porter were mentioned to Garcia at a news conference on Thursday last week. “Either [Spence or Pacquiao],” Garcia said.

North Korea’s main newspaper also released a photo showing Kim Kyong-hui sitting near Kim Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, at the Samjiyon Theater. Kim Kyong-hui, 73, was once an influential figure in North Korea as the only sister of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, the father of Kim Jong-un. Kim Kyong-hui’s fate had been in doubt after Kim Jong-un had her husband and then-North Korea’s No. Days after Jang’s execution, Kim Kyong-hui’s name was mentioned in a KCNA dispatch as a member of a funeral committee for another top official. Outside experts said Kim Kyong-hui had long suffered from liver and heart problems and high blood pressure.

A student of Chinese writer Lu Xun (魯迅), Tai arrived in Taiwan in 1946 and later taught in the school’s Chinese literature department. The Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs in 2018 said that the house did not meet the cultural heritage preservation criteria. However, after new materials were submitted to prove its cultural value, the department inspected the house on Wednesday. Historic architecture expert Lee Chien-lang (李乾朗), a member of the city’s committee on evaluating cultural heritage, said that an initial inspection of the evidence shows the house could meet the criteria for protection. The department will form a panel to review the case, as stipulated by the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (文化資產保存法), he said.

AP, MEXICO CITYSeveral hundred feminist activists on Saturday warmed up with chants next to a monument to murdered Mexican women before filling a street in the capital and dousing female police officers with red paint. On average, 10 women are murdered every day in Mexico, making it one of the most dangerous countries in the world for women. Nearby, mothers and sisters of murdered women took turns at a microphone to describe how their girls were murdered, and how, years later, the perpetrators remain free. Those who complained about the graffiti care more about statues than real women, the protesters said. The protesters shouted “traitor” at the female officers, who pursed their lips and resisted fighting back — even when one officer’s uniform briefly caught fire from a Molotov cocktail.

GPS tracker bracelets should also be worn to help prevent dementia patients from becoming lost, she said. However, when visiting extended family members during the holiday, elderly dementia patients should not be asked to “guess who someone is,” she said. Degenerative diseases, strokes, chronic cerebrovascular diseases, nutrition imbalances and infections of the central nervous systems could all cause the development of dementia, Lee said. Meeting unfamiliar people or a change in environment could cause elderly dementia patients to experience unease and insecurity, which they might be able to articulate, and worsen their condition, he said. When going on a family outing, preparations should be made in the case that elderly dementia patients might need to relieve themselves in a vehicle, he said.

AFP, AUCKLAND, New ZealandIndia yesterday outclassed New Zealand as they coasted to a seven-wicket victory in the second Twenty20 international in Auckland to go 2-0 up in the series. India skipper Virat Kohli could scarcely contain his glee when he lost the toss and heard his opposite number Kane Williamson choosing to bat first. When Guptill was dismissed for 33 he had faced 20 deliveries and had only scored off 10 of them. Lunch was delayed to allow Mark Wood to mop up the South Africa tail as he took 5-46 off 14.3 overs. The pair provided a brief flicker of hope after South Africa, already 2-1 down in the series and 88-6 overnight, had lost Vernon Philander (4) to the fifth ball of the day.

With a driving right-handed layup, James no longer chased Bryant, he zoomed past him for third place on the NBA’s career scoring list. “I’m just happy to be in any conversation with Kobe Bryant, one of the all-time greats to ever play,” James said. James entered 18 points shy of passing Bryant and the layup gave him 33,644 points. James wore a size 15, Bryant was a 14, but he wore the sneakers anyway. Or the way James was inspired how Bryant always found some sort of slight to use as fuel to improve.

By Yang Yuan-ting / Staff reporterThe owner of a “self-service” bookstore in Taipei said she is interested in how readers interact with books in the absence of staff. Rare Books, which she has run with her father for many years, has become a popular tourist attraction, but Wu said she was nervous about opening a self-service bookstore. Out-of-print antique books were put in Rare Books’ stock, while the rest were kept in storage, she said. Since Rare Books has a good reputation for selecting books, many people bought boxes of books from the self-service store after it opened. At the beginning of the month, Wu launched another “experiment,” keeping the self-service store open all day and all night on Friday and Saturday.

The previously unknown virus has caused global concern because of its similarity to the SARS pathogen, which killed hundreds across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003. Originating in Wuhan, Hubei’s capital, the virus has spread throughout China and around the world — with cases confirmed in Taiwan and about a dozen countries as far as the US. The flight is schedueld for tomorrow, it said in an e-mail to Americans in China that warned of “extremely limited” capacity for private citizens. Japan is coordinating with the Chinese government to swiftly evacuate its citizens, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. Health officials said the virus has since become transmissible between humans.

AP, WASHINGTONUS President Donald Trump’s lawyers plunged into his impeachment trial defense on Saturday by accusing Democrats of striving to overturn the 2016 election, arguing that investigations of Trump’s dealings with Ukraine have not been a fact-finding mission, but a politically motivated effort to drive him from the White House. “They’re here to perpetrate the most massive interference in an election in American history,” White House counsel Pat Cipollone told senators. Trump attorney Jay Sekulow suggested Democrats were investigating the president over Ukraine simply because they could not bring him down for Russia. Republican senators already eager to clear Trump on Saturday said that the White House presentation had shredded the Democratic case. Republicans accused Democrats of cherrypicking evidence and omitting information favorable to the president, casting in a nefarious light actions that Trump was legitimately empowered to take.

After Leipzig had crashed to a 2-0 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern seized the chance to trim their advantage with an emphatic win over David Wagner’s young Schalke side. Lewandowski and Thomas Mueller scored first-half goals, then both had efforts disallowed for offside by the video assistant referee (VAR). However, Leon Goretzka, Thiago Alcantara and Serge Gnabry netted second-half goals as Bayern dominated at the Allianz Arena. Leipzig have tough games coming up as they host third-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday, then visit Bayern on Feb. 9. Union Berlin bounced back from their defeat at Leipzig with a 2-0 home win over Augsburg, with goals from Neven Subotic and Marcus Ingvartsen.