Irving’s absence sparks questions about vaccine statusThe GaurdianThe first signs that the NBA might have a COVID-19 vaccine problem on its hands have emerged after one of the league’s biggest stars, the Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving, did not attend his team’s media day. Irving’s teammate, Kevin Durant, was present at Monday’s media day, and said he was unconcerned about the point guard’s status. The NBA says 90 percent of its players are fully vaccinated, a higher rate than the US population as a whole. However, Rolling Stone has reported that a number of players are still refusing the vaccine on religious grounds or due to a belief in debunked conspiracy theories. The NBA does not prohibit unvaccinated athletes from playing, but they are subject to stricter protocols.

Ministry, AIT ink deal to maintain PAC-3 missilesBy Lo Tien-pin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Ministry of National Defense and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) have inked a deal to maintain ground support equipment for US-made Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles, as well as other missiles in Taiwan. The deal would provide maintenance services for US-made missiles, including the PAC-3 systems, until 2025, it said, adding that the Republic of China Air Force Command Headquarters would take charge of Taiwan’s contractual obligations. Photo copied by Wu Shu-wei, Taipei TimesThe deal is part of the PAC-3 sales package that includes the missiles, related systems, and maintenance and support services, a ministry official said on condition of anonymity. According to the package deal, Taiwan’s PAC-3 missile defense systems that are near the end of their service life would be returned to the US for refurbishment, they said. The PAC-3 is Taiwan’s primary missile defense system against the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) sophisticated missile arsenal, whose range covers all of Taiwan.

Ford announces US$11.4bn electric vehicle investmentAFP, WASHINGTONUS automaker Ford Motor Co on Monday said it plans to invest US$11.4 billion in electric vehicle (EV) production, in a bid to position itself to lead the US’ shift away from fossil fuels. An artist’s rendition released on Monday depicts a Ford Motor Co-SK Innovation plant planned for Tennessee in 2025. Photo: ReutersIt is to invest US$7 billion, part of a US$30 billion investment already announced last spring, and SK Innovation will put up the remainder, the statement said. It would be the “largest, most advanced, most efficient auto production complex in its 118-year history” and would place the company at the forefront of the country’s shift to electric vehicles, Ford said. A Ford F-150 Lightning prototype is displayed at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, on Sept. 16.

Yungtay shares jump after takeover offer from HitachiBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporter, with CNAShares of Yungtay Engineering Co (永大機電) moved sharply higher yesterday after the company announced a day earlier that major shareholder Hitachi Ltd had offered to bring the Taiwanese elevator manufacturer fully under its ownership. Yungtay shares closed up 10 percent, the maximum daily increase, at NT$63.4, with 466 million shares changing hands on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), where the benchmark TAIEX closed down 0.76 percent amid concerns over power rationing in China. Photo courtesy of Yungtay Engineering Co via CNAHitachi has agreed to launch a stock swap to buy Yungtay shares for NT$65.1 each, a 12.82 percent premium over its closing price of NT$57.5 on Monday, Lin said. At one point Pau Jar controlled the board, but as Hitachi steadily acquired Yungtay shares on the open market, the group led by Pau Jar steadily lost influence. The stake held by Pau Jar and its allies has shrunk to 7.86 percent.

China calls a WTO solar ruling favoring the US ‘dangerous’Reuters, GENEVA, SwitzerlandChina on Monday lambasted a WTO ruling in a row with the US over Washington’s measures to limit the import of solar panel cells, calling it “erroneous and dangerous.”A WTO panel handed a victory to the US earlier this month, rejecting all four of China’s claims and saying that the US measures did not breach global trade rules. At the private meeting, China’s delegate expressed “deep concern with the systematically harmful findings made by the panel report,” a statement released by the Chinese delegation said. The “safeguard” measures are due to be in place for four years, with annual reductions in the duty rates from an initial 30 percent. The duties have applied to solar modules and, beyond a set quota, to solar cells. China’s appeal will have no immediate effect, as the top WTO dispute settlement body does not have enough judges to function.

Taiwan is democracy ‘bright spot’: CNNHARD-WON FREEDOM: CNN’s Fareed Zakaria said that power has been increasingly consolidated in the hands of the public, with soaring engagement online and offlineBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writerTaiwan is a “bright spot” of democracy in a world becoming steadily less democratic, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria said on Sunday, before warning about its fragility in the face of autocratic adversity. CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, right, speaks with Financial Times associated editor Rana Foroohar during a CEO Dialogue forum hosted by APEC on Nov. 19 last year. Photo: Reuters“But amidst all this backsliding, there is one bright spot: Taiwan,” Zakaria said, citing last year’s Democracy Index by the Economist Intelligence Unit. “The success of this election is a testament to the strength of Taiwan’s democracy,” which only began electing lawmakers in 1992, Zakaria said. Taiwan’s COVID-19 response then “boosted trust in the government even further,” he said.

Sanofi says that it is not pursuing its mRNA vaccineBloombergSanofi does not plan to pursue the development of a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine against COVID-19 because the shot will come too late to market. “Sanofi is focusing therefore on a recombinant protein candidate to address the needs of a booster vaccine.”A test tube is pictured in front of a Sanofi logo on Sept. 8. Ordinarily a giant in the vaccines space, Sanofi has lagged behind BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc in the pandemic as they raced ahead with mRNA shots that have now been injected into arms more than 1 billion times and generated billions in revenue. Last month, Sanofi bought its mRNA development partner Translate Bio Inc for US$3.2 billion with the aim of moving beyond vaccines and harnessing mRNA for treatments — something that BioNTech is investigating for cancer. “Our goal is to unlock the potential of mRNA in other strategic areas such as immunology, oncology and rare diseases in addition to vaccines,” Sanofi chief executive officer Paul Hudson said at the time of the deal.

UEFA ends action against three Super League rebelsReuters, MANCHESTER, EnglandUEFA has nullified disciplinary action against breakaway European Super League clubs Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus after a Madrid court ruled that European soccer’s governing body should not sanction the rebel clubs. UEFA had opened a probe against the three clubs, but in June it suspended proceedings after being notified by Swiss authorities of a court order from the commercial court in Madrid obtained by the legal entity European Super League Company SL. The latest step from UEFA was to declare that the proceedings were nullified. Proceedings have continued in a Madrid court to stop UEFA from punishing the clubs who tried to break away from the established European soccer structures, including UEFA’s Champions League. UEFA said that it “remains confident in and will continue to defend its position in all the relevant jurisdictions.”

Envoy welcomes TSMC to invest in GermanyIMPROVING COOPERATION: No matter the outcome of the German election, lawmakers would be interested in forming a delegation to visit Taiwan, Jorg Polster saidBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterGermany welcomes Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to establish a new fab in Saxony, German Institute Taipei Director-General Jorg Polster said yesterday at a news briefing on the country’s election. German Institute Taipei Director-General Jorg Polster, right, holds a news conference at the institute in Taipei yesterday to give an update on Germany’s Bundestag election. In July, TSMC said it was evaluating the feasibility of constructing a semiconductor fabrication plant in Germany. Berlin welcomes the firm’s establishment plan, Polster said, adding that the east German state of Saxony would be a suitable location. Germany and Taiwan have many small and medium-sized enterprises, so he hopes to learn more about their operations in Taiwan, Polster said, adding that he is interested in visiting Taiwan’s science parks.

Five more allies voice support at UN‘FRESH SOLUTIONS’: The UN would be living up to its objectives by including Taiwan, Eswatini said, while Tuvalu called for Taiwanese citizens to be allowed into UN premisesStaff writer, with CNAFive more diplomatic allies on Saturday spoke up at the UN General Assembly in support of Taiwan’s inclusion: Eswatini, Haiti, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tuvalu. Twelve of Taiwan’s 15 diplomatic allies that are UN members have so far spoken out on behalf of the nation at the General Assembly — tying last year’s number. Tuvaluan Deputy Prime Minister Kausea Natano in a pre-recorded message addresses the UN General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York on Saturday. Tuvaluan Prime Minister Kausea Natano called for the UN to recognize that Taiwanese have a right to access UN premises. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin was the only representative of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies who did not mention the nation in his address at the General Assembly on Saturday.

Pandering to Beijing will make KMT target for ‘united front,’ MAC tells ChuBy Chen Yu-fu, Yang Chun-hui and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporters, with staff writerPro-Beijing pandering by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman-elect ignores the facts and would allow the party to become a target for China’s “united front” tactics, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The KMT on Saturday elected former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) as chairman on promises of reopening all channels of communication with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The title and logo of the Mainland Affairs Council are displayed on a wall at its Taipei headquarters in an undated photograph. Chu only cares about meeting Beijing’s expectations while ignoring mainstream domestic public opinion, it said, adding that this kind of leadership cannot carry the KMT into a new era as Chu has promised. The DPP also decried Chu’s failure to hold the true perpetrators to account while blaming the victims.

Animal crossing signs in Nantou aim to raise awarenessBy Chen Feng-li and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerA cute animal crossing sign on a lonely mountain road in Nantou County has made a splash online. The page’s moderator on Thursday urged drivers to be mindful of wildlife and navigate that section of the highway carefully. An animal crossing sign featuring a Perny’s long-nosed squirrel is pictured on the side of a mountain road in Nantou County on Thursday. An animal crossing sign featuring sheep is pictured along Provincial Highway 14A near Cingjing Farm in Nantou County on Saturday. The animals on the signs are chosen to reflect the species that are found in the area, they said.

AC Milan forward Daniel Maldini celebrates after opening the scoring against Spezia in their Serie A match at the Stadio Alberto Picco in La Spezia, Italy, on Saturday. He showed me what we were doing at set-pieces, so I realized that I would be in the starting XI,” Daniel Maldini told broadcaster DAZN. The coach gives me advice... Thankfully, we came through the match, which was very hard,” Daniel Maldini added. Daniel Maldini joined Milan’s youth setup after his dad retired, and has him at his side as the club’s technical director, watching his every move on the field. “He’s demanding — rightly so — but he helps me out,” Daniel Maldini said.

Crypto exchange giants stop taking China usersBloombergTwo of the world’s largest bitcoin exchanges have halted new registrations for Chinese users, taking one of the first actions to comply with Beijing’s latest cryptocurrency ban. New sign-ups are still available for Hong Kong users on both platforms, but mainland China is no longer an option for new-account creation. Friday’s notice specifically called out offshore exchanges targeting Chinese users, banning them from hiring locally for roles from marketing to payment settlement and tech. Still, Chinese users have been able to access their services including over-the-counter trading and crypto-to-crypto transactions. In June, Huobi banned Chinese users from trading riskier products such as derivatives, after China’s Cabinet called for a renewed clampdown on crypto trading and mining.

Afghan fighters seek glory on windblown Kabul fieldAFP, KABULEvery weekend, fighters from around Afghanistan gather on a public field in the capital to pit their skills against each other in a sport that is a mix of judo and wrestling. “I have been fighting for 17 years,” said Mohammad Atef, a well-built 31-year-old from Samangan Province in northern Afghanistan, after disposing of his opponent with an expert throw. “It is popular in Samangan, Kunduz, Baghlan — and there are many famous wrestlers in Sheberghan, too.”Fighters from across Afghanistan exhibit their judo and wrestling skills at Chaman-e-Huzuri Park in downtown Kabul on Friday. “Today, my competitor was from Kunduz,” Atef said after disposing of his rival with an acrobatic throw. Hekmat, a 21-year-old also from Samangan, is just starting his career and was beaming after his first victory of the weekend.