By Lee I-chia / Staff reporterTaipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who is also the chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), yesterday in Prague, Czech Republic, said that TPP legislator-at-large-elect Tsai Pi-ju’s (蔡璧如) remark that the party would form an alliance of opposition party caucuses in the Legislative Yuan is inaccurate, as it intends to form a “people’s alliance.”The TPP won 11.2 percent of party votes in Saturday’s legislative elections, passing the 5 percent threshold and securing five legislator-at-large seats. Tsai on Monday said that the party plans to form an alliance with other opposition parties — the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the New Power Party (NPP) — in the Legislative Yuan to closely monitor the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). KMT caucus whip William Tseng (曾銘宗) on Tuesday said that the KMT is open to the idea, but cooperation with the TPP would depend on whether the two parties agree on certain issues, adding that they could start from economic issues. Independent Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) said the TPP was formed last year and is about to enter the Legislative Yuan, but it does not have a clear stance regarding its main ideals as well as many issues, such as national security and foreign relations, adding that forming an alliance without shared ideals would amount to political manipulation. Tsai and TPP legislators would bring the experience they gained in the Taipei City Government, as well as their credo that the government should be open and transparent, to the Legislative Yuan, Ko said.

Bezos is in New Delhi for the Smbhav summit, an Amazon India event for small and medium-sized businesses, where he announced Amazon is to invest a fresh US$1 billion to help bring such companies online. He also committed the retail giant to exporting a total of US$10 billion of made-in-India goods by 2025. “The 21st century is going to be the Indian century,” the Amazon founder said. The latter’s Flipkart Online Services Pvt is also delving deeper into the countryside in its pursuit of more customers. The Competition Commission of India said it would probe the deep discounts, preferential listings and exclusionary tactics that Amazon and Flipkart are alleged to have used as anti-competitive levers.

By Liu Li-jen and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Taipei Newspapers Association yesterday decried draft enforcement rules to the Suicide Prevention Act (自殺防治法) that prohibits newspapers from printing stories about suicide on the front page, saying that the rule has overstepped the act’s jurisdiction and risks curtailing freedom of the press. 6 and 8 of Article 13, which covers reporting on suicides, could contradict the act’s purpose. The association expressed support for self-regulation by the media, saying that members of the media should follow the guiding principles jointly recommended by the Taiwanese Society of Suicidology and the Taiwanese Suicide Prevention Center when reporting suicides. The association said that it ask the ministry to consult with experts and review the draft with care. Department of Mental and Oral Health Director Chen Li-chung (諶立中) told a news conference yesterday morning that the ministry had consulted with suicide prevention experts, but not the media.

By Wang Jung-hsiang and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerA limited series of 8,888 iPass cards in the shape of a mahjong tile went on sale yesterday at official distributors in celebration of the Lunar New Year holiday. The company selected the qing fa (青發) mahjong tile, with the fa on the card made to glow, the Kaohsiung-based iPass said. Along with the number of cards in the series being “lucky,” the limited edition is meant to wish the iPass user a bright and prosperous new year, the company said. Another series of iPass cards presents the popular Sumikko Gurashi characters, with a card for each of the four characters, it said. The cards are also sold on PChome, the nation’s No.

AFP, ADELAIDE, AustraliaAngelique Kerber’s preparations for this year’s opening Grand Slam were dealt a blow yesterday when she was forced to retire from the Adelaide International with back pain. 1, who won the Australian Open in 2016, pulled out when behind 6-3, 2-0 in her second-round clash with Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska. Second seed Simona Halep is to take on Aryna Sabalenka after the Belarusian booked her spot 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 over American qualifier Bernarda Pera. In men’s play, Russian Andrey Rublev, who won the Qatar Open over the weekend, beat American Sam Querrey 6-3, 6-3 to move into a last-eight clash against Britain’s Dan Evans. South African qualifier Lloyd Harris also advanced to the quarters with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 win over Laslo Djere.

AFP, NEW YORKJust as her career as a vocalist began taking off in 2013, singer Lucy Dhegrae found herself silenced, physically unable to produce the notes she once delivered with ease. “It was just like my body saying, ‘Okay, now you really have to deal with this. She found articles that referred to sexual assault survivors who eventually lost their voices altogether after keeping silent for a period of time. GOING BEYOND UNDERSTANDINGShe employed a range of healing techniques including meditation, breath work, massage, self-defense training and holistic alternative therapies. “Discovering that I had paresis really echoed the experience of being assaulted,” the 35-year-old said, saying she plunged into depression.

AFP, AUCKLAND, New ZealandFeliciano Lopez, playing his second match of the day, yesterday knocked top seed and world No. Andreas Seppi of Italy beat seventh seed Adrian Mannarino in three sets before going down to Kyle Edmund 6-3, 7-6 (7/4). Fourth seed Isner won 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, pulling away in the deciding set with the first service break of the match when Sandgren faltered at 2-2. “Eventually I played a good game at 2-2 in the third and was able to break and give myself some momentum. It’s a good sign.”Shapovalov beat Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 7-6 (7/2), while Millman dropped the first set against Khachanov before recovering to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

AFP, PARISWomen approaching menopause who have frequent sex are less likely to cross that threshold than women of the same age who are not as active sexually, researchers said yesterday. The average age of the women going into the study was 46. During the following decade, 45 percent of the women experienced a natural menopause, at an average age of 52. The correlation between frequency of sex and onset of menopause was unmistakable, the researchers found. There is considerable variation in the age of natural menopause across cultures, but genetic factors only account for about half of those differences, earlier research had shown.

AFP, PARISThree EU countries on Tuesday launched a process charging Iran with failing to observe the terms of the 2015 deal curtailing its nuclear program, a move that sparked anger and threats from Tehran at a time of growing tensions. The foreign ministers of the three European nations said Iran had been progressively scaling back its commitments under the deal since May last year. The 2015 nuclear deal signed in Vienna — known as The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — has a provision that allows a party to claim significant noncompliance by another party before a joint commission. Iran intensified sensitive activities to enrich uranium, which can be used to make a nuclear weapon, in response to Trump’s pulling out of the deal. However, Tehran lashed out at the European countries and appeared to threaten unspecified retaliation.

Jose Mourinho’s side almost killed off second-tier Middlesbrough within the first 15 minutes of the third-round replay at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. A gift from Middlesbrough goalkeeper Tomas Mejias helped Tottenham open the scoring in the second minute. Tottenham’s second came when Argentina winger Erik Lamela sliced through the Middlesbrough defense before slotting home in the 15th minute. George Saville got one back for Middlesbrough in the 83rd minute as Tottenham survived a tense finale to earn a trip to Southampton. Newcastle’s FA Cup form is so bad that they have not gone beyond the fourth round in 13 years, have not won the competition since 1955 and last reached the final in 1999.

AFP, SYDNEYForecasts of heavy rain yesterday offered hope in the months-long battle to contain Australia’s unprecedented bushfires, but smoke lifted pollution levels in the nation’s second-biggest city to among the worst in the world. Optimism was further boosted yesterday with heavy rain forecast for some of the hotspots in the most populated eastern states of New South Wales and Victoria. “It’s some pretty good news,” New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said. Pollution in Melbourne, which is normally ranked among the world’s most liveable cities, was rated “hazardous,” with health authorities warning people to stay indoors. The bushfires have killed at least 27 people, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and burnt 10 million hectares of land.

The curriculum is to put New Zealand at the forefront of climate change education worldwide; governments in Australia and the UK have both faced criticism for lack of cohesive teaching on the climate crisis. The New Zealand scheme, which will be offered to all schools that teach 11 to 15 year-old students, will not be compulsory, the government said. “One of the pieces of feedback we’ve got from teachers around the country is that they’re really crying out for something like this, because kids are already in the conversation about climate change,” said New Zealand Minister for Climate Change James Shaw, the co-leader of the left-leaning Green Party. By necessity, students would “delve into the bad news” of the science explaining the climate crisis, he added. The curriculum included text, video, and advice for teachers, New Zealand Minister of Education Chris Hipkins said in a statement.

By HoonTing 雲程On Dec. 19 last year, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Minister Liu Jieyi (劉結一) was interviewed by the People’s Daily. These are the reasons the US neglected Taiwan for many years, creating further confusion over Taiwan’s status. Those in charge were either trying to protect their own private interests or were very naive. China rose on the back of US financial aid, but is now trying to bully governments and civil society in other countries in various destructive ways. US academic circles have been too slow to respond and some people are even falling back on outdated arguments to protect Beijing.

AFP, WASHINGTONThe US is to send home 21 Saudi Arabian military trainees after an investigation into a “jihadist” killing of three US sailors last month, the US Department of Justice announced on Monday. The Dec. 6 shooting attack by Royal Saudi Air Force Second Lieutenant Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida was an “act of terrorism,” US Attorney General Bill Barr said. The Saudi Arabian government had vowed to review each case under its code of military justice and criminal code, he said. The shooting threatened a decades-old military training program crucial to the US-Saudi Arabian relationship, which involves billions of dollars in military sales to the kingdom. However, Senator Rick Scott called for the suspension of the Saudi Arabian program for further review by the US Department of Defense (DOD).

So his administration labeled China a “strategic competitor” and set to work on containing the US’ Asian rival. Just three months after 9/11, the Bush administration signed off on China’s accession to the WTO, and China’s economy shifted into high gear. By the end of Bush’s second term, in 2008, China’s GDP had reached US$4.6 trillion — more than 31 percent of the US’. Today, China’s GDP stands at about 65 percent of the US level. In effect, Trump revived great power competition — focused primarily on containing China — as the organizing principle of US foreign policy.