Thailand and Cambodia agree to second ceasefireReuters, BANGKOKThailand and Cambodia yesterday ended weeks of fierce border clashes with a second ceasefire in the worst fighting in years between the Southeast Asian nations. The ceasefire was holding, Thai Ministry of Defense spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri said about two hours after it went into effect at noon. Cambodian Minister of Defense Tea Seiha, left, shakes hands with his Thai couterpart, Nattaphon Narkphanit, at the General Border Committee Meeting in Chanthaburi Province, Thailand, yesterday. An earlier ceasefire broke down this month, with each side accusing the other of moves that led to clashes. Thailand would also return 18 Cambodian soldiers in its custody since the July clashes if the ceasefire is fully maintained for 72 hours, according to the agreement.

The project is to have a NT$5 billion budget and target four to six-story apartment buildings aged 30 years or older, as well as terraced townhouses and independent residential buildings that are six stories or fewer, the Ministry of the Interior’s (MOI) proposal said. Each apartment would have a funding ceiling of NT$9.6 million, and interior renovations would be capped at NT$200,000. Elderly residents, defined as those aged 65 or older, and disadvantaged residents would receive a maximum of NT$300,000 in interior renovation funds. The meeting would also discuss amendments to the Expediting Reconstruction of Urban Unsafe and Old Buildings Act (都市危險及老舊建築物加速重建條例), they added. The amendments state that “unsafe and old” buildings eligible for renovation subsidies must have residents in at least half of the building’s residential units.

England’s Harry Brook, third right, plays a shot on day 2 of the fourth Ashes Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. England’s Harry Brook hits the winning runs on day 2 of the fourth Ashes Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. Photo: AFPEngland had not won a Test in Australia since January 2011 in Sydney, losing 16 and drawing two since. England’s Josh Tongue, right, celebrates taking a wicket on day 2 of the fourth Ashes Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. An England supporter celebrates after their win on day 2 of the fourth Ashes Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday.

‘Comanche’ and ‘LawConnect’ duelAP, HOBART, AustraliaSupermaxis Master Lock Comanche and defending champions LawConnect yesterday continued their close duel on the second day of the 80th running of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. LawConnect was forced to contend with a broken mainsheet and halyard overnight, but fixed both issues and remained in pursuit of Comanche, which is skippered by Matt Allen and James Mayo. The fleet departs from Sydney Harbour at the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Friday. LawConnect sails in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race near the start on Friday. LawConnect led the fleet out of Sydney Harbour in search of its third straight line honors win.

GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance and identifying key public opinion influencers. The Yomiuri Shimbun also discussed how China might have interfered in Taiwan’s previous elections, citing three leaked audio files circulating online in October. The audio files allegedly contained discussions between the head of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Strategic Support Force No. The conversations on the audio files also implied that China had prepared 20 million yuan (US$3 million) for work related to the Kaohsiung mayoral election in 2018 and the 2020 presidential election. When Han unexpectedly won as mayor and online search volume about him had skyrocketed, there were speculations about public opinion manipulation.

Morocco held by Mali, ending record wins runReuters, RABATHosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Mali’s Nene Dorgeles, center, is challenged by Anass Salah-Eddine of Morocco during their Group A game at the African Cup of Nations in Rabat on Friday. Morocco’s Noussair Mazraoui controls the ball during their Africa Cup of Nations game against Mali in Rabat on Friday. Sinayoko had been hacked down by Morocco centerback Jawad el Yamiq, but the referee initially waved play on.

Closing 10-0 run lifts Chicago Bulls over 76ersAFP, WASHINGTONChicago’s Coby White on Friday scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter as the Bulls rallied to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 109-102, stretching their win streak to five games. Reserves Tre Jones and Zach Collins each scored 15 points, while White added seven rebounds and six assists as Chicago scored the last 10 points to win, improving to 15-15. It was sloppy, a little bit, but we got the win,” White said. Jalen Smith made a slam dunk and White sank a three-pointer that put Chicago ahead for good. “Everybody contributed down the stretch and we made some big-time plays.”Tyrese Maxey added 27 points for the 76ers, who squandered a 24-point lead in losing to Chicago last month.

China revises law to regulate drones, tighten safety rulesREUTERS, BEIJINGChina passed a revised law that for the first time formally regulates uncrewed aircraft, a move set to reshape the country’s fast-growing drone and low-altitude economy sectors, state media said yesterday. China has implemented “interim regulations” for uncrewed aircraft starting last year, which stipulate that civil uncrewed aircraft must be registered under real names. The regulations also specify that micro, light and small civil uncrewed aircraft do not require airworthiness certification, while medium and large ones must apply for airworthiness certification. As China’s drone market has rapidly expanded, oversight has lagged. E-commerce and food delivery leaders such as JD.com and Meituan have long talked about investing in drone logistics to improve supply chain efficiency.

The crown jewels of the arcade industry, they occupy the building’s first two floors, relegating video games to the basement and upper levels. Claw machines are displayed at the Amusement Expo in Tokyo on Nov. 14. Photo: AFP“Crane games are keeping the sector afloat,” said Morihiro Shigihara, an industry expert and former arcade manager. The real stroke of genius “was putting plush toys in the claw games,” Bottos said. The hegemony of claw machines has also gone hand in hand with a gradual transformation of urban hangouts.

Some choosing Chinese amid tech rivalryBy Thomas Urbain and Luna Lin / AFP, NEW YORKEven as the US is embarked on a bitter rivalry with China over the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI), Chinese technology is quietly making inroads into the US market. Despite considerable geopolitical tensions, Chinese open-source AI models are winning over a growing number of programmers and companies in the US. Photo: ReutersIn contrast, “open” models offered by many Chinese rivals, from Alibaba (阿里巴巴) to DeepSeek (深度求索), allow programmers to customize parts of the software to suit their needs. US chip titan Nvidia, AI firm Perplexity and California’s Stanford University are also using Qwen models in some of their work. Given the US administration’s stance on Chinese tech companies, risks remain, Barton said.

Cape Town’s housing crisis meets tourism-fired Airbnb boomBy Shakirah Thebus / AFP, CAPE TOWNThe laughter of children echoed against walls lined with dozens of mattresses in a large, dim room of an illegally occupied building in Cape Town’s bustling and touristy city center. The property is in the heart of Cape Town, where rental prices are soaring as tourism is booming. “My income doesn’t allow me to pay Cape Town’s exorbitant rent prices,” said one of the residents, Fundisa Loza, 46. A woman eats on a couch in a hall of an occupied building in Cape Town on Dec. 18. For city official Luthando Tyhalibongo, Cape Town’s “housing stress is not foreign-made, investor-made or Airbnb-made...

The Islamic State is not back, but its ideas endureBy Karishma Vaswani / Bloomberg OpinionThe deadliest domestic terror attack in Australia’s history is raising an uncomfortable question: Is there an Islamic State (IS) revival in Asia? A month later, Polish authorities arrested a law student suspected of plotting an IS-inspired attack at a Christmas market. “In Indonesia, Islamic State lost much of its appeal when it no longer became possible to go to Syria,” she said. It is not, but its ideology remains. Previously, she was the BBC’s lead Asia presenter and worked for the BBC across Asia and South Asia for two decades.

KMT blames Lai for budgetBy Liu Wan-lin / Staff reporterPresident William Lai (賴清德) should show more empathy, as he is the one causing an impasse in the legislative review of next year’s budget, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said yesterday, calling on Lai to have “three soft hearts” to resolve the deadlock. Photo: Taipei Times“We hope the legislature can support and assist the country’s progress by promptly reviewing the central government’s budget and the special defense budget,” Lai said. Lo said the difficulty in reviewing the general budget was that the budget the executiv branch submitted to the Legislative Yuan contains illegal omissions. Items that should have been included by law were not, resulting in the Legislative Yuan being unable to review it, he said. The KMT stands firm in defending national security and the welfare of military personnel, and has proposed a salary increase for soldiers, he said, adding that if the military salary increase budget is allocated, the Legislative Yuan would immediately review the general budget.

Train ridership up despite ticket price hikeGRAPH GOES UP: Ridership and revenue are both up since the railway restructured from an agency to a state-owned company last year as it seeks to shrink its deficitStaff writer, with CNAState-owned Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) reported yesterday that average daily passenger volume increased about 1.4 percent from a year earlier during the period of June to this month, despite raising ticket prices in June. A Taiwan Railways Corp. train is pictured in an undated photograph. Following the fare hike and passenger volume increase, sales for this year would increase by NT$2.6 billion from a year earlier, with average daily passenger volume predicted to rise 2.9 percent to almost 670,000, the company said. TRC said it has kept working with the government to promote the regional TPass program, and average daily passenger volume under TPass rose 26.3 percent from a year earlier to 185,000 from Jan. 1 to Dec. 19. The company said that it has continued to improve safety, as well as its on-time rate and convenience for passengers.

Taipei delegation meets with Shanghai officialsStaff writer, with CNATaipei Deputy Mayor Lin Yi-hua (林奕華), who led a delegation to Shanghai yesterday for a bilateral city-level summit, said ahead of her departure that the two sides would exchange experience in urban governance. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) is only planning to attend the summit on its second and final day today. Taipei Deputy Mayor Lin Yi-hua, center, speaks to reporters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. The delegation consists of 120 people, including the Taipei City Council speaker and 10 other councilors, as well as various city government officials, academics and experts, she said. The annual Taipei-Shanghai City Summit is the only platform for direct exchanges between officials on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.