Pirovano takes downhill double to end Vonn’s runReutersItaly’s Laura Pirovano yesterday completed a stunning World Cup downhill double on home snow to oust injured US Alpine ski great Lindsey Vonn from the top of the standings. Laura Pirovano competes in the Women’s Downhill race of the FIS Ski World Cup in Val di Fassa, Italy, yesterday. Pirovano has 436 points with Germany’s Emma Aicher on 408 and one downhill to come on Saturday last week at the World Cup finals in Norway. It’s all surreal,” said Pirovano, whose 0.01 advantage translated into about 28cm on the piste. “Winning the title was my goal... And I came painfully close to achieving it,” Vonn commented in a lengthy Instagram post before the race.

US hotels seek World Cup boost after tourism dipAFP, WASHINGTONAt the US hotels that Meade Atkeson manages, a drop in tourism weighs heavily on business, but hoteliers like him hope that FIFA World Cup enthusiasm would soon eclipse wariness over US President Donald Trump’s policies. “Just financially, it’s difficult when international travel is down,” Atkeson said, adding that such visitors tend to stay longer. The FIFA World Cup trophy sits on a podium during the tournament’s draw ceremony in Washington on Dec. 5 last year. However, the organization hopes that this year would be a turning point — it is counting on the World Cup, from June 11 to July 19, to attract visitors. Organizers say that besides the 7 million spectators in stadiums, the World Cup is set to attract 20 million to 30 million tourists.

PSG beaten by Monaco before Chelsea gameAFP, PARISUS national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. AS Monaco forward, Folarin Balogun, right, vies for the ball with Paris Saint-Germain’s Illia Zabarnyi during their French Ligue 1 match at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on Friday. That would be a season-defining tie for PSG, who won the Champions League for the first time last season, before losing 3-0 to Chelsea in the FIFA Club World Cup final. “It is not the best result going into the Champions League. However, Monaco snuffed out the PSG comeback, Balogun’s shot from outside the area going in via a touch off Nuno Mendes.

Paralympics open as Russian athletes booedAFP, VERONA and CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, ItalyThe Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics started on Friday with an opening ceremony marked by Russian athletes being booed as they paraded behind their national flag for the first time since 2014. Despite Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has allowed six Russian athletes and four from their allies Belarus to represent their countries, accompanied by their national flags, rather than competing as neutrals. The Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics opening ceremony commences in Verona, Italy, on Friday. The Russian delegation of four athletes was booed by sections of the spectators, as well as some volunteers in the arena. The boycotting nations were represented by two volunteers carrying the countries’ flags, but no athletes or dignitaries paraded with them.

PLA purge affecting exercise schedule: CSISBy Fan Wei-li / Staff reporterAn “unprecedented purge” of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is affecting its exercise schedule and would make it difficult for China to launch a large-scale military operation against Taiwan in the short term, the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a report on Feb. 24. The report also analyzed the “near-complete decapitation” of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Central Military Commission. The CCP’s highest military decisionmaking body no longer has leaders from the operational system, it said. Combining the US think tank’s report with the reality of recent “zero incursions” by warplanes for a week shows that the PLA is preoccupied with internal restructuring and personnel purges, the CSIS report said. China’s goal would be to weaken the sense of urgency in Taiwan regarding the need to boost defense resilience, he added.

The Swiss government in February last year published a report saying that exiled Tibetans and Uighurs are facing transnational repression from China. The oppression has escalated into transnational repression, which targets not only Tibetans and Uighurs, but also Hong Kongers and Taiwanese, Yeh said. Hong Kong Outlanders member Sky Fung (馮詔天) said that Tibetans and Hong Kongers with connections to Taiwan are at risk of being charged of “collusion with external forces” by Beijing. However, Tibetans and Hong Kongers continue their independence movements in Taiwan because they cannot voice dissent in their homeland, Fung said. “It actions push Tibetans and Hong Kongers to the limit,” he said, calling on people in Taiwan to take action to resist Chinese oppression.

Former US ambassador to China Nicholas Burns speaks at a conference at George Washington University on Friday. Photo: CNATrump should also discuss China’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine with Xi, he said. “There are no more civil rights for ... Hong Kong,” he said, citing his experience during a personal visit to the territory last year. China reneged on its promise to the world to respect Hong Kong’s rights and traditions, which it made before the territory’s transfer in 1997, he said. The 1992 Shanghai Communique stipulates that Washington’s “one China” policy and a framework of dialogue that calls for regular and institutionalized exchanges between Taiwan and China, Pickering said.

Group warns of ships loitering off southern TaiwanBy Tsai Tsung-hsien and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe presence of several ships flying flags of convenience near the Fangshan Submarine Cable Protection Zone off the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) could indicate that they are engaged in “gray zone” tactics or targeting Taiwan’s undersea cables, military interest group TaiwanADIZ said yesterday. The vessels switched their Automatic Identification System (AIS) statuses to “not under command” after entering the area, the group said. A graphic shows a cluster of ships in the Fangshan Submarine Cable Protection Zone off the Hengchun Peninsula. The Fangshan area has one of the densest concentrations of submarine cables near Taiwan, it said. The Coast Guard Administration and the Republic of China Navy should monitor the situation using coastal radar and patrol vessels to prevent foreign ships from sabotaging submarine cables under the guise of engineering difficulties, TaiwanADIZ said.

Taiwanese national cheerleading group `CT AMAZE` performs during the World Baseball Classic een Taiwan and Czech Republic at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo yesterday. Taiwan fans cheer in the stands during the Taiwan-Czech Republic game at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. Taiwan fans, some holding Taiwanese flags, cheer in the stands during the World Baseball Classic game between Taiwan and Czech Republic at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. The World Baseball Classic team includes US-born Stuart Fairchild of the Cleveland Guardians, whose mother was born in Taiwan. Ling said the World Baseball Classic was “the highest level in baseball” and promised to enjoy the party regardless of the result.

MOFA tells China not to ‘meddle’ in evacuationsSTAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said TaiwanBy Huang Ching-hsuan, Chen Yu-fu and William Hetherington

Man given life in prison for fatally abusing stepchildStaff writer, with CNAA New Taipei City man was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday for fatally abusing his two-year-old stepson, while the child’s mother received a 19-year prison term for failing to stop the violence, according to a ruling by the New Taipei City District Court. Despite hearing the child crying and screaming, Chen did not stop Wu from assaulting the child, the court said. The citizen judge panel said Wu repeatedly abused a defenseless toddler and showed complete disregard for the child’s life and health, describing his actions as cruel. Wu was sentenced to life imprisonment and stripped of civil rights for life for intentionally fatally injuring a child. Taking those factors into account, the court sentenced Chen to 19 years in prison for abandoning a child in violation of her duty of care, resulting in death.

Traditional Palauan canoe arrives in KaohsiungStaff writer, with CNAA traditional voyaging canoe from Palau arrived at Kaohsiung Port yesterday, where Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council (OAC) held a ceremony to welcome the crew making an ambitious Pacific voyage guided entirely by traditional navigation. The canoe is captained by master navigator Sesario Sewralur, who leads a 13-member crew from Palau, Taiwan, the United States and the Federated States of Micronesia. Crew members of the Alingano Maisu from Palau are welcomed at a ceremony hosted by Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council at Kaohsiung Port yesterday. During their stay in Kaohsiung, the crew will host cultural exchanges and maritime education activities with Indigenous groups, sailing communities and academic institutions, the council said. Earlier yesterday, the canoe was escorted toward Kaohsiung from waters near Dapeng Bay by sailboats from Taiwanese universities and sailing groups.

FEATURE: Yilan’s indigenous coffee flavors earn appreciationBy Wang Chun-chi and Esme Yeh / Staff reportersTaiwan’s first indigenous coffee exchange platform has been set up in Yilan County to promote distinctively flavored indigenous coffee, with the goal of making indigenous coffee beans a premium on the global market. The coffee trees cultivated by Hsu have big fruit with small coffee beans, with the beans possessing a unique flavor, he said. The university also launched training programs for coffee farmers in collaboration with the industry to help build an indigenous coffee industrial chain and continue to make indigenous coffee a premium product. He and his wife co-founded Lighten Cafe and visited many indigenous coffee farmers around Taiwan — including among the Paiwan, Bunun, Atayal and Amis people — to help promote and market their indigenous coffee, he said. The visibility of indigenous coffee remains to be seen in the local market, which is dominated by imported coffee beans, Hsia said.

Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai will not appeal sentence: lawyersAFP, HONG KONGHong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai (黎智英) would not appeal against the national security conviction for which he was jailed for 20 years last month, his legal team said yesterday, without providing a reason. His sentence was the harshest penalty doled out so far under a national security legislation imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing after widespread pro-democracy protests in 2019. Media tycoon Jimmy Lai poses during an interview in Hong Kong on June 16, 2020. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee (李家超) lauded the “severe” prison term as a demonstration of the city’s rule of law. Lai’s decision reflects a “general disillusionment” with how the Hong Kong judiciary handles national security cases, Oxford Brookes University law lecturer Urania Chiu said.

LeBron James breaks NBA field goal recordAFP, LOS ANGELESLeBron James on Thursday broke the record for most field goals made in NBA history, although the latest milestone in his glittering career did not to stop the Los Angeles Lakers from crashing to a 120-113 defeat to the Denver Nuggets. James, who already held the NBA all-time points record, sailed past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 15,837 field goals with a fadeaway jumper in the first quarter. Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, top, goes to the basket against the Detroit Pistons in their NBA game in San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday. James’ career tally of well over 43,000 points is nearly 5,000 more than second-placed Abdul-Jabbar, whom he passed in 2023. James reached the points record earlier in part because Abdul-Jabbar played much of his career before the introduction of the three-pointer, but the field goal record is further testament to his longevity and prowess.