Lishan lights Taiwan’s highest Christmas treesStaff writer, with CNAThe nation’s two highest Christmas trees, situated at 1,956 meters above sea level in Taichung’s Lishan (梨山), were lit last night to mark the winter solstice, accompanied by a concert, said the Tri-Mountain National Scenic Area Headquarters. The illuminated 28-meter-tall cedar trees -- dubbed the “Christmas Trees above the Clouds” -- are to light up with meteor-shower-like lights for three minutes every half hour each night through Jan. 25, 2026, creating what organizers described as an “enchanting alpine atmosphere,” said the Tri-Mountain National Scenic Area Headquarters. Two Christmas trees are pictured at 1,956 meters above sea level in Taichung’s Lishan last night. Photo courtesy of the Tri-Mountain National Scenic Area HeadquartersThe installations are part of the 2025 Lishan-Guguan Light Art Festival, which is being held for its fifth winter season, it said. The Guguan part of the festival runs from Nov. 29 to Jan. 11, 2026, featuring hot springs and walkways, it added.

Yet, Pep Guardiola was still far from satisfied as he demanded improvements if City are to win a seventh Premier League title under his tenure. Arne Slot introduced the most expensive Premier League player of all time at the break. Hugo Ekitike headed in his fifth goal in three league games to double Liverpool’s lead. Chelsea have won just once in their last five league games to see ambitions of a title challenge wilt. Wolves remain without a league win this season and on course to enter the record books as the worst side in Premier League history after a 2-0 home defeat to Brentford.

METRO RAMPAGE: CIB, police probe online threats in wake of attackPREVENTING COPYCATS: Police have arrested three people for posts considered public threats, while the CIB urged the public to report threatening posts they findBy Yao Yueh-hung / Staff reporter, with CNAThe Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday said it was coordinating with police agencies to establish a national task force to curb the spread of violent rhetoric and threats online following a mass stabbing incident in Taipei on Friday. Twenty posts or comments on social media and online forums have been flagged for containing violent threats or suggesting that an indiscriminate attack was forthcoming. The task force would quickly investigate and pursue legal action against those making violent threats, inciting violence or claiming they would carry out attacks, the bureau said. The CIB urged people to not share, endorse or treat as jokes suspicious posts or comments advocating violence to avoid fueling panic or copycat behavior. Prosecutors did not accept Chen’s explanation and determined his actions constituted a threat to public safety, with substantial criminal suspicion.

Mbappe equals Ronaldo record in Madrid’s winReuters, MADRIDKylian Mbappe on Saturday equaled Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 59 goals in a calendar year for Real Madrid with a late penalty in his side’s 2-0 home win over Sevilla in Spanish La Liga, with the French forward celebrating his 27th birthday in style. Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior, right, vies for the ball against Sevilla’s Juanlu Sanchez during their La Liga match in Madrid on Saturday. Mbappe sent a snap shot wide, as the hosts struggled to find a clear-cut chance, and Sevilla’s Lucien Agoume put another strike wide for the visitors before Real went in front seven minutes before the break. Mbappe sent an effort straight at the keeper and dragged another shot wide, while at the other end Courtois twice denied Alexis Sanchez and Romero with Real all too easy to open up at the back. Real were hanging on for the win with Mbappe still laboring to find the net when Juanlu Sanchez fouled Rodrygo in the box, and the birthday boy stepped up to score before pulling out Ronaldo’s celebration.

KMT filing malfeasance against Constitutional CourtBy Liu Wan-lin and Chen Cheng-yu / Staff reportersThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus said yesterday it is filing malfeasance charges against the Constitutional Court and its five justices. The Constitutional Court on Friday ruled that opposition-backed amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed by the Legislative Yuan last year were unconstitutional, as they contravene due legislative process and separation of powers. The Legislative Yuan in December last year passed amendments stipulating that no fewer than 10 grand justices must take part in deliberations of the Constitutional Court, and at least nine grand justices must agree to declare a law unconstitutional. “The Constitutional Court session was therefore held illegally, and the ruling is, of course, illegal,” it added. The five are no longer qualified to be called justices of the Constitutional Court, Huang said, describing them as “green judicial tyrants” and accusing them of contravening Article 124 of the Criminal Code regarding wrongful judgements.

METRO RAMPAGE:Precinct chief addresses public concerns over stabbing responseStaff writer, with CNAThe head of a local police precinct yesterday addressed public concerns over why some officers responding to Friday’s deadly attacks in Taipei were not armed, saying decisions were made under extreme uncertainty and time pressure. Armed police keep watch at a busy shopping area yesterday in Taipei near the crime scene of Friday’s knife attack. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei TimesDespite this, the off-duty officers did not hesitate and ran to the scene on foot to help protect the public, Lee said. Lee also asked the public and media to show understanding and support, saying police officers face unpredictable danger every day. “Every police officer has the same courage and the same desire to protect the public,” Lee said, becoming visibly emotional and at times choking back tears.

Jake Paul reports double broken jaw and on liquidsAP, MIAMIJake Paul’s jaw was broken in two places in his loss to former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in Miami on Friday. Joshua scored a sixth-round knockout victory over Paul, who posted on Saturday an X-ray of his damaged jaw. “Double broken jaw,” the YouTuber wrote on Instagram. “Gotta eat liquids for 7 days.”Joshua ended the heavyweight bout with a powerful punch to Paul’s jaw, sending the American to the canvas for the fourth and final time. Paul weighed in at 98kg, and Joshua at 110kg.

This is US President Donald Trump’s second arms sale to Taiwan during his second term. US President Donald Trump gestures as he makes an announcement about lowering the cost of drug prices in Washington on Dec. 19. REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinThe weapons in this package are significantly different from those that Taipei had tended to procure before, such as advanced models of fighter jets and warships. “This package is full of weapons that will make a Chinese [landing] on Taiwan difficult to execute and sustain,” retired US Navy rear admiral Mark Montgomery said. The Nikkei Asia report also quoted an anonymous US government source, saying there are two major reasons for Taiwan’s shift in priorities.

METRO RAMPAGE: Japanese tourist recounts efforts to save knife victimBy Lin Chih-yi / Staff reporter, with CNATourist Kouta Kinoshita said he felt helpless as he attempted to staunch the bleeding of a man stabbed in Taipei during a deadly rampage on Friday that left four people dead. Kouta Kinoshita films himself from the scene of a knife attack in Taipei on Friday. In an emergency, no tools are needed, just “apply direct pressure to the wound with your hands,” Kao said. As direct pressure might involve contact with the injured person’s blood, use a piece of clothing, such as a scarf or similar item, to apply pressure, Kao said. A tourniquet can be tied above the wound to stop blood flow when arteries are damaged, he said.

Court reverses earlier ruling to clear way for Musk’s US$56bn pay packageAFP, NEW YORKA Delaware appeals court on Friday cleared the way for businessman Elon Musk to receive a long-contested US$56 billion Tesla Inc pay package, reversing an earlier judgement in the protracted case. The decision by the Delaware Supreme Court rejected a pair of judgments by Delaware Court of Chancery Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick and sets the stage for the world’s richest person to get another windfall. In a pair of rulings last year, McCormick invalidated the 2018 package, which once loomed as historically large, but have since been eclipsed by the tech tycoon’s most recent Tesla package. In a statement posted online on Friday, attorneys representing Tesla shareholders said they were considering next steps. Tesla shareholders on Nov. 6 easily approved the latest package, which is tied to a number of performance and valuation targets.

Gasoline, diesel prices to drop by NT$0.4 per literBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterGasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.4 per liter this week, after international crude oil prices last week fell for the second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The release of weak economic data from China also added pressure to oil prices, they said, adding that concerns about excess supply continue to cloud the market’s outlook after oil prices had fallen more than 20 percent this year. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures — the US oil gauge — dropped 1.36 percent to US$56.66 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Google, Apple warn staff on US visas not to travel abroadReutersAlphabet Inc’s Google and Apple Inc have advised some employees on US work visas to avoid international travel due to delays of up to 12 months for visa stamping appointments at embassies, Business Insider reported on Friday, citing internal memos. Google’s logo at a company research facility in Mountain View, California, is pictured on May 13. Photo: ReutersGoogle and Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The administration of US President Donald Trump this month announced increased vetting of applicants for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, including screening social media accounts. In September, Alphabet had strongly advised its employees to avoid international travel and urged H-1B visa holders to remain in the US, according to an e-mail seen by Reuters.

An Indian national, he entered Australia on a visa in 1998. A few weeks before the Bondi Beach attack, the pair returned to Sydney from a four-week trip to the southern Philippines that is now under investigation by detectives there and in Australia. They would usually leave their rooms only for two or three hours, with the longest excursion lasting eight hours, the Philippine national security service said. Clarke Jones, an Australian National University criminologist, said it was “very, very unusual” to have a father and son as suspected perpetrators. Jones, who has worked with violent offenders in the Philippines, said the alleged gunmen’s radicalization had apparently gone “under the radar” for years after the Australian intelligence probe.

Moore Threads unveils new AI chips after IPOCHINA RIVAL: The chips are positioned to compete with Nvidia’s Hopper and Blackwell products and would enable clusters connecting more than 100,000 chipsBloombergMoore Threads Technology Co (摩爾線程) introduced a new generation of chips aimed at reducing artificial intelligence (AI) developers’ dependence on Nvidia Corp’s hardware, just weeks after pulling off one of the most successful Chinese initial public offerings (IPOs) in years. “These products will significantly enhance world-class computing speed and capabilities that all developers aspire to,” Moore Threads CEO Zhang Jianzhong (張建中), a former Nvidia executive, said on Saturday at a company event in Beijing. The new technology, slated for mass production from next year, would enable clusters connecting more than 100,000 chips for AI training at data centers, Zhang added. Moore Threads started out earning revenue from gaming and visual rendering chips before pivoting to the accelerators vital to developing and running AI software. Moore Threads, which was blacklisted by the US in 2023, unveiled servers capable of linking tens of thousands of AI chips.

US Representative Brian Mast, the Republican chairman of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, which oversees export controls, on Friday introduced a bill dubbed the AI Overwatch Act that would require the US Congress to be notified of AI chips sales to adversaries. Any processors equal to or higher in capabilities than Nvidia’s H20 would be subject to oversight, the draft bill says. The legislation would also require a certification that the chips would not be used for military, intelligence or surveillances purposes. Since the US first restricted sales of advanced AI chips in 2022, the idea of intentionally selling advanced chips to China has found scant support in Washington. I want to be convinced because I keep asking the question.”McCormick questioned the Trump administration’s argument that selling AI chips to China would slow the ability of Chinese chipmakers to gain in product performance and quality.