Girlfriend of poisoning victim barred from exitLOVERS’ SPAT? Media reports said the woman had prepared the rat poison for herself after quarreling with Alex Shorey, but that he had accidentally ingested it The girlfriend of an Australian man who was sickened by rat poison has been ordered not to leave the country, Taipei prosecutors said yesterday, after reports that she told prosecutors she had prepared the poison for herself. Australian Alex Shorey, 24, left Taiwan on Wednesday on a medical evacuation flight bound for Queensland, where he is continuing to receive treatment after ingesting the rat poison superwarfarin. Authorities searched the residence of Shorey’s Taiwanese girlfriend on Wednesday as the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office opened an investigation into the case. Also conducting investigations are the Taipei Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division and Xinyi Precinct, whichBy Chien Li-chung

Bill to protect Indonesia’s workers leaves 2m exposedBloombergIndonesia is the largest democracy in the world without a law to protect its domestic workers. Indonesian workers stage a protest urging the parliament to pass a domestic workers’ protection bill in Jakarta on March 14. For nearly two decades, a bill to protect domestic workers in Indonesia has languished in parliament. “We’re sending a message to the world that Indonesian domestic workers get proper protections,” Indonesian Vice Minister Hiariej said. “We always ask other countries to protect our domestic workers, and to ask that, we need a law ourselves,” he said.

Warren Buffett faults US handling of banking crisis‘SHOULDN’T HAPPEN’: The US government failed to allay consumer fears, despite taking extraordinary measures to prevent a larger crisis, Warren Buffett saidAFP, NEW YORKInvestment tycoon Warren Buffett on Saturday said that messaging from the US government over the regional banking crisis had been “poor,” suggesting that is why confidence has not returned among consumers. Berkshire Hathaway Inc chairman Warren Buffett walks through an exhibit hall at the firm’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on Thursday. Yet, despite that extraordinary step, consumers are still worried, Buffett said at a shareholder meeting of his holding company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc, in Omaha, Nebraska. “It’s been poor by the politicians who sometimes have an interest in having it poor, it’s been poor by the agencies. On Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway reported a US$35.5 billion profit for the first quarter alone, largely due to strong financial markets.

Kishida was in Seoul on the first official bilateral visit by a Japanese leader to South Korea in more than a decade. He met South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who has made improving testy relations with Japan a top priority for his administration. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, shakes hands with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol at a joint news conference after their meeting in Seoul yesterday. “As the South Korean government moves forward ... Yoon and Kishida yesterday agreed to cooperate on chips, without elaborating on what the partnership would entail.

Dubai’s growing commodities hub is now enticing London tradersBloombergLondon’s commodities merchants are following some of their Swiss peers to Dubai, as the emirate moves from being an outpost focused on crude to a major energy trading hub. While London has a much bigger commodities presence, more energy traders are moving or expanding from the British capital to Dubai. “The tax incentives are clear, but for some there is a feeling that Dubai is well-positioned to become a major commodities trading hub,” Funnell said. Still, as a commodities trading center it remains much smaller than places like London, Singapore, Geneva and Stamford. Some of the company’s European power team have already made the move — including power desk head Brendan Mycock — and gas traders are expected to follow.

Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang, left, talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in Panaji, India, on Thursday. Photo: AP“With more than 40 percent of the world’s population within the SCO, our collective decisions will surely have a global impact,” he said. Russia and China founded the SCO in 2001 as a counterweight to US alliances across East Asia to the Indian Ocean. Russia and China have sought to reduce the dominance of what they see as US and Western-led global institutions and alliances, and China accuses Washington of attempting to contain its economic and military rise. “Victims of terrorism do not sit together with perpetrators of terrorism to discuss terrorism,” Jaishankar told the briefing.

‘The godfather of AI’ quits Google, warns of dangersMACHINE LEARNING: AI ‘takes away the drudge work,’ but it ‘might take away more than that,’ and could spread misinformation, making the truth difficult to know, he said A computer scientist often dubbed “the godfather of artificial intelligence” (AI) has quit his job at Google to speak out about the dangers of the technology, US media reported on Monday. Geoffrey Hinton, who created a foundation technology for AI systems, told the New York Times that advancements in the field posed “profound risks to society and humanity.” ‘THAT’S SCARY’ “Look at how it was five years ago and how it is now,” he was quoted as saying in the article. “Take the difference and propagate it forwards. That’s scary,” he said. Hinton said that competition between tech giants was pushing companies to release new

Protecting the rights of Indonesian migrantsBy Hasan Basri Maulana Firmansyah 傅翰森Taiwan is a democratic country that respects the value of tolerance. This is evident in the many organizations or groups that aim to accommodate Muslims, such as PCINU Taiwan — the local branch of Indonesian Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulaman — and the association of Indonesian Muslims in Taiwan. On April 22, at least 17 cities across Taiwan held Eid al-Fitr prayers, local Islamic organizations reported. Apart from representing Indonesia in Taiwan, IETO should fight for the rights of Indonesian migrants. More specifically, in the context of the right to worship, it should not only distribute information to migrants, but also establish direct communication with local agencies, so that migrant workers’ rights can be protected.

Minister objects to bank’s misdesignation of TaiwanREGIONAL AID: The minister also urged the bank to strive for climate resilience for vulnerable developing member countries, and to help enhance their resource deliveryStaff writer, with CNAMinister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) protested Taiwan’s designation as “Taipei, China” at the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) annual meeting, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun attends the Asian Development Bank’s annual meeting in Incheon, South Korea, on Friday. Chuang protested the designation during her speech, saying that Taiwan has fulfilled its obligations and responsibilities as a member of the bank, the ministry said. She urged ADB member nations to respect each other and allow Taiwan to participate in the bank’s activities on an equal footing. Regarding gender equality, Chuang said that Taiwan has been ahead of its peers on the issue and was willing to share its experience with its partners.

AI can teach students to be curiousBy Nigel P. Daly Chang Yung-Chun 張詠淳We might not realize it, but we rely on artificial intelligence (AI) for our pleasures and distractions. In recent months, educators have been mulling three ways to deal with this AI threat: Ban AI chatbots, do nothing or incorporate AI usage. Although some schools have proactively banned ChatGPT, there are many ways students can use AI chatbots and evade detection. AI chatbots can already outperform most humans in writing essays, solving math problems, summarizing texts and even writing code. Students can ask AI chatbots to help them understand the problem by asking for as many explanations and examples as needed.

Traders eye best gold week since March on bank fearsBloombergGold headed for its biggest weekly advance since the middle of March as renewed worries about the US banking sector fueled bets that the US Federal Reserve might have to cut rates sooner than anticipated. Bullion was steady yesterday, and was up about 3 percent this week. It has surged since early March on falling US Treasury yields, and nervousness over banks and a debt ceiling standoff in the US Congress. A woman checks gold bangles at a jewelry showroom in Kochi, India, on April 21, 2015. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index yesterday fell 0.2 percent and was down 0.6 percent over the week.

Adidas takes small step forward, mulls Yeezy optionsBloombergAdidas AG has yet to decide on what to do with its mountain of unsold Yeezy sneakers, but new CEO Bjorn Gulden said its turnaround is nonetheless off to a good start. Adidas reported sales of 5.3 billion euros in the first quarter of this year, about in line with a year earlier and ahead of analysts’ estimates. Yeezy shoes are pictured at a second-hand sneaker store in Paramus, New Jersey, on Oct. 25 last year. That would require more markdowns to reduce the 5.7 billion euros inventory of unsold sneakers and apparel. Adidas is still reviewing its options for the 1.2 billion euro pile of unsold Yeezy merchandise stemming from the canceled collaboration with rapper and designer Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.

Strong earthquake hits Japan, killing one, injuring 22AP, TOKYOA strong, shallow earthquake hit central Japan on Friday afternoon, killing at least one person and injuring 22, but no tsunami warning was issued. The magnitude 6.2 quake struck Ishikawa Prefecture at 2:42pm on the west coast of Japan’s main island of Honshu, the US Geological Survey said. The Japan Meteorological Agency measured the quake at magnitude 6.5 and at a depth of about 12km, 300km northwest of Tokyo. A car is crushed by a collapsed house in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, after a strong earthquake struck central Japan yesterday. East Japan Railway Co said the super-express Shinkansen connecting Tokyo and Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture was temporarily suspended for safety checks, but had resumed normal operations with delays.

India infrastructure drive counters ChinaAFP, ZEMITHANG, IndiaFreshly laid roads, bridges, upgraded military camps and new civilian infrastructure dot the winding high Himalayan route to the Indian frontier village of Zemithang — which China last month renamed to press its claim to the area. Indian army soldiers display arms at a camp near Pankang Teng Tso Lake in the Tawang District of India’s Arunachal Pradesh state on April 3. Photo: AFPCulturally largely Tibetan, Arunachal Pradesh is savage territory for battle, with mountain passes as high as 4,750m still covered in snowdrifts as late as May, and thickly forested slopes lower down. The Indian army officer charged with preventing a repetition is Brigadier N.M. Bendigeri, who commands thousands of troops in Tawang. “India wants peace with everyone,” Shah said at Kibithoo, one of the first Arunachal Pradesh villages overrun in 1962.

Xi’s ‘pro-Russia’ envoy to EurasiaBy Sheng Yi-che 冼義哲The long-awaited telephone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy finally took place on Wednesday last week. Li was until 2019 the Chinese ambassador to Moscow, and has decades of experience serving in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Soviet Union before its collapse. In 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented Li with the Order of Friendship at a ceremony in the Kremlin — that is enough to betray Li’s pro-Russia stance and ideology. What is Xi playing at, tasking a blatantly pro-Russia “wolf warrior” diplomat to bring Moscow and Kyiv to the negotiating table? Li’s visit as an ambassador serves no real purpose, as he is merely doing Xi’s bidding to buy Moscow time.