Xi, Putin share spirit of brutalityBy Joseph BoscoIn the 1930s, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini met several times in each other’s countries to pledge their unified opposition to the post-World War I liberal international order. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), today’s most threatening world leaders, have also engaged in a series of exchange visits, the latest of which was last month with Xi’s visit to Moscow. Like Hitler and Mussolini almost a century ago, Putin and Xi detest the rules-based international system that has brought stability, peace and economic progress to much of the world. Like Hitler and Mussolini, Putin and Xi are kindred spirits in brutality and the inhuman treatment of people under their control. He served in the Pentagon when Vladimir Putin invaded Georgia, and was involved in Department of Defense discussions about the US’ response.

Singapore plans to execute man over 1kg of cannabisAFP, SINGAPOREA Singaporean man is scheduled to be hanged next week for conspiring to smuggle 1kg of cannabis in the city-state’s first execution in six months, rights groups said. Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, would be executed on Wednesday, according to a notice from the Singapore Prison Service that was received by his family and posted on social media by rights advocates. Amnesty International condemned the decision, calling it “extremely cruel.”Protesters hold candles during a candlelight vigil against the death penalty in Singapore on April 26 last year. Photo: EPA-EFE“If carried out, this execution would be in violation of international law and in stubborn defiance of continued outcry over Singapore’s use of the death penalty,” an Amnesty spokesperson said. The city-state has some of the world’s toughest laws against the use and sale of narcotics, saying that the death penalty remains an effective deterrent against trafficking.

Training on US weapons obligated by law: general‘KNIFE EDGE OF FREEDOM’: Washington works with its allies in the first island chain to ‘provide crisis response options,’ US Army Japan Commanding General Joel Vowell saidBy Lu Yi-hsuan and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerUS law prescribes that it provide training for the military systems it sells Taiwan, although its military assistance differs from that it has provided Ukraine, US Army Japan Commanding General Joel Vowell said on Thursday. US Army Japan Commanding General Joel Vowell poses for an undated photograph. “We’ve historically had a military and State Department presence through AIT [American Institute in Taiwan], and that’s generally been as required by law,” he said. The US’ Taiwan Relations Act prescribes training to use the military systems purchased by Taiwan, he added. Asked the same question in another survey, 52 percent of Americans believed China’s territorial ambitions to be a critical threat.

Yemen crush kills at least 85, leaves hundreds injuredTRAGEDY: Authorities arrested three people after eyewitnesses said gunfire near a school where people were waiting to collect handouts caused panicAt least 85 people were killed and hundreds injured in a crush at a Ramadan cash handout in Yemen yesterday in one of its worst tragedies in the nation just as optimism was growing over its civil war. People stand outside a school at the site of a stampede in Sana’a, Yemen, yesterday. They fell on me, and I got hurt,” an injured child told Al-Masirah from his hospital bed. A Houthi security official speaking on condition of anonymity told reporters that at least 85 people were killed and “more than 322” injured, 50 of them seriously. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed by the war’s direct or indirect causes, and millions pushed to the brink of famine.

Ko says he met with US national security officialsCONSENSUS? Ko told reporters in Washington that he had met AIT Chair Laura Rosenberger during a visit to AIT headquarters on Thursday last week and on Wednesday met with US security officials to discuss Taiwan’s national defense and cross-strait issues. Photo: CNAHowever, AIT Political-Military Affairs Director Matthew Tritle was seen at AIT headquarters during Ko’s visit. He said he told US officials at the meeting that while Taiwan should continue to focus on national defense, its priority should be economic growth, adding that he hoped the US would assist Taiwan in joining regional economic organizations. Ko also met with former AIT deputy director David Keegan at Johns Hopkins University, where Keegan is an adjunct lecturer in the Chinese studies program.

ChatGPT may put corporate secrets at risk, report saysBloombergCompanies using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools such as ChatGPT could be putting confidential customer information and trade secrets at risk, Israel-based venture firm Team8 said in a report. Photo: ReutersThere are also concerns that confidential information fed into chatbots could be used by AI firms. If these tools are fed confidential or private data, it would be difficult to erase the information, the report said. The document flagged three other “high risk” issues in integrating generative AI tools and underlined the heightened threat of information increasingly being shared through third-party applications. There is a “medium risk” that using generative AI could increase discrimination, harm a company’s reputation, or expose it to legal action over copyright issues, it said.

Office touts Taiwan’s WTO winStaff writer, with CNAA WTO ruling in favor of Taiwan in a dispute with India over information technology (IT) product import duties shows that Taipei can effectively use the organization to protect the interests of its exporters, the Office of Trade Negotiations said on Tuesday. To protect Taiwan’s competitiveness in the sector, the office consulted with stakeholders, including the Taipei Computer Association, and filed a complaint with the WTO, which was joined by Japan and the EU, it said. Taiwan requested consultations with India in 2019 and the establishment of a panel to resolve the dispute in 2020, the WTO said. The WTO provides a system for resolving disputes and safeguarding the interests of Taiwanese businesses, it said. Of the four cases that went before a panel, three resulted in rulings in Taiwan’s favor, the office said.

Even in the face of economic and diplomatic coercion, Taiwan is unlikely to relinquish its democratic system. Yet US efforts to promote domestic semiconductor manufacturing — reflected in the US$280 billion CHIPS and Science Act — threatens to undermine the long-term competitiveness of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), severely threatening the nation’s “silicon shield.”The US semiconductor manufacturing push has inspired nervousness in Taiwan. As US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said last year: “America buys 70 percent of its most sophisticated chips from Taiwan... [That is] downright scary and untenable.”Drumming up fears that Taiwan is in danger undercuts business confidence and could undermine Taiwan’s economic prosperity and hurt global chip production. Chinese Communist Party leaders have long asserted China’s sovereignty over Taiwan and insisted that unification is inevitable. Dropping the facade, ostensibly in support of Taiwan, would make the nation’s geopolitical position even more tenuous.

Cross-strait tensions a global issue: Yoon Suk-yeol‘ABSOLUTELY OPPOSE’: Tensions across the Taiwan Strait have risen because of the attempts to alter the ‘status quo’ by force, the South Korean leader saidReuters, SEOULTensions across the Taiwan Strait concern not only countries in the region, but the whole world, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said, adding that Seoul is opposed to changing the cross-strait “status quo” by force. “The Taiwan issue is not simply an issue between China and Taiwan, but, like the issue of North Korea, it is a global issue,” Yoon said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday ahead of his state visit to the US next week. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is pictured during an interview with Reuters at the Presidential Office in Seoul on Tuesday. Yoon said his government has been exploring how to help defend and rebuild Ukraine, just as South Korea received international assistance during the 1950-1953 Korean War. Yoon said he is open to peace talks, but opposes any “surprise” summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to “show off” to voters out of domestic political interests.

Street cricket in Pakistan comes to life after darkAFP, KARACHI, PakistanAfter midnight during Ramadan, makeshift floodlights transform a central Karachi basketball court into an urban cricket arena, where dozens of young Pakistani men chase taped-up tennis balls zipping through the night air. “After the Taraweeh [special Ramadan prayers], people crave entertainment, so that is why many play cricket,” batsman Waqas Danish said. “They play all night, because some people can’t wake up for breakfast if they sleep.”A cricketer bowls during a tape-ball night cricket tournament in Karachi, Pakistan, on Tuesday last week. From legendary all-rounder Wasim Akram to modern-day pace star Shaheen Shah Afridi, many of Pakistan’s top players credit street cricket as a positive influence on their techniques. “In cricket there is a saying: ‘Watch the ball’ — it doesn’t matter if it is a tennis ball or a taped ball or a hard ball,” Pakistan national youth coach Mohammad Masroor said.

China’s economic growth acceleratesREBOUND IN CONSUMPTION: China posted the fastest quarterly growth over the past year at 4.5 percent, but it still faces pressures amid an uncertain economic environmentAP, BEIJINGChina’s economic growth accelerated in the latest quarter as consumers flocked back to shops and restaurants following the abrupt end of anti-virus controls in the country. Analysts initially pegged economic growth to be about 4 percent. However, while consumption and retail sales have grown, other economic indicators with weaker growth, such as industrial output and fixed-asset investments, indicate an uneven recovery. Investors are expected to scrutinize China’s first-quarter economic data for indicators of recovery following years of harsh lockdowns and a crackdown on industries such as technology and real estate. Last year’s GDP growth fell to 3 percent, hampered by anti-virus controls that caused snap lockdowns and kept millions at home, sometimes for weeks on end.

‘ROC’ name invites China invasionBy Lai Fu-shun 賴福順Taiwan today cannot use its true national name. Instead, as a nation, Taiwan is referred to as the Republic of China (ROC). If US military forces were stationed in Taiwan, China would certainly invade. The most effective way to confront China is to have a large number of US troops stationed in Taiwan. The name “ROC” encourages China to invade while blocking US troops at the door.

Taiwan to set up second representative office in ItalyEXPANSION: Aside from establishing a representative office in Milan to serve Taiwanese expatriates in northern Italy, the nation is to set up an office in Montreal, CanadaBy Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporterTaiwan is preparing to set up a representative office in Milan to provide services to overseas Taiwanese in northern Italy and deepen exchanges with the country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. It would be Taiwan’s second representative office in Italy after Rome. Photo: ReutersThe new representative office would also offer consular and emergency services to Taiwanese expatriates living and working in the eight administrative regions in northern Italy: Aosta Valley, Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige. The new office is to be called Ufficio di Rappresentanza di Taipei in Italia — Ufficio di Milano, or the Taipei Representative Office in Italy — Milan Office, it said. The ministry in December last year said Taiwan would also set up an economic and cultural office in Montreal, Canada, which is to become operational this summer.

Arsenal can handle title stress, Arteta vows after drawAFP, LONDONArsenal’s bid to win the English Premier League for the first time since 2004 is in danger of imploding, but manager Mikel Arteta remains adamant the leaders can cope with the pressure of the title race. Arteta’s side blew a two-goal lead for a second successive game as West Ham United hit back to snatch a 2-2 draw at the London Stadium on Sunday. Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, left, reacts after missing a chance to score from the penalty spot during their English Premier League match against West Ham United in London on Sunday. When you drop your level so quickly the game is there for the opponent.”Before the summit meeting with City, Arsenal host Southampton on Friday. We gave them hope and credit to West Ham, they took it,” he said.

‘Monetizing hate’: Unease as misinformation swirls on TwitterAFP, WASHINGTONWhen the iconic US diaper company Huggies was swamped with false pedophilia allegations last month, the conspiracy was traced to a once-banned influencer reinstated to Twitter by Elon Musk. Brown said that the list was incomplete and the actual number of restored accounts could be higher. Anti-LGBTQ+ narratives — including the false claim that the community “grooms” children — have spiked on the platform, according to the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). Imran Ahmed, chief executive at CCDH, said “Twitter is monetizing hate at an unprecedented rate.” Just five Twitter accounts peddling the “grooming” narrative generate up to US$6.4 million in annual advertising revenue, according to CCDH’s research. But dozens of “misinformation super-spreaders” have purchased the blue tick and are inundating the platform with falsehoods, according to the watchdog NewsGuard.