New phase ahead for office space market: JLL Taiwan
New phase ahead for office space market: JLL TaiwanTREND? The market this year would be characterized by technology-driven upgrades, a gradual shift toward a more balanced office market and regulatory reforms that could unlock new sources of capital, JLL Taiwan managing director Kevin Hou (侯文信) told a news conference in Taipei. Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei TimesDemand from AI-related sectors, the semiconductor supply chain and growing environmental protection requirements are expected to drive upgrades in office space, he said. Revisions to Taiwan’s real-estate investment trust regulations are expected to pass the legislature in the second quarter, a development that could introduce fresh liquidity into the commercial property market, Hou said. Taiwan’s office market is becoming more competitive, but demand for prime and high-specification space remains resilient, even as landlords face mounting pressure from new supply and evolving tenant expectations, JLL Taiwan said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2026 17:19 UTC
Taiwan’s forex reserves hit 2nd highest at end-2025
Taiwan’s forex reserves hit 2nd highest at end-2025Staff writer, with CNATaiwan’s foreign exchange reserves rose US$2.76 billion from a month earlier to hit US$602.55 billion at the end of last month, second only to US$602.94 billion recorded at the end of September, the central bank said yesterday. Photo: Cho Seong-joon, BloombergIn May and June, the central bank bought the greenback to cap the appreciation of the NT dollar, giving a boost to the country’s forex reserves. In recent trading sessions, foreign institutional investors did not remit large funds out of or into the local market, Tsai said. These holdings were the equivalent of 191 percent of Taiwan’s total forex reserves last month, up from 182 percent in November after the benchmark TAIEX rose 4.84 percent. The central bank yesterday disclosed that it bought US$1.287 billion more US dollars than it sold in the third quarter of last year.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2026 17:19 UTC
Hornets shock Oklahoma City Thunder
Hornets shock Oklahoma City ThunderDOMINATION: New York Knicks coach Mike Brown said they did not match the physicality of the Detroit Pistons, adding that ‘they just physically kicked our ass’AFP, LOS ANGELESThe Charlotte Hornets on Monday thrashed the NBA champions Oklahoma City Thunder 124-97, as Eastern Conference leaders Detroit delivered a statement win over the New York Knicks. The struggling Hornets, 12th in the Eastern Conference, dominated in Oklahoma City, where the league-leading Thunder suffered just their seventh loss of the season, but their second in a row after a setback against Phoenix on Sunday. The Charlotte Hornets’ Brandon Miller, left, celebrates his basket with teammates during their NBA match against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on Monday. Photo: ReutersEven 20 Hornets turnovers, leading to 26 Thunder points, could not help Oklahoma City, who never led after the opening minutes and connected on just 36.6 percent of their shots from the field. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Oklahoma City would not panic after dropping six of 12 games since their blazing 24-1 start to the season.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2026 17:19 UTC
City centerback Gvardiol out with broken right leg
City centerback Gvardiol out with broken right legAFP, LONDONManchester City have confirmed defender Josko Gvardiol suffered a broken leg in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium. Gvardiol was one of two City centerbacks who went off injured in the second half, along with Ruben Dias, before Enzo Fernandez scored a stoppage-time equalizer for the visitors. The draw left second-placed City six points behind English Premier League leaders Arsenal. Photo: ReutersBefore the extent of Croatia international Gvardiol’s injury was confirmed, City manager Pep Guardiola said it “doesn’t look good” for either player. “It’s been a terrible, terrible time for me,” the Spain international said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2026 17:19 UTC
Jim Ratcliffe revolution fails to halt Man Utd decline
Jim Ratcliffe revolution fails to halt Man Utd declineAFP, MANCHESTER, EnglandRuben Amorim’s sacking by Manchester United has exposed the dismal lack of progress since Jim Ratcliffe’s arrival as co-owner promised a new dawn. INEOS Group chairman Jim Ratcliffe takes part in the company’s media event in London on Feb. 23, 2024. Photo: AFPSince then, United have not seriously competed to win the English Premier League or UEFA Champions League despite a succession of big-name managers. Then-Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim looks on during their English Premier League match against Leeds United at Ellen Road in Leeds, England, on Sunday. To compound matters for United fans starved of success, Ratcliffe is asking them to pay more to attend games.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2026 17:19 UTC
Salah seals Egypt win as they advance to quarters
Salah seals Egypt win as they advance to quartersAFP, RABATMohamed Salah on Monday sealed an extra-time win for Egypt against Benin to take the Pharaohs through to the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), before Victor Osimhen netted twice as Nigeria cruised to an emphatic victory in their last-16 clash with Mozambique. Egypt’s tally of seven AFCON titles is more than any other country, but the last of those victories came in 2010, and Liverpool superstar Salah has never picked up a winner’s medal in the competition. Egypt’s Mohamed Salah, left, scores his side’s third goal during their Africa Cup of Nations round-of-16 match against Benin in Agadir, Morocco, on Monday. Egypt will stay in Agadir to face title-holders Ivory Coast or Burkina Faso on Saturday in the quarter-finals. Egypt are a great team, and I want to make my people happy,” Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2026 17:19 UTC
Nvidia introduces new AI platform featuring six chips made by TSMC
The rollout of six concurrent chips for Vera Rubin — the company’s next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) computing platform — marks a strategic departure from Nvidia’s previous “one or two chip” cadence, Huang said. Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang presents the company’s Rubin GPU and Vera CPU at CES in Las Vegas on Monday. At the time, he described Vera Rubin as “revolutionary,” because all six chips were new. Vera Rubin is 3.5 times better at training and five times better at running AI software than its predecessor, Blackwell, Nvidia said. The two also talked about their shared belief that economic growth would be tied to the availability of AI resources.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2026 17:19 UTC
Sweden beat Czech Republic 4-2 to win junior hockey title
Sweden beat Czech Republic 4-2 to win junior hockey titleAP, ST PAUL, MinnesotaCasper Juustovaara and Viktor Eklund on Monday scored first-period goals and Sweden won its third World Junior Hockey Championship title, beating the Czech Republic 4-2 in the first all-European final since 2016. The Czech Republic won their lone titles in 2000 and 2001. Sweden’s Sascha Boumedienne, left, and Love Harenstam celebrate after winning the World Junior Hockey Championship final against the Czech Republic in St Paul, Minnesota, on Monday. Adam Jiricek and Matej Kubiesa scored for the Czech Republic, with Kubiesa striking with 24 seconds left. “I think Sweden played better from the beginning,” Czech Republic coach Patrik Augusta said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2026 17:19 UTC
Travel options for Wuling outlined as blossoms loom
Travel options for Wuling outlined as blossoms loomBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterSales of bus tickets to Wuling Farm (武陵農場) begin today, the Highway Bureau said yesterday, as people plan trips for the Lunar New Year and 228 Memorial Day holidays. People look at cherry blossoms at Wuling Farm in Taichung last year. Shuttle buses to Wuling Farm would depart from Taipei Bus Station; Yilan Bus Station, Luodong Bus Station and Sansing Township Sports Stadium in Yilan; and Lishan (梨山) in Taichung, it said. Bus tickets can be purchased at the stations of Kuo Kuang and Taile; at 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Hi-Life and OK Mart convenience stores; and via the Taipei Bus Station app and ERA ticketing systems, it said. Kuo Kuang allows ticket purchases though ATMs and Line, it said, adding that sales are to begin at midday today.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2026 17:19 UTC
CCP seeks to control optics of Lee visit, academic says
CCP seeks to control optics of Lee visit, academic saysBy Chen Yu-fu and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerChina’s state-run Xinhua news agency’s near-exclusive coverage of Monday’s China-South Korea meeting highlighted Beijing’s anxiety over the political optics of the visit and its desire to control the narrative, Tunghai University Cross-Strait Research Center deputy executive director Hung Pu-chao (洪浦釗) said yesterday. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) as part of Lee’s four-day trip to China, his first since taking office in June last year. Xinhua had near-exclusive coverage of the Lee-Xi meeting, showing that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was eager to set a positive tone for the event, Hung said. Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung inspect an honor guard during a welcoming ceremony for the South Korean leader at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday. Discussions between Xi and Lee were focused on “resolving bilateral disputes,” and, therefore, issues involving third parties were largely avoided, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2026 17:19 UTC
No backup plan when TPass funds end, bureau says
No backup plan when TPass funds end, bureau saysBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe Highway Bureau yesterday said it does not have a backup plan for when local governments run out of funding for the TPass program at the end of this month. Funding for Phase 1 of the TPass program expired last month and the government has been barred from accessing the remaining funds. Photo: Hung Jui-chin, Taipei TimesHowever, the budget cannot be appropriated, as the legislature has yet to review the budget plan for this year. The budget allocated for the TPass program this year is NT$7.52 billion. There are about 698,000 monthly TPass users and about 379,000 use the TPass’ frequent rider program, bureau data showed.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2026 17:19 UTC
Lai and Cho to take budget fight to local level
Lai and Cho to take budget fight to local levelBy Chen Yun and Jason Pan / Staff reportersPresident William Lai (賴清德) is to join Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators in holding public events around the country to promote the passage of this year’s general budget, a source said on Sunday. Cho plans to organize events in collaboration with local leaders to open up discussions about how the blocking of the budget by opposition party legislators would affect people’s livelihoods, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. President William Lai, right, shakes hands with a woman during a visit to a senior care center in Yilan County on Friday last week. Photo: Wang Chun-chi, Taipei TimesLai and Cho in the past few days have emphasized close cooperation between the central and local governments, they said. The DPP plans to commission surveys and publicize the results, to show that the actions of opposition parties to block the budget run contrary to mainstream public sentiment,” they said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2026 17:19 UTC
Equine installation
Air quality to deteriorate nationwide from tomorrowA strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants wereBy Kayleigh Madjar
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2026 17:19 UTC
CCP paired Taiwan drills with cyberattacks, cognitive warfare: NSB
CCP paired Taiwan drills with cyberattacks, cognitive warfare: NSBStaff Wirter, with CNATaipei, Jan. 6 (CNA) Taiwan’s National Security Bureau (NSB) said that between Dec. 29 and Jan. 2 the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) paired military drills against Taiwan with information operations and cyberattacks, spreading more than 19,000 "controversial" messages and launching millions of hacking intrusions. Its written report on the drills and related security threats had already been delivered to legislators ahead of the committee session. In its report, the NSB said the CCP launched the drills to counter support for Taiwan from international democratic allies, divert attention from domestic problems and portray military strength as unaffected by anti-corruption efforts. The CCP used targeted drills against Taiwan to redirect public dissatisfaction toward nationalist sentiment framed as resistance to external interference, the agency said. The NSB said the drills featured compound threats including military and gray-zone coercion, cognitive warfare and cyberattacks, with "controversial" content concentrated on platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Threads and X.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2026 17:19 UTC
Acute hepatitis A hit 9-year high in 2025
Acute hepatitis A hit 9-year high in 2025CASES TOTAL 477: The CDC said only about 10% of people aged 21 to 40 have immunity against hepatitis A, while the rate is 40% among people aged 41 to 50By Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThere were 477 acute hepatitis A cases reported last year, the most in nine years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The hepatitis A case total last year was the highest since 2017, comprising 447 locally acquired cases and 30 imported cases, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. Centers for Disease Control Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin presents data on acute hepatitis A at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. “Unlike hepatitis B or C, acute hepatitis A primarily transmits through the fecal-oral route, meaning that people can become infected by ingesting contaminated food or having close personal contact with an infected person,” CDC Acute Infectious Diseases Division Director Yang Ching-hui (楊靖慧) said. People with pre-existing liver disease or chronic hepatitis who contract the disease have significantly increased risk of developing severe illness, including acute liver failure, but people who fully recover from an acute hepatitis A infection generally obtain lifelong immunity and do not become chronic carriers, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2026 17:19 UTC