ART text, assessment to be sent to legislature
ART text, assessment to be sent to legislatureBy Chen Cheng-yu , Chen Yun and Fion Khan / Staff reporters, with staff writerThe government plans to quickly submit the Taiwan-US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) and a full impact assessment to the Legislative Yuan, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said yesterday. Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun, center, arrives at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei TimesUnder the direction of Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), the Executive Yuan would send the text of the ART, the investment memorandum of understanding and an overall impact assessment to the legislature “as soon as possible” after the Lunar New Year holiday, Cheng said. The signing of the ART is a historical moment for the two countries as they become formal strategic economic partners, they said. Taiwan’s structural transformation — systematically reducing its dependence on investment and trade with China — has provided a solid foundation for the relationship, they added.
Source:Taipei Times
February 15, 2026 17:14 UTC
Puma Shen goes to France despite threats from China
Puma Shen goes to France despite threats from ChinaBy Lin Che-yuan / Staff reporterDemocratic Progressive Party Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) yesterday said he is traveling in France despite China’s threats against him. A Chinese legal expert on China Central Television said Shen should be pursued through Interpol and other mutual judicial assistance agreements with foreign countries. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Puma Shen is pictured in Paris in an undated photograph. Photo: Screen grab from Puma Shen’s Facebook pageShen wrote on Facebook that France, home to Interpol’s headquarters, has an extradition agreement with China. “Despite the pressure of being wanted globally by Beijing, I’ve completed the eight-day diplomatic mission as planned.
Source:Taipei Times
February 15, 2026 17:14 UTC
Lunar eclipse to coincide with the Lantern Festival
Lunar eclipse to coincide with the Lantern FestivalStaff writer, with CNAA total lunar eclipse coinciding with the Lantern Festival on March 3 would be Taiwan’s most notable celestial event this year, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said, urging skywatchers not to miss it. There would be four eclipses worldwide this year — two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses — the museum’s Web site says. Taiwan would be able to observe one of the lunar eclipses in its entirety on March 3. There would also be an annular solar eclipse tomorrow, visible only from remote parts of Antartica, and a total solar eclipse on Aug. 12 that can be seen from parts of the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland and Spain. A partial lunar eclipse would occur on Aug. 28, but it would not be as prominent as next month’s total eclipse.
Source:Taipei Times
February 15, 2026 17:14 UTC
Shoushan Zoo’s Ali the elephant dies at age of 52
Shoushan Zoo’s Ali the elephant dies at age of 52IN LOVING MEMORY: Ali, who has been with the zoo since it opened, was loved by visitors for being clever and naughty, and viewed as gentle and by her keepersStaff writer, with CNAKaohsiung’s Shoushan Zoo yesterday announced that it was mourning the death of one of its longest-tenured residents, African elephant Ali, who was found dead on Saturday. Although Ali was relatively old, she had not shown any signs of illness before her sudden passing, the zoo said. African elephant Ali is pictured at Kaohsiung’s Shoushan Zoo in an undated photograph. Ali was widely loved by zoo visitors for her “clever and somewhat naughty personality,” the zoo said. Two of Ali’s keepers were quoted by the zoo as saying that they would remember her as “wise, gentle and delicate-hearted.”The zoo in a Facebook post bid farewell to Ali, saying: “Dear Ali, thank you for accompanying Shoushan Zoo throughout your life.
Source:Taipei Times
February 15, 2026 17:14 UTC
Lai pledges progress in LNY address
Lai pledges progress in LNY addressDEFENSE PRIORITY: While the Lunar New Year address is normally given at the Presidential Office, Lai chose the navy base to highlight the military’s year-round dedicationBy Chen Yun and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerPresident William Lai (賴清德) yesterday delivered his Lunar New Year address, pledging to strengthen national defense and steadily advance economic development to ensure Taiwan maintains its leading edge in global technology and industrial competition. Lai joined officers and soldiers at the navy’s 3,020m-high Hsiaohsueshan Radar Station for a New Year’s Eve dinner. “Taiwan’s most beautiful scenery is not only found among its mountains and seas, but also in every individual standing together through hardship.”President William Lai, center, is flanked by soldiers holding Lunar New Year couplets at the navy’s 3,020m-high Hsiaohsueshan Radar Station in Taichung in an undated photograph. In the year ahead, Lai said he would lead his administration in pressing forward without pause to safeguard national security and social stability. Lai’s decision to deliver the address from the Hsiaohsueshan Radar Station broke with past practice, when such speeches were typically held at the Presidential Office or the Taipei Guest House.
Source:Taipei Times
February 15, 2026 17:13 UTC
Group condemns video celebrating Israeli prison abuse
Group condemns video celebrating Israeli prison abuseAFP, RAMALLAH, PalestineA Palestinian non-governmental organization has denounced what it called an Israeli act of revenge after a video showed far-right Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir overseeing the abuse of detainees in a military prison. “This is all part of ongoing displays meant to take revenge on Palestinian detainees,” Abdallah al-Zaghari, head of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, told reporters on Saturday. Ben Gvir, known for his inflammatory rhetoric, is considered one of the most hardline members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition. “It is simply a source of pride — arriving at a prison like this, a prison for terrorists, the vilest of the vile, seeing them like this,” Ben Gvir said in the video. “I want one more thing: to execute them — the death penalty for terrorists,” he added.
Source:Taipei Times
February 15, 2026 16:12 UTC
‘Godless’ Japanese lake warns of climate change
‘Godless’ Japanese lake warns of climate changeAFP, SUWA, JapanThe Japanese priest and his parishioners gathered before dawn, hoping that climate change had not robbed them of the chance to experience an increasingly rare communion with the sacred. Miyasaka’s predecessors noted when the entire lake surface froze, and when the miwatari appeared. “We are seeing the signs of climate change in many places of the world, and Lake Suwa is no exception,” Miyasaka said. They appear if the lake surface freezes entirely, which requires several days below minus-10°C. What is certain is that full freezes of the lake surface are now the exception rather than the rule, as they were for centuries.
Source:Taipei Times
February 15, 2026 16:12 UTC
‘First feline’ Larry marks 15 years in office
‘First feline’ Larry marks 15 years in officeAP, LONDONIn turbulent political times, stability comes with four legs, whiskers and a fondness for napping. Larry the cat was celebrating 15 years yesterday as the British government’s official rodent-catcher and unofficial first feline, a reassuring presence who has served under six prime ministers. “And prime ministers tend not to hit those numbers.”British Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office Larry looks out of a window in 10 Downing Street in London on Feb. 15, 2011. Adopted from London’s Battersea Dogs and Cats Home by then-British prime minister David Cameron, Larry entered Downing Street on Feb. 15, 2011. British Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office Larry enters 10 Downing Street in London ahead of a state visit by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Nov. 23, 2022.
Source:Taipei Times
February 15, 2026 16:12 UTC
Nigerian gunmen kill at least 46
Nigerian gunmen kill at least 46HAVOC: The latest attack comes as Nigeria struggles to fend off bandits, Islamist and separatist militants, and deal with conflicts between farmers and herdersAFP, KANO, NigeriaMotorcycle-riding gunmen swept into three villages in a central region of Nigeria, shooting dead or cutting the throats of at least 46 people, a humanitarian source told reporters on Saturday. A resident of Konkoso told reporters that the gunmen had first attacked the nearby village of Tungar Makeri before heading to his village. A spokesman for Niger State police said that six people had been killed in Tungan Makeri when the gunmen overran the village at about 6am. The al-Qaeda affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims claimed its first attack on Nigerian soil, near Woro, inOctober last year. The US military coordinated with Nigerian authorities to carry out airstrikes in Sokoto State on Dec. 25 last year, targeting what Washington said were Islamic State militants.
Source:Taipei Times
February 15, 2026 16:12 UTC
Putin a ‘slave to war,’ Zelenskiy says
Putin a ‘slave to war,’ Zelenskiy saysREPEATING HISTORY: The US only speaks of concessions in the context of Ukraine, Zelenskiy said, drawing comparisons to the 1938 Munich Agreement preceding WWIIAFP, MUNICH, GermanyUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “slave to war” in a speech to the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, adding that Russia’s attacks had damaged every power plant in the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Saturday. Of Putin, who launched the war in February 2022, Zelenskiy said: “He may see himself as a czar, but in reality he is a slave to war.”Russia and Ukraine are to hold US-brokered talks this week, and Zelenskiy said Kyiv was doing “everything” to end the war. “The Americans often return to the topic of concessions, and too often those concessions are discussed in the context only of Ukraine,” Zelenskiy said. Returning to the question of elections in Ukraine, Zelenskiy said they would be held once Kyiv received security guarantees and a ceasefire had been agreed.
Source:Taipei Times
February 15, 2026 16:12 UTC
Crew 12’s four astronauts arrive at the space station
Crew 12’s four astronauts arrive at the space stationAFP, WASHINGTONFour astronauts docked at the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday for a months-long research mission, replacing a crew forced to return to Earth early over a medical issue. Up here, there are no borders and hope is universal.”Crew 12 members answer questions during a livestream aboard the International Space Station on Saturday. Crew 12 members answer questions during a livestream aboard the International Space Station on Saturday.Photo: AFP / NASA / HandoutThe other members of Crew 12 are US astronaut Jack Hathaway, French astronaut Sophie Adenot and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Crew 12 would be one of the last crews to live aboard the football field-sized space station. Adenot has become the second French woman to fly into space, following in the footsteps of Claudie Haignere, who spent time on the Mir space station.
Source:Taipei Times
February 15, 2026 16:12 UTC
Canada warned by World Curling after ‘F-bomb’ exchange with Sweden
Canada warned by World Curling after ‘F-bomb’ exchange with SwedenAFP, CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, ItalyCurling’s world governing body on Saturday said that Canada have received a verbal warning over bad language used after accusations of cheating from defending Olympic champions Sweden. Marc Kennedy of Canada prepares to throw during their men’s curling match against the US in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on Friday. Photo: AP“It’s an intense competition ... the biggest stage of the world,” Curling Canada CEO Nolan Thiessen said. World Curling said in a statement that video replay to re-umpire game decisions are not used and no violations had been recorded on Friday. After the game, Homan said she felt she had been unfairly scrutinized because of the controversy on the men’s side.
Source:Taipei Times
February 15, 2026 16:08 UTC
Condom crisis hits Winter Games on Valentine’s Day
Condom crisis hits Winter Games on Valentine’s DayReuters, MILAN, ItalyAthletes at the Milano Cortina Winter Games seem to have embraced Valentine’s week with their trademark Olympic intensity, racing through their free condom supply to leave dispensers empty before the big day itself. People stand outside the Porta Romana Olympic Village in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 7. Photo: Bloomberg“Clearly this shows Valentine’s Day is in full swing at the village,” International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams told a news conference. “They will be continuously replenished until the end of the Games to ensure continued availability.”While athletes are provided with free condoms at every Games, the rush in Milan has left even the athletes themselves stunned. “There were a lot of boxes at the entrance of every building where we were staying and every day, everything had gone from the box,” Clerc said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 15, 2026 16:08 UTC
Vonn leaves Italian hospital, heading to airport: sources
Vonn leaves Italian hospital, heading to airport: sourcesReuters, CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, ItalyUS skier Lindsey Vonn was discharged yesterday from the Italian hospital where she was admitted a week ago after a horrific crash ended her Olympic comeback, two sources close to the matter said. Vonn, the 2010 Olympic champion and second most successful female World Cup skier of all time, was heading to the airport in the northern Italian town of Treviso. Lindsey Vonn of the US trains at the Winter Olympics in Belluno, Italy, on Feb. 7. Photo: ReutersUnder treatment in the Ca’ Foncello Hospital in Treviso since Feb. 8, the 41-year-old said she was improving after some difficult days, but warned that she still had “a long, long way to go” with another operation scheduled in the US. !” Vonn wrote on X after the Italian skier’s victory in Cortina.
Source:Taipei Times
February 15, 2026 16:08 UTC
Exiled prince calls for support for Iran
Exiled Iranian crown prince Reza Pahlavi, center, gestures during a rally in Munich, Germany, on Saturday. Photo: EPA“Change, change, regime change” the huge crowd chanted, waving green, white and red flags with lion and sun emblems. The crowd chanted “Pahlavi for Iran,” and “democracy for Iran” as drums and cymbals sounded. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll, given authorities have disrupted Internet access and international calls in Iran. He suggested that regime change in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen.”
Source:Taipei Times
February 15, 2026 16:08 UTC