Tariffs paid by midsized firms tripled: report
Tariffs paid by midsized firms tripled: reportHIGHER COSTS: Midsized US companies have to absorb the new expense by passing it on to buyers, hiring fewer workers or accepting lower profitsAP, WASHINGTONTariffs paid by midsized US businesses tripled over the past year, new research tied to one of the US’ leading banks showed on Thursday — more evidence that US President Donald Trump’s push to charge higher taxes on imports is causing economic disruption. Trump defended his tariffs during a trip to Georgia on Thursday while touring Coosa Steel, a company involved in steel processing and distribution. “The tariffs are the greatest thing to happen to this country,” Trump said. However, trade data published on Thursday by the US Census Bureau showed that the trade deficit climbed last year by US$25.5 billion to US$1.24 trillion. He said that tariffs on some items such as steel, kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities were in the national security interest of the country.
Source:Taipei Times
February 20, 2026 16:49 UTC
US pays part of its overdue fees to UN, promises more
US pays part of its overdue fees to UN, promises moreAPThe US has paid about US$160 million of the nearly US$4 billion it owes the UN, the UN said on Thursday, and US President Donald Trump promised more money to the financially strapped world organization. The UN has said the US owes US$2.196 billion to its regular budget, including US$767 million for this year, as well as US$1.8 billion to a separate budget for the far-flung UN peacekeeping operations. Pro-Palestinian protesters rally against the “Board of Peace” meeting outside the US Institute of Peace in Washington on Thursday. UN officials have said 95 percent of the overdue payments to the UN’s regular budget are from the US. “We’re going to help them moneywise, and we’re going to make sure the United Nations is viable,” Trump said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 20, 2026 16:49 UTC
Paraguay’s President Backs Trump’s New Monroe Doctrine and insists on ties with Taiwan
Paraguay’s President Backs Trump’s New Monroe Doctrine and insists on ties with TaiwanBloombergLatin America stands to benefit from President Donald Trump’s greater involvement, said Paraguay President Santiago Pena, who has emerged as one of the staunchest US allies in the region, as he also insisted on Paraguay’s ties to Taiwan. Pena was referring to the US policy of influence in Latin America outlined by President James Monroe in the 19th century. Yet he applauded Trump’s decision to launch a military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro this year. Trump has sought to contain, and even roll back, China’s presence in Latin America through his renewed version of the Monroe Doctrine. This is not a minor issue when they think about the influence of China in the Western hemisphere,” he said, adding that Paraguay’s ties to Taiwan won’t change.
Source:Taipei Times
February 20, 2026 16:49 UTC
Japan warns of Chinese ‘coercion,’ vows overhaul
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during the Japanese House of Representatives plenary session in Tokyo yesterday. Such a change could significantly widen the range of defense equipment Japanese firms sell overseas. “China has intensified its attempts to unilaterally change the status quo through force or coercion in the East China Sea and South China Sea,” Takaichi said. He criticized what he described as China’s “attempt to change the status quo with force,” adding that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are of great importance. Japan has also directly conveyed its concerns over regional security to China, and that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are closely linked to the prosperity and security of Japan and the world, it added.
Source:Taipei Times
February 20, 2026 16:49 UTC
Modi pitches India as major global AI hub at summit
Modi pitches India as major global AI hub at summitNEW DELHI, APIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday pitched his country as a central player in the global artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, saying it aims to build technology at home while deploying it worldwide. Deliver to humanity,” Modi said to world leaders, technology executives and policymakers at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. A group photo with Modi, Altman and a dozen other tech leaders went viral when Modi invited everyone to hold and lift their hands together. With nearly 1 billion internet users, India has become a key market for global technology companies expanding their AI businesses. It followed Google’s US$15 billion investment over five years, including plans for its first AI hub in the country.
Source:Taipei Times
February 20, 2026 16:49 UTC
New dinosaur species unearthed in Niger
New dinosaur species unearthed in NigerFEROCIOUS FISH-EATER Scientists have found a new species of dinosaur from the Cretaceous Period, a ‘hell heron’ that stalked the rivers, deep in the Saharan desertReutersAt a remote Sahara desert site in Niger, scientists have unearthed fossils of a new species of Spinosaurus, among the biggest of the meat-eating dinosaurs, notable for its large blade-shaped head crest and jaws bearing interlocking teeth for snaring fish. This illustration shows the dinosaur Spinosaurus mirabilis standing at water`s edge over a carcass of the coelacanth Mawsonia some 95 million years ago in what is now the Sahara Desert in Niger. It is only the second known species of Spinosaurus, a dinosaur that has gained fame in popular culture for its depiction in the “Jurassic Park” movies. But the Spinosaurus mirabilis fossils were found far inland, roughly 500-1,000km from the nearest ocean shoreline. The journey paid off, as they discovered parts of three Spinosaurus mirabilis skulls and other bones, along with fossils of other creatures.
Source:Taipei Times
February 20, 2026 16:01 UTC
Taiwan imports overtake China in US
Taiwan imports overtake China in USOPTIMISTIC: The DGBAS sharply upgraded its GDP growth estimate from 3.54 percent to 7.71 percent after the Taiwan-US trade agreement signing and given AI optimismBloombergThe US imported more from Taiwan than China for the first time in decades, as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs reshape trade flows while a global boom in artificial intelligence (AI) fuels demand for tech products. By contrast, shipments from Taiwan more than doubled during the same period to US$24.7 billion. In 2023, Taiwan exported more to China than to the US or anywhere else, but last year, the surge in goods going across the Pacific Ocean from Taiwan was roughly double those going across the Taiwan Strait. The US ran a US$12.7 billion trade deficit in December with China, a gap that only trailed the EU, Taiwan, Vietnam and Mexico. For the full year, the deficit with China fell US$93.4 billion to US$202.1 billion, while it more than doubled to almost US$147 billion with Taiwan.
Source:Taipei Times
February 20, 2026 16:00 UTC
South Korean ex-president apologizes to nation
South Korean ex-president apologizes to nationHELD RESPONSIBLE Charged and convicted for attempting to declare martial law in 2024, the ex-president dodged the death penalty, sentenced instead to life in prisonSEOUL, ReutersFormer South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol apologized yesterday for his short-lived declaration of martial law in December 2024, a day after a Seoul court sentenced him to life in prison for masterminding an insurrection. A TV screen shows a file image of former South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. Yoon’s martial law declaration lasted around six hours before being voted down by the National Assembly, but it sent shockwaves through the country and sparked street protests. A special prosecutor had sought the death penalty for Yoon, though South Korea has not carried out an execution since 1997. A prosecutor said on Thursday the team had some “regret” over the sentencing, but declined to say whether they planned to appeal.
Source:Taipei Times
February 20, 2026 16:00 UTC
Trendy temple
Tesla not planning to cut pricesNEW IMPORTS: Car dealer PG Union Corp said it would consider introducing US-made models such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Stellantis’ RAM 1500 to Taiwan Tesla Taiwan yesterday said that it does not plan to cut its car prices in the wake of Washington and Taipei signing the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade on Thursday to eliminate tariffs on US-made cars. On the other hand, Mercedes-Benz Taiwan said it is planning to lower the price of its five models imported from the US after the zero tariff comes into effect. Tesla in a statement said it has no plan to adjust the prices of the US-made Model 3, Model S and Model X as tariffs are not the only factor the automaker uses to determine pricing policies.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2026 21:48 UTC
Festival blooms
Review status of relatives of opposition: ex-MarineDEFENSE: The US should cancel the US visas or green cards of relatives of KMT and TPP lawmakers who have been blocking the budget, Grant Newsham said A retired US Marine Corps officer has suggested canceling the US green cards and visas of relatives of opposition Taiwanese lawmakers who have been stalling the review of a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget. The Executive Yuan has proposed the budget for major weapons purchases over eight years, from this year to 2033. However, opposition lawmakers have refused to review the proposal, demanding that President William Lai (賴清德) first appear before the Legislative Yuan to answer questions about the proposed budget. On Thursday last week, 37 bipartisan US lawmakers sent a letter to Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the headsBy Sam Garcia
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2026 21:44 UTC
Eight skiers missing in avalanche found dead, police say
Eight skiers missing in avalanche found dead, police sayAFP, LOS ANGELESEight of the nine skiers missing in California after an avalanche have been found dead and one remains missing in horrific blizzard conditions, police said on Wednesday. A snowmobile is parked at Alder Creek Adventure Center, one of two sites where search crews were launched to try to locate a group of missing skiers after an avalanche in a backcountry slope of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, in Truckee, California, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters“Extreme weather conditions I would say is an understatement: Lots of snow, gale-force winds, winds making it impossible to see,” Moon said. A powerful storm packing several feet of snow has continued to pummel the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Not that it was a wise choice.”The Colorado Avalanche Information Center has tallied six US avalanche fatalities so far this season, including one in Castle Peak last month.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2026 17:22 UTC
Make alone time for holiday stress: doctor
Social gatherings with friends or family could be a great source of anxiety and exhaustion, Su said. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Welfare urged parents to foster emotional self-awareness in their children, as family conflicts and domestic violence incidents spike during the holiday. With gatherings and inevitable comparisons of children’s achievements, stress can quickly mount, and tensions often rise along with it, Kuo said. To prevent stress from accumulating during the holiday, parents should emphasize calmness and understanding over blame and corporal punishment, the ministry said. Parents who feel emotionally overwhelmed during the holiday can seek assistance by calling the ministry’s 1925 mental health hotline or the 1957 social welfare hotline, Kuo said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2026 17:22 UTC
Foreign buying of US stocks jumped in spite of tariffs
Foreign buying of US stocks jumped in spite of tariffsBloombergForeign investors bought more than twice the amount of US stocks last year as they did a year before, even as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs rattled markets and clouded corporate outlooks. South Korea was also a major buyer, adding US$73.6 billion, nearly five times more than it did in 2024. Mainland China was a net seller for the third year in a row, shedding US$34.1 billion worth of US stocks last year. Canada, which was the biggest seller of US stocks in 2024, became a buyer last year, net purchasing US$10.6 billion. That turnaround came despite Canadians expressing fury about trade policies that weighed on their economy and Trump’s threats to the country’s sovereignty.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2026 17:22 UTC
Zuckerberg grilled at social media trial
Parents who say they lost their children because of social media stand outside court holding hands ahead of Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s arrival to take the stand at a trial in Los Angeles, California, on Wednesday. Photo: ReutersZuckerberg was the most hotly anticipated witness in the California trial, the first in a series of lawsuits filed by American families against social media platforms. Meta Platforms Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg, center, exits Los Angeles Superior Court in California on Wednesday. Zuckerberg said that “we’re in the right place now” when it comes to age verification. The case is expected to establish a standard for resolving thousands of lawsuits that blame social media for fueling an epidemic of depression, anxiety, eating disorders and suicide among young people.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2026 17:22 UTC
Using substandard incense could raise lead levels: doctors
Using substandard incense could raise lead levels: doctorsBy Chiu Chih-jou and Esme Yeh / Staff reporter, with staff writerBurning substandard incense containing lead-based pigments risks raising blood lead levels, doctors warned. Photo: CNAShe and her family across three generations were found to have lead poisoning, Lin said. Studies have found that children from families that frequently burn incense had slightly higher blood lead levels than their peers, but not to the extent of lead poisoning, Yang said, adding that lead poisoning caused purely by burning incense was rare. Measuring lead levels through blood tests is the most straightforward way to find out whether a person is at risk of lead poisoning, he said. Although the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s blood lead reference value has been lowered to 3.5mcg/dL, blood lead levels have no safe range, with “the lower, the better,” Yang said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2026 17:22 UTC