Taiwan rolls out AI voice assistant for weather app
Taiwan rolls out AI voice assistant for weather appStaff writer, with CNAThe popular Taiwan weather app "Raining Bell" has been upgraded to include an AI- powered voice assistant that allows users to ask about the weather using spoken Mandarin or Taiwanese Hokkien. The latest version introduces "Firefly," an AI question- and-answer function that enables hands-free, voice-based queries about the weather, upgrading from the text-only input system. The NCHC began implementing the TAIDE project in 2024 and has since developed the TAIWAN AI RAP platform, which integrates computing power, model training, and deployment tools. Lin said weather services are closely tied to daily life, making them an ideal entry point for generative AI applications. By integrating voice interaction, the app moves beyond button-based searches and allows users to directly ask questions about rainfall and disaster risks, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 18, 2026 18:17 UTC
Surprise shark caught on camera in Antarctica’s near-freezing waters
Surprise shark caught on camera in Antarctica’s near-freezing watersAP, MELBOURNEAn ungainly barrel of a shark cruising languidly over a barren seabed far too deep for the sun’s rays to illuminate was an unexpected sight. A sleeper shark swims into the spotlight of a video camera off Antarctica in January last year. That is well inside the boundaries of the Antarctic Ocean, also known as the Southern Ocean, which is defined as below the 60° south latitude line. The slow-moving sleeper sharks could have long been in Antarctica without anyone noticing, he said. “It’s quite significant.”The sleeper shark population in the Antarctic Ocean was likely sparse and difficult for humans to detect, Jamieson said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 18, 2026 18:17 UTC
To escape war, Muscovites flock to high culture, art
Museum attendance in Moscow, which competes with Saint Petersburg as Russia’s cultural capital, jumped 30 percent last year, Mowcow Deputy Mayor Natalya Sergunina said. On a stormy evening, the 45-year-old marketing specialist was heading to a Sergei Prokofiev opera at the Bolshoi’s historic stage. Immediately hit with sanctions, Russia has been pushed off the world stage — athletes banned, artists’ shows canceled and tourist visas harder to obtain. “We’re not even going to see specific works of art, we’re grounding ourselves, as if we’re connecting to something familiar,” he said. Outside of the Chagall exhibition in Moscow, former piano teacher Irina refutes the idea of trying to escape from the war.
Source:Taipei Times
February 18, 2026 18:17 UTC
Study warns of spread of chikungunya
Study warns of spread of chikungunyaDEBILITATING ILLNESS: Higher temperatures due to the climate crisis and invasive mosquitoes mean the tropical disease could expand further northward in EuropeThe GuardianAn excruciatingly painful tropical disease called chikungunya can now be transmitted by mosquitoes across most of Europe, a study has found. A worker sprays pesticide to prevent the spread of chikungunya in Nice, France, on Oct. 10 last year. Chikungunya virus was first detected in 1952 in Tanzania and was confined to tropical regions, where there are millions of infections a year. Outbreaks in Europe are sparked by infected travelers returning from tropical regions and being bitten by local tiger mosquitoes, which then spread the disease. However, scientists are starting to see all-year-round tiger mosquito activity in southern Europe, meaning chikungunya outbreaks are likely to amplify as the continent warms.
Source:Taipei Times
February 18, 2026 18:17 UTC
NGO calls for overseas missions to use ’Taiwan’ instead of ’Taipei’
NGO calls for overseas missions to use ’Taiwan’ instead of ’Taipei’Staff writer, with CNAA New York-based NGO has launched a global initiative to rename the nation’s overseas missions, most of which operate under the name "Taipei," to "Taiwan Representative Office (TRO)," according to a news release. Taipei City Councilor Miao Po-ya, first right, and Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Jie, second right, attend a press conference in Berlin on Monday. Taipei City Councilor Miao Po-ya (苗博雅) said the use of "Taipei" in the nation’s overseas missions is a lingering irony of history. Most of Taiwan’s overseas missions in countries without formal diplomatic ties use the "Taipei" designation -- primarily as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO). There are, however, a few exceptions, notably in Lithuania, where the mission is officially titled the Taiwanese Representative Office.
Source:Taipei Times
February 18, 2026 18:17 UTC
‘Hamnet’ boosts tourism at bard’s heritage sites
A statue of William Shakespeare stands outside Shakespeare’s Birthplace, his childhood home, in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, on Monday last week. Photo: ReutersTypically, about 250,000 visitors, from the UK, Europe, the US, China and elsewhere, walk through the locations each year, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust said. The charity looks after Shakespeare heritage sites, which also include Shakespeare’s New Place, the site of the Stratford home where the bard died in 1616. Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, the family home of William Shakespeare’s wife, in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, is pictured on Monday last week. I think that will only continue as we go throughout the year,” said Richard Patterson, chief operating officer for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
Source:Taipei Times
February 18, 2026 18:17 UTC
Xi offers Iowa friends reassurance over exchanges
Xi offers Iowa friends reassurance over exchangesReuters, BEIJINGThe desire of Chinese and Americans for exchanges and cooperation would not change regardless of how bilateral relations evolve, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) said in a reply to Iowa friends ahead of an expected meeting with US President Donald Trump in April, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Xi in 2022 said in a Lunar New Year’s greeting to Sarah Lande, another friend from his Iowa trip, that the world required stability in US-China ties, which were strained during the COVID-19 pandemic. US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping talk on the sidelines of an APEC summit in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30 last year. Trump said that Xi also discussed how China would consider increasing its purchases of US soybeans, of which Iowa is a top producer. Trump last month said he is planning to visit China in April, adding that Xi would travel to the US toward the end of the year.
Source:Taipei Times
February 18, 2026 18:17 UTC
Temperatures to rise today as cold air weakens
Temperatures to rise today as cold air weakensStaff writer, with CNATemperatures across Taiwan are expected to rise today as a continental cold air mass weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. CWA forecaster Cheng Chieh-jen (鄭傑仁) said the cold air mass will persist through early this morning before weakening during the day, allowing temperatures to rebound nationwide. Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Taipei TimesEarly morning lows today are forecast at 13-15°C in central and northern Taiwan and Yilan, and 17-19°C in southern and eastern Taiwan. Weather conditions will remain relatively cool tomorrow, with overnight lows of 12-16°C in central and northern Taiwan and Hualien, and 16-18°C in the south and Taitung. Overnight lows during that period will range from 16°C to 19°C in central and northern Taiwan and Yilan, and 20-21°C in the south.
Source:Taipei Times
February 18, 2026 18:17 UTC
Polish bishop first to face trial over abuse cover-up
Polish bishop first to face trial over abuse cover-upAFP, WARSAWIn a landmark case for the deeply Catholic country, a Polish bishop was to go to trial yesterday for allegedly covering up acts of pedophilia committed by priests in his diocese. This is the first case in which a high-ranking church hierarchy has faced criminal charges for failing to inform authorities of church abuse by clergy. “This is a spectacular case, and, in Polish realities, essentially unprecedented,” said Artur Nowak, a lawyer, publicist and writer who appeared in a watershed documentary about sexual abuse in the Catholic church in Poland. Prosecutors said that Tarnow bishop Andrzej Jez was aware of two cases of priests abusing underage altar boys. Church abuse scandals have even touched former Polish pope John Paul II.
Source:Taipei Times
February 18, 2026 18:17 UTC
Vatican declines to join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’
Vatican declines to join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’Reuters, WASHINGTONThe Vatican will not participate in US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” initiative, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s top diplomatic official, said on Tuesday, adding that efforts to handle crisis situations should be managed by the UN. Pope Leo, the first US pope and a critic of some of Trump’s policies, was invited to join the board last month. Under Trump’s Gaza plan that led to a fragile ceasefire in October last year, the board was meant to supervise Gaza’s temporary governance. Many rights experts say that Trump overseeing a board to supervise a foreign territory’s affairs resembled a colonial structure. Countries have reacted cautiously to Trump’s invitation, with experts concerned that the board could undermine the UN.
Source:Taipei Times
February 18, 2026 18:17 UTC
Israeli minister pushes ‘migration’ of West Bank
Israeli minister pushes ‘migration’ of West BankAFP, JERUSALEMIsrael’s far-right Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich said he would pursue a policy of “encouraging the migration” of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported yesterday. Photo: Reuters“There is no other long-term solution,” added Smotrich, who lives in a settlement in the West Bank. The measures include a process to register land in the West Bank as “state property” and facilitate direct purchases of land by Jewish Israelis. “We strongly condemn unilateral Israeli decisions and measures aimed at expanding Israel’s unlawful presence in the West Bank,” they said in a statement. Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.
Source:Taipei Times
February 18, 2026 18:17 UTC
Robots pave way for trillion-dollar market: Barclays
Robots pave way for trillion-dollar market: BarclaysBY 2035: Robotics and ‘physical AI’ are the foundation for a value chain that will be more diverse and deeper than the first wave of AI products, the analysts saidBloombergThe market for artificial intelligence (AI)-powered robots and autonomous machines has the potential to balloon into a trillion-dollar opportunity by 2035, orders of magnitude bigger than it is now, according to a team of Barclays PLC analysts. A Waymo autonomous car drives itself in Miami, Florida, on Jan. 21. “We see automakers emerging as potential major participants, alongside growing deployment of robotic systems across warehousing, logistics and retail,” they wrote. Examples include Mercedes-Benz Group AG’s use of Nvidia Corp’s Omniverse to “virtually retool factories with minimal disruption” and Tesla Inc’s focus on robots during its fourth-quarter earnings call. They said Amazon has more than 1 million robots operating in its fulfillment network, “which is likely still only a fraction of the long-term potential.”
Source:Taipei Times
February 18, 2026 17:26 UTC
Tesla avoids sales halt in California over its Autopilot
Tesla avoids sales halt in California over its AutopilotBloombergThe California Department of Motor Vehicles said Tesla Inc has come into compliance over marketing practices for its vehicles’ automated driving capabilities and would not face a 30-day suspension of sales in the state. The agency said in a statement on Tuesday that Tesla has taken “corrective action” to avoid the suspension. A Tesla model Y sedan charges at a Tesla dealership in Buena Park, California, on Jan. 28. Tesla launched its limited robotaxi service in Austin in June last year with about a dozen cars accompanied by human safety monitors, and has slowly increased the fleet. This includes about 50 incidents in Austin, where it operates about 200 vehicles on the Uber app.
Source:Taipei Times
February 18, 2026 17:26 UTC
Galatasaray rout 10-man Juventus 5-2 in Istanbul
Galatasaray rout 10-man Juventus 5-2 in IstanbulAFP, ISTANBUL, TurkeyDutch midfielder Noa Lang on Tuesday scored a brace as Galatasaray thumped Juventus 5-2 in a pulsating contest in Istanbul in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League playoff. Galatasaray’s Noa Lang, front right, scores against Juventus in their UEFA Champions League playoff first leg in Istanbul, Turkey, on Tuesday. Okan Buruk’s Turkish champions ran riot after halftime as Lang pounced on a loose ball to level on 49 minutes. Lang bagged his brace shortly afterward as he pounced on the loose ball after Victor Osimhen robbed centerback Lloyd Kelly inside his own penalty area. Substitute Boey ensured Gala would take a commanding lead to Turin next week as he lashed home from five minutes from time.
Source:Taipei Times
February 18, 2026 17:18 UTC
‘Bank of Flowers and Trees’ redefines investment
Measured not in money, but in trees, flowers and restored ecosystems, its returns show that nature can be the most rewarding long-term investment. “Sowing a single seed is enough to plant hope,” said 60-year-old Kuo Chun-yin (郭俊銀), founder of Bank of Flowers and Trees (花樹銀行). Bank of Flowers and Trees founder Kuo Chun-yin poses for a photograph in Changhua County’s Dacun Township on Monday. This philosophy crystallized during a 2007 family cycling tour when he witnessed a Buddhist monk silently planting trees along the South Link Highway. Today, however, the campus of Bank of Flowers and Trees is nearly at full capacity, with over 10,000 trees representing more than 400 species, Kuo said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 18, 2026 17:16 UTC