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The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) in Taipei released its annual policy white paper on Wednesday last week, which for the first time referenced cross-strait relations and bluntly pointed out that geopolitical risk factors have become a sticking point for foreign investment.

The paper further expressed concern over Taiwan’s energy transition, investment environment and domestic political instability, and offered concrete policy suggestions. It serves as a reflection of the current climate of unease around Taiwan’s business environment for Japanese companies.

Representing the JCCI, Shinichiro Soma, chairman and general manager of Marubeni Corp’s Taiwan division, presented National Development Council Minister Yeh Chun-hsieh (葉俊顯) with the white paper. With the theme of seamless cooperation and joint economic development, it suggested four major policy directions.

First was to optimize Taiwan’s investment environment and address energy, labor and talent shortages. Second, to protect energy stability and support the significant power demands of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and semiconductor manufacturing plants. Third, stabilize Taiwan’s domestic and cross-strait situation to lower political risk and create a safe operational environment. Fourth, the paper called on the government to develop market resilience with more openness in trade systems.

The JCCI noted that Taiwan’s establishment of AI research centers is driving up energy requirements. Although decarbonization of energy production is a push in the right direction, it cited the decommissioning of nuclear power plants and insufficient supply from renewables as raising concerns over energy shortages.

Without a coherent policy agenda to address these risks, investor confidence might be seriously impacted.

The white paper did not shy away from addressing rising cross-strait tensions, and China’s increased tariffs and frequency of military exercises in relation to Taiwan. For Japanese companies, the risk of a “Taiwan contingency” is of genuine concern for investment evaluations.

It said the Japan-based parent companies of JCCI member enterprises would make their own calls on the situation in the long term, and hoped that Taiwan’s government would appreciate the uncertainty of this situation.

The JCCI further noted Taiwan’s internal political situation, a minority government without control over the legislature.

The recent wave of recall cases suggests a disconnect between central and local government policy agendas.

For Japanese companies that receive the green light from the top only to hit a wall at the local level, the situation directly impacts decisionmaking and long-term planning abilities. On this, the Ministry of Economic Affairs is yet to respond.

Last year, Taiwanese investment in Japan reached approximately US$5.5 billion, while Japanese investment in Taiwan was at just US$450 million. Although bilateral trade is increasing, it remains far from balanced. The Japanese government’s warning over a “Taiwan contingency” is only likely to cast further doubts for Japanese investors.

For some three years now, Japanese officials have alerted Japanese companies to the fact that they would need to make their own arrangements for the evacuation of personnel in the event of a Chinese strike on Taiwan. Japan’s constitution prevents the overseas deployment of its Self Defense Forces, and a lack of diplomatic relations means that it does not formally recognize the Taiwanese government.

This might complicate a potential evacuation operation. This state of affairs has not been explicitly confirmed by the authorities, but has nevertheless created a chilling effect.

If President William Lai (賴清德) fails to address the compounding challenges represented by the white paper’s warnings on energy, domestic politics and cross-strait relations, it might be difficult for Taiwan and Japan to deepen their economic ties.

This year’s white paper is not just a warning to Lai’s administration from Japanese companies, but a sign that the international business community’s perspective on Taiwan is beginning to take a cautious turn to heightened reservations.

Furthermore, faced with US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable mode of operating, policy blunders in cross-strait relations and energy production, and the opposition’s confrontational maneuvers in the legislature, Lai’s government is in desperate need of a change of course. If it fails to act, Taiwan’s international competitiveness is on the line.

Tang Shao-cheng is president of the Asia Pacific Research Foundation and a research fellow at National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations.

Translated by Gilda Knox Streader

title: Nerves show for investment in Taiwan


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The Taichung City Government has announced that vaccines produced by Taiwan’s Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp would not be distributed on school campuses, citing “respect for parental concerns.”

This incident exposes the severe absurdity in the city government’s prioritization of political interests. When public health policy is no longer based on scientific evidence, but is guided by political trends, this is more than mere administrative negligence — it is an affront to the dignity of Taiwan’s scientific research.

Medigen vaccines are a representative achievement of Taiwan’s biotechnology industry. In 1998, enterovirus 71 (EV71) hit Taiwan hard, resulting in the deaths of 78 children. In 2019, Medigen collaborated with the National Health Research Institutes to develop the world’s first EV71 vaccine, filling a major gap in epidemic prevention and saving countless lives. This marked a significant milestone in Taiwan’s scientific research.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Medigen’s spike protein stabilization technology was licensed by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Moderna Inc, making it one of the few companies worldwide to receive official recognition from the NIH — a move that symbolized the US’ substantial recognition for Taiwan’s scientific research. The clinical data were published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal, passing rigorous peer review, and the technology also included in the WHO’s COVAX allocation program and approved for use in nations such as Paraguay, Belize and Malawi.

Despite these achievements, the Taichung City Government has crudely excluded Medigen vaccines from schools with a single phrase — “parental concerns.”

If mere “concerns” are enough to prevail over scientific evidence, then all research and technology could be easily silenced by fear. This would not only stifle innovation, but undermine Taiwan’s industrial competitiveness.

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has long used biotechnology as a political tool and the actions of the city government are yet another example of this damaging tradition in action. From the 2012 Yu Chang Biologics case — which involved the National Development Fund falsifying documents and initiating a smear campaign against then-presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) — to the 2016 OBI Pharma Inc case — in which Michael Chang (張念慈), former chairman of the firm, and four other executives were accused of insider trading — to Medigen, each attack by the KMT has coincided with electoral calculations. In every instance, those accused were ultimately shown to be innocent, but not without damaging Taiwan’s biotechnolgy reputation in the process.

Today, the Taichung City Government is repeating this same act of political violence and stifling innovation.

Medigen should not remain silent. This is no longer merely a commercial dispute, but a matter of public trust and scientific ethics. Medigen should file an administrative lawsuit against the Taichung City Government, demanding that the city publicly disclose the risk assessment justifying its decision.

A lack of scientific data supporting the decision to ban Medigen vaccines from use in schools would constitute an abuse of administrative power, contravening the principles of fairness and due process under the Administrative Procedure Act (行政程序法).

Allowing politics to trample over science at will would lead the very foundation of a city’s civilization to collapse. Should Medigen be brave enough to take legal action, it would not only be defending itself, it would be setting a dignified milestone for science in Taiwan.

Liou Je-wei is a teacher.

Translated by Kyra Gustavsen

title: Medigen should buck Taichung vaccine ban


content_text: In the past month, two important developments are poised to equip Taiwan with expanded capabilities to play foreign policy offense in an age where Taiwan’s diplomatic space is seriously constricted by a hegemonic Beijing. Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) led a delegation of Taiwan and US companies to the Philippines to promote trilateral economic cooperation between the three countries. Additionally, in the past two weeks, Taiwan has placed chip export controls on South Africa in an escalating standoff over the placing of its diplomatic mission in Pretoria, causing the South Africans to pause and ask for consultations to resolve

title: EDITORIAL CARTOON


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Ukraine’s path to EU would be tough, with or without Hungarian hurdleEuropean officials have signaled that if Kyiv fully adheres to rule-of-law norms, they would find a way to sidestep Budapest’s opposition, but a recent poll found that only 52 percent of EU citizens support Ukraine’s accession

Senior EU officials who visited Ukraine have delivered a stern message to Kyiv that it has a lot more to do to secure membership, while they work on overcoming Hungary’s opposition to its accession.

Ukraine needs the backing of all 27 EU countries to become a member, but Budapest is blocking it from moving to the next stage of accession negotiations, citing concerns including the language rights of ethnic Hungarians.

Hungary’s stance has frustrated other EU states, and European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos led a high-level charm offensive in Ukraine last week, meeting the Hungarian minority in the west of the country to try to ease tensions.

For many people in Ukraine, the prospect of EU membership represents a beacon of hope for a prosperous future, more than three decades after it won independence from the Soviet Union.

In 2014, a pro-Russian president was ousted by mass protests after trying to divert Kyiv away from seeking EU membership, and Moscow’s war in Ukraine has made EU accession even more attractive for pro-Western Ukrainians.

However, an attempt by Kyiv over the summer to curb the independence of key watchdogs alarmed many European governments and put a spotlight on the reform challenges facing Ukraine, which needs to align its laws with EU standards.

The EU “cannot accept a new member state which is really not 100 percent following the rule of law,” Kos said.

“One part of this, showing the love, is being really strict,” she said, adding that when it comes to reforms in areas ranging from agriculture to the environment, “now the tough work will come.”

European officials have signaled that if Ukraine sticks to reforms and fully adheres to rule-of-law norms, they would find a way to sidestep Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s opposition and ensure Ukraine makes progress toward accession.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency until the end of December, said that Ukraine and the EU could keep working on reforms to help Kyiv prepare for membership.

“I will not allow one country, and I will certainly not allow Viktor Orban, to take decisions upon the entire European future,” she said.

In Ukraine last week, European officials underscored that respect for the rule of law is a prerequisite for membership.

The messaging was partly a response to steps taken on July 22 to establish greater control by the prosecutor general, a political appointee, over Ukraine’s anti-corruption bureau and a specialized prosecution unit.

Rare wartime protests led Ukraine’s leadership to quickly reverse course, but the episode caught the attention of Kyiv’s closest partners.

“What happened on the 22nd of July should never happen again,” Kos said, warning about the risk of losing EU member countries’ trust and that everything must be corrected “until the end.”

“It is not done yet,” she said.

European officials said they believe Ukraine would ultimately adhere to the standards, and that there is strong commitment in Ukrainian society to keep going.

“The only worry is how, and how long, but not if,” Kos said.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka said that the country “will continue to implement reforms in accordance with its international commitments.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in February said that Ukraine could join the bloc before 2030 if it continued its reforms at their current speed and quality, but that timeline is treated with skepticism by some officials.

One EU diplomat said that Ukraine “is a big, important and strategically located country, and things cannot be swept under the carpet.”

A second EU diplomat said that, “we see impressive progress from Ukraine, especially given the war, but the EU accession process is arduous and lengthy.”

In the near term, Hungary’s opposition is the main obstacle to Ukraine’s bid.

Orban in 2023 chose not to veto a decision by EU leaders to open accession negotiations with Ukraine, but Hungary is now blocking Ukraine from moving to the next stage — negotiations on “clusters” covering thematic policy areas.

Some European officials have floated the idea of opening the clusters without unanimity across the EU, bypassing Hungary’s objection.

However, changing the rules requires the backing of all 27 states and officials said continuing technical work with Ukraine without formally opening the clusters remains the more likely near-term option.

“If we are not able to convince each other, then I simply think we just have to move on with all the work that has to be done between Ukraine and the European Commission,” Frederiksen said.

Kachka said that Ukraine is taking a “pragmatic” approach and would keep reforming so it could move quickly once it is possible to proceed to the next stage.

In the longer run, Ukraine’s EU aspirations could run into obstacles in other parts of the bloc.

A Eurobarometer poll published last month found that 52 percent of EU citizens support Ukraine’s accession, provided it meets all membership conditions, and that 41 percent are opposed.

However, while 91 percent of Swedes support Ukraine joining once it meets all conditions, 48 percent of people in France and only 28 percent in the Czech Republic are in support.

Kos said that the EU had time to look at the concerns in each country and address them.

“Just let’s talk about it,” she said. “What are your concerns? And let’s see if we can explain.”


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Just as luxury mooncakes will not go away, neither would plastic waste

If there is one force that has shaped the past few decades, it is the relentless willpower of the Chinese Communist Party.

Beijing’s efforts to control its environment have leveled mountains, tamed mighty rivers, reshaped global trade flows and sparked a fourth industrial revolution in clean energy. However, there is one immovable object that even this unstoppable force cannot shift: the mooncake.

The sweet, decorated buns — traditionally eaten to mark the Mid-Autumn Festival, which was celebrated on Monday — have long been an object of official concern. During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) early years in power, they were a target of anti-corruption campaigns, due to the informal gift economy that sees millions of lavishly packaged cake boxes exchanged between friends, employees and business partners.

More recently, the focus has shifted from graft to a general anxiety about excessive consumption at a time when many are facing straitened circumstances. Regulations introduced in 2022 forbade packaging made of expensive materials such as precious metals or rosewood, banned fancy fillings such as shark fin and bird nest, and warned of inspections for products costing more than 500 yuan (US$70). In 2023, new rules prohibited packaging costing more than 15 percent of the total purchase price for lower-end products. This year, several top Chinese ministries have joined forces to “investigate and punish illegal and irregular behaviors,” and “maintain a clean and upright festival atmosphere.”

As with similar global efforts to rein in excessive consumption, such exhortations are doomed to failure. Pandonglai, a supermarket chain that has cultivated a viral online following, sparked debate recently, following rumors that it had paid a Hong Kong designer 10 million yuan to develop its mooncake packaging this year. (Not so, Pandonglai said: The cost was a mere 3.72 million yuan.)

In Hong Kong and among overseas diaspora communities, the starting price for higher-end mooncake boxes is about the 500 yuan level, and the sky’s the limit for the more expensive gift sets. That loophole means there is an active trade in exports from Hong Kong to the mainland, as well as in fake exports made just over the border in Guangdong.

The joke with mooncakes is that the packaging is often far more prized than the pastry itself, whose sickly-sweet richness tends to get mixed reviews. The irrepressible popularity of such gifts, however — despite official disapproval and flagging Chinese household spending — is a sign of how ungovernable consumer tastes can be.

That should be troubling to those of us who hope that the world might be able to rein in its addiction to wasteful consumption. UN officials have twice over the past year failed to reach agreement on a proposed global treaty to end plastic pollution, most of it driven by our unending drive to use more polymers, especially in packaging.

It is hard to get a handle on precisely how much China’s booming consumption is contributing to the growth of this demand, but the figure is unlikely to be small. Output of polyethylene, a key plastics raw material, has almost doubled since 2018 and is still rising fast. Express delivery volumes (another decent proxy for packaging usage) were about double those for the whole of 2019 in the first eight months of the year alone.

Out of 105 industrial products tracked by the Chinese government’s statistics agency, the best performer so far this year is not high-speed trains, electric vehicles or robots, but packaging equipment. About 1.2 million sets were produced through August, an increase of 32.2 percent from a year earlier, far outpacing the 4.6 percent increase in retail sales. Although plastic is far from a prestige material for the exterior of mooncake giftboxes, it is still almost indispensable for the pouches, trays and silica sachets used to keep their contents fresh.

When will this hunger for luxury packaging ease? Every fashion trend eventually dies. The current craze for mooncake boxes in many ways parallels the 19th century British vogue for selling cookies in decorative tins, which declined during the 20th century as plastic overtook metal as the most popular material for food packaging.

Moreover, China might be approaching levels at which plastics consumption levels off.

It is already likely to be using polymers at levels similar to Japan, one recent study showed.

Wealthier consumers tend to be more environmentally aware, too. China’s largest packing company is Shenzhen Yuto Packaging Technology Co, which uses 100 percent renewable energy to make the origami-like, recyclable paperboard boxes that Apple Inc iPhones come in. Many of the most expensive mooncake boxes, too, are made of high-end paper and board.

Waiting for consumer tastes to get more sustainable does not feel like much of a strategy if you are concerned about the rising tide of plastic waste, but it might be what we are stuck with.

Attempts to stop conspicuous consumption date back at least as far as the 7th century BC Greek lawgiver who attempted to restrict the wearing of gold jewelry and purple-hemmed gowns to courtesans. They rarely work. Chinese Communist Party officials and those from the UN are in a similarly futile battle.

David Fickling is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering climate change and energy. Previously, he worked for Bloomberg News, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.


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Macron wanders alone by the Seine as grip on his future slips

Hours after his latest prime minister was forced to resign — unable to form a Cabinet that lasted more than a day — French President Emmanuel Macron was spotted walking alone by the Seine in the chilly autumn morning. Bodyguards kept their distance ahead and behind as he wandered out through a wrought iron gate onto the stone embankment in a black overcoat. The scene, captured from afar on video and shown on French TV, evoked images of former French president Charles de Gaulle seeking solace in the wind-swept plains of Ireland after his resignation in the late 1960s — a leader retreating inward as his political era drew to a close. Macron is president until 2027, but the resignation of Sebastien Lecornu, his fifth prime minister in two years, has raised the chances that the one-time golden boy of French politics would fail to make it to the end of his final term.

Macron appeared determined to avoid that fate on Monday, giving Lecornu two days for last-ditch talks with the opposition to try to chart a path out of the morass.

By asking Lecornu to give it one last shot, Macron signaled his distaste for the only other options he faces — fresh parliamentary elections that could hand power to the far right, or his own resignation, a measure he has repeatedly ruled out.

As his options have narrowed, the unpopular Macron has become increasingly isolated domestically, watching erstwhile allies distance themselves, as they seek to bolster their own chances of succeeding him in the 2027 election.

Nearly half of French people blame Macron for the current crisis, while 51 percent of them believe his resignation could break the stalemate, an Elabe poll for BFMTV on Monday showed.

Far-right National Rally lawmaker Philippe Ballard posted on X: “Macron now finds himself isolated, without direction or support. He must draw the consequences: either resignation or dissolution.”

Since last year’s failed gamble to call a snap legislative vote, which produced a hung parliament split between three ideologically opposed blocs, Macron has tried to muddle through with minority Cabinets. Determined to preserve his economic legacy of tax cuts and a pension overhaul at a time of growing investor concern about France’s yawning deficit, Macron has appointed premiers from an ad-hoc alliance of conservatives and centrists.

For more than a year, these governments struggled to pass deficit-reduction measures. Two prime ministers fell over their inability to fix public finances, but the so-called socle commun — or “common platform” — endured.

That changed with the dramatic rebellion of French Minister of State Bruno Retailleau, the conservatives’ most high-profile figure, who late on Sunday publicly criticized Lecornu’s Cabinet hours after it was named.

Macron is hoping Lecornu could lure back the conservatives to the table, giving him a lifeline. If not, he could appoint a left-leaning prime minister, but the Socialists’ insistence on a wealth tax and reversing the pension reform makes them a hard sell for other parties.

Despite Monday’s appeal to Lecornu, the pressure on Macron is unlikely to let up.

Far-right National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen quickly called for a dissolution of parliament and new elections.

Polls showed her party leads voting intentions.

“The RN benefits from the center’s collapse and picks up protest votes, seeing dissolution as a unique opportunity to finally govern,” political analyst Stewart Chau said.

Calls for Macron’s resignation, once confined to the fringes, are now entering the mainstream.

“France’s national interest demands that Emmanuel Macron set a date for his resignation, in order to preserve the institutions and unblock a situation that has been unavoidable since the absurd dissolution,” David Lisnard, Cannes mayor and a rising conservative figure, wrote on social media.

Macron has repeatedly said he intends to serve out his full term. However, faced with few palatable options, he might yet choose to end his presidency with a dramatic gesture — just like de Gaulle, who stepped down in 1969.


title: Blue Jays eliminate the Yankees

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‘SOMETHING SPECIAL’:  Nathan Lukes hit a two-run single and Addison Barger had three of Toronto’s 12 hits as the Blue Jays bounced back

After taking down the storied New York Yankees in their own ballpark in their American League Division Series on Wednesday, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider was ready to revel in the triumph.

“Start spreading the news,” Schneider said while popping a bottle of bubbly to set off the Blue Jays’ jubilant celebration inside their Yankee Stadium clubhouse.

With the party under way, the familiar lyrics from Frank Sinatra’s version of New York, New York — the Yankees’ long-time victory anthem — sounded in the background as roaring Toronto players sprayed each other with booze in the Bronx.

Toronto Blue Jays players celebrate after their win in Game 4 of their MLB American League Division Series against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York on Wednesday. Photo: AP

This time, it was their time.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr and George Springer each drove in a run, while eight Toronto pitchers shut down the Yankees in a 5-2 victory that sent the Blue Jays to the American League Championship Series for the first time in nine years.

“Kind of fitting that it took everyone to win today,” said Schneider, his hair and T-shirt soaked.

From left, the Toronto Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr and Andres Gimenez celebrate after their win in Game 4 of their MLB American League Division Series against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York on Wednesday. Photo: Brad Penner / Imagn Images

Nathan Lukes provided a two-run single and Addison Barger had three of Toronto’s 12 hits as the pesky Blue Jays, fouling off tough pitches and consistently putting the ball in play, bounced right back after blowing a five-run lead in their loss on Tuesday.

AL East champions Toronto, wearing their lucky caps with the white panels, took the best-of-five Division Series 3-1 and are to host Game 1 in the best-of-seven ALCS on Sunday against the Detroit Tigers or the Seattle Mariners.

Those teams were to decide their playoff series in Game 5 in Seattle yesterday.


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Beth Mooney on Wednesday hit one of the most memorable centuries ever in women’s one-day cricket as defending champions Australia overcame a top-order collapse and thumped Pakistan by 107 runs at the Women’s Cricket World Cup.

Mooney made a masterful 109 off 114 deliveries to raise her first World Cup ton after Australia had wobbled to 76-7 against Pakistan’s spin trio of Nashra Sandhu, Rameen Shamim and Sadia Iqbal.

Tailender Alana King upped the scoring rate late with an unbeaten 51 off 49 balls as she combined with Mooney in a 106-run stand, the highest-ever ninth-wicket partnership in women’s ODIs. Australia eventually finished at a challenging 221-9.

Pakistan’s Sadia Iqbal celebrates after taking a wicket during their ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup match against Australia at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

The pace bowling pair of Kim Garth (3-14) and Megan Schutt (2-25) snapped five wickets inside the power play and Pakistan were eventually dismissed for 114 for their third straight loss at the tournament.

“I was thinking over 200 [team total], we’ve got to win this game,” Mooney said when asked about her approach to the innings. “I’m not here for the hundred, I’m here for the win.”

Australia, who beat New Zealand before their game against Sri Lanka was washed out on Saturday in Colombo, lead the standings with five points.

Australia’s Beth Mooney plays a shot during their ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup match against Pakistan at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Pakistan’s batting woes continued as their top-order struggled against pace and spin.

Sidra Amin, who scored half-century against India, top-scored with 35 off 52 balls, but Australia kept striking.

Amin was the only top-order Pakistan batter to reach double figures.

The Australia top-order capitulated against three Pakistan spinners, who picked up 6-98 off their combined 30 overs, after skipper Fatima Sana won the toss and elected to field.

Left-armer Iqbal found turn immediately once Sana introduced the spinners in the fifth over. Australia captain Alyssa Healy (20) struck three boundaries, but flicked Iqbal straight to midwicket in Sana’s second over.

Sana followed it up by taking a well-judged return catch to dismiss Phoebe Litchfield.

Sandhu deceived premier batter Ellyse Perry (5) and had her stumped, and then slipped a delivery between the bat and pad of Annabel Sutherland to hit the stumps as Australia slid to 59-4 in the 15th over.

Off-spinner Shamim, who did not concede a boundary in her 10 overs, continued to squeeze Australia when Ashleigh Gardner chipped an easy catch to midwicket. Diana Baig took a smart diving catch of Tahila McGrath to leave Australia in all sorts of trouble at 75-6.

Australia were 115-8 in the 34th over and in danger of getting bowled out for their lowest ODI total against Pakistan, but Mooney and King stood tall.

Mooney, who hit 11 fours, and King rotated the strike frequently and waited patiently to see off the threat of Pakistan spinners before cutting loose against the pace bowlers.

Mooney successfully overturned an LBW decision against her off Iqbal when she was on 85 before completing her well-composed century off 110 balls. King completed her half-century with two successive sixes against Sana in the last over, which went for 21 runs.

Mooney finally got out of Sana’s final ball of Australia’s innings when she was caught in the covers.

title: Mooney 109 earns Australia win


title: Ukrainian Yavhusishyn takes sumo by storm

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Danylo Yavhusishyn fled the war in his native Ukraine to follow his dream of becoming a professional sumo wrestler in Japan and has taken the ancient sport by storm.

The 21-year-old competed in the world junior sumo championships as a teenager, but left Ukraine after Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

He arrived in Japan two months later and made a blistering start to his career, reaching sumo’s upper divisions in only a year and winning promotion to the fourth-highest rank.

Ukrainian sumo wrestler Danylo Yavhusishyn, known by his Japanese name Aonishiki Arata, attends a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo yesterday. Photo: AP

He took his bid to win a first title down to the final day of the tournament in July and has twice beaten one of sumo’s two current grand masters.

Now known as Aonishiki Arata and speaking fluent Japanese, he told reporters in Tokyo yesterday that he wants to be the first European to reach sumo’s highest rank.

“When I joined the sumo world, I was confident that I could reach the upper divisions, but I didn’t think that I could do it so quickly,” Yavhusishyn said. “I’ve surprised myself. Now my goal is to become a grand master.”

Yavhusishyn was born in central Ukraine and took up sumo at the age of seven, becoming a national champion at 17.

His age meant he narrowly avoided Ukraine’s military draft for men aged 18 or older when war broke out, and he sought refuge in Germany before moving to Japan.

His parents stayed in Germany and he arrived in Japan knowing nothing of the language.

Yavhusishyn has since settled into his new home, but said that he still misses Ukraine and has not been able to visit since he left.

“Of course I would like to go back because it’s the place where I was born and raised, and I still have a lot of friends and family there,” he said. “If it’s possible, I’d like to go back and meet them and walk on the streets of my home town.”

Yavhusishyn became the second Ukraine-born professional sumo wrestler when he made his debut in July 2023, following in the footsteps of compatriot Serhii Sokolovskyi, better known as Shishi Masaru.

Sokolovskyi moved to Japan before the war and the two are now rivals in the ring.

“Shishi gave me some advice at first, but now we’re competing against each other, so I don’t want to get too close to him,” Yavhusishyn said. “I don’t speak to him so often, but maybe when once we’ve both retired I’ll try to be friends with him.”

Yavhusishyn’s promotion to sumo’s upper divisions was the fifth-fastest since the current system of six tournaments a year was introduced in 1958.

He scalped one of the sport’s grand masters in only his 12th tournament and has a winning record in every competition he has appeared in so far.

He seems set for a successful career in the sport, but said that things do not always go to plan.

“Human beings are weak and they have times where they feel tired or they feel down, but I know what my goal is and I always try to keep it in mind,” he said. “There are tough times but I have to do my best to overcome them.”


title: SPORTS BRIEFS

content_text:
CRICKET

Flintoff steps down

Andrew Flintoff has stepped down as the coach of the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred, suggesting that he did not feel valued by the franchise’s new owners. The former England all-rounder coached the men’s team of the Headingley-based franchise in the past two editions of the tournament. Appearing on the Beard Before Wicket podcast, cohosted by Superchargers spinner Adil Rashid, Flintoff confirmed his talks with the Sun Group, which bought the full 100 percent stake in Superchargers in February, had broken down. “I genuinely don’t do it for the money, although it’s nice, but I’m worth more than just over a quarter of the [salary of] other head coaches,” the 47-year-old said. “I wasn’t encouraged they wanted me anyway, but then also you want to feel valued. So I said that it’s not going to work for me, and they weren’t going to move on it.” The BBC quoted a Sun Group spokesperson as saying: “We had discussions with Freddie and extended an offer, which was an increase over his current salary at Northern Superchargers. While we would have loved to have him on board, we respect his decision.” Flintoff, also the head coach of the England Lions, is tipped as a future coach for the England national team.

SOCCER

Player breaks neck

Togo international Samuel Asamoah broke his neck after colliding with a pitch-side advertising board during a domestic fixture in China, his club said, fearing he might be left paralyzed. Video footage showed the 31-year-old being shoved by an opponent during a match on Sunday in China’s second-tier League One as they jostled for the ball, plowing head-first into an LED advertising panel. The midfielder’s club, Guangxi Pingguo, said that Asamoah sustained fractures in his neck and nerve damage, and subsequently underwent surgery. “He is at risk of high-level paraplegia and will miss all remaining games this season. His career may also be seriously affected,” the club said on Monday. On Wednesday the club said that Asamoah was recovering from surgery and was in a stable condition. “Guangxi Pingguo FC sincerely thanks all fans and all walks of life for their concern and support for Samuel Asamoah,” the team said. “His recovery progress will be announced in due course after follow-up examinations.” Asamoah spent most of his career in Belgium before moving to China last year. He has played six times for Togo, according to statistics Web site transfermarkt.com. Citing Chinese soccer authorities, The Paper reported that the advertising display was positioned 3m from the field in line with international standards. The opposition player, Chongqing Tonglianglong midfielder Zhang Zhixiong, was given a yellow card following the incident.


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IN THE AIR:  With no compromise on the budget in sight, more air traffic controllers are calling in sick, which has led to an estimated 13,000 flight delays, the FAA said

Concerns over flight delays and missed paychecks due to the US government shutdown escalated on Wednesday, as senators rejected yet another bid to end the standoff.

Democrats voted for a sixth time to block a Republican stopgap funding measure to reopen government departments, keeping much of the federal workforce home or working without pay.

With the shutdown in its eighth day, lines at airports were expected to grow amid increased absenteeism among security and safety staff at some of the country’s busiest hubs.

People walk near an air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Air traffic controllers — seen as “essential” public servants — are kept at work during government shutdowns, but higher numbers are calling in sick rather than toiling without pay, leading to shortages.

Nearly 3,000 flight delays occurred by 5:30pm on Wednesday, following 10,000 delays on Monday and Tuesday with thousands tied to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) slowing flights because of air traffic controller absences.

Staffing problems have already been reported in almost a dozen airports from Chicago and Boston to Burbank, California, and Houston, according to the FAA, with further issues expected at Newark, New Jersey, a major hub for the New York City area.

“Historically, there’s about 5 percent of delays that is attributed to staffing issues in our towers. Last couple days it has been 53 percent,” US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said on Fox News. “My message to the air traffic controllers who work for DOT [the US Department of Transportation] is show up for work — you have a job to do.”

Air traffic control staffing issues during this shutdown have emerged earlier than the last major halt to government funding in 2019, during US President Donald Trump’s first term, leading to unexpected shortages in cities around the country.

“The bottom line is these controllers are stressed out, and they’re rebelling on this shutdown because they may not get paid,” Duffy said.

There appears to be little hope of a quick end to the shutdown, with Democrats refusing to back any funding bill that does not offer an extension of expiring healthcare subsidies for 24 million people.

US Senate Majority Leader John Thune has been forcing votes most days on a temporary fix passed by the Republican-led House of Representatives, each one failing to garner sufficient Democratic votes.

Meanwhile Trump continues to wield the threat of turning many of the 750,000 enforced absences — known as furloughs — into permanent layoffs.

A draft memo circulated by the White House this week said furloughed workers are not guaranteed compensation for their time off — meaning many could lose out on back pay.

Some federal workers — including US Capitol Police — are set to miss part of their pay for the first time today — amping up pressure for Congress to end the crisis.

A bigger pain point comes on Wednesday next week, when 1.3 million active-duty service members — as well as tens of thousands of US National Guard members and thousands of US Coast Guard personnel — are due to miss their first paycheck.

title: Flights delayed as US shutdown drags on


title: World’s oldest president seeks eighth term

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Elvis Nghobo tried to get into four different professional schools in Cameroon, but could not make it. Frustrated, the 34-year-old turned to selling food at a market in Yaounde, the country’s seat of power.

Nghobo blames his woes on what he calls a corrupt education system that favors children of the elite.

As the central African country prepares for Sunday’s presidential election, he said he would not be heading out to vote.

A man pushes a wheelbarrow loaded with goods through a market in Yaounde on Sept. 12. Photo: AP

He called the results a foregone conclusion for 92-year-old Paul Biya, the world’s oldest president, who has ruled for Nghobo’s entire life.

“He is already too old to govern, and it’s boring knowing only him as president,” Nghobo said.

The sentiment is shared by millions of the country’s young population, whose median age is 18, in perhaps the most dramatic example of tension between Africa’s youth and the continent’s many aging leaders.

Biya is seeking an eighth term in office in a single-round presidential election in which 8.2 million Cameroonians are registered to vote.

He first became president in 1982 following the resignation of his predecessor, Ahmadou Ahidjo, and has ruled since then. He was declared the winner of seven subsequent elections. Cameroon has seen just two leaders since independence in 1960.

“In the face of increasingly difficult international environment, the challenges facing us are more and more pressing,” Biya said in announcing another run. “In such a situation, I cannot shirk my mission.”

The country’s youth are hungry for jobs. The unemployment rate stands at 3.5 percent, but 57 percent of the labor force aged 18 to 35 works in informal employment, World Bank data showed.

Despite Cameroon being an oil-producing country that is experiencing modest economic growth, young people say the benefits have not trickled down beyond the elites.

The country also faces escalating security crises. In the western region, a secession fight has long brewed mainly among English-speaking citizens who claim they are marginalized by the French-speaking majority. In the north, the Boko Haram insurgency spills over from neighboring Nigeria, with armed groups routinely attacking border towns.

Biya in this election is challenged by nine opposition candidates, including some former allies and appointees. They include Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who until recently served as the minister of employment, and Bello Bouba Maigari, who was minister for tourism.

Another candidate who ran against Biya in 2018 and came second with 14 percent of votes, Maurice Kamto, was barred from contesting in this election.

The electoral commission said it disqualified Kamto because his party was also sponsoring another candidate, a claim Kamto’s lawyers rejected.

Kamto was arrested after the previous election for demanding fairness.

“The key opposition candidates are former ministers in Paul Biya’s government who just resigned a few weeks to the presidential elections. The youths see double standards in that kind of sudden twist of demeanor, pointing to the grim fact that ‘belly politics’ is the order of the day,” University of Dschang law professor Wilson Tamfuh said.

He referred to a tactic of “opposition” by those who seek to dilute support for real opposition candidates in return for the president’s favor.

Analysts say Cameroon’s elites are unwilling to disrupt the political order after decades of Biya’s rule.

“It is no question that [Biya] is widely unpopular in the country, but he definitely has the support of a lot of the elites and customary rulers through corruption and a money network. That sort of plays a big role in making sure he wins,” Oxford Analytica Africa analyst Nat Powell said.

The government has rejected such allegations in the past.

The ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement controls the legislature with 94 of 100 seats at the senate and 152 of 180 at the national assembly.

Biya’s health has routinely been a topic of speculation as he spends most of his time in Europe, leaving governance to key party officials and family members.

“Part of it is he wants to be president ‘til he dies, but part of it is also entourage and the ruling party,” Powell said. “The party wants to keep him there because he is the stabilizing force, because as long as he lives, that keeps everything together.”

At the University of Yaounde I, Manoung Wilfried, a 27-year-old geoscience student, sat near a staircase, looking pensive.

He said he would vote in the election, but none of the candidates has convinced him, and he decried Biya’s participation.

Wilfried cited patriotism as his only motivation for voting.

“For the good of the country, he should hand over the country’s leadership to someone else who can better understand and solve the problems faced by the youths,” he said of Biya.

Like many young people, Nghobo has lost faith in the electoral system that he believes is designed to keep Biya in power.

“Power change in this country can come through other means, but not through the ballot box,” he said.


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TICKING CLOCK:  A path to a budget agreement was still possible, the president’s office said, as a debate on reversing an increase of the pension age carries on

French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday was racing to find a new prime minister within a two-day deadline after the resignation of outgoing French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu tipped the country deeper into political crisis.

The presidency late on Wednesday said that Macron would name a new prime minister within 48 hours, indicating that the appointment would come by this evening at the latest.

Lecornu told French television in an interview that he expected a new prime minister to be named — rather than early legislative elections or Macron’s resignation — to resolve the crisis.

Outgoing French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, right, speaks on a television screen next to an image of French President Emmanuel Macron during an interview on France 2 in Paris on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

The developments were the latest twists in three tumultuous days of political drama that have shaken France and raised concerns over the stability of the key member of the EU.

Lecornu resigned early on Monday after less than a month in office, but Macron gave him up to Wednesday evening to find a way out of months of deadlock over an austerity budget.

Lecornu’s two immediate predecessors were ousted by the legislative chamber in a standoff over the spending plan.

The president “will name a prime minister within 48 hours,” the presidency said in a statement, adding that a “path was possible” to agree a budget by the end of the year.

There was no indication of the identity of the new prime minister. Unless Lecornu is reappointed, the new prime minister would be the eighth of Macron’s presidency.

The escalation of the crisis has turned into the worst political headache for Macron since he came to office in 2017, with close allies deserting a head of state who appears increasingly isolated.

Lecornu said he had told Macron that the prospects for snap legislative elections had “receded” as there was a majority in the lower house of parliament against being dissolved.

After former French prime minister Edouard Philippe said that Macron himself should step down and call snap presidential polls, Lecornu insisted that the president serve out his mandate until 2027.

It was “not the time to change the president”, Lecornu said, adding: “Let’s not make the French believe that it’s the president who votes the budget.”

Suggesting that a more technocratic government could be named, Lecornu said that people in a new Cabinet should not have “ambitions” to stand in the 2027 presidential elections.

“The situation is already difficult enough. We need a team that decides to roll up its sleeves and solve the country’s problems until the presidential election,” he said.

He added a “path” should be found to open a debate on reversing the increase of the pension age — the most contentious domestic reform of Macron’s mandate — but warned that any suspension would cost at least 3 billion euros (US$3.5 billion) in 2027.

French Minister of National Education, Higher Education and Research Elisabeth Borne, who was prime minister at the time the reform was forced through parliament without a vote, had called for it to be suspended.

Lecornu offered no clue over who the next prime minister would be, but hinted that he would not be reappointed without totally excluding such an outcome.

“I tried everything. This evening my mission is finished,” said Lecornu who served more than three years as defense minister, describing himself as a “warrior monk.”

title: Macron scrambles for new PM to end political crisis


title: Myanmar junta widens use of paramotor attacks

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A 30-year-old protester on Monday was participating in a gathering against Myanmar’s ruling junta on a festival day in the central region of Sagaing when he heard the distinctive noise of fan blades cutting through the air.

Minutes later, explosives were dropped by a motorized paraglider, also known as a paramotor.

“I was thrown away,” the protester said, asking not to be named for fear of retribution from the junta. “Initially, I thought the whole lower part of my body had been severed. I touched it and I realized the legs are still there.”

Students’ bags and other belongings are displayed in front of a school building damaged in a bombardment carried out by the Burmese military at the Ohe Htein Twin village in Tabayin Township in the Sagaing region of Myanmar on May 12. Photo: AFP

At least 20 people were killed in the attack by the junta, according to the eyewitness, Amnesty International, the shadow National Unity Government and an armed resistance group in the area.

It was the latest instance of Myanmar’s well-armed military using paramotors as part of its widening range of aerial weaponry, including aircraft and drones, deployed in an expanding civil war.

A spokesperson for Myanmar’s junta did not respond to calls seeking comment. The military has previously rejected accusations that it targets civilians.

A US Department of State spokesperson said it was deeply disturbed by reports of the attack.

“We urge the military regime to cease its violence and bombing civilians, release all unjustly detained prisoners, allow unhindered humanitarian access and begin genuine dialogue with opposition groups,” they said.

Myanmar has been gripped by protests and a nationwide armed rebellion since 2021 following the military’s ouster of an elected civilian government.

The attack at Sagaing’s Chaung-U Township took place just before 8pm on Monday as residents gathered in a field, said the eyewitness and a spokesman for a local anti-junta armed resistance group.

“The military has used paramotors to bomb this area approximately six times before this latest incident,” Chaung-U Township People’s Defense Force information officer Ko Thant said.

The junta’s first recorded use of paramotors, which can seat up to three soldiers to drop bombs or fire at targets, was in December last year, and they have since been deployed more widely, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) said.

The military also used paramotors to carry out attacks in parts of Myanmar hit by a deadly earthquake in March, the UN said in April.

“Paramotors are typically deployed in areas of mixed control or where resistance groups have minimal equipment, such as lacking access to the 7.62 cartridges and weapons required to shoot them down,” ACLED senior analyst Su Mon said in a July report.

In some areas rebels have claimed to have shot down a junta paramotor, the Burma Revolution Rangers group said in a statement issued in April.

With front lines stretching from the northern Kachin Hills to the western coastal state of Rakhine, the junta is increasingly relying on aerial power, with 1,134 airstrikes from January to May, far higher than corresponding figures of 197 and 640 in 2023 and last year, ACLED data showed.

In the aftermath of the strike in Chaung-U, the 30-year-old protester said he crawled into a nearby ditch and hid there until his friends pulled him out.

“This is mass murder,” he said, referring to the junta’s attack. “They are committing it openly.”


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Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday said the latest vessel in the Caribbean bombed by the US might have been Colombian with Colombian citizens aboard, which the White House called a “baseless” statement.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday announced the latest in a series of military strikes targeting drug trafficking vessels off the coast of Venezuela, although the Pentagon has yet to confirm any such strike occurred on Saturday.

“Indications show that the last boat bombed was Colombian with Colombian citizens inside of it,” Petro wrote on X. “The aggression is against all of Latin America and the Caribbean.”

Colombian President Gustavo Petro delivers a speech during the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels, Belgium, yesterday. Photo: Reuters

If verified, the assertion would bring Colombia into the fray of a US campaign that had previously targeted Venezuelan boats.

The White House rebuffed Petro’s comments.

“The United States looks forward to President Petro publicly retracting his baseless and reprehensible statement so that we can return to a productive dialogue on building a strong, prosperous future for the people of the United States and Colombia,” a White House official said.

Colombia is an “essential strategic partner,” despite policy differences, and the two countries share priorities including regional security, the official said.

There have been at least four strikes in the past few weeks on boats the US says were transporting drugs, and the White House says 21 people have been killed in the operations.

The attacks have inflamed tensions in the region and Washington on Monday called off diplomatic outreach to Venezuela.

Petro, who is in Belgium meeting with European leaders, was replying to a post by US Senator Adam Schiff who said he would vote to block strikes against vessels in the Caribbean.

“Let the White House give us the information about the people who died due to the US missiles, so we can see if my information is unfounded,” Petro said later on Wednesday.

Venezuelan Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace Diosdado Cabello responded to Petro’s comments on state TV.

“They [the US] have set in place a death penalty for any citizen they believe they can murder, using the excuse that drugs, according to them, are coming from Venezuela,” he said.

title: Colombia’s Petro suggests US bombed Colombian ship


title: World News Quick Take

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UNITED STATES

Man charged over blaze

A 29-year-old man has been charged with sparking California’s deadly Palisades Fire, authorities said on Wednesday. Federal officials said Jonathan Rinderknecht, who lived in the area, started a small fire on New Year’s Day that smoldered underground before reigniting nearly a week later, roaring through Pacific Palisades, home to many of Los Angeles’ rich and famous. The fire, which left 12 dead in the hillside neighborhoods across Pacific Palisades and Malibu, was one of two blazes that broke out on Jan. 7, killing more than 30 people in all and destroying more than 17,000 homes and buildings. Rinderknecht was arrested on Tuesday in Florida and made his first court appearance on Wednesday in Orlando on charges including malicious destruction by means of a fire, which carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison.

INDIA

Cough syrup maker arrested

Police have arrested the owner of Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer, a cough syrup company linked to the deaths of at least 17 children in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, a senior police officer from the region said yesterday. The children, all younger than five years old, died in the past month after consuming cough medicine containing toxic diethylene glycol in quantities nearly 500 times the permissible limit. S. Ranganathan, the owner of the Tamil Nadu state-based company that manufactured the syrup, was arrested on Wednesday in Chennai, a senior police officer said.

NEW ZEALAND

Haka disrupts parliament

Parliament yesterday was suspended for a short period after people in the gallery broke into a haka, a traditional Maori dance, after the newest member of parliament for the Te Pati Maori party finished her maiden speech. Following Oriini Kaipara’s speech, members of parliament from across the house and those in the public gallery sang a planned and approved Maori song to celebrate her arrival. The public gallery then erupted into a haka and some members of parliament joined in. Speaker Gerry Brownlee asked them to stop. “No, not that. The guarantee was that would not be taking place,” he said. When they continued he suspended the sitting. Lawmakers and their supporters must obtain permission to sing or perform haka in the public gallery.

UNITED STATES

‘I ain’t dead yet’: Parton

Country singer Dolly Parton on Wednesday sought to reassure fans about her health after comments by her sister stoked concern that the Grammy winner was near death. “I ain’t dead yet,” Parton, 79, said in the caption to an Instagram video. “Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard here,” she said with a smile from a set where she was filming commercials for the Grand Ole Opry. Parton had announced she was postponing a series of shows planned for Las Vegas to deal with some unspecified health issues. This week, her sister Freida Parton wrote on social media that she had been “up all night praying” for the singer. She later said she “didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious.” Dolly Parton acknowledged in her video that she had not been taking care of herself in the past few years. “But I wanted you to know that I’m not dying. Did you see that AI [artificial intelligence] picture of Reba [McEntire] and me? Oh Lordy. I mean, they had Reba at my death bed, and we both look like we need to be buried,” she laughed.


title: Touching the clouds in Alishan

taiwan-subdivisions: 阿里山 太平

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This laid-back route in Chiayi County takes you from the renowned Alishan Railway up to a mountaintop tea farm and down to a quaint mountain town in the next valley, making for a perfect fall day trip

Every now and then, it’s nice to just point somewhere on a map and head out with no plan. In Taiwan, where convenience reigns, food options are plentiful and people are generally friendly and helpful, this type of trip is that much easier to pull off. One day last November, a spur-of-the-moment day hike in the hills of Chiayi County turned into a surprisingly memorable experience that impressed on me once again how fortunate we all are to call this island home.

The scenery I walked through that day — a mix of forest and farms reaching up into the clouds — was sublime. Along the way, I encountered people who take pride in their little corner of the country and are happy to welcome visitors from near and far. If a mix of culture, scenery, markets and a bit of exercise sounds appealing, head to Chiayi County on a sunny day this fall and experience it for yourself.

TRAINS, TRAILS AND TEMPLE HOSPITALITY

My day began at Zhangnaoliao Station (樟腦寮站) on the Alishan Forest Railway (阿里山森林鐵路). A short road walk behind and above the train station is the Duli Mountain (獨立山) trailhead. At the first junction, I took the right-hand trail, which drops down to a suspension bridge and then climbs up the steep western slope of Duli Mountain. The railroad ascends this mountain through a complex spiral and figure-eight pattern that has earned it recognition by Guinness World Records. As I ascended the well-built trail, I crossed the railroad in four separate places and watched the tourist train go by, pushed up the mountain by its quaint red locomotive.

The train starts the climb from Zhangnaoliao at about 10:10am and 11am daily, so position yourself at the first or second railroad crossing on the mountain at one of these times for the best views. If you get train tickets to the Dulishan Station, you can start your walk near the top and avoid most of the uphill walking.

After summiting Duli Mountain (an optional side trail), I continued uphill toward the Fengtianyan Temple (奉天岩), a prime example of what makes rural Taiwan so special. One level below the temple plaza is a long row of shelves filled with plastic bins, labeled sequentially. Locals who come here often rent these bins from the temple and leave snacks, noodles, utensils and other miscellaneous items inside. None of these need to be locked up; in a place like this, theft and vandalism are far from everyone’s mind.

This spirit of mutual trust and cooperation is even more evident in the plaza outside the temple. Here, a full outdoor kitchen complete with running water, propane burners, all manner of cooking pots, dishes, utensils and tea sets is available 24/7 for anyone to use. The temple takes donations for propane, but essentially everything here is free. Locals clean up after themselves, showing great respect for the facility and other members of the public who will use it in the future.

INTO THE CLOUDS

Above the temple, the mountain is covered in what might as well be Chiayi’s official county tree: the betelnut palm. These large monoculture plantations, though not a sustainable form of agriculture, are nevertheless photogenic with their frond canopies and the countless, uniformly thin and straight trunks underneath.

Above the plantation, I started to get a sense of how high I had climbed as the trail traced its way along a narrowing ridge and I got glimpses of lowlands further north. About 45 minutes after leaving the temple below, the well-manicured rows of a tea field suddenly came into view, indicating my arrival at the summit of Dalongding (大巃頂).

My phone’s battery was already getting low and I was desperate for a charge. As luck would have it, the tea farmers here have a shop selling drinks and snacks, as well as tenting and indoor accommodations. They were happy to let me charge my phone for a while, so I bought a bottle of their cold-brew tea and went outside to sit down and take in the view of the very plants that produced my drink.

On a sunny November day, up there at 1,150 meters in elevation, the temperature was pleasant and I was right at the level where clouds were forming. The rich green of the tea plants and deep blue of the clear sky soon gave way to pure white, as Dalongding was shrouded in fog. I sat mesmerized as the clouds came and went, teasing me with colorful, expansive views down into the valley below one minute, and a white-out the next: white and green, then white and blue, then blue and green, then white again.

DOWN TO TAIPING

With my phone charged up to 70 percent, I thanked the owners and continued on my way. Just past the summit tea field, the trail starts its steep descent down the other side of the mountain, heading toward the mountain village of Taiping (太平村). Having passed through forest, betelnut and tea, I was pleasantly surprised to find the vegetation on this side different yet again. Interspersed among the tea fields here were large stands of bamboo, whose loose yellow leaves contrasted sharply with the tight rows of tea, painting the hillsides with a joyful mixture of color and texture.

After another 45 minutes, I crossed a pedestrian bridge above a road and entered Taiping Village. The wide brick road and sheer number of shops lining the main street are evidence that this place must be filled with tourists on weekends, but on a random Tuesday, it was very quiet. I had not come prepared with a lunch, as I was counting on there being good food available in Taiping. Once again, Taiwan did not disappoint.

Right next to the police station, in a low, unassuming tin-roofed building, I had one of the best noodle dishes I’ve ever had in Taiwan. This plate of wheat vermicelli, cooked with greens and mushrooms and seasoned with tea oil, was so good I went back and ordered a second.

With so much tea production in Chiayi County, tea oil is a common ingredient in local cuisine. I have eaten it on wheat vermicelli noodles before, but this particular recipe was especially savory and really hit the spot after hiking over from the next valley.

While in Taiping, don’t miss the spectacular view of the plains from the west side of the village. Taiping sits on the first line of mountains that spring up dramatically from the Chiayi plains, 950 meters below. On a clear day, you can see all the way to the coast and it feels more like you’re looking out the window of an airplane than standing on solid ground. Notice the dramatic Taiping 36-Bend Road zigzagging down to the plains, compressing 6.5 km of road length into less than 2 km of forward distance.

To finish off your day, take a walk across the Taiping Suspension Bridge (NT$100), known as the “Taiping Cloud Staircase” (太平雲梯) in Chinese, that spans the gorge at the entrance to Taiping. From here, you can see the full extent of Chiayi, from the coastline far to the west, to the low mountain farms that surround you, to the high craggy peaks of the Alishan Mountain Range far to the east.


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Hair museum filled with century-old mementos closes its doors

Century-old wreaths made from human hair fill the walls of Leila’s Hair Museum, and glass cases overflow with necklaces and watch bands woven from the locks of the dead. There also are tresses purported to come from past presidents, Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe and even Jesus.

For about 30 years, this hair art collection in the Kansas City suburb of Independence attracted an eclectic group of gawkers that included the likes of heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne.

But the museum’s namesake, Leila Cohoon, died last November at the age of 92. Now her granddaughter, Lindsay Evans, is busy rehoming the collection of more than 3,000 pieces to museums across the country, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

Lindsay Evans on Monday gestures to a historic photo of Victorian-era women weaving human hair into art, during a tour of Leila’s Hair Museum on Monday in Independence, Mississippi. Photo: AP

“Every time I come here, I feel her here,” Evans said Monday while touring with representatives of the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston who left with around 30 pieces. “This place is her. And so I feel like this process of rehoming her collection has helped me grieve her in a way that I didn’t even realize I really needed.”

It all started in 1956 when Cohoon, a hair dresser, was shopping for Easter shoes. Inside an antique store she found a gold frame filled with strands of hair twisted into the shape of flowers.

“She said forget the Easter shoes,” Evans said. “My granddad always said that this was the most expensive piece of the museum because look at what it started.”

Evans is keeping that one for herself.

This form of art peaked in popularity in the mid-1800s as women coiled the hair of the dead into jewelry or told their family history by intertwining the curls of loved ones into wreaths.

But hair art had fallen out of favor by the 1940s, as memories were captured in photos, Evans said. Additionally, “this artwork was not celebrated because it was mostly done by women. And so in larger museums, they don’t have a lot of this.”

Her grandmother saved some from being trashed, wrote a book and taught classes on the art form, training a new generation of artists.

Often the hair art was housed in elaborate frames with original glass, so when her grandmother started haggling with antique dealers for the frames, they frequently offered to get rid of the hair.

“And she’d say, ‘No, no, keep that in there,’” Evans said.

Then her grandmother would hand them her business card and tell them to be on the lookout. Soon dealers across the country were calling.

“If it had hair, she got it,” said Evans, who sometimes accompanied her grandmother as she hunted for new additions.

The collection grew to include a wreath containing hair from every woman in the League of Women Voters from Vermont in 1865. A pair of crescent-shaped wreaths contain the tresses of two sisters whose heads were shaved when they entered a convent. A couple pieces even feature taxidermy.

The frames filled the walls of her home and the beauty school she ran with her husband. She shoved them under beds and in closets. Eventually, the couple snatched up this building — a former car dealership — nestled between a fast-food restaurant and car wash.

Celebrities caught wind of the attraction. Actress and comedian Phyllis Diller donated a hair wreath that had been in her family for generations. TV personality Mike Rowe filmed an episode of “Somebody’s Gotta Do It” here. There might also be a few strands from Osbourne inside. When he came to visit, Cohoon snipped a lock, although Evans has yet to find it.

Evans said her grandmother was tight-lipped on what she spent over the years, but she anticipates the worth of the art may top $1 million.

As Genevieve Keeney, the head of the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston, waded through the collection, she eagerly eyed the jewelry that memorialized the dead, including a small pin containing the locks of a 7-year-old girl who died in 1811.

“I always felt it was important to educate people about death,” said Keeney, also a licensed mortician. “Our society does such an injustice on getting people to understand what the true emotions are going to feel like when death happens.”

Evans herself is struggling with a mix of emotions as she slowly rehomes her grandmother’s legacy.

“I want people to see all of this because that’s what she wanted,” Evans said. “But when this is empty it’ll break my heart a little bit.”


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‘A House of Dynamite’ lights a fuse that doesn’t quite igniteThe thriller about a nuclear weapon bearing down on the US’ Midwest starts strong, but looses its grip on plausibility as it climbs the chain of command

In Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite, when a mysterious missile launches from the Pacific and begins bearing down on the Midwest, the biggest threat initially at the White House is a pile of paper work.

The ho-hum response that kicks off Bigelow’s firecracker of a film is quickly shattered. But that transition from routine to imminent danger, replayed three times over in this Rashomon meets Dr. Strangelove, is the defining register of Bigelow’s urgent, if heavy-handed nuclear wake-up call.

Words across the screen open the film, noting that global powers once worked to decrease nuclear weapons. “That era is now over,” declares the movie.

You might be thinking: As if we didn’t have enough to worry about. But no matter how many other existential concerns might be making a restful night of sleep a thing of pure fantasy, filmmakers have long been particularly attuned to the threat of nuclear warfare. A House of Dynamite joins a cinematic lineage going back to Dr. Strangelove and Fail Safe in 1964. And it comes amid a modern revival of big-screen nuclear anxiety including 2023’s Oppenheimer and preceding James Cameron’s announced plans to make Ghosts of Hiroshima.

But Bigelow, working from a script by the former NBC News president Noah Oppenheim, takes her own bracingly contemporary, precisely granular approach to envisioning the very sudden emergence of a nuclear weapon heading toward the US mainland. With riveting efficiency, Bigelow constructs a taut, real-time thriller that opens explosively but dissipates with each progressive iteration.

The first section of the film, which streams Oct. 24 on Netflix, is its most powerful. It begins with a routine, workaday morning. Soon after Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson) arrives at a command center at the White House, a military base in Alaska reports the unexpected launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Its launch was unsighted, making the origin and nature of the attack unclear. Everyone’s first reaction is that it will likely splashdown somewhere in the Sea of Japan.

But in the moments that follow, a new realization dawns: the missile is headed for Chicago. In 18 minutes, millions of Americans may die. The DEFCON level worsens. Long-used playbooks get dusted off. Communication, and protocol, are fast and immediate — military leaders appear on a video call where the president is a quiet black screen — but the solutions not nearly as many of us might assume.

Ferguson, a deft, intelligent actor, commands the operation with quicksilver savvy and humanity. As the minutes tick away, the urge grows to get her phone out of a lock box — a bit of daily White House protocol — and call her family. As impact nears, as you might expect, the intensity swells.

But just before that moment arrives, A House of Dynamite turns the clock back to launch. The next two sections of the film replay the same moments, but from different points of view. The second chapter leans largely on National Security Advisor Jake Baerington (Gabriel Basso), and the fast-moving attempts to pinpoint the possible strategy of the missile launch and who might have fired it. Could it be North Korea? Russia? Is this an accidental event or, by the rules of engagement, does it set off a chain reaction leading irrevocably to mutual destruction?

The third section takes the frantic debate to the more solitary figure of the president (Idris Elba, who has managed to play both the British Prime Minister and POTUS in one calendar year). By this point, though, A House of Dynamite has begun to spin its wheels, retreading ground it already covered, and leaving Elba searching for direction in his scenes.

The rewind-and-replay narrative offers some benefits. By three times returning to the beginning of a new day, each time met by all with its familiar habits — the need for coffee, traffic in the commute, maybe a quick round of golf — A House of Dynamite each time reinforces how rapidly our sense of normalcy might be forever shattered.

But the structure also dampens the fuse initially lit by A House of Dynamite. What carries it through, above all, is the great command of Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty, Detroit ), who knows perhaps better than any working filmmaker how to turn bracing real-life, or near-real-life crises into heart-pounding thrillers. Aiding that cause is a fine ensemble of actors (Tracy Letts, Jared Harris, Greta Lee, Anthony Ramos, Jason Clarke) with the gravitas to enhance Bigelow’s verisimilitude. But the higher up the chain of command A House of Dynamite goes, the more it loses its grip on plausibility.


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George Clooney says his children have a ‘much better life’ being raised in France than LA

George Clooney has said that his decision to base himself in France was informed by the desire to give his children a better start in life than if they had remained in the US.

The actor, 64, who has eight-year-old twins, Ella and Alexander, with his wife, the human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, gave a lengthy interview to US Esquire magazine while staying at his Italian villa on Lake Como.

“We live on a farm in France,” he said. “A good portion of my life growing up was on a farm, and as a kid I hated the whole idea of it. But now, for [the twins], it’s like — they’re not on their iPads, you know? They have dinner with grownups and have to take their dishes in.

US actor George Clooney, left, and his wife, lawyer Amal Clooney on Oct. 3 pose on the red carpet of The Albies Awards at the Natural History Museum in London, Britain.

Photo: EPA

“They have a much better life. I was worried about raising our kids in LA, in the culture of Hollywood. I felt like they were never going to get a fair shake at life. France — they kind of don’t give a shit about fame. I don’t want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi. I don’t want them being compared to somebody else’s famous kids.”

Clooney’s father, Nick, now 91, was a local TV anchor in Cincinnati and the actor reflected that the age gap between himself and his own children means that similar comparisons will be harder to draw.

“The only thing I feel lucky about is that I’m so much older that the idea that my son would be compared to me is pretty unlikely, because by the time he actually will have done anything, I’m gonna be gumming my bread.”

He also spoke about his desire to ensure his children were self-sufficient, through encouraging them to help out in the grounds and witness his handyman skills fixing, variously, a fan belt (using a pair of his wife’s stockings), a coffee machine and the automated cover for the swimming pool.

“It’s important to me that they can survive,” he said.

In April, Amal Clooney was among a number of senior legal counsels to the International Criminal Court warned by the foreign office they may be at risk of sanctions by the Trump administration, including being banned from entering the US.

Last year, Amal Clooney sat on a panel that recommended lead ICC prosecutor Karim Khan issue an arrest warrant for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant. The warrant was duly issued in November last year, citing the allegation that the men had committed war crimes in Gaza, including using starvation as a method of warfare, during Israel’s fight against Hamas.

In February, Trump issued an executive order imposing sanctions on the ICC and naming Khan in its annex, promising to “impose tangible and significant consequences on those responsible for the ICC’s transgressions, some of which may include the blocking of property and assets, as well as the suspension of entry into the United States of ICC officials, employees, and agents, as well as their immediate family members.”

Clooney did not comment on his wife’s work, although speaking to Anderson Cooper in the spring, he batted back concerns of persecution from Trump, saying: “My wife spent two years in a bunker trying Hezbollah. She’s the only person to put Isis on trial. She’s the bravest person I’ve ever met. We have other issues besides just worrying about an American administration saying unkind things about us.”

Clooney was then publicizing his Broadway run in a stage version of 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck, which, he told Esquire, was made considerably more stressful by his age.

“As you get older, it doesn’t matter how many granola bars you eat; your brain starts to lock up,” he said. “I had all these long monologues, and I was afraid of blowing my lines. So every single night for 100 performances, I would do the whole play in the dressing room before I went onstage. I was so terrified.”

Clooney is currently promoting Jay Kelly, Noah Baumbach’s film in which he stars as a Clooney-esque film star reassessing his life ahead of a lifetime achievement tribute. Making the movie, said Clooney, also caused him to look back at the highs and lows of his own career, and the impact it had had on his own health and family.

He told Esquire that although never addicted to alcohol, he had “runs where I’d get pretty toasty every night” as well as having dabbled in cocaine during the early 1980s.

“At the time, it was like, ‘No, this is not like heroin. It’s not addictive.’ But then it was like, ‘Oh, well, it’s actually pretty fucking bad.’ Plus, it was all cut with mannitol. The baby laxative. Everybody would do a line and then take a shit.”

Watching film classics from the same period with his wife had also caused him to reassess that time, he said, recalling a viewing of Animal House, which he billed as a film with “no equal.”

“She said: ‘Well, let’s watch it.’ I go, ‘I don’t know if it’s going to hold up.’ Like, the first scene, a 13-year-old girl passes out and the devil pops up on the guy’s shoulder and says, ‘Fuck her brains out!’ And my wife’s looking at me like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ And I’m like, ‘Oh my God, this is terrible!’


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▲東森廣場台北車站K區地下街歡慶週年，推出滿千送百、滿3,000送保溫杯、台灣Pay回饋20%等多重優惠活動，現場熱鬧滾滾，吸引民眾搶購。（圖／東森購物提供，以下同）

消費中心／台北報導

東森廣場台北車站K區地下街開幕週年慶活動開跑囉! 自10月9日(四)起至11月24日(一)「東森週年慶」活動熱鬧登場，活動結合滿額贈、抽獎、回饋、加碼送等多重優惠，回饋總值創新高。活動期間單日消費滿1,000元即可參加抽獎，最大獎為 iPhone 17 Pro 及 國際牌微波爐，買越多得獎機會越高；民眾消費滿千送百，再搭配台灣Pay最高20%回饋，讓消費者買得開心、抽得過癮。

在通膨時代，消費者更重視實際回饋。週年慶期間，於東森廣場累積消費滿1,000元即可獲100元電子券，滿3,000元再送限量保溫杯；指定檔期（10/9–10/12、11/21–11/24）再加碼滿3,000送300元，相當於現回饋10%。再搭配台灣Pay最高20%現金回饋，堪稱今年最超值、最值得期待的週年慶活動。

活動期間單日消費滿1,000元即可參加抽獎，最大獎為iPhone 17 Pro及國際牌微波爐，買越多得獎機會越高，幸運加倍。消費滿500元還可參加轉轉樂活動，有機會帶回東森限定馬克杯、環保購物袋、門市餐券等週年慶限定好禮。

▲▼店員們邀請民眾一起共度東森廣場台北車站K區地下街週年慶，分享歡樂氣氛。

▲東森廣場台北車站K區地下街歡慶週年，推出滿千送百、累積消費滿3,000送保溫杯、台灣Pay回饋20%等多重優惠活動，現場熱鬧滾滾，吸引民眾搶購。

現場更結合線上互動，民眾於threads、Facebook、Instagram打卡 #東森廣場週年慶 或於Google Map留下五星好評，即可再贈東風洗衣精補充包，每人限領乙次。加入「東森廣場LINE@官方帳號」的新會員，還可領取50元電子券2張、E幣100元與晴喜摘四季春茶M杯乙杯，數量有限送完為止，驚喜好康層層加碼。

東森廣場台北車站K區地下街位置便利、品牌齊全，集結松本清藥妝、PP石墨烯、QB House、寶雅、DAISO、寶可夢旗艦店等生活休閒品牌，以及這一小鍋、荖子鍋、洋城、Joyfull、薩利亞、灣仔碼頭等人氣餐飲，打造集購物、美食、休憩於一體的都會商場。今年週年慶不僅是慶祝，更是東森廣場感謝消費者支持、回饋社會的最佳時刻。

companies: LINE Google

title: 歡慶東森廣場北車週年慶　滿千送百再抽iPhone最高回饋


countries: 日本 台灣

taiwan-subdivisions: 琉球 宜蘭 太平 恆春 嘉義 基隆

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▲娜克莉颱風將複製哈隆的路徑，可能侵襲沖繩、九州等地。（圖／翻攝NOAA）

記者許力方／台北報導

太平洋雙颱共舞，中央氣象署表示，22號中颱哈隆（Halong）轉彎後持續偏東前進，預估將變性微溫帶氣旋，23號輕颱娜克莉（Nakri）則位在台北東方1290公里處，路徑和哈隆差不多，先往西北再轉彎往東。日本預報認為，娜克莉路徑可能沿著哈隆，並有可能登陸沖繩、九州等地區。

氣象署預報，娜克莉目前位於那霸東南東方690公里海面上，預測以時速20轉12公里速度，先向西北往琉球東方海面前進，後續轉向東北東朝日本南方海面進行，對台灣天氣無直接影響。台灣部分，受東北風影響，迎風面的基隆北海岸、宜蘭及恆春半島有局部短暫陣雨，花東及大台北地區也有零星降雨，其他地區多雲到晴，午後嘉義以南地區及各山區有局部短暫雷陣雨。

▲台灣仍處高壓控制範圍，天氣高溫炎熱 。（圖／NCDR）

民間氣象愛好「台灣颱風論壇」指出，由於哈隆、娜克莉雙颱風都遠遠轉向，沒能把更多的東北風或涼空氣捲來台灣，因此，國慶3天連假台灣仍處在高氣壓控制範圍內，晴朗炎熱，35度以上高溫將會持續。氣象署未來3天的高溫預報，全台各地紅通通一片，西半部平地持續上看33至36度，少數午後陣雨被壓制在山區及東北角。

日本氣象廳估計，娜克莉將在周末期間自日本南方朝沖繩、九州、西日本、四國一路往東日本一側前進，需密切注意後續路徑變化。初步預報，沖繩、九州南部、四國、近畿等地皆在颱風暴風圈侵襲預報範圍內。

title: 全台一片紅通通　娜克莉「複製路徑」也轉彎！暴風恐襲沖繩


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▲青埔智慧科技分館設於「亞矽IoT展廳」內。（圖／市府提供）

記者楊淑媛／桃園報導

桃園青埔特區即將有一座科技圖書館！桃園市立圖書館9日表示，「青埔智慧科技分館」，以「智慧科技 × 閱讀創新」為核心概念，結合桃園埤塘意象與前瞻科技設備，打造兼具人文底蘊與智慧應用的未來型圖書館，將於10月29日正式啟用。

▲新館以「智慧科技×閱讀創新」為核心概念。（圖／市府提供）

位於「亞矽IoT展廳」內，鄰近機捷A19站的青埔智慧科技分館，為迎接開館，桃市圖同步推出「圖書科技亮點大解謎」闖關活動，邀民眾於當日下午3時起入館探索館內科技亮點，完成任務即可獲得精美小禮物。活動自10月12日起開放報名，限額30組。

▲桃園市立圖書館青埔智慧科技分館（圖／市府提供）

桃園市立圖書館館長施照輝表示：青埔智慧科技分館不只是新場館，更是桃園閱讀城市願景的重要實踐。該分館館藏逾23,000冊，提供超過50種報紙與期刊，另備有3,000餘本兒童讀物，並規劃服務櫃台、一般閱覽區、期刊報紙區、資訊檢索區、研習教室與兒童閱覽室等空間，打造舒適多元的閱讀環境。

title: 喜迎「青埔智慧科技分館」啟用　桃園市圖開放30組民眾報名體驗


title: 閱之海筆記／《風林火山》：從武田信玄到井上靖的變陣

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▲《風林火山》由金城武、劉青雲、梁家輝、古天樂、高圓圓等多位巨星合演。（壹壹喜喜電影股份有限公司提供）

作者／馬賽克

金城武、劉青雲等多位大明星主演的犯罪動作片《風林火山》，於2017年6月開拍；但因為疫情影響，一直延到今年10月才在兩岸三地上映。本片耗資4億港元（約16億元新台幣），號稱是香港影壇史上製作成本最高的電影。我不曉得製片方為何會為一部現代背景的大型動作片取了這麼一個充滿古典味的片名。我猜，大概是因為覺得它很有戰爭fu吧？

《風林火山》這個詞源自日本。我第一次認識它，來自一部改編自著名作家井上靖小說，稻垣浩導演的同名電影（1969年上映）。該片描述日本戰國時代甲斐國大名（諸侯）武田信玄和他的軍師山本勘助共同打拚的故事。飾演前者的是中村錦之助；飾演後者的，是三船敏郎。

▲武田信玄的軍旗。（圖／公共版權照片）

本片之所以會使用這個片名，原因是「風林火山」正是武田信玄印在軍旗上的用語。軍旗上書寫著「疾如風，徐如林，侵掠如火，不動如山」。這四句話，出自中國第一兵書《孫子兵法·軍爭篇》：「其疾如風，其徐如林，侵掠如火，不動如山，難知如陰，動如雷霆。」

史家記載，武田信玄讀過《孫子兵法》後拜訪僧人快川紹喜，透露他想重新設計武田軍旗的想法。兩人商量後，最終選出上述句子作為軍旗上的用語。不過把這四句話濃縮成「風林山火」四個字的，應該是出自井上靖的創意。

▲井上靖攝於1955年。（圖／公共版權照片)

井上靖擅長創作歷史小說，以中國和絲路為背景的尤為著名；當中包括《天平之甍》（描述唐朝僧人鑑真東渡日本傳法的故事）、《敦煌》、《樓蘭》、《蒼狼─成吉思汗》等。井上靖的名字曾出現在1969年諾貝爾文學獎的候進名單內。1986年，他獲中國北京大學頒授榮譽博士學位。

日本小說／電影《風林火山》的第一主角是山本勘助。作品中把他描寫成諸葛亮一般的人物（劇本出自大編劇家橋本忍手筆）。對武田信玄用兵、軍團編制和兵器運用描寫最為詳盡的軍事著作《甲陽軍鑑》，對山本勘助著墨甚多。根據該書記載，他是獨眼龍、而且不良於行，使得他仕途多舛。

▲1969年電影《風林火山》的海報。（圖／翻攝自百度百科）

37歲時，他前往投效駿河的大名今川義元。但今川義元嫌他形貌醜陋，沒有起用。九年後（公元1543年），他改投武田家。跟武田信玄見面後相談甚歡，有如當年苻堅遇見王猛一樣。山本勘助出仕後屢建奇功，第一年征討信濃時即攻下對方九座城池，俸祿增加到300貫。後來，他又獻計擊敗諏訪賴重，並且說服同僚重臣，讓武田得以將諏訪賴重的美麗女兒納為側室。隔年她生下一男，就是武田家後來的接班人武田勝賴。

熟悉日本戰國史的讀者都知道，武田信玄跟越後國大名上杉謙信曾打過五場著名的「川中島之戰」，雙方互有勝負。但就在第四戰（公元1561年）時，山本勘助不幸戰死。他的陣亡，對武田家日後的爭霸之路，是一大重創。

countries: 香港 日本 中國


taiwan-subdivisions: 琉球 太平 宜蘭 恆春 嘉義 基隆

title: 全台一片紅通通　娜克莉「複製路徑」也轉彎！暴風恐襲沖繩


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▲普丁表示，去年亞塞拜然航空墜機是俄方責任，將盡一切必要努力提供賠償。（圖／路透）

記者趙蔡州／綜合報導

亞塞拜然航空（Azerbaijan Airlines）一架飛往俄羅斯車臣共和國的航班，去年12月墜毀在哈薩克西部，導致38人罹難。俄羅斯總統普丁本月9日首度承認，俄羅斯必須對這場「悲劇事件」負責，並向亞塞拜然總統阿利耶夫承諾，將盡一切必要努力提供賠償、追究相關負責人的法律責任。

根據《美聯社》報導，俄羅斯總統普丁近日前往塔吉克的首都杜尚別參加中亞五國領袖峰會，9日他會晤亞塞拜然總統阿利耶夫時，坦承俄方必須對2024年12月的空難事故負責。

普丁表示，俄羅斯防空部隊當時正在防禦烏克蘭無人機的襲擊，但由於「技術原因」，防空部隊向亞塞拜然航空的客機開火，2枚飛彈在距離客機僅數公尺外爆炸，導致悲劇發生。

普丁告訴阿利耶夫，俄羅斯將盡一切必要努力提供賠償、追究相關負責人的法律責任，也希望兩國的緊張態勢可以緩解並重建合作關係。

這場空難事故發生在2024年12月25日，亞塞拜然航空一架編號J2-8243的航班從巴庫飛往俄羅斯車臣首府格羅茲尼，過程中飛機突然偏離航線，最後墜毀在哈薩克，最初傳出航班是遭到鳥擊，機長才決定飛往哈薩克迫降，不料後來卻爆出是遭俄軍飛彈誤擊。

空難發生數天後，普丁就這次事件向阿利耶夫致歉，並形容這場空難一場「悲劇」事件，但未承認飛機墜毀是俄方的責任。阿利耶夫則批評莫斯科試圖掩蓋真相。

countries: 亞塞拜然 塔吉克 烏克蘭 俄羅斯 哈薩克

title: 普丁承認了！亞塞拜然客機墜毀38死「是俄方有錯」：將盡力賠償


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記者王靖淳／綜合報導

今（10）日是雙十國慶日，有著「凍齡美魔女」的封號的58歲女星胡文英，稍早也透過臉書PO文祝賀，並在文中附上一系列身穿「國旗比基尼」在抹茶山擺拍的照片，貼文及照片曝光後，立刻掀起網友討論。

▲胡文英。（圖／翻攝自Facebook／美魔女胡文英）

透過胡文英分享的照片可見到，她身穿一件國旗比基尼，上身以青天白日搭配滿地紅，造型相當大膽搶眼。她的腳上則穿著一雙淺色的運動鞋，手上還著一面大幅的國旗。除了站著的姿勢，胡文英也單膝跪在石椅上，並且奮力地將手上的大幅國旗高高舉起。

▲胡文英發文慶祝國慶日。（圖／翻攝自Facebook／美魔女胡文英）

胡文英在文中，不但興奮地向所有粉絲祝賀「國慶日快樂」之外，更以極為堅定的語氣寫下：「我愛我的國家，也愛那面在風中飄揚的國旗。那是我心裡的驕傲與信念。不需要多說，行動就是最真的表達。」貼文及照片曝光後，吸引大批網友朝聖，同時也紛紛留言表示「美」、「讚哦」、「愛國心依然如昔！依然給妳按讚」，掀起不小討論。

references: 臉書 網友 Facebook

title: 凍齡美魔女「穿國旗比基尼」慶國慶　嗨喊：我心裡的驕傲信念


title: 閱之海筆記／《風林火山》：從武田信玄到井上靖的變陣

countries: 日本 香港 中國


taiwan-subdivisions: 桃園 南投 大樹 南投縣

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▲114年國慶焰火今晚8點在南投縣會展中心登場。（資料照／南投縣政府提供）

記者彭懷玉／綜合報導

今天就是雙十節，以下特搜全台「2025雙十國慶煙火」，除了2025國慶煙火首度移師南投舉辦，將從今晚8點施放40分鐘、逾3萬發煙火，台北101、桃園台茂也有花火盛宴，陪北台灣民眾度過連假首日。

▲國慶日台北101煙火光雕秀。（資料照／記者黃克翔攝） 台北101國慶煙火秀 台北101將再次舉辦國慶煙火秀，今年首度結合500台無人機與煙火共演，交織出煙火光影秀。此次活動主題為「Gen. TAIWAN 我們的時刻」，晚間10點整準時開演。

首先，將以象徵團結與希望的金色光帶揭幕，緊接著，由無人機在南山A21大樓與台北101之間的高空展開演出，最後，3分鐘的壓軸煙火從101大樓全棟綻放，為國慶夜畫下璀璨的句點，全長約12分鐘的演出，展現「科技台灣、文化傳承」的獨特魅力。

▲「2025國慶煙火」首度移師南投舉辦，規模號稱近10年來最盛大。（資料照／南投縣政府提供） 2025國慶煙火在南投 「2025國慶煙火」首度移師南投舉辦，主會場位於南投市貓羅溪畔的南投縣會展中心，最令人期待的煙火秀，將於今（10日）晚間8點施放40分鐘、超過3萬發煙火，規模號稱近10年來最盛大，而12段主題以「七彩水墨焰火」設計。

不僅如此，台灣知名DJ妖嬌與MR.GIN現場混音，讓潮流音樂與煙火同步共舞，煙火結束後，還有Kimberley陳芳語、原子少年Saturnday等歌手壓軸，粉絲們別錯過。

▲桃園台茂購物中心10月10日將施放300秒「雙十煙火秀」，還有市集等活動。（資料照／業者提供）

桃園台茂300秒花火 桃園人不想跑遠，今（10日）晚上7點45分在台茂購物中心也有煙火，300秒的低空花火綻放天際，與城堡輝映出童話般歡樂氛圍。明（11日）下午4點輪到「MOMO家族見面會」，由家族中的大樹哥哥與小紅莓姐姐現身，帶小朋友一起同樂。

同時，「雙十市集」10月11日至12日下午3點半至晚間7點半登場，集結各路美味小吃、甜點，還有玩具及文創小物攤位，總計有20個固定攤位及15台餐車輪番登場，陪民眾悠閒度過連假時光。

title: 40分鐘國慶煙火在南投！台北101首次無人機+煙火秀　桃園也有放


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▲白帽伯搬走整箱鳳梨酥，9日中午到案了。（圖／翻攝佳德鳳梨酥粉專）

記者張君豪、柯振中／台北報導

台北市知名糕餅店「佳德鳳梨酥」中秋節前夕發生竊案，一名白帽阿伯混入人群當中，抱走整箱鳳梨酥，因而在網路上引起討論。根據最新消息，警方展開調查後，鄭姓嫌犯9日已前往警局投案，全案正在偵辦當中。

「佳德鳳梨酥」臉書粉專5日發布文章，指稱店內2日上午發生離奇竊案，白帽阿伯趁著管制人員短暫補水的空檔，偷偷潛入店內，完成插隊、融入取貨區群眾，並且抱走了其他民眾預訂的箱裝鳳梨酥，接著從容不迫離開現場。

由於「佳德鳳梨酥」將整起事件描繪得太過傳神，並稱白帽伯的行為宛如特務，在網路上引起大量討論，警方獲報後也立即展開調查。

根據最新消息，犯下此案的鄭姓男子疑似自知難逃法網，9日中午已前往台北市警松山分局的中崙派出所投案，聲稱偷走的8盒、總價4,000元鳳梨酥已全數捐給弱勢。後續鄭嫌被松山派出所接回、製作筆錄，警方調查後發現，鄭嫌有竊盜前科，目前已依照《刑法》竊盜罪嫌函送至北檢偵辦，詳細案情仍待釐清。

title: 快訊／白帽特務伯「幹走整箱」佳德鳳梨酥！主動投案了


companies: Google LINE

title: 歡慶東森廣場北車週年慶　滿千送百再抽iPhone最高回饋


title: 喜迎「青埔智慧科技分館」啟用　桃園市圖開放30組民眾報名體驗


title: 凍齡美魔女「穿國旗比基尼」慶國慶　嗨喊：我心裡的驕傲信念

references: Facebook 網友 臉書


title: 40分鐘國慶煙火在南投！台北101首次無人機+煙火秀　桃園也有放

taiwan-subdivisions: 南投 桃園 大樹 南投縣


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新加坡2025年10月10日 /美通社/ — 環球領先的電訊解決方案供應商 Globe Teleservices Pte. Ltd. 宣佈，已與柬埔寨主要流動網絡營運商 (MNO) Cellcard 達成獨家合作，為其部署 A2P 短訊防火牆解決方案。

這項戰略合作將有效協助 Cellcard 保護其網絡及用戶，免受日益猖獗的 A2P 欺詐威脅，包括 SMS 偽冒、SIM 卡農場、灰色路由，以及人為誇大流量 (AIT) 等攻擊。該全面整合的平台，不僅能鞏固 A2P 訊息渠道的安全性，更能有效保障合法的企業訊息流量，協助 Cellcard 將潛在的營運損失，轉化為可持續增長的收入來源。

Globe Teleservices 在短短 60 天內便成功完成整個端到端的防火牆部署，創下業界紀錄，充分展示了其團隊的靈活性、專業實力，以及迅速為營運商及用戶提供網絡安全保障的堅定承諾。

Globe Teleservices 集團行政總裁 Ashutosh Agrawal 表示：「這次合作是我們推動創新、構建安全且具高擴展性之東南亞電訊生態系統的重要里程碑。我們期待協助 Cellcard 充分釋放其訊息渠道的商業價值，並在未來探索更多元化的合作機會。」

Cellcard 行政總裁 Yap Kok Leong 先生補充道：「面對日益複雜的網絡欺詐，保障用戶安全是我們的首要任務。與 Globe Teleservices 的合作，將能進一步提升我們的能力，為客戶提供長遠可靠、安全無縫的訊息體驗。」

雙方將憑藉這次合作，共同開創未來商機，並為提升柬埔寨的電訊基礎設施作出貢獻。

Globe Teleservices 簡介

Globe Teleservices Pte. Ltd. 是一間總部位於新加坡的電訊集團，業務遍佈全球，在美國、杜拜、馬來西亞、坦桑尼亞、加納、印度和香港特別行政區均設有辦事處。GTS 在 A2P 變現、全方位訊息傳輸、反詐欺和雲端服務等領域提供利基型新一代解決方案。GTS 是 MEF、GSMA、GLF、Trust in Enterprise Messaging、TMForum、PITA 和 ITU-APT 等著名論壇的成員。GTS 屢獲殊榮，包括：憑藉其人工智能驅動的 AGT/AIT 欺詐偵測解決方案，榮獲 Juniper Research 白金獎；獲《海峽時報》及 Statista 評為 2024 年及 2025 年新加坡增長最迅速公司之一；獲《金融時報》評為 2024 年及 2025 年亞太區高增長企業；獲 ROCCO 評為 2024 年 A2P 短訊市場影響力報告（MNO 及企業版）的 Tier 1 供應商。

countries: 柬埔寨 馬來西亞 加納 新加坡 印度 香港 美國

title: Globe Teleservices 與柬埔寨 Cellcard 達成 A2P 防火牆戰略合作


countries: 印度 西班牙

content_text:
Tata Communications 推出語音 AI 平台，憑藉速度、規模及整合式智能，重塑 BFSI 客戶體驗

業界首個全方位語音對語音 AI 平台，旨在革新 BFSI 客戶體驗方案具備高度擴展性，支援逾 40 種印度及全球語言，為全球各行業的客戶互動注入強大動力

印度孟買2025年10月10日 /美通社/ — 環球領先的通訊技術企業 Tata Communications 今日隆重推出由「主動式人工智能 (Agentic AI)」驅動的語音 AI 平台。作為業界首創的語音對語音客戶互動解決方案，該平台具備即時決策、流暢多語溝通及低於 500 毫秒的超低延遲性能。能實現高度個人化、具情境感知，並跨渠道無縫整合的智能互動，為客戶互動技術奠下全新典範，徹底改寫金融機構與客戶的連繫方式。

為加速企業級金融科技的普及應用，Tata Communications 的語音 AI 平台建基於其覆蓋全球的龐大語音網絡及主動式 AI 平台，並由 Tata Communications AI 雲端平台提供企業級的安全保障與規模擴展能力。此智能平台能與企業的策略無縫結合，直接連接客戶的 API 及金融科技平台，從而全面簡化由互動初始至問題解決的整個客戶體驗旅程。

平台目前支援逾 40 種印度及全球語言的互動，包括印地語、泰米爾語、西班牙語、普通話等。它能提供實時語音轉錄、通話摘要及客戶情緒分析。核心功能包括跨對話情境記憶、自適應對話流程、實時語言翻譯、多智能代理協作、實時通話分析，以及與企業現有系統整合，實現向真人客服的無縫轉接。此平台適用於各行各業，並特別為金融科技和 BFSI 領域提供了一系列專業的範本化解決方案。

主要功能

一體化語音對語音平台： 採用整合式架構，延遲低於 500 毫秒，實現流暢的即時互動主動式 AI 互動旅程：以成果為導向的智能系統，能直接連接企業 API 及金融科技平台，自動執行由始至終的各項任務全渠道無縫互動支援橫跨語音、即時通訊及應用程式的全渠道互動，打造具情境感知能力的無縫客戶體驗多語言及口音適應：支援逾 40 種全球及印度語言，具備動態語言切換及真實品牌聲音等功能由 Tata Communications AI Cloud 平台驅動，確保企業級安全與擴展規模

Tata Communications 董事總經理兼行政總裁 A.S. Lakshminarayanan 表示：「Tata Communications 語音 AI 平台的超卓之處，在於它不僅是一個工具，更是一個專為企業而設、可靈活擴展並能創造真實業務成果的強大平台。在主動式 AI 的驅動下，平台帶來了前所未有的整合式智能，將語音 AI 深度嵌入客戶的各個互動環節，以應對我們正與客戶共同探索的廣泛應用場景。此平台專為速度、規模和可靠性而打造，其成熟度已遠超試點項目和概念驗證階段，能為企業提供一套經驗證的有效方案，在每個接觸點上締造更具同理心的客戶互動。」

關於 Tata Communications

Tata Group 附屬公司 Tata Communications（印度國家證券交易所代碼：TATACOMM）（孟買證券交易所代碼：500483）是全球數碼生態系統推動者，現今已在逾 190 個國家和地區推動快速增長的數碼經濟。該公司憑藉信任引領，透過協作和連接解決方案、核心及新一代連接、雲端託管及安全解決方案，以及媒體服務，協助全球企業數碼轉型。《財富雜誌》全球 500 強企業中，有300 間是該公司的客戶，而該公司連接企業至全球 80% 的雲端巨頭。如欲了解更多資訊，請瀏覽 www.tatacommunications.com。

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前瞻性和警示性陳述

本新聞稿中關於 Tata Communications 及其前景及其他陳述的某些詞語及陳述，包括與 Tata Communications 的預期財務狀況、業務策略、Tata Communications 的未來發展及印度一般經濟相關的陳述，均為前瞻性陳述。這些陳述涉及已知和未知的風險、不確定性和其他因素，包括財務、監管和環境，以及與行業增長和趨勢預測有關的因素，這些可能導致 Tata Communications 的實際結果、業績或成就，或行業結果，與此類前瞻性陳述所表達或暗示的結果存在重大差異。可能導致實際結果、業績或成就與此類前瞻性陳述存在重大差異的重要因素其中包括：未能增加 Tata Communications 網絡流量；未能開發滿足客戶需求和產生可接受利潤率的新產品和服務；未能成功對新技術和資訊系統完成商業測試以支援新產品和服務，包括語音傳輸服務；無法穩定或降低公司某些通訊服務的價格壓縮速率；未能整合策略性收購以及印度政府政策或法規的變化，特別是與 Tata Communications 行業行政有關的變更；以及印度的整體經濟、商業與信貸條件。可能導致實際結果、績效或成就與此類前瞻性陳述存在重大差異的其他額外因素，其中許多不在 Tata Communications 的控制範圍內，包括但不限於 Tata Communications Limited 年度報告中討論的風險因素。

Tata Communications Limited 的年度報告載於 www.tatacommunications.com。Tata Communications 無義務，且明確表示不承擔更新或更改其前瞻性陳述的任何義務。

© 2025 Tata Communications Ltd. 保留所有權利。

TATA COMMUNICATIONS 和 TATA 是 Tata Sons Private Limited 在印度和某些國家或地區的商標或註冊商標。

Tata Communications 的語音 AI 功能是其客戶體驗平台的核心組成部分。


title: 銀價創數十年新高　金價漲勢降溫

countries: 法國 美國

content_text:
〔中央社〕受地緣政治和經濟不確定性影響，投資人持續湧向避險資產，銀價今天觸及30多年來新高，金價則自創紀錄的漲勢中回落。

法新社報導，受同為避險資產的黃金創下歷史新高影響，銀價每盎司突破50美元，為1993年以來首見。

銀價觸及每盎司50.19美元，金價在昨天突破每盎司4000美元的紀錄高點後回落。

Cite Gestion Private Bank投資策略主管普拉薩（John Plassard）告訴法新社：「我認為這是補漲效應。」

他列舉的理由包括對美國經濟的擔憂、聯邦準備理事會（Fed）今年可能進一步降息，以及對法國債務的憂慮。

普拉薩表示：「另一個因素也是銀價額外受到推升的原因，市場開始傳出白銀短缺的消息。」他指出，白銀除了是投資工具外，也廣泛用於太陽能板等產業。

黃金與白銀被視為動盪時期的避險投資。

金融服務公司Trade Nation資深市場分析師莫里森（David Morrison）表示：「黃金似乎在經歷連兩個月的強勁上漲後進入盤整階段。」（編譯：陳昱婷）1141010

一手掌握經濟脈動 點我訂閱自由財經Youtube頻道

免費訂閱《自由體育》電子報熱門賽事、球星動態不漏接


title: 目睹老婆出軌！ 綠帽夫竟親手把她交給情夫：要好好照顧

content_text:
印尼人夫抓包愛妻出軌，竟將妻子交給情夫，自己退出這段三角關係。（圖翻攝自IG:@fakta.indo）

印尼蘇拉威西省（Sulawesi Barat）科納韋縣（Konawe）日前發生一起令外界咋舌的事件，一名人夫抓包自己的愛妻與他人出軌，竟相當大肚量地將妻子交給情夫，自己退出這段三角關係。影片曝光後，在當地掀起熱烈討論。

根據「Fakta Indo」報導，事發於本月2日，蘇拉威西省科納韋縣浦東比村（Desa Puudombi）一名男子親眼目睹妻子與他人發生婚外情，他隨即帶著證據到當地警局報案，經追問妻子和小王都承認偷吃。

後續這名被綠的人夫，選擇用當地Tolaki族的傳統方式解決這件事，在村里長老和民眾見證下休妻，並牽起妻子的手交給情夫，當面交代：「我把妻子交給你，好好照顧她」。根據Tolaki族的規定，這名小王必須補償男子一頭牛、現金500萬印尼盾（約新台幣1萬元）。

有旁人拍攝這段過程，可以看到人夫念出休妻宣言後，難掩落寞，眼眶甚至含淚。這段影片至今已有超過453萬人觀看、逾15萬人按讚。


content_text:
〔中央社〕歐洲3大股市今天收盤走勢分歧，巴黎股市在法國總統馬克宏（Emmanuel Macron）趕忙尋找新總理人選之際收低，法蘭克福DAX指數則再創新高。

倫敦FTSE 100指數下跌39.47點或0.41%，收9509.40點。

法蘭克福DAX指數小漲14.12點或0.06%，收24611.25點。

巴黎CAC 40指數下滑18.77點或0.23%，收8041.36點。（編譯：楊昭彥）1141010

一手掌握經濟脈動 點我訂閱自由財經Youtube頻道

免費訂閱《自由體育》電子報熱門賽事、球星動態不漏接

title: 歐股收盤走勢分歧　法蘭克福DAX指數再創新高


content_text:
高雄市果嶺自然公園國慶日起開放入園，環保局增納空氣品質維護區，串聯金獅湖風景區、周邊澄清湖棒球場、澄清湖風景區，擴大達500多公頃；此外，岡山國中也將成為第二間納入空維區的學校，整體力拚明年中上路。

環保局為了改善特定區域空氣品質，劃設空品維護區管制範圍，現有14處空維區，其中今年新增9處，包括旗津、4座焚化廠、高雄國際航空站等，擴大推動果嶺自然公園，還有周邊澄清湖棒球場、圓山大飯店，串聯金獅湖風景區，一併納入空維區，加上澄清湖風景區，總計可達500多公頃。

值得一提的是，岡山國中周邊螺絲工廠多，常見大卡車經過，又位於市區，交通車流量大，環保局繼鹽埕國小後，納入空維區的學校，明年將推動臨海產業園區。

環保局陸續於空維區周邊道路，架設車牌辨識系統，管制柴油大客車與燃油機車，掌握車輛排煙檢測情形；大客車必須排煙檢驗合格，機車應完成年度排氣定檢，違者依空氣污染防制法開罰500至6萬元，除了限期改善，按次處罰至改善為止。

此外，環保局檢視空維區進出車輛排氣合格率已達9成，以風景區原本合格率僅3成，現已大躍進達9成最多；其次鹽埕國小從6成到突破9成，高雄港7成提升至98％，高雄國際航空站89.5％增達97％，市府4座焚化廠也從93％提升至99％，違規車排氣改善成效佳，有助於減少空氣污染。

taiwan-subdivisions: 高雄 岡山 鹽埕 旗津 高雄市

events: 空氣品質 空品 空氣污染

title: 高雄擴大空氣品質維護區 增納果嶺公園、棒球場、岡山國中


content_text:
民眾黨主席黃國昌涉「養狗仔」爭議延燒，有媒體9日披露，包含前後任行政院長、監察院長，以及府院黨三大秘書長等人全都遭跟監偷拍，引發輿論譁然。加拿大約克大學副教授沈榮欽同日直言，如果此是為真，那麼黃國昌手上就有中國國家主席習近平想要的資料！

沈榮欽9日深夜在臉書發文，開頭先提及澳洲前總統莫里森（Scott Morrison）8日受邀出席「台北安全對話」發表的演說，「澳洲前總理莫里森來台灣參加台北安全對話，明白表示習近平要共軍2027年準備進攻台灣，『是真的』。莫里森是能夠接觸到五眼聯盟最高機密的人之一，他親自證明確有此事，對台灣的示警不可小覷，更不能因為習近平今年首次談話沒提到『統一』就放鬆。」

「中國會如何入侵台灣？美國雪城大學邀請25名國際專家兵推中國會如何入侵台灣，結果顯示，傳統美方預設的『大規模登陸戰』或『中國先發制人攻擊美國』的劇本，或許誤判了中國的戰略思維。若要理解中國意圖，分析人士應更重視那些以較少武力、更多政治算計達成『統一』目標的可行替代方案。他們的結論是，中國可能以精準飛彈打擊，並癱瘓台灣的軍事基礎設施，同時提出『寬鬆的投降條件』：地方自治、保留民主制度、維持最小程度的中國行政介入。給台灣的訊息是『接受有利條件完成統一，否則面臨毀滅』，給華府及美國民眾的訊息則是『這是中國內政，美國人不值得為此喪命』。」

他接著說：「這裡面忽略了一項要素，如果中國能夠在短期內接連暗殺台灣高官，讓台灣人人自危，並且推動台灣民眾敵視政府、要求投降，那麼就可以用更少的武力，以更多的政治算計達成『統一』。因此可能的方式未必是館長宣揚的斬首，除非中國認為副總統比總統更加軟弱，中共真正需要的是對台灣高官行蹤的掌握。這正是日前比亞迪代理宴請立院院長韓國瑜等高層如此令人擔憂的原因。令人震驚的是，立法院總務處長廖炯志竟然也參與比亞迪代理商太古汽車的餐敘，如果立院完全採用比亞迪的座車，那麼中共就可以不費吹灰之力，掌握到台灣所有立委的行蹤。」

「更關鍵的是，如果有人能夠聘用狗仔掌握諸如行政院長、府院黨三大秘書長、現任經濟部長龔明鑫、警界最高首長等行蹤，必要時就可以連續暗殺這些官員，對台灣政府與民眾心理形成極大的壓力；配合上藍白認知戰多年形成的投降壓力，中共就可以不戰而屈人之兵，完成併吞台灣的目的。不要忘了，以色列曾經用呼叫器同時造成數千名真理黨武裝份子傷亡，更不要忘了，中共曾經在捷克試圖對付副總統蕭美琴。」

「要如何掌握高官的行蹤？這並不容易，但是如果台灣正好有一名臭不可聞的政客，手上有這些資料，而這個人過去又有為了個人政治利益，放過統促黨傷害台灣主權的違法事蹟，以討好柯文哲的前例，無論其經費是否來自中共，這個人的卑劣，都會成為中共眼中的瑰寶。一個可以背刺任何人的政客，正是中共找尋的目標。」

最後沈榮欽表示，「如果力阻台灣發展潛艇的立委馬文君，不但沒被罷免，而且現在又成為外交國防委員會的召委，加上對這個議題日漸麻木的台灣民眾，那真是在中國經濟下行之際，送給習近平大禮了。」

countries: 中國 以色列 美國 加拿大 台灣 捷克 澳洲

people: 黃國昌 柯文哲 習近平 蕭美琴 韓國瑜 馬文君

title: 府院黨高層遭跟監！黃國昌手握習大大想要的?  沈榮欽曝中國算計


content_text:
高雄左營萬年季在蓮池潭登場，副市長李懷仁與元帝廟主委黃慶國一起為火獅開光點睛，宣告3天假期熱鬧揭幕。

活動由DJ妖嬌攜手電音三太子跨界演出「萬年電音SHOW」，左營文武聖殿獅陣也帶來祥獅獻瑞，迎接火獅進場，吸引大批民眾爭睹，場面熱鬧滾滾。

今年火獅以傳統技藝工法製作，由參與台灣燈會設計製作並榮獲法國創新設計大賽（NDA）金獎、英國倫敦設計獎金獎的國際級花燈藝術師黃文全親自監製，以象徵富貴的元寶獅為設計發想，台造型融入左營地標龍虎塔與孔子廟意象。

副市長李懷仁與元帝廟黃主委手持硃筆，為火獅眼額鼻點上硃砂，火獅瞬間具備靈性轉化成神聖之物，宣告高雄左營萬年季開幕，火獅起駕出巡。

李懷仁說，左營萬年季是在地特色宗教文化觀光盛事，至今已邁入第25個年頭，火獅不僅象徵守護地方、庇佑民眾平安，更是左營在地的重要精神象徵。

民政局今年以創意巧思推出「走廟闖關Fun集章」活動，將火獅化身為可愛公仔，民眾只要完成指定任務，即可獲得萬年季限定火獅公仔，其中還有隱藏版特別驚喜。

火獅開光點睛後，將駐駕左營元帝廟、左營城邑慈濟宮及鳳邑舊城城隍廟，接受民眾祈願，賜福保庇健康平安，祝福台灣風調雨順、國泰民安。

活動期間，每晚8點30分火獅駐駕廟埕舉辦擲筊祈福大賽，連擲3聖筊者，可獲得萬年季限量紀念T恤1件；10日到11日晚間7點在左營天府宮廣場舉辦攻炮城競賽。

民眾也可以到廟宇體驗廟埕文化、孔子廟主舞台欣賞家將大戲、兒童火舞劇與民俗藝陣及在地特色劇團演出，還有火獅祈福巡禮、火獅踩街、攻炮城競賽及好吃又好玩的傳統特色市集。

countries: 法國 台灣 英國

taiwan-subdivisions: 左營 高雄

title: 左營萬年季火獅點睛！擲筊送T恤 攻炮城連假嗨玩


title: 太愛台灣這1物！日本糖果職人行李打開全是「白粉」 還驚動緝毒犬

content_text:
在台日擁有不少人氣的知名蘋果糖專賣店「東京林檎製飴所」（Pomme d'Amour Tokyo），老闆池田喬俊近日來台灣玩，沒想到回國時竟發生讓人忍不住噴笑的小插曲，原來這位老闆太喜歡台灣的砂糖，買了好幾包要帶回日本，結果被誤會是帶「毒品」！

「東京林檎製飴所」老闆池田喬俊本週四在X平台PO出照片，可以看到他的隨身行李竟然裝滿台糖的精製砂糖，目測就有20包。池田喬俊表示，「今天要回國，帶了好多台灣的砂糖。台灣的砂糖不論是甜味還是溶解方式，跟日本的完全不同，做蘋果糖的時候感覺跟在日本時有點不同。想做給日本的大家嚐嚐！我會努力在網路商店販售。」

隨後他又發文透露，在台灣的機場辦回國手續時，一直被問「這個白色粉末是什麼？」，他照實回答「這是台灣的砂糖啊」，但台灣的機場人員似乎相當不解為何要帶這麼多砂糖回日本，頻問「咦？為什麼？」。池田喬俊接著說，為了避免誤會，他只好拚命用他會說的中文解釋「因為我超喜歡台灣的砂糖！這個在日本買不到！」，最後總算順利過關，「解決了這場『白色粉末騷動』，登機。祈禱能平安順利入境日本」。

池田喬俊後續又更新狀態，笑稱台灣的砂糖還是順利通過日本緝毒犬的檢查。台灣網友紛紛笑翻，「我大笑 果然真的會被緝毒犬聞過」、「狗狗：這批糖很純很甜歐」、「你真的是我看過最特別的，帶這個回去日本，太特別了」、「真的會笑死」。

本日帰国します！台湾の砂糖をたくさん。台湾の砂糖は甘味も溶け方も全く違うので日本とは作ってる時の感覚が少し違う。日本のみんなにも作ってあげたい！通販頑張ります???? pic.twitter.com/Ad2uvSl10O

— 池田喬俊@ポムダムール （@pomedamourtokyo） October 9, 2025

出国手続きで「この白い粉何？」ってめっちゃ聞かれた。台湾の砂糖だよ！って説明しても「え？？なんで？」って。知ってる言葉を駆使して「台湾の砂糖が大好きなんだよ！！日本で手に入らないから！」で乗り切った pic.twitter.com/wLJBKNHqca

— 池田喬俊@ポムダムール （@pomedamourtokyo） October 9, 2025

白い粉騒動はなんとかなり、搭乗。無事に入国できますように???? pic.twitter.com/AmFjTMq7Ov

— 池田喬俊@ポムダムール （@pomedamourtokyo） October 9, 2025

台灣的砂糖順利通過了緝毒犬的檢查????⭕ pic.twitter.com/XCPUMgaEpc

— 池田喬俊@ポムダムール （@pomedamourtokyo） October 9, 2025


content_text:
據《以色列時報》（The Times of Israel）報導，隨著以色列政府即將正式批准與哈瑪斯（Hamas）的停火協議，以國官員9日公布了備受矚目的人質釋放與軍隊撤離的具體執行細節，包括以軍仍將控制過半加薩領土。

生者與逝者的歸途根據計畫，哈瑪斯將在72小時內，透過紅十字會（Red Cross）將20名仍在世的人質轉交給在加薩境內的以色列國防軍（IDF）部隊。人質隨後將被護送至邊境附近的雷姆（Re'im）軍事基地進行初步身心健康檢查，部分家屬預計將在此地等候，之後再轉送以色列中部的醫院與更多家人團聚。若有人質需要緊急醫療救護，則會被直升機直接空運至醫院。

至於已罹難的人質，其遺體棺木將由以軍在加薩接收，並由軍中拉比（rabbi，猶太教神職人員）為他們舉行一場小型的榮譽儀式。根據軍方說法，為安全起見，棺木在交還家屬前，還需經過工兵的防爆檢查。

以軍仍將控制過半加薩然而，和平協議並不意味著以軍完全撤離。官員明確表示，在第一階段停火協議批准後的24小時內，以軍將撤退至「協議同意的部署線」，但屆時仍將繼續控制超過一半（53%）的加薩領土。

以軍的控制範圍將包括沿著加薩邊境的整個緩衝區（包含與埃及接壤的「費城走廊」）、加薩北部的貝特哈農（Beit Hanoun）地區，以及南部拉法（Rafah）與甘尤尼斯（Khan Younis）的大部分地區。

countries: 以色列 埃及

title: 以哈停火協議簽署  以色列仍將控制過半加薩領土


title: 高捷小港林園線將分2階段施工 2030年這3站先通車

people: 李雨庭 蔡武宏

taiwan-subdivisions: 小港 林園 高雄

content_text:
因應原物料飆漲，高市捷運局提出小港林園線修正計畫，將分兩階段施工，第1階段RL1到RL3（靠近小港的前3站）、預計2030年完工通車，全線通車延到2034年。

小港林園線北起高雄捷運紅線小港站，南至林園工業區管理處門口，全長11.59公里，規劃7站（6地下站與1高架站），2023年11月動工，總經費533億元（中央補助313億元），目前進度約10%。

蔡武宏、李雨庭等議員，關注財劃法修正案造成高捷路網補助經費缺口逾百億元，是否牽動小港林園線進度？

捷運局長吳嘉昌答詢指出，因應財劃法修正案可能的經費缺口，加上近幾年原物料價格飛漲、人工成本變高，市府已針對小港林園線提修正計畫報中央審核中，原定2029通車期程延後。

吳嘉昌說明，小港林園線機電標、軌道標、第1階段土建標、第2階段土建細設標均已發包，後續將分兩階段推進，第1階段已發包施工部分是RL1到RL3站，預定2030完工通車，全線完工通車由2029延後至2034年。

他提及財劃法修正案的中央補助缺口，確實可能衝擊工程進度，市府9月初收到通知後第一時間即函覆交通部，極力爭取增補預算。

吳家昌提到，部分已動工項目啟動就不能停，否則可能會有施工風險，例如連續壁開始施工後，就一定要完成。


events: 性侵 性騷擾

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澳洲墨爾本一名70歲佛教住持，遭指控在長達8年內連續性侵多名女童，惡行令人髮指。據悉，該住持近日面臨多達19項性犯罪指控，但他仍堅稱自己無罪。

綜合外媒報導，現年已70歲的維吉塔（Naotunne Vijitha），在墨爾本（Melbourne）地區一間名叫「達摩薩拉納」（Dhamma Sarana）的佛寺擔任住持，他被指控1994年至2002年間，性侵或猥褻6名女童，最小的年僅4歲。

根據法庭紀錄，有受害者控訴自己遭維吉塔至少4次性侵，有的則是被維吉塔直接帶到僧侶的住處逞獸慾，還有女孩表示，即便自己處在生理期，維吉塔仍強行對她進行「指姦」。

據悉，維吉塔面臨包括9項與少女發生性行為、10項猥褻未成年的性犯罪指控，本週三（8日）他身穿僧袍，一副道貌岸然，由多名僧侶陪同出庭，面對相關指控全部否認，還要求檢方提出讓人完全信服的證據。全案仍在審理階段。

☆自由電子報關心您：若懷疑孩童遭受身體虐待、精神虐待或是性侵害、性騷擾，請撥打113專線，透過專業社工員接線服務，將可盡快救援在生命危機中的兒童。☆

title: 被控8年內性侵6女童  澳洲70歲住持甚至「闖紅燈」硬上！


title: 股6債4已死、黃金必備！富爸爸：「這種配置」才是安穩退休魔毯

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股6債4已死、黃金必備！富爸爸表示，股6債2黃金2才是安穩退休魔毯。（路透）

〔財經頻道／綜合報導〕理財規劃師多年來大肆吹捧股6債4已死，富爸爸作者羅伯特・清崎在貼文上表示，60/40意味著投資者將60%的資金投資於股票，40%投資於債券。這個胡說八道的比例在 1971 年就消失了，那1年尼克森宣布美元脫離金本位，如今摩根士丹利推廣 60/20/20一條通往未來財務安全和自由的更穩定的道路，也就是股60%、債券與黃金各20%。

清崎指出，多年來，理財規劃師大肆吹捧股6債4，彷彿它是通往安穩退休生活的魔毯。

當美元本身是虛假的，只是破產美國政府開出的欠條，而這個政府又受馬克思主義色彩濃厚的聯準會操控。在這種情況下，財務安全又怎麼可能存在？畢竟，美國政府是史上最大的債務國，怎會有人蠢到買1個破產國家發行的債券？

如今，終於有人說出真話，摩根士丹利現提倡股6、債2、黃金2的配置，這是1條通往財務安全與自由的道路。事實是，多年來，黃金的表現比股債還優異，卻沒人對此發表任何評論。

現在大摩建議的股6、債2、黃金2，為投資人提供更安全的退休生活。

然而，我仍偏好黃金、銀幣、比特幣、乙太幣、舉債購入房產的租賃所得，以及來自油井與牲畜的收入，也就是實質資產。

不過我早在30多年前就實現財務自由、從此退休。所以我從不需要、或運用理財規劃師的股6債4魔法棒。

「現實人生的教訓是：找到最適合自己的投資公式。」

另他也在另1則貼文寫道：「美元是否末日將至？」「我正在增持黃金、白銀、比特幣、乙太幣。」「美元儲戶是輸家，當個贏家吧。請保重。」

一手掌握經濟脈動 點我訂閱自由財經Youtube頻道

免費訂閱《自由體育》電子報熱門賽事、球星動態不漏接


title: 玖壹壹國慶晚會壓軸唱爆台中 粉絲嗨到不散場排50米星光大道歡送

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雙十國慶晚會今晚在文心森林公園圓滿戶外劇場登場，人潮爆滿，嘻哈天團「玖壹壹」壓軸演出，全場嗨翻，晚會結束，人潮不散，在出入口等待玖壹壹，兩側隊伍宛如50公尺長星光大道，只為一睹明星風采，先看到健志騎單車隻身離開，近半小時後洋蔥、春風在大批歌迷簇擁下風光離場。

今年雙十國慶晚會主題是「中華民國、台灣味、台中Style」，壓軸演出的「台中Style」請到兩大台中天團玖壹壹、血肉果汁機同台演出，越夜越嗨，一直到晚上9點前仍有年輕人大排長龍在劇場外排隊入場。

玖壹壹上台連唱5首暢銷金曲intro+南北二路、LOCAL、安娜比、明天再擱來，全場站起來跟著節奏擺動嗨爆。

國慶晚會原本9點半閉幕，到10點才圓滿結束，不過大批歌迷與年輕仍未離開，守在圓滿劇場出口，等待玖壹壹，健志騎單車先是快速離場，與歌迷擊掌，讓不少現場歌迷措手不及，繼續等待另2名團員近半小時，才終於看到洋蔥和春風，很有秩序與2人開心打招呼、說拜拜，春風也禮貌低頭稱謝離場。

countries: 台灣 中華民國