people: 林佳龍 賴清德

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On Oct. 4, Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) elected former minister of economic security Sanae Takaichi as its new leader, putting her on course to become Japan’s first female prime minister.

To Taiwan, Takaichi is not a stranger. She met with President William Lai (賴清德) during a visit to Taipei in April, and in July, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) met her in Osaka during his trip to Japan for the World Expo.

Just days before the LDP election, Takaichi described Taiwan as Japan’s “extremely important partner and a valued friend.”

Her endorsement of Taiwan and the long-standing cordial ties between Japan’s LDP and Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party have raised expectations of deeper collaboration.

Following her victory, Taiwan extended congratulations, with Lai describing Takaichi as “a staunch friend of Taiwan,” and expressing hope for stronger collaboration.

Meanwhile, Lin instructed the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan, which serves as Taiwan’s de facto embassy in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, to convey Taiwan’s congratulations.

On Tuesday last week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also requested that Japan support Taiwan’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade bloc.

There is basis for optimism about Taiwan-Japan relations under a new Japanese government. A protege of late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and a proponent of “Abenomics,” Takaichi is expected to continue Abe’s policies of trade liberalization and international economic integration.

Abe’s legacy also includes bringing Japan into the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which later evolved into the CPTPP. As Takaichi is the potential next Japanese prime minister, she is expected to continue promoting economic engagement abroad, a move that aligns with Taiwan’s hopes.

When Takaichi led a Japanese delegation to Taipei in April, Lai expressed his hope that Japan would sign an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with Taiwan, similar to the Taiwan-US Initiative on 21st Century Trade.

Taiwan has advantages in production and manufacturing, while Japan possesses materials, equipment and technology, making the two economies highly complementary. Takaichi voiced support for an EPA, saying she looked forward to further exchanges and negotiations.

Japan in 2015, under Abe, launched the Partnership for Quality Infrastructure, an initiative encouraging Japanese businesses to invest in overseas infrastructure, viewed as a counterweight to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Meanwhile, Lai has urged partners to jointly build “non-red supply chains” to lessen dependence on China, saying that Beijing’s coercive expansion could “threaten the global free trade system and advanced technology markets.”

If Takaichi carries forward Abe’s infrastructure diplomacy, Taiwan and Japan could find common ground in deepening their partnership through the development of secure and resilient supply chains, bolstering both economies against Beijing’s economic coercion.

Security is another area where Taiwan-Japan collaboration could be elevated. During her April visit, Takaichi proposed that Japan, Taiwan, European countries, Australia and India form a “quasi-security alliance.” Such a security grouping can act like a “collective shield” against authoritarian aggression, she said.

In 2021, Takaichi also urged Washington and Tokyo to form a “joint operational plan” in case of possible conflicts in the Strait.

As a national security hawk and supporter of revising Article 9 of Japan’s post-World War II constitution — which renounces war and limits the country’s use of force to self-defense — Takaichi’s “quasi-security alliance” proposal should not be dismissed as a passing statement; rather, the idea could emerge as a serious security agenda if she consolidates power within the LDP.

Despite these promising aspects, it would be premature to assume Takaichi’s rise marks a turning point in the Taiwan-Japan relationship.

While praising Japan’s relationship with Taiwan, Takaichi has also expressed a desire to “engage in solid and candid dialogue with Chinese leaders” to ensure peace and stability across the Strait.

The choice of words reflects Takaichi’s cautious approach toward Beijing, Japan’s largest trading partner. She appears to intend to strike a balance between China and Taiwan, rather than tilting toward Taipei.

Considering her intention to calibrate assertiveness and restraint vis-a-vis Beijing, Lai’s “non-red supply chains” ambition might not be fully embraced by a new government in Japan.

Likewise, a quasi-security alliance is ambitious but uncertain, as none of the countries Takaichi mentioned have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. That makes defense cooperation challenging. It remains far from feasible to expect Australia, India, European countries or even Japan itself to risk Beijing’s ire by joining a security pact with Taiwan.

In this context, an EPA offers the most pragmatic path for Taiwan and Japan to deepen ties. Economic cooperation is feasible and can also serve as a psychological lever for both sides to move toward deeper collaboration.

If the National Diet elects Takaichi as prime minister, Taiwan-Japan relations would appear set to continue along the positive trajectory cultivated by former leaders on both sides.

However, given Takaichi’s placatory tone toward China and her need to navigate the LDP’s scandals and internal rifts, there are valid concerns that Taiwan-Japan ties might take time to fully flower.

Huynh Tam Sang is a Young Leaders Program member of the Pacific Forum, founder and editor-in-chief of the Vietnam Strategic Forum, and a PhD candidate at the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science, National Tsing Hua University. Truong Tuan Kiet is a master’s student at the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science, National Tsing Hua University, and a columnist at the Vietnam Strategic Forum.

title: Takaichi’s ascent and Taiwan


title: Foreigners promoting traditional Chinese

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Late last month, French YouTuber “Ku’s dream” (酷的夢) began releasing his miniseries “Chinese Monster” (中文怪物), where 100 foreign nationals in Taiwan compete to find out who among them has the best Mandarin. With a budget of more than NT$5 million (US$162,888) and enormous popularity, commentators have hit out at Taiwan’s major TV channels for failing to invest in similarly high-quality, educational content.

Taiwanese TV channels facing criticism is nothing new, but it is rare for people to ask why commercial channels will not produce a variety show centered on traditional Chinese. Their audiences are Taiwanese who have recited Bopomofo since they were young children and had traditional characters drilled into them long ago. No TV channel boss would risk their audience or their ratings with a revival of something similar to The Daily Characters (每日一字), a Taiwanese educational TV program from the 1980s and ’90s.

Far less widespread than simplified Chinese, there are fewer than 50 million people worldwide who use traditional Chinese characters. The Zhuyin Fuhao (注音符號) system in particular is specific to Taiwan, and much harder to learn than the Hanyu pinyin (漢語拼音), the romanized system used in China. The first episode of “Chinese Monster,” which revolves around tones, quickly separates the pack of contestants by ability, and no doubt embarrasses a few Taiwanese audience members in the process. The final installment of the series tests listening comprehension and logic. Because traditional Chinese has numerous homophones and synonyms, not to mention the four-character idioms known as chengyu (成語), puns, Internet slang, direct translations, abbreviations and the Taiwanese Mandarin flair, the challenge is significant.

In street interviews, it is not uncommon for people to struggle to differentiate between a subject and a verb, or to speak in torrents of adjectives and onomatopoeia rather than in real sentences and with proper wording. At university, students might have no trouble posting their stories every day, but producing a coherent essay or report is another story. Faced with work riddled with mistakes, lecturers are, to their dismay, realizing that students are simply finding traditional Chinese too hard.

The rise of generative artificial intelligence has normalized the outsourcing of thinking, and ChatGPT has already outstripped most people’s analytical skills. In the future, there might be less need for people to think deeply, which would have a throttling effect on people’s language skills.

TV news channels have been criticized as dumbed-down forms of media, yet Taiwanese love to use Facebook and Threads, each subject to algorithmic bias and manipulation — does this make ours a dumbed-down society?

Summed up neatly by Canadian philosopher and media theorist Marshall McLuhan’s quote “the medium is the message,” the form that media take is often more important than their content. The kind of media a person consumes changes not only how they see the world, but how they think. This is why traditional Chinese proficiency is declining among Taiwanese, and, at this stage, transnational Internet giants seem to be the prime culprits.

The Taiwan Broadcasting System and TaiwanPlus already spend billions of taxpayer dollars. They should invest in producing Chinese Monster on a large scale, and consider translating A Wonderful Word (一字千金), the Taiwanese game show with language and Chinese character challenges, into foreign languages to promote traditional Chinese to the world. Why there has been a lack of motion to do so thus far is a question of politics.

Jet Yang is editor-in-chief of Knowing Media Group.

Translated by Gilda Knox Streader


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Chinese actor Alan Yu (于朦朧) died after allegedly falling from a building in Beijing on Sept. 11. The actor’s mysterious death was tightly censored on Chinese social media, with discussions and doubts about the incident quickly erased. Even Hong Kong artist Daniel Chan’s (陳曉東) post questioning the truth about the case was automatically deleted, sparking concern among overseas Chinese-speaking communities about the dark culture and severe censorship in China’s entertainment industry. Yu had been under house arrest for days, and forced to drink with the rich and powerful before he died, reports said. He lost his life in this vicious

By Yang Chih-chiang 楊智強

title: EDITORIAL CARTOON


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Tech companies continue to make promises on how AI will transform the workplace,but for some companies it just creates more work with little orno return on investment

Most people have encountered “AI slop,” the deluge of low-quality content produced by generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools that has inundated the Internet, but is this computer-made hogwash taking over work as well?

News that Deloitte Australia would partially refund the government for a report sprinkled with apparent AI-generated errors has caused a local furor and spurred international headlines.

Australian Senator Barbara Pocock said in a radio interview that the A$440,000 (US$287,001) taxpayer-funded document misquoted a judge and cited nonexistent references.

The alleged AI mistakes are “the kinds of things that a first-year university student would be in deep trouble for,” she said.

Deloitte Australia did not immediately respond to my request for comment, but has said the corrections did not impact the report’s substance or recommendations, and told other outlets that: “The matter has been resolved directly with the client.”

Besides being a bad look for the Big Four firm at a time when Australians’ trust in government-use of private consulting firms was already fraught, there is a reason it has struck such a nerve.

It has reopened a global debate on the limitations — and high cost — of the technology backfiring in the workplace. It is not the first case of AI hallucinations or chatbots making things up, to surface in viral ways. It likely would not be the last.

The tech industry’s promises that AI would make us all more productive are part of what is propping up their hundreds of billions of dollars in spending, but the jury is still out on how much of a difference it is actually making in the office.

Markets were rattled in August after researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said that 95 percent of firms surveyed have not seen returns on investments into generative AI. A separate study from McKinsey found that while nearly eight in 10 companies are using the technology, just as many report “no significant bottom-line impact.”

Some of it can be attributed to growing pains as business leaders work out the kinks in the early days of deploying AI in their organizations. Technology companies have responded by putting out their own findings suggesting AI is helping with repetitive office tasks and highlighting its economic value.

However, fresh research suggests some of the tension might be due to the proliferation of “workslop,” which the Harvard Business Review defines as “AI generated work content that masquerades as good work, but lacks the substance to meaningfully advance a given task.” It encapsulates the experience of trying to use AI to help with your job, only to find it has created more work for you or your colleagues.

About 40 percent of US desk workers have received workslop over the past month, a survey from last month from researchers at BetterUp and the Stanford Social Media Lab. The average time it takes to resolve each incident is two hours, and the phenomenon can cost US$9 million annually for a 10,000-person company.

It can also risk eroding trust at the office, something that is harder to rebuild once it is gone. About one-third of people (34 percent) who receive workslop notify their teammates or managers, and about the same share (32 percent) say they are less likely to want to work with the sender in the future, the Harvard Business Review reported.

There are ways to smooth out the transition. Implementing clear policies is essential. Disclosures of when and how AI was used during workflows can also help restore trust. Managers must make sure that employees are trained in the technology’s limitations, and understand that they are ultimately responsible for the quality of their work regardless of whether they used a machine’s assistance. Blaming AI for mistakes just does not cut it.

The growing cases of workslop should also be a broader wake-up call. At this nascent stage of the technology, there are serious hindrances to the “intelligence” part of AI. The tools might seem good at writing because they recognize patterns in language and mimic them in their outputs, but that should not be equated with a true understanding of materials. In addition, they are sycophantic — they are designed to engage and please users — even if that means getting important things wrong.

As mesmerizing as it can be to see chatbots instantaneously create polished slides or savvy-sounding reports, they are not reliable shortcuts. They still require fact-checking and human oversight.

Despite the big assurances that AI will improve productivity, and is thus worth businesses paying big bucks for, people seem to be using it more for lower-stakes tasks. Data suggest that consumers are increasingly turning to these tools outside of the office. A majority of ChatGPT queries (73 percent) in June were non-work related, according to a study published last month from OpenAI’s own economic research team and a Harvard economist. That is up from 53 percent last year.

An irony is that all this might end up being good news for some staff at consulting giants such as the one caught up in the Australia backlash. It turns out AI might not be so good at their jobs just yet.

The more workslop piles up in the office, the more valuable human intelligence would become.

Catherine Thorbecke is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia tech. Previously she was a tech reporter at CNN and ABC News. 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.

title: AI promises productivity, but delivers ‘workslop’


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Geopolitical developments have underscored the fragility of global supply chains, reminding businesses in constantly evolving sectors such as consumer goods and fashion that the strength of supplier relationships is one of the few persistent sources of resilience. Maintaining such relationships through responsible purchasing (based on environmental and social considerations, not just cost and quality) is not only ethical, but strategically necessary.

The fashion industry is one of many that is feeling the weight of tariffs — disruptions that come at a time when it is struggling to make progress toward previously stated climate and sustainability goals.

According to a benchmarking survey this year by the US Fashion Industry Association, 100 percent of 25 leading apparel brands and retailers identified the current administration’s protectionist stance and volatile trade relationships as a top challenge, and more than half flagged policy uncertainty, especially retaliatory tariffs, as their primary concern.

Rather than respond with short-term cost-cutting, major consumer-goods companies are strategically investing to build resilience. For example, retailers such as Walmart and Target have front-loaded inventory to absorb tariff shocks ahead of the holiday season; and Apple chartered cargo flights to transport 1.5 million iPhones from India, an option made possible by increasing production with a key supplier.

These are not just logistical moves; they are evidence of why trust-based, responsive supply-chain relationships matter. Responsible purchasing practices are the glue that holds supply chains together in uncertain times. Gartner reports that nearly half of large enterprises have renegotiated supplier contracts or shifted sourcing strategies to manage risks associated with the tariffs.

Tools like supply-chain finance are increasingly being used not just for liquidity, but as buffers against volatility. Such trends reflect a growing consensus: Resilient, transparent and values-aligned supply chains are key to avoiding major disruptions and maintaining competitiveness.

Unfortunately, the fashion sector is a laggard in this regard, scoring just 66 out of 100 in Cascale’s Better Buying 2025 Garment Industry Scorecard, with year-on-year declines in key areas of responsible purchasing, including cost negotiation, payment terms, and product development. That is concerning, given that upstream effects can spread when tariffs or other external shocks hit. Production costs often need to be renegotiated, and without strong supplier relationships, shifts in production can increase delays, labor risks and reputational exposure.

The trend is also concerning for its climate implications. The fashion industry, with its complex global supply chains, is particularly vulnerable to such ripple effects. The US tariffs that went into effect on Aug. 7 directly affect sourcing hubs with an outsize influence on the industry’s carbon footprint.

Cascale found that just 1,800 factories in nine countries account for more than 80 percent of measured carbon emissions from the apparel, textile and footwear industries. Of them, six countries — China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Turkey and Pakistan — have been directly affected by the new tariffs.

Shifting sourcing away from these hubs might avoid short-term tariff costs, but it could also disrupt ongoing efforts to reduce emissions from the major sources. That happened in 2018, when tariffs against China drove a production surge in Vietnam. Since it typically takes an average of 14 months for brands to add new suppliers, such rapid shifts cause a ripple effect: labor violations, longer lead times and quality issues. Without coordinated planning, they risk undermining climate goals and working conditions alike.

Although fashion is a US$3 trillion industry, it is expected to have only a minimal formal presence at this year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP30). As in previous years, travel budgets are being cut, and many teams are being downsized, as the industry slims down in the face of market volatility. Unlike climate-focused gatherings such as Climate Week NYC or London Climate Action Week, COP30 is to focus more on adaptation finance, carbon pricing and nature-based strategies than on redrawing trade or sourcing lines.

Nonetheless, those in the industry should pay close attention to get a sense of the global appetite for sustainable finance and investment. Brazil is using its COP30 presidency to promote major initiatives such as the US$125 billion Tropical Forests Forever Facility, a blended-finance tool designed to help close the US$1.3 trillion annual climate-finance gap by 2035. Moreover, the discussions about carbon pricing could have a greater impact on international trade and value chains than any industry-specific trade reform.

In short, COP30 will not offer any direct relief on tariffs, but it could shape the long-term rules of the game, linking sustainability targets, sourcing practices and competitiveness factors through policy levers that lie beyond the fashion industry’s immediate control.

As trade-related costs persist, industry leaders must shift their mindset. Their businesses’ resilience would not come from diplomacy or a presidential handshake, but from trust-based relationships, fair purchasing practices and innovations to drive sustainability. Brands and retailers should view tariffs not only as cost burdens, but as stress tests for their supplier partnerships. Companies that default to price-driven strategies risk eroding their ability to deliver quality, speed and innovation to today’s conscientious consumer.

By contrast, companies that lean into transparency and collaboration — sharing forecasts to ensure continuity, smoothing demand through level loading and offering fairer payment terms — are more likely to avoid spikes in labor violations and preserve the market signals needed to sustain decarbonization investments.

As tariffs and climate-related shifts can alter sourcing strategies overnight, resilient partnerships are more than operational tools. They are strategic differentiators, signaling accountability, stability and ethical leadership to a growing list of stakeholders who are thinking about the long term.

Joleen Ong is senior director of brand and retailer membership at Cascale.

Copyright: Project Syndicate

title: Ethical supply chains battered by tariff storm


title: North Korea’s military is more advanced than some think

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North Korea’s push to modernize its military is accelerating, fueled by deepening ties with Russia and a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and automated warfare. Pyongyang is in its strongest strategic position in decades, a reality that demands urgent attention.

North Korea on Friday unveiled a new generation of missiles and advanced weapons systems at a parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. Such displays are not mere theatrics. They offer crucial insights into how far North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s weapons technology has advanced, and how much of a direct threat it poses to the US and its allies.

Kim has in the past few months been on a drive to raise his country’s international stature. At a Chinese military parade last month, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a stark visual image of his regime’s clout, its powerful friends and his newfound confidence.

Last year, he signed a mutual defense pact with Moscow, heralding the start of a strategic alliance. Kim has sent thousands of troops, missiles and munitions to aid Russia’s war in Ukraine. In return, he gets sophisticated military technology that could transform his forces.

For decades, the fractious relationship between the nuclear-armed North and the US-backed South has been one of the world’s most intractable security dilemmas.

Kim’s new focus marks a dangerous phase. He is operating from a place of unprecedented strength.

“Kim has become far more focused on modernizing North Korea’s non-nuclear capabilities, as cooperation with Moscow has increased,” said Ankit Panda, Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “He wants to show that he doesn’t run a backward military state, and that he can hang his hat with the best of them.”

That is not to say South Korea and the US are falling behind — they are still far more capable, but Kim’s ambitions are clear, Panda added. Kim wants a stronger and more modern military, so that he can maintain his tight grip at home, and project more power overseas.

Japan, too, is watching the military buildup with growing alarm. In its 2025 Defense White Paper, Tokyo warned that North Korea’s hypersonic missile program represents a grave and imminent threat to security. The deepening military partnership with Moscow is especially worrisome, given the risk of technology transfers that could speed up Pyongyang’s pursuit of more advanced weapons.

The regime is increasingly focused on AI and uncrewed systems, the Seoul-based Institute for National Security Strategy said.

The shift in strategy introduces a destabilizing element to the regional security equation. Last month, as US and South Korea launched joint military exercises, Kim inspected the performance test of uncrewed weapons and equipment at one of his factories. He has declared that AI-powered drones are a priority.

Closer ties between Pyongyang and Moscow are having economic consequences, too. Last year, North Korea expanded at its fastest pace since 2016, in part helped by the export of munitions to Russia, South Korea’s central bank said. Even with the estimated uptick in the economy, North Korea remains impoverished. The bank estimated nominal gross national income (GNI) at 44.4 trillion won (US$31.1 billion) last year, about 1.7 percent the size of South Korea’s economy. Per capita GNI was just 1.72 million won, or about 3.4 percent of the level in South Korea.

The alliance is effectively insulating Kim’s regime from crippling international sanctions, blunting the financial pressure that has long been central to the US’ containment strategy.

It is clear that the current combination of sanctions, diplomatic pressure and incentives to get Kim to roll back his nuclear program and military advancements are not working. Dialogue is crucial.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to meet the North Korean leader, an initiative that Seoul is backing. An opportunity could arise this month, when Trump attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea.

Loosening Pyongyang’s ties to Moscow would be imperative. During his first term, Trump’s diplomacy with Kim did little to slow North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. Since then, Kim has rejected further talks with Washington and aligned more closely with Russia.

Acceptance that North Korea is already a nuclear state, as Bloomberg columnist Gearoid Reidy has argued, could help improve ties and pave the way for an arms-control deal between Washington and Pyongyang. Kim would then have far less reason to lean on authoritarian partners such as Putin. Reducing its cooperation with Moscow would also slow Pyongyang’s military modernization, buying valuable time to rebuild US–North Korea engagement and revive inter-Korean dialogue.

All of this would require deft diplomacy, currently sorely lacking in the White House, but the stakes are far higher than they were in Trump’s first term. A nuclear-armed, technologically advancing North Korea is not just a Korean Peninsula problem; it is a direct challenge to global stability.

Karishma Vaswani is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia politics with a special focus on China. Previously, she was the BBC’s lead Asia presenter and worked for the BBC across Asia and South Asia for two decades. 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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CLIMAX: The winner of the American League series would face the National League champion, the Milwaukee Brewers or the Los Angeles Dodgers, in the World Series

Bryce Miller and three Seattle relief pitchers baffled Toronto batters to spark the Mariners over the Blue Jays 3-1 in Sunday’s opening game of their MLB American League Championship Series (ALCS).

Cal Raleigh smashed a home run, and Jorge Polanco drove in two runs to provide the scoring, but Mariners pitching mystified the hosts, allowing only two hits and none after the second inning.

Miller, a right-hander starting on short rest for the first time in his career, surrendered a homer to George Springer on his first offering of the night, but the Blue Jays had only one hit the rest of the night.

The Toronto Blue Jays’ George Springer connects for a solo home run against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning in Game 1 of MLB American League Championship Series in Toronto on Sunday. Photo: AP

“Can’t say enough about Bryce Miller on short rest and giving us six strong innings,” Raleigh said. “Pitchers came out today and really impressed us, awesome, especially after short rest.”

Seattle took a 1-0 edge in the best-of-seven series with game two also in Canada this morning Taipei time.

The winner of the ALCS would face the National League champion, either the Milwaukee Brewers or defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, in the World Series.

“It’s going to be tough,” Raleigh said. “We’ve just got to keep doing it.”

Miller delivered the longest MLB playoff short-rest start in six years, joining relievers Gabe Speier in the seventh inning, Matt Brash in the eighth and Andres Munoz in the ninth in retiring 23 of the final 24 Toronto batters.

“I just told him to go out there, and trust his stuff and let it play,” Raleigh said of a first-inning mound talk to Miller.

The Mariners, who have never played in the World Series, had not reached the ALCS since 2001 while the Jays, who won the World Series in 1992 and 1993, have not advanced this far since 2016 in quest of their first World Series in 32 years.

Toronto started right-handed pitcher Kevin Gausman while the Mariners opened with Miller, starting on only three days of rest. He was the only healthy starter who did not take the mound in Seattle’s 15-inning marathon triumph over Detroit in Friday’s division series decider.

“We got some rest. We just kept our minds ready, tried to recover as much as we can,” Polanco said. “It’s very important for us to come here and get a win or two.”

The Blue Jays produced this year’s best AL home record at the retractable-domed Rogers Centre, going 54-27, and started well again against Seattle.

In the first inning, Raleigh singled and took third base on Julio Rodriguez’s single, but was tagged out at home plate by Toronto catcher Alejandro Kirk on a throw by third baseman Addison Barger.

The Blue Jays took a 1-0 lead on the first pitch in their half of the opening inning when Springer blasted a homer off Miller over the right-field fence.

Miller surrendered only one more hit in retiring 16 of the next 17 Jays batters before leaving after six innings while Gausman got 16 outs in a row over 5-2/3 innings until being tagged by Raleigh in the sixth.

Raleigh, the MLB season leader with 60 homers, smacked a two-ball, two-strike, two-out fastball for a solo homer to lift the Mariners level and Gausman, after walking Julio Rodriguez, was replaced by left-handed reliever Brendon Little.

Rodriguez took second on a Little wild pitch and scored on a Polanco single to left field for a 2-1 Seattle lead.

In the eighth, Seattle’s Randy Arozarena walked, stole second and third bases, and scored on a Polanco single to create the final margin.

title: Mariners start series with win


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A long, frustrating night for the Detroit Lions inside Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, ended with Brian Branch delivering a punch to Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster on Sunday, setting off a brief fistfight among players from both teams.

It was about as much fight as the Lions showed all night.

They were dominated on both sides of the ball by a Kansas City team coming off a mistake-filled mess in Jacksonville, Florida, with no interest in falling two games below .500. Indeed, the Chiefs shut down the prolific Detroit offense, holding it to less than half its season scoring average, and their own offense romped up and down the field on the way to a 30-17 victory.

Detroit Lions defensive back Brian Branch, center, fights with Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, on the ground, while the Chiefs’ James Winchester holds him following their NFL match in Kansas City, Missouri, on Sunday. Photo: AP

“We got worked pretty good,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said afterward.

Afterward is when the real fireworks happened.

As red ones were set bursting over the stadium to celebrate the Chiefs’ victory, Patrick Mahomes tried to give a high-five to Branch as they met near midfield. The Lions safety walked right past the Kansas City quarterback and JuJu Smith-Schuster took umbrage with the move, walking up to Branch and having a few words with him.

Branch responded by throwing a right hook that knocked Smith-Schuster to the ground.

The veteran wide receiver leaped to his feet and went after Branch, who played through an ankle injury that had kept him out of practice most of the week. Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco tried to get between them, but Branch succeeded in ripping Smith-Schuster’s helmet off as dozens of players from both teams converged on the scrum.

“I did a little childish thing,” Branch said. “But I’m tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don’t catch it. They be trying to bully me out there, and I don’t — I shouldn’t have did it. It was childish.”

Eventually, coaches and players managed to separate the parties, and they finally left the field for the locker room. Branch could be facing yet another hefty fine — he was docked US$23,186 for face-masking and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties against Green Bay last month — and perhaps even a suspension for his actions.

“I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable, and it’s not going to be accepted here,” Campbell said. “It’s not what we do. It’s not what we’re about. I apologized to Coach [Andy] Reid, and the Chiefs and Smith-Schuster. That’s not okay. That’s not what we do here. It’s not going to be okay. He knows it. Our team knows it. That’s not what we do.”

Smith-Schuster came away with a bloody nose from the punch.

“The guy came up and hit JuJu for what looked like no reason,” Reid said. “That’s tough, but pretty good damage on JuJu’s nose.”

Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton was on the sideline getting tape cut off when he caught sight of the fracas.

“The big thing for us is make sure our guys are safe,” Bolton said. “Make sure our quarterback is good and our guys taken care of.”

The loss snapped a four-game win streak for Detroit, which was trying to pull off a rare feat by winning two consecutive games in Arrowhead Stadium. Instead, the Lions allowed 355 yards of total offense, forced just one punt, and were unable to make the stops they needed late in the fourth quarter to give their offense a chance to mount a comeback.

Jared Goff finished with just 203 yards passing, but he did have touchdown throws to Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta, while Amon-Ra St Brown was held to 45 yards receiving. Jahmyr Gibbs needed 17 carries for 65 yards, and nine for 32 came on the game’s opening drive, when Detroit marched right down field for what looked like a touchdown.

David Montgomery took a direct snap near the goal line and threw to Goff, who had gone into motion, caught the pass and then barreled into the end zone. However, long after the play had finished, the officials huddled and decided that Goff never got set — even though no flags were thrown on the flag — and the illegal motion penalty wiped away the touchdown.

After a delay-of-game penalty, the Lions had to settle for a field goal and a 3-0 lead.

It was just the start of a frustrating night for Campbell and his team.

“It doesn’t matter if I agree or disagree [with the penalty],” he said. “They said he never stopped. He stayed in motion. You can’t stay in motion, but that had no bearing on the game. We lost by 13 points.”

title: Fight erupts after the Chiefs defeat the Lions


title: Women’s athletics venture showcases sport

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Beneath the towering, neon-lit billboards of Times Square, six of the world’s top long jumpers are soaring through the air, turning one of New York’s most iconic streets into an unlikely athletics stage. Thursday night’s eye-catching spectacle marked the one-year anniversary of Athlos, the women-only track and field event venture backed by Reddit cofounder and entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian.

After launching in New York last year, Athlos returned to the Big Apple this week with a twist: holding the long jump qualifiers in the heart of the city, with reigning Olympic and world long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall taking center stage.

The main competition resumed on Friday at a traditional stadium.

Alexis Ohanian poses for photos on the red carpet at the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Annual Salute to Women in Sports event in New York on Oct. 12, 2022. Photo: AP

Ohanian, who is married to tennis legend Serena Williams, said Athlos was launched with the mission of providing a platform for track and field, which struggles for attention in the US outside of the Olympics.

“What are the biggest sports during these Olympics? Track and field. They get the most viewers,” Ohanian said. “There’s a legacy of American excellence, especially among the women, and where do they go in between?”

Determined to bring athletics to “an even bigger audience, more consistently,” Ohanian’s venture has won support from some of the biggest names in track and field, notably Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas, former world 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson and long jump star Davis-Woodhall.

The result is a sporting event broadcast on television and via social media (attracting about 3 million viewers last year) which includes entertainment from music stars, and above all, puts female athletes and their interests at the center of Athlos’ decisionmaking.

“We’re getting catered to like professional athletes. We’re getting paid like professional athletes,” US Olympic 100m hurdles champion Masai Russell said.

Prize money on offer is significantly higher than the athletics standard: US$60,000 for winners — compared with US$30,000 for the winners of the final round of the main international circuit, the Diamond League — plus US$250,000 for a world record. In addition, 10 percent of the revenue generated by the meeting is distributed among its 39 participants.

“It’s very glamorized, and it feels very professional and fun,” said Grace Stark, a world 100m bronze medalist in Tokyo last month. “It’s exciting to experience it, and you kind of feel a little bit more important, and like your sport is really recognized.”

The next step next year is for Athlos to become a fully fledged circuit, with several meetings per year contested by athletes in teams.

Ohanian promises to make further announcements about next year’s schedule by the end of the year, but one key element of his plan was revealed this week: The businessman wants Athlos teams to represent sports equipment manufacturers, with revenue generated through merchandising.

“There is something that the sport, as tremendous and valuable as it’s been, has never been able to tap into at business level that we can with this team model,” Ohanian said.

Athlos is hoping to find success where other fledgling track and field ventures have failed.

Grand Slam Track, the circuit launched by US track and field legend Michael Johnson earlier this year with a bold vision of transforming the sport, has already collapsed, with many athletes unpaid.

“I know nothing about that business. I can’t speak to what they did wrong,” Ohanian said, acknowledging that Athlos “has not been a profitable endeavor yet.”

“But we knew that going into it,” he said. “And so, we set expectations around everything, again, with our athletes, with our team, but we were willing to make that investment. We had the money to do it, and then by bringing brand partners along the way, it continues to compound.

“The goal here is obviously build a highly profitable league, and then it’s a question of how soon. LA [Los Angeles] ’28 is a great goal for us, because obviously Olympics are coming to LA, and I’d love to have some big headlines going into that but take day by day.”


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Scotland on Sunday ground out a 2-1 home win over Belarus to stay in contention for automatic qualification to the FIFA 2026 World Cup, while the Netherlands closed in on securing their berth at the tournament with a win over Finland.

Steve Clarke’s Scotland sit joint top of Group C with Denmark, after the Danes beat Greece 3-1 with Rasmus Hojlund opening the scoring for the home team.

Denmark are first in the pool on goal difference, but their win in Copenhagen ensured Scotland of at least a playoff spot as they bid to make a first World Cup appearance since 1998.

Scotland’s Che Adams, front, vies for the ball with Belarus’ Yegor Parkhomenko during their FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers Group C match at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland, on Sunday. Photo: AFP

The pool-toppers meet in the final qualification matchday on Nov. 18 in Glasgow, Scotland.

“We know every game from now until the end is so important,” Scott McTominay told BBC Scotland after defeating Belarus.

Che Adams scored the opener for the hosts on the quarter-hour at Hampden Park in an otherwise uninspiring performance by Scotland.

They thought they were due a penalty just shy of the hour for a succession of incidents in the Belarus box, including two calls for a foul and hand-ball shouts going both ways, but after a lengthy video assistant referee (VAR) review, the referee declined the home side’s appeals and awarded a free-kick out.

Scotland then had VAR to thank on 63 minutes when Evgeni Malashevich’s leveler was eventually disallowed for a foul in the build-up on SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A winner McTominay.

In a busy sequence for the VAR officials, Adams put the ball into the Belarus net for a second time in the 70th minute, but video replays confirmed the original on-field decision that the Torino man was offside.

McTominay eventually managed to seal an important victory for Scotland as he lashed home with his left foot with six minutes remaining.

Belarus punished poor Scotland defending deep in injury time as Hleb Kuchko found the net, but it was too little, too late for the visitors as the Scots clung on to boos from their own fans.

Donyell Malen, Virgil van Dijk, Memphis Depay and Cody Gakpo all found the net as the Dutch maintained their three-point lead at the summit of Group G with a 4-0 defeat of Finland at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam.

Poland remain on the Netherlands’ heels following a 2-0 win in Lithuania.

Faroe Islands continued their excellent form in Group L as they stunned the Czech Republic in Torshavn, winning 2-1.

Croatia are three points ahead of the Czech Republic after an unconvincing 3-0 home win against Gibraltar.

In Group H, Cyprus won 4-0 in San Marino in the day’s first kick-off while Romania beat pool leaders Austria 1-0 courtesy of a 95th minute winner by Virgil Ghita.

title: Scotland stay in contention for FIFA World Cup


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Taiwanese badminton ace Chou Tien-chen was crowned the men’s singles champion at the Arctic Open on Sunday, after defeating Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 21-11, 13-21, 21-19.

The 35-year-old Chou, who is ranked world No. 5, and the 24-year-old Vitidsarn, ranked world No. 3, battled it out for one hour and 17 minutes in a grueling three-game match at Energia Areena in Vantaa, Finland.

In the first game, Chou took an early 9-7 lead and maintained his momentum, widening the gap, before defeating Vitidsarn 21-11.

Chou Tien-chen smiles as he shows his bleeding left foot after defeating Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the Arctic Open in Vantaa, Finland, on Sunday. Photo: CNA

At the start of the second game, the two players were neck-and-neck. When Vitidsarn pulled ahead 14-13, Chou appeared to be fading, and the Thai shuttler scored seven straight points to win the game 21-13.

Chou seemed to regain his momentum in the third game, taking an early 10-5 lead, but Vitidsarn gradually caught up, leveling the playing field again.

With the score tied at 19-19, Chou made a strategic play to edge ahead 20-19, and he later forced Vitidsarn to hit the shuttlecock out of bounds, ending the game 21-19.

The two-game win gave the Taiwanese player the match and earned him the men’s singles title at the Arctic Open.

Chou later revealed that he had been playing with a bloody left foot after he ruptured a blister halfway through the match.

Speaking with the Central News Agency after the match, Chou said he felt the pain, but kept going.

“This match was a fight for the children,” Chou said, referring to several young fans in attendance at Vantaa.

“I wanted to set an example for the kids,” he added.

Chou likely developed the blister as a result of playing four three-game matches in the final rounds, clocking a total of 286 minutes of playtime before facing off against Vitidsarn in the finals.

The Thai shuttler had clocked 209 minutes of playtime in the last four matches before coming up against Chou.

Sunday’s match marked the seventh time that Chou and Vitidsarn had faced off, with Chou prevailing 5-2.

Chou is to next compete in the Denmark Open, which starts today and runs through Sunday, at the Arena Fyn in Odense.

title: Taiwan’s Chou beats Thai rival to win Arctic Open


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COUP D’ETAT CLAIM:  Madagascan President Andry Rajoelina said that an attempt to seize power illegally and by force, contrary to the constitution, is under way

An army unit siding with anti-government protesters on Sunday installed a new military chief as Madagascan President Andry Rajoelina denounced an “attempt to seize power illegally.”

The soldiers from the CAPSAT contingent joined protesters for a second consecutive day, attending a rally in the capital to remember the people killed in more than two weeks of anti-government demonstrations that erupted on Sept. 25.

The unit, which played a major role in a 2009 coup that first brought Rajoelina to power, on Saturday declared it would “refuse orders to shoot” on demonstrators.

Soldiers are greeted by people gathering for a ceremony in tribute to demonstrators killed during anti-government protests in Antananarivo, Madagascar, on Sunday. Photo: AP

Soldiers then entered the city center to meet several thousand protesters, who welcomed them with jubilation and praise.

Early on Sunday the contingent claimed in a video statement that “from now on, all orders of the Malagasy army — whether land, air or the navy — will originate from CAPSAT headquarters.”

Hours later, its pick for new chief of the army staff, General Demosthene Pikulas, was installed during a ceremony at the army headquarters attended by Madagascan Minister of Armed Forces Manantsoa Deramasinjaka Rakotoarivelo.

“I give him my blessing,” said the minister, who was appointed by Rajoelina last week.

Pikulas told journalists that events in Madagascar over the past few days had been “unpredictable.”

“So the army has a responsibility to restore calm and peace throughout Madagascar,” he said.

Asked about calls for Rajoelina to resign, he said he refused to “discuss politics within a military facility.”

Rajoelina earlier on Sunday said that “an attempt to seize power illegally and by force, contrary to the constitution and to democratic principles, is currently under way.”

“Dialogue is the only way forward and the only solution to the crisis currently facing the country,” he said in a statement.

CAPSAT Colonel Michael Randrianirina said his unit’s decision to join the protesters did not amount to a coup.

“We answered the people’s calls, but it wasn’t a coup d’etat,” he told reporters.

The protests were initially focused on chronic power and water cuts in the impoverished Indian Ocean nation, but developed into a broader anti-government movement that called for 51-year-old Rajoelina to resign.

The UN has said that at least 22 people were killed in the first days, some by security forces, and others in violence sparked by criminal gangs and looters in the wake of the demonstrations.

Rajoelina has disputed the toll, saying last week there were “12 confirmed deaths, and all of these individuals were looters and vandals.”

Large crowds of people on Sunday joined prayers outside Antananarivo City Hall for the victims, who included a CAPSAT soldier killed in a clash with gendarmes on Saturday.

“We will prevail, because evil will not prevail in Madagascar,” Randrianirina told the gathering where officers were joined on stage by opposition political figures, including former Madagascan president Marc Ravalomanana, who was ousted in the 2009 uprising.

Officers of the gendarmerie, accused of heavy-handed tactics against the demonstrators, said in a video statement that they recognized “faults and excesses during our interventions.”

“We are here to protect, not to terrorize,” they said.

To try to defuse the protests, the president last month sacked his entire government.

Meeting one of the demands of the protesters, the Madagascan Senate on Sunday announced the dismissal of its president, Richard Ravalomanana, a former general of the gendarmerie paramilitary police.

Amid rumors that Rajoelina had fled, his government on Saturday said that he remained in Madagascar and was managing national affairs.

Madagascar has had a turbulent political history since it gained independence from France in 1960.

Although rich in natural resources for farming, forestry, fishing and minerals, nearly three-quarters of the population of 32 million lived below the poverty line in 2022, according to the World Bank.

title: Madagascan army installs new chief


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Police in China detained dozens of pastors of one of its largest underground churches over the weekend, a church spokesperson and relatives said, in the biggest crackdown on Christians since 2018.

The detentions, which come amid renewed China-US tensions after Beijing dramatically expanded rare earth export controls last week, drew condemnation from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who on Sunday called for the immediate release of the pastors.

Pastor Jin Mingri (金明日), founder of Zion Church, an unofficial “house church” not sanctioned by the Chinese government, was detained at his home in the southern city of Beihai on Friday evening, said his daughter, Grace Jin, and a church spokesperson, Sean Long.

Zion Church founder Jin Mingri poses for a photograph in the congregation hall of the unofficial “house” church in Beijing on Aug. 28, 2018. Photo: Reuters

“What just happened is part of a new wave of religious persecution this year,” said Long, adding that police had questioned more than 150 worshipers and stepped up harassment at in-person Sunday services.

Speaking to Reuters from his home in the US, Long added that around the same time, authorities detained nearly 30 pastors and church members nationwide, but later released five.

About 20 pastors and church leaders remain in detention, he added.

Police in Beihai could not be reached by telephone for comment. The Chinese Ministry of Public Security did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.

Jin Mingri, 56, is being held in Beihai City No. 2 Detention Center on suspicion of “illegal use of information networks,” an official detention notice that Long provided to Reuters showed.

The charge carries a maximum jail term of seven years.

Supporters fear Jin Mingri and other pastors could eventually be indicted on charges of illegally using the Internet to disseminate religious information.

“He’s been hospitalized in the past for diabetes. We’re worried since he requires medication,” Grace Jin said. “I’ve also been notified that lawyers are not allowed to meet the pastors, so that is very concerning to us.”

The crackdown came a month after new rules from China’s top religion regulator banned unauthorized online preaching or religious training by clergy, as well as “foreign collusion.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last month also vowed to “implement strict law enforcement” and to advance the Sinicization of religion in China.

China has more than 44 million Christians registered with state-sanctioned churches, the majority Protestant, official figures show, but tens of millions more are estimated to be part of illegal “house churches” that operate outside the control of the Chinese Communist Party.

Zion Church, with about 5,000 regular worshipers across nearly 50 cities, rapidly added members during the COVID-19 pandemic through Zoom sermons and small in-person gatherings, Long said.

The church was founded by Jin Mingri, also known as Ezra, in 2007, after he quit as a pastor for the official Protestant church.

A graduate of Peking University, Jin Mingri converted to Christianity after witnessing the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, Long added.

In 2018, police shut down its church building in Beijing during a crackdown on major house churches. Earlier this year, police temporarily detained 11 Zion Church pastors, Long said.

The government placed travel restrictions on Jin Mingri in 2018, so that he could not visit his wife and three children who had resettled in the US, Grace Jin said.

“I think he had always known that there was a possibility he would be imprisoned,” she said.

Dozens of police officers last month forcibly intercepted Jin Mingri while he was trying to board a US-bound flight from Shanghai and restricted his travel outside Beihai, said Bob Fu (傅希秋), the founder of Christian non-governmental organization ChinaAid.

“The key underlying reason is that Zion Church has grown explosively into a well-organized network in recent years, which of course must scare the [Chinese] Communist Party leadership,” Fu said.

title: China detains dozens of Zion Church pastors


title: Spread of superbugs surging: WHO

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The WHO yesterday sounded the alarm over soaring numbers of drug-resistant bacterial infections, compromising the effectiveness of life-saving treatments, and rendering minor injuries and common infections potentially deadly.

The UN health agency warned that one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections worldwide in 2023 showed resistance to antibiotic treatments.

“These findings are deeply concerning,” Yvan J-F. Hutin, head of the WHO’s antimicrobial resistance department, told reporters. “As antibiotic resistance continues to rise, we’re running out of treatment options and we’re putting lives at risk.”

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks at the inaugural ceremony of the 78th session of the WHO Southeast Asia Regional Committee in Colombo, Sri Lanka, yesterday. Photo: AFP

Bacteria have long developed resistance against medicines designed to fight them, rendering many drugs useless.

This has been accelerated by the massive use of antibiotics to treat humans, animals and food.

Antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) superbugs directly cause more than 1 million deaths and contribute to nearly 5 million deaths every year, the WHO said.

In a report on AMR surveillance, the WHO examined resistance prevalence estimates across 22 antibiotics used to treat infections of the urinary and gastrointestinal tracts, the bloodstream and those used to treat gonorrhea.

In the five years leading to up 2023, antibiotic resistance increased in more than 40 percent of the monitored antibiotics, with an average annual rise of between 5 and 15 percent, the report found.

For urinary tract infections, resistance to antibiotics was typically higher than 30 percent globally, it showed.

The report looked at eight common bacteria pathogens, including Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, which can lead to severe bloodstream infections that frequently result in sepsis, organ failure and death.

The WHO warned that more than 40 percent of E coli infections and 55 percent of K pneumoniae infections globally are now resistant to third-generation cephalosporins — the first-choice treatment for these infections.

“Antimicrobial resistance is outpacing advances in modern medicine, threatening the health of families,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

The WHO hailed improvements in surveillance, but warned that 48 percent of nations were still not reporting any AMR data.

“We are definitely flying blind in a number of countries and regions that have insufficient surveillance systems for antimicrobial resistance,” Hutin said.

Judging from the available data, most resistance was found in places with weaker health systems and less surveillance, the WHO said.

The highest resistance was found in the Southeast Asian and eastern Mediterranean regions, where one in three reported infections were resistant.

In Africa, one in five infections was resistant.

Silvia Bertagnolio, who heads the WHO unit for antimicrobial resistance surveillance, told reporters that it was unsurprising that resistance would be higher in places with weaker health systems, since they might lack the capacity to diagnose or treat pathogens effectively.

The WHO has warned that there are not enough new tests and treatments in the pipeline to tackle the spread of drug-resistant bacteria.

This is creating a significant “future threat,” Hutin said.

“The increasing antibiotic use, the increasing resistance and the reduction of the pipeline is a very dangerous combination,” he said.


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Spain’s Catalonia region suffers fresh floods as torrential rain strikes

Floods on Sunday trapped people in vehicles and homes in Spain as torrential rain drenched the northeastern Catalonia region, a day after downpours unleashed travel chaos on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza.

Local media shared videos of roaring torrents of brown water tearing through streets and submerging vehicles.

National weather agency AEMET decreed the highest red alert in the province of Tarragona, warning of 180mm of rain in 12 hours in the Ebro River delta.

A man cleans mud from his home yesterday after flooding in Sant Carles de la Rapita, Spain. Photo: Reuters

Catalan fire service spokesman Oriol Corbella told reporters people had been caught by surprise, with people trapped “inside vehicles, in buildings, on ground floors.”

Santa Barbara Mayor Josep Lluis Gimeno told regional television station 3Cat that the situation was “very tense” as the night brought heavier deluges.

Local streams and ravines “are completely overflowing and have invaded the entire center of the town, dragging everything there is, containers and cars,” he said.

Godall Mayor Alexis Albiol spoke of “a moment of chaos,” telling 3Cat: “All the cars that were in the streets near the ravine were swept away and are distributed throughout the village.”

“I don’t believe anyone in the village has seen the amount of water that has fallen in such a short time,” Albiol said.

A weather station in nearby Mas de Barberans recorded almost 272mm of rainfall over the past weekend, regional weather monitor Meteocat said.

There were nonetheless no reports of people hurt or missing.

All trains traveling through the Mediterranean corridor from Barcelona and Valencia, Spain’s second and third-largest cities respectively, were suspended until further notice, national railway company Renfe announced.

Local media published footage of emergency services rescuing drivers who were trapped on a flooded motorway outside the town of Amposta.

Catalan emergency services published data on the calls they had received showing a sharp spike from 5pm, with 998 cases generated.

Catalonia’s civil protection service extended its mass telephone alert, urging residents to avoid traveling and approaching waterways, to an area encompassing about 100km on and near the coast.

The downpours came after the eastern Valencia region, which suffered Spain’s deadliest floods in decades last year, emerged relatively unscathed from another red alert that started on Friday last week, but some municipalities devastated by last year’s disaster canceled school and outdoor activities planned for yesterday due to a fresh rain warning.

Flooding struck the popular holiday island of Ibiza on Saturday for the second time in two weeks as the storm moved east and north into the Mediterranean after drenching southeastern Spain.

Because a hotter atmosphere holds more water that evaporates from a rapidly warming Mediterranean Sea, climate change increases the risk and intensity of flooding from extreme rainfall in the region.


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Japan wraps up its unexpectedly successful and profitable World Expo

Japan yesterday brought down the curtain on the six-month World Expo, having surmounted initially tepid public enthusiasm, contaminated fountains and swarms of pesky flies to welcome more than 27 million visitors.

Expo 2025’s star attraction, the Grand Ring — the world’s largest wooden structure, surrounding all the country pavilions — has proven such a hit that a high-school student has even launched a petition to save it.

Currently, the plan is for a 200m section of the ring, the work of renowned Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, to be preserved on an artificial island in host city Osaka, but the nearly 7,000 petitioners say they want it saved in its entirety.

Visitors sleep on benches under the Grand Ring at the World Expo venue in Osaka, Japan, on Aug. 14. Photo: EPA / Jiji Press

“At the moment I stepped onto the ring, something inside me changed,” the Osaka student who began the campaign said, writing on the online petition Web site. “Standing beneath the 20m-high wooden roof, I felt the warmth of the wood seep through my entire body, filling me with an indescribable emotion.”

Japan had feared scant media and public interest would make the Expo a flop, but organizers said the event — which involved about 160 nations and regions showcasing their technology, culture and food — would likely turn a profit of at least ￥23 billion (US$151 million), thanks in part to strong ticket sales.

The highlights included a Mars meteorite, a beating artificial heart grown from stem cells and Hello Kitty figures in the form of algae.

It was a heartening turnaround for the initially embattled exhibition, which is held in a new city every five years.

The Osaka event faced complaints that clouds of midges were swarming the venue and that its Water Plaza had been contaminated with legionella bacteria, and at the height of Japan’s sweltering summer, a sudden suspension of the sole train to the venue stranded more than 30,000 visitors, with some forced to sweat through the night near the station and more than 30 people sent to hospitals.

Jacques Maire, head of the French pavilion, said that the World Expo had also been “extremely challenging” for other nations involved.

In comparison to past events, this World Expo has been “the most expensive, the most complex,” he said, although he summarized the event as “magnificent.”

The first “World’s Fair” to celebrate culture and industrial progress was held in London in 1851.

The event was later renamed the World Expo, and the next one is to be held in 2030 and 2031 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.


title: Climate tipping points are being crossed: scientists

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SOME GOOD NEWS:  There are some positive signs, with renewables accounting for more electricity generation than coal this year, UK-based scientist Tim Lenton said

Global warming is crossing dangerous thresholds sooner than expected with the world’s coral reefs now in an almost irreversible die-off, marking what scientists yesterday described as the first “tipping point” in climate-driven ecosystem collapse.

The warning in the Global Tipping Points report by 160 researchers worldwide, which synthesizes groundbreaking science to estimate points of no return, comes just weeks ahead of this year’s COP30 climate summit being held at the edge of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.

That same rainforest system is now at risk of collapsing once the average global temperature warms beyond just 1.5°C based on deforestation rates, the report said, revising down the estimated threshold for the Amazon.

A sea turtle swims among dead corals of a reef in Baa Atoll in the Maldives on Sept. 24, 2023. Photo: AFP

Also of concern if temperatures keep rising is the threat of disruption to the major ocean current called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, which helps to ensure mild winters in northern Europe.

“Change is happening fast now, tragically, in parts of the climate, the biosphere,” said environmental scientist Tim Lenton at the University of Exeter, who is the lead author of the report.

Lenton said there were positive signs when it came to phasing out the fossil fuels most responsible for climate change. Renewables, for example, accounted for more electricity generation than coal this year for the first time, according to data from the nonprofit think tank Ember.

“Nobody wants to be just traumatized and disempowered,” Lenton said. “We still have some agency.”

The scientists implored nations at November’s COP30 to work toward bringing down climate-warming carbon emissions.

Scientists have been surprised by how quickly changes are unfolding in nature, with average global temperatures already having warmed by 1.3°C to 1.4°C above the preindustrial average, according to data from the UN and EU science agencies.

The past two years were Earth’s warmest on record, with marine heat waves that stressed 84 percent of the world’s reefs to the point of bleaching and, in some cases, death. Coral reefs sustain about one-quarter of marine life.

For corals to recover, the world would need to drastically ramp up climate action to reverse temperatures back down to just 1°C above the preindustrial average, the scientists said.

“The new report makes clear that each year there is an increase in the scope and magnitude of the negative impacts of climate change,” said Pep Canadell, a senior scientist at Australia’s CSIRO Climate Science Centre.

The world is currently on track for about 3.1°C of warming in this century, based on national policies.


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Meet the person with the world’s largest ‘Monopoly’ collectionFor Neil Scallan every set is exciting. He’s currently got 4,379 different ones. The dream is to hit 4,500, maybe even 5,000

The first Monopoly set I ever owned was the one everyone had — the classic edition with Mr Monopoly on the box. I bought it as a souvenir on holiday in my 30s. Twenty-five years later, I’ve got thousands of boxes stacked away in a warehouse, four Guinness World Records and have made several TV appearances.

When Guinness visited my warehouse last year, they spent a whole day counting my collection. By the end, they confirmed I had 4,379 different sets. That was the fourth time I’d broken the record.

There are many variants of Monopoly, and countries and businesses are constantly releasing their own versions. For me, it’s about the chase, finding the rare ones: a special anniversary edition, a limited production run, or just something incredibly hard to find. I’ve even got the Park Hyatt Sydney hotel edition, which you can usually get only if you stay the night there. I managed to track down a guest online, who bought it for me.

I’ve probably spent about ￡400,000 (US$534,150) on my collection over the years. I’ve been lucky to have a job at DHL for more than three decades, which has helped me keep up with my hobby. The most expensive set I own is a silver edition from London, which would have been worth ￡2,500 brand new — it was limited edition and used real silver. Luckily, I found mine much cheaper on eBay.

To me, the fun in Monopoly isn’t really in playing it. Once you open the box, you lose about 90 percent of its value. I keep nearly all my sets sealed. If I had a flashy Rolls-Royce, I wouldn’t drive it through the mud — that’s how I see my collection.

People think it’s mad — my girlfriend especially. She gets wound up because the sets take up space and cost money. But I couldn’t give them up. People often ask me: why Monopoly? Why not postcards or stamps? I think it’s because Monopoly is so recognizable.

The hunt is a huge part of the fun. In the early days, I would scour car-boot sales. I began in 2000 and, back then, finding a set meant rummaging through boxes at a market or secondhand shop. The Internet opened up a whole new world. I’ve bought sets from Japan, Brazil and the US. Sometimes I’ll spend months tracking down a rare edition. I wonder if I’m keeping the Post Office, Evri and Amazon running. Of course, storage is a challenge. I live in London, but have rented out a warehouse in Ashford, Middlesex, to keep them all.

People assume I never play Monopoly, but I’m always up for a game. It doesn’t take away from the collecting. In fact, it reminds me why I started in the first place. I’ve met so many wonderful people through the game: other collectors; friends I used to outbid on eBay; the man who runs World of Monopoly, an online archive. People who have heard about my collection have got in touch and offered to bring me a set. Some of them have even flown to the UK from abroad. We’ll take pictures together with the new set and my Guinness World Records certificate, and sometimes even spending the day sightseeing in London. It’s surreal, but it’s brilliant.

I’ve also been on TV shows, such as Bargain Hunt, and radio stations around the world, and visited the factory where the game is made. The record has brought me so many opportunities and friendships I’d never have imagined when I bought that first box.


title: The art of being a follower — not a tourist — in Italy

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The very best journeys involve traveling not only through space but also through time. You encounter places and objects that are hundreds or even thousands of years old and find yourself imagining what kind of society would have made them. And yet, to be alive in 2025 is to be overwhelmed by the pressures of the present and the promises and perils of the future — which, in a zero-sum way, invariably means neglecting the richness of the past, home to 93 percent of all the humans who’ve ever lived.

This is where books come in. I’ve found that one way to flesh out the passage of time, to make it more immediate and meaningful, is to do a kind of skip-step. Instead of looking at the past through the eyes of today, I try looking through the eyes of someone who lived long before me. Fortunately, travel writing has a long and illustrious history, which means there’s no shortage of inspiration.

I’m far from alone. A recent Skyscanner survey found that 55 percent of American travelers have booked, or would consider, a trip inspired by literature; one in three are thinking about visiting a destination mentioned in a book.

The Legend of the True Cross, a sequence of frescoes painted by Piero della Francesca in the Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

My inspiration came from Edith Templeton, a famously beautiful British novelist and memoirist whose Bohemian childhood (she was born in Prague and lived there until she was 22) endowed her with an effortless erudition and serene self-confidence. I first discovered her beguiling Italian travelogue, The Surprise of Cremona, almost two decades ago, when I was staying at a friend’s place in the French countryside and needed something to read. The story of a slow journey in the early 1950s through some of Italy’s lesser-known cities — Cremona, Parma, Mantua, Ravenna, Urbino, Arezzo — became one of my all-time favorite and most-read books, and I started daydreaming about a trip where I’d retrace her journey. Eventually, in 2022, for my 50th birthday, the dream became a reality.

AREZZO

My wife and I ended up doing Edith’s journey in reverse, starting in Arezzo, which is home to arguably the greatest set of frescoes in the world — the Legend of the True Cross cycle by Piero della Francesca, painted between 1452 and 1466. My general idea going in was that Italy, which had been a republic only for a couple of years when Edith took her journey, would be much more global and cosmopolitan today — but that the great art of centuries past would be largely eternal. Arezzo quickly disabused me of that idea. The town is recognizably the same as the one Edith visited 70 years ago, but the 15th century frescoes have changed in a very interesting way.

Edith hated the Piero frescoes, calling them “nothing more than illustrated algebra.” When I was just reading the book, before I saw the frescoes in real life, I thought I understood what she meant: Piero is a most cerebral painter. But as soon as you walk into the Basilica of Saint Francis, you realize that these frescoes are not cerebral. (There’s even a detail where Christ’s testicle peeks out from under his tunic.) How could Edith not adore these works??

Eventually I realized the degree to which I was reliant on the sensitively installed lighting in the basilica, which makes everything legible without being harsh or obtrusive. I was seeing these paintings much more clearly than Piero himself ever saw them — and Edith’s visual experience was surely closer to his than to mine. When I studied art history at Glasgow University, we talked a bit about synchronic and diachronic modes of analysis — do you try to read the work as it would have been understood at the time, or do you allow yourself to be informed by modernity — but this was the first time that I understood that modernity isn’t just ideas and knowledge, it’s also electric lighting.

What we see when we look at a painting is reflected light, and when the light being reflected is a smooth wash of carefully-calibrated illumination rather than an unpredictable beam of sunshine fighting its way through ancient glass, that profoundly changes the viewing of the work. Over the coming weeks, I’d repeatedly enter churches with cupolas or other areas that you could barely make out with the naked eye but that easily revealed their full Renaissance glory after a one-euro coin turned on the spotlights — or after looking at a photo of them taken with an iPhone 14 Pro.

RAVENNA

Ravenna is much more visited now than it was in Edith’s day — as most everywhere in Italy is — but everything important there is pretty much unchanged since the 9th century, when the Adriatic Sea receded and the town no longer functioned as a major port, putting development on pause for more than a millennium.

Ravenna is where the diachronic recedes: You become about as synchronic as is possible in an age of smartphones. It’s home to the very best Byzantine mosaics, where the play of sunlight on walls is an intrinsic part of the art and architecture and therefore not something where modern lighting engineers are going to come in and try to make improvements. In truth, there’s nothing to improve. As Edith puts it: “As I walk into the choir, there is more gold and more and more. I move beneath a tempest of gold, I stand amidst golden showers, I pass from rains of gold and cascades of gold, into torrents of gold.”

All of this is part of the magical alchemy of Ravenna — the way in which 5th century architects and artisans, working some 900 years before Piero, created what Edith correctly describes as “one of the marvels of the world.”

Everybody should come here at least once and experience the greatest mosaics in the history of humanity — a constantly moving golden light that no contemporary immersive art show can possibly rival. Let James Dolan keep on selling his US$200 tickets to The Wizard of Oz at Sphere. The €10.50 (US$11.56) ticket to all of Ravenna’s wonders would be better value even if it were 50 times the price.

It’s hard to leave Ravenna, but we did, traveling on to Parma, home not only to a strangely hard, salty cheese that blew Edith’s mind, but also to one of the greatest art museums in Italy, the Pilotta. In one of the wonderful serendipities of travel, falling in love with Edith’s book landed me among stunning masterpieces by Holbein, Murillo, Ribera, Tintoretto, Botticelli, Canaletto, Leonardo and countless others.

MANTUA

It also landed me in Mantua. Edith had many memorable encounters with a broad range of hoteliers (not to mention would-be seducers), but here we have our own: Guido Castiglioni, the proprietor of the Palazzo Castiglioni, who shows us up to a suite in a castello that’s been in his family since 1804. The Torre room, as its name suggests, is on the top floor of the building’s main tower and has a spiral staircase leading up to a private rooftop with 360-degree views of the city. It also sports a massive fresco of the Tree of Life that dates to 1300 and, we are told, is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, non-religious fresco in Europe.

Edith characterized our magnificent B&B as a “fine chunk of goose liver” — high praise indeed.

“The white stones pointing the arcades remind me of the peeled, gleaming white almonds which are stuck into the goose liver before it is fried. A well-prepared goose liver should be so richly spiked with almonds as to bristle like a hedgehog.”

Across the square is the ducal palace of the Gonzagas, princes of superlative wealth who commissioned Andrea Mantegna to paint one of their rooms — the famous Camera degli Sposi. It’s a gorgeous place, and a great tour guide like Edith is fantastic at ripping you out of tick-the-boxes sightseeing and reminding you of just how privileged we are to find ourselves walking through rooms adorned with some of the greatest art ever created.

CREMONA

On to Cremona, which provided another example of my priors being turned on their head in terms of what changed and what stayed the same between 1952 and 2022. I imagined the palazzos would be the same, while the food would have become much more modern. Not so.

Edith much admired the Palazzo Foddri and the Palazzo Raimondi, both of them dating to the 15th century, and especially how they were “so discreet in their grandeur,” featuring masonry walls and terracotta of “exactly the same colour-tone.” Today, the exposed brick of the palaces has been covered with plaster, and even with squares of white marble. Perhaps what Edith admired was not Cremonese reticence so much as it was just postwar dilapidation. In any case, what she thought of as a centuries-long verity hasn’t made it to the present day.

On the other hand, I was sure that the Cremonese would at least have discovered salt by now.

“The rolls of Cremona,” wrote Edith, “should not be classed under food but under arts and decorations and treated accordingly. The wise traveler will no more attempt to partake of them than he would break off and nibble the scroll of a facade.” This, amazingly, was still true!

One great benefit of following travelers of the past is finding places that are off the tourist circuit of the present. Companies that specialize in Italian travel are not going to be much help to you in the towns where Edith stayed — they’re just not on any standard itinerary. Which isn’t to say that tourists are absent. One big change from Edith’s time is that tourists are now ubiquitous, especially domestic tourists. Italians are much richer now and love to explore their own country: Domestic tourism revenues are forecast to reach €125 billion this year, more than double the record spending of €60 billion from international visitors. As a result, places where Edith had to get a custodian to unlock the door and show her around are now selling timed-admission tickets.

To experience and re-experience a book-length treatment of a small number of places is always going to bring those places into sharper focus and reveal aspects you’d never otherwise notice. It’s also delightful to be able to look at a place’s culture not only synchronically and diachronically, but also what you might call trichronically — seeing it as someone in the past saw it. It doesn’t need to be Italy, of course. Maybe next I’ll follow Oliver Sacks to Oaxaca.?


content_text:
Young pianists vie for global glory in Poland’s Chopin contest 蕭邦鋼琴大賽 頂尖青年鋼琴家齊聚波蘭

Rehearsal time is over. The world’s best and most ambitious young pianists have descended on Warsaw for the Frederic Chopin International Piano Competition — for some, a gateway to classical music glory.

Fans from around the globe snapped up tickets as much as a year ago. The lucky ones attended the opening night concert on Oct. 3 and will follow along as the contest builds to a thrilling climax on Oct. 20.

Winning the Chopin International — held every five years in the 19th-century composer’s homeland — can raise the curtain to playing at venues across the globe and signing contracts with the most renowned record labels.

In the 7th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, Poland, held on Feb. 22 to March 13 1965, finalist Martha Argerich rehearses with the orchestra in the Philharmonic’s concert hall. 1965年2月22日至3月13日在波蘭華沙國家愛樂廳舉行的第7屆蕭邦鋼琴大賽中，阿格麗希與樂團為決賽進行排練。 Photo: Siemaszko Zbyszko /Wikimedia Commons 照片：Siemaszko Zbyszko /維基共享資源

Previous winners of the competition, which began in 1927, include some of the greatest names in classical music, including Maurizio Pollini, Martha Argerich and Krystian Zimerman.

American pianist Garrick Ohlsson, who clinched the top prize in 1970, will chair the jury tasked with selecting this year’s winner from the 84 contestants.

WHO ARE PARTICIPATING?

Julianna Avdeeva from Russia performs during the final round hearings at the 16th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland on Oct. 19, 2010. Avdeeva went on to win the competition.俄羅斯的阿芙蒂耶娃在第16屆蕭邦鋼琴大賽決賽中演出。阿芙蒂耶娃最終贏得了首獎。2010年10月19日攝於波蘭華沙。 Photo: EPA / 照片：歐新社

Young pianists aged from 16 to 30 are eligible to take part, and the Warsaw organizers received a record number of more than 600 applications for this year’s edition.

Only around a tenth of them made it through a complex and multi-stage qualification process that included playing in a preliminary round in Warsaw.

Together with laureates of other piano contests, who were granted direct access to the first round, a total of 84 pianists from 20 countries started to compete on Oct. 3.

countries: 波蘭 俄羅斯


title: 輕鬆華語GO: EASY CHINESE GO

content_text:
對話 Dialogue

清清：唉！今天晚上吃什麼好呢？

Qīngqing: Āi! Jīntiān wǎnshàng chī shénme hǎo ne?

華華：你不是喜歡吃牛肉麵嗎？火車站附近的最近有特價，快去排隊吧！

Huáhua: Nǐ búshì xǐhuān chī niúròu miàn ma? Huǒchēzhàn fùjìn de zuìjìn yǒu tèjià, kuài qù páiduì ba!

清清：為什麼有特價？我都沒注意。

Qīngqing: Wèishénme yǒu tèjià? Wǒ dōu méi zhùyì.

華華：因為有國際牛肉麵節啊！愛吃牛肉麵的，正是好時候。

Huáhua: Yīnwèi yǒu Guójì Niúròu Miàn Jié a! Ài chī niúròu miàn de, zhèngshì hǎo shíhòu.

清清：那我們晚上就一起去吧！我請你。

Qīngqing: Nà wǒmen wǎnshàng jiù yìqǐ qù ba! Wǒ qǐng nǐ.

華華：好啊！上次我吃了紅燒的，有點辣，今天我想試試清燉的。

Huáhua: Hǎo a! Shàngcì wǒ chī le hóngshāo de, yǒudiǎn là, jīntiān wǒ xiǎng shìshi qīngdùn de.

清清：清燉的湯頭很不錯，我吃過好幾次了，味道不輸紅燒的。

Qīngqing: Qīngdùn de tāngtóu hěn búcuò, wǒ chīguò hǎojǐ cì le, wèidào bù shū hóngshāo de.

華華：那我今天就要大碗的了，先謝謝你囉！

Huáhua: Nà wǒ jīntiān jiù yào dà wǎn de le, xiān xièxie nǐ luō!

翻譯 Translation

Qingqing: Sigh. What should we eat tonight?

Huahua: Don’t you like beef noodles? The shop near the train station has a special offer, let’s go line up.

Qingqing: Why is there a special offer? I didn’t notice that.

Huahua: Because it’s the International Beef Noodle Festival — the best time for beef noodle lovers.

Qingqing: Then let’s go together tonight. My treat.

Huahua: Great. I had the braised one last time, but it was a bit spicy. I want to try the clear-broth one today.

Qingqing: The clear-broth soup is really good. I’ve had it many times, and it tastes just as good as the braised one.

Huahua: In that case, I’ll order a large bowl. Thanks for the heads up.

生詞 Vocabulary

1. 國際 (guójì) international

2. 牛肉麵 (niúròu miàn) beef noodles

3. 特價 (tèjià) special price, on sale, discount, promotion

4. 排隊 (páiduì) line up, queue, stand in line, wait in line

5. 注意 (zhùyì) pay attention, mind

6. 紅燒 (hóngshāo) braised

7. 清燉 (qīngdùn) clear-broth, clear stewed

8. 湯頭 (tāngtóu) soup base, broth

教材音檔 Audio Files

國立清華大學華語中心提供

By National Tsing Hua University Chinese Language Center:

https://clc-cc.vm.nthu.edu.tw/home/


countries: 馬達加斯加 尼泊爾 法國

title: 快訊／馬達加斯加反對派證實「總統已出逃」　Z世代抗爭再下一城

content_text:
▲馬達加斯加總統拉喬利納（Andry Rajoelina）已搭乘軍機逃離國家，目前下落不明。（圖／路透）

記者趙蔡州／綜合報導

馬達加斯加近日因長期停電、停水問題爆發Z世代抗爭，馬達加斯加總統拉喬利納（Andry Rajoelina）12日更宣布，國內爆發非法武力奪取政權的緊急事件。然而，才經過一天，馬達加斯加反對派13日證實，拉喬利納已乘坐法國軍機出逃，目前下落不明，這也是全球爆發Z世代抗爭以來，年輕抗議者繼尼泊爾後推翻的第二個政府。

根據路透社報導，馬達加斯加議會反對黨領袖西特尼（Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko）表示，在軍隊叛變並加入抗議活動後，拉喬利納目前已逃離馬達加斯加，「我們打電話給總統辦公室的工作人員，他們證實總統已經離開了這個國家」。


title: 世衛最新報告：全球1/6細菌「對抗生素失效」　醫療救命能力受衝擊

content_text:
▲世衛最新報告曝全球1/6細菌對抗生素失效。（圖／取自免費圖庫pixabay）

記者閔文昱／綜合報導

世界衛生組織（WHO）13日警告，抗生素抗藥性（AMR）細菌感染病例正快速增加，已嚴重削弱挽救生命的治療效力，甚至讓輕微傷口或常見感染可能致命。世衛指出，2023年全球實驗室確認的細菌感染病例中，高達1/6對現有抗生素失效，每年直接造成超過100萬人死亡，相關死亡人數則接近500萬。

根據《法新社》報導，世衛抗生素抗藥性部門主管胡汀（Yvan J-F. Hutin）表示，「這些發現令人深切擔憂。隨著抗藥性不斷升高，我們的治療選項越來越少，許多生命正面臨險境。」細菌對抗生素的抵抗力是長期演化的結果，而人類、動物及食物中抗生素的廣泛使用，更加速了抗藥性蔓延。世衛總幹事譚德塞（Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus）警告，抗生素抗藥性正超越現代醫學進展，對全球家庭健康構成嚴重威脅。

根據世衛監測報告，至2023年的5年間，全球22種抗生素的抗藥性平均每年增加5%至15%，其中大腸桿菌（E. coli）對第三代頭孢菌素的抗藥性已超過40%，肺炎克雷伯氏菌（K. pneumoniae）更高達55%。這些病原菌可能引發嚴重血流感染，最終導致敗血症、器官衰竭甚至死亡。世衛指出，抗藥性案例多集中在醫療資源薄弱、監測不足的東南亞、東地中海及非洲地區，其中東南亞與東地中海每三起感染就有一例抗藥性。

胡汀強調，抗生素使用量增加、抗藥性升高以及新藥研發減少，形成一個極度危險的組合，並形容部分地區目前對抗抗藥性細菌仍處於「盲目飛行」狀態。他呼籲各國加強監測、合理使用抗生素，以及加速新檢測和新藥研發，以避免全球健康危機進一步惡化。


title: 桃園首推「可負擔住宅」　市議員關切航空城108戶總價曝

content_text:
▲謝美英要求市府試辦「可負擔住宅」，要精挑細選好宅。（圖／擷取自市議會網站）

記者楊淑媛／桃園報導

桃園市議會定期大會13日進行都市發展局及地政局工作報告，市議員謝美英、凌濤針對市府提出「可負擔住宅」提出質詢。謝美英樂見市府以108戶航空城安置宅試辦「可負擔住宅」，提醒市府要精挑細選，不能是安置戶們「挑剩的」，以免「出師不利」，期待明年如期上路，讓無殼蝸牛有自己的家。

謝美英說，桃園市是目前正在積極研議「可負擔住宅」，核心概念是透過「封閉市場」的模式，讓民眾能以親民價格買房，但限制未來轉售只能回售給政府，並設定合理的房價與房貸支出比例，以避免投機炒作，大家都很期待。

目前規畫以航空城安置宅餘屋最快推出，而航空城安置宅有11個街廓、51棟、1925戶，她關心釋出的餘屋數量跟坪數，並直指安置宅價格已經相對市價優惠，首批上路的可負擔住宅售價會比安置戶更優惠、相等、還是比較貴呢？

都發局長江南志回應，初步規劃釋出108戶25至35坪的安置宅，價格落在600至800萬元間，不含車位。

▲凌濤對於桃園首推「可負擔住宅」政策，提出三個重點。（圖／擷取自市議會網站）

市議員凌濤對於桃園首推「可負擔住宅」政策，提出三個重點，要求市府重視，分別為：

一、注意舊有社宅維護、修繕，確保市民住得安穩。二、中路特區及捷運綠線G12、G13、G14納入可負擔住宅規劃範圍，並加速自治條例通過。三、確保可負擔住宅交易市場全閉鎖，杜絕任何炒房機會！

凌濤說：目前中央以及相關民間組織，都注意到桃園推行的可負擔住宅，並進行相關討論。因此，他呼籲市府，未來在自治條例送交中央審查時，要積極與內政部溝通，爭取支持，杜絕任何內政部「卡桃園」的可能！


content_text:
▲文化大學勞動系傳將「廢系」，校方回應了。（圖／記者李毓康攝）

記者趙蔡州／綜合報導

文化大學勞動暨人力資源學系（前身為勞工關係系）近日即將舉辦60週年慶祝餐會，不料卻傳出將要「廢系」，前勞動部長潘世偉13日也在臉書指出，學校已通知該系即將廢系的消息。對此，文化大學校方則表示，此案尚未做出最後決議。

潘世偉13日在臉書表示，文化大學校方上周傳出已告知勞動暨人力資源學系將被廢系的消息，所有的老師將被發配到包含至少三個學院，「學校當局主要的理由當然是少子化後，招生人數不足，因此在教育部的政策下，不得不做出的斷腕之舉。」

潘世偉感嘆，政府與學校只有從金錢的角度，走短線的思維去看帶勞工系招生的問題，「對於教育部而言是根本缺乏政策思維，對學校而言則是根本背棄了當年創校時，創辦人張董事長為何敢為其先，設立一個誰都想不到的勞工關係系，目的是幹甚麼？」

潘世偉說，勞動議題在台灣一向不被重視，包含企業內的人力資源管理、工會的組織與發展，因此低薪、長工時，企業在國際上難以與國際接軌，更不用說一個勞保年金制度的改革，還不知道要拖到哪一年，「我們看到的是，這個社會在勞動與人力資源課題上，存在系統性的缺失與專業的不足。」

潘世偉表示，文大校方其實也可以回頭檢視相關科系成立或裁撤的社會基礎，真正的關鍵還是在教育部，「教育部與勞動部真的可以正式立案，研究究竟在勞動與人力資源專業上，我們國家需要採取什麼對策，建立人力資源培育的制度。」

對此，文化大學表示，系已持續數年努力招生及轉型，但仍未能迎合社會需求，至於是否廢系，目前尚在研議中，尚未做出最後決議。

title: 文化大學勞動系傳將「廢系」　校方回應了


title: 「準風神」拋物線轉彎撲台？　最新路徑預測分岔

content_text:
▲準風神路徑分歧仍大 。（圖／中央氣象署）

記者許力方／台北報導

中央氣象署和日本氣象廳皆預估，西北太平洋有新的「颱風胚胎」誕生，並且具備發展為今年第24號「風神」颱風的條件，最快在18日（周六）生成。氣象專家根據初步系集預報分析，準風神直接威脅台灣的可能性不大，未來觀察重點，是東北季風與準颱風之間是否有明顯的共伴效應。

日本氣象廳已經編列這個系統為輕度熱帶性低氣壓，附近海域環境海溫偏高，具備發展為颱風的條件，由於日本南方海域受太平洋高壓影響，西伸勢力強勁，因此準颱風初步將朝中國大陸方向前進，但各模式模擬結果差異仍大。

各國氣象機構預測，未來幾天「風神」將生成，但路徑走向仍相當分歧，是否登陸菲律賓呂宋島仍不確定。

▼各國預估風神颱風將生成。（圖／NCDR）

天氣風險公司分析師吳聖宇指出，目前在關島南方低緯度海面的擾動96W（準風神），未來5至7天將順著強勢的太平洋高壓往西移動，大致趨向菲律賓以東，17至19日（周五至日）有機會逐漸接近、通過菲律賓呂宋島後往南海移動，並且可能發展為熱帶性低氣壓或輕度颱風。

依據系集預報資料，吳聖宇說，96W經過菲律賓的位置還可能有很大的南北變化空間，從最南邊經過菲律賓中部、到最北邊經過巴士海峽西進的可能性都有，除非周末太平洋高壓顯著東退，不然96W以拋物線路徑轉向經過台灣附近或上空的機會看起來是比較低的。

吳聖宇認為，雖然目前96W直接威脅台灣的可能性不大，但因19日正好有東北季風南下，南北系統之間是否有明顯的交互作用（共伴效應）出現，可能是未來的觀察重點，因為目前看起來96W的預報看起來可能不是一個範圍很巨大的系統，若路徑走得偏西、偏南，發生共伴效應的機會就較低。

▼準風神若與東北季風發生共伴效應，將帶來顯著降雨。（圖／NCDR）

countries: 菲律賓 台灣 中國 日本


title: 9千刷成9萬！外籍店員「撒鹽強推保養品」　女網紅嚇傻求退款遭拒

content_text:
▲一名女網紅遭遇保養品詐術，刷卡金額竟翻10倍。（示意圖／取自免費圖庫pixabay）

記者閔文昱／綜合報導

台北市中山商圈上月12日下午發生一起消費糾紛，一名林姓女子在逛街時遭一名外籍店員搭訕，並將鹽巴倒在她手上，隨後帶入保養品店內推銷商品。林女原以為購買7件保養品總價約9千元，但刷卡後發現實際金額竟高達9萬多元，結帳當下要求退貨卻遭店家拒絕，雙方爭議引發網路熱議。

當事女子林小姐指出，店員除了強行推銷外，還以「郭台銘、徐乃麟都在此購買」等話術誤導，並提議可分12期付款，利息約9千元，甚至表示會匯回利息金額。林女事後拍下過程並公開網路，引發網友討論，有人直指手法類似捷運站外的誘導消費陷阱，警告民眾應提高警覺。

警方接獲報案後到場了解，認定事件屬民事消費糾紛，無法介入，並提醒林女可循行政院消保會管道申訴。台北市簡任消保官葉家豪表示，此案涉及消保法所稱「訪問買賣」，消費者在現場無法詳細判斷時，可依第19條第1項規定解除契約，請求退還全部價金。律師黃柏榮也補充，消費者可寄存證信函或向法院訴請解除契約，要求返還款項。

目前林女已向消保官提出申訴，但第一次調解時店家代表未出席，需等待第二次調解。消保官提醒，類似誘導進店推銷的情形屢見不鮮，民眾應提高警覺，遇到不合理交易務必勇敢拒絕並保留證據，以維護自身權益。


people: 郝龍斌 潘一全 鄭麗文 侯友宜 饒慶鈴

taiwan-subdivisions: 南投 新竹縣 新北市 桃園 南投縣

events: 參選 選舉

content_text:
▲潘一全開第一槍！若郝龍斌當選就退黨。（圖／資料照）

記者許力方／綜合報導

國民黨主席改選選戰進入白熱化，為爭黨魁一位鬧分裂，不僅黨內人士各自表態站隊，還傳出大陸介選爭議。南投縣議會副議長潘一全表態支持鄭麗文，13日再度發文放話，若郝龍斌當選，就是他「退黨」的時候，開出第一槍。

國民黨魁之爭6位候選人競爭激烈，隨著選戰進入倒數，黨內互打態勢搬上檯面，新北市長侯友宜、桃園市長張善政、新竹縣長楊文科和台東縣長饒慶鈴等大咖都表態挺郝龍斌，目前南投僅市長張嘉哲表態支持郝，55歲的副議長潘一全則開出第一槍，「郝龍斌若當選，就該退黨了。」

事實上，潘一全近日接連發文談黨內選舉，痛批「一群老人又要把國民黨主席選舉搞臭掉，什麼又有大陸介入。」稱這就是為什麼國民黨要改變的理由。13日凌晨他再度發文直指，若郝龍斌當選主席，「也就是我對國民黨，沒有希望了，也是我該退黨的時間了。」

潘一全相當勇於表態，2023年8月，他就曾嗆聲國民黨提名總統參選人侯友宜，「人需要他時，把人家當空氣，現在需要人家幫他，就說他拜關公。不要自己感覺良好，侯友宜一定不會當選，如會當選，我一輩子吃素。」

▼國民黨黨主席選戰白熱化。（圖／記者黃克翔攝）

title: 國民黨魁之爭開第一槍　南投副議長：郝龍斌當選就退黨


title: 白沙屯媽祖衝吊車大王豪宅被疑內定　拱天宮曾解釋：有祂的用意

content_text:
▲白沙屯媽祖2度衝吊車大王豪宅，讓胡漢龑激動落淚。（圖／翻攝自YouTube／白沙屯媽祖網路電視台）

記者鄒鎮宇／綜合報導

白沙屯媽祖遶境進行新竹縣竹北市賜福行程時，12日上午在文信路突然大轉彎，二度駐駕「吊車大王」胡漢龑價值5億元的豪宅。對於外界質疑「有錢就往裡面衝」的說法，拱天宮主委洪文華過去就在網路上解答，直言都是媽祖的意思，他們不知道，也無從決定。

當天早上9點多，胡漢龑帶著親友團在文信路等候鑾轎，眾人跪地迎接並高喊「媽祖！媽祖！我愛你！」全家輪流鑽轎底祈福。原本鑾轎賜福完畢準備離開，卻突然原地折返，直接駐駕於胡董的豪宅約20分鐘。胡漢龑激動不已，雙手合十緊跟鑾轎，感謝之情溢於言表。

期間，鑾轎不僅停留在豪宅內，還上到啟德企業二樓臨時辦公室「巡視」。沒多久，鑾轎離開豪宅僅5分鐘，又再度回到門口停駕，讓胡漢龑一度感動落淚，並激動表示，「感謝威靈顯赫的媽祖娘娘！」

針對外界質疑遶境路線是否因「有錢就往裡面衝」，拱天宮主委洪文華曾在網路上解釋，強調路線完全由媽祖決定，「都是媽祖的意思，我們不知道，也無從決定」。朝天宮董事長蔡咏鍀也曾在抖音回應，「（路線）要怎麼排？你是媽祖嗎？沒有啦，那要怎麼排？山線跟海線都有人在等，要從哪一邊走怎麼會知道，媽祖要走什麼路線，有祂的用意啦。」

轎班人員則分享，每年進香路線並未事先規劃，大家都是猜測路線訂飯店，但媽祖停駕地點經常與預期相差甚遠，有時甚至距離超過一小時。洪文華補充，遶境過程他們不會干涉路線安排，信眾所捐款也是給媽祖。他還說，「準備越豐盛，媽祖反而會不好意思前往，媽祖的個性就是這樣，你如果沒準備，給你出奇不意。」

@tsia_1010 是要怎麼排你是媽祖嗎 #北港朝天宮 #蔡咏鍀 #雲林 #北港 #媽祖 #白沙屯媽祖 #白沙屯媽祖徒步往北港進香 ♬ 原聲 - 蔡咏鍀

taiwan-subdivisions: 白沙 竹北 新竹縣 雲林 北港


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記者蘇晟彥／上海報導

vivo 13日在上海體育館正式發表X300系列，恰逢30週年，本次再度與聯發科合作，是第一款採用天璣9500晶片的旗艦機，同時在鏡頭方面延續與蔡司深度合作，在Pro機型上搭載蔡司2億畫素APO超級長焦鏡頭，今年同樣在目標市場定位在「影像雙王」，試圖在影像更上一層樓，抓到目標TA，售價部分則是跟去年相比都沒有略微變動，台灣預計將於10月正式發表，兩種機型各有4種顏色，上市資訊待官方公佈。

▼vivo 30週年推出X300系列，今年定位在「影像雙王」，再度與聯發科、蔡司攜手打造最強拍照手機。（圖／記者蘇晟彥攝）

在vivo 30週年之際，端出X300系列搭載全球首發的聯發科技天璣9500旗艦晶片，針對影像運算、功耗控制與AI效能進行全面優化，同時整合vivo自研的藍圖影像晶片V3+，實現雙晶片深度協同運算，帶來更強大的影像處理效能與能源效率。vivo並攜手聯發科技在天璣9500上全新優化的「影像超能效NPU」架構，讓運動追焦、動態影像拍攝與即時AI演算都能流暢完成，開啟手機影像的高速創作時代。vivo X300 Pro其強大的性能釋放也創下了新紀錄，在室溫環境下安兔兔跑分率先突破410萬，展現旗艦級性能實力。

在續航與設計上，X300系列同樣展現全能旗艦實力，X300 Pro與X300均搭載第二代半固態大容量藍海電池，容量分別為6510mAh與6040mAh。設計上，X300 Pro機身厚度僅7.99mm，配合6.78吋平面螢幕與微弧直邊中框，背蓋運用懸浮水滴冷雕玻璃與絲絨玻璃工藝，兼顧視覺與觸感享受，提供曠野棕、自在藍、純粹黑、簡單白四款自然靈感配色；X300則搭載6.31吋螢幕、7.95mm機身厚度、重量190g。延續X系列標誌性的圓形鏡頭模組與懸浮水滴冷雕玻璃，觸感溫潤不沾指紋，提供幸運彩、自在藍、惬意紫、純粹黑四款自然靈感配色。

作業系統部分，全新OriginOS 6以「藍河流暢引擎」重構系統體驗，透過超核計算、雙渲染架構與光子存儲等底層技術，獲得SGS及泰爾實驗室「5年全場景重度使用持久流暢」雙認證，並創新性實現與蘋果全家桶的生態互聯，將硬體潛力轉化為持久穩定、流暢的日常使用體驗。

▼vivo X300為全球首發搭載天璣9500的手機。

▼X300 共推出 幸運彩、自在藍、惬意紫、純粹黑四色。

▼X300 Pro 共推出曠野棕、自在藍、純粹黑、簡單白四色，其中曠野棕為本次主打色。

延續X200「演唱會神機」的氣勢，今年定位成「影像雙王」，其中X300 Pro實現了「蔡司APO 2億超級長焦」的再突破，而X300則在「蔡司2億超清主鏡頭」上帶來革命性的升級。vivo X300 Pro搭載85mm蔡司2億APO超級長焦鏡頭，從感光元件、光學到防抖手震的全方位專業長焦系統。核心藍圖×三星HPBlue圖像感光元件擁有2億畫素與1/1.4吋超大底，結合f/2.67光圈與蔡司T*鍍膜，並通過嚴苛的蔡司APO認證；模組內建CIPA 5.5專業級防手震，即便長焦手持拍攝，也能保持畫面穩定清晰。

vivo X300延續Pro級影像實力，將高階拍攝體驗帶給偏好小尺寸機身的用戶。主鏡頭採用與X300 Pro長焦相同的感光元件，支持「先拍攝、後構圖」與AI電影分鏡功能，旅拍亦可輕鬆創作多樣畫面。長焦鏡頭搭載藍圖×索尼LYT-602感光元件，光學素質達Pro級水準。在硬體基礎上，X300系列透過全面算法升級，使人像攝影從「拍得清」升級到「拍得美、有故事感」，靜態人像提供多種美感風格及AI定制美顏，動態人像新增Live Photo路人消除功能；夜景人像更能精準分離人物與背景，搭配全焦段變焦閃光燈、電子柔光箱及創意模式，全面提升旅拍與夜景表現。

但實拍部分，在發表會後也將陸續有實拍報導，到時候就敬請期待啦！

▼鏡頭部分可以看得出X300 Pro（左）鏡頭比X300（右）厚上許多。

此外，或許是為了繼續在「追星」上有所突破，成為名副其實的演唱會神機，今年同步推出「2.35x 長焦增距鏡」的外接式配件，將可以徹底實現「擺脫單眼」的方便性，鏡頭將以磁吸與鏡頭結合，整個長度也大約與手機相同，在旅拍、追星上更近一步拍出「大片」。

而官方也表示，增距鏡部分必須透過配件組裝，目前配件僅供X300系列使用，但鏡頭原則上是可以向下相容。X300系列即日起於中國正式發布，台灣即將於10月下旬正式發表，上市規格將視各區市場最終實際發表資訊而定。

▼今年推出「2.35x 長焦增距鏡」，再度向演唱會神機發出挑戰。

▼vivo X300系列規格、售價懶人包。（圖／記者蘇晟彥攝）

title: 直擊／vivo X300規格、上市日曝光　 全球首發天璣9500挑戰影像雙王

countries: 中國 台灣


content_text:
記者楊智仁／綜合報導

《鬼滅之刃》近期伴隨著劇場版的爆紅，各種周邊商品也是搶翻天。先前一位日本網友就分享，自己抽《鬼滅》一番賞時中了大獎，本來應該是值得高興的事情，沒想到卻在機場發生令人哭笑不得的插曲。

▼「鬼滅之刃 - 雷之兄弟 -」。（圖／翻攝自一番くじ）

名為 ヨル（@toriyoru0） 的網友是《鬼滅之刃》中宇髄天元與不死川兄弟的粉絲，她在北海道旅行時，偶然發現剛上市的「一番賞 鬼滅之刃～雷之兄弟～」，本來心想「都到北海道了還抽一番賞嗎」但仍決定試手氣，沒想到竟一口氣抽中 A 賞與 B 賞，分別是「我妻善逸」與「獪岳」的精緻模型。

然而，在搭乘返程班機時，行李通過安檢機時突然被攔下，工作人員詢問「您的行李裡是不是有類似刀具的東西？」原來模型中的小刀被機器誤判為危險物，雖然只是模型配件但形狀逼真仍觸發警示，結果ヨル只得在現場「公開展示」她剛抽到的《鬼滅之刃》模型。雖然沒有被要求拆封，但工作人員仍將模型送往更精密的檢測設備，最後建議她將該物件改為託運，ヨル在社群上分享這段經歷，並表示「當下真的又緊張又好笑。」

無事帰宅したけど通知が無事ではない????恥ずかしい初バズ????

なお箱は丸出しにさせられましたが開封まではされませんでした！(もっと精密に中身の見れる装置に掛けられた)

手荷物検査には引っかかりますが預けなら問題ないので刀や剣の形のグッズは預けに直行させましょうね????

問題の刀と持ち主たち⚡ pic.twitter.com/bCqtTKNZBr

— ヨル????????(少し低浮上) (@toriyoru0) September 29, 2025

title: 網抽中《鬼滅》一番賞大獎　竟被機場安檢攔下...現場展示模型


title: 神秘大客戶曝光？博通：OpenAI不是那張百億美元單

content_text:
▲博通澄清百億美元訂單謠傳。（圖／路透）

記者閔文昱／綜合報導

晶片大廠博通（Broadcom）13日澄清，外界盛傳的「神秘百億美元客戶」並非人工智慧（AI）新創公司OpenAI。博通半導體解決方案事業總裁卡瓦士（Charlie Kawwas）接受《CNBC》節目訪問時表示，雖然博通與OpenAI合作密切，但傳聞中的巨額訂單來源另有其人，「我很希望從好朋友布羅克曼（Greg Brockman）那裡拿到一張100億美元的訂單，但他目前還沒給我。」

博通與OpenAI當天宣布雙方將聯手打造規模達10GW的AI加速運算基礎設施，預計支撐未來大型生成式AI模型的訓練與推論。博通強調，透過自研晶片與系統設計，OpenAI可將開發前沿模型的經驗直接整合至硬體架構，進一步釋放AI運算潛能。分析人士認為，雖然OpenAI不是那位百億美元客戶，但雙方合作仍顯示AI基礎設施需求爆炸成長，鞏固博通在AI晶片市場的戰略地位。

市場普遍認為，博通的大型雲端客戶可能包括Google、Meta及TikTok母公司字節跳動等。博通執行長陳福陽（Hock Tan）在9月法說會上透露，第四大客戶下達的百億美元訂單將自2025年起推升AI營收。卡瓦士也提到，OpenAI近期正積極擴大算力規模，並與超微、輝達及CoreWeave簽訂數十億美元AI基礎建設協議，以滿足未來需求。


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▲川岸強拍肩安慰。（圖／記者楊舒帆攝）

記者楊舒帆／高雄報導

統一獅未能把握2勝0敗的優勢，在季後挑戰賽遭樂天桃猿逆轉，失去前進台灣大賽的門票。全隊在G4結束後神情落寞，高塩將樹賽後特地前往桃猿休息室致意，桃猿教練川岸強及多名球員都暖心拍肩安慰他。

統一獅此役一路領先至8局，9局上卻遭林智平轟出3分砲扳平戰局，延長賽又被林立敲出超前安打，最終以3比4落敗。賽後隊長陳傑憲向球迷鞠躬致意，不少球迷難掩失落、落淚。

高塩將樹今年扛起牛棚重任，在季後挑戰賽中屢次登板救援。首戰中繼1局無失分，第二戰再投1局，卻遭宋嘉翔轟出全壘打，救援失敗。G4再度登板，他投2局飆出3次三振、無失分，季後挑戰賽累計投4局僅失1分。

賽後，高塩將樹前往桃猿休息室親自恭喜對手晉級台灣大賽，眼眶泛紅的他展現運動家風度。桃猿總教練古久保健二與投手教練川岸強，以及陳冠宇與黃子鵬也特地上前拍肩安慰。

title: 統一無緣晉級後高塩將樹致意桃猿　川岸強拍肩安慰暖心一幕


countries: 以色列 巴拿馬 挪威 加拿大 丹麥 美國 緬甸 巴勒斯坦 格陵蘭 委內瑞拉

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▲2025年諾貝爾和平獎得主馬查多。（圖／翻攝X@NobelPrize）

文／朱錦華

諾貝爾和平獎，在挪威當地時間10日揭曉。川普並未如他所願得獎；他很生氣。我也很生氣。因為我的願望是讓川普獲得「諾貝爾大滿貫」（所有獎項都頒給他）的。川普說，諾貝爾和平獎委員會「是一個有政治目的組織」。此話不假。

之前，他們很喜歡把這個獎頒給極權國家裡的異議分子，為的是宣揚西方的所謂自由、民主價值，迫使這些國家作出改變。例如前蘇聯時代，他們曾給頒人權鬥士沙卡洛夫(Andrei Sakharov)。2010年時，這個獎頒給了大陸著名異議分子劉曉波。用意莫不如此。1990年時，這個獎的得主是緬甸的翁山蘇姬。當然，後來翁山蘇姬對待羅興亞人的態度，讓諾貝爾和平獎變成了笑話。

▲諾貝爾和平獎得主翁山蘇姬。(圖／路透）

不過，鬧出這種笑話，也並非第一次。1973年頒給「促成越戰停火」的季辛吉與黎德壽、1994年頒給巴解領導人阿拉法特、以色列總理拉賓及外長裴瑞斯，以表彰他們讓中東地區走向和平。歷史證明，這根本是個超級大笑話。然而，諾貝爾和平獎委員會對製造這種笑話依然樂此不疲。今年就是一例。

得獎者揭曉前，美國總統川普的討論度最高。川普也當「贏」不讓的認為自己最有資格獲獎。但美國作為當今「世界警察」，調停幾場小規模衝突，根本是「小菜一碟」。然而，川普不斷放話要兼併加拿大為美國「第51州」、要奪回巴拿馬運河主權、還威脅丹麥要強行買下格陵蘭。更別說川普力挺納坦雅胡、提供軍火給以色列對加薩的巴勒斯坦人進行種族滅絕屠殺了。這種人可以獲頒諾貝爾和平獎？

▲川普沒拿到諾貝爾和平獎，心裡很不服氣。（圖／達志影像／美聯社）

結果是，和平獎委員會想出了一個折衷的好點子：把獎項頒給了親美的委內瑞拉反對派領袖馬查多(Maria Corina Machado)。誰也曉得，委內瑞拉現任總統馬杜洛(Nicolas Maduro)是川普的死對頭。目前，美國正以「走私毒品」的罪名在海上封鎖委內瑞拉，雙方戰火一觸即發。和平獎委員會在這個時候突然來這麼一招，豈可能是純屬巧合？

事實上，向和平獎委員會提名馬查多的，正是一票美國政客；當中包括國務卿盧比歐。他們用意很明顯，就是利用這個知名獎項再度重創馬杜洛的國際形象。誠然，馬杜洛是獨裁者。但這還不是從前任總統查維斯(Hugo Chavez)時代起，美國對委內瑞拉大規模且持續的制裁造成的？

▲因為川普的示愛，讓諾貝爾和平獎近年來越來越受到關注。（圖／路透）

馬查多也很知趣，得獎後在X社群平台發文將此殊榮獻給委內瑞拉人民、還說要把這個獎獻給川普！有陰謀論者指出，馬查多有意借美國的力量推翻馬杜洛，讓自己上位。是否如此，且看未來發展。總之，和平獎委員會這次「間接頒獎給川普」，同樣是讓人發笑的操作。

國際社會有另一個獎叫「搞笑諾貝爾」。我建議，不妨把諾貝爾和平獎納入其中，就讓大家每年此時多一個笑話題材吧！

title: 國際火線／諾貝爾和平獎，已經變成「搞笑諾貝爾」？


title: 一表看13家金控獲利　前9月共賺進4328億元

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▲富邦金外觀照。（圖／富邦金控提供）

記者巫彩蓮／台北報導

9月13家金控獲利全數出爐，受惠台股漲到2萬7千點以上新高，投資收益挹注下，壽險型金控獲利表現佳，富邦金（2881）、中信金（2891）為金控公司當中，唯二單月獲利突破百億元，合計13家金控前9月獲利為4328.27億元，年減10%，中信金、玉山金（2884）、永豐金（2890）、第一金（2892）、華南金（2880）等5家金控前9月獲利都寫下歷史同期新高。

美國聯準會於9月啟動降息，激勵國際股市走高，有利各家金控旗下壽險、證券、銀行與直接投資等業務，推升金控整體獲利表現，前9月累計每股稅後盈餘（EPS），富邦金以6.38元表現最佳，國泰金（2882）、中信金EPS超過3元，分別4.83元、3.06元。

富邦金9月自結合併稅後淨利174.4億元，累計前9月合併稅後淨利909.2億元，每股稅後盈餘（EPS）為6.38元，均居金控業之冠，包括富邦金控及子公司富邦人壽、台北富邦銀行、富邦證券、富邦產險單9月獲利均創下歷年同期新高。

國泰金9月稅後淨利97.4億元，較去年同期大增94.8%，累計前9月稅後淨利達747.8億元，年減27.6%，EPS為4.83元，國泰金指出，今年以來各子公司核心業務動能穩健，國泰世華銀行、國泰產險及國泰投信累計稅後純益續創歷史同期新高，國泰證券累計前9月稅後淨利為歷史同期次高。

台新新光金（2887）9月自結稅後淨利約75億元，累計前9月稅後淨利260.4億，EPS 1.51元。

台新新光金指出，依據國際財務報導準則第3號（IFRS 3,企業合併）規定，於合併時須對原新光金各子公司部分資產負債之公允價值重新衡量，並以此作為金控合併時之新金控帳面價值以進行後續會計處理，與原新光金控各子公司個體財務報表之帳面基礎不同，此企業合併會計處理之相關影響數係反映於金控層級之自結損益，企業合併會計處理於9月底已初步認定，10月份金控層級損益亦一併追溯調整自合併基準日(7/24)至9月底之影響數。

各子公司獲利表現如下：台新銀行9月稅後淨利19億元，累計前9月稅後淨利為154.6億元，較去年同期增加10.7%，續創歷年同期新高，主要受惠核心業務動能穩定發展。截至9月底逾放比為0.15%，備抵呆帳覆蓋率為819.36%。

台新人壽9月稅後淨利2.7億元，主係投資收益表現佳，挹注9月獲利，累計前9月稅後淨利16.4億元，較去年同期減少，主係因股票資本利得減少；台新證券9月稅後淨利2.4億元，與8月相較獲利減少，主係證券市場指數波動大，投資相關評價及處分利益減少，累計前9月稅後淨利15.1億元，較去年同期減少，主係國際情勢動盪，證券市場波動劇烈，處分利益減少。

新光銀行9月稅後淨利7.5億元，累計前9月稅後淨利20.2億元，若排除本年度一次性提列員工安置計畫等費用影響，稅後淨利年成長10%，主係核心動能穩健成長，淨利息收入及淨手續費收入均較去年同期成長，資產品質維持穩健，截至9月底逾放比為 0.12%，備抵呆帳覆蓋率為1,062%。

新壽9月稅後淨利0.3億元，資本利得挹注，單月由虧轉盈，目前外匯準備金在充足水位，將以降低傳統避險支出為目標，動態調控避險比例及避險工具組合；另外，保險本業方面持續累積CSM，商品策略聚焦外幣保單及價值型商品之銷售；元富證券9月稅後淨利3億元，與8月相較獲利減少，原因在於大盤位居高檔，自營投資收益減少。


title: 9千刷成9萬！外籍店員「撒鹽強推保養品」　女網紅嚇傻求退款遭拒


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▲小資女秀出黃金存摺對帳單。（圖／記者陳瑩欣翻攝）

記者陳瑩欣／台北報導

台銀黃金存摺13日最後一盤飆出每公克新台幣4039元史上天價，不少人紛紛開始尋找自己曾布局的黃金交易商品，有小資女挖出陳年對帳單，追憶自己19年前曾以每公克583元的價格買入10公克黃金存摺，卻因為2關鍵，澈底錯過暴漲592%的賺爛良機。

▲中信局時期黃金存摺封面。（圖／記者陳瑩欣翻攝）

「我雖然583元進場小買10公克，但是在它漲到800元時，我就賣了。」小資女指出，當年看到每公克800元的黃金存摺已覺得很不錯，想不到多年過去，黃金存摺牌告價已來到每公克4039元，以前5830元可以買到10公克，現在要40390元才可以買到一樣的東西。

另外，這名小資女也坦承，因為自己當時是過度消費的卡奴，投資本金不足，又沒什麼風險承受度，小賺一點就跑，她也感嘆「月光族」想要維持投資紀律，實在太困難。

▲台銀黃金存摺刷天價。（圖／記者陳瑩欣翻攝台銀公告）

理專估算，小資女當年買10公克黃金存摺只要5830元，放到現在已價值40390元，若扣除成本，相當於獲利592.8%，確實錯過賺爛良機。

據中央銀行資料，1997年國內第1本黃金存摺誕生，由中央信託局承作，「天字第一號」投資人就是央行前總裁彭淮南，推進國人透過無實體交易方式買賣黃金，而黃金存摺仍可領回實體黃金，或是贖回現金。

2007年，台銀整併中信局，同年7月黃金存摺業務由台銀承作，此後更加蓬勃，除了黃金存摺以外，包括金幣、條塊等貴金屬商品都更加大鳴大放，台銀至今仍是國內黃金存摺市佔率最高的銀行。

title: 無緣賺爛！小資女花不到6千元買到10公克黃金存摺　2關鍵錯過暴漲


title: 快訊／馬達加斯加反對派證實「總統已出逃」　Z世代抗爭再下一城

countries: 馬達加斯加 法國 尼泊爾


title: 國民黨魁之爭開第一槍　南投副議長：郝龍斌當選就退黨

taiwan-subdivisions: 南投 南投縣 桃園 新北市 新竹縣

events: 選舉 參選

people: 郝龍斌 饒慶鈴 侯友宜 鄭麗文 潘一全


title: 何品室融代打建功笑稱「壓力不在我這邊」　追平後開始緊張要守備

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記者楊舒帆／高雄報導

樂天桃猿去年選秀第二輪新秀何品室融，在季後挑戰賽兩度代打都敲出安打建功。談到這場比賽9局上代打擊出關鍵安打，他表示：「其實也沒有想太多，畢竟那時候球隊落後三分，一壘有人。就是想要打得紮實，能穿越就穿越，打安打就打安打，如果出局也沒辦法。當下其實蠻輕鬆的，壓力不在我這邊，壓力是在對面。」

季後賽兩次代打都擊出關鍵安打，且都是面對陳韻文。何品室融笑說：「我覺得就是運氣運氣吧，把自己能做的做好就好，剩下的我也控制不了。兩次我們都是落後的，其實壓力沒有那麼大。」

當他在壘上看到林智平打出追平3分砲時，何品室融笑著回憶：「打出去的時候，我心裡想『欸，追平了！等一下要守備，要緊張了』。（笑）」他補充說：「季後賽打了四場都沒有守備經驗，所以那時候守備反而比較緊張。」

談到學長們在休息室帶動氣勢的影響，他說：「像阿立有講過，就是不用太在意輸或贏，把自己該做的事情做好，我覺得這很有道理。畢竟我不是關鍵角色，只要把自己的事情做好就好。像剛剛我安打上壘，學長打一支三分砲，如果我沒上壘，他打兩分我們還是落後一分、可能就輸球了。所以我覺得能把自己該做的做好最重要。」

對於即將迎來生涯首次台灣大賽，何品室融開心地說：「會啊，當然會很期待。這是我第一年的完整球季，沒想過能參加台灣大賽。之前只有季末上來的經驗，這次就看怎麼表現就怎麼表現。季後賽能上場，就把握每一次機會。因為也不知道明年會不會有，有的話就盡量打。」

▲何品室融。（圖／樂天桃猿提供）


title: 世衛最新報告：全球1/6細菌「對抗生素失效」　醫療救命能力受衝擊


countries: 台灣 中國

title: 直擊／vivo X300規格、上市日曝光　 全球首發天璣9500挑戰影像雙王