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On Tuesday, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus held a news conference criticizing amendments to seven laws to protect undersea cables. They argued that if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force sorties crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line cannot be pushed back, it is hard to see how the government could possibly enforce laws protecting undersea cables. The remark sounds convincing, but it misses two fundamental points: the changing international context and the very nature of modern security. Undersea cable resilience is not merely a Taiwan Strait military issue; it is a strategic challenge faced by democracies worldwide.

First, protecting undersea cables is a strategic infrastructure task.

This week’s Taiwan-Europe Submarine Cable Security Cooperation Forum clearly demonstrates that European nations face similar threats to their undersea infrastructure. From energy pipelines to communications cables, strategic adversaries use “gray zone” tactics to test democratic allies’ resilience — this is no longer news.

Against this backdrop, Taiwan’s amendments are far from political theater. They would create a long-needed legal framework designed to close existing protection gaps: integrating cable protection into clear monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, and aligning responsibilities among the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the Ocean Affairs Council and other key agencies. Without legal authority, there can be no enforcement; without procedures, there can be no action. This is the kind of institutional capacity every modern democracy must build to defend its critical infrastructure.

Second, conflating air incursions with cable protection is a category error.

When KMT legislators say: “If warplanes cross the median line and we cannot drive them back, how do we enforce cable protection laws?” they confuse two entirely different security domains. PLA air incursions involve military deterrence and strategic response, which concern defense posture, diplomacy and regional stability. In contrast, undersea cable protection lies in the realm of administrative regulation, criminal liability and maritime enforcement.

The government could require vessels to keep their Automatic Identification Systems on, prohibit illegal anchoring or trawling near cables, seize offending vessels and impose penalties on violators. These are concrete, executable enforcement actions. Using the challenge of military deterrence to question the feasibility of civil enforcement weakens Taiwan’s nonmilitary resilience instead of strengthening it.

While the KMT caucus calls for “action over rhetoric,” it cut key resilience budgets last year. Funding for the single-window service for cable-laying under the digital ministry was completely removed and 90 percent of the budget for enhancing cable landing point security was slashed. If lawmakers truly value enforcement capacity, why defund the very programs that make it possible?

Nostalgia for an era before “gray zone” interference ignores how the threat has evolved. As Beijing advances military-civil fusion and steps up harassment on critical infrastructure, maritime and undersea activities have grown more frequent and complex. Confronting this new reality responsibly means updating legal systems, strengthening resilience, improving enforcement tools and deepening international cooperation — not clinging to outdated assumptions about the past.

Finally, national security requires action and cooperation.

Taiwan does not stand alone. Democracies such as EU and NATO countries, as well as Japan, are building interagency coordination frameworks and undersea infrastructure protection regimes encompassing intelligence sharing, patrol operations, incident investigation, accountability and rapid repair mechanisms. The Taiwan-Europe forum connects Taiwan’s experience with that of its partners, creating a dual layer of collective deterrence and collective recovery. Within this framework, legislation is the starting point, budget is the muscle and collaboration is the lever. None can be missing.

National security is not built on the hope of peaceful coexistence with adversaries; it rests on the determination to work with allies and prepare together. Those who call for action should begin by supporting necessary legislation, protecting critical funding and engaging in international cooperation. Those who prefer rhetoric should refrain from dismantling the very defenses that safeguard the state and its people.

Gahon Chiang is a congressional staff member in the office of Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Kuan-ting, focusing on Taiwan’s national security policy.

title: New cable legislation is real action


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From the perspective of someone who works in animal husbandry, last week’s case of African swine fever (ASF) at a farm in Taichung’s Wuci District (梧棲) is extremely alarming. From the abnormal pig deaths and the testing procedures to the handling of food waste, the entire process was sloppy — it is almost as if the local authorities were treating the nation’s entire disease prevention system as a joke. Each step revealed the lack of organization in the local government’s epidemic prevention measures — like a machine with loose screws scattered on the floor.

First, the abnormal deaths were not properly reported. The pigs had been dying for several days, yet the Taichung City Government failed to report it. Even more outrageous, epidemic prevention personnel had actually visited the site, but because the hog farm owner said that there was no issue, they simply left — failing even to take samples. That is a huge failure in any disease control operation.

Worse still, the records from the rendering truck did not match the actual situation. This was not a mere case of negligence — it was tampering with documents that left the intended destination of the infected pork unknown. Years of effort by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency to build a proper reporting system were undone by a single dismissive “it’s fine.” Farmers get fined for missing one single form, yet officials can close a case based on a casual verbal explanation. Since when can disease control rely on assumptions and hearsay? That kind of attitude only guarantees the virus wins.

The method used for submitting the test samples was inadequate. According to media reports, the Taichung City Government sent the samples via the courier service T-Cat. These were viral specimens, not birthday cakes. Under epidemic prevention regulations, samples suspected of carrying a category-A zoonotic disease must be handled as if they are confirmed positive cases — kept under cold chain conditions, sealed and transported by authorized personnel. A single mistake along the way could lead to an outbreak.

Yet the local government ignored these guidelines and sent the samples through ordinary delivery. People involved in the industry would never dare to cut corners when submitting samples, but the government itself is taking the lead in ignoring regulations? This was not a trifling mistake in procedure, but a blatant disregard for the entire disease control system.

The final issue is the disposal of kitchen waste. Taichung reportedly disposes of kitchen waste through landfill or composting. Some of these landfill sites are located in mountainous areas, where wild animals often roam in search of food. If the waste is not completely buried or the sites lack strict management, it could easily lead to the spread of infection.

Taichung had once planned to rebuild a refuse incineration plant to address waste disposal issues, but the project has been delayed for years and remains incomplete. When the local government fails to manage even basic waste disposal, it is only natural that viruses would strike without mercy.

Epidemic prevention requires discipline, not luck. Animal husbandry professionals follow the proper protocols every day — constantly cleaning and disinfecting — yet the Taichung City Government cut corners, knowingly contravened regulations and defied science without any comprehensive plan. What has been sacrificed as a result is not only the pig-farming supply chain, but the entire national epidemic prevention system. If this lax and irresponsible attitude continues, it would not be long before there is not a single pig left in Taiwan.

Chang Shang-yang is a farmer.

Translated by Kyra Gustavsen

title: Taichung government mishandled ASF case


title: EDITORIAL CARTOON

content_text: The government and local industries breathed a sigh of relief after Shin Kong Life Insurance Co last week said it would relinquish surface rights for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投) to Nvidia Corp. The US chip-design giant’s plan to expand its local presence will be crucial for Taiwan to safeguard its core role in the global artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem and to advance the nation’s AI development.The land in dispute is owned by the Taipei City Government, which in 2021 sold the rights to develop and use the two plots of land, codenamed T17 and T18, to the


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The political developments in Hungary and Turkey in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are reminders that evolving global dynamics can influence the survival of competitive authoritarian regimes

US President Donald Trump’s ferocious assault on US institutions over the past nine months is a particularly morbid symptom of the global decline of democracy. However, Trump has merely capitalized on a process that was well underway before his return to the White House.

Several factors have contributed to this worldwide retreat. Authoritarian regimes consolidated power by sharpening their methods of control, from electoral engineering and digital surveillance to legal and institutional manipulation. Moreover, autocrats often provide each other with political and economic support, as demonstrated by the close ties between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. And the shortcomings of several high-profile democracies — not least the US — have arguably made the model less attractive.

What is often overlooked is how profound changes to the international order have reinforced authoritarian regimes. In today’s increasingly multipolar world, the rise of regional geopolitical conflicts has been a boon for competitive authoritarian systems, which hold elections, but tilt the political playing field in their favor.

A prime example is Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, which helped boost the domestic legitimacy of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the run-up to pivotal elections.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine came just more than a month before Hungary’s parliamentary election on April 3, 2022. Orban hammered home the message that only he could keep Hungary safe. Unlike the opposition, whom Orban portrayed as reckless warmongers for wanting to support Ukraine’s defense, he promised to shield Hungarians from war. Bombarded by pro-government media, many Hungarians came to see Orban as the guarantor of peace — even opposition supporters feared that a change of government might drag Hungary into the conflict.

Orban also leveraged the war in Brussels, threatening to block EU efforts to help Ukraine unless the European Commission released frozen funds for Hungary. At home, he framed this as a triumph over European elites eager to spend “Hungarian money on Ukrainians.” Pro-government media echoed the Kremlin narrative, blaming EU sanctions — not Russia’s invasion — for Hungary’s economic troubles, and framed Orban’s long-standing ties with Putin as proof of his ability to secure cheap energy, whereas electing the opposition could mean shortages. Orban’s Fidesz-led coalition won two-thirds of the seats, retaining its parliamentary supermajority and consolidating his grip on power.

Similar dynamics played out in Turkey. In the run-up to the presidential election in May 2023, Erdogan emphasized his personal diplomacy in the Ukraine war, highlighting the Black Sea grain deal. Facing off against a single challenger supported by a broad opposition alliance, Erdogan also cast himself as the only leader capable of keeping Turkey out of the conflict while also elevating its global influence. Pro-government media warned that an opposition victory would mean full alignment with the West’s war effort. The race was tight and required a runoff, but Erdogan prevailed.

Economically, Erdogan exploited Turkey’s refusal to adopt Western sanctions: Trade with Russia surged; Russian tourists and firms arrived in the country with cash to spend; and the Kremlin allowed Turkey to defer millions of dollars in gas payments. In 2022, Russia’s state nuclear-energy corporation transferred US$15 billion to a subsidiary in Turkey to ensure the continued construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant — which was inaugurated just a few weeks before the election. All this helped ease the economic pressures stemming from Erdogan’s unorthodox policies and enabled him to portray himself as indispensable to Turkey’s prosperity.

Moreover, Turkish-made drones on the Ukrainian battlefield were held up as symbols of national pride and technological prowess. As Turkey’s top defense export, these cheap and deadly drones have been central to its foreign policy narrative, as has another military achievement that Erdogan touted during the 2023 election campaign: the country’s first amphibious assault ship built to carry drones and helicopters.

This spotlight on defense predates the Ukraine war. Turkey’s military support for Azerbaijan in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war (which included the deployment of drones) was widely publicized and also boosted Erdogan’s domestic legitimacy.

Political developments in Hungary and Turkey in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine hold three lessons.

First, international crises do not necessarily expose an authoritarian regime’s vulnerabilities; they can just as easily create opportunities to consolidate power, marginalize opponents and secure outside backing.

Second, public attitudes are important: The absence of strong anti-Russian sentiment in Hungary and Turkey allowed Orban and Erdogan to frame cooperation with Moscow as pragmatic rather than traitorous. When public opinion is divided, authoritarian incumbents can more easily manipulate crises to their advantage.

Lastly, the actors involved in regional geopolitical conflicts matter. Putin’s willingness to provide economic concessions, financial transfers and propaganda support helped Orban and Erdogan weather domestic challenges.

Hungary and Turkey serve as reminders that evolving global dynamics can influence the survival of competitive authoritarian regimes. As the world shifts toward multipolarity and middle powers gain greater influence, regional conflicts would probably multiply. If the shock waves from the Ukraine war are any indicator, these crises are more likely to strengthen autocrats than weaken them.

Senem Aydin-Duzgit is professor of international relations at Sabanci University and director of the Istanbul Policy Center.

Copyright: Project Syndicate

title: How international crises  help authoritarians


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Ukraine has a plan for victory, but its allies do notThe faltering political will in Washington and Europe has turned Kyiv’s allies into the war’s soft underbelly

Ukraine is about to experience its most brutal winter since Russia invaded in 2022. That is not a risk, but a certainty as both sides sense they are blocked on the ground and focus on the long-range air war. Russia has a plan for victory and the Ukrainians have one for survival. The question is whether Kyiv’s allies have a plan at all. The short answer is no, or at least not yet.

US President Donald Trump’s decision to sanction Russia’s two largest oil producers, Rosneft JSC and Lukoil PJSC, has offered a ray of hope — but that is all. It is unclear whether Trump is willing to endure the costs involved in enforcing those sanctions hard or long enough to change Russian President Vladimir Putin’s calculations. Worse, US-Ukraine policy remains contradictory, because the Trump administration has at the same time pushed the entire financial burden for arming and aiding Ukraine onto a cash-strapped Europe.

Europe knows the only feasible way to fill the hole left by US financial withdrawal is to tap 140 billion euros (US$163 billion) of frozen Russian central bank assets. Belgium — where most of the money is held — just blew up a deal for fear of having to shoulder the cost of legal retaliation; at best this happens in December. Meanwhile, Ukraine looks set to run out of cash by the end of the first quarter of next year.

This faltering political will in Washington and Europe has turned Kyiv’s allies into the war’s soft underbelly. It is what they do next, or rather do not do, that likely decides how it ends, because Ukraine’s plan for survival depends on staying in the fight long enough for the rising costs of Putin’s invasion to persuade him he cannot afford to continue.

A visit to Ukraine was necessary to examine exactly what the government’s “defend, restore, develop” mantra for making it through winter consists of. The “defend” element is covered by new developments in counter-drone technologies, fortifying major electrical substations, and the pursuit of more munitions from the US and Europe. It is not enough to neuter the impact of Russia’s dramatic increase in drone and missile production, which enables it to routinely fire volleys up to 10 times larger than in previous winters. This onslaught has already destroyed about 60 percent of Ukraine’s natural gas production capacity, adding more than US$2 billion to import bills this winter. That is more money Kyiv does not have.

One executive at a mid-size private energy company said that the same facility they had repaired last year after it was hit by two drones was struck by 17 at once this summer, causing far more damage. So “restore” takes more time and funding than it used to. It is the “develop” part of the formula that is most intriguing.

Oleksandr Selyshchev, CEO for renewables at DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy investor, showed reporters 70 2.5m-tall battery storage cubes his company had just installed near Kyiv. It was one of six such facilities around the country that had come online just days before, with a total capacity of 200 megawatts (MW), or about half the output of a typical nuclear reactor. When Russia destroys part of the power network, the batteries from the US’ Fluence Energy Inc should kick in within milliseconds to prevent the sudden imbalances in the grid that force blackouts.

There is also a DTEK windfarm project about a two-hour drive from Odesa, in southern Ukraine. The company decided to restart construction of a 500MW site in mid-2022, as soon as it became clear Russia was attacking energy infrastructure. That might seem like an odd choice, given that the 450 million euros investment would immediately become a target, but it turns out green energy is better suited to war; turbines spread over dozens of square kilometers are much harder to destroy than a single coal or gas-fired power plant.

One turbine, struck during a Russian attack earlier this year, was dismantled. A damaged 79m blade, thick enough to stand in, lay next to an access track. The 61-tonne blade hub had been lifted down that morning, but the whole repair takes only about a week and strikes are rare.

“By nature, wind power is more resilient,” Selyshchev said. “Of course you can destroy anything, but wind is more decentralized and so easier to secure.”

With 19 turbines installed, up from four at the start of the war, the Tyligulska Wind Power Plant produces 114MW. The remaining 64 turbines from Vestas Wind Systems A/S should be up and running by the end of next year, by which time DTEK hopes to have begun work on a further 650MW wind farm. That would account for about half the government’s plan to add 2 gigawatts (GW) of wind power to the grid.

This is power Ukraine needs.

The country had a total generating capacity of 25GW in 2021, reduced by occupation and destruction to 17GW today, Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Oleksiy Kuleba said in an interview at his Kyiv office. The country needs 15GW to 17GW to keep the heat on, which leaves very little buffer.

However, the experience of previous winter assaults has also built resilience, Kuleba said. About 1GW of Ukraine’s remaining output capacity has been decentralized to smaller, harder-to-destroy units, while many shops, offices and schools across the country have acquired backup generators. When heat is lost over the coming months, about 10,000 of these become “heat centers” to which people can go to stay warm.

Is that going to be enough to stop millions more Ukrainians fleeing West? Perhaps. The mere potential for a new, politically destabilizing wave of refugees forms part of Putin’s campaign to strike at that soft, allied underbelly with the threat of a much wider war. That is why he appeared on TV in military uniform for just the third time since the start of the war on Sunday, listening to Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov report on Russia’s allegedly inexorable battlefield victories and boasting of a newly tested nuclear-powered, nuclear-capable cruise missile that has unlimited range and cannot be stopped.

It is hard to know if Putin’s latest wonder-weapon is in fact unstoppable, just as it is dubious he would risk nuclear war. Equally, as tough as the situation certainly is for Ukrainian troops, Russia has taken less than 1 percent of Ukraine’s territory at enormous cost since stopping Kyiv’s last successful counteroffensive in November 2022. And, as former Russian central banker Alexandra Prokopenko has said, Putin faces his own emerging strains at home.

Still, Gerasimov’s propagandistic claims of encirclements and the imminent collapse of Ukrainian forces along the front might prove to be self-fulfilling prophecies, should allies fail to provide their share of the means to fight this winter.

Putin’s message to the West is clear: Ukraine is losing anyway and we are ready for the ultimate war if anyone gets in our way; are you? The conclusion for leaders in the US and Europe to draw should be as clear: Whatever they are going to do, they need to do it decisively and now.

Marc Champion is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Europe, Russia and the Middle East. He was previously Istanbul bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal. 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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‘BLOWN AWAY’:  With 12 strikeouts and no walks, Yesavage broke the World Series record of 11 strikeouts set by the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Don Newcombe in 1949

Trey Yesavage on Wednesday night soaked in Dodger Stadium, filled with 52,175 fans about to watch him pitch in the MLB World Series, and thought back to starting his season in front of 327 spectators in the low minor leagues.

A sandlot story worthy of a movie studio back lot.

“Crazy world,” the wide-eyed Toronto Blue Jays pitcher said. “Hollywood couldn’t have made it this good.”

The Toronto Blue Jays’ Andres Gimenez scores past Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith on a single by Bo Bichette during the seventh inning of Game 5 of the MLB World Series in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Just 46 days after rocketing to his fifth level of professional baseball this season for his major league debut, Yesavage pitched one of the best games by a rookie in World Series history.

He set a Fall Classic rookie record with 12 strikeouts, and the Blue Jays opened Game 5 with back-to-back homers in a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers that moved them within one win of their first championship since 1993.

“The job is not done yet,” Toronto star Vladimir Guerrero Jr said through a translator.

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, left, grounds out to Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage during the first inning of Game 5 of the MLB World Series in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

Davis Schneider and Guerrero connected on Blake Snell’s first and third pitches, the first consecutive home runs to start a World Series game.

Yesavage, a precocious 22-year-old, took over from there. His first pitch in baseball’s largest-capacity ballpark was to Shohei Ohtani, baseball’s best player.

“Walking from the bullpen to the dugout, I took a moment to look around the stadium, see all the fans,” Yesavage said. “I was hoping I would send ’em home upset.”

The Pottstown, Pennsylvania, native quieted the crowd and LA’s bats with a sinking splitter, spinning slider and overpowering fastball, breaking the prior World Series rookie record of 11 strikeouts by the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Don Newcombe in 1949 against the New York Yankees.

Getting six Ks each with his splitter and slider, Yesavage became the first World Series pitcher with 12 strikeouts and no walks.

“I’m kind of blown away by what he did,” Toronto manager John Schneider said.

Yesavage had lasted just four innings in Friday’s opener, allowing two runs in a game the Blue Jays won 11-4.

“Just a complete 180 from Game 1. His command was pinpoint tonight,” Dodgers slugger Freddie Freeman said.

After losing Game 3 in 18 innings, the resilient Blue Jays outscored the Dodgers 12-3 and outhit them 20-10 in the next two.

Toronto lead 3-2 in the best-of-seven matchup and can dethrone the defending champions back home when the series resumes on Friday night at Rogers Centre. No team has won consecutive titles since the Yankees took three in a row from 1998 to 2000.

“As a group, it’s time for us to show our character and put up a fight,” said Kike Hernandez, who homered on a high fastball to trim the Dodgers’ deficit to 2-1 in the third.

Yesavage allowed three hits over seven innings, while Seranthony Dominguez and Jeff Hoffman finished a four-hitter.

Tommy Edman, a Dodgers switch hitter, made the rare decision to bat from the right side against the right-handed Yesavage. Edman struck out, popped out and grounded into a double play.

“He’s super deceptive,” Edman said. “Props to him for coming out in a huge game at Dodger Stadium.”

Yesavage went 1-0 in three regular-season starts and is 3-1 in five post-season outings. He induced 23 swings and misses — the most in a World Series game since pitch tracking started in 2008, one more than the San Francisco Giants’ Tim Lincecum in Game 5 in 2010.

“Obviously the stuff is incredible, but the maturity to go and handle these moments is unbelievable,” Toronto teammate Bo Bichette said. “I think he’s ultra-confident, but you never hear it in the clubhouse, which I think says something about him.”

title: Yesavage powers Jays to series lead


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Liverpool on Wednesday crashed out of the Carabao Cup as Crystal Palace’s 3-0 win in the fourth round added to the mounting crisis at Anfield.

At Anfield, Ismaila Sarr struck twice in the first half and Yeremy Pino grabbed the third to condemn Arne Slot’s side to a sixth defeat in their past seven games in all competitions.

Slot fielded a weakened team as he prioritized Liverpool’s crucial games against Aston Villa, Real Madrid and Manchester City over the next two weeks.

Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta, left, controls the ball in front of Liverpool’s Andy Robertson during their EFL Cup fourth-round match at Anfield in Liverpool on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

However, it was still another embarrassing result for Liverpool, coming hot on the heels of a 3-2 loss at Brentford on Saturday that further dented their spluttering Premier League title defense.

The Reds have lost their past four league matches and trail leaders Arsenal by seven points.

“It’s not Liverpool standards to lose six out of seven,” Slot said. “But it’s only two days to rest, play the next one, then only two days’ rest, play Real Madrid and then a few days more for Man City.”

“Everyone can have his opinion about it, but with the squad we are having maybe 15, 16 first-team players available, this is the choice I’ve made,” he said. “The pressure was already very high for the upcoming week where we again have to face three very difficult teams.”

Assailed by criticism of their defensive failings and the poor form of blockbuster summer signings Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, Liverpool’s fall from grace has been stunning.

Isak, Wirtz, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk were all absent as Slot made 10 changes and fielded teenagers Kieran Morrison, Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni.

It was a gamble that never looked like working and FA Cup holders Palace have now defeated Liverpool three times in 80 days.

They beat the Reds on penalties in the Community Shield and 2-1 in the Premier League.

Slot switched to a back three in a bid to revitalize Liverpool, but the move backfired when Joe Gomez’s mistake allowed Sarr to rifle home from 12 yards (11m) in the 41st minute.

Senegal winger Sarr increased Palace’s lead on the stroke of halftime, netting from Pino’s pass in front of the shell-shocked Kop.

Liverpool substitute Amara Nallo was sent off in the 79th minute for a professional foul on Justin Devenny.

Pino slotted in Palace’s third in the 88th minute to book a last eight trip to Arsenal.

Holders Newcastle United dispatched Tottenham Hotspur 2-0, Arsenal beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0, Manchester City came back to down second-tier Swansea City 3-1 and Chelsea edged past Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-3 in other fourth-round ties.

Additional reporting by Reuters

title: Liverpool crisis mounts after EFL Cup exit


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Yona Sabri Ellon cannot see the ball at his feet, but he can hear it. A faint rattle guides him past a defender and he fires into the back of the net.

Ellon has taken his South Sudanese blind soccer team a step closer to their dream of playing at the 2028 Paralympics in California.

The 22-year-old striker is representing South Sudan’s “Bright Stars,” making their international debut at the inaugural men’s blind soccer tournament in Uganda this week.

Players from South Sudan’s blind soccer team put on their uniforms in the locker room ahead of a match at Hamz Stadium, Nakivubo War Memorial Grounds in Kampala on Monday. Photo: AFP

It is about more than soccer for him.

“I need to score more to remove the negative perception [of blind people] from people in our country,” he said after the match.

Blind soccer uses a bell in the ball to direct players on the five-a-side teams, using the Spanish word “voy” (“I am coming”) constantly to let others know where they are.

A player from South Sudan, second left, vies for the ball against Uganda players during a men’s blind soccer match at Hamz Stadium, Nakivubo War Memorial Grounds in Kampala on Monday. Photo: AFP

South Sudan’s team began humbly five years ago with just two players, under the guidance of sighted head coach Simon Madol Akol.

“There is so much potential within people who are having different types of disabilities that needs to be unlocked,” he said.

Akol grew the team to 40 members, representing a cross-section of tribes from South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, which continues to face conflict and ethnic tensions.

“It is through football that we will achieve lasting peace in South Sudan,” said Ellon, one of eight who made the trip to Kampala.

Ellon lost his sight due to glaucoma, aged 10. For years he stopped attending school, certain the end of his vision meant the end of his education and of his love for soccer.

The “Bright Stars” changed that.

“Challenges have become our best friend,” he said.

South Sudan’s public soccer fields are torn up with holes, treacherous for visually impaired players. There is only one safe pitch and they must pay to use it, Akol said.

The country’s official paralympic committee was only set up a month ago after a decade of trying to register.

However, the first-of-its-kind mini-tournament in Kampala, which also featured teams from Uganda and Zimbabwe, is a chance for greater visibility.

“Showing that people with disabilities can contribute ... and even one day represent their country — that’s what those guys have done,” said Robert Kidd, communications adviser at Light for the World, a nonprofit which has supported the South Sudanese players since 2020.

In the stands in Kampala, a small, but passionate crowd cheered the players on.

Jalia Nankwanga, a law student at Makerere University, skipped lectures to attend the first match on Monday, rooting for the Ugandan team.

Nankwanga is blind herself, but a friend helped her follow the game.

“When I see my fellow blind [people] on the field, I feel loved and proud,” she said, adding that she was inspired to play herself.

The final game between South Sudan and Uganda on Wednesday was heavy with tension.

It took until the second half for South Sudan’s captain Martin Ladu Paul to put away a penalty, triggering chants of “SSD, SSD” — short for South Sudan — from the stands.

South Sudan went on to win 3-0, but both teams took a step toward a qualifying place for the Paralympics.

“Participating in the championship like this is already a win for us,” Akol said.

title: South Sudan blind soccer team seek Paralympic glory


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Laura Wolvaardt on Wednesday led from the front with a majestic 169 to help South Africa thrash England by 125 runs and reach their first-ever ODI Women’s World Cup final.

South Africa posted 319-7 and then bowled out England for 194 in 42.3 overs with medium-pace bowler Marizanne Kapp returning figures of 5-20 in the first semi-final in Guwahati.

The Proteas await the winner of last night’s semi-final between holders Australia and India for the title clash on Sunday in the outskirts of Mumbai.

South Africa’s Nadine de Klerk plays a shot during their Women’s Cricket World Cup semi-final against England in Guwahati, India, on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

South Africa made their third straight final of a women’s World Cup — two in T20 tournaments — and their first in the 50-over marquee competition.

They were beaten by England in the semi-finals of the last two ODI World Cups in 2017 and 2022.

Nadine de Klerk dismissed Linsey Smith for 27 as the last wicket to trigger celebrations in the South African camp.

“It still feels a bit unreal,” player of the match Wolvaardt said. “I think that’s the sort of the thing that you dream about as a kid is scoring 100 in a World Cup, knockout game as well. Very special day and I’m so glad we won in the end.”

Wolvaardt set up victory with her first World Cup century as she lay the foundations of the mammoth total in a 116-run stand with fellow opener Tazmin Brits, who made 45.

Wolvaardt reached her 10th ODI ton and then switched gears to take the attack to the opposition in the final few overs, ending with 20 fours and four sixes in her 143-ball knock.

She reached the top of the tournament batting chart with 470 runs including one hundred and three half-tons in eight matches.

title: Wolvaardt-inspired South Africa crush England by 125 runs


title: Skier recounts Everest’s most dangerous route

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Mountaineer Jim Morrison hopped left on his skis, sending trickles of snow down a sheer gully on the North Face of Mount Everest, then he hopped to the right, his breath heavy in the oxygen-thin air.

Below him plunged 2,700m of snow, ice and rock — the most merciless ski run on planet Earth.

It had never been skied, until Morrison did it.

Mountaineer Jim Morrison, left, and filmmaker Jimmy Chin pose in an undated photograph. Photo: Savannah Cummins, National Geographic via AP

“It was a spectacular four hours of skiing down a horrific snow pack,” Morrison said of his historic Oct. 15 run.

He climbed Everest’s notorious North Face through the Hornbein Couloir alongside 10 other mountaineers and documentarian Jimmy Chin, who is codirecting a documentary about Morrison’s run.

The adventure was “the skiing equivalent to free soloing,” Chin said. “If your edge blows out or you slip anywhere on the line, you’re gone. You fall 9,000 feet [2,743m].”

The ski run started atop Everest, about 8,800m above sea level and in the death zone, where people cannot survive for long.

“When it comes to big mountain stuff and climbing, it’s like landing on the moon,” said Jeremy Evans, who wrote a book about the last person to attempt the run.

The young snowboarder, Marco Siffredi, disappeared on its slopes in 2002.

The adventure was dreamed up by Morrison and his life partner, accomplished ski mountaineer Hilaree Nelson. They planned to do it together until her death in 2022 while skiing on the world’s eighth-highest mountain.

From then on, it was a trip Morrison was doing for them both.

Only five people had completed the four-day climb to the summit up the imposing North Face using the “Super Direct” route — it is straight up, and then straight down — and nobody had since 1991.

Throughout the climb, Morrison said he kept Nelson in his mind, and “as I got higher and higher, and further into the death zone, I got closer and closer to her.”

On the summit, the sun was shining. The Himalayan Mountains splayed out around them. Morrison donned his skis and dropped in, doing controlled hop turns.

The route’s details, which he had studied, imagined, witnessed, read of and dreamed about, took over his mind. He was not thinking of a possible fall, only the next turn. Every breath was a challenge at that altitude.

At several points, he used the ropes, including where there was only rock, but he relied on them less than he had anticipated.

When he neared the bottom, crossing into safety, he exhaled.

He screamed, and cried and he spoke to Nelson.

The next morning, he walked out and looked up at the towering North Face, he said.

“And I could sort of feel Hilaree’s presence at the very top, the top of the world,” he said.


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CRICKET

Teen cricketer dies after hit

Australian cricket was rocked yesterday by the death of a teenage player hit by a ball during training at his Melbourne club. Ben Austin, 17, was struck high in the neck by a ball delivered by a teammate while batting in the nets at Ferntree Gully Cricket Club on Tuesday, governing body Cricket Victoria (CV) said. He was rushed to hospital and put on life support, but died on Wednesday, his club said. CV head of cricket Nick Cummins told Australian media that Austin had been wearing a helmet, but not a neck protector. “This tragedy has taken Ben from us, but we find some comfort that he was doing something he did for so many summers — going down to the nets with mates to play cricket,” Austin’s family said in a statement. Players from both teams wore black arm bands for the Women’s World Cup semi-final yesterday between Australia and hosts India.

TENNIS

Taiwanese advances in HK

Taiwan’s Liang En-shuo and Chinese partner Feng Shuo yesterday survived China’s Wang Xiyu and You Xiaodi 6-1, 4-6, 10-5 in their women’s quarter-final at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open on hard court. They are next to face the winners of the quarter-final between the Chinese duo of Jiang Xinyu and Wang Yafan and Hong Kongers Cody Wong and Eudice Chong. Wong and Chong on Wednesday advanced after defeating top seeds Wu Fang-hsien of Taiwan and Eri Hozumi of Japan 4-6, 6-3, 10-5. On Monday, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Filipina Alexandra Eala were eliminated 3-6, 6-1, 10-7 by Russian Kamilla Rakhimova and Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

DARTS

Late Littler misses event

World champion Luke Littler on Wednesday was ruled out of a Players Championship event after getting stuck in traffic and missing the registration deadline. The world No. 2 Briton had been due to appear at the tournament in Wigan, England, near his hometown of Warrington. Instead, the 18-year-old posted a photograph on Instagram from the passenger seat of a car with another vehicle in front. “Back to bed it is. Wonder who they are gonna call up,” he said in the caption. The deadline was 11am and media reported the post was made at 11:06am.

ICE HOCKEY

Marchand out to help friend

Brad Marchand is stepping away from the Florida Panthers to help a friend whose daughter died of cancer last week. Marchand on Wednesday night served as a guest coach for the under-18 March and Mill Co Hunters in his hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in place of friend J.P. MacCallum. Marchand is a co-owner of the team. The game was a fundraiser for the family after the loss of 10-year-old Selah Panacci-MacCallum and included a raffle for an autographed Marchand jersey. “Please join us in celebrating an amazing night at the rink made possible by the ongoing giving nature of a 10-year-old girl that loved the game with all her [heart],” Marchand wrote on Instagram. Marchand missed Florida’s game on Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks. Coach Paul Maurice expects him to be available when the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champions face the Dallas Stars tomorrow.

title: SPORTS BRIEFS


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MISCOUNT?  The US president said that he had instructed the US Department of Defense to start testing nuclear weapons on an equal basis with other nations

US President Donald Trump yesterday said that he had ordered the Pentagon to start nuclear weapons testing on a level with China and Russia — just minutes before opening a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).

The move came after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said that Moscow had successfully tested a nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered underwater drone, in defiance of Washington’s warnings.

“Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to the US Department of Defense.

An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile flies during a test at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Feb. 5, 2020. An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile flies during a test at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Feb. 5, 2020.

Trump wrote that the US has more nuclear weapons than any other country, praising his own efforts to do “a complete update and renovation of existing weapons.”

“Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within five years,” he added.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) says that nine states possess nuclear weapons: Russia, the US, China, France, the UK, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea.

Of the roughly 12,331 nuclear warheads ICAN counts, more than 5,500 belong to Russia while the US owns 5,044.

Trump offered no details of the precise nature of the testing to be undertaken, but said the process would “begin immediately.”

Putin on Wednesday announced the successful testing of a nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered underwater drone, the second weapons test in days.

In televised remarks broadcast from a military hospital treating Russian soldiers wounded in Ukraine, Putin said there was “no way to intercept” the uncrewed drone torpedo dubbed Poseidon.

Poseidon can travel faster than conventional submarines, dive deep and reach any continent in the world, he said.

After a first test of a cruise missile on Sunday, Trump chided Putin saying he ought to end the war in Ukraine “instead of testing missiles.”

Between 1945 — with the first-ever atomic bomb test in New Mexico on July 16 — and 1992, the US has conducted 1,054 nuclear tests and carried out two nuclear attacks on Japan during World War II.

The most recent US nuclear test explosion was in September 1992, with a 20-kiloton underground detonation at the Nevada Nuclear Security Site.

In October 1992, then-US president George H.W. Bush imposed a moratorium on further tests, which was continued by successive administrations.

Nuclear testing was replaced by non-nuclear and subcritical experiments using advanced computer simulations.

title: Trump orders nuclear testing restart


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UNCERTAIN TOLLS:  Images on social media showed small protests that escalated, with reports of police shooting live rounds as polling stations were targeted

Tanzania yesterday was on lockdown with a communications blackout, a day after elections turned into violent chaos with unconfirmed reports of many dead.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan had sought to solidify her position and silence criticism within her party in the virtually uncontested polls, with the main challengers either jailed or disqualified.

In the run-up, rights groups condemned a “wave of terror” in the east African nation, which has seen a string of high-profile abductions that ramped up in the final days.

People read a voters’ roll at the Kisangani voting center in Kigoma, Tanzania, on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

A heavy security presence on Wednesday failed to deter hundreds protesting in economic hub Dar es Salaam and elsewhere, some singing: “We want our country back.”

Unverified images on social media showed initially small protests escalated during the day with reports of police responding with live fire as protesters targeted polling stations, police vehicles and businesses connected to the ruling party.

A diplomatic source told reporters that the unrest continued into the night despite a curfew imposed by police.

An Internet blackout was still in place yesterday, while the police and army had set up checkpoints around Dar es Salaam and other cities, the source said.

Schools and colleges were closed, and civil servants told to work from home, a reporter said.

The government has remained silent and the heavily controlled local media made no mention of the unrest, nor provided any update on the election.

There were reports that upward of 30 people might have been killed in Wednesday’s violence, the diplomatic source said, but this could not be verified.

“It’s unprecedented... Where we go from here is unclear,” they said, with Hassan’s status “uncertain.”

Unrest was reported in multiple areas, including Songwe in the west and tourist hub Arusha.

Foreign journalists have been largely banned from traveling to mainland Tanzania to cover the elections.

Much of the anger online has been directed at Hassan’s son, Abdul, who has been in charge of an “informal task force” of police and intelligence services to manage election security, online publication Africa Intelligence reported.

The task force is blamed for a massive increase in abductions of government critics in the last days before the vote, including a popular social media influencer, Niffer, who was accused of promoting protests with jokey videos about selling masks.

Samia Suluhu Hassan has faced opposition from parts of the army and allies of her predecessor, former Tanzanian president John Magufuli, since coming to power, analysts said.

Amnesty International on Wednesday said that it had documented “two reported deaths” from social media images and videos.

Amnesty International labeled the violence “deeply disturbing,” warning that the “risk of further escalation is high” as it urged restraint from authorities.

A member of opposition party Chadema told reporters that they had reports of at least four deaths, but added that they were “not certain” of the figures.

Samia Suluhu Hassan came to power in 2021, elevated from vice president on the sudden death of Magufuli.

She faced internal opposition as the country’s first female leader, but was feted by rights groups for easing restrictions on the opposition and media.

Those hopes faded as she oversaw a crackdown described by Amnesty International as a “wave of terror,” including “enforced disappearance and torture ... and extrajudicial killings of opposition figures and activists.”

Her main challenger, Tundu Lissu, is on trial for treason, facing a potential death penalty and his party, Chadema, is banned from running for office.

The only other serious candidate, Luhaga Mpina of ACT-Wazalendo, was disqualified on technicalities.

title: Tanzania faces chaos after vote


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In the north coast parish of St Ann, almost all residents are without power — and many of them woke up without a roof over their heads after Hurricane Melissa tore through Jamaica, downing trees, utility poles and anything else in its path.

Fisherman George “Larry” Brown of the community of Priory said that the morning was quiet on the day of the storm.

“Just a little rain,” the 68-year-old said.

A man cycles through a destroyed neighborhood in Black River, Jamaica, on Wednesday following the passage of Hurrican Melissa. Photo: AFP

However, by 5pm on Tuesday, the rain and wind gusts grew heavy and soon his roof peeled away, he said.

“I just heard a sound, and it just started to tear off,” Brown said.

He described Melissa as the worst storm he has ever experienced.

A combination photograph shows satellite images of the Barnett River before Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Sept. 24, top, and after the storm. Photo: Satellite image 2025 Vantor / Handout via Reuters

Hurricane Melissa smashed into Jamaica as a ferocious top-level storm, with sustained winds peaking at 298kph while drenching the Caribbean nation with torrential rain.

“Gilbert is no match to this,” Brown said, referring to the 1988 hurricane referred to by many Jamaicans as a benchmark for devastation.

Hurricane Melissa tied the 1935 record for the most intense storm ever to make landfall, according to an analysis of meteorological data by Agence France-Presse — on a par with a hurricane that devastated the Florida Keys 90 years ago.

Brown’s neighbor Kayan Davis, a mother of three who said her roof lifted off sometime after 11pm, said she has been left temporarily homeless.

“I have no where to sleep... I am going to have to contact the authorities,” Davis said.

Marvin Thomas, another resident of Priory, suffered the same fate when a tree fell on his home at about 8pm.

“The tree dropped ... and the housetop started to demolish,” he said. “I had to run out and go to a friend’s home.”

The hurricane also brought extensive damage to infrastructure across Trelawny, including William Knibb High School, the alma mater of legendary Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt, Trelawny Police Chief Velonique Campbell said.

Campbell and a team of 30 officers were seen with machetes and chainsaws clearing blocked roadways across the parish.

“We noticed that quite a few trees have been displaced in the main road and we wanted to ensure that the main road is kept clear as there will be aid and other supplies coming in,” Campbell said.

title: Big storm upends life for Jamaicans


title: Vietnam floods kill 10 as river hits 60-year levels

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Flooding in Vietnam has killed at least 10 people this week as the water level of a major river near tourist landmarks reached a 60-year high, authorities said yesterday.

Vietnam’s coastal provinces, home to UNESCO world heritage site Hoi An ancient town, have been pummeled by heavy rain since the weekend, with a record of up to 1.7m falling over 24 hours.

At least 10 people have been killed, while eight others are missing, the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said.

People paddle in boats along a flooded street in Hoi An, Vietnam, yesterday. Photo: AFP

More than 128,000 houses in five central provinces have been inundated, with water 3m deep in some areas.

People waded through waist-deep water in the flooded streets of Hoi An yesterday and the ground floors of shops were submerged, a journalist said.

Several kilometers of roads have been damaged or blocked by flooding and landslides this week, with more than 5,000 hectares of crops destroyed and more than 16,000 cattle dead, the ministry said.

Flood levels at a measuring station on the Thu Bon River, which flows through Danang and empties into the sea at Hoi An, “surpassed the historic level in 1964 by 4cm, reaching 5.62m” late on Wednesday, the national weather bureau said.

“Normally the flooding lasts only three days and then we can start cleaning up,” Danang resident Le Thi Thi said. “I don’t think I ever experienced this prolonged and terribly high flooding in my life.”


title: Australian passenger on cruise left behind, dies

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An 80-year-old cruise passenger has been found dead on a Great Barrier Reef island, a day after she was accidentally abandoned there by the ship’s crew.

The passenger’s daughter Katherine Rees yesterday accused the cruise company, Coral Expeditions, of a “failure of care and common sense” that left her mother, Suzanne Rees, to die alone.

Suzanne Rees, a Sydney resident, was on the second day of a cruise circumnavigating Australia when she disembarked the Coral Adventurer on Saturday last week at Lizard Island. She planned to hike with other passengers to a mountain lookout.

The view from a beachfront suite at the luxury resort Lizard Island, Queensland, Nov. 18, 2017. Photo: AP

The ship left the resort island about five hours before reporting her missing late on Saturday, officials said.

“We are shocked and saddened that the Coral Adventurer left Lizard Island after an organized excursion without my mum,” Katherine Rees, who also lives in Sydney, said in a statement. “From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense. We understand from the police that it was a very hot day, and Mum felt ill on the hill climb. She was asked to head down, unescorted. Then the ship left, apparently without doing a passenger count. At some stage in that sequence, or shortly after, Mum died, alone.”

The crew of a search helicopter spotted Suzanne Rees’ body the next day about 50m off the hiking trail to the lookout, The Australian newspaper reported.

She appeared to have fallen from a cliff or slope, the newspaper said.

Katherine Rees said she hoped a coroner’s inquiry would “find out what the company should have done that might have saved Mum’s life.”

Police said in a statement a coroner would investigate the “non-suspicious death.”

The coroner’s court also confirmed that the death had been referred for investigation.

Coral Expeditions chief executive officer Mark Fifield said his company was fully cooperating with an official investigation.

He said it would be inappropriate to comment while those investigations were under way.

“We have expressed our heartfelt condolences to the Rees family and remain deeply sorry that this has occurred,” Fifield said in a statement.


title: World News Quick Take

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CHINA

Space mission to launch

The crew for the nation’s next crewed flight to its space station would include its youngest astronaut to undertake a space mission, as well as four lab mice, authorities said yesterday. The Tiangong space station is crewed by teams of three astronauts that are exchanged every six months. The Shenzhou-21 mission is to blast off today at 11:44pm from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China Manned Space Agency spokesman Zhang Jingbo (張靜波) said. Flight engineer Wu Fei (武飛), who has just turned 32, is set to become the youngest Chinese astronaut to undertake a space mission, authorities said. “I feel incomparably lucky,” Wu told reporters. “Being able to integrate my personal dreams into the glorious journey of China’s space program is the greatest fortune this era has bestowed upon me.” He would be commanded by veteran space pilot Zhang Lu (張陸), 48, who took part in the Shenzhou-15 mission more than two years ago. Payload specialist Zhang Hongzhang (張洪章), 39, makes up the third member of the crew. Also along for the ride are four mice — two male and two female — which would be the subjects of the nation’s first in-orbit experiments on rodents, Zhang Jingbo said. Zhang Lu said he was confident his team would “report back to our motherland and its people with complete success.”

PAKISTAN

Peace talks to restart

Islamabad and Kabul would restart peace talks in Istanbul, Turkey, three sources familiar with the matter said yesterday, a day after Islamabad said the discussions had ended in failure. Two of the sources said the nations had agreed to recommence talks at the request of host nation Turkey. Negotiation teams from both countries are in Istanbul, two of the sources said.

TURKEY

Building collapses

A seven-story apartment building in Gebze collapsed early on Wednesday, trapping a family of five under the rubble and killing four of them. State-run TRT news channel identified those who died as members of the Bilir family: father Levent, 43, mother Emine, 37, daughter Hayrunnisa, 14, and son Muhammed Emir, 12. Rescue personnel saved the eldest sibling, 18-year-old Dilara Bilir, and recovered the bodies of the younger children by Wednesday evening, but the search for the parents continued. Deputy Minister of the Interior Mehmet Aktas yesterday told reporters that the bodies of the parents were recovered overnight. While state-run Anadolu Agency said that the cause of the collapse was unknown, Gebze Mayor Zinnur Buyukgoz suggested to local media that the cause might be related to nearby metro construction.

FRANCE

Louvre suspect arrested

A third suspect has been arrested in connection with a robbery at the Louvre in Paris, TV station BFM reported yesterday. The arrest happened in the Paris region late on Wednesday, BFM said, adding that the man is suspected of being at the crime scene when the heist took place. Four hooded thieves stole jewels from the Louvre’s Apollo gallery, home to the French Crown Jewels, during opening hours on the morning of Oct. 19. Two men arrested last weekend on suspicion of breaking into the museum through an upstairs window and stealing the precious pieces have “partially admitted” their involvement in the heist, the Paris prosecutor said on Wednesday. The jewels remain missing.


title: Against the algorithm: updating  a Taiwan guidebook

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Contributing travel writer Steven Crook writes about new additions to the guidebook and talks about why some people prefer a hard copy over digital

When Taiwan was battered by storms this summer, the only crumb of comfort I could take was knowing that some advice I’d drafted several weeks earlier had been correct.

Regarding the Southern Cross-Island Highway (南橫公路), a spectacular high-elevation route connecting Taiwan’s southwest with the country’s southeast, I’d written: “The precarious existence of this road cannot be overstated; those hoping to drive or ride all the way across should have a backup plan.”

As this article was going to press, the middle section of the highway, between Meishankou (梅山口) in Kaohsiung and Siangyang (向陽) in Taitung County, was still closed to outsiders as a result of the summer’s havoc.

When you write a guidebook, you have to accept that some of your work will immediately become obsolete. Where there are known unknowns, like the status of the trails and landmarks around Taroko Gorge (太魯閣), hedging language is a necessity.

There’s also the reality that you’re unlikely to make a lot of money. Despite that, when UK-based Bradt Guides (which calls itself “the world’s leading independent travel publisher”) approached me last year, I didn’t hesitate to say yes.

Since the third edition of my Taiwan guidebook appeared back in mid-2019, I’d been gathering snippets of information in the hope I’d get to do an update. (Taiwan: The Bradt Travel Guide came out at the start of 2011; the second edition reached bookstores in mid-2014.)

I was thrilled to get the request, and also somewhat surprised. Since the end of the pandemic, Taiwan hasn’t exactly been inundated by foreign tourists. The picture looks a bit brighter now than it did at the start of this year, but 2025’s total isn’t likely to be much above 9.5 million, compared to 2019’s 11.86 million.

But that wasn’t the only reason. When I told an old acquaintance that I’d signed the updating contract, he was taken aback. “Next, I suppose, you’ll try to invent a better fax machine,” he quipped.

As far as many travelers are concerned, the kind of books that made Lonely Planet famous throughout the English-speaking world have gone the way of the fax machine. In this age of dynamic information resources like Google Maps, they do seem quaint. Guidebooks can’t tell you if a road like the Southern Cross-Island Highway is open today, and you can be sure much of the price information will be out of date. Even so, there’s still meaningful demand for them. Between now and the end of next year, Bradt plans to publish 45 titles, including brand-new guides to Afghanistan and Mauritania.

KEEPING THE FORMAT ALIVE

I make near-daily use of online travel information, and when going to unfamiliar places I don’t always carry a guidebook. But I don’t want them to disappear, so when I see tourists carrying old-school physical guidebooks, I try to find out why the format appeals to them, in the hope I’ll learn something that can be applied to my own book.

Some say they use guidebooks not so much for their hotel and restaurant listings as for the culture, fauna/flora and politics backgrounders. I like to think that, for most people visiting Taiwan, the history segment in my own book (from the island’s prehistory to the fizzle of this year’s recall campaign in just over 7,300 words) is both sufficient and engrossing.

An encouraging answer came from a thirty-something man toting The Rough Guide to Taiwan. He told me that just as he avoids overwhelming restaurant menus — preferring to walk out if there are 50-plus options — he doesn’t want to sift through blogs, social media posts, videos and official Web sites. He’d rather outsource that work.

Overhauling a guidebook is much easier than writing one from scratch, but a few numbers should give you an idea of how extensively I’ve revised mine. In terms of word count, it’s almost exactly the same — but 69 percent of the places to stay and 57 percent of the places to eat/drink didn’t appear in the previous edition. I’ve asked Bradt’s cartographer to make 489 changes to the book’s 32 maps.

Some of the businesses I’ve kept from previous editions have been rebranded under new ownership. One restaurant in the north hasn’t changed hands, yet the word “Beijing” is now conspicuously absent from its signage and menu. All the staff could tell me was that the boss decided to make this change a couple of years ago.

While updating the listings, I also noticed that many public facilities and private businesses now operate for fewer hours per week, compared to before the pandemic. I’d like to think this is because Taiwanese value their work-life balance more than they used to, but everyone tells me it’s actually a consequence of labor shortages. At the same time, it was interesting to note that high-speed train fares haven’t budged, and the cost of bus travel has hardly risen.

SOME IN, SOME OUT

At the outset, the publisher instructed me to make the fourth edition neither longer nor shorter than its predecessor (176,000 words, give or take). Adding 60-plus new attractions therefore meant excising some which appeared in the first, second and third editions.

My wife alerted me to Chan Jishan Xianfo Temple (禪機山仙佛寺) in Nantou County. I was hesitant to add yet another place of worship, but the Japanese character of this “forest shrine” is quite irresistible, and it makes for a good detour if driving from Taichung to Sun Moon Lake. Another excellent (and newly added) journey breaker is the very short trail up Dashibi Hill (大石鼻山), right beside the Hualien-Taitung coast road.

As for places good to visit when the weather is bad, the new edition includes the Railway Department Park (鐵道部園區) and Taiwan Hakka Museum (臺灣客家文化館). I wrote about the former for the March 19, 2021 issue of this newspaper (“A celebration of railway history in the heart of Taipei”). The latter is in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼).

I hope every foreign visitor can see the country’s south and east, but I’m aware that many lack the time or inclination to travel far from Taipei. So I could expand coverage of Xinbeitou (新北投) and Tamsui (淡水), I dropped any mention of the excellent but inconveniently located museums at Academia Sinica.

One loyal reader insisted that I find space for the Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park (白色恐怖景美紀念園區). I did that, and also wrote a paragraph about the Taiwan New Cultural Movement Memorial Museum (臺灣新文化運動紀念館). The latter doesn’t make as deep an impression as the Jing-Mei site (or the National Human Rights Museum’s other outpost on Green Island) but if you’re walking from a metro station to Dihua Street (迪化街), you might as well take a look.

For a small number of timeless attractions, such as Longshan Temple (龍山寺) in Lukang (鹿港), it wasn’t necessary to change a single word when updating the guidebook. That’s more than can be said for the shrine’s Google Maps listing, which shows its name in Dutch (Lukang Drakenbergtempel) rather than English. This must have left a few tourists scratching their heads.

I’m not saying my book is going to be flawless. Defects will become obvious as soon as it hits the shelves in late spring, I’m sure. Fans of Taiwanese tea won’t find much in it. Readers will notice that I’m far more interested in architecture, industrial heritage, religious culture and trains than I am in oolong. Being a guidebook author is akin to being a museum curator: You’re selecting, rejecting and interpreting — and praying that others find the results fascinating.

taiwan-subdivisions: 銅鑼 淡水 北投 新北 梅山 鹿港


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RESTAURANT REVIEW: Shao Shao Ke: good, honest Shaanxi cookingIt’s not glamorous, it’s not sexy — but it’s humble, homely cooking, offering a regional cuisine rarely explored in Taipei

Shao Shao Ke (勺勺客) specializes in Shaanxi cuisine, China’s arid, north-western province home to Xian and the Terracotta Warriors. As the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, it straddles the border between eastern China’s shiny metropolises and western China’s nomadic living and Uighur culture.

It’s where tangy vinegar and familiar Chinese flavors meet the spice and warmth of Muslim-minority cooking, adding rich cumin, juicy lamb and Central Asian spices to a melting pot of a cuisine.

Admittedly, I’d never heard of Shao Shao Ke, having rarely encountered Shaanxi cuisine in Taipei — bar a night market Rou Jia Mo (肉夾饃) — but I’m led here by a friend visiting from Ho Chi Minh City. On her second trip to Taipei, this is a restaurant she “had to come back to.”

I call to make a reservation and receive an audible sigh on the other end of the phone. I apologize to the weathered old boss for the imposition.

But, I’ve heard if you don’t make a reservation, you will encounter the same disgruntled huffing and puffing at the door. It’s all part of the charm. And this place does fill up, remarkably busy for a Wednesday evening in torrential rain.

I arrive at the restaurant and it’s like a time vortex to the 1990s. It reminds me of a Taiwanese Grandma’s house with kitsch Lunar New Year decorations, mismatched old chairs in faded primary colors and a dog-eared, laminated book of a menu that looks like it’s seen every service of the past two decades. Don’t even dare to dream of ambient lighting or background music.


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Although it drags in the middle, director Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest collab with Emma Stone has an immense payoff in the end

The twisted filmography of Yorgos Lanthimos has by now trained us to expect darkly comic visions of contemporary life, both savage and mundane. His movies have perhaps inspired the most “What?!” reactions of the last decade, partly because they’ve tried so hard to do so.

His movies — farces, fables, experiments — reside in surreal worlds of their own. But his latest, Bugonia, is thrillingly, if tragically, tied to our reality. It might even be his best film. Though I’ve been apprehensive about the flamboyant severity of Lanthimos’ movies, I found Bugonia, a chamber-piece gut punch, hard to shake. For starters, it’s difficult to resist any movie with a line in it like: “There’s Andromedan code all over your Instagram.”

That’s one of the things that Teddy (Jesse Plemons), an incel eco-terrorist, says to Michelle (Emma Stone) after kidnapping her with his neurodivergent cousin Donny (newcomer Aidan Delbis) and tying her up in their basement. Teddy and Donny live together in a fairly remote, rundown old house. There, Teddy tends to both his bees and to unhinged conspiracy theories.

But as Plemons so deftly plays him, Teddy doesn’t seem like a lunatic. He might reach wildly insane conclusions, such as that Michelle, a pharmaceutical company chief executive, is an alien. But he’s thoughtful in nature and sweetly cares for his cousin. It’s a feat of Plemons’ innate good nature that we kind of like Teddy, even as he shaves Michelle’s head, to prevent “it,” as he calls her, from contacting the mothership.

The opening moments of the script by Will Tracy (The Menu, episodes of Succession) cast these demented shenanigans in an apocalyptic light. The fate of bees is much on Teddy’s mind; colony collapse disorder, often caused by pesticides, is one of his talking points. It’s a phenomenon that, in Bugonia — a movie reckoning with, or maybe just lamenting, humanity’s fate — isn’t just for the bees.

While Stone’s abilities alone might legitimize extraterrestrial suspicions, there’s more to why Teddy has pinpointed Michelle. She’s a lauded corporate leader; her office includes a framed Time magazine with her on the cover and a photograph with Michelle Obama. Her company, Auxolith, operates out of a sleek office building where Michelle presides over her workforce like a queen bee. She has the corporate lingo of “transparency” and “diversity” down pat, but whether she actually adheres to any of those ideals is dubious, at best. Before Teddy and Donny jump her, she announces a “new era” at Auxolith where employees leave at 5:30pm. But not if they haven’t met their quota, she adds. And not if they’re, you know, busy.

In that way, Michelle is a camera-ready cover for whatever Auxolith is up to, which, as the movie goes along, teases out a poisonous history, including opioid manufacturing that affected Teddy’s mother (Alicia Silverstone).

The bulk of Bugonia is the ideological dialogue between her and Teddy back in the basement. It’s a conversation, laced with contemporary divides, that is comical for its impossibility. One is addled by paranoia and extremism, the other knows only heartless corporate speak. Understanding each other is futile. Watching Stone, as Michelle, attempt to reason with Teddy is part of the movie’s dark fun, just as is seeing Plemons’ Teddy resolutely stick to his certainty that Michelle is part of an alien infiltration of Earth that he wants gone by the next lunar eclipse.

The source of such a wild narrative can only come, of course, from South Korea. Bugonia is loosely based on the 2003 Korean film Save the Green Planet! All of Lanthimos’ most notable films before have been written with either Efthimis Filippou (Dogtooth, The Lobster) or Tony McNamara (Poor Things, The Favorite). But, otherwise, Bugonia has the feel of a quick follow-up to last year’s Kinds of Kindness, a black-comedy triptych also led by Stone and Plemons.

Yet what could easily be mistaken for a tossed-off, in-between movie — there are only a handful of characters and a few scene locations — ends up feeling like a culmination-slash-nadir for Lanthimos. Having made a dozen films darkly satirizing the sad, primal folly of humankind, it’s comeuppance time in Bugonia.

The movie drags in the middle, when it’s locked in a prisoner drama that grows a little tiresome and predictable. But the payoff is immense. Teddy calls his torture chamber “the headquarters of the human resistance.” By the time Bugonia reaches its unforgettable finale, it’s made chillingly clear just how feeble any such movement might be, and the movie’s apocalyptic air of resignation, of fait accompli, sounds a chastening death knell.

title: ‘Bugonia’ is a darkly comic gut punch


content_text:
Last week, Graham Platner, a progressive Democrat running for the US Senate in Maine, responded to a burst of online criticism by doing something few candidates for high office are ever required to do: he posted a topless photo of himself on the Internet.

It was an unusual moment in a campaign that had so far gone his way. Platner had won praise from progressives and secured the backing of Bernie Sanders. But his campaign came unstuck when a video surfaced of him dancing in his underwear at his brother’s wedding — and revealing a skull-and-crossbones tattoo on his chest. The design, known as the Totenkopf, is widely recognized as a Nazi symbol.

Platner insists he had no idea of its associations when he got the tattoo, drunk, while stationed in Croatia during his 20s as a marine. After learning of its meaning, he says, he covered it with a new design — a Celtic cross and a dog — and released the topless photo to prove it.

In this photo provided by WGME, Graham Platner, a democratic candidate for US Senate, on Oct. 22 points to a cover-up tattoo that had previously been an image recognized as a Nazi symbol, during an interview in Portland, Maine. Photo: AP

ERASING THE PAST

It’s a strange campaign story, but not all that uncommon. Across the country, tattoo artists and laser removal technicians regularly see clients who are trying to erase far-right symbols from their bodies.

There a number of national non-profits that help people remove their hate-based tattoos. The California-based Jails to Jobs, for example, helps formerly incarcerated people rebuild their lives. The group maintains a directory of more than 300 free or low-cost tattoo removal programs across 45 states and several countries and publishes a how-to manual for communities hoping to start their own.

Not everyone who seeks their services has tattoos linked to white supremacy. Some are survivors of trafficking, domestic violence or gang coercion. But many prison tattoos still bear the marks of racist ideology: swastikas, lightning bolts or coded runes that declare allegiance to neo-Nazi groups.

The Anti-Defamation League has cataloged hate symbols since 2000 through its Hate on Display database, which is now more than 50 pages long.

Kate Widener, an advanced aesthetician and owner of Undo Tattoo and Laser in Gresham, Oregon, averages about 70 tattoo removals a week. Of these, she wagers “25 percent” are part of her free removal program.

“Everyone deserves a second chance,” she said. “I’ve seen it all, including some pretty bad ones. But they just pop in, pop out, and soon it’s gone.”

Some of Widener’s clients say they are coming in only out of discretion — they are still racist, but don’t want their co-workers to know.

“I have one guy who comes in only for the tattoos on his face, and he’s keeping the rest from his neck down,” she says. “Thirty-plus [swastikas] on his neck all the way down. So there are a lot of people hiding who they really are.”

“There’s a big concern of: [are they] changing or hiding?” said Dustin Ortel, who oversees the free Ink-nitiative program at Removery, another national tattoo-removing chain. Since 2020, people every year submit applications — bolstered by letters of recommendations from parole officers or counselors — and about 300 are chosen for the procedure.

Ortel says he is a good judge of character and helps people who are genuinely changing.

“I have a great gut feeling, and going through our paperwork and seeing the advocate letters, you really get to see where the person is coming from compared to the markings on their skin.”

Before each session, Ortel listens to a person’s story, what led them to get the tattoo and how they changed their mind. These conversations are always emotional: “I cry with people.”

Widener, in Oregon, does not require people to apply for her free removal.

“It’s invasive, and I don’t like that,” she says. “I’m confidential and judgment-free. As long as you say, ‘Please help me,’ I’ll talk.”

That makes her pretty popular, with people driving hours to see her, coming form as far away as Idaho or Seattle.

INTIMATE PROCESS

Removing or covering up someone’s tattoos is always an intimate process. It requires close contact. “A lot of people talk about themselves,” Widener said. “I’ll get a vibe if they’re doing this for the right reasons, or maybe not the right reasons, and that makes me more leery of them.”

Still, most people are “pretty nice” and many are grateful. And, ultimately, Widener is in control during the experience: “They know that I control a laser that can cause a lot of harm to them.”

What makes people change their beliefs?

“Sometimes, it’s because they fall in love,” Widener said. “I have clients who were white supremacists and then they fall for a person of color.”

One of her clients was brought up in a racist family and never questioned their beliefs — until he began an interracial relationship.

“She kind of opened his eyes to other things,” Widener said. “He’s my favorite. He comes every six weeks like clockwork to get his tattoo removed, and he cries at every point to tell me how it changed his life. He has a child now, and he would like to put something over that to honor his mixed son.”

After the white nationalist rallies in Charlottesville in 2017, interest in hate tattoo-removing services rose, with some people who had previously been affiliated with far-right groups wanting to distance themselves as the groups became emboldened. Three years later, after the murder of George Floyd and international protests against police violence, NPR pointed to an increased interest in tattoo removal. For some, the ebb-and-flow popularity of these services shows a pattern: when hate crimes hit the headlines, more people who have left a racist past behind urgently feel the need to rid themselves of such reminders.

But lately, Widener says interest in her free program among people with hate tattoos has cooled. She blames the administration of US President Donald Trump. Before Trump was in office, Widener had “a lot more people” coming in to erase a white supremacist past.

“Then once [Trump was re-elected], I had someone who called me and told me they no longer need to remove it.” (Still, Undo Tattoo’s free removal program is fully booked until December.)

Three other people involved in free tattoo removal or cover-up programs said they had not noticed a decline in clients due to Trump’s administration. Lorenzo Diaz, an artist at Ruby Tattoo in Marine City, Michigan, has covered up hateful ink for the past 17 years.

“I have at least three, maybe four a week. They’re usually pretty big, dark pieces.”

So far, Widener does not turn away clients — but she could change her mind in the future.

“I thought about certain situations, because at some point, ICE officers are going to start throwing little symbols around,” she said. “I’ve personally seen in my own neighborhood how they hurt people. I’m still judgment-free, letting everyone come in, but I don’t know what the future holds.”

title: Tattoo fixers on removing Nazi symbols


content_text:
SPEAK UP: Fans celebrate 70 years of Jin Yong’s ‘wuxia’ world (2/2) 金庸武俠世界70週年（下）

A: Apart from Jin Yong, the late martial arts novelists Liang Yusheng and Gu Long were also very popular.

B: Wasn’t Liang a pioneer of the “new school” wuxia genre in the 20th century?

A: Yup, I really like his Tianshan mountain series. All the characters — such as the “White Haired Demoness” — are so vivid.

Brigitte Lin, left, and Leslie Cheung in a still from 1993 film “The Bride with White Hair.” 林青霞（左）、張國榮1993年《白髮魔女傳》劇照。 Photo: Hong Kong’s Sing Pao照片：香港《成報》提供

B: The roles in Gu’s books are lively, too — like the “Fragrant Commander” Chu Liuxiang.

A: And the TV drama adapted from the Chu Liuxiang series swept across Taiwan in the 1980s, with ratings surging over 70 percent at that time.

A: 除了金庸外，已故武俠大師梁羽生、古龍也很受歡迎！

B: 梁羽生不是20世紀「新派」武俠文體的創始人嗎？

A: 對，我喜歡他的天山系列，書中的「白髮魔女」等角色都很生動鮮明。

B: 古龍筆下的「香帥」楚留香等人物也都栩栩如生。

A: 楚留香系列改編的電視劇在1980年代席捲全台，收視率更突破70％呢。

（By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）

For your information Language Tip 語文小提示 genre 文體、（文藝）作品類型1: a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content 2: kind, sort 3: painting that depicts scenes or events from everyday life usually realistically


title: 衛星拍「台灣高清照」　陸國防部一句話回：大驚小怪

countries: 台灣 中國

content_text:
▲中國吉林一號衛星釋出多張台灣高清照。（圖／翻攝自微博）

記者許力方／綜合報導

中國長光衛星公司在「台灣光復紀念日」當天，釋出多張「吉林一號」所拍攝的太空俯瞰台灣衛星高清照片，中國國防部發言人張曉剛對此僅回應一句話，「沒什麼好大驚小怪」。

中國國防部30日的例行記者會，21個提問中有5個問題與台海相關。有媒體提問，近日，全國人大設立「台灣光復紀念日」，當天商業衛星「吉林一號」即公布了台灣高清衛星照片，街道清晰可見，想必「軍用衛星」更清晰。

張曉剛回應說，「中國的衛星看看中國台灣的大好河山很正常，沒有什麼好大驚小怪的。」對此，《澎湃新聞》報導，有長期關注航太技術發展的專家指，中國商業衛星空間解析度已經達到0.5公尺的水平，可以分辨坦克、裝甲車等目標，「商業衛星有這個能力，那軍用衛星如何？」


title: 遇見對的人是什麼感覺？4個特徵告訴你　那份安心其實早已出現

content_text:
▲遇見對的人是什麼感覺？4個特徵告訴你。（示意圖／IG）

記者鮑璿安／綜合報導

在感情的路上，我們或許都曾迷惘：什麼是「對的人」？不是完美無缺、也不是一見鍾情，而是一種讓你願意慢下來、開始相信幸福可能的感覺。當你遇見真正適合的人，身心都會出現某些微妙變化，那是心動與平靜共存的狀態。以下四個特徵，是許多人在遇見「對的人」時共同的感受。

一、相處時很放鬆，不用假裝也能被理解

對的人，讓你不再需要隱藏，即使最糟糕的一面被看到，也不會感到羞愧或害怕被評價。你可以做自己，對方依然選擇留在身邊。這種放鬆感是一種深層的安全感，像一個「心靈避風港」，讓你卸下防備，真正地呼吸。

二、爭吵也不怕，因為彼此願意溝通

每段關係都會有摩擦，但當你遇見對的人，爭執不再是破壞，而是讓關係更堅固的機會。你們會願意理解彼此的出發點，而不是急著贏。這樣的互動背後，是兩個人都在為關係努力的誠意。

三、未來的想像裡自然有他／她

你不需要刻意規劃或強迫對方融入生活——未來的畫面裡，他（她）自然而然就會出現。從旅行計畫、家庭構想到生活細節，這份「想一起走下去」的意願，正是愛情穩定的象徵。

四、即使不說話，也覺得舒服

沉默時不尷尬，反而覺得安心，真正的連結不是靠話語堆砌，而是透過眼神、微笑和存在感交流。這份默契讓彼此之間有了穩定的能量流動，也讓愛變得柔軟而真實。


taiwan-subdivisions: 北區 南區 中區 高雄

content_text:
▲綜合所得稅申報示意照。（圖／記者林敬旻攝）

記者陳瑩欣／台北報導

今年5、6月申報的113年度綜合所得稅第2批退稅款今（31）日入帳，財政部統計有9.2萬人符合領錢資格，總退稅款15.4億元。

財政部說明，綜所稅第2批退稅適用對象有3類，若符合退稅資格，今日即可入帳：

第1、以二維條碼或人工申報方式的退稅案件；

第2、今年5月10日前以書面方式向非戶籍所在地稽徵機關確認的稅額試算退稅案件；

第3、在5月10日以後，以書面方式確認的稅額試算退稅案件。

依照財政資訊中心資料顯示，113年度第2批綜所稅交查核定案件共9萬2071件，退稅總金額15億3596萬元；補稅件數共1495件、補稅金額約1億1575萬元。

5區國稅局中，以北區國稅局退稅件數3萬3822件最多，退稅款達5.18億元；其次是台北國稅局退稅1萬8618件，退稅款5.11億元；中區國稅局退稅1萬7019件，退稅金額2.15億元；南區國稅局退稅1萬1513件，金額1.44億元；高雄國稅局退稅件數雖為1萬1099件最少，但退稅金額1.47億元反超車南區國稅局。

title: 9.2萬人領錢！　綜所稅第2批退稅款15.4億元今入帳


content_text:
記者蘇晟彥／綜合報導

近年以《女鬼橋》系列殺出一片天的大宇資訊， 30日宣布恐怖宇宙最終章《伊藤潤二狂熱：無盡的囹圄》將於11月12日正式上市，大宇資訊也指出，這將會是恐怖系列作品的最後一部作品，未來暫時不會研發恐怖類型作品，也意味粉絲期待的《女鬼橋3》確定不會問世。

《伊藤潤二狂熱：無盡的囹圄》改編自 Netflix 動畫《伊藤潤二狂熱：日本恐怖故事》，為首款伊藤潤二正式授權的第一人稱恐怖遊戲。玩家將親自踏入被詛咒的洋樓，在「無處可逃」的壓迫氛圍中直面經典伊藤式恐懼。《伊藤潤二狂熱：無盡的囹圄》自限時試玩版（Demo）公開以來，於全球 Steam 社群獲得強烈迴響，玩法、美術、敘事與沉浸感皆獲高度肯定，在Steam上全球各地區的願望清單數更是於新品節時獲得爆量性增長。

對此，大宇資訊也指出，雖然在恐怖遊戲打造出一條新的路線，但無論是《女鬼橋 開魂路》、《女鬼橋二 釋魂路》與《咒》在內等，都不會再有延伸作品與續作，將透過《伊藤潤二狂熱：無盡的囹圄》劃下一系列恐怖遊戲的震撼句點，這不僅是製作團隊最後一舞，更是作為「恐怖宇宙」的極致總結與最終告白。

對此，為了讓玩家紀念旅程落幕，將推出全球限量【最終珍典收藏紀念包】，內含多款大宇資訊自研恐怖/驚悚相關作品的 Steam 兌換序號與實體紀念周邊，象徵這段恐懼傳承的最終印記，為玩家永存這段獨一無二的恐懼記憶，極具收藏價值，預購資訊將於後續公布。

title: 大宇「不再做恐怖遊戲」　《伊藤潤二狂熱：無盡的囹圄》成最終章


title: 網路瘋傳神秘現象　隔6年再拍握手照「川習一樣高」

people: 川普 習近平

content_text:
▲川習在南韓再次合照。（圖／路透）

網搜小組／許力方報導

「川習會」在南韓APEC峰會中宣告落幕，2人睽違6年見面時立刻握手致意，步出會場後再度握手告別。有不少眼尖網友發現，現場曝光的照片，川習兩人身高竟一樣，驚呼「這是怎麼辦到的？」

美中領導人閉門會談本來預計3、4小時，卻在約1小時40分後結束，習近平上車之後隨著車隊離開，川普則已經搭上空軍一號返回美國，並未舉行聯合記者會。兩人見面時握手低頭私語，但這些尋常的合照卻引起大批網友好奇，驚訝無解的「身高之謎」。

網友回朔2019年大阪G20高峰會時，川普與習近平的合照中，身高190公分明顯高於對方，如今時隔6年再會面，兩人身高幾乎是「齊高」。神秘的長高現象引起中外網友熱烈討論，根據外傳資料顯示，習近平身高約180公分上下，實際身高應該比川普矮至少10公分，網友好奇難道他是穿了「高跟鞋」？

▼2019年大阪G20高峰會川習見面。（圖／達志影像／美聯社）

▼2017年川普與習近平在北京故宮相見。（圖／路透社）


content_text:
▲黃仁勳炸雞高峰會，舉起酒杯致意。（圖／路透）

記者柯振中／綜合報導

輝達（NVIDIA）執行長黃仁勳30日下午入境南韓，並且與三星電子會長李在鎔、現代汽車集團會長鄭義宣一起吃炸雞，引起大量粉絲關注。3人抵達餐廳後邊吃邊聊、現場聚集了大量粉絲，顯得熱鬧非凡，而黃仁勳也毫無架子，不但主動幫忙簽名，甚至還請了媒體、粉絲們吃點心，展現親民作風。

黃仁勳30日下午抵達仁川國際機場，睽違15年再度踏上南韓國土，接著便與李在鎔、鄭義宣到首爾三成站附近的Kkanbu Chicken炸雞店聚餐。

▲▼黃仁勳炸雞高峰會，舉起酒杯致意。（圖／路透）

雖然吃的餐點較為親民，不過餐桌上的3人均是重量級大咖，因此這場餐會又被稱為「炸雞啤酒高峰會」。現場也因此3人的出現，聚集了大量的粉絲、媒體記者。

面對群眾的拍攝，3人並沒有躲閃，而是開心舉起了酒杯，並且面露微笑。黃仁勳更是直接站了起來，舉杯對鏡頭致意，且還請了在場的粉絲、媒體記者吃點心，展現了親民的作風。

據了解，黃仁勳此行預計會宣布NVIDIA與三星、SK及現代汽車、Naver等南韓主要企業在AI半導體的供應合約，且會公開合作細節。

taiwan-subdivisions: 達仁 三星

title: 黃仁勳約吃炸雞現場畫面曝！開心舉杯致意　還請粉絲吃點心


title: 一張圖看這波涼一周　北台再變天！入秋首度「叩關1字頭」

content_text:
▲這波涼空氣較強，東北季風持續一周。（圖／中央氣象署）

記者許力方／台北報導

中央氣象署表示，受鋒面通過及東北季風增強影響，今天（31日）北台灣天氣將再度轉涼，且迎風面北東地區有局部短暫雨，整天氣溫僅約21度至26度，這樣天氣將持續到下周，北台灣天氣較涼，有秋意。

氣象署預報，今天清晨苗栗以北有局部短暫陣雨，花東地區也有零星降雨，其他地區為多雲到晴，白天起鋒面遠離，降雨轉為以迎風面為主，基隆北海岸、大台北山區、東半部地區及恆春半島有局部短暫雨，桃園以北地區及竹苗山區也有零星降雨，其他地區為多雲到晴，午後中南部山區有零星短暫陣雨。北台灣天氣再度轉涼，整天氣溫約21至26度，其他地區早晚也涼，低溫22至24度，白天高溫仍有27至32度。

民間氣象愛好「台灣颱風論壇」表示，東北季風即將再度增強，預報顯示，這一波涼空氣比較強，北部、宜蘭平地將是入秋以來，首度叩關1字頭低溫，周末的北台灣，秋意會頗有感。至於背風面的中南部，影響比較不明顯，白天還是偏暖，但日夜溫差會蠻大的，提醒民眾，雖然天氣好，穿著上仍需多多留意。

天氣風險公司則分析，31日這波東北季風南下以後，估計要持續一周以上，水氣不算太多，期間北部東北部多雲時陰陣雨，發生豪大雨機會不高。中南部與東南部則維持晴時多雲的穩定天氣。

氣溫方面，31日以後北部、東北部高溫維持約24度，僅11月4日（下周二）短暫回升到28度，隨即又下降；低溫在下探20至21度，感受稍冷，中南部與東南部高溫都在29至32度，無明顯變化。

taiwan-subdivisions: 桃園 苗栗 基隆 恆春 宜蘭


title: 王子不倫粿粿　天后闆妹爆料「那群還有一對沒揭露」吸百萬瀏覽

content_text:
▲王子、粿粿婚內出軌。（圖／翻攝自IG）

記者鄒鎮宇／綜合報導

男星王子（邱勝翊）近日因被范姜彥豐指控介入其妻粿粿的婚姻，事件持續引發網友高度關注。就在輿論沸騰之際，被稱為直播界「天花板」的天后闆妹30日晚間於threads發文，透露「其實那群好友．還有一對沒有被爆……唉」，語帶神秘，暗示相關圈內人事還未完全曝光。

這則短短的貼文在5小時內就吸引104萬次瀏覽、1.3萬個讚和近700則留言，討論度爆棚。許多網友留言表示，「要爆就直接爆，不然就是蹭而已」、「吃瓜」、「大家不要忘了『我知道誰懷孕事件喔』」，也有人猜測是否還有其他藝人牽涉其中，甚至懷疑事件背後還有更多隱情。

不少留言對王子身邊的女性友人展開討論，有網友認為近期相關話題太多，直說「最近活網仔真的很忙」。還有人調侃，「原來葛斯齊不是空穴來風啊」。

天后闆妹也親自回覆部分網友留言，面對「闆妹先發不自殺聲明～妳知道的太多了」的玩笑，她回應「我覺得會有第三方自爆」，暗示事件可能還有後續發展。另外，對於朋友留言「吃瓜」留言，她則巧妙地回覆「你明明就知道」。

資深狗仔葛斯齊30日也在社群突爆料，西洋出軌團偷吃的不只有一對，「『西洋出軌團』重點不是一對，而是兩對，堪稱最佳掩護組！藝人時常用假戲真做，假借工作之名，行私慾之實，魚目混珠的手段真的已經過時，這套在大陸看多了。」


title: 用生命故事點亮青年　獨臂籃球員Kevin Atlas來台傳遞希望

people: 廖偉翔 江啟臣

content_text:
▲推動社會共融與運動平權，逢甲大學EMBA學術發展基金會邀美國獨臂球員辦勵志活動。（圖／記者游瓊華攝）

記者游瓊華／台中報導

為推動運動平權與社會共融，逢甲大學EMBA學術發展基金會於10月30日主辦「友善籃框在逢甲」公益籃球活動，邀請美國前NCAA一級獨臂籃球員Kevin Atlas來台，透過其生命故事，向青年學子傳遞正向能量。

活動邀請多位國際球員與談，並由主持人李明依引導，共同探討運動平權的價值。立法院副院長江啟臣、台中市運動局長游志祥與立法委員廖偉翔等人亦出席致意，肯定活動理念。江啟臣更親自換上球鞋參與比賽，以實際行動表達支持。

活動核心人物Kevin Atlas以〈讓夢想無障礙，讓生命投出光〉為題進行勵志演講，分享他自幼失去左臂，卻憑藉努力成為美國頂尖大學籃球員的心路歷程，深刻的生命經驗感動全場。

演講結束後，現場舉行「3對3友善籃球賽」，由國際球員與逢甲大學校隊成員混合組隊參賽，象徵不同背景者之間的「尊重、共融與勇氣」。球賽不僅是體育競技，更成為一場別具意義的生命教育展演。

主辦單位、逢甲大學學術發展基金會董事長黃駿霖表示，此次活動不僅是一場籃球賽，更是一場啟發青年勇氣與行動力的生命教育。基金會期盼能從校園出發，將「友善」的理念推廣至社會，並持續為青年及身心障礙族群搭建實現夢想的橋樑，讓運動平權成為社會共通的語言。


title: 桃青提案所績優提案團隊決選出爐　山腳狗創意奪冠

taiwan-subdivisions: 桃園 大溪

content_text:
▲桃青提案所績優提案團隊決選出爐，由山腳狗創意奪冠。（圖／市府提供）

記者楊淑媛／桃園報導

桃園市政府青年局30日於該局舉行「桃青提案所績優提案團隊決選評比暨成果交流發表會」，經產官學界專家針對10組入圍決選青年團隊當場評審，由山腳狗創意公司，以體驗設計帶動大溪街區再生，拿下第一名並獨得8萬元獎金。

蒞臨成果發表會的市長張善政表示，年輕族群的想法及創意非常豐富，透過「桃青提案所」管道，能讓青年與市府進行交流激盪，針對市政提出創新點子，共同討論可行性及改善方向，讓青年創意得以落實於市政。

青年局表示，本計畫由教育部青年發展署「推動青年參與公共事務深化計畫」補助執行，計畫自7月啟動以來，舉辦提案說明會、設計思考工作坊與業師輔導課程等活動，協助青年深化議題、具體化構想，打造屬於桃園青年的公共行動品牌。

青年局指出，本屆提案以「社會住宅的N種想像」與「舊城創新再造—以大溪老街商圈為例」為主題，吸引近40組團隊報名，經初、複審選出10組入圍決選。在決選中邀請產官學界專家擔任評審，就「市政契合度」、「可行性」、「創新度」及「簡報表現」等項目進行評分，透過專家學者傾聽青年提案，盼能夠讓創意構想有機會納入市府政策，促進跨局處合作與政策創新。


title: 閱之海筆記／五個女人，救不了溥儀的性功能障礙！

taiwan-subdivisions: 滿州 成功

countries: 中國 日本

content_text:
▲溥儀與婉容的合影。（圖／公共版權照片）

作者／馬賽克

大清「末代皇帝」溥儀一生中娶過五個女人，卻始終沒有留下子嗣，殊為怪事。根據歷史資料揭露，主因是他有性功能障礙。但為何會如此，說法很多，其中一說這是先天性的。之二，他被關在蘇聯戰俘營時，他的大臣們向蘇聯爆料：溥儀是同性戀：對象是他的侄子毓喦。

之三，在他的自傳《我的前半生》裡有提到，他十多歲時，服侍他的幾個太監怕他晚上跑出去，而他們自己也很想回家，於是經常找來幾名宮女，在晚上「侍候」他。久而久之，他就「給玩壞了」。

▲文繡穿著朝服的照片。(圖／公共版權照片)

1922年，16歲的溥儀大婚。圈選后妃時，他第一個圈選的是文繡；接著才是婉容。按理說文繡應該是皇后，婉容為貴妃。但文繡樣貌不及婉容（時年17歲）漂亮，結果兩人地位逆轉。這也是溥儀婚姻悲劇的開始。文繡入宮時還未滿13歲。入宫後被封為淑妃，卻一直遭到冷落（據說溥儀從未臨幸過她）。

1931年時文繡終於忍不住了，憤而提出離婚！中國歷史上向來只有皇帝廢后妃；妃子主動提離婚的（而且成功了），還真是史上頭一遭。

不過文繡算是幸福的。婉容雖然早年得到溥儀的偏愛，但她患有遺傳自父親榮源的輕度精神疾病（可能是思覺失調症，又稱精神分裂症），靠鴉片緩解，後來更成了重癮者。加上兩人一直無子、溥儀對文繡提出離婚一事怪罪婉容爭寵、以及婉容反對到東北成立滿州國，兩人關係逐漸惡化。

▲婉容居住天津時所拍的照片。(圖／公共版權照片)

更糟的是，婉容後來跟兩名侍衛私通，並產下一女。據2006年北京再版、把刪去的內容解密後復原的《我的前半生》裡記載：溥儀把婉容生下來的女兒扔進鍋爐裡！此事一直瞞著婉容，溥儀謊稱把她的女兒交給她哥哥聘來的保姆撫養。婉容思女成狂，最後成了瘋子。滿洲國覆滅後，婉容被當地共黨游擊隊俘虜，1946年死於吉林省延吉監獄，下葬地不明，最終連屍骨都找不到。

跟文繡離婚後，溥儀在1937年時續娶了一名妃嬪：後來獲冊封為「祥貴人」的譚玉齡。溥儀十分寵愛她，無奈五年後譚玉齡因傷寒去世，年僅22歲。但她的真正死因始終是個謎。

▲溥儀最愛的女人：譚玉齡。（公共版權照片）

有一種說法是：日本「御醫」吉岡安直中將建議溥儀選一名日本女子入宮，但溥儀因為已選中譚玉齡拒絕了，讓吉岡感到不滿。譚玉齡患有膀胱炎，但在吉岡的一次診治和注射後，不到第二天她就猝死。溥儀一直將譚玉齡的照片帶在身邊，直到1967年逝世；照片背後寫著「我的最親愛的玉齡」字樣。

1943年，15歲中學生李玉琴被滿洲國皇帝溥儀封為福貴人。日本投降後，她跟婉容一起逃亡，被東北抗日聯軍俘獲。後來，在軍隊要求下，她寫下跟溥儀的離婚聲明，家人將她接回長春。1957年5月，兩人正式離婚。溥儀的最後一位妻子李淑賢，是北京市朝陽區一家醫院的外科護士，經媒人介紹後，兩人於1962年結婚。之前她有個兩段婚姻。溥儀是她的第三任丈夫。


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▲行政院副院長鄭麗君說明談判新進展。（圖／記者李毓康攝）

記者董美琪／綜合報導

台美貿易談判持續推進。行政院副院長鄭麗君30日指出，雙方目前正透過書面文件往返討論，希望先就未來協議內容達成初步共識。待亞太經濟合作會議（APEC）結束後，若溝通順利、雙方意見一致，便可展開總結性磋商，朝簽署台美貿易協議邁進。

行政院30日晚間發布新聞稿表示，鄭麗君在經濟部次長何晉滄、勞動部次長陳明仁陪同下，接見全國商業總會理事長許舒博及金商獎中外得獎企業代表。

針對外界關切的關稅談判進度，鄭麗君說明，台灣的談判團隊近來與美國貿易代表署及美國商務部就貿易平衡與供應鏈合作等議題展開深入磋商。現階段的重點，是依據「台灣模式」與美方商討供應鏈合作方案，力爭雙方關稅能相互降低、不重疊原有的最惠國待遇（MFN）稅率，同時爭取超過232項關稅項目的優惠待遇，並為台灣企業赴美投資創造更有利的條件與環境。

她補充，台美雙方10月初已完成第五輪面對面會議，後續又透過視訊持續交流，談判已有具體進展。目前正在以書面方式交換意見，為未來協議鋪路。由於兩國代表團本週均出席APEC會議，預計會後再展開進一步溝通，一旦共識成形，即可啟動最終會商階段，推動貿易協議定案。

至於金商獎企業表現，鄭麗君讚許得主們在各自領域展現卓越能力，並積極響應數位轉型、淨零減碳及企業社會責任等議題。她強調，政府將持續扮演產業後盾，與企業攜手打造創新、共榮、永續的發展環境，讓台灣企業立足本土、放眼國際，並與理念相近的夥伴共同合作，為全球繁榮作出貢獻。

people: 鄭麗君 陳明仁 許舒博

countries: 台灣 美國

title: 台美談判再推進　鄭麗君：APEC一過就可啟動總結會商


countries: 美國 台灣

content_text:
▲黃仁勳兒子黃勝斌：未來的職場競爭，將是「人與懂AI的人之間的競爭」。（左圖翻攝自linkedin／右圖記者林敬旻攝）

記者董美琪／綜合報導

NVIDIA執行長黃仁勳的兒子黃勝斌（Spencer Huang）近年也投入AI產業行列。這位曾在台北開設話題酒吧的創業青年，如今成為輝達機器人產品線經理，日前於美國華府舉行的GTC技術大會（GPU Technology Conference）接受台灣媒體採訪，分享從調酒吧轉向高科技產業的心路歷程。

年約40歲的黃勝斌畢業於紐約大學，主修人工智慧，2022年正式加入輝達。他笑說，過去幾年有時壓力大、有時又覺得輕鬆，因為在公司裡，「老爸是老闆」，但能參與打造具影響力的技術，讓他覺得相當有成就感。

被問到會給年輕人什麼建議時，他語氣堅定地表示：「你必須學會如何善用AI。」他強調，未來的職場競爭，將是「人與懂AI的人之間的競爭」。能掌握AI應用者，就擁有明顯優勢。

黃勝斌指出，電腦科學和程式設計並不會消失，但形式會改變。AI的出現讓多數程式碼能由「AI同事」自動生成，但人類仍需具備整合與思考大型系統的能力。「AI不是來取代你，而是讓你把瑣碎的部分交給機器，專注在創造與決策。」

他也提醒，過去「會寫程式」是進入科技業的門票，現在AI讓每個人都有機會變成程式設計師，這同時意味著更多人能開啟新的職涯道路。「要專注在理解如何駕馭AI，同時紮實掌握基礎科學，像物理學這種根本性的知識永遠不會過時。」

談到個人背景，他透露，高中時期身邊多數朋友都參加機器人社團，他雖興趣廣泛，但始終對分散式運算與雲端技術著迷。即使當年與友人在延吉街經營酒吧時，也沒真正離開科技圈——從店內介面設計、到後台人資與庫存系統，都是他親手打造，甚至會自己去屏東買水果，利用本地食材創新風味。

十年後，變身輝達技術主管的他，專注於雲端原生架構與機器人模擬開發，持續在人工智慧的浪潮中探索新可能。

title: 黃仁勳兒吐心聲：幫老爸工作「有時辛苦」　提醒年輕人一定要學AI


title: 用生命故事點亮青年　獨臂籃球員Kevin Atlas來台傳遞希望

people: 江啟臣 廖偉翔


title: 美女網紅突怒控李雲迪　趁她昏睡「酒店下手」做齷齪事！

content_text:
▲司曉迪在微博發文指控李雲迪做齷齪之事。（圖／翻攝自微博）

記者曾羿翔／綜合報導

知名鋼琴家李雲迪再度成為輿論焦點！大陸美女網紅司曉迪30日突發文指控李雲迪邀請她至一家酒店後，於她服用安眠藥昏睡期間「做齷齪勾當」，隨後又將她聯絡方式拉黑。事件馬上登上微博熱搜，引起許多網友熱議。

司曉迪在文中質問，「你想睡我，把我帶到酒店，趁我吃了安眠藥安靜入睡，但不知道你做了什麼齷齪的勾當，然後又拉黑我是什麼操作？」同時她還向李雲迪喊話，「偉大的鋼琴家，我現在可是一個神經病，別惹我哦寶寶。」

▲事件馬上登上熱搜，引起許多網友熱議。（圖／翻攝自微博）

司曉迪接著繼續罵李雲迪，［我真的很討厭李雲迪了！」甚至氣炸嗆聲，「我給你三分鐘給我一個解釋，這就是鋼琴家的素質嗎？」

據了解，李雲迪於此前因涉嫌嫖妓案在北京遭到拘留，形象受到重大打擊，雖二年前復出巡演試圖重建聲譽，但此次新指控恐令其公眾形象再遭受衝擊。值得注意的是，司曉迪並未明確指出所謂「齷齪勾當」的具體內容，且她在過往曾與多位男星傳出情感糾葛，包括相聲演員秦霄賢、選秀歌手李汶翰等。

目前李雲迪未對此發聲，也尚未有官方單位回應司曉迪的指控，亦無確切證據對外發布，一切仍霧裡看花。

▼李雲迪此前因涉嫌嫖妓案在北京遭到拘留，形象受到重大打擊。（圖／翻攝李雲迪微博）


taiwan-subdivisions: 桃園 苗栗 基隆 恆春 宜蘭

title: 一張圖看這波涼一周　北台再變天！入秋首度「叩關1字頭」


title: 台美談判再推進　鄭麗君：APEC一過就可啟動總結會商

people: 鄭麗君 許舒博 陳明仁


taiwan-subdivisions: 高雄 中區 南區 北區

title: 9.2萬人領錢！　綜所稅第2批退稅款15.4億元今入帳


title: 王子不倫粿粿　天后闆妹爆料「那群還有一對沒揭露」吸百萬瀏覽


title: 遇見對的人是什麼感覺？4個特徵告訴你　那份安心其實早已出現


title: 桃青提案所績優提案團隊決選出爐　山腳狗創意奪冠


title: 特攻「特級玩家GAME START」主題周　進場有機會拿PS5

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▲特攻「特級玩家GAME START」主題周，11月1日、2日登場。（圖／新北中信特攻提供，下圖同）

記者杜奕君／綜合報導

新北中信特攻籃球隊上週末於新莊體育館進行主場開幕週，兩日湧進上萬名球迷進場觀賽，本週末11月1日、2日下一檔主題日「特級玩家GAME START」緊接著登場，「特攻基地」將變成籃球遊戲世界，邀請線人們一起進入特級玩家遊戲！

11月1日、2日，線人們進入新莊體育館「特級玩家GAME START」世界後，將隨機化身為特務軍團－曾文鼎、林韋翰或飛克（Viktor Gaddefors），或是啦啦隊Passion Sisters－桃子或維尼，當然也有最受歡迎的吉祥物－Thunder桑德！玩家化身為Q版角色後，可以沉浸式挑戰各種關卡，集滿所有點數就能成為特級玩家，所選擇的角色都有專屬的限定技能，可以在特定關卡派上用場，等待各位線人玩家進場闖關解鎖。

中信特攻「衝電樂園」搭配不同主題提供不一樣的體驗，除了「Flash Carnival Game－飛向籃筐、滾球遊戲」、「Play with Thunder 氣墊區」持續開放外，「特攻基地」變身籃球遊戲世界，適合所有年齡層一起挑戰的特級玩家主題闖關遊戲「籃球學堂、一箭穿心、得分機器、最強集氣、人球一體、裝備升級」等你來挑戰，集滿點數就有玩家獎勵等著你，集滿3顆星即享有「特務拍貼機」使用資格，集滿6顆星就可以把遊戲角色透卡吊飾帶回家！

11月1日，中信特攻再度邀請兒童界人氣天王「泡泡哥哥」來到特攻主場，不只為小線人們帶來最精彩的帶動唱跳，也會在「FUN電遊行」陪大家開心放電。

11月2日則由中信特攻主持人「比利」發出電玩挑戰令－「NBA 2K26 PK賽」！4位PS女孩－妮可、畇二、曼容、希希將邀約現場球迷與她們組隊，輪流出戰NBA 2K26台灣區排名第15名的比利，有信心幫助女孩們戰勝比利的線人玩家們，趕快手刀買票、提早進場，獲勝就能獲得合照機會喔！

另外，專屬特級玩家的超狂獎勵「PS5 NBA 2K26同捆包」等著你！只要進場參加中場遊戲，第一位投進LOGO SHOT者，即可獲得「PS5 NBA 2K26同捆包」；若當日特攻拿下主場勝利，更將加碼抽出一位當日進場的DYNAMO會員，送出「PS5 NBA 2K26同捆包」！活動兩日14:30-17:00，迴廊也有PS5攤位提供玩家試玩喔！

為精彩賽事應援，當然需要最有活力的啦啦隊！上一賽季榮獲「年度啦啦隊」殊榮的Passion Sisters，本週應援陣容除了桃子、維尼、希希、妮可、畇二、曼容、沛婕、盈瑩和WENDY外，PS新成員－珮含也將在特攻基地初登板，一起為特務軍團全力應援！

11月1日、2日購票進場，就有機會獲得「特級玩家GAME START全角色直尺」乙個，贈品數量有限，建議儘早入場領取。進場後也不怕餓肚子，不論是主食或小吃，甜點炸物和飲品攤商應有盡有，還有「應援長巾專屬美食優惠」，消費時出示特攻專屬應援道具即享有各店家餐點優惠！

顛覆背號T的印象，中信特攻推出新款「DEA選手個人水洗T」，阿巴西、林韋翰、謝亞軒、魏嘉豪和飛克共五款等你收藏，11月1日新莊體育館商品部開賣，最終結帳金額滿1500元／3000元即送贈品，款式隨機，限量發送，送完為止！「DEA選手個人水洗T」也將於中信特攻網路商城同步販售，一起穿上「特攻風格」的場外戰袍，為場上特攻大力應援！

新北中信特攻籃球隊以美國緝毒局（Drug Enforcement Administration）的縮寫”DEA”作為隊名，宣示「反毒」為球隊核心理念，希望透過籃球運動的熱血正能量，獲得更多年輕族群支持，幫助年輕學子培養良好的運動習慣，降低接觸毒品的風險。

結合體育與反毒教育的理念獲得「大漢家具」的認同與支持，將於11月2日邀請500名學童到新莊體育館觀看球賽，並將參觀「中國信託反毒教育基金會」攤位，認識毒品帶來的危害、避免誤觸毒品陷阱。在賽訓之餘，新北中信特攻將持續深入校園推廣籃球運動及反毒教育，也歡迎企業團體共襄盛舉，一同為下一代的未來努力！

countries: 台灣 中國 巴西 美國

taiwan-subdivisions: 新北 新莊


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▲新北國王桑尼。（圖／新北國王提供）

記者游郁香／綜合報導

新北國王今（30）日前進韓國作客挑戰上季KBL冠軍昌原LG獵隼，洋將桑尼火力全開攻下全場最高33分，傑登亦貢獻28分，兩人攜手引領團隊攻勢，以90比78力退地主，順利拿下本季東亞超聯賽（EASL)的首場勝利。

國王開賽氣勢十足，打出7：0的開局，首節外線手感火燙，全隊命中5記三分球，一度拉開17分領先。桑尼單節豪取12分，帶領球隊以31比17領先。不過次節獵隼手感找回準心，單節打出26比12的攻勢強勢追趕。國王則倚賴桑尼與傑登穩定輸出咬住比分，兩人合力貢獻12分。節末0.6秒獵隼命中壓哨三分，半場結束雙方戰成43比43平手。

易籃後，雙方展開激烈拉鋸，國王在林彥廷與桑尼的帶領下屢屢攻破防線，重新掌握場上節奏。奧帝與李愷諺接連建功，穩定團隊攻勢；讀秒階段雖因技術犯規讓LG獵隼縮小分差，國王仍以70比65保有領先優勢。

進入決勝節，國王趁對手出現失誤打出一波7比0的反擊，一舉將比分拉開至雙位數。奧帝與傑登在外線連續命中三分球穩住戰局。最終以90比78力克對手，順利收下本季東亞超級聯賽（EASL)的首場勝利。

▲新北國王桑尼。（圖／新北國王提供）

賽後教練約翰表示：「真的非常為我們的球員感到驕傲，今天他們打得很有韌性。開局我們的表現很好，命中率也不錯，但LG隨後追回來，把比分追平。不過我們展現出很強的意志力，努力反撲、守下關鍵防守。桑尼今天表現出色，但更讓人印象深刻的不是他的得分，而是他的防守與領導力，他不斷激勵隊友，即使大家已經很疲累，也持續奮戰。這場勝利對我們來說意義重大，讓我們戰績回到1勝1負，也替接下來的比賽建立起氣勢。」

桑尼今日攻下全場最高33分9籃板，對於本季EASL首勝，他則說：「我們剛從主場輸給東京那場苦戰走出來。賽前我就告訴球隊，上季我們也遇過一樣的情況，當時首戰在主場輸給澳門黑熊，但之後我們成功反彈。這次我們也要用同樣的方式回應。今天我們在對方主場，面對一支非常強的球隊，打出了一場精彩的比賽，這是一場非常重要的勝利。不過接下來我們必須持續保持專注與能量，繼續努力拿下下一勝。」

▲新北國王奪下東超首勝。（圖／新北國王提供）

countries: 澳門 韓國

taiwan-subdivisions: 新北 成功

title: 桑尼、傑登聯手砍61分　新北國王力退KBL冠軍奪東超首勝


countries: 美國 巴西 中國 台灣

taiwan-subdivisions: 新莊 新北

title: 特攻「特級玩家GAME START」主題周　進場有機會拿PS5


title: 桑尼、傑登聯手砍61分　新北國王力退KBL冠軍奪東超首勝


title: OPPO全新旗艦FIND X9系列售價公開　盲購起奇效「破萬粉絲參與」

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記者蘇晟彥／台北報導

OPPO台灣 30舉辦旗艦機Find X9 系列發佈會，今年同樣以「新一代旅拍神機」為主軸，包含OPPO首款 2 億畫素鏡頭、與聯發科技共同調校的天璣9500強大效能、業界領先最高7500mAh超大電量。此外，攜手哈蘇推出專業增距鏡套裝，隱約與vivo有較勁意味，Find X9、Find X9 Pro系列售價分別從28,990元、38,990元起，OPPO哈蘇專業增距鏡套裝售價6,990元，但官方目前表示僅支援Pro機型，手機將於即日起陸續於各大通路開賣。

▼OPPO台灣總經理揭開整個發表會序幕。（圖／記者蘇晟彥攝）

在規格部分，可以參考先前的規格文章，今年Find X9 Pro提供霜月白、曜鈦灰兩種顏色，16GB+512GB售價NT$38,990元；Find X9提供鈦銀、赤月、玄黑三種顏色，12GB+256GB售價NT$28,990元；OPPO哈蘇專業增距鏡套裝售價NT6,990元，將於即日起陸續於各大通路開賣。

此外，發表會上OPPO也帶來全新ColorOS 16，除了可自訂動態桌布、調整資料夾與圖示排列，介面呈現也更細膩優雅、流暢連貫，兼具美感和高效能。除了原先好用的多項AI圖像處理與辦公功能以外，也持續加入多項新功能：

・一鍵閃記&AI記憶倉：可智慧識別螢幕當前內容，整理並歸檔至AI記憶倉，提取重要資訊形成重點摘要；後續亦能夠透過記憶顧問及Gemini，在AI記憶倉中調閱對應內容。・AI人像補光：可針對曝光不足的人像相片做優化，還原明亮、自然的膚色效果。・AI錄音：依據錄音內容，能夠自動智慧生成摘要和標題，並選擇特定格式呈現。

對此，今年OPPO在預購時也選擇用「盲購」的方式進行，在在未公佈售價、具體上市規格的情況下，兩週內即累計破萬位消費者參與，在會後受訪時，劉金表示，因為十月預約活動反應熱烈，總部將會考慮在未來 2026 年的產品策略上做對應規劃。

他也指出，在今年Find 系列仍然持續強調影像能力，新推出的增距鏡希望能夠走進專業攝影師和單眼相機使用者的群體。不管是已經使用的，或是還沒使用的，都能透過增距鏡套裝體驗到單眼攝影影像的魅力。在市場策略面，劉金表示，目前推動推動中高階產品的銷售是 OPPO 長期性的戰略目標。在今年Q1-3，在800美金（約台幣2.5萬）的機型上產品銷量增加5倍，其中許多用戶是從 Reno 入門級產品和 A 系列升級換機。

此外，針對是否旗下子品牌OnePlus會進駐台灣，流金也表示目前會專注於 OPPO 品牌的拓展，後續還需要持續評估。

▼今年的特殊色為FIND X9 的赤月色。

▼FIND X9 Pro提供7,500mAH超大電量。

「旅拍神機」Find X9 系列率先登場呼叫音樂節 為了讓廣大消費者第一手體驗Find X9 系列「旅拍神機」的旗艦影像魅力，OPPO將以「官方唯一指定拍照手機」登場呼叫音樂節，將於現場設置體驗攤位，展示Find X9 系列、OPPO專業哈蘇增距鏡，邀請樂迷實際上手，以 2 億畫素哈蘇長焦鏡頭鎖定每個感動畫面。現場體驗Find X9 系列的旗艦影像，更享限量週邊與好禮！

地點：新北大都會公園時間：11/1（六）- 11/2（日），每日12:00-22:00

OPPO 新竹巨城體驗店開幕 OPPO拓展全台版圖 進軍新竹打造在地體驗據點！「OPPO新竹巨城體驗店」盛大開幕此外，隨著全台OPPO用戶持續成長，OPPO也積極佈點全台版圖，宣布進軍新竹開設體驗店，讓更多消費者第一手體驗OPPO產品的魅力。OPPO新竹巨城體驗店將於 11/1盛大開幕，為北台灣消費者打造全新感官體驗據點。歡慶新店開幕，開幕首日購買Find X9 系列，除了享有上市禮贈，也同享「加碼禮」 統一超商禮券最高NT3,000元。此外，11月每週六還有耳機限時限量買一送一、精選商品NT$0元起標等多種好禮；詳情請依官方社群公告為準。

taiwan-subdivisions: 新竹 新店 新北


countries: 阿聯 英國

content_text:
超過 450 年卓越學術傳統：Queen Elizabeth’s School, Dubai Sports City 將於 2026 年 8 月開幕

阿聯酋杜拜2025年10月30日 /美通社/ — Elizabeth’s School, Barnet 建基於英國超過 450 年的卓越學術成就，現在與 GEDU Global Education 合作，並已獲 Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) 初步批准，將於 2026 年 8 月在杜拜開設首個國際分校。新分校名為 Queen Elizabeth’s School, Dubai Sports City，將為阿聯酋的年輕人提供英國國家課程，並按照嚴格學術標準授課。Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet 一直獲 Ofsted 評為「傑出」，並於英國學校排名中名列前茅。

Queen Elizabeth’s Global Schools 行政總裁 Caroline Pendleton-Nash 表示：「這項里程碑批准允許我們加快實現我們的願景，向阿聯酋各地學生提供世界領先的 K-12 教育。

雖然在英國頂尖私立學校中，建立國際分校模式並非陌生，但這標誌英國傑出公立文法學校史上首次開展此類合作。這代表全球教育史無前例兼令人振奮的里程碑。

Queen Elizabeth’s School, Dubai Sports City 將會是一間男女校，首先開設幼兒至八年級，然後逐步擴展至大學預科。該校位於 Dubai Sports City 內，地理位置優越，並為學生提供舉世無雙的體育設施，該校教育重要支柱為培養傑出體育與體能。我們將透過 QE Flourish Programme 實現這目標，並於關懷、挑戰、創造和競爭四方面培養學生的品格和個人發展，實現學生無限潛力。

該杜拜分校將秉承 Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet 的使命、精神、傳統和嚴格學術標準，同時擁抱杜拜的創新與抱負。我們的使命是培養自信、有能力兼有責任感的年輕人，準備他們進入幸福兼充實的大人生活，並為他人作出積極貢獻。我們透過結合英國最傑出學校之一的傳統與杜拜的願景，務求為全球教育卓越樹立全新基準。」

Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet 校長 Neil Enright 表示：「我們很高興得到 KHDA 的鼓勵，而為阿聯酋的兒童提供全面兼豐富的 QE 教育，宣揚機會和支援學生成為他們這一代的領袖。

我們也對國際合作潛力感到興奮，這合作將於未來建立全球 Elizabethans 網絡，造福我們的新生與 Barnet 公立學校的師生。」

英國駐阿拉伯聯合大公國大使 Edward Hobart 陛下表示：「我很高興，Queen Elizabeth’s School 明年將於 Dubai Sports City 開幕。這里程碑標誌英國公立文法學校首次全球擴張，證明英國與阿聯酋教育夥伴關係的持久力量。

透過將 QE 的已證實教育方法和 450 年卓越學術傳統帶至杜拜，增加阿聯酋年輕人接受世界級英國教育的機會。我期待看到這世界級學府對阿聯酋學生和更廣教育環境，帶來正面影響。」

Queen Elizabeth 文法學校由伊利沙伯一世於 1573 年頒佈皇家特許狀而創立，擁有超過 450 年悠久歷史和開拓傳統。該校是英國領導學校，向來自不同背景和普通家庭的學生提供全面教育，並以成績為基礎。Queen Elizabeth’s School 的教育質素，經常優於英國大部份最昂貴兼最嚴格篩選的私立學校。英國私立和公立學校排名中，QE 的成績也一直名列前茅。Queen Elizabeth’s School 獲《星期日泰晤士報》2025 年度最佳公立中學評為 A 級。2024 年，55% 畢業生獲《QS 世界大學排名》首五名院校錄取。如欲查看更多資料，請瀏覽：www.qedubaisportscity.com。


countries: 日本 台灣

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江宏傑也曾經被戴綠帽。（資料照）

〔即時新聞／綜合報導〕藝人粿粿與老公范姜彥豐結婚3年傳婚變，老公范姜彥豐29日指控她偷吃「王子」邱勝翊，引發輿論熱議。網友一面倒同情范姜，認為他和前桌球國手江宏傑遭遇類似，都是在不明就裡的情況下被婚內出軌。前民進黨青年發展部副主任、性別議題倡議者范綱皓在社群忍不住開玩笑稱，想看到范姜彥豐和江宏傑在一起，沒想到還真釣出江宏傑本人回應，笑翻大批網友。

范姜彥豐被太太粿粿戴綠帽的消息，這兩天在網上吵得沸沸揚揚，不少網友想到江宏傑前妻福原愛外遇，江宏傑起先也是被蒙在鼓裡。而當時這件事之所以曝光，是福原愛被日本週刊拍到與「高帥男」在橫濱約會過夜，引發婚內出軌疑雲。此事件不僅終結了這對「桌球CP」的跨國婚姻，也導致福原愛在日本的形象一落千丈。

而范綱皓週四（30日）在Threads上發文，笑稱「王子跟粿粿的新聞，我真的不想再追，我比較想看范姜彥豐跟江宏傑在一起！」不料江宏傑竟然真的被釣出來，在底下回覆「嗯～謝你囉」。

網友看到後笑翻，「兩個奶爸因為前妻雙雙出軌，而帶著小孩重新一起共組家庭，好像可以變成台灣BL劇的新題材」、「這對CP檔簡稱江姜江姜」、「我也有完全一樣的想法，然後像《以家人之名》那樣，兩位好爸爸照顧三個孩子！」、「這對演BL，絕對是進戲院支持，但最好拍成長壽劇 」、「可惡，不知道該怎麼反駁你，只好+1了」。

title: 都被戴綠帽！他許願范姜彥豐和江宏傑在一起 本尊還真的回應了


taiwan-subdivisions: 花蓮縣 光復

references: 臉書 網友

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民進黨花蓮縣議員胡仁順週四（30日）踢爆，光復鄉受創救災期間，花蓮縣府自行採購便當竟砸了近億元，檢視過往縣府公布的數據，採購便當數量根本和這筆鉅額對不上，引發輿論熱議，花蓮縣政府隨後發聲駁斥還嗆告。對此，胡仁順回擊：「不用去告誰，要告來告我！」

胡仁順30日在臉書踢爆花蓮縣府在9月23日至10月20日這28天，花了災害準備金9166萬7040元在救災工作相關人員便當餐盒，若以每個便當要價100元去算，總共採購91萬6670個便當，每天平均超過3.2萬個便當。但以目前縣府公布過的數據，就算是連價，一餐2.5萬個已經是最多的，平日約莫8千個，而且在還有慈濟、多個義煮團的情況下，為何花蓮縣府可以買到每天超過3.2萬個便當、花費近億元？

消息一出輿論炸鍋，不少人嘲諷「難怪當初不讓義煮團進災區」。花蓮縣府馬上發聲駁斥說，相關說法與與事實全不相符，縣府將蒐集相關證據，依法查處。花蓮縣府指稱，有關採購金額係屬「開口契約」，並非實際花費。開口契約乃依實際使用量「實支實付」，截至10月30日止，實際執行金額為4092萬餘元，絕無所謂「便當花費近億元」情事。

花蓮縣府補充指出，救災期間每日由村鄰長及救災人員等基本需求約3000個便當，災害初期更有大量志工湧入，尤其連假期間每日人數逾萬，整體救災期間累計服務人次估達40萬，各單位皆全力滿足災民、救災人員及志工的餐食需求，「針對外界傳言，縣府再次澄清，從未有任何阻擋義煮團進入災區之情事。縣府與多個義煮團體、義廚群組密切合作，攜手提供災民與救災人員熱食，共同守護第一線。」

「花蓮縣政府呼籲外界理性看待救災工作，勿以錯誤資訊製造社會混亂。面對網路不實訊息，請鄉親以縣府及中央官方發布資訊為準，切勿輕信或轉傳，以免誤導視聽、打擊第一線救災同仁士氣。對於蓄意造謠者，縣府將依法蒐證，依《災害防救法》第53條及《社會秩序維護法》第63條嚴辦，以正視聽、維護公信。」

對此，胡仁順週四晚間做出回應，「縣府給議員的數字，標題是『114年度災害準備金動支案件彙整表』，且『截至114年10月20日』。在便當這欄，就是寫著9166萬7040元，任誰看都會如此解讀。全表格列出的都是已執行或是發包金額，如果這行是匡列預算，本就應該特別註明，並加註使用狀況。若真如縣府所澄清，今天的問題就是出在縣府做事極不精準、無法提供即時正確數字。」

胡仁順最後表示，「不用去告誰，要告來告我！若有網友因這篇被告，請來找我。對了，匡列9100萬的意思就是，買便當可以買到9100萬元。這種匡列法合理嗎？」

title: 花蓮縣府遭爆花快1億元買救災便當嗆告 議員胡仁順：要告來告我