Lay judges to feature in civil servant corruption trialEXPLOITATION: The civil servant allegedly used access to the household registration system to pass on information allowing developers to forge property deed transfersBy Wang Ting-chuan and Jason Pan / Staff reportersLay judges are to take part in a corruption trial involving a civil servant in New Taipei City who allegedly colluded with businesses suspected of operating inheritance scams to profiteer from property development, the Ministry of Justice said on Friday. It is the first time that lay judges would adjudicate a corruption case involving a civil servant since the promulgation of the Citizen Judges Act (國民法官法) in August 2020 and its implementation in 2023, the ministry said. Wang allegedly accessed the information using the local government’s household registration database, checking the inheritance information for registered property owners and passing the information to the real-estate firms, the indictment said. The real-estate companies would then allegedly use the information to fraudulently claim ownership of the properties through forged wills and property deed transfers, it said. The other defendants would be tried in regular courts, it said, adding that their cases were not suitable for lay judges.

Simple Mart reveals deal to buy OK Mart chainStaff writer, with CNASimple Mart Retail Co (三商家購), which runs supermarket chain Simple Mart (美廉社) in Taiwan, announced that it would acquire the OK Mart (OK超商) convenience store chain for NT$125 million (US$3.96 million). Despite the acquisition, Simple Mart, a community-based supermarket operator, said it and OK Mart would remain two separate brands. An OK Mart convenience store is pictured in an undated photograph. OK Mart is estimated to have less than 800 stores and has been facing strong competition with other convenience store chains. Simple Mart said after the acquisition deal is completed, it would report the sale to complete the ownership transfer.

Starmer criticizes Trump’s Afghanistan commentsAFP, LONDONBritish Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday denounced as “insulting” President Donald Trump’s claim that troops from NATO allies avoided the front line in Afghanistan, as anger grows at the US president’s remarks. “They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan,” Trump told the US outlet, referring to NATO allies. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits a community group in Hertfordshire, England, on Thursday. “Let me start by paying tribute to 457 of our armed services who lost their lives in Afghanistan,” Starmer said in a video message. More than 150,000 UK armed forces personnel served in Afghanistan between September 2001 and August 2021, the British Ministry of Defence said, making the UK the second-largest contributor to the US-led force there.

Although each Ketagalan settlement had its own language, Basay functioned as a common trade language. Ketagalan descendant Rosey Peng (Ketagalan name Avas) teaches a Basay language and culture class on Oct. 7 last year in Taipei. Chen Chin-wan, front, teaches the Basay language on Sept. 15 last year at the Jinan Presbyterian Church in Taipei. Later, Chen began working with Peng and the Cognitive Approach Development Association for Indigenous Language Education (默示原住民語教學發展協會). “These cultural details are what draw people to the language,” Peng says.

For the first time in almost two decades, the North African nation is reopening its oil industry to foreign investors. The timing is exquisite: The major oil companies are on the lookout for opportunities to replenish their reserves, aiming for projects that might come on stream in the 2030s. With more than 50 percent of Africa’s oil reserves, the region’s geology offers high-quality crude that is cheap to produce, plus significant gas fields. Last year, it pumped about 1.3 million barrels a day, well above its post-civil war low point but still below the most recent peak of 1.8 million barrels a day set in 2008. Only time will confirm whether oil companies can find new reserves and manage to develop them into commercial oil and gas fields.

The Taiwan-Arizona connection is a case study in sub-state diplomacy from Arizona to Taiwan, and a masterclass in business-to-business public diplomacy. Taiwan needs to make a further strategic investment in Taiwanese public and cultural diplomacy to Arizona. Although Taiwan has been an early adopter of gastrodiplomacy, it has not, in this case, married it to cultural diplomacy as a public diplomacy force multiplier. Taiwan has the opportunity to innovate with a more profound public diplomacy strategy that centers on gastrodiplomacy, cultural diplomacy and personal connections. He is the executive director of Levantine Public Diplomacy, an independent public diplomacy organization.

Australian child bitten by shark in dies of injuriesAFP, SYDNEYA 12-year-old boy bitten by a shark in Australia’s Sydney Harbour has died of his injuries, his family said yesterday. Nico Antic’s parents said their son died of the injuries sustained when a large shark attacked him last week as he and his friends were jumping into the water. The Sydney shark attack that eventually killed Niko Antic was one of four recorded in the span of two days, which prompted officials to close dozens of the city’s beaches. In September last year, a great white shark mauled surfer Mercury Psillakis to death at a popular northern Sydney ocean beach. Two months later, a bull shark killed a woman swimming off a remote beach north of Sydney.

The same can be said today about the rise of authoritarian leaders who seem capable of quick decisions and forceful action, if not long-term planning. The debate and uncertainty that are intrinsic to democracies can begin to look like weaknesses when viewed alongside the order and continuity promised by authoritarian regimes. China, where President Xi Jinping (習近平) has steadily consolidated power, has done the most to advance this authoritarian illusion. Democracies expose societal fractures, whereas authoritarian regimes bury them. Likewise, authoritarian regimes can produce technically competent leaders, but those leaders are never fully accountable to society.

French government trolls misinformation on XFINE LINE: Information has become ‘a new battleground,’ a French official said, while a global security expert said official channels adopting trolling tactics carries risksAFP, PARISWhen US Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized European culture on X this week, a team at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs was swift to hit back online. Their X account in English, called “French Response,” is the latest way France is seeking to defend itself against an ever-growing tide of online disinformation. French President Emmanuel Macron arrives for a special summit of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday. The French Response account celebrated the headlines. “When the world does your French response for you,” it wrote, just after Trump mocked Macron’s sunglasses.

Minnesotans protest ICE crackdownIMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN: Amid anger over the detention of a five-year-old boy, court papers showed that a two-year-old girl was also detained on ThursdayAFP and The Guardian, MINNEAPOLIS, MinnesotaThousands of people on Friday braved icy conditions to protest the immigration crackdown of US President Donald Trump’s administration in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and businesses closed their doors amid anger over the detention of a five-year-old migrant boy. Dozens of eateries, attraction sites and other businesses shuttered as part of a day of coordinated action to defy the weeks-long federal immigration operation under way in Minnesota. A protester holds a sign during a rally against US federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday. If we don’t fight, fascism wins.”An ICE agent holds onto the backpack of Liam Conejo Ramos, a five-year-old student at Valley View Elementary, as he is being detained in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Tuesday. Clergy members kneel as they take part in a rally to protest US President Donald Trump’s deployment of thousands of immigration enforcement officers on the streets of Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday.

Madrid emerges as housing destination for the richBy Diego Urdaneta / AFP, MADRIDMadrid has emerged as a coveted global luxury housing destination as Latin American and US investors fuel a real-estate boom, seduced by competitive prices and high living standards. The Spanish capital “is on fire,” said Edoardo Corda, founder of estate agency Mi Piso en Madrid, which specializes in high-end properties. Colliers managing director Antonio de la Fuente said political upheaval back home explained why Madrid has leapfrogged Miami as the No. Although an eye-watering sum for most Spaniards, who struggle to rent or buy in a housing crisis that is consistently a top concern for the population, the numbers attract luxury capital. As the minority coalition struggles to pass legislation in parliament, the latter proposal is unlikely to become law — “fortunately for this country and for Madrid,” De la Fuente said.

Senegal stun Morocco to win AFCONMARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.

Europe has to solve its collective defense problemThe Greenland dispute with the US has uncovered a weakness in European defense — the EU has to unite its defense industry, and fastBloombergIf anyone had any doubt, US leaders made it abundantly clear in Davos this week: Wherever things go with Greenland, Europe cannot rely on US security guarantees anymore. Major European nations each have their own military industries: France buys mostly French, Germany buys mostly German. A new German Leopard 2A8 costs an estimated 29 million euros (US$34.3 million); a Russian T-90, about 4 million euros. Each EU country’s contribution to the common defense depends on its fiscal capacity and its individual threat assessment. European nations have no mutual sovereign borrowing mechanism that would allow them to fund rearmament collectively, quickly and cheaply.

Drugmakers take hit from the US’ anti-vax changesBy Bhanvi Satija / Reuters, LONDONSweeping policy changes under US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr are having a chilling effect on vaccine makers as anti-vaccine rhetoric has turned into concrete changes in inoculation schedules and recommendations, investors and executives said. He fired a panel of independent expert advisers, replacing them with members who share his anti-vaccine views, and dropped broad COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for pregnant women and children. Kennedy said the changes aim to improve safety and bring US vaccine policy in line with other peer nations. The striking policy changes have begun to prompt some rare public rebukes from industry leaders. GSK and Sanofi reported lower US flu vaccine sales in the third quarter, despite a more severe flu season.

Embroidery is a historic mainstay of traditional clothing in Asia or the Middle East, as well as Western haute couture, but it is increasingly present in Paris, Milan or New York on modern men’s shirts, bomber jackets or blazers. At Men’s Fashion Week in Paris on Thursday, New Delhi-based Kartik Research put on its second show, having joined the world’s most prestigious style calendar for the first time last year with its modern take on traditional fabrics and crafts. A model walks the catwalk in an embroidered outfit from Kartik Research for the Menswear Ready-to-wear Fall-Winter 2026/2027 collection as part of the Paris Men’s Fashion Week on Thursday. Embroidery appears to be on the same route as handbags and jewellery, which have entered men’s fashion over the past few years and blurred the industry’s traditional gender lines. “Guys are looking for something different,” said Kher, who was showcasing his Fall/Winter collection in Paris during Fashion Week.