Iran admits ‘several thousand’ deaths, blaming US, IsraelBloombergIranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said “several thousand people” died in this month’s anti-government demonstrations, his first acknowledgment of the deadly scale of the unrest. Some of those were killed “brutally and inhumanely,” Khamenei said without offering detail in a public meeting broadcast on state TV. He accused the US and Israel of aiding the killings and said the Islamic republic has evidence to support the claim. Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran on Saturday. He said US President Donald Trump was culpable for “deaths, damage and accusations he has inflicted on the Iranian people,” and that Washington’s broader policy goal was to place Iran under military, political and economic domination.

Temperatures to drop as cold air mass approachesStaff writer, with CNAA strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). A Central Weather Administration chart shows the weather forecast for this week. The blue line indicates eastern Taiwan, the green line indicates central Taiwan, the orange line indicates southern Taiwan, while the white line indicates northern Taiwan and Yilan County. From Wednesday through Friday, the cold air mass is likely to linger and reach the level of a “strong continental cold air mass,” defined as Taipei temperatures dropping below 12°C, independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said. The cold air mass is expected to weaken from Saturday, with daytime temperatures rebounding, but mornings and evenings remaining cool, Wu said.

Yet this part of Central Asia now offers a lesson in how conflict can give way to stability, even in historically tense regions. However, the improved climate reflects deliberate political and social choices, demonstrating that cooperation can be strengthened from the ground up. Home to about 15 million people, the Fergana Valley is one of the most densely populated parts of Central Asia. These factors make the Fergana Valley story a fragile achievement, not a settled one. The Fergana Valley suggests that peace and partnership can reinforce each other, but only if the effort is continuous.

EU expresses shock at Greenland tariffsAP, BERLINEuropeans were reeling yesterday from US President Donald Trump’s announcement that eight countries would face 10 percent tariffs for opposing US control of Greenland. Several European countries have sent troops to Greenland in the past few days, saying they are there for arctic security training. Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen speaks during a protest in front of the US consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, on Saturday. It was not immediately clear if Trump’s tariffs would impact the entire bloc. European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged to continue their full solidarity with Denmark and Greenland.

Vietnam’s ruling party begins congressAFP, HANOIVietnam’s ruling Communist Party opens its twice-a-decade congress today, finalizing its leadership roster for the next five years and outlining plans for the fast-growing Southeast Asian manufacturing hub. The only legal party in Vietnam, it has so far followed consensus-based decisionmaking, preventing the emergence of a single all-powerful leader. Party General Secretary To Lam is challenging that model, seeking to become president as well as party chief. A woman walks past billboards advertising the 14th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam in Hanoi on Thursday last week. Lam is set to retain his post as Vietnam’s top leader, according to sources briefed on party deliberations.

There have been protests every day since the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ramped up immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul by bringing in more than 2,000 federal officers. Protesters spray Jake Lang with water as he speaks during his rally calling for deportation of all Muslims in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday. In Minneapolis, snowballs and water balloons were also thrown before an armored police van and heavily equipped city police arrived. “We’re out here to show Nazis and ICE and DHS and MAGA you are not welcome in Minneapolis,” protester Luke Rimington said. On Friday, a federal judge ruled that immigration officers cannot detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who are not obstructing authorities, including while observing officers during the Minnesota crackdown.

NASA rolls out Artemis 2 spacecraftAFP, KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FloridaNASA on Saturday rolled out its towering Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft as it began preparations for its first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years. “We’re making history,” Artemis 2 mission management team chair John Honeycutt told a press conference on Friday. Before the mission can take off, engineers must ensure the SLS rocket is safe and viable. The uncrewed Artemis 1 mission took place in November 2022 after multiple postponements and two failed launch attempts. NASA hopes to put humans back on the Moon, as China forges ahead with a rival effort that is targeting 2030 at the latest for its first crewed mission.

Recognizing the CCP’s ‘dialogue’ deceptionBy Lu Hai-tung 陸海東A familiar refrain is often heard whenever cross-strait tensions rise: The more tense things get, the more exchanges are needed. Those who cannot — or who resist — are not merely excluded from dialogue, but punished. Within the first group, some believe that unification matters more than the survival of the ROC itself. The logic defines CCP’s current Taiwan policy: Use the first group, co-opt the second and strike the third. Given how clear the objectives and methods are, Taiwanese must approach calls for exchanges and communication with caution.

KMT policies keep birthrate lowBy Teng Hon-yuan 鄧鴻源Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) deputy secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said that Taiwan’s low birthrate is no longer a warning sign, but a fact of life. Why does the KMT continue to focus solely on workplace and retirement benefits for the military, police and civil servants while ignoring the welfare of all other groups? Are they aware that the retirement funds of average workers are far lower than that of military personnel and civil servants? The national security crisis posed by low birthrates transcends party lines — it decides whether Taiwan’s next generation has a future. Is the real issue not that the KMT has continuously blocked both the general budget and the special defense budget?

The US’ missing manufacturing renaissanceBy Scott Lincicome / Bloomberg OpinionUS manufacturing ended last year with a thud, capping a rough year for the sector. Overall, the evidence revealed a sector that is stagnant at best, and a long way from the manufacturing renaissance US President Donald Trump promised when he took office for a second time a year ago. Better tax, regulatory and monetary policies should indeed provide a tailwind for manufacturing, but the sector would probably continue to struggle. Producers involved in goods trade (imports and/or exports) are large and growing employers — home to about 80 percent of all US manufacturing workers. Roughly half of US goods imports in 2024 were between related parties, with especially high concentrations in transportation equipment, chemicals, computer and electronic products, and machinery.

Every few years, uprisings erupt across Iran — and each wave of resistance is deeper and more widespread than the one before. People are still risking their lives to stand up to torture and state violence. The regime wants to hide its crackdown from the rest of the world and stop Iranians from organizing. Nasrin Parvaz is a women’s rights activist and torture survivor from Iran. Her books include A Prison Memoir: One Woman’s Struggle in Iran, and the novel The Secret Letters from X to A.

Indonesian rescuers locate wreckage of missing aircraftReuters, JAKARTAIndonesian authorities yesterday said they had located the wreckage of a fisheries surveillance plane that went missing in South Sulawesi province near a fog-covered mountain, but were still searching for the 11 people on board. The ATR 42-500 turboprop owned by aviation group Indonesia Air Transport lost contact with air traffic control on Saturday at about 1:30pm around the Maros region in South Sulawesi. Members of the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) rescue team conduct a search operation around Mount Bulusaraung, South Sulawesi province, Indonesia, on Saturday. The aircraft had been heading to Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi, after departing from Yogyakarta province before contact was lost. Yesterday morning, local rescuers found the wreckage in different locations around Mount Bulusaraung in the Maros region, said Andi Sultan, an official at South Sulawesi’s rescue agency.

Trump wants ‘Board of Peace’ members to payBloombergUS President Donald Trump is asking countries that want a permanent spot on his new Board of Peace to contribute at least US$1 billion. Several European nations have been invited to join the peace board, according to people familiar with the matter. The peace board would hold regular non-voting meetings with its executive board. Trump would also have the power to remove a member, subject to a veto by a two-thirds majority of member states. “The Chairman shall at all times designate a successor for the role of Chairman,” the charter says.

Syrian army extends hold in northESCALATION: The SDF had agreed to withdraw from Aleppo, but accused the Syrian government of breaking previous agreements as clashes erupted between themAFP, DEIR HAFER, SyriaSyria’s army has seized swathes of the country’s north, dislodging Kurdish forces from territory over which they held effective autonomy for more than a decade. People welcome Syrian army troops following the withdrawal of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Maskanah, Syria, on Saturday. “The Syrian army controls the strategic city of Tabqa in the Raqqa countryside, including the Euphrates Dam, which is the largest dam in Syria,” Syrian Minister of Information Hamza Almustafa was quoted by the official SANA news agency as saying. However, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said they had “taken the necessary measures to restore security and stability” in Tabqa. Syria’s army said four soldiers had been killed, while Kurdish forces reported several fighters dead.

S Korea seeks favorable chip terms with US: officialReuters, SEOULSouth Korea would seek favorable terms for US tariffs on imports of memory chips, a presidential office spokesperson told a news conference yesterday. South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources Kim Jung-kwan on Saturday said US tariffs on some advanced computing chips would have a limited impact on South Korean companies. Photo: BloombergSouth Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc are among the world’s biggest producers of memory chips. Under an accord with South Korea announced in July last year, the US would charge a 15 percent tariff on most goods from the country, while sparing, for now, imports of chips. “If they don’t build in America, the tariff is likely to be 100 percent,” Lutnick told CNBC.