ASIC server shipments expected to grow faster
ASIC server shipments expected to grow fasterBy Meryl Kao / Staff reporterThe global artificial intelligence (AI) server market is expected to remain dominated by servers based on graphics processing units (GPUs) this year, but application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)-based models are set to see faster growth in shipments, the Market Intelligence and Consulting Institute (MIC) said. As major cloud service providers (CSPs) continue to train large language models for machine learning, outlays on AI data centers and high-density GPU server racks remain a priority, MIC said. Photo courtesy of Hon Hai Precision Industry CoHowever, demand for servers powered by ASICs is growing as the market’s focus gradually shifts toward inference, Wei said. Shipments of servers used for AI inference are expected to be about four times higher than those used for training this year, highlighting the role ASICs could play. MIC expects Taiwanese manufacturers who already produce GPU servers to expand into the ASIC segment smoothly, Wei said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 11, 2026 16:41 UTC
US urges its citizens to be vigilant and flee Venezuela
US urges its citizens to be vigilant and flee VenezuelaThe GuardianThe US has urged its citizens to leave Venezuela immediately amid reports that armed paramilitaries are trying to track down US citizens, one week after the abduction of then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. “US citizens in Venezuela should remain vigilant and exercise caution when traveling by road,” the alert added, urging citizens to depart immediately now that some international flights from Venezuela have restarted. People walk in front of a wall painted with the image of abducted former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on Saturday. However, the department alert exposed how volatile the situation remains after the US special forces raid, during which scores of people were killed. The roads connecting Caracas to its western border are policed with dozens of military and police checkpoints.
Source:Taipei Times
January 11, 2026 16:31 UTC
Trumpf expanding its Taiwan facilities
The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea, the company said. A worker operates equipment at Trumpf Taiwan Industries Co’s regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of Trumpf Taiwan Industries CoIt is equipped with infrastructure dedicated to the analysis, service and calibration of Trumpf’s plasma generators, it said. Trumpf operates five sites in Taiwan, and develops its businesses in alignment with industrial megatrends and customer demand, he added. AI applications would continue driving the overall semiconductor industry this year and Trumpf’s semiconductor business would grow along with the industry, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
January 11, 2026 16:31 UTC
Protests erupt as ICE killing fuels fury
The slogan is also a reference to Renee Good, the 37-year-old mother shot dead on Wednesday in her car by an ICE agent in the midwestern US city of Minneapolis. Thousands braved frigid weather and streamed toward a snow-covered park to mobilize near the scene of the shooting. In Philadelphia, protesters marched in the rain from City Hall to the ICE field office. The Trump administration has sought to paint Good as a “domestic terrorist,” insisting the agent who fatally shot her was acting in self-defense. On Friday evening, hundreds gathered noisily in front of Minneapolis hotels believed to be housing ICE agents, equipped with whistles, loudspeakers and musical instruments.
Source:Taipei Times
January 11, 2026 16:31 UTC
Simple reforms could help prevent the next ICE shooting
Under previous presidents, federal agents communicated with local officials — even in sanctuary cities. The easiest way to eliminate risk would be to remove federal immigration agents from city streets. The next-best thing, as the Trump administration seems unlikely to cancel its mass deportation campaign, is to ensure more transparency and accountability. As a result, protesters often show up when federal immigration agents are working, recording video with their phones, unsure if documentation will be available any other way. Two immigration agents are shown approaching Good’s sport utility vehicle (SUV), which was parked in the middle of a street.
Source:Taipei Times
January 11, 2026 16:31 UTC
Illegal accommodations increased last year: report
Illegal accommodations increased last year: reportBy Tsai Yun-jung / Staff reporterA total of 1,624 illegal accommodations were reported last year, with fines totaling about NT$120.13 million (US$3.8 million), the Tourism Administration said. In Taipei, 585 legal accommodations and 268 illegal ones were reported, with illegal properties accounting for about 31.4 percent — the highest in number and proportion nationwide — while 11 illegal accommodations in the city were daily rental apartments, the data showed. Taichung has 505 legal accommodations and 207 illegal ones, with illegal properties making up about 29 percent, ranking second in proportion and third nationwide in number, the data showed. Yilan ranks second in the number of illegal accommodations with 229, but has 2,480 legal ones, resulting in an illegal share of only 8.45 percent. Kaohsiung has 530 legal accommodations and 125 illegal ones, with illegal properties accounting for about 19 percent, ranking third nationwide.
Source:Taipei Times
January 11, 2026 16:31 UTC
North demands ‘explanation’ from Seoul over incursion
North demands ‘explanation’ from Seoul over incursionAFP, SEOULNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister has demanded a detailed “explanation” from Seoul over a drone it accused South Korea of flying over its territory, state media reported yesterday. The North said on Saturday that a craft crossed from the South Korean border county of Ganghwa into the North Korean city of Kaesong in early this month, and released photos of wreckage from the drone it claimed to have shot down. Seoul rejected the claim, with its defense ministry saying the drone was not a model operated by its military. Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister, looks on before a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un in Amur, Russia, on Sept. 13, 2023. However, her demand for an explanation “signals a shift toward a diplomatic offensive by holding the authorities accountable” for the incursion, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 11, 2026 16:31 UTC
Egypt knock out reigning champions Ivory Coast
Egypt knock out reigning champions Ivory CoastAFP, MARRAKESH, MoroccoMohamed Salah’s Egypt knocked reigning champions Ivory Coast out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a 3-2 win in the quarter-finals on Saturday, while Victor Osimhen starred as Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 to set up a clash with hosts Morocco. Egypt’s Mohamed Salah scores their third goal against Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals in Agadir, Morocco, on Saturday. Ivory Coast become the eighth consecutive title-holders unable to successfully defend the title since Egypt achieved the feat in 2010. Egypt meanwhile confirmed their AFCON dominance over Ivory Coast since they first met 56 years ago. “A very big congratulations to the whole team for the kind of performance they put in against a very good Algeria team,” Osimhen said after collecting the man-of-the-match trophy.
Source:Taipei Times
January 11, 2026 16:31 UTC
Palace humiliated in FA Cup shock
Palace humiliated in FA Cup shockGIANT SLAIN, GIANTS SLAY: Macclesfield FC overcame the largest difference in rank in cup history, while Manchester City and Chelsea confidently routed their opponentsAFP, LONDONCrystal Palace FC suffered the biggest shock in FA Cup history, as the holders suffered a humiliating 2-1 defeat to sixth-tier Macclesfield FC, while Chelsea FC manager Liam Rosenior started his reign with a 5-1 rout of Charlton Athletic FC on Saturday. Antoine Semenyo began his Manchester City FC career by scoring in a 10-1 rout of Exeter City FC, but Tottenham Hotspur FC boss Thomas Frank’s future was plunged into doubt after a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa FC. In their previous FA Cup outing at Wembley in May last year, Palace made history by beating Manchester City to win the club’s first ever major trophy. Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi looks dejected as Macclesfield FC players celebrate after their FA Cup match in Macclesfield, England, on Saturday. The 117 places separating Premier League outfit Palace from Macclesfield of the National League North is the most overcome by an underdog in FA Cup history.
Source:Taipei Times
January 11, 2026 16:31 UTC
Syria’s Kurdish fighters agree to leave Aleppo
Syria’s Kurdish fighters agree to leave AleppoAFP, ALEPPO, SyriaSyria’s Kurdish fighters yesterday said that they agreed under a ceasefire to withdraw from Aleppo after days of fighting government forces in the city. Hours earlier, Syria’s military said it had finished operations in the Kurdish-held Sheikh Maqsud neighborhood with state television reporting that Kurdish fighters who surrendered were being bused to the north. An Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent on Saturday saw at least five buses carrying men out of Sheikh Maqsud, but could not independently verify their identities. On the outskirts of Sheikh Maqsud, families who had been trapped by the fighting were leaving, accompanied by Syrian security forces. Israel has sided with the Kurdish forces.
Source:Taipei Times
January 11, 2026 16:31 UTC
Notes from Central Taiwan: PRC pretexts and provocations
Notes from Central Taiwan: PRC pretexts and provocationsBy Michael Turton / Contributing reporterThe People’s Republic of China (PRC) invaded Vietnam in 1979, following a year of increasingly tense relations between the two states. One of the pretexts it used was the alleged mistreatment of the ethnic Chinese in Vietnam. Since Taipei was the internationally recognized government of China, it attempted to intervene, and ended up taking in 3,000 ethnic Chinese refugees. Beginning in January of 1976, the Vietnamese government began requiring ethnic Chinese in the south to register their citizenship. PRC SPOUSESIn discussions of this possibility, there has been much focus on Taiwan’s treatment of PRC spouses as potential pretexts.
Source:Taipei Times
January 11, 2026 16:31 UTC
Fuel prices drop slightly despite rise in crude oil
Fuel prices drop slightly despite rise in crude oilBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterGasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — last week gained 4.26 percent to settle at US$63.34 per barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures — the US oil benchmark — increased 3.14 percent to US$59.12 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Source:Taipei Times
January 11, 2026 16:31 UTC
Export-focused manufacturing drove GDP growth
Export-focused manufacturing drove GDP growthEXPERIENCES MAY VARY: Manufacturing firms had a great year, the service sector did alright, but other areas limped along, such as the traditional industries sectorStaff writer, with CNAExport-oriented manufacturing served as the major contributor to Taiwan’s strong GDP growth in the first three quarters of last year, government statistics showed. Photo: CNAIn November last year, the DGBAS raised its GDP growth forecast to 7.37 percent for last year and predicted the economy would grow another 3.54 percent this year, citing the continued AI boom. Tsai said the growth of the local manufacturing sector varied from industry to industry. Many employees did not feel significant benefits from the GDP growth in Taiwan and consumer confidence remained weak, he said. In the service sector, the retail and wholesale industry’s contribution to total GDP growth was 0.7 percentage points, and the financial/insurance industry’s share was 0.29 percentage points in the first nine months of last year, DGBAS data showed.
Source:Taipei Times
January 11, 2026 16:31 UTC
Chinese online manipulation soars: NSB
Chinese online manipulation soars: NSBBROAD CAMPAIGN: Beijing has adopted a government-civilian partnership model to disseminate disinformation in Taiwan through bots, AI and more, an NSB report showedBy Huang Ching-hsuan and Fion Khan / Staff reporter, with staff writerTaiwan’s national intelligence community recorded 45,590 fake online accounts last year, up from 28,216 in 2024, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. More than 3,200 pieces of disinformation were reported to government agencies, allowing them to address cognitive warfare attempts in real time, the bureau said. China has expanded the targets of its cognitive warfare to include countries in the global democratic camp, the bureau said. Taiwan is situated at the forefront of international efforts to counter China’s cognitive warfare, it said. To expand a network in the democratic community to counter China’s cognitive warfare, the NSB last year engaged in more than 80 security dialogues and intelligence conferences with international friends and allies, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 11, 2026 16:31 UTC
At least 192 dead as demonstrations continue in Iran
At least 192 dead as demonstrations continue in IranAFP, PARISAt least 192 protesters have been killed in Iran’s biggest movement against the Islamic republic in more than three years, a rights group said yesterday, as warnings grew that authorities were committing a “massacre” to quell the demonstrations. People protest the Iranian government in Tehran on Saturday in a screen grab from footage circulating on social media. Several circulating videos, which have not been verified by AFP, allegedly showed relatives in a Tehran morgue identifying bodies of protesters killed in the crackdown. The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said it had received “eyewitness accounts and credible reports indicating that hundreds of protesters have been killed across Iran during the current Internet shutdown.”“A massacre is unfolding in Iran. Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the ousted shah, who has played a prominent role in calling for the protests, yesterday called for new actions.
Source:Taipei Times
January 11, 2026 16:31 UTC