■Computers
Virus poised to strike
At least 15 computer viruses are expected to strike today, Friday the 13th, Trend Micro Inc warned yesterday. The computer viruses set to strike include Atom.E, Atom.G.De, Thus.C, Thus.F, Thus.Q, Thus.001, Datacrime, Cascade, Got you, Tedious, Badboy.A, Phardera.A, Paycheck, and Friday 13th, the company, which produces anti-virus software, said. Many viruses are set to strike in December, it said. Except for the Happy Time virus, which already struck at the beginning of this month, most other viruses will strike after mid-December. "And more than 15 viruses are expected to strike tomorrow, which is popularly known as Black Friday," said a Trend Micro anti-virus expert. Among others, he said, "Friday the 13th" virus tends to strike on the 13th day of every month. "This virus has many variations. If the light on your A disk drive continues to remain on tomorrow, it means your personal computer has been infected with the virus," he explained. He urged computer users to refrain from opening suspicious files or e-mail today, to avoid infection.
■ Politics
KMT whip sues mayor
The KMT's legislative whip filed a libel suit yesterday against Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷). Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教) was accompanied by his lawyer when he filed the suit with the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office and requested civil compensation of NT$100 million (US$2.94 million). Hsieh has accused Lee of passing counterfeit checks and of involvement in a third party's family dispute. Lee also sued other top officials of the Kaohsiung City Council. During the mayoral election campaign, Lee produced a copy of an NT$4.5 million check given to Hsieh in 1994 -- when Hsieh was a legislator -- by Su Hui-chen (蘇惠珍), a major shareholder in Kaohsiung's Zanadau Development Corp. But Hsieh said the check was the repayment of a loan he made to Yu Chen Yue-ying (余陳月瑛), a former Kaohsiung county magistrate. Lee alleged that the money was in fact a political donation from Su, channelled to Hsieh through Yu Chen.
■ Rescue
Eight fishermen saved
All eight crew members aboard a Taipei County fishing boat, which became stranded in stormy weather because of mechanical failure, were safely rescued by the coast guard early yesterday morning, police reported. Crew of the mullet-fishing boat Hung Fa No. 6 sent out an SOS signal at around 3am yesterday after the vessel ran aground several miles off Pahli, Taipei County. The Taipei County Fire Department called for help from the Coast Guard Administration, which dispatched a helicopter to the scene. Braving strong winds and huge waves brought on by a cold front from the north, the helicopter managed to save all the crew members, including two Taiwanese and six Chinese, by lifting them from the boat one by one.
■ Health
Cancer center opens
A cancer medical care center offering both conventional therapy as well as complementary and alternative medicine was set up in Taipei yesterday to provide cancer patients with alternative healing practices. A spokesman of the center said that the therapy is used either together with conventional medicine or in place of conventional medicine. Over the past few years, clinical reports have shown that this kind of therapy can help reduce patients' discomfort following surgery, radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
Agencies
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it