■ Accidents
Filipino seaman drowns
A Philippine seaman drowned in Kaohsiung Harbor yesterday after he was thrown into the sea by a falling log, police said. The victim, identified as 29-year-old Rubeng Salong, was a crew member on the Panama-registered Ho Feng No.7. The man was painting the cargo vessel when a log being unloaded from the ship fell and hit him at around 8:45am, police said. "A hoisting rope carrying three logs broke. One of the falling logs hit him and threw him into the sea," said Chen Chun-yuan, an official at the Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau. The man's body was recovered after a two-hour search.
■ Humanitarian aid
TV anchor to visit refugees
A TV news anchorwoman from Taiwan is set to visit a refugee camp in Thailand for Karen refugees from Burma at the end of this month to cover the story of their situation for a campaign aimed at raising funds to help them. Ma Chien-hui (馬千惠), who is a member of the Eastern Multimedia Group, which has jointly organized the campaign with the Chinese Association for Human Rights, said she has completed preparations for her visit to the refugee camp located near the Thai town of Mae Sot near the border with Burma. She said she will do her best to convey the refugees' situation in the hope of arousing the love and compassion of the people of Taiwan. The campaign, aimed at raising funds to help the refugee children attend school, is also designed to collect money for medical aid for the refugees.
■ Diplomacy
US delegation set to arrive
A US congressional delegation composed of three members of the House of Representatives will arrive in Taipei tomorrow for a three-day visit. The visit by the three House members -- Earl Pomeroy, a Democrat, Tom Feeney, a Republican, and Eni Faleomavaige, a Democrat -- is being organized by the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based think tank. During the visit, the three congressmen as well as four members representing the Heritage Foundation will meet President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Premier Yu Shyi-kun and KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰). The delegation will be honored at a luncheon hosted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新). In addition to attending a briefing by the Taipei office of the American Institute in Taiwan, the group will visit the National Palace Museum. The delegation is scheduled to leave Taiwan on Wednesday.
■ Diplomacy
Italy to send representative
Italy will send another diplomat in the middle of this month to serve as its deputy representative to Taiwan, it was learned on Friday. Sources said the move indicates that Italy attaches great importance to its relations with Taiwan. Italy first sent a representative to Taiwan in 1994, and established the Italian Economic, Trade and Cultural Promotion Office in Taiwan the following year to handle Taiwan-Italy relations. Alberto Galluccio assumed the post of director of the office in 2000, becoming the third person to hold the job. The sources said that the Italian Foreign Ministry granted the members of Taiwan's representative office in Italy diplomatic IDs in February last year. Italy also granted a visa for Vice President Annette Lu for her transit in Europe, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) visited Italy in June, they said. Galluccio played a role in all of these moves, they added.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS