■ Health
SARS pioneer book debuts
The top coordinator in the nation's campaign against SARS, Lee Ming-liang (李明亮), on Thursday presided over a ceremony at Rome's Capital Museum marking the launch of the Italian-language biography of Carlo Urbani, who was the first person to identify the SARS virus. Urbani, an expert on communicable diseases at the World Health Organization, died of the flu-like atypical pneumonia in Bangkok on March 29 last year. He was 47. The book, authored by Italian prize-winning writer Lucia Bellaspiga, gives a detailed and human account of how Urbani contributed his professional expertise to SARS identification and treatment in Asia and how he fought against the deadly virus during the crucial days prior to his death. Lee, chairman of the Carlo Urbani Memorial Foundation established in Taiwan last July, said the Chinese-language version of the biography is expected to be published in this country shortly. Addressing the biography debut ceremony, held at Rome's Capital Museum, Lee said that the book will provide a great inspiration to the younger generations around the world and that the Chinese-language version will let the vast population in the Chinese-language speaking communities learn about Urbani's spirit and teaching.
■ Society
BTCO issues warning
The British Trade and Cultural Office has issued a warning for British citizens to be aware of events here after last Saturday's presidential election. "Our advice to British residents is to avoid large public gatherings, in particular political rallies and demonstrations and observe developments in the local media," the office said in a statement. "We will continue to monitor the situation closely," said the statement. The statement was issued on the eve of a pan-blue camp rally that organizers say will attract 500,000 people today to Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office.
■ Health
Dengue system activated
The Department of Health (DOH) announced yesterday that the nation's dengue fever prevention mechanism has been activated amid outbreaks of the disease in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. Under the mechanism, DOH officials said, arrivals from Southeast Asia who have developed a fever will undergo blood tests and be presented with free mosquito nets for use at home for a week. Dengue fever is a mosquito-transmitted disease. Yesterday, the DOH also invited officials from the Tourism Bureau, the Civil Aeronautics Administration, the Immigration Bureau, the Council of Labor Affairs, the Environmental Protection Bureau, health bureaus from 25 cities and counties around the country and major travel associations to discuss dengue fever-prevention measures. It was decided at the meeting that films featuring dengue fever prevention and control measures will be shown on all flights from and to Southeast Asian countries. At least 455 people have died from dengue fever in Indonesia so far this year, DOH officials said. According to the officials, Taiwan has not had a locally originated dengue fever case so far this year, but has tallied 17 imported cases, including seven from Indonesia, six from Vietnam, two from the Philippines, one each from Thailand and India.
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