■ Health
More dengue cases seen
Health workers sprayed insecticide and inspected homes in Pingtung yesterday after three new cases of dengue fever were reported. The latest cases in Pingtung raised the nation's total number of infections this year to 15, said Lee Tsui-chung (李翠瓊), a section chief with the Center for Disease Control. TV reports showed officials checking homes for buckets, tubs and other containers that might be holding standing water that's ideal for mosquito breeding. Officials were also spraying yards and wooded areas with clouds of insecticide. Lee said 14 cases have been reported in Pingtung so far this year and one in Taichung
■ Diplomacy
FSC chief sets US speech
Finance Supervision Commission Chairman Kung Chao-sheng (龔照勝) will attend the Financial Service Roundtable in Washington on Sept. 29 and Sept. 30. Kung is scheduled to deliver a speech in the Global Financial Issue Forum of the roundtable. US Vice President Dick Cheney will also address the roundtable. The roundtable has nearly 100 famous corporate members, including Citigroup, HSBC North America Holding Co, JP Morgan Chase & Co, ING group, Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America and Merrill Lynch & Co.
■ Trade
TAITRA to go to bike fair
The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) will lead a delegation to the International Bicycle Trade Exhibition in Friedrichshafen, Germany, from Sept. 2 to Sept. 5. TAITRA officials said that in the past few years, Taiwan's bicycles have gained a reputation for high technology, high quality and multifunctionality in Europe, and the delegation's participation in the show will continue to strengthen the good image of Taiwan-made bikes. The delegation will be composed of 150 bike and component companies with some showcasing their environmentally friendly electric foldable bikes and electric mountain bikes. A total of 790 brand names from 37 countries will be shown at the bike fair, the largest in Europe, according to TAITRA officials.
■ Tourism
Kuijen hosts fruit festival
A two-day Buddha-head fruit festival began yesterday in Kuijen township, Tainan County, officials said. Visitors can visit the Tainan County office's south service center to shop and taste Buddha-head fruit. There was also Buddha-head fruit-flavored ice cream sold by the county's Farmers Association. The annual Buddha-head fruit festival is being presided over by Tainan County Commis-sioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智).
■ Diplomacy
S Africa keeps visa rule
South Africa's three-month visa-free privilege for Taiwanese will remain valid for the time being, a South African parliamentarian of Taiwanese origin said yesterday. Chen Chien-hui (陳阡蕙) of South Africa's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, made the remarks after the South African legislature passed amendments to the nation's immigration law. Chen said the revised immigration law, which will be formally enacted late this month, does not address immigration and visa issues concerning any specific country. Therefore, Chen said, South Africa will maintain its three-month visa-free privilege for Taiwan at least for the time being.
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
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai