■ Health
Lost dentures recovered
A 45-year-old man was breathing easier yesterday, after a surgeon removed a missing dental bridge from one of his bronchial tubes -- three years after he lost them in a fall. Dr. Chen Chun-lei said the man went to his clinic several days ago complaining of shortness of breath and a high fever and was diagnosed with a mild case of pneumonia. Chen operated after an unknown object was seen in one of the bronchial tubes in an X-ray. "He had looked for the missing dentures for three years but they were nowhere to be found," Chen said. Chen said the man had not suffered serious breathing problems earlier, possibly because the denture of eight teeth did not entirely block the bronchial tube. The doctor said the man could have ended up losing part of a lung if the denture had not been discovered before a serious injury occurred.
■ Weather
CWB watching Matsa
Eastern Taiwan could begin to feel the approach of Tropical Storm Matsa tonight. The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday that the center of Matsa was around 1,600km southeastern of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and it was moving north-northwest at 8kph. Forecasters were unsure, however, if Matsa would directly hit Taiwan. "We are keeping our eyes on it. If Matsa moves north, then the weather in Taiwan might only be affected by peripheral currents," said Daniel Wu (吳德榮), director of the forecast center. Forecasters said boats sailing off eastern Taiwan should be on alert for huge waves tonight. On Thursday and Friday, the weather in the north and northeast of the country might be affected by the storm's approach.
■ Politics
New caucus whips installed
The dust has finally settled in a fight among the People First Party's (PFP) caucus leaders as Hwang Yih-jiau (黃義交) took office as head caucus whip. Hwang had tied with Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) in voting. Hwang was favored by the PFP headquarters, while Lin was the choice of the caucus itself. Sun Ta-chien (孫大千) and Lin Hui-kuan (林惠官) will serve as the caucus' other two leaders in the next legislative session, scheduled to begin on Sept. 13. The Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) new caucus whips also took office yesterday. They are Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源), Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛), Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆) and John Wu (吳志揚). The Taiwan Solidarity Union's new caucus leaders, who took office in June, are Mark Ho (何敏豪), David Huang (黃適卓), George Liu (劉寬平) and Kuo Lin-yung (郭林勇). The Democratic Progressive Party's won't change its caucus whips until the end of the next legislative session.
■ Environment
Biomass contest announced
The Council of Agriculture yesterday urged young scientists and students to come up with ideas to turn rice straw into usable sources of biomass energy. The council and the Yuan T. Lee Science Education For All (遠哲科學教育基金會) are sponsoring a competition and the top price is NT$200,000 (US$6,276). Rice paddies cover 260,000 hectares of land in Taiwan. Rice straw has traditionally been used for compost or fuel. Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) said yesterday that the abuse of fossil fuels has hurt the environment and it was time for youngsters to rethink sources of energy. More information on the competition available at www.ytlee.org.tw.
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
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