■ Politics
Taiwan helps African ally
The government will donate US$100,000 in emergency relief aid to Sao Tome and Principe to help the West African ally fight a cholera outbreak, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Sao Tome President Fradique Bandeira Melo de Menezes asked for Taiwan's emergency relief aid during a recent state visit to Taiwan, MOFA officials said. The cholera outbreak has infected more than 600 Sao Tome citizens, 20 of whom have died, the officials added. In addition to the cash donation, the officials said the government will also send a medical team to help contain the outbreak. Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium vibrio cholerae. Symptoms of the disease include vomiting and diarrhea and eventually death if treatment is not given promptly.
■ Accidents
Crash injures nine tourists
Nine members of a 24-strong Singaporean tour group were hospitalized yesterday after a car accident that occurred in Nantou County, the Shuili Fire Department reported. The tourists were rushed to the Show Chwan Memorial Hospital in Chushan (竹山), central Taiwan, for treatment after their tour bus rear-ended a van. The nine tourists suffered only minor injuries, with one requiring stitches for lacerations to her head, while the others suffered only bruising, hospital authorities said. The tour, arranged by the Taipei-based Polo Holiday travel agency, was expected to continue with its itinerary later in the day.
■ Diplomacy
Dutch to back WHO bid
The House of Representatives of the Dutch parliament passed a resolution on Tuesday to support Taiwan in its bid to gain observer status in the WHO, the ministry of foreign affairs announced yesterday. Members of the Dutch parliament's second chamber voted 99-51 in support of backing Taiwan's WHO bid during a session on Tuesday to discuss the country's foreign affairs budget for next year, according to the MOFA's press release yesterday. The resolution marks the first time the Dutch parliament has thrown its support behind the bid to enter the health body. The resolution says that in light of bird flu outbreaks in Asia, Taiwan needs to be incorporated into the structural mechanisms of the WHO. The resolution urges the Netherlands' government and the EU to help Taiwan gain WHO observer status.
■ Society
Charity helps AIDS babies
A local charity organization devoted to AIDS prevention announced yesterday that it has set up a care center for babies born to HIV-infected mothers. The babies will receive treatment for six weeks immediately after birth that will reduce the chances of them developing HIV to below 5 percent, according to Chiu Shu-mei (邱淑美) from the Garden of Mercy Foundation. Any babies that test positive for HIV will be sent to volunteer foster families, Chiu said, adding that anyone interested in joining the program is welcome to call the group on (02) 2370-3579. Chiu said many babies born to HIV-infected mothers do not receive adequate care because the mothers are often in financial difficulty, in jail, or on the run from police for involvement in drug trafficking, drug abuse or organized crime. Unfortunately, many of the babies are abandoned if they are found to be HIV positive, she continued. According to Center for Disease Control figures, 12 children have been confirmed as suffering from AIDS since 1985.
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