■ DEFENSE
Air show canceled
The Air Force yesterday decided to reschedule an air show at its Sungshan Command Headquarters from Sunday to Sept. 2 because of the approach of Typhoon Sepat. The Air Force said that the open house activity and the air show activities will be rescheduled to Sept. 2 at the same place and the same time. An activity at Taichung's Chingchunkang Base tomorrow will be rescheduled to Aug. 26.
■ JUDICIARY
Justices to be named
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) is likely to nominate Yang Jen-shou (楊仁壽), head of the Commission on the Disciplinary Sanctions of Functionaries, to replace Weng Yueh-sheng (翁岳生) as president of the Judicial Yuan. Weng is retiring, an anonymous source from the legislature said yesterday. A high-ranking official in the legislature said that Chen would submit a list of eight nominees for the Council of Grand Justices to the legislature for confirmation by Tuesday, to succeed the eight justices whose terms of office will expire at the end of next month, including Weng.
■ TRAVEL
Licenses accepted in Japan
The Japanese Cabinet approved on Wednesday an amendment to its traffic laws that recognizes Taiwanese drivers' licenses. Holders of Taiwanese drivers' licenses will be able to drive on roads in Japan starting on Sept. 19, a Taiwanese official stationed in Tokyo said yesterday. The goodwill measure adopted by the Japanese government follows its granting of 90-day visa-free visits for Taiwanese tourists in September 2005. The official said Taiwan's government would recognize Japanese drivers' licenses soon as a reciprocal gesture. Under the new Japanese regulations, a translated certificate should be attached to the drivers' licenses. According to reports, travel service operators in Hokkaido had made great efforts to persuade the Japanese government to recognize Taiwanese licenses.
■ POLITICS
Official's election annulled
The head of a Kaohsiung County township who was elected in December 2005 will be relieved of his position after the Kaohsiung branch of the Taiwan High Court annulled his election on Wednesday. Lin June-tsung (林榮宗), head of Niaosung Township (鳥松) and a member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), slammed the court ruling, but said he had no choice but to accept the decision, which is final. Lin assumed office on March 1 last year. The Kaohsiung District Court found Lin guilty of vote-buying in a criminal suit in June last year. That ruling was overturned by the High Court in May this year, but Lin then lost a civil suit in which he contended that the 27 votes his camp was suspected of buying did not sway the outcome of the election, as he won by 3,034 votes. The High Court rejected that argument.
■ ENVIRONMENT
Housing research under way
Chaoyang University of Technology in Taichung County has launched a project to develop eco-friendly housing, a dean said yesterday. A research team will work on prefabricated houses to cut energy consumption and reduce environmental impact, the dean of the College of Enterprise Innovation said. The team expects to finish the project in one year and hopes to see mass production of the housing design begin shortly afterward.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
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