■ AGRICULTURE
COA checks for salmonella
The Council of Agriculture (COA) yesterday said it would step up checks for salmonella after wire services recently reported that children could be infected with salmonella by touching pet food. The council’s Department of Animal Industry said it had been conducting regular inspections of pet food since the Pedigree dog food scare in 2004. However, most of the inspections have focused on checking for aflatoxin, melamine and heavy metal content, which pose a more serious health threat to pets than salmonella, the department said. Salmonella contamination is usually found in products before they are packaged, it said, adding that in many countries, checks for salmonella are conducted by manufacturers. However, to reassure pet owners, the department will use some of its aflatoxin-testing funds for carrying out salmonella testing, it said.
■ SOCIETY
Man ‘marries’ goddess
A man out of luck in earthly love has married a goddess after she ordered him to do so in a dream, a Chinese Television System (CTS) report said yesterday. The man, surnamed Lin, claimed the Lotus Fairy, a Taoist deity, started coming to him in his sleep after he went to her temple to seek her blessing following a series of failed relationships, CTS said. The goddess soon instructed Lin to marry her and to comply, the 40-year-old held a “wedding ceremony” in which a young woman holding a statue of the goddess stood in for the bride, the report said. Since the wedding, Lin has moved the statue to his home in central Taiwan to worship her and claimed that his “wife” has protected him from both illnesses and accidents, the report said.
■ ENVIRONMENT
Taipower fine overturned
The Taipei High Administrative Court on Tuesday ruled that Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) did not have to pay a fine imposed by the Taipei County Environmental Protection Bureau for failing to complete a nuclear waste storage project on time. The ruling said the bureau did not have right of jurisdiction to impose a NT$540 million (US$16.8 million) fine on Taipower. The bureau had imposed a series of fines on Taipower between 2007 and 2008 for allegedly violating the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法) and not submitting a contingency plan regarding the delay of the project, which was originally scheduled to be completed in 2006. The bureau can appeal the court’s decision.
■ CRIME
Man nabbed over road paint
The Taipei City Police Department’s criminal investigation corps yesterday said they had arrested a man who allegedly defaced roads by pouring and spreading white paint on them. Shen Lai-jing (沈賴敬), a 50-year-old carpenter, was arrested at his residence late on Tuesday night. Shen, who is suspected of defacing newly asphalted roads at 11 locations, only admitted to doing so at one location, but said it was not intentional. He said he had accidentally kicked off barrel of paint onboard his scooter while driving. “He said it was an accident and that no politics was involved. However, prosecutors will do more questioning and keep investigating,” corps deputy Lee Wen-chang (李文章) said. Shen was charged with vandalism, endangering public safety and obstructing the work of public servants. The city government last year launched a seven-year program to fix and repave the city’s major boulevards. Lee said fixing the damage caused by the paint at the 11 locations would cost the city NT$880,000.
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
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
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