HEALTH
Flu season peaking
It is now the peak season for influenza in Taiwan, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said it expects the number of severe cases to remain high into next month. A total of 55 people have died of flu complications during this flu season, including 12 during the two-week period at the beginning of this month, according to CDC data. Of the 141 new cases reported during the two-week period, 122 were from the H1N1 virus, and the others were distributed between the H3N2 virus, influenza A and influenza B. The agency urged people who are most vulnerable to the flu, including people aged over 65, infants, patients suffering from high-risk chronic diseases and pregnant women, to seek out care if they experience typical flu symptoms.
CRIME
Marijuana grower arrested
A Canadian man was arrested on Wednesday after police raided his home in Pingtung County and allegedly found dozens of marijuana plants under cultivation, the Pingtung County Police Bureau said. Marijuana cigarettes were also found during the raid on the 37-year-old man’s home, police said. The total value of the marijuana products found at the man’s home was about NT$640,000, police said. All of the cultivation was being done indoors, police said. The man, who has been living in Taiwan for five years, was charged with violating the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例) and was taken to the Pingtung District Prosecutors’ Office, police said.
SOCIETY
Festival set to draw millions
The annual Taiwan Lantern Festival, which will be held in Taoyuan from Monday to March 6, is likely to attract a record-high of 12 million visitors, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said. The festival, which drew a record-breaking 10 million visitors last year when it was held in central Taichung, could keep its momentum and attract even more people this time, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Fan Chih-ku (范植谷) said. Fan said he expects about 60,000 foreign visitors to the festival, adding that foreign nationals who come to Taiwan during the event will be given hand-held lanterns and festival souvenirs. The festival, which is to take place in the plaza in front of the Taoyuan high-speed railway station, is traditionally held around the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar.
CRIME
Teacher tries to rob store
A 25-year-old English teacher from Canada was arrested on Lunar New Year’s Eve after a failed attempt to rob a convenience store in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) that day, police said on Thursday. According to surveillance footage provided by the store, the suspect followed the store clerk to the bathroom and waited for him to close the toilet door before tying a rope around the doorknob to try and prevent him exiting. The surveillance tape then showed the suspect trying to grab cash from the counter. However, the clerk managed to break free from the bathroom and confronted the suspect, resulting in a scuffle that went from the store to the sidewalk outside. The clerk, with the help of pedestrians, then tied the suspect to a tree and called the police, who arrested the man and seized about NT$4,000 (US$120) that they alleged he had stolen from the store.
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
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