CRIME
Murder suspect returns
An Israeli-American man suspected to be involved in the murder last month of a Canadian resident of New Taipei City arrived in Taipei yesterday from Manila, escorted by four Taiwanese police officers. After arriving at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Oren Mayer was taken to the Criminal Investigation Bureau for questioning before being referred to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for further investigation. The 37-year-old Mayer, and Ewart Bent, a 30-year-old American, are suspected of killing Ryan Sanjay Ramgahan and dismembering his body. Ramgahan’s remains were discovered on Aug. 22 under the Zhongzheng Bridge in Yonghe District (永和). Philippine police have said that Mayer, who left Taiwan after the murder, was arrested on Sept. 5 in an apartment in Cainta on Luzon island following a tipoff from Taiwanese police.
DIPLOMACY
PILP course opens in Taipei
The Taiwan leg of the annual Pacific Islands Leadership Program (PILP) opened yesterday in Taipei, as 22 participants began a six-week training session to sharpen their leadership skills by learning from Taiwanese experts in various fields. This year’s program began on Aug. 20 at the East-West Center’s campus in Hawaii with a one-month course on experiential learning exercises. The Taipei segment is being held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ (MOFA) Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs. Now in its sixth year, the project has trained a total of 122 people from 15 nations in the Pacific region. Addressing yesterday’s opening ceremony, American Institute in Taiwan Deputy Director Raymond Greene said Taiwan is the best partner for providing invaluable opportunities for citizens of the Pacific nations to enhance their leadership capabilities. Taiwan is the regional leader in economic, environmental, healthcare and social benchmarks, he said.
DIPLOMACY
Donations followed the law
MOFA yesterday said the donations the government made to El Salvador were paid in accordance with the law, amid questions raised by prosecutors in that nation who allege that part of the money was used by the former ruling party for campaign purposes. Prosecutor Douglas Melendez on Thursday said that he was investigating the alleged diversion of US$10 million in funds donated by Taiwan and purportedly used to pay for campaigning. All cooperation between Taiwan and its former ally was conducted in accordance with the law, ministry spokesperson Andrew Lee (李憲章) said. The government carefully screened all assistance proposals made by the Salvadorean government and donations were made in public with detailed records of where the funding was to be used, he said.
WEATHER
Sunshine expected: CWB
The weather is to remain sunny nationwide until Saturday, when northeasterly winds are to build up, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) forecast yesterday. Stable weather will continue through Friday, forecaster Kuan Hsin-ping (官欣平) said. However, there could still be afternoon showers in mountainous areas of northern Taiwan and adjacent locations, he said. Mountainous and plains areas in central and southern Taiwan can also expect afternoon showers, though the rain will last longer than in the north, Kuan said. Starting Saturday, the windward side of areas in northern Taiwan could see sporadic showers, Kuan said.
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's
Three tropical depressions yesterday intensified into tropical storms, with one likely to affect Taiwan as a typhoon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The three storms, named Mitag, Ragasa and Neoguri, were designated as storms No. 17 to 19 for this year, the CWA said. Projected routes indicate that Ragasa is most likely to affect Taiwan, it said. As of 2am today, Ragasa was 1,370km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) on the southernmost tip of Taiwan. It was moving west-northwest before turning northwest, slowing from 11kph to 6kph, the agency said. A sea warning for Ragasa is unlikely before Sunday afternoon, but its outer rim
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