RESTAURANTS
Chocolate sundaes axed
McDonald’s yesterday stopped selling one of its classic dessert menu items, the chocolate sundae, at restaurants in Taiwan. The decision to axe the chocolate sundae, an item that has featured on its menus for more than 30 years, was made after continuous reviews of consumer preferences and market conditions, the company said on Tuesday. Other items McDonald’s have dropped from its menu this year include the Bubbly Joy McFizz and hot chocolate. McDonald’s will continue to develop more items for its menu, it said.
CRIME
Telecom fraud ring busted
More than 60 suspects were detained in a cross-border investigation into an international telecom fraud ring, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said on Wednesday. The investigating team was comprised of police from Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, Chang Chao-hsiung (張詔雄), an officer of the bureau’s International Criminal Affairs Division, told a news conference. The bureau, in collaboration with the Royal Thai Police, the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Bureau of Immigration, raided a telecom operation in Metro Manila in June last year and apprehended three Taiwanese and 16 Thais, and about two months later, police from Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam detained two Taiwanese and 19 Thais in Ho Chi Minh City, Chang said. Preliminary findings showed that the syndicate preyed mainly on Thais, he said. The investigation showed that the ring was allegedly controlled by three Taiwanese, who were detained along with 18 others after a two-month operation encompassing several cities in Taiwan, Chang said.
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