Tropical Storm Nalgae’s outer bands are likely to start affecting the weather in Taiwan on Sunday, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday.
The center of the storm, which is likely to be upgraded to a typhoon before reaching the Philippines’ Luzon Island, as of 8pm yesterday was about 1,530km south of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, the bureau said.
The storm was moving northwest toward Luzon at 27kph, bureau data showed.
The bureau said there is a high chance that Nalgae would be upgraded to a typhoon before making landfall tomorrow or on Sunday, but could be downgraded to a tropical storm on Monday when it is expected to be closer to Taiwan.
There are two paths Nalgae might take after crossing Luzon: It could turn north and move along the east coast of Taiwan, or move west toward the South China Sea, the bureau said.
The Pacific high-pressure system in the north that is affecting Nalgae’s movement might split into two parts between Sunday and Tuesday, which explains why there are two possible paths, it said.
Nalgae is most likely to turn north, which might lead to a sea alert being issued on Sunday or Monday, it said.
The storm is forecast to come closest to Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday, and could even make landfall, it added.
More observations are needed as it remains uncertain when and how the storm would turn north, it said.
Today, chances of isolated showers are high in northern and eastern Taiwan due to an increasing northeast monsoon until Sunday, with heavy rain forecast in the northeast tomorrow and on Sunday, the bureau said.
From Sunday night to Tuesday, Nalgae’s outer bands are forecast to bring heavy rain to northern and eastern regions, and the Hengchun Peninsula in Pingtung County, it said.
Showers are forecast for mountainous areas in central and southern Taiwan, it added.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
‘MISGUIDED EDICT’: Two US representatives warned that Somalia’s passport move could result in severe retaliatory consequences and urged it to reverse its decision Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) has ordered that a special project be launched to counter China’s “legal warfare” distorting UN Resolution 2758, a foreign affairs official said yesterday. Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority on Wednesday cited UN Resolution 2758 and Mogadishu’s compliance with the “one China” principle as it banned people from entering or transiting in the African nation using Taiwanese passports or other Taiwanese travel documents. The International Air Transport Association’s system shows that Taiwanese passport holders cannot enter Somalia or transit there. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) protested the move and warned Taiwanese against traveling to Somalia or Somaliland