■ TRANSPORT
Tour bus crash kills one
A tour bus carrying tourists from Singapore rammed into a car on a highway in Wanli (萬里), Taipei County, yesterday morning, killing one and injuring seven others, the Taipei County fire department said. The Taiwanese bus driver was killed instantly, while seven passengers were slightly injured in the accident. The injured were sent to a hospital in Kinshan (金山), Taipei County, said firefighters who rushed to the scene in response to emergency calls. The bus was on its way from Keelung City to the scenic coastal village of Yeliou (野柳) when it slammed into the side of the car.
■ AGRICULTURE
Endangered ferns bred
The Taiwan Forestry Research Institute has successfully bred two endemic endangered fern species, earning worldwide acclaim. The institute made the announcement on Tuesday after six years of research on the reproduction of the two species, Archangiopteris somai Hayata and Archangiopteris itoi Shieh. The two species can be dated back 180 million years and are endemic to Taiwan, the institute said. There are fewer than 1,000 Archangiopteris somai Hayata remaining, while Archangiopteris itoi Shieh numbers less than 100 specimens, it said.
■ SOCIETY
Skin infections strike
Members of the public who observe Tomb Sweeping Day, on which it is customary to pay homage to one's ancestors, should take precautions to guard against skin infections, a dermatologist in Taichung cautioned. Chen Chun-yi (陳駿逸), who runs a skin clinic, told reporters that the number of patients he and his colleagues had treated in the past few days had increased 30 percent, with most suffering from infections resulting from getting sunburns or being bitten by mosquitoes and other insects while visiting tombs. Failing to protect themselves against insects and the sun, many people contracted acute skin infections, developed rashes all over their bodies and suffered from headaches, had difficulty breathing, and experienced excessive perspiration and localized lymphadenitis. Chen said this month was a period when mosquitoes and other insects thrived.
■ MILITARY
Officer demoted for prank
A naval officer has been demoted for pulling an April Fool's Day joke on three soldiers by summoning them back to camp during their holidays for an "emergency," a newspaper said yesterday. The incident occurred on Sunday, April Fools' Day, at a fishing port sentry in Tamsui, the Apple Daily said. The sentry is manned by solders from the navy's Coast Guard Administration (CGA). On Sunday, three solders manning the sentry had just returned to their Taipei homes for a four-day Tomb Sweeping Day vacation when Lieutenant Chan Wei-sung (詹偉松) summoned them back to the camp citing an "emergency." In the telephone call, Chan said a soldier's cellphone had been stolen and the CGA had sent a probe team to the sentry to investigate the theft. But when the three solders rushed back to the sentry, a smiling Chan had lined up the other soldiers to welcome the trio with "Happy April Fool's Day!" "It was such a stupid joke and we felt cheated. There is nothing funny about it," the Apple Daily quoted one soldier as saying. Chan has removed from his command at the fishing port sentry.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that a surge in respiratory illnesses in China has been caused by at least seven types of pathogens, and small children, elderly people and immunocompromised people should temporarily avoid unnecessary visits to China. The recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China is mainly in the north and among children, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said on Monday. Data released by the Chinese National Health Commission on Sunday showed that among children aged one to four, the main pathogens were influenza viruses and rhinoviruses, while among children aged five to 14, the main pathogens
A New Taipei City hotpot restaurant could be fined after a rat dropped from the ceiling and landed on a customer’s plate last week, the New Taipei City Department of Health said yesterday after conducting an inspection. A woman recently posted on the “I am a Banciao resident” (我是板橋人) social media group saying that she had been eating with a friend at Chien Tu Shabu Shabu Hotpot Restaurant’s Shuangshi B branch in Banciao District (板橋). “While still eating, a big rat suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, landing on a plate next to a hotpot,” she said. “Later on, a member of
A new poll of Taiwanese voters found the top opposition candidate for president jumping past the ruling party’s hopeful into the lead position ahead of January’s election — the latest twist in a drama-filled race. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) had an approval rating of 31.9 percent versus 29.2 percent for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the poll released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed. The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), ranked third with 23.6 percent, according to the survey conducted
INCENTIVES: The province’s ‘21 measures’ include enhanced agricultural loans for Taiwanese farmers, and rent waivers and housing subsidies for Taiwanese start-ups China’s Fujian Province on Monday began implementing 15 economic measures targeting Taiwanese in its latest bid to fan pro-Beijing sentiment ahead of the Jan. 13 elections. Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency said the policies were part of “21 measures” unveiled in September by China for Fujian’s “integrated cross-strait development demonstration zone.” The partially implemented measures, which were created with input from Beijing, include reducing the wait time for Taiwanese applying for a visa from 20 days to five days and free public transit for Taiwanese older than 65, it said. Residents of Taiwan were granted use of the “all provincial Taiwanese entrepreneur compatriot
RSS