HEALTH
Rabies found in dog
The first case of rabies infection in dogs has been confirmed, the Central Epidemic Command Center for rabies said yesterday. The center was informed by the Animal Health Research Institute that a dog suspected to have been infected was sent to the institute by Taitung County’s animal disease control center on Monday and was later confirmed to have had rabies by the direct fluorescent antibody test and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The infected dog was a Taitung County resident’s pet, and was bitten by a rabid ferret-badger on Aug. 14 and sent to the county’s animal disease control center the next day to be placed under quarantine and observation. The dog started to exhibit loss of appetite and depression on Sept. 6, experienced paralysis of body parts on Sunday and was euthanized on the same day. The Council of Agriculture said that any warm-blooded animal can be infected with rabies and speculated that since the dog was only one-and-a-half-months-old and small, it was more susceptible to attacks by ferret-badgers. Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Director Chang Su-san (張淑賢) said that currently only those pet dogs that are aged three months or older can receive rabies vaccinations, so the puppy was not vaccinated.
DIPLOMACY
Japanese lawmaker visits
Japanese MP Shinjiro Koizumi of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has arrived in Taiwan with a large delegation to promote bilateral ties, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. During a four-day trip that will wrap up tomorrow, Koizumi, the son of former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, is scheduled to meet with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and several Taiwanese lawmakers to discuss bilateral political, economic and security issues, the ministry said. The 97-member delegation, including 33 young lawmakers, will also visit the National Palace Museum and the 921 Earthquake Museum, the ministry said. In addition, the delegation will visit National Fire Agency officials to express gratitude for Taiwan’s relief assistance in the wake of the March 11, 2011, earthquake. Shinjiro Koizumi was also scheduled to attend a professional baseball game in New Taipei City (新北市) last night, where he was to throw the first pitch, the ministry said. The 32-year-old lawmaker, who was elected to Japan’s lower house in 2009, has been the head of his party’s youth division since 2011. This was the first time the LDP has sent a large delegation to Taiwan since the party returned to power in December last year, the ministry said.
CULTURE
Hualien set for music fest
Music lovers can look forward to a strong lineup of original music shows when the Orig Sound Music Festival starts in Hualien on Saturday. Twenty-one original music singers and bands from Taiwan and abroad will perform, the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. Among the scheduled acts are US trumpeter and Grammy award winner Chris Botti, Japanese jazz saxophonist and flutist Kaori Kobayashi and Taiwanese Aboriginal a cappella singing group the O-Kai Singers. Other local artists and groups, including post-rock band Sugar Plum Ferry, Aboriginal singer-songwriter Panai and the band Chalaw & Passiwali, which combines Aboriginal music with Latin rhythms and rock sensibilities, will also offer fresh spins on local music. The festival will run until Sept. 22 at the Hualien Cultural and Creative Industries Park and will also include exhibitions, lectures and a food and crafts market.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
The first tropical storm of the year in the western North Pacific, Wutip (蝴蝶), has formed over the South China Sea and is expected to move toward Hainan Island off southern China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. The agency said a tropical depression over waters near the Paracel and Zhongsha islands strengthened into a tropical storm this morning. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 64.8kph, with peak gusts reaching 90kph, it said. Winds at Beaufort scale level 7 — ranging from 50kph to 61.5kph — extended up to 80km from the center, it added. Forecaster Kuan Hsin-ping
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