HEALTH
New outbreak in Yunlin
A bird flu outbreak was reported in Yunlin County for the second time this month, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said on Sunday. The two outbreaks were confirmed within a week of each other, resulting in the culling of 26,535 chickens, the bureau said. The latest outbreak occurred at a Mailiao Township (麥寮) farm, the bureau said. It said tests on specimens from the farm found that it was infected with the highly pathogenic type B strain of the H5N2 avian flu virus. All 2,672 chickens being raised in enclosures were culled, it added. On Wednesday last week a Dounan Township (斗南) poultry farm confirmed it had the same strain of the virus and 23,863 chickens there were culled.
OBITURARY
PFP’s Chin dies at 69
People First Party (PFP) secretary-general Chin Chin-sheng (秦金生) died of a heart attack on Sunday at the age of 69, the party announced yesterday. Chin was exercising outdoors in the morning when he had a heart attack, the party said. It added that it would provide any necessary assistance to Chin’s family to arrange for his funeral. Chin devoted most of his life to public service and had a good relationship with political figures across party lines, including former Democratic Progressive Party chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), senior Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
WEATHER
Temperatures to drop
A cold air mass from China is expected to reach Taiwan on Saturday, with temperatures in northern areas forecast to drop to 13?C, the Central Weather Bureau said. The cold front is expected to affect Taiwan on Saturday and Sunday, with temperatures dropping to about 15?C in the south and 13?C in the north, the bureau said. Daytime temperatures are expected to be about 16?C in the northeast, 20?C in central Taiwan and Hualien County, and 22?C in the south and Taitung County, the bureau said.
TRADE
Taiwan seeks deeper EU ties
Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) yesterday expressed hope that the Italian government will support Taiwan’s bid for deeper trade and economic relations with the EU, and asked visiting Italian lawmakers to back Taipei’s efforts. Chen made the remarks after meeting with an Italian delegation headed by Giuseppe Romanini, a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, at the Presidential Office Building earlier in the day. He said that Taiwan, which wants to improve its industrial competitiveness, has been over the past several years sparing no efforts in seeking free-trade agreements with its major trade partners, which include the EU, Taiwan’s fifth-largest trade partner, Chen said.
AVIATION
CAL business class praised
China Airlines’ (CAL) new Airbus A350 business class section has won praise by TheDesignAir Web site, winning the Best New Business Class and Best Business Class Design awards for last year. The cabin was praised as a design that “reflects the 777 cabin, but with an all-new color, and trim and new hard product details.” “The original cabin was designed by Ray Chen, but the China Airlines design team have added flourishes to act as a point of difference between the A350 and the Boeing 777-300ER business class cabins,” TheDesignAir Web site said.
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
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
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