NATIONAL DEFENSE
SET News report ‘untrue’
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday rejected a SET News report that a Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force aircraft was spotted traveling near the M503 flight route along the median line of the Taiwan Strait. The PLA Air Force yesterday morning conducted drills that included a Shaanxi Y-8 transport plane traveling close to the M503 route, the first time a PLA plane has traveled along the route, the report said. Air Force Command Headquarters in Taipei dismissed the report as untrue, saying the plane flew west of the median line as part of a training program, but added that it had scrambled a fighter jet in response. The military was in full control of the situation and is fully able to ensure national security, it added.
ENVIRONMENT
Penghu releases 15 turtles
Penghu County Government yesterday released 15 green turtles and hawksbill turtles into the sea before a cheering audience of about 100 elementary-school children, residents and tourists. Nine of the turtles had been rescued by fishermen and Coast Guard Administration personnel after being found injured or having eaten plastic bags, Penghu County Commissioner Chen Kuang-fu (陳光復) said. The others had been born in 2015 or 2016 and taken into care by the Penghu Marine Biology Research Center, Chen said. The shelter at the center has cared for 389 sea turtles, including 327 green turtles and 50 hawksbill turtles, since it was established in 1997. It has released more than 230 into the wild and is caring for 43 more.
TOURISM
Taoyuan eyes immigrants
Taoyuan has introduced new travel packages showcasing scenic spots and festivals to give recent immigrants to the nation a glimpse of the city’s beauty and culture, Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) said yesterday. The city is home to about 110,000 migrant workers and 58,000 foreign spouses, Cheng said during a radio interview. The city’s plan was developed in line with the central government’s policy to form closer ties with Southeast Asian nations. For NT$600 for a single-day trip, participants would be able to visit major tourist attractions and take part in local festivals, he said. Taoyuan Association of Travel Agents head Lu Chung-hao (呂中豪) said the plan was targeting immigrants and migrant workers from the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. Taoyuan Tourism Department Director Yang Sheng-ping (楊勝評) said bilingual guides would accompany the tours to help participants gain a better understanding of Taoyuan.
WEATHER
Taipei feels the heat
Taipei yesterday saw the mercury reach 35.2°C at 1:03pm, the highest in the city this year, the Central Weather Bureau said. The weather will be even hotter from today as the nation comes under the influence of southwesterly winds, the bureau said.
EDUCATION
Team win physics medals
A team of eight high-school students won four gold, one silver and three bronze medals at the 19th Asian Physics Olympiad held from May 5 to Saturday in Hanoi, Vietnam. The medal haul put Taiwan, together with Vietnam, in third place at the annual regional event, which drew 188 competitors from 25 nations. Participants took an exam on experimental physics on Monday and a theoretical exam on Wednesday. The team was selected from 1,847 hopefuls at 143 schools.
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
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai
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