WEATHER
Poor air quality warning
The Ministry of Environment yesterday cautioned of poor air quality in areas south of Yunlin County in the next few days due to air pollutants carried by seasonal winds from China. The situation is expected to improve by Thursday or Friday, it added. Meanwhile, the level of fine particles 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter (PM2.5) led to a “red” warning, the third-highest on Taiwan’s six-level air quality index (AQI) scale, being issued for Kinmen and Matsu yesterday, meaning people were advised not to go outside. An “orange” warning was issued for outlying Penghu County and western Taiwan, which means the unhealthy air quality could impact elderly people, children and people with cardiac or respiratory conditions. For areas north of Hsinchu, the air quality is expected to improve starting today, the ministry said.
COMPENSATION
Pilot to pay air hostess
An airline pilot has been ordered to pay NT$400,000 in compensation to a flight attendant for his sexual misconduct toward her during an overseas work stint in late 2022, the Taipei District Court said. The ruling said the pilot must pay financial compensation to the woman for degrading her and inflicting psychological pain on her. The verdict can be appealed. The incident occurred at a KTV room the crew visited after dinner following a flight abroad in December 2022, the ruling said. The flight attendant accused the pilot of caressing her thigh, holding her waist, interlocking his fingers with hers, kissing her on the neck and whispering into her ear to “come to my room,” before she managed to run from the spot, it said. Upon returning to Taiwan, the woman filed a complaint with the aviation company. It added that after talking to both parties, the airline authority accepted that the man had perpetrated sexual misconduct against his colleague. He subsequently offered her a written statement through a third party promising not to repeat the behavior. The flight attendant then filed a civil lawsuit, requesting NT$600,000 in compensation that was subsequently cut to NT$400,000, according to the ruling.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
A pro-Russia hacker group has launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on the Taiwanese government in retaliation for President William Lai’s (賴清德) comments suggesting that China should have a territorial dispute with Russia, an information security company said today. The hacker group, NoName057, recently launched an HTTPs flood attack called “DDoSia” targeting Taiwanese government and financial units, Radware told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). Local tax bureaus in New Taipei City, Keelung, Hsinchu and Taoyuan were mentioned by the hackers. Only the Hsinchu Local Tax Bureau site appeared to be down earlier in the day, but was back
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