WEATHER
Tropical disturbance
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the Western Pacific typhoon season this year, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday. The storm lacks a visible center, and how it would develop would only become clear today and on Monday, the agency said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the system’s effect on Taiwan. A tropical disturbance is a tropical weather system made up of organized showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
EVENTS
Ivy Next Star sign-up begins
Ivy English is to host its Ivy Next Star Contest, it said yesterday. The event would be open to people older than 18 who have English teaching experience, including in-person classes or online courses, and who share the educational ideals of company, it said. For the first stage, applicants must make a self-introductory video with a three-minute teaching demonstration using Ivy English course materials, it said. For the second stage, they would be required to post a teaching demo on a subject designated by Ivy English to a social media platform, it said. The final round would be held live at the CTS studio on Aug. 2. where contestants would do a 15-minute teaching demo on a subject randomly selected from the company’s archives, it added. Registration for the event is to close at 5pm on June 30.
SOCIETY
Zoo to close for 10 days
Taipei Zoo is to close from June 18 to 27 for annual maintenance, the zoo said yesterday. That would include updates and repairs to indoor and outdoor animal enclosures, tree trimming and building cleaning, it added. The anti-slip flooring in the king penguin exhibit would also be improved, the red-crowned cranes’ habitat would be redesigned, and perches for siamangs, macaws and toucans in the Tropical Rainforest Area are to be renovated, it said. The zoo added that it would also clean building exteriors, repair signage and rest areas, resurface roads, maintain boardwalks, trim trees and clear drainage systems. Since 2019, Taipei Zoo has closed for 10 days every June to carry out comprehensive maintenance to speed up repairs and reduce disruptions to the animals before the summer break. The zoo would also hold staff training to enhance animal care, service quality and the visitor experience, it said.
CRIME
Court allows tycoon to travel
The Taipei District Court on Tuesday granted former CTBC Financial Holdings Co vice chairman Jeffrey Koo Jr (辜仲諒) permission to travel to China for three days to handle baseball-related matters, setting bail at NT$150 million (US$5.01 million), despite the criminal charges he is facing and being barred from leaving Taiwan. Koo on May 13 was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison for his role in a building purchase scandal. Koo had been banned from leaving the country for eight months, but as he was serving as president of the Baseball Federation of Asia and executive vice president of the World Baseball Softball Confederation, Koo appealed to lift the travel restriction from Thursday to today so he could visit China to prepare for two upcoming baseball tournaments. The Asian Baseball Championship and the Women’s Baseball Asia Cup are scheduled to take place in China in September and October respectively. He said he was also invited to visit Shanghai for baseball activities and planning discussions.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
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