WEATHER
Typhoon forming: CWA
A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central Philippines before heading toward the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) and Vietnam. It is unlikely to directly affect Taiwan. The northeast monsoon would today bring rain to the northern and northeastern regions, including Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Yilan County, the CWA added.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
TRAFFIC
Toys seized to pay fines
A Chiayi City man’s vast collection of action figures was repossessed and sent to be auctioned over his failure to pay more than NT$60,000 in fines for “multiple” incidents of driving without a license, the Ministry of Justice said yesterday. Following an investigation into the financial situation of the driver, surnamed Tseng (曾), the Administrative Enforcement Agency’s Chiayi branch concluded that he likely did not have the means to pay his outstanding debts, the branch said in a statement. A deeper investigation found that Tseng had a vast trove of action figures, including once-popular figurines from the Japanese manga series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, stored in a warehouse from his former business, it said. Enforcement officials seized the items, which are to be auctioned in the lobby of the branch at 10am on Tuesday next week, it said.
CRIME
Woman sentenced for attack
A woman was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for attacking a high-school student with a box cutter on the Taipei MRT last year, after the New Taipei City District Court found she suffered from schizophrenia, according to a judgement released yesterday. After completing her sentence, the defendant, identified as Wang Ching-ssu (王靖絲), must spend two years under court-ordered residential psychiatric supervision due to her condition, the court said in its verdict handed down on Oct. 22. On Nov. 8 last year, Wang attacked a student, surnamed Cheng (鄭), on a Bannan Line train with a box cutter, after experiencing auditory hallucinations and believing the student was a stalker, the court said. She struck Cheng in the head and neck, causing lacerations to his left cheek, neck and ear, before the student and bystanders restrained her, the court said. The ruling is subject to appeal.
TRANSPORTATION
HSR ridership hits record
Ridership on the high-speed rail reached 7.352 million passengers last month, a new monthly record amid a surge in travel demand during three consecutive long weekends, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) said yesterday. Extended holidays for the Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ten National Day and Retrocession Day spurred significant passenger traffic. The average daily ridership last month was 237,000, up about 11 percent from last year’s full-year average of 214,000, and 7.4 percent higher than the January-to-September average of 221,000, THSRC said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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