■ Health
Lost dentures recovered
A 45-year-old man was breathing easier yesterday, after a surgeon removed a missing dental bridge from one of his bronchial tubes -- three years after he lost them in a fall. Dr. Chen Chun-lei said the man went to his clinic several days ago complaining of shortness of breath and a high fever and was diagnosed with a mild case of pneumonia. Chen operated after an unknown object was seen in one of the bronchial tubes in an X-ray. "He had looked for the missing dentures for three years but they were nowhere to be found," Chen said. Chen said the man had not suffered serious breathing problems earlier, possibly because the denture of eight teeth did not entirely block the bronchial tube. The doctor said the man could have ended up losing part of a lung if the denture had not been discovered before a serious injury occurred.
■ Weather
CWB watching Matsa
Eastern Taiwan could begin to feel the approach of Tropical Storm Matsa tonight. The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday that the center of Matsa was around 1,600km southeastern of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and it was moving north-northwest at 8kph. Forecasters were unsure, however, if Matsa would directly hit Taiwan. "We are keeping our eyes on it. If Matsa moves north, then the weather in Taiwan might only be affected by peripheral currents," said Daniel Wu (吳德榮), director of the forecast center. Forecasters said boats sailing off eastern Taiwan should be on alert for huge waves tonight. On Thursday and Friday, the weather in the north and northeast of the country might be affected by the storm's approach.
■ Politics
New caucus whips installed
The dust has finally settled in a fight among the People First Party's (PFP) caucus leaders as Hwang Yih-jiau (黃義交) took office as head caucus whip. Hwang had tied with Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) in voting. Hwang was favored by the PFP headquarters, while Lin was the choice of the caucus itself. Sun Ta-chien (孫大千) and Lin Hui-kuan (林惠官) will serve as the caucus' other two leaders in the next legislative session, scheduled to begin on Sept. 13. The Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) new caucus whips also took office yesterday. They are Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源), Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛), Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆) and John Wu (吳志揚). The Taiwan Solidarity Union's new caucus leaders, who took office in June, are Mark Ho (何敏豪), David Huang (黃適卓), George Liu (劉寬平) and Kuo Lin-yung (郭林勇). The Democratic Progressive Party's won't change its caucus whips until the end of the next legislative session.
■ Environment
Biomass contest announced
The Council of Agriculture yesterday urged young scientists and students to come up with ideas to turn rice straw into usable sources of biomass energy. The council and the Yuan T. Lee Science Education For All (遠哲科學教育基金會) are sponsoring a competition and the top price is NT$200,000 (US$6,276). Rice paddies cover 260,000 hectares of land in Taiwan. Rice straw has traditionally been used for compost or fuel. Academia Sinica President Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) said yesterday that the abuse of fossil fuels has hurt the environment and it was time for youngsters to rethink sources of energy. More information on the competition available at www.ytlee.org.tw.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
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