HEALTH
Boosters available for kids
From Tuesday, children aged six months to five years who have already received two doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine would be eligible for a second-generation Moderna jab as a booster, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Friday. However, the updated Moderna bivalent COVID-19 vaccine targeting the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of SARS-CoV-2 cannot be administered as a third shot for children aged six months to four years if their previous two doses were Pfizer-BioNTech jabs, it said. The standard Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination regime for children comprises three shots, while Moderna’s is two, so children must receive Pfizer-BioNTech as their third shot, the CDC said. However, five-year-olds can receive either as their booster, it said. The updated Moderna dose should be administered at least three months after the previous shot, it said, adding that about 134,000 children are eligible for shots.
POLITICS
Cabinet spokesman named
Alan Lin (林子倫), deputy executive director of the Executive Yuan’s Office of Energy and Carbon Reduction, was named Cabinet spokesman on Friday. The Cabinet in a statement described Lin, who teaches political science at National Taiwan University, as a public policy expert, saying that he has been assisting the government in planning its energy and environmental policies. He also led a delegation last year that participated in discussions at the COP27 summit in Egypt, it said. Lin’s predecessor, Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), tendered his resignation in February following allegations that he offered favors for sex during his time as a civil servant in Tainan more than a decade ago. Minister Without Portfolio Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) has been acting Cabinet spokesman since then.
DIPLOMACY
Envoy shares vision
Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said his main objective would be to continue to advance the ties that were cemented by his predecessor, Francis Liang (梁國新). Tung, who arrived in the Southeast Asian city-state on Monday, said that Taiwan and Singapore have a longstanding friendship built on extensive collaboration and exchanges, including several memorandums of understanding and trade agreements. He said he is especially hoping to improve ties in the tourism and the high-tech sectors. Tung previously served as Overseas Community Affairs Council minister.
CULTURE
Exhibition opens in Taipei
French conceptual artist Laurent Grasso’s first solo exhibition in Taiwan opened in Taipei on Wednesday, showcasing several of his pieces in a variety of media. The Paris-based artist said the exhibition, titled “Time Leaves,” reflects his constant exploration of the idea of “time” and “traveling through times.” The exhibition, which runs until July 15 at Tao Art in Neihu District (內湖), brings together several works created by the Marcel Duchamp Prize winner, including the film OttO made for the 2018 Biennale of Sydney. The 21-minute film explores the “sacred sites” of indigenous people in Australia’s Northern Territory, showing Grasso’s interest in traditional beliefs and myths, and his embrace of technology. Also on display is another series of paintings of “strangely shaped” flowers, the gallery said. Titled “Future Herbarium,” the paintings were inspired by flowers that mutated after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan in 2011, the gallery 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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