Sat, May 27, 2023 page3

• Taiwan News Quick Take

  • Staff writer, with agencies
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  WEATHER

  CWB mulls sea warning

  The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) could issue a sea warning for Typhoon Mawar as soon as Monday and does not rule out issuing a land warning based on how the storm develops, it said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the typhoon was moving west-northwest with maximum sustained winds of 209kph and gusts of up to 262kph, CWB data showed. It could get stronger and be pushed north on Monday, when it is expected to reach waters southeast of Taiwan, but the timing remained uncertain, bureau forecaster Yen Chih-chun (葉致均) said. The typhoon is to head toward Taiwan until Tuesday, when it might suddenly reverse course and head in a northeast direction, away from Taiwan, the bureau said. However, the US-based Global Forecast System said the storm could make another sharp turn west and make landfall in southern Taiwan on Sunday next week.

  DEFENSE

  PLA planes breach ADIZ

  Thirteen Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft breached Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) during the 24-hour period that began at 6am on Thursday, including two BZK-005 drones that crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait. The combat and reconnaissance drones crossed the median line at Taiwan’s southern end and continued flying in a southeastern direction for some distance before turning back, the flight paths released by the Ministry of National Defense yesterday showed. There were also incursions by six J-16 jets, two H-6 bombers, one Y-9 electronic warfare aircraft, one KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft and a Z-9 anti-submarine helicopter, all of which flew along the southern boundary of the ADIZ. In addition, eight other PLA planes and 11 vessels were seen in airspace and waters around the nation during the 24-hour period, the ministry said. The military scrambled jets and deployed air defense missile systems in response to the aircraft and vessels operating in the vicinity, the ministry said.

  FOREIGN AFFAIRS

  Debt stops lawmakers’ visit

  Negotiators’ continuing failure to reach an agreement to lift the US debt ceiling forced the US House of Representatives’ new China committee to postpone a planned trip to Taiwan, committee chairman Mike Gallagher told reporters on Thursday. The House adjourned on Thursday and was not due to return until June 5, four days after June 1, when the US Department of the Treasury said the government could run short of funds to cover all its expenses. Several members of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party were to have left for Taiwan this weekend. As talks between the House and White House continued, House members were told to be prepared to return to the Capitol to vote on potential legislation to raise the debt limit with 24 hours’ notice.

  SOCIETY

  Two more bodies found

  The Pingtung County Bureau of Fire and Emergency Services on Thursday found two more bodies in the search for three missing members of a 10-person river tracing group swept away by a surging waterfall on Saturday last week, raising the death toll to four, with one person still missing. The group was exploring a section of Flying Dragon Waterfall (飛龍瀑布) in Wutai Township (霧台). As they were climbing down a cliff, five people were swept away after torrential rainfall caused a water surge. The other five were stranded on the cliff and rescued by a helicopter the following morning.
• Most Popular

  • 1

    Bologna advance to face AC Milan in Coppa final

  • 2

    Bukele proposes prisoner swap with Maduro

  • 3

    Wild’s top line too much for Vegas Golden Knights

  • 4

    HK, Macau residency rules tightened

  • 5

    Eric Chu, 2 others to be questioned for leading illegal assembly last week