DIPLOMACY
Vehicles donated to Turkey
Taiwan has donated two uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) command vehicles to Istanbul to help boost its disaster preparedness. At a ceremony on Tuesday, Representative to Turkey Huang Chih-yang (黃志揚) said it was important to strengthen Istanbul’s disaster response capabilities, given the high risk of earthquakes in the region and the city’s dense population of more than 16 million. The two drone command vehicles, which carry high-tech equipment, support a new disaster relief model that uses the latest technology, Huang said, adding that the new model incorporates the experience of drone operators who have worked in disaster relief in Turkey and Taiwan. Ergun Cebeci, head of the Istanbul disaster coordination center, expressed thanks to Taiwan on behalf of the city government.
CRIME
Drug ring busted
The Taipei Police Department on Wednesday said that it cracked a drug trafficking ring headed by a gang leader from the Heavenly Way Alliance, a major criminal organization, and arrested 10 people. The ring smuggled drugs including cocaine, amphetamine and cannabis concentrate into Taiwan, with a US national bringing the drugs into the country in his luggage. The ring leader, identified by his surname, Hsu (許), instructed members of the gang to produce and sell cannabis vape cartridges for profit. According to the police department, a special team acting on tip-offs seized 4.6kg of cannabis oil and packaging tools from March to July last year. Further investigation led the taskforce to an unnamed US national, whom it suspected of smuggling drugs into Taiwan and arrested him in September last year when he attempted to enter Taiwan. Following a series of raids, the task force arrested Hsu and nine others. After questioning, the suspects were transferred to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for further investigation.
ENTERTAINMENT
Anime meet and greet
Noriko Hidaka, the voice of Satsuki Kusakabe in the 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film My Neighbor Totoro, is to hold a meet-and-greet on Feb. 9 at the Taipei International Comics and Animation Festival. The festival takes place from Feb. 6 to 10 at the Nangang International Exhibition Center in Taipei. Hidaka, who is returning to Taiwan for the first time in 12 years, thanked her local fans in a prerecorded video for their warmth and passion, which she said continued to move her. Meanwhile, Shion Wakayama, the voice of Momo Ayase in the fantasy anime series Dandadan, is to meet with fans on Feb. 8. In addition to offering merchandise, the festival would have music performances and signing events throughout its five days, the organizers said.
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
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