An Australian woman has been sentenced to a 16-year prison term for attempting to enter Taiwan with a large quantity of drugs in her luggage in December last year. Debbie Voulgaris, 57, was arrested at Taoyuan International Airport after customs and immigration officers found 3.8 kilograms of heroin, and 385 grams of cocaine, hidden in her luggage as she attempted to enter the country on December 10, 2023. According to evidence presented to the Taoyuan District Court, Voulgaris picked up
Read more9 electric buses destroyed by suspected lithium battery fire in Taichung City
Nine electric buses were destroyed by a fire in a parking lot in Taichung City in the early hours of this morning, Monday, October 21. The Taichung City Fire Department received reports of buses on fire at a parking lot on Jinghe Street in Beitun District at around 2:00 am. A total of 21 fire trucks and 46 personnel were dispatched to battle the blaze. Firefighters said the fire was fierce due to lithium ion batteries. The fire was brought
Read moreUS, Canadian navies transit Taiwan Strait following Chinese military drills
A US Navy guided missile destroyer and a Canadian Navy frigate passed through the Taiwan Strait on a routine mission yesterday, Sunday, October 20, six days after a Chinese military drill which simulated a blockade of Taiwan. According to a press release by the US 7th Fleet, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Higgens (DDG 76) and Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331) conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit “through waters where high-seas freedom of navigation
Read moreDriver survives six-story plunge into Keelung River after freeway crash
A man was rescued after his car fell into the Keelung River from a height of around twenty meters, after a crash on an elevated section of Highway 1 in Taipei City this morning, October 16. National Highway Police received reports of a crash at the 19-kilometer mark in the northbound lanes of the Xiwu Elevated Expressway at around 5:45 am. It was reported that a single vehicle had hit the guardrail and plunged over the edge into the Keelung
Read moreWar drives Palestinian basketball legend back to Taiwan Professional League
Lyon Chiang, New York In a career spanning several years and countries, Palestinian basketball legend Sani Sakakini (桑尼), known as a national treasure in his homeland, has once again found himself on Taiwanese soil. Sakakini, who first joined Taiwan’s SBL league six years ago with the Yulon Luxgen team, has been closely linked with Taiwan’s basketball scene ever since. In 2021, Sakakini joined the Taichung Suns in the T1 League, and the following year, he played for the Taoyuan Pilots
Read moreTaiwan defiant as Chinese forces surround island in threatening military posture
Chinese military forces have surrounded Taiwan in what the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is calling a military drill intended as a warning against “separatist acts of ‘Taiwan Independence’ forces”. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND) condemned the exercises as “irrational and provocative.” China’s PLA said that the drills, dubbed “Joint Sword-2024B,” are taking place in the Taiwan Strait, and in areas north, south, and east of Taiwan Island. PLA spokesman, Captain Li Xi, said that the drills are focused on
Read moreTaiwan north coast affected by floods, landslides as monsoon rain combines with remnant of typhoon
Typhoon Krathon dissipated after striking the southwestern coast of Taiwan yesterday, but the northern end of the island continued to be inundated with rain, as northeast monsoonal winds combined with the remnant low pressure system. Keelung City and mountain areas in New Taipei City experienced flooding and landslides, blocking some roads and railway lines yesterday and this morning, Friday, October 4. Accumulated rainfall in Keelung City yesterday reached 408 millimeters, breaking a historical record for daily rainfall in the locality,
Read moreAt least 9 dead after hospital fire in typhoon-ravaged south Taiwan
Nine people are confirmed dead, and one remains missing, after a fire sent smoke billowing through a hospital in Pingtung County, Taiwan, this morning, Thursday, October 3. Pingtung County Fire Department received reports of a fire at the Antai Tian-Sheng Memorial Hospital in Donggang Township at 7:40 am. The fire department dispatched 46 vehicles and 116 personnel to the scene of the fire. Firefighters discovered the source of the fire in a power distribution room on the second floor. Thick
Read moreTyphoon Krathon makes direct hit on Taiwan’s second largest city
Thousands of residents have already reported power outages, and there are reports of fallen trees, traffic lights, and power lines, with Kaohsiung City bearing the brunt of Typhoon Krathon, as the eye of the storm approaches the coast of southwestern Taiwan this morning, Thursday, October 3. National power supplier Taipower said that 109,588 households across the country have experienced power outages since yesterday. Around 82% have already been repaired as emergency crews have been dispatched to immediately respond to reports.
Read moreTyphoon Krathon weakens and slows, but expected to bring heavy rain for next 3 days
Typhoon Krathon weakened slightly overnight, and forecasts have revised time of landfall in southwestern Taiwan to late tonight, Wednesday, or early tomorrow, Thursday. As of 9:00 am, Krathon was located 160 kilometers southwest of Kaohsiung City, moving north-northeast at 10 kilometers per hour. Typhoon Krathon weakened from a severe to a moderate typhoon as it hovered southwest of the port city of Kaohsiung, sucking in a stream of cool, dry air flowing southward over the Taiwan Strait, While the reduction
Read moreBulk carrier runs aground on Taiwan’s Orchid Island after crew abandons ship
A bulk carrier ran aground on Orchid Island, off the east coast of Taiwan, this afternoon, and authorities are concerned of a possible oil spill as Super Typhoon Krathon bears down on the area. Keelung Coast Radio received a distress call from the crew of the 43,500-ton, Barbados-flagged vessel, Blue Lagoon, at 4:28 am, Monday. The crew reported that the ship was taking on water, the engine room was flooded, and the ship was beginning to list. Taiwan’s National Airborne
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