Man survives being choked by 105 kg barbell in horror accident at Taiwanese gym

barbell pressed on man's neck
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment ,

A man was rescued by fellow gym members, and survived without serious injury, after being trapped with a barbell on his neck at a gym in Taoyuan City earlier this month. According to Apple Daily, a video of the incident went viral on Japanese social media sites in the last few days, and some writers mistakenly reported that the man had died. Holger Chen, owner of G.K. Fitness Centers confirmed that the incident occurred in the Zhongli branch of his

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Bus driver charged with negligent homicide after hitting two students on pedestrian crossing, leaving one dead

bus after hitting pedestrians on zebra crossing
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A bus driver has been charged with negligent homicide after two students were hit by a bus while crossing the road on a zebra crossing in Taichung City last night, leaving one dead and one injured. According to reports, two female students from Tunghai University were crossing the road at the intersection of Lichuan East Street and Zhongshan Road when they were hit by a bus turning left at around 9:10 pm. A 20-year-old third-year student, named Lin, was caught

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Tropical Depression approaching Taiwan: significant rainfall expected over weekend

Forecast path of TD90
Weather 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment

A tropical disturbance intensified to a tropical depression this afternoon, and is expected to bring significant rain as it passes the northern tip of Taiwan Saturday and Sunday. Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded TD19 to tropical depression status at 2:00 pm today, Friday, September 20. TD19 was located 650 kilometers southeast of Point Eluanbi and moving northwest at a speed of 42 kilometers per hour. TD19 has a central air pressure of 1,002 hPa with sustained winds at the

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Toxic pesticide found in blood samples after 3 die, 12 sickened in aboriginal village

traditional millet dumpling
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Toxicologists identified highly toxic pesticide in blood samples of eight victims of a food poisoning case that resulted in three deaths and another eight people hospitalized in Taitung County, Wednesday. According to reports, 12 people in Binmao Village, Jinfeng Township, were sickened after consuming traditional millet dumplings Wednesday night. According to the investigation so far, the poisoning case began after an 83-year-old woman, named Tseng, prepared the dumplings, which included snails collected from a nearby rice paddy. Tseng became sick

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Highway police take delivery of new BMW 520i “red zebra” patrol cars

new BMW 520i patrol cars
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Taiwan’s National Highway Police Bureau took delivery of 34 new BMW 520i patrol cars recently, and the vehicles were put into service after a ceremony yesterday, September 18. NHPB said the new cars are replacements for vehicles that have been in service for more than seven years, and were purchased for NT$2 million each, with a total budget of NT$68 million. The bureau said that the BMW 520i patrol cars have the same excellent performance as they do in the

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Taiwanese company denies explosive pagers made in Taiwan

Gold Apollo display
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment

The CEO of an electronics company at the center of allegations that its pagers were used in an attack that injured thousands of people and killed 11 in Lebanon, Tuesday, September 17, has denied manufacturing the devices, and said that they were not made in Taiwan. Hsu Chingkuang, Chairman of Gold Apollo, said that the pagers were merely branded Apollo Gold under contract, and that they were manufactured by a European company. Hsu said that the pagers were not manufactured,

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Exploding pagers used in attack on Hezbollah allegedly made in Taiwan

composite image showing scenes of attack and Apollo pager
Breaking News 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment

Multiple news outlets today are claiming that exploding pagers that injured thousands of people in a covert attack against Hezbollah were made by a Taiwanese company based in New Taipei City. The New York Times reported that Israeli operatives hid explosive material in the Taiwan-made Gold Apollo pagers before they were exported to Lebanon via Iran. NYT cited American and other officials who had been briefed on the operation as the source for the information. The claims arose after thousands

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Tropical Storm Pulasan may affect Taiwan’s weather later this week

Central Weather Administration forecast path for Tropical Storm Palusan
Typhoon 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A tropical depression east of the Philippines intensified into a tropical storm last night, and is forecast to track north of Taiwan later this week, potentially affecting the weather as early as Wednesday evening. Tropical Storm Pulasan, the 14th named tropical storm in the northwest Pacific this year, was generated from tropical depression TD16 at around 8:00 pm Sunday evening. According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration, Pulasan is currently located 2,450 kilometers east-southeast of Hengchun Peninsula, and is moving in

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Chinese man arrives in Taiwan after crossing the Taiwan Strait in a rubber boat

man in inflatable boat
Breaking News 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments , ,

A Chinese man is being treated for severe dehydration after landing on a beach in northern Taiwan in a rubber boat early this morning, Saturday, September 14. According to reports, the 31-year-old man, named Wang, was spotted by anglers when he was around 100 meters from the shore in Linkou District, New Taipei City, at around 6:30 am. Coast guard officers from Zhuwei Fishing Port and firefighters from the New Taipei City Fire Department responded to reports, and helped the

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Pilot rescued after ejecting before fighter jet crashes into the Taiwan Strait

pilot rushed to hospital on stretcher wearing neckbrace
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

An air force pilot was plucked from the water two hours after ejecting from his stricken fighter jet off the coast of northern Taiwan, last night. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said that Captain Hsieh Pei-hsun was piloting a single-seater Mirage 2000 on a routine night training flight after taking off from Hsinchu Air Base at 8:05 pm. The aircraft was returning to base when it lost power around 16.7 nautical miles southwest of Nanliao, Hsinchu County, at 8:35 pm.

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Driver who hit and injured turtle ordered to pay damages, but pet owner also at fault

gavel and law books
Animals 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment

A Taichung City resident was ordered to pay 80% of medical costs for the repair of a turtle’s shell, after she hit the animal while driving out of a parking lot in October, 2023. The pet owner was also found partially at fault. According to evidence presented to the Taichung District Court, a man named Hsu was walking his pet turtle in a car park when a woman, named Lee, driving a light truck, hit the animal, causing cracks to

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