8KG of pure heroin smuggled in shipment of Buddha statues from Myanmar

buddha statues and heroin bricks presented as evidence
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Five suspects have been arrested following the discovery of a batch of heroin bricks hidden in a box of Buddha statues at Taoyuan International Airport in July. Aviation police said that the suspects imported a shipment of Buddha statues from Yangon, Myanmar, in May, 2021. However, the goods sat at the airport for a long time before anybody attempted to pick them up and make a customs declaration. Two months later, in July, a man named Liu turned up at

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24-year-old man died 18 days after COVID vax: the youngest reported in Taichung City

central Epidemic Command Center daily press briefing
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments ,

Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced, October 13, that there were 117 new post-vaccination adverse events reported, including three deaths, of which the youngest was a 24-year-old man with no history of chronic disease. The CDC’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said that the 24-year-old Taichung City resident received the AstraZeneca shot on September 11, and developed symptoms of fever after returning home. The man took antipyretics (fever medication) and the fever symptoms subsided on September 13. On September

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Death toll in Kaohsiung City building fire rises to 46

Chengzhongcheng Building fire
Fire 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

At the end of a 13-hour firefighting and search and rescue mission following a fire in a 13 storey building in Kaohsiung City, 46 people have been declared dead, and 41 were injured. Kaohsiung City Fire Department said that at conclusion of the search mission at 3:30 pm, 32 bodies had been found in the Cheng-zhong-cheng (City within a City) Building in Yancheng District. Another 14 people who were rushed to hospital without vital signs, were declared dead, bringing the

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For Taiwan teen novelist English is an art, not a tool

Taiwanese author Hermione Lee
Culture 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

“The path to success is paved with adversities, but that’s what makes it so special,” says seventeen-year-old Taiwanese author Hermione Lee. Lee’s first novel, In the Name of the Otherworld, was released by World Castle Publishing on September 21st. It is a recipient of the Literary Titan Silver Book Award, which, according to Literary Titan, is “bestowed on books that expertly deliver complex characters, intricate worlds, and thought provoking themes”. In the Name of the Otherworld hit #1 on New

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At least 20 dead in Kaohsiung City residential building fire

first floors of building ablaze
Fire 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

At least 20 people have died, and around 50 are injured, after a fire broke out in a 13-storey building in Kaohsiung City in the early hours of the morning today, October 14. Kaohsiung City Fire Department received reports of a fire in the mixed residential and commercial Chengzhongcheng Building on Fubei Road in Yancheng District at 2:54 am, Thursday. The fire department dispatched 72 vehicles and 145 personnel to battle the blaze. Firefighters found an intense fire fueled by

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Driver makes unorthodox freeway exit directly from the fast lane

car drifting on freeway
Odd News 
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A video that went viral on social media today shows the driver of a Mercedes Benz make a drifting 360 degree spin across four lanes of National Highway 1, into an offramp lane, and it is not known whether it was accidental or executed on purpose. According to the date stamp on the video, the incident occurred at midday, Monday, October 11. The weather at the time was pouring rain to the point where it is possible that the vehicle

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New Taipei City reports 4 more cases of post-vax coincidental deaths

nurse holds up box of COVID vaccine in religious reverence
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment ,

The New Taipei City Department of Health reported four cases of potentially vaccine-related fatal adverse events today, October 13, including the first following the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shot. The Health Department said that a 42-year-old man in Xinzhuang District developed chest tightness and cold sweats 9 days after being vaccinated with the BioNTech shot, October 1. The man was sent to the hospital for medical treatment, but died. The man did not suffer from high blood pressure, and only had a

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Search and rescue team reach mountaineering group after 2-day hike: confirm one dead, one injured

search and rescue personnel traverse steep slope
Disaster 
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Search and rescue personnel from the Pingtung County Fire Bureau reached a group of hikers in a remote location in the Central Mountain Range and are awaiting improved weather conditions for a helicopter airlift of one deceased and one injured. The group of 24 climbers called for help after two members of their team of 18 men and six women fell down a slope into a valley near Dagui (Big Ghost) Lake on the border of Kaohsiung City and Taitung

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Police chase ends with suspect shot in Yilan County

suspect handcuffed and arrested
Crime and Criminals 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment ,

Police shot and injured a suspect after he attacked a police officer following a car chase in Yilan County. Yilan County police were on a routine patrol at around 10:00 pm when they spotted a Nissan March bearing a suspected stolen license plate on Huludu Bridge in Yuanshan Township. When the officers attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver sped up and tried to escape. Police chased the suspect car for more than 10 minutes, and several kilometers, to Jinshan

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Disaster-level wind and rain takes Taiwan by surprise as tropical storm passes by without making landfall

flooded road in Hualien County
Weather 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Taiwan appears to have underestimated the influence of Severe Tropical Storm Kompasu as it passed by around 400 kilometers south-southeast of the island October 11, 2021. The outer bands of the storm combined with a monsoonal low pressure system created a “non-traditional tropical storm” according to Central Weather Bureau meteorologists. Combined with Taiwan’s mountainous topography, winds stronger than those near the center of the storm were generated, while heavy to extremely heavy torrential rain fell in the north, eastern, and

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Sand and gravel factory spill kills passing motorist

taxi buried by soil
Disaster 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A taxi driver died after a pile of soil collapsed and burst through the sheet metal walls of a sand and gravel factory onto a road in Guishan District, Taoyuan City this morning, October 12. Taoyuan City police said that the incident happened around 4:30 am on East Wanshou Road. The soil spill completely blocked one side of the road. A 56-year-old taxi driver, named Dai(戴), who passing by at the time was buried alive in the soil collapse. Taoyuan

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