WEATHERRain forecast in west, YilanRain is expected to spread across western Taiwan and Yilan County this afternoon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. A cloud system moving east from southern China is expected to bring cloudy skies to most of Taiwan this morning. Localized rain is possible in Hualien County and other parts of eastern Taiwan, it said. Showers are forecast in western and northeastern Taiwan this afternoon, when convective activity could bring sudden downpours and strong winds, it said. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said weather conditions would improve tomorrow, but eastern Taiwan could still see brief isolated showers. Western Taiwan is expected to be mostly sunny on Monday, while occasional brief showers are possible in the east. Sunny skies are forecast across the nation on Tuesday, with temperatures gradually rising, Wu said.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
SPORTSPowerlifter wins squat gold
Taiwanese powerlifter Hung Hsiu-ching (洪秀靜) won a gold medal in the squat in the women’s 63kg weight class at the World Open Equipped Powerlifting Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, on Thursday, with a lift of 235kg. Hung also won bronze in the deadlift with a lift of 210kg and took bronze overall with a total of 560kg across the squat, bench press and deadlift. President William Lai (賴清德) sent Hung a congratulatory message shortly after learning of her results. As of yesterday, Taiwan had won eight gold, seven silver and eight bronze medals at the championships. In the men’s 83kg class, Chiang Kai-chieh (江凱傑) won gold in the deadlift on Wednesday with a lift of 335kg and took bronze overall with a total of 915kg. Wu Yi-heng (吳宜衡) won gold in the men’s 74kg deadlift with a lift of 307.5kg. The World Open Equipped Powerlifting Championships, organized annually by the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF), began on Monday and run through tomorrow, bringing together elite athletes from around the world to compete in squat, bench press and deadlift. CRIME‘Hostage-taker’ chargedThe Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday charged a man accused of holding a Cathay Pacific Airways intern hostage at knifepoint and injuring him at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in September. The 44-year-old man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), was upset over a strained relationship with his partner and had allegedly used amphetamines before entering the airline’s staff lounge in Terminal 1 on Sept. 12, the indictment said. Tsai allegedly brandished a fruit knife at staff and held the intern, surnamed Huang (黃), hostage for 30 minutes. Huang suffered abrasions to three fingers on his left hand and to the right side of his abdomen, the indictment said. Prosecutors said Tsai posed a threat to public safety and social order and charged him with public intimidation, assault and unlawful deprivation of liberty while carrying a weapon. They are seeking a prison sentence of two years and six months. Tsai’s alleged violation of the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例) was investigated separately. SOCIETYIndonesian hurt in explosionAn explosion at a firecracker factory in Chiayi County’s Dongshi Township (東石) on Thursday injured an Indonesian migrant worker, who suffered multiple burns and was taken to a hospital for treatment, local authorities said. The Chiayi County Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 3:28pm and that the worker was conscious when first responders arrived. Police said a preliminary investigation indicated that static electricity might have triggered the explosion, as the 36-year-old worker filled firecrackers with explosives. The worker was alone at the time, police said, adding that the cause of the explosion remained under investigation. Further details of the worker’s injuries were not immediately available.