Korea

Two Taiwan nationals arrested in South Korea for illegally filming U-S
military aircraft and facilities have received suspended sentences (緩刑).

The court handed down one year and six months in prison sentences - suspended
for three years - after considering that the two men did not attempt to
further collect military information and the photos were not shared.

The men will reportedly not appeal (上訴) the ruling.

They were arrested and detained by local police in May for illegally
photographing U-S military facilities and equipment at an air show held at
Osan Air Base - some 60-kilometers south of Seoul.

Visitors are free to take photos at the event, but the air show was closed to
citizens of certain countries, including China and Taiwan.

The two men entered the air show venue on three separate occasions on the day
of the arrest, after mingling (混在) in a group of South Koreans.

They claimed in court to have filmed at the base out of curiosity.

Singer A-Mei will be performing at the Taipei Dome on September to celebrate
the retirement of Wei Chuan Dragons' infielder (內野手), Lin Zhi-sheng.

A-Mei's performance will take place on day two of the three-day retirement
celebrations from September 5 through 7 that are part of the Taipei Dome
series.

Pop singer Jam Hsiao is performing on day one.

According to the Chinese Professional Baseball League franchise, both
performances will take place after games between the Dragons and the T-S-G
Hawks.

Lin holds the all-time record for home runs in the C-P-B-L and the 43-year
old first confirmed his plans to retire in February of this year.

He began his pro-baseball career in 2004 with the La New Bears - which was
later renaimed the Lamigo Monkeys - where he stayed until 2015, before moving
the then Chinatrust Brothers - which was later renaimed C-T-B-C Brothers -
untill 2021.

Lin has played for Dragons since the 2022 season.

In world news....

The latest draft of a treaty (條約草稿) to end plastic pollution would not
put a limit on producing plastics, but recognizes that current levels of
production and consumption are “unsustainable” (無法永續) and global action
is needed.

Nations are meeting at the United Nations office in Geneva to try to complete
a landmark treaty to end the plastic pollution crisis.

The draft, released early today, contains new language to say these levels
exceed (超過) current waste management capacities (現在的廢棄物處理能力) and
are projected to increase further, “thereby necessitating a coordinated
global response to halt and reverse (停止並扭轉) such trends.”

This falls short of the limit that many countries sought (尋求), but could
pave the way for one in the future.

A Michigan autoworker's wallet (皮夾) is found under a hood in Minnesota
years later and 240,000 kilometers away.

AP correspondent Ben Thomas reports.

The Highway Bureau says 5 provincial roads in Kaohsiung, Hualian and Tai-tung
are still partially blocked by fallen rocks, mudslides and flooding due to
Typhoon Podul.

The road that most seriously affected is the number 20 provincial road as it
passes through mountainous terrains in southern Taiwan.

The section between Mei-shan-kou and Chu-lai, as well as between Qin-ho and
Fu-xing Road are not passable right now, and officials say repair work should
be done by 5 PM.

The number 8 provincial roads eastern section in Hualian is also closed and
should be reopened soon.

The Bureau closed 19 sections of the provincial roads islandwide as a
precaution (預防) yeaterday and after a survey this morning, it reopened 14
of them.

The Ministry of Labor says it is expanding a bailout program (援助計畫) in
response to U-S tariffs - increasing subsidies (補助) for furloughed workers
in nine sectors projected to be affected.

According to Labor Minister Hong Shen-han, his office has identified six
additional sectors likely to be impacted by the tariffs and those are now
eligible (合乎資格的) for subsidies under the bailout program, which was
launched in March.

Hong says the subsidies will be jointly funded by the Employment Insurance
Fund and the Employment Stabilization Fund.

Under the expanded program, the monthly subsidy will increase from 8,700 to
12,100 N-T per recipient.

A government-funded foreign aid agency from Taiwan has so far helped over
7,000 underprivileged women and children in rural mountainous areas in
Guatemala.

The project is a collaboration (合作) by the Taiwan International
Cooperation and Development Fund and the US-based charity, Food For The Poor.

It was launched in February 2025 with the aim of addressing critical health
care needs of impoverished families (貧窮家庭) in three remote
municipalities.

According to the agency, Taiwan Technical Mission in Guatemala and Food For
The Poor have successfully provided mobile medical clinics covering
Obstetrics and Gynecology (婦產科), pediatrics (小兒科), dental and general
medicine.

In world news...

Torrential rain has battered South Korea’s greater capital region for a
second day, leaving at least one person dead.

Hundreds of roads and homes have been flooded or damaged, and more than 1,000
people have been forced to evacuate.

About 250 to 300 millimeters of rain fell in parts of Seoul and nearby cities
through Thursday morning.

Authorities have issued flood and landslide warnings for areas near rivers,
streams, and hills. Emergency workers have rescued at least 145 people and
responded to hundreds of reports of road disruptions.

Power has been restored to some 4,000 households.

South Korea’s weather agency said the greater Seoul area will continue to be
affected by downpours through today.

National Guard troops (國民兵) have arrived in Washington DC as part of
Donald Trump's efforts to tackle what he's called "out of control" crime in
the US Capital.

This is despite latest figures (最新數字) from the Department of Justice
showing a 30 year decline in violent crime.

Jagruti Dave has more from Washington.

Typhoon Podul is continuing to approach the Taitung area - where its forecast
to make landfall at around noon today.

Schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan
are closed today due to the typhoon and both land and sea warnings are in
effect.

According to the Central Weather Administration, Typhoon Podul is currently
located some 110-kilometers southeast of Taitung and is moving in a
northwesterly direction at 32-kilometers-an-hour.

The typhoon has become slightly stronger and bigger over the last several
hours and now has a radius of 180-kilometers, packing wind speeds of between
155 and 191-kilometers-an-hour.

The storm is forecast to leave the Tainan area this afternoon.

All domestic flights (國內班機) have been canceled due to the typhoon.

International flights are also being affected - with delays and cancellations
- and people are being advised to check with their carriers (航空公司) before
heading to the airport.

The High Speed Rail has adjusted its schedules for this afternoon due to
Typhoon Podul, saying normal services will operate until 2PM, after which
three trains will be operating hourly from Nangang Station southbound and
from Zuoying Station northbound.

The company says Further adjustments could be made depending on the weather
conditions.

Taiwan's Little League World Series team will be facing Mexico in it's
opening game on Thursday.

The Tung-Yuan Little League team (少棒隊) will be representing the
Asia-Pacific in the annual baseball competition in Williamsport,
Pennsylvania.

The team qualified after beating South Korea 3-0 in the Asia-Pacific Region
Championship game last month.

It's Taiwan's fourth consecutive (連續的) and 33rd appearance in tournament
(系列賽) history,

Taiwan dominated (獨霸) Little League Baseball tournaments from 1977 to 1991,
winning eight of the 13 World Series titles, and finishing runner-up (亞軍)
twice.

However, Taiwan hasn't won a title since 1996.

The team finished runner-up at last year's Little League Baseball World
Series, after losing 2-1 to Florida in the final.

In world news...

US President Donald Trump is set to hold virtual talks (視訊會談) with
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders on wednesday.

Kate fisher reports from washington.

In a related news...

Ukrainian President says that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine
to withdraw from the remaining 30% of the Donetsk region that Ukraine
controls as part of a ceasefire deal (停火協議).

Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukraine would not withdraw from
territories it controls because it would only serve as a springboard (跳板)
for a future Russian invasion.

Zelenskyy said Putin wants the remaining 9,000 square kilometers of Donetsk
under Kyiv’s control, where the war’s toughest battles are grinding on
(正在辛苦進行).

He said doing so would hand Russia almost the entirety of the Donbas, a
region comprising (構成) Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland that Putin
has long coveted (覬覦).

His comments come ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump' meeting with Putin in
Alaska on Friday.

The Central Weather Administration has issued a sea warning for Typhoon Podul.

The warning currently covers the Bashi Channel and waters northeast and
southeast of Taiwan proper.

The weather administration is expected to issue a land warning at around 2:30
this afternoon.

The storm is currently located some 730-kilometers east southeast of Taitung
and is moving in a west northwesterly direction at 25-kilometers-an-hour.

Podul has a radius (半徑) of 120-kilometers and is packing winds of between
119 and 155-kilometers-an-hour.

According to the weather administration's latest tracking map, if the storm
continues on its currently projected path, it will make landfall in the
Taitung area tomorrow afternoon.

The government says real regular wages (實際工資) and real total earnings
(實際總收入) grew in the first half of this year at the fastest pace in
several years.

Data show regular monthly wages grew 1.04-per cent year-over-year in the
six-month period to 43,609 N-T.

That's the fastest rate of growth for the period since 2020.

While real total earnings - which include salary, fixed allowances
(固定津貼), bonuses (紅利), overtime pay (加班費), and other variable income
(變動收入) - rose 1.52-per cent to around 60-thousand N-T a month.

And that was the fastest pace of growth since 2021.

The government says the gains were driven mainly by an increase in the
minimum wage, raises given by companies (公司給的加薪), and moderating
inflation (減緩的通貨膨脹) that prevented wage erosion (不會侵蝕薪資).

In world news...

A second person has died after an explosion tore through a Pennsylvania steel
plant on Monday.

Local officials said the body was discovered after a search operation which
stretched into the evening at the US Steel outside Pittsburgh.

Local police earlier confirmed that one other person had died and 10 others
were injured in a large explosion which destroyed part of the plant.

The cause of the blast is yet to be determined (爆炸原因還不清楚).

It seems hard to believe that AOL is still offering dial-up (撥號) internet
services in 2025, but it's at last going offline, with the internet provider
recently announcing that it will discontinue dial-up by the end of next
month.

AP correspondent Ed Donahue reports.

American teen influencer Ethan Guo has been stuck in a remote part of
Antarctica since June.

Authorities say he landed his small plane illegally after providing false
flight plan data to officials.

Guo, who aimed to become the youngest person to fly solo to all seven
continents, was charged (被控以罪名) with giving false information and
landing without authorization (沒有授權就降落).

On Monday, a judge dropped the charges as part of an agreement.

Guo must donate $30-thousand US dollars to a children’s cancer foundation
and leave Chilean territory. He remains in Antarctica, waiting for approval
to continue his mission.