Indian PM lambasts opposition, survives no-confidence voteAFP, NEW DELHIThe government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday defeated a no-confidence motion in parliament after a fiery speech by Modi at the climax of a three-day debate. The no-confidence vote was dismissed by the government ahead of the vote as a headline-grabbing gimmick ahead of a general election next year. “They have been launching the same failed product again and again, but the launch fails every time.”Gandhi, 53, is the son, grandson and great-grandson of three former Indian prime ministers. Gandhi was in March sentenced to two years in prison in a cast that critics flagged as an effort to stifle political opposition. Modi’s party has been repeatedly accused by political opponents and rights groups of fomenting religious divisions for electoral purposes.

India’s Pro Panja League creates arm-wrestling starsAFP, NEW DELHIAthletes flex biceps before going hand-to-hand in a newly televised arm-wrestling league seeking to take the sporting spotlight in India with a glitzy Bollywood-style makeover. Contestants fight under bright studio lights with a cheering audience as opponents push down the other person’s arm in the Pro Panja League at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Stadium. Farheen Dehalvi of the Baroda Badshahs, left, and Kashmiri Kashyap of the Ludhiana Lions compete in an arm-wrestling bout at the Pro Panja League in New Delhi on Aug. 2. Tawheed Shaikh of Ludhiana Lions, left, and Harman Mann of the Baroda Badshahs prepare for an arm-wrestling match at the Pro Panja League in New Delhi on Aug. 2. “People watch me on TV back home and it has inspired them to go to the gyms and I tell them to come to Pro Panja.”

For several years the government has been projecting a concern with environmental protection, sustainability and energy saving, focused on photovoltaic green energy. The question is, are photovoltaic solar panels as good as what the government’s messaging suggests? Second, to install solar panels, farmland must be covered with cement, and the ground must be compacted using machines, which would substantially affects drainage. The government also deems agricultural land allocated to the green energy special zone as having “low soil fertility,” meaning that it is unsuitable for agricultural production. The development of the solar photovoltaic industry has brought about numerous disadvantages, and the government should reconsider its policy approach.

Woman dies of brain-eating amoeba: CDCBy Lin Hui-chin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerA woman in northern Taiwan has died from a rare brain-eating amoeba, marking the nation’s first death from Naegleria fowleri in 12 years, health authorities said on Wednesday. Experts urged against public alarm, saying the amoeba is susceptible to chlorine and does not spread easily. Traces of Naegleria fowleri were found in the woman who died of meningitis, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-huai (曾淑慧) told a news briefing in Taipei. An indoor water park in New Taipei City that the woman had visited is being tested for Naegleria fowleri, she said. Hwang Kao-pin (黃高彬), deputy head of the infectious disease department at China Medical University in Taichung, yesterday told a news conference that the threat from Naegleria fowleri is limited.

Soaked books make writers weepBy Bai Zhao 白兆When Typhoon Doksuri reached northern China at the end of last month, several days of torrential rains in and around Beijing caused disastrous flooding in the region. Zhuozhou is one of China’s most important centers for book publishing, warehousing and logistics. There are specific reasons why China’s book industry has hardly any insurance. China’s paper media and publishing industry were already struggling to get by, relying on the passion of writers and artists. People can even buy hardcover books for 10 to 20 yuan and paperbacks for less than 10 yuan.

University students break up via textVIOLENCE RISK: Breakups can lead to violent outcomes if not handled well, a foundation member warned, as 18 percent of respondents said they would retaliateBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writer, with CNAMost university students break up with a partner over text message, while both sides tend to evade communication, a survey by the Good Shepherd Welfare Foundation found yesterday, as it warned that improper communication increases the chance of conflict. The foundation administered two separate surveys — one to people who initiated a breakup and another to those who were broken up with. Among initiators, 41 percent broke the news by texting, while 32 percent met face-to-face, the foundation said in a news release. Triggered by the stressful situation, it is common for one side to avoid while the other pursues answers, Ting said. First, couples should take stock of their feelings and reasoning to ease any feelings of shock or panic, she said.

So now the fishermen of southern India are learning a whole new skill: mapping their ancient land by app — plot by precious plot — to stop industry from swallowing life on the lagoon. He pointed out the holes left by the government’s latest coastal maps, blank spaces he said are villages brimming with life. With a new government zoning map three months off, Raji fears his industry and whole way of life will become the next black hole of Lake Pulicat. Around the creek, wooden boats and loinclothed fishermen wade through sludgy waters surrounded by foundries, thermal power plants and ship yards. Watching the sun set over Pulicat lake, fisherman Dayalan D is a convert to new technology to preserve his old way of life.

Soldier hiked 3km to reach parents sheltering at a hutStaff writer, with cnaA soldier in Nantou County hiked through landslides and flooding to bring supplies to his parents who had been sheltering at a mountain hut since Typhoon Khanun closed roads in the area. Shih Chih-wei (施芷崴) and his special forces associates trekked 3km to reach the hut in rural Renai Township (仁愛), the Military News Agency said. Shih’s parents, who are farmers living in an indigenous community, were harvesting crops when Typhoon Khanun brought rain to the area, the agency said. Army soldier Shih Chih-wei, right, poses for a photograph with his father on Tuesday. With Shih’s parents now well-stocked with supplies, the rescue team decided it would be safer for the two farmers to continue sheltering at the hut until the roads open again, the reports said.

Trump is bad news for TaiwanBy Linus Chiou 邱士哲Despite the three criminal indictments he is facing, former US president Donald Trump is actively campaigning for the presidency: By all accounts, his campaign is going well in parts of the Republican base. A New York Times poll published on July 31 found that 54 percent of Republican voters would support Trump if the election for the party’s presidential nominee were held today. For instance, in an interview with Fox News, Trump accused Taiwan of taking away semiconductor business from the US and said that Washington should have imposed tariffs on Taiwan. Nevertheless, some Republicans remain skeptical about supporting Kyiv, seeing the Ukraine war as a result of NATO’s expansionism. Trump believes that he could end the war in one day by pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to the negotiation table.

The KMT, Ukraine and stories of elephantsBy Teng Hon-yuan 鄧鴻源In the jungle of a southeast Asian country, an elephant calf fell into a deep well. The mother elephant was deeply upset and agitated. The mother elephant was afraid they would drown, so she got into the well and held the baby elephants above the water. The KMT also said that some Taiwanese were stupid enough to support Ukraine. If Taiwanese had not offered Ukraine assistance, who would help when it is in trouble?

TTL raises the prices of Taiwan Beer, cigarettesStaff writer, with CNATaiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp (TTL) yesterday said that it has increased the recommended retail price of Taiwan Beer and its own-brand cigarettes due to rising raw material costs. TTL said it had raised the recommended retail price of Taiwan Beer products — Gold Label, Classic and 18 Days Draft — by NT$5 (US$0.16) per bottle or can, effective from Tuesday last week. In addition, the recommended retail price of TTL cigarettes has been raised by between NT$5 and NT$10 per pack, the state-owned company said. Cans of Classic Taiwan Beer are pictured in Taichung in an undated photograph. The latest price hike comes two months after TTL raised the price of kegs and bottles of Taiwan Beer products by 1 to 2 percent for large wholesalers and by 3 to 7 percent for small wholesalers.

July officially hottest month on recordbreaking point: The concern is not how hot it was last month, but that the record would soon be broken, and people have yet to adapt to this type of life, a scientist saidAPNow that July’s sizzling numbers are all in, the European climate monitoring organization made it official: Last month was Earth’s hottest month on record by a wide margin. It was so warm that Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organization made the unusual early announcement that it was likely the hottest month days before it ended. “It’s a stunning record and makes it quite clearly the warmest month on Earth in 10,000 years,” said Stefan Rahmstorf, a climate scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research in Germany. And before the Holocene started there was an ice age, so it would be logical to even say this is the warmest record for 120,000 years, he said. “We should not care about July because it’s a record, but because it won’t be a record for long,” Imperial College of London climate scientist Friederike Otto said.

Union blasts TPP over sexy ‘flight attendants’ danceStaff writer, with CNAThe Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday accused the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) of “sexualizing and objectifying” female flight attendants with a dance routine at a campaign event for party chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Sunday. It called on Ko and TPP Taipei City Councilor Chang Chih-hau (張志豪), a former pilot who helped arrange the performance, to apologize for the dance, which it said compounded the difficulties and sexism faced by female flight attendants. Dancers perform at a campaign event for Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je in Taipei on Saturday. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei TimesThe union said that airlines made the sexualization and objectification of female flight attendants “a selling point” by forcing cabin crew to wear impractical and tight-fitting uniforms that are designed to be revealing. TPP spokeswoman Lin Tzu-yu (林子宇) said her party respects all vocations, as well as the professional judgement of the dancers involved in the performance.

Quite a few township mayors and elected officials across Taiwan have been prosecuted and sentenced for taking bribes or for obtaining fees fraudulently. Local governments are charged with executing a wide range of tasks, with nearly every project related to public construction, welfare and the economy. A local government official was once criticized for frequently authorizing the excavation of roads to install or repair pipes. Local officials find it difficult to get elected without being involved in factions, money, favors and connections. The crackdown on corruption is only an afterthought, while the solution to the problem lies in the moral insistence on “rejecting corruption.” If elected officials could abide by the law and act fairly and honestly, they would be able to achieve great political outcomes and a clean government.

Japan to part fund TSMC plantSUBSIDY: Whether the government would pay for half of the second TSMC plant would depend on what type of chips are to be made there, Yoshihiro Seki said The Japanese government is to pay for a significant part of a second Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) factory in southern Kumamoto Prefecture, leaders of the ruling party’s lawmaker coalition on chips said. Giving no support would be out of the question after the government pledged to shoulder half the cost of the first Kumamoto plant, said Akira Amari and Yoshihiro Seki, chairman and secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party’s group on semiconductors. Amari said about one-third of the cost is the norm for these types of projects, and the amount of support for the first was unusually large. The subsidies would