The Consumers Foundation has issued several recommendations for thenewly-opened airport
MRT line, including lowering its prices.
It says currently commuter and express trains both cost 160 NT end to end,
but the Foundation says commuter passengers should get a discount,
with a trip costing 100 to 120 NT at most.
It also notes that at the Taoyuan Airport terminal 2 station,
there is a vertical gap of 7 centimeters between the platform and the train door,
which could easily lead to people tripping or getting their luggage caught when boarding.
The Consumers Foundation says signage at the Taipei Main Station is still insufficient
to direct passengers to get to the new airport line.
The CF adds that evacuation and fire safety signage is not up to standard either, saying
this especially needs to be rectified.
Chiayi health officials are requiring certifications for poultry sold at market.
Seven poultry farms have tested positive for bird flu so far this year,
resulting in the culls of almost 5500 chicken, ducks, geese, and turkeys.
To prevent possibly infected meat from making it to consumers,
the city says any poultry being sold must bear certifications showing the source farm
has tested negative for bird flu.
It is urging farmers to apply for such testing as soon as possible to receive their certifications.
Such certifications are good for up to 15 days after the certificate was issued.
A suspect has been detained in the W Hotel death case.
Taipei police prosecutors have taken Zhu Jia-long into custody over the death of a women in
an alleged drug-and-sex party that took place at the hotel.
He is being held incommunicado because prosecutors consider him a flight risk.
Another suspect is being similarly held.
Local officials in the German town of Gaggenau evacuated city hall after receiving a bomb threat.
The news comes a day after the town cancelled a campaign speech by Turkey's Justice Minister.
Ira Spitzer has more from Berlin.
Gaggenau mayor said he couldn't throughout that the bomb threat was connected to the town's,
last-minute decision to cancel the speech by turkeys justice minister,
town officials said there were concerns about having enough space
Turkey's foreign minister sharply denounced the cancellation saying that
Germany must learn how to behave if it wanted to maintain relations with its NATO ally.
Turkey the arrest of a German Turkish journalist earlier in the week has strained ties between Berlin and Ankara,
The justice minister had planned to rally Turkish voters in Germany
to support expanded powers for the president which will be voted on in April referendum .
A U.S. admiral says America will continue to patrol the South China Sea to ensure freedom
of navigation and overflight in the disputed region.
Rear Admiral James Kilby says that, ``We have operated here in the past,
we're going to operate here in the future, we're going to continue to reassure our allies.''
Kilby's comments followed reported Chinese moves to install missile defense systems on
islands it recently built, and the inauguration of a new U.S.
president who has raised questions about America's role in Asia.
China is warning of ``severe damage'' to relations with India if the Dalai Lama proceeds with
a visit to a disputed area along their border.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman says Beijing has expressed its concerns to New Delhi on
numerous occasions and urged India not to offer the exiled Tibetan
leader what he called a stage to carry out anti-China separatist activities.
The Dalai Lama is set to visit Arunachal Pradesh in coming weeks.
China claims the Himalayan state as its own territory
and the frontier between the neighbors remains tense more than 50 years after they fought
a brief but bloody border war there
Greece's deputy prime minister says the country could return to international bond markets
in 2017 if the current impasse with bailout lenders
is resolved quickly.
The deputy PM told a financial conference that Greece could hold a 2017 ``test auction''
if negotiations with rescue lenders for the next round of loan payments are concluded
``in the next few weeks.''
He made the comments as France's Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and Finance Minister Michel
Sapin are in Athens for talks.
Greek officials were expected to ask for assistance in overcoming sticking points in the bailout
talks.
According to Central Weather Bureau forecasters, clouds and rain in the northern half of the
island this evening, just clouds in the southern half.
Overnight lows will be 15 in the north, 15 or 16 in the center,
and 16 to 18 in the south.
Tomorrow, partly cloudy conditions up north, with clearer skies over the rest of the country.
Afternoon highs will peak at 21 to 23 up north, around 25 midisland, and 26 to 28 in southern
Taiwan.
Right now, it's
18 in Taipei
20 in Taizhong
22 in Gaoxiong