EZ News 03/18/24

I'm _______, with today's episode of EZ News. ---- Tai-Ex opening The Tai-Ex opened up 23-points this morning from Friday's close, at 19,706 on turnover of 8-billion N-T. The market tumbled by over 250-points on Friday, following the release of a mixed batch of data on the U-S economy - which dashed investor hopes that America's central Bank will ease off on interest rate hike anytime soon. ---- Flash Mob Protesters Slam MOTC's Amendments to Traffic Act Road safety activists have been taking to the streets of seven cities and counties to protest a decision by the government to amend the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act and ease punishments for some traffic violations. People to the streets of Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung and Yunlin County for around 30 minutes. The protests were organized by the Taiwan Vision Zero Alliance. And participants called for improved road construction, adequate complementary measures to the law, retraining procedures for drivers, reform of how traffic regulations are enforced, and for the amendment draft to be retracted. The Cabinet approved the amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act two weeks ago. ---- Tsai Joins Baishatun Mazu Pilgrimage for 6th Year President Tsai Ing-wen has joined the annual Bai-Sha-Tun Mazu Pilgrimage for a sixth consecutive year after it got underway at just past midnight in Miaoli County. Prior to the event getting underway , Tsai participated in a cleansing ritual for the palanquin that bears a statue of the sea goddess Mazu on a nine-day procession to the Chao-Tian Temple in Yunlin's Bei-Gang Township and back. Holding a pot of burning incense, Tsai circled the palanquin several times to cleanse it before the procession got underway. Organizers say some 180,000 people have registered to participate in the approximately 400 kilometer pilgrimage this year. ---- NKorea Fires Ballistic Missiles North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters, days after the end of the South Korean-U.S. military drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a parliamentary session today that North Korea fired “a number of” ballistic missiles into the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. He said no damage or injuries has been reported and denounced North Korea’s repeated tests as acts that threaten the region. ---- C*US Biden and Trump Trade Barbs US President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump took aim at each other in speeches delivered over the weekend, as the two men prepare for a widely expected rematch for the White House. Our Washington correspondent Jagruti Dave has more ---- Uber to Settle with Australian Cabbies Global rideshare giant Uber will pay $178 million to settle a long-running dispute with Australian taxi and hire car drivers who lost out when the company entered the Australian market. A class action suit against Uber had been expected to go to trial in the Supreme Court of Victoria today, but lawyers acting on behalf of 8,000 taxi and hire car drivers said the case will be dropped because Uber agreed to the financial settlement. It’s the fifth-largest class action settlement in Australia’s history and comes five years after the action was launched. ---- That was the I.C.R.T. news, Check in again tomorrow for our simplified version of the news, uploaded every day in the afternoon. Enjoy the rest of your day, I'm _____. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn