EZ News 05/14/24

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. Tai-Ex opening The Tai-Ex opened down 22-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 20,836 on turnover of $5.2-billion N-T. With the benchmark index closing at a new high Monday, market capitalization on the local main board surpassed the $66 trillion NTmark for the first time, according to the data compiled by the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The data also shows that investors riding the uptrend have earned an average of $740-thousand NT this year. Higher electricity bills coming as summer rates to begin in June The average household in Taiwan is expected to see its electricity bill rise by more than 70 percent a month when the four-month summer-rate period begins in June. TaiPower said households in Taiwan use an average of 413 kilowatt-hours of power per month from June to September, which costs around 1000 NT monthly during that period. While electricity use at other times of the year averages at just 301 kWh per month, costing around 600 NT. That means there’s a 73 percent difference in electricity bills between summer and non-summer months. But TaiPower says only around 100 NT is attributable to the higher summer rate. A TaiPower spokesperson said the summer rates were introduced in 1989, as more power generators are deployed to meet higher consumer demand, increasing the company’s operating costs. UN Staffer Killed in Gaza Another United Nations staff member has been killed in Gaza. The UN worker was killed when the vehicle they were travelling came under fire on Monday in Rafah. Jody Jacobs has more… EU Human Smuggler Arrested One of Europe’s most notorious (惡名昭張的) human smugglers has been arrested in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. The regional government’s security agency said it had arrested Barzan Majeed, known as “the Scorpion,” upon a request from Interpol and “after the exchange of intelligence information.” The agency said he had attempted to smuggle 100 migrants to the U.K. in small boats and trucks. The U.K.'s National Crime Agency had issued an appeal (求助，懇求) for assistance in tracking Majeed down in 2022, after he was convicted in absentia in Belgium of people smuggling crimes. Officials say Majeed has been handed over to the regional justice department. Germany Merkel Memoir Released in November The memoirs of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be released in November. The publication will come nearly three years after the end of her 16-year tenure (任期) at Germany's helm (領導地位). Publishers say the 700-page-long memoir will be published on Nov. 26-th. Merkel was a scientist who grew up in communist East Germany and became Germany’s first female chancellor in 2005. She steered Germany through a succession of crises including the global financial crisis, the migrant crisis and the coronavirus pandemic. She was succeeded by current Chancellor Olaf Scholz in December 2021. 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