• 3PM Intro
• Efforts to Keep Health Minister May Be For Naught
• Britain
• Canada
• CWB issues both low temp and heavy rain alerts
• weather
• 3PM Outro

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Subject: 3PM Intro
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Good afternoon. It's time for ICRT NEWS at 3. I'm Mike Woodward.

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Subject: Efforts to Keep Health Minister May Be For Naught
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First, Taiwan news...

Health Minister Yang Zhi-liang went to his office this morning to pack up his
belongings ... a possible sign that efforts to keep him on might be in vain.

While both the premier and president today issued words of support for the
health chief and called for him to stay ... it's appearing ever unlikely that
he will heed that call.

Yang had officially asked for leave today ... but was at the office early ...
calling himself "former health minister" when speaking with media.

Last night, just an hour after announcing on national television he was
resigning ... the premier called Yang to his office to discuss the financial
problem with the health insurance program.

Yang told the premier he couldn't make it.

Yang has accused the government of dragging its feet on what he considers an
urgent hike in health insurance if the program is to be rescued from
bankruptcy, in order not to alienate voters.

(jm)

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Subject: Britain
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in world news...

An opinion poll for the Times showed that the gap between Britain's two main
parties in key marginal seats has closed, strengthening the view that the
looming general election will be inconclusive.

The opposition centre-right Conservatives had led the race for more than two
years but their double-digit lead in opinion polls over the ruling Labour
party was slashed to single figures at the end of January and has shrunk
further since then.

The Populus survey for the Times looked at the 50th to 150th marginal seats
held by Labour and in which the Conservatives came second at the last
election and found that both parties had about 38 percent of the vote.

The poll showed that voters in these hotly contested seats were 1.5 to 2
percentage points more likely to switch to the Conservatives from Labour than
other voters nationally.

If replicated in the parliamentary election widely expected to take place on
May 6, the Conservatives would gain 97 Labour-held seats, the Times said,
leaving it short of an overall majority.

Such a result points towards a hung parliament.

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Subject: Canada
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A Canadian judge has dismissed a jury as it was about to hear the perjury
trial of Inderjit Singh Reyat, who is accused of lying in court about an Air
India bomb plot 25 years ago, saying he feared the panel may have been
tainted.

British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Mark McEwan ordered that a new jury be
selected. He said a remark allegedly made by one juror to others on the panel
may have tainted the jury as it was being selected last week.

McEwan said a juror complained to him about the remark, the details of which
are subject to a publication ban.

Reyat's trial was scheduled to begin in Vancouver on Monday, but has now been
delayed until March 22.

Reyat is accused of lying 27 times under oath during the murder trial of
Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, who were acquitted in 2005 of
the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182 in 1985 that killed 329 people.

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Subject: CWB issues both low temp and heavy rain alerts
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With a strong cold air system approaching Taiwan, temperatures north of
Tai-nan may go down to single digits again.

The Central Weather Bureau says on the early mornings of tomorrow and
Thursday, mercury is expected to drop to six degrees Celsius along Taiwan's
west coast and in the outlying islands of Jin-men and Matsu.

The CWB has already issued both low temp and heavy rain alerts for residents
north of Tai-nan, saying that temperatures will continue to go lower for the
rest of the day today and it'll be even colder after nightfall.

High temps will hover around 13 degrees in the north tomorrow.

But rain should gradually stop and it's expected to be mostly cloudy across
the island tomorrow and mostly sunny Thursday.

The CWB says weather will turn warmer slowly Friday and the weekend condition
looks pretty good.

(JL)

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Subject: weather
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Taiwan weather forecast for tonight according to the Central Weather Bureau,
possible rain island wide with night time lows: 8 in the north, 7 in the
center and 12 down south.

At the moment it's cloudy up north and mid-island. The south has cloudy skies
and ground haze.

Current temperatures: Taipei 11, Taichung 13 and Gauhsiung 18

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Subject: 3PM Outro
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That's ICRT News at 3. Thank you for listening. I'm Mike Woodward.