newscas*)

Good afternoon. It's 3 o'clock. I'm _______

First, in island news...

The Premier says Taiwan will do all it can to become a peacemaker for the
region.

Speaking at a ceremony for the opening of a research camp into international
drug crime put on in collaboration with the Global Counterterrorism Forum,
William Lai says countries must work together to fight the problems and no
country can do it alone.

Lai says Taiwan occupies a special position on the international stage, but
it won't run from any challenge and will do its best to be a regional
peacemaker and contribute to the progress of the area by working proactively
to make connections with other countries.

As part of the training exercise, 26 law enforcement officers from 16
countries will come to Taiwan for training, including the US Drug Enforcement
Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.

(PB)

A team of experts is looking into the root cause of yesterday morning's
hospital fire in New Taipei.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare sent two experts to the nursing home
devastated by the fatal fire to collect information for analysis.

Deputy Health Minister Xue Rui-yuan says their job is to try and identify the
root causes for the pre-dawn fire that killed 9 people at Taipei Hospital in
Xin-zhuang district.

Eleven are still in the Intensive Care Unit, while 7 are in receiving general
care.

Xue says the hospital staff did report the fire after it happened and that
three on-duty workers started evacuations right away and asked for support
from other sections.

As to whether there was a delay or mistakes in any of those steps, he says
prosecutors are looking into it.

Xue also stresses that all hospital staff workers need to be well-trained in
emergency response procedures so they can offer immediate help before
rescuers show up.

(JL)

Spot checks conducted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs have found all
tested vacuum cleaners up to par.

Officials say the 10 commercially sold devices fulfilled all quality, safety,
and labelling requirements.

However 3 of the machines contained parts that differed from those listed on
official documents.

Manufacturers have been ordered to make corrections or face fines and
increased inspections.

(NS)

In world news...

UK opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is engaged in an escalating
spat with Israel's Prime Minister.

Olly Barratt reports:

Afghan officials say security forces have pushed the Taliban back from a key
city.

According to the officials, the Taliban has been removed from Ghazni and the
Afghan military are now trying to flush the insurgents from the city's
outskirts.

The operations come on the fifth day after a massive Taliban attack on the
provincial capital.

But a Taliban spokesman denies the insurgents have been routed from Ghazni
and says sporadic gunbattles are still ongoing.

Lastly...

The killing of a respected bishop near Cairo has shock Egypt's Christians.

Bishop Epiphanius' death in a desert monastery has also opened a rare window
into the cloistered world of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church.

It's one of the oldest Christian communities in the world and the one that
introduced monasticism to the faith.

The case exposed the growing power and independence of monks in remote
monasteries who appear to be at odds with the church's central leadership.

And taking a quick look at this afternoon's weather...

The central weather bureau is calling for overcast skies and occasional
showers or thundershowers for the whole of the island today.

The CWB has also issued orange heat alerts for Hualien and Miaoli and a
yellow warning for Yilan.

Current temperatures are...

30 in Taipei

28 in Taizhong

31 in Gaoxiong

31 in Hualian

That's the ICRT News at 3. I'm _____