20120530 3pm

3PM Intro

Good afternoon. It's time for ICRT news at 3. I'm Mike Woodward.

Fines For Idling Cars

First, Taiwan news... The government today reminded motorists that a grace period on idling their engines when parked by the side of the road runs out after tomorrow. Starting Thursday, drivers will be fined at least 1,500NT if they leave their vehicles idling on the side of the road for more than three minutes. That minimum amount applies to motorcyclists ... while small cars will be fined 3,000NT and larger vehicles 5,000 NT. A three month grace period has been in effect since the changes to the Air Pollution Control Act were introduced on March 1. The EPA said today more than 34,000 warnings have been issued during the grace period at places such as schools, hospitals, and bus and train stations ... places where drivers are most likely to park their cars while keeping their engines running. An EPA official said law enforcement authorities will have some flexibility in handing out tickets, for example cars with senior citizens or physically challenged people because they might need to keep the engine running to keep the car air-conditioned. (jm)

HTC Phones

Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC said today that all of its smartphones have cleared a review process launched by United States customs authorities. The authorities found the devices to be in compliance with a patent ruling filed by a U.S. trade panel. Ahead of the opening of the Taiex today, HTC in a filing to the exchange said future shipments should continue to enter the U.S. and the company is confident that it will soon be able to meet the demand for its products. An HTC spokeswoman is quoted as saying that the company has found alternatives to the technologies used in some of its devices that were said to infringe on patents owned by Apple. One analyst said despite the faster-than-expected clearance, some U.S. telecom operators may have concerns about whether HTC shipments can fill their orders on time. She added the U.S. Customs review on HTC phones has likely sped up the company's efforts to shift its dependence from the U.S. market. Asia is projected to replace the U.S. as HTC's biggest market this year. (jm)

syria

in world news... The U.S. White House has some sharp words for Syria after expelling its top diplomat. AP correspondent Jerry Bodlander reports.

syria II

Activists say Syrian troops are shelling restive suburbs of Damascus and rebel-held areas in the central city of Homs.

China

in regional economic news... China is rolling out a mini-stimulus to fight its economic slump but is moving cautiously after its massive response to the 2008 global crisis left a painful hangover of inflation and debt. Beijing has yet to announce a total price tag. But measures announced piecemeal in recent weeks include 66 billion yuan ($10 billion) to build affordable housing and 26.5 billion yuan to subsidize sales of energy-efficient appliances. That limited size should make the effort more manageable than the 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) avalanche of spending and bank loans in 2008. But its power to boost growth in a $2.5 trillion economy also will be smaller.

French Open

in tennis action... Former champion Serena Williams shocked the French Open crowd, and herself, by losing to Virginie Razzano in the first round, her earliest exit from a grand slam in the 47 appearances she has made in an outstanding career.

weather

Taiwan weather forecast for tonight according to the Central Weather Bureau, possible showers up north, clouds mid-island; possible showers down south. Lows tonite north, center and south respectively: 22, 23 and 24 At the moment Taipei is cloudy with haze and 30, Taichung rather cloudy and 30, Gauhsiung fairly cloudy and 31.

3PM Outro

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