SCHOOL:
Teens Unplugged to answer questions about studying abroad
High school seniors from the international community who are interested in studying abroad are invited to participate in the Teens Unplugged event to be held on April 25, in which recent graduates from US universities discuss their lives as students in the US. The event also gives teenagers an opportunity to talk with US college graduates and ask questions about college life. This free event, to be held at 1F, 16, Lane 118, Zhongcheng Rd Sec 2, is co-sponsored by Impact Youth Center, the Community Services Center and Taipei International Church. To register, send an e-mail to teensunplugged@gmail.com or call the Community Services Center.
WORK:
Kaohsiung pledges to cut foreign workers
The Kaohsiung City Government pledged on Thursday to cut back on the number of foreign workers in the city to save jobs for locals, saying that the city’s unemployment rate is estimated to have climbed past the national 5.75 percent average to break the 6 percent mark. Kaohsiung City Director of Labor Affairs Chung Kung-chao (鍾孔炤) made the statement after Kaohsiung City Councilor Lin Kuo-cheng (林國正) expressed concern over rising unemployment in the southern Taiwan port city. Quoting statistics from the Council of Labor Affairs and the city’s Bureau of Labor Affairs, Lin said the average national effective employment rate among people seeking jobs was 38 percent last year, while in Kaohsiung the figure was only 27 percent. In February, the effective employment rate among job seekers in Kaohsiung fell to 10 percent, also much lower than the national average of 22 percent for that month, he said. The figures show that there are fewer work opportunities in Kaohsiung than in the northern part of country, Lin said, urging the city bureau to take measures to protect the employment rights of local citizens.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
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