News In Brief

Taiwan shuts coal mines to await safety checks

All 125 coal mines on Taiwan closed Thursday on government orders pending safety checks following three disasters in three weeks that left 176 dead. One hundred two miners were killed in the latest fire Tuesday.

As rescue work in the Mayshan pit at the Juifang mine ended, President Chiang Ching-kuo ordered a thorough review of Taiwan's mine policy and a study of whether the island needed to produce its own coal.