Beijing starts building 5 more subway lines

BEIJING • Beijing has begun work on five more subway lines, which will have a total length of 126km and will link the megacity with its ever expanding suburban areas.

The new lines will be operational between 2019 and 2021. Beijing has been spending 30 billion yuan (S$6.2 billion) on average each year in recent years on its subway network. The city now has 18 subway lines, mostly built in the past decade.

XINHUA

Yingluck's trial to end in July

BANGKOK • A criminal negligence trial against ousted former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the country's first female premier, will end in July with a verdict expected soon after, her lawyer said yesterday.

Yingluck is accused of negligence over a rice-buying scheme that helped sweep her to power in a 2011 general election.

REUTERS

Fukushima disaster costs to double

TOKYO • The estimated cost of dealing with the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis has doubled to nearly US$190 billion (S$272 billion), the government said yesterday.

The new estimates could mean a heavier burden for Tokyo Electric Power and other utilities that are helping to pay the costs, and could result in higher power bills for consumers in the long run.

REUTERS