20120511 3pm

3PM Intro

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

PFP lawmaker denies reports about James Soong's wife

First, Taiwan news... People First Party lawmaker Li Tong-hao has denied reports about Chen Wan-shui being ill. Chen is PFP chairman James Soong's wife, and local media yesterday said that she is suffering from terminal cancer. Li calls the reports groundless, saying that he met with Chen just three months ago and that she was in good condition. Li adds that he received a phone call from Soong yesterday, who told him that Chen's condition is under control. He calls on the media to respect Soong and his family, saying that Soong will not attend President Ma's inauguration activities on May 20th. The Central News Agency quotes a source from the Koo Foundation Sun Yat-sen Cancer Center to say that Chen is indeed hospitalized in its intensive unit today. (JL)

Run for a Reason

It's time again for the world's highest vertical marathon! This year the Taipei 101 Run Up, organized together with Standard Chartered Bank, will be held on June 10. As in the previous two years, the Run Up event will pledge a donation to Orbis Taiwan in support of Standard Chartered Seeing is Believing global initiative to tackle avoidable blindness in the developing world. Registration fees will be donated to the charity, and the money will be used to help restore visually impaired children's eyesight and provide eye-care services to those in need. So you'll not only challenge yourself but also do it for a good cause. Organizers say this year a total of 3,600 runners will be able to participate in the Run Up, including 2,500 in the Self Challenge individual category, and registration is conducted online. (JL)

war with Muslims

A course for U.S. military officers was teaching that the U.S. is at war with Muslims. AP National Security Correspondent Sagar Meghani reports from the Pentagon.

charles

Britain's Prince Charles has had a go at presenting the weather forecast on BBC television. The 63-year-old heir to the throne - standing in front of a map of Scotland - predicted cold, wet and windy conditions. The prince took a moment to ad-lib after reading part of the script which included references to royal residences.

nba

in basketball action... Boston holds off Atlanta in the final seconds to move into the second round of the NBA playoffs. Correspondent Tom Cuddy reports.

weather

Taiwan weather forecast for tonight according to the Central Weather Bureau, rain showers up north, thunder showers mid-island and down south. Lows tonite north, center and south respectively: 21, 23 and 26. At the moment Taipei is cloudy and 25, Taichung rather cloudy and 29, Gauhsiung fairly clear but with haze and 30.

3PM Outro

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