20120515 10am

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10AM EZ News Intro

Good morning. It's 10 o'clock. I'm _______ and time for EZ News on ICRT.

10AM TAIWAN NEWS ....

The Tai-Ex opened down 62-points this morning from yesterday's at 7,315 on turnover of 2.019-billion N-T dollars. Meanwhile .... Finance Minister - Christina Liu - is playing down the possible connection between a recent slump in domestic stock transactions and the government's plans to introduce a capital gains tax on stock profits. Liu said the Tai-Ex has seen dramatic changes in turnover over the last decade .... and any moves to introduce a capital gains tax will have a minimum impact on the market. Liu has not given a time frame for the introduction of the tax ... saying while she hopes it can come into effect this year, there is little chance relevant amendments to current tax laws will be reviewed during the current legislative session. ------------ Former D-P-P chairwoman - Cai Ying-wen - has penned an open letter questioning President Ma Ying-jeou's ability to lead the country. In the letter .. Cai posed three questions to Ma regarding cross-strait relations -- asking him whether Taiwan is a nation? Are Taiwan and China the same nation? And is "one country, two areas" his core policy for future cross-strait ties? ------------ The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it is considering adjusting diplomats' housing allowances. The move follows criticism of housing allowances given to diplomats posted overseas following the murder of an embassy staffer in the Dominican Republic last month. According to Foreign Minister Timothy Yang ... the allowances have become insufficient because of inflation and the depreciating U-S dollar -- which have made diplomats overseas choose to rent houses in less-safe areas. According to a ministry report, no overall adjustment has been made to housing subsidies for diplomats since 2005.

syria

At least 30 people - including 23 soldiers - have died in heavy clashes in the central Syrian city of Rastan. If confirmed, the attack would be one of the deadliest suffered by security forces in the 14-month-long uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. It comes after government forces launched a fresh assault on Rastan at the weekend - that despite a United Nations-backed nominal ceasefire that came into effect over a month ago.

lebanon

Meanwhile ... Lebanese gunmen clashed in street battles yesterday as sectarian tensions linked to the 14-month-old uprising in Syria bled across the border for a third day. At least five people have been killed and 100 wounded in Lebanon's second-largest city since the gunbattles erupted late Saturday. Residents say differences over Syria are at the root of the fighting. Tripoli has seen bouts of sectarian violence in the past, but the fighting has become more frequent as the conflict in Syria worsens.

hacking

Britain's Crown Prosecution Service is set to announce whether former News of the World editor, Rebekah Brooks,will face criminal charges in the ongoing hacking scandal. Olly Barratt has a preview: Meanwhile ... Alastair Campbell , Tony Blair's former spin doctor, admitted the Labour Party made attempts to engage with all UK national newspapers in the run-up to the 1997 election -- including those owned by Rupert Murdoch.

vatican

Forensic police swarmed the crypt of a Roman basilica yesterday to exhume the body of a reputed mobster ... as part of an investigation into one of the Vatican's most enduring mysteries: the 1983 disappearance of the teenage daughter of one of its employees. Emanuela Orlandi was 15 when she disappeared in 1983 after leaving her family's Vatican City apartment to go to a music lesson in Rome. Her father was a lay employee of the Holy See, and a member of Rome's Magliana mob. He was killed in 1990. His one-time girlfriend reportedly told prosecutors that the father kidnapped the girl and an anonymous caller in 2005 told a call-in television show that the answer to her disappearance lay in his tomb.

WEATHER AM .....

partly cloudy skies, possible afternoon thunder showers and a high of around 33 islandwide. Current Temperatures .... Taipei -- 31 Taichung -- 30 Gaoxiong -- 32

10AM EZ News Outro

That's EZ News at 10. I'm _____